Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
“I don’t think we’re down confidence-wise,” Rondo said. “We’re a prideful group. We believe in each other. We have a lot of games we could have won. But those games are in the past, so we’re going to continue to move forward. We’ve got to get better.”
Maybe it’s their youth, but the Celtics did their best to remain upbeat in the aftermath. Jared Sullinger said, “Confidence is the least of our worries,” echoing Rondo’s pleas that Boston will find a way to start winning these sorts of games.
“We have a lot of young talented guys that listen very well and play hard,” Rondo said. “What more could you ask for?”
It’s hard, in the immediate aftermath of another immensely winnable game, to focus on the positives and not overreact to the negatives. And there are a lot of negatives.
Rondo missed 8 free throws in a 4 point game.
Avery Bradley’s complete lack of focus on that cross court pass.
Kelly Olynyk’s no-show.
The final 57 seconds of general head-up-their-asses play.
There are so many things that we, on the outside, are going to look at today, process in our own ways, and use them in our arguments against whatever it is that pisses us off.
The reality, though, is last night serves as little more but fodder for our own disdain. Don’t like Rondo? You got some evidence to back that up. Think Bradley got overpaid this summer? Congrats, you got some evidence too. Really, only Tyler Zeller and Jeff Green came out of last night’s game clear of much criticism, but they’ve gotten so much since the start of training camp that I’m sure they enjoy the break.
Aside from all that, the team itself… the players… have no choice but to act much like you do when you can’t break through on that Call of Duty level NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU GODDAM TRY… I WAS HITTING THE BUTTONS.. WHY DIDN’T I STRAFE LEFT AND SHOOT??!??!?!
For them, this is part of the growing process. They have to look past the individual breakdowns and understand that at some point (hopefully soon), they’ll calm down and execute in these situation rather than panic. They just need to work hard in practice, study the video, and, most importantly, pull the emotion out of the situation and just play ball.
There’s no doubt, there is a palpable sense of heightened urgency at the end of these games. And while it’s ok for the fans to feel it, it’s bad for the players to get too caught up in it. When that happens, guys tend to move too fast, which throws off the timing of plays… or they tend to forget the play altogether.
Just look at the euphemism we use for clutch guys or clutch teams. “Cold-blooded.” “Ice water in their veins.” Those describe a person or people who stay cool under pressure… who can, when the shit storm hits, keep their focus, block out all the distractions, and just execute the play.
The Celtics aren’t there yet. They’re a bunch of young guys who lack the sniper’s sense of calm. Just like you and that damned video game… after you finally figure out how to beat it, you’ll go back and realize that all you needed to do was relax and get through the level. When you finally get to the end, you’ll look back and wonder why the beginning ever gave you any trouble at all.
Related links: CSNNE: Stevens: Closing games easier said than done | MassLive: Celtics have defense to blame | Late-game woes continue | Globe: C’s unable to hold off Suns in final minute
Page 2: About those free throws
Rondo does work hard on his free throw shooting but it appears to be a matter of concentration. In previous years he had usually missed the first, when he is still cooling off from the foul, and made the second with better focus.
On Monday he had no idea where the ball was going, a byproduct of frustration with the lack of progress. He has to be his same chatty self at practice on Tuesday, and he also has to spend a couple of extra sessions on his free throw shooting.
Boston Globe: Rondo must take the lead in tough times
“It’s tough, it’s frustrating,” Rondo said of his bad night at the line, which dropped his season percentage to .300, or 6-for-20. “I work hard on it, and I’ll continue to work to get better.”
Herald: Celtics waste 2nd half comeback
Rondo’s been here before. Rondo endured a 38% free throw percentage in November of 2009, which was followed by 65% in December.
The optimist says “hey, that’s a reason to be encouraged.” The pessimist says “That was 5 years ago, where’s the progress.”
Both have points, and there is going to have to be some level of Rondo’s free throw percentage that we’re just going to have to accept as part of his overall flaws. He’ll never shoot 80% for a season, but he does have to shoot better than he is now. It just has to be high enough for people to say “it’s not great, but it doesn’t take away from the rest of his game.”
I personally believe that this has become far too mental. Rondo has changed his free throw form time and time again over the years to try to find the sweet spot that will make the ball go in more often than not.
I joked last night about him learning golf to help with his free throws, but the more I think about it, the more some kind of insane thing like that might help. The constant changing of free throw routines is no different from a golfer waggling and shaking the club before teeing off. Every shooter and every golfer will tell you that the pre-shot routine is a big key, because the consistency calms you down before stepping up and taking the shot. Shooting a basketball is much like swinging a club in that you need to replicate the mechanics precisely over and over and over again so you can take the shot and get similar results. And golf, like free throw shooting, is a place where emotion is your enemy. Any tensing, any rushing, any lack of focus or concentration can swing the ball way right or left in either sport.
Sometimes it takes removing someone from the situation and putting him in a completely new, uncomfortable world (a.k.a. taking him out of his comfort zone) so he can see things from a new perspective.
Even if that idea is too crazy, the point behind it, I think, is valid… Rondo needs to learn a way to relax, forget each miss, and just find a way to trust the ball will go in. In the end, it’s just hand-eye coordination, and getting the ball to fly from your hands to the basket the same way every time. I don’t care if he pretends this is a game of cornhole and tosses it underhand, so long as he finds his happy places, relaxes, and puts it in the hole.
The rest of the links
Herald: Time to get in game | Notebook: Green won’t give the old college try | Celtics fade away in loss | CSNNE: Thomas: an honor for C’s to call in free agency | Hornacek: Rondo, like Stockton, makes it easier | Morris, Suns bigs cause problems | Zeller gives Celtics inside presence | Mannix: Lakers could give Rondo a max-territory offer | ESPN Boston: Notebook: Stellar Zeller | Boston.com: The only think you need to know about the loss to Suns | WEEI: Thomas: Ainge was the first to call me | 5 things we learned in loss to Suns | MassLive: Thomas confirms old reports that Celtics called first | Young cool with spending time in DLeague | NESN: Zeller’s familiarity breeding success
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