Kevin Garnett is the key to winning this series. When he gets the ball in a good position and gets good, open shots.. the Celtics do extremely well.
KG has had some problems establishing the post against Lavoy Allen. The kid is strong and he has had some success pushing KG out of his comfort zone. Since the C's need to establish the post against the Sixers to get the rest of their offense working, here's one way the Celtics can spring KG and open up a bunch of options in the process.
Ray Allen (or Avery Bradley, depending on who is in the game) and Brandon Bass set up opposite KG with Rondo on their side and Pierce on the opposite wing. They both go down and set a screen for KG to go to the opposite block.
As KG is getting to the block, Ray sets a back pick for Paul Pierce. The defenders will have either switched or there may be some chaos down low as guys fight through picks. The extra pick with Ray and Paul could spring one of them… either Pierce back door or Ray up at the win (or in the corner, it's up to him to read it).
Meanwhile, Bass comes back up to possibly catch a pass in his comfort zone.
The pass goes into KG, but either KG or Rondo have a number of options. KG could find Pierce backdoor or Bass high opposite.
Ray Allen shoots down into the corner to possible get a second pass for a 3. Along with all those options, the C's have also cleared out the floor for Garnett.
If Rondo's guy goes in to double, Rondo could (a) cut to the middle, get a pass and then find one of the other 3 guys or (b) go baseline and get a handoff.
KG could also go high. That gives him a possible jumper.
Bass would then slide over to try to either screen or chip Ray's guy and Ray just shoots the other way for a baseline jumper. Bass seals down low after that and could possible get a pass from KG for a lay up. Pierce heads to the corner to space the floor and, possibly, get a corner 3 if Rondo can drive and get guys to collapse.
Another couple of possibilities here: the give and go or pick and pop with Rondo. Rondo could hit KG up top and then cut right to the hoop. KG hits him in the lane and, in all likelihood, Rondo finds Bass for the dunk or flips it into the corner for 3.
Another option is to run a couple of more picks to spring Ray or Pierce. Ray Allen, master of reading screens, could curl tighter and get to the hoop or take a short jumper. He or Pierce could also cut higher, in the defender's field of vision, to get the guy to back off a little and try to help and instinctively protect the paint. That'd give KG the opportunity get a good shot off.
As with any play like this, you could probably draw up 50 different options, but the initial action is the same. A double screen down to (a) get Garnett deep position or (b) get a switch to get Lavoy Allen off Garnett so he can go to work on a smaller or slower defender.
The Celtics are experts at reading screens and going to open spots. With Bass and a pair of deep threats out there, the Celtics will have the proper floor spacing to find one of these options, all while getting KG into his comfort zone.
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