Can the Celtics offense succeed by running more?

When Boston posted just 25 points in the second half of Saturday's 85-78 Game 1 loss, it brought to life my (and pretty much everyone else's) concerns about the C's playoff offense without Rajon Rondo.  Lacking a true point guard they need to find more ways to create scoring opportunities, and the simplest way to do that is to run.  Said Paul Pierce on Monday (via Gary Dzen of the Boston Globe):

"Some of those easy opportunities have to come in transition. Kicking the ball ahead to myself, Jeff [Green] is something we want to emphasize. We feel like if we can get the ball up and advance passes before the defense, it says it gives us an opportunity to get easy baskets. The more we get stops the more opportunities there are for that."

It seems like a very simple strategy, but it works.  When the Celtics won 7 straight after Rondo went down, pushing the ball up the floor to the first open man was a major reason why.  Whether or not they can pull this off against tougher postseason defense remains to be seen.


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