I am a neophyte when it comes to basketball. I'm an uber neophyte. I mean, I barely know anything. (Accept I know that the Celtics won all three games I went to at the TD Banknorth Garden.) That said, here's my theory as to why, to put it in neophytic terms, they've been playing so off-and-on.
A while back, I read an article in Sports Illustrated about a new offensive strategy for basketball. The strategy is called the "Dribble Drive Motion" and Doc Rivers and the Celtics are one of the few NBA teams to employ this method. It is often used in high schools and colleges and getting out to the middle school level, too. (Read the article here.)
This is from Wikipedia:
Dribble Drive Motion AKA Memphis Attack...The offense focuses on spreading the offensive players in the half court set, such that the point guard can drive through the defensive gaps for a layup or dunk, or kick out to the perimeter if the defense collapses on the driving guard. The offense is also known by various other names, including the AASAA offense (for attack, attack, skip, attack, attack), the Walberg offense, three or key or Princeton on Steroids.
As devised by Walberg, the Dribble drive motion offense is predicated on some basic principles. Like the Princeton offense, it is a "four-out" offense. That is, only one "post" player (generally the center) plays under the basket, while the other four players play the "perimeter", outside of the three-point line. Unlike the Princeton offense, which is built upon passing to players who cut towards the basket, the Memphis offense uses a player (usually the point guard) to dribble-drive towards the basket. Depending on the response of the defense, the driving player can either take a lay-up, pass to the post player to shoot, or "kick-out" pass to one of the perimeter players. If the ball is returned to the perimeter, the player that receives the pass either takes a three-point shot, or dribble-drives to the basket themselves, restarting the entire process.
My theory is that this new offensive strategy worked fantastically and got them to the playoffs. However, once they got in there, they tended to want to go back to the old ways of playing--the familiar ways, if you will. And that's why there's so much inconsistency. They're either killing by double digits and making crazy plays because they're employing the DDM, of they're falling back on the old ways of playing and barely scraping by, if at all.
They have to renew their confidence in their way of playing and right themselves for the rest of the playoffs--resolve to see this DDM thing out--or go back to their old ways that didn't work well (hence the poopy previous seasons) and lose. What's it gonna be boys? Yes or no?
Thus ends the basketball neophyte's pontification. I will now return to my regularly scheduled cluelessness.
(I stand by this banner and get my picture taken with it every time I go to the Garden. It's a sort of talisman at this point. Plus, it isn't a bit dorky at all...What is this tune I suddenly have in my head?........Fill the steins to dear old Maine! Shout til the rafters ring. Stand, and drink a toast once again. Let every loyal Maine man sign!--Drink Drink Drink!)
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