After the Boston Celtics scored a two points with the help of two Paul Pierce free throws, tying the score at 80, Boston scored just 11 points in the final 7:10 of the fourth quarter including a stretch where the Celtics didn’t score for three minutes and fifty seconds.  This stretch is what turned a close game into a blowout, with Miami pulling away.

Even though there was some strange playcalling, the Miami Heat deserve a lot of credit for digging in and playing fantastic defense.  This defense involved strong help defense and a unique strategy to prevent Rajon Rondo’s dribble penetration.

Curious Playcalling

While Miami’s defense stole the show, Boston did contribute to their drought with some odd playcalling choices early in this stretch:

After Pierce’s two free throws, Glen Davis wound up taking the next two shots.  Now, the fact that he was taking wasn’t the problem.  The problem was that these weren’t typical Glen Davis shots where he was the third option on a set, got an offensive rebound, or was playing off of the Big three.  These were designed plays where Davis was the primary option.

The first play, Boston dumps the ball into Davis and clears out, running an ISO for him, and he eventually misses the shot.  The second play is an off ball screen ran for Davis, allowing him to cut to the block, get the ball, and go up with the shot that is blocked.

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After a Jason Terry three pointer gave the Dallas Mavericks a 91-90 lead with 3:30 left in the game, the New Orleans Hornets responded with a 7-0 run.  Here is a look at the three possessions that gave the Hornets a six point lead, and eventually the win:

Possession 1: Pick And Pop

Matt Moore pointed this out after the first tine the Mavericks and Hornets played, but the Dallas Mavericks executed their strategy of keeping Chris Paul out of the lane (the same strategy used on Rajon Rondo) very well.  However, Paul and the Hornets countered this by initiating their offense on the wing rather than on top.

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After the Wizards hit a three pointer to send the game into overtime, I thought that the Wizards were going to be able to use that momentum to steal the game from the Bobcats. However, the exact opposite happened as the Bobcats outscored the Wizards 13-4 in the final 5 minute period.

The key seemed to be the Bobcats willingness to attack the basket. The Bobcats seemed determined to get themselves inside the paint every possession of overtime. Each time, it resulted in one of two things; a trip to the foul line or an easy basket:

Possession 1 – Gerald Wallace Gets To The Line Using A Screen

On this play, the Bobcats set up what looks to be an ISO set for Gerald Wallace. At the last moment, Tyson Chandler comes up and sets a screen for Wallace. Wallace uses the screen and gets all the way to the rim, where he is fouled.

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About halfway through the fourth quarter the Blazers were trailing the by 9 points, 93 to 102.  The Blazers then went off, going on a 17-3 run to close the game and come away with a 5 point win.  The craziest thing is that the Blazers did this with Brandon Roy scoring 3 points in the 4th quarter (granted he did score 38 in the first 3).  Let’s take a closer look at this run:

Possession 1 – Blazers Steal

After Portland made a couple free throws to cut the lead to 6 points, they dropped back into a zone defense.  It isn’t a straight up zone though, as it appears to be more of a match-up zone.  If you watch Blazers’ players as the Warriors make cuts, you can see the Blazers “handing off” players, making sure everyone knows where they need to be.  You can tell the Warriors look a little confused, and because of that they aren’t in sync.  The pass to the middle is late, allowing for the defense to get their hand on the ball and get the steal.  3-0.

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After a Raymond Felton jumper, the Charlotte Bobcats took a 74-70 with about 8 minutes left in the fourth quarter, and it looked like they were pulling away.  The Dallas Mavericks responded with 13-1 run over a span of three and a half minutes, turning a 4 point deficit into an 8 point lead.  I thought it would be interesting to take a closer look at the key possessions of the run.

Poss. 1 – Terry Steal/Marion Dunk

After two Jason Terry free throws, the Bobcats started the ball up the court.  The Bobcats get in their set, and Gerald Wallace is actually open on the wing.  Jason Terry does a great job of leaving his man, jumping the pass, and getting the steal.  The ball ends up in Jason Kidd’s hands who quickly tosses it back up court, starting a two on one fast break that ends with a Shawn Marion Dunk.  4-0.

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At halftime of the Celtics-Magic game, it looked like Boston was pulling away turning this game into a blowout.  The Celtics had just outscored the Magic by 10 points in the second quarter, and they went into halftime with an 11 point lead.  The Magic came out in the third quarter, and the game did turn into a blowout, just the other way around.  The Magic outscored the Celtics in the third 36 to 11.  Lets look at how they did it:

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