With all due respect, why don't we...?

It is not difficult at all to watch Celtics play and point out the one obvious problem: Our defense is not where it's supposed to be. Any team that has a capable big inside or can make extra passes is going to give us trouble, because our defensive rotations are still shaky and without Garnett, we suck. That has been the focus of many articles/posts so far all over the Interwebs, so I don't think there is any need to repeat that by using more stats or different words.

I have two other questions about stuff we don't see Celtics use as often as they might, or never, to be exact. I truly admire Doc as a coach, and the sets he draws after timeouts are works of art, but I think a little more flexibility with his schemes could be beneficial, at least in the short run. I would like to delve into those issues before I stuff myself with food and focus on the Patriots game tonight in a drunken state and eventually pass out.

1. ... play pick and rolls more often?

Last night in the 4th quarter Rondo and Wilcox used a PnR play that ended up with a dunk. That was beautiful to watch, yet it has been a rare sight for the Celtics this season. Per mySynergySports data, Wilcox has been used in PnR 22.5% of the time this season, and except for the 2 turnovers (that were run by Lee and Pierce, not our PGs), it has given us 5 FGs out of 6.

That brings up my second (yet main) question on this topic. Why don't we use Jason Terry, one of the best PnR players in the league, more in these types of plays? In offenses that involve Terry, only %13.9 were PnRs. To be fair, Terry has also been efficient as a spot-up and off-screen player, yet he's better than Rondo in PnRs, and I think a little flexibility in that area won't hurt.

Imagine plays where the opposing teams have to think about both Rondo and Terry running PnRs. Knicks have been using interesting PnR schemes and being wildly successful at them. I think we are not thinking about that one case enough.

2. ...play Garnett and Wilcox at the same time?

That one is really interesting. The two bigs that have a positive on-court/off-court stat are Garnett and Wilcox. Wilcox is a hustle player that will do any dirty work needed, and again per mySynergySports data, has been more successful at defense in all categories when compared to Bass so far.(He allowed his opponent to score 36.4% of the time compared to Bass' 44.3%) It is important to not forget that there is a bias here, Bass is playing against starters whereas Wilcox has mostly seen time against opponents' second units. Nevertheless, I think Wilcox is a better player when it comes to rotations, and a Garnett-Wilcox frontcourt wouldn't be the worst we have out there in terms of defense. Yet I don't think we have ever played them together this season, and 82games.com confirms that suspicion of mine.

Basically, what I'm saying is this: We have two players who score more than half of the time in PnR plays. To complement that skill set, we have Terry who is known for handling PnRs smoothly yet strangely is never used in such sets. Moreover, playing Garnett and Wilcox together does not hurt defense on paper, at least it won't make it worse than the current state is.

So here I ask, with all due respect, why don't we play them together more and run PnRs more with Terry? Why shouldn't that be the extra weapon in our arsenal? At least, isn't it worth giving a try?

Happy thanksgivings everyone! Please drop your two cents on this while the your properly handled turkey is roasting in the oven.