For two teams that are supposed to be the NBA favorites, the past two games have left the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers looking pretty ordinary.
In Boston, the home loss to the Atlanta Hawks can be pretty much summed up by a lack of rebounding on both ends. The younger, more athletic Hawks just beat up the Celtics on the boards.
The mystery lies in this question: How do the long, experienced Celtics allow themselves to be out-rebounded on their home floor? Good thing they didn't have to search long to find the answer.
It basically boiled down to a lack of attention to basic fundamentals, namely blocking out opponents when the ball was in the air. Coach Doc Rivers basically said as much as he watched his players continuously beaten to the ball by the quicker Hawks.
Although Boston had a discernible height advantage, the obvious difference in athleticism was staggering. It could have been nullified by fundamentals, but the Celtics often found themselves reacting to the Hawks instead of blocking out.
Against the Indiana Pacers the Celtics did a better job on the boards but still found themselves on the losing end.
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Hadarii Jones
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