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Post by Admin on Mar 6, 2023 17:39:47 GMT -5
The good news is that this spells the return of Malcolm Brogdon who’s missed the last few games due to right ankle soreness. Unfortunately, this means that the Celtics will be without their best player and their starting frontcourt against a very big opposing frontcourt. Jaylen Brown will have a lot on his shoulders to carry as Boston tries to stop the recent slide of losses.
It would help if Marcus Smart snapped out of his funk as well. He hasn’t performed as his usual self since the All-Star break, instead showing brief flashes on both ends. He ended a frustrating night last night against the Knicks by fouling out against Julius Randle (and a hard knee to the groin probably didn’t help).
Derrick White will also play a big role, likely starting tonight. His production has predictably slowed down since returning to the bench, although he’s still been very effective on both ends. They’ll likely need more scoring from him and Brogdon with Tatum’s absence.
Grant Williams is having a polarizing season, but tonight is a big opportunity for him to reenter the graces of Celtics fans who are down on him with a solid performance. In last Wednesday’s game, Williams was benched in favor of Mike Muscala (who will also get some run tonight alongside Luke Kornet and perhaps Mfiondu Kabengele). Mazzulla indicated that matchups were the reason behind the benching, so it’s clear that against the Cavs, the coaching staff doesn’t have a ton of confidence in Grant in favor of other options. This is a chance to prove him wrong.
Donovan Mitchell posted 44 points last Wednesday alongside Darius Garland’s 29. The Celtics have been carved up on the perimeter, so they’ll need Smart and White to really buckle down and lock up tonight. The Celtics take on the Cavs at 7:00 p.m. ET.
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Post by Admin on Mar 6, 2023 18:01:06 GMT -5
The blueprint to beat the Celtics The Boston Celtics are struggling against teams that bring the fight to them. By AdamTaylorNBA
In an 82-game season, losses are inevitable, and the likelihood is that you’re going to lose some games you’re supposed to win - just as you might win some you’re supposed to drop. For the most part, the Boston Celtics have done a solid job of navigating a season where there’s a clear bullseye on their back, and teams are coming at them with everything they’ve got.
Yet, as the ‘losses in winnable matchups’ have begun to pile up, there seems to be a trend forming, one that could indicate a growing confidence that teams have figured out how to stymie the Celtics' offensive juggernaut. It all started with Boston’s November 22 loss to the Chicago Bulls — their second loss in three games against Billy Donovan’s team, where Chicago reverted to a game plan that saw them run out winners on October 25.
Since then, it feels like losses to the Orlando Magic, New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, and even, to a far lesser extent, the Golden State Warriors have all followed a similar defensive plan. The ‘blueprint,’ for lack of a better word, to creating the best chance of beating the Celtics contains five clear-cut points. If you execute on two or three of those points, then the odds are the Celtics are still going to find a way to win. Execute four of five of them, and suddenly, Boston looks toothless as they scramble and revert to early shot clock attempts and single-screen high pick-and-rolls.
1. Adjusting your pick-up points
The Celtics currently sit 15th in the NBA for drives per game and 24th for paint touches. As such, opposing teams can feel confident in adjusting their pick-up points to be a foot or two above the three-point line, as the likelihood is that Boston will look to do most of their work via off-ball screening actions around the perimeter.
By getting into the Celtics' airspace earlier in a defensive possession, contesting every pass, dribble, or shot attempt, you’re forcing them into making quicker decisions and limiting the amount of ‘principal’ actions the team looks to run. Sure, there are times when the Celtics will punish you for this eager style of defense, driving closeouts, back cut on the wings, or simply running drag screens in transition, but the numbers show that the Celtics want to do their work on the perimeter, so it makes sense to make life as difficult as possible for them on every possession.
Under Ime Udoka, Boston’s offense was more deliberate. The Celtics would be happy to run the clock down a little as they set up their offense and found an open lane or saw a shooter whose defender was sagging off. Joe Mazzulla prefers an up-tempo style of offense, which is predicated on quick ball movement to generate wide-open threes as early in the clock as possible. It’s easier to defend those perimeter actions when you know your opponent wants to get their shot up early and are hunting those opportunities.
2. Push the tempo
It might feel like the Celtics give up a ton of points when defending fast break plays, yet in reality, they sit 11th in the league for opponents' fast break points. However, what that statistic doesn’t show is how the Celtics are solid at stopping the initial action but find themselves stranded in the paint when the ball is kicked out and a half-court set begins to unfold — that’s what teams are looking for when ripping their defensive rebounds off the glass and launching blistering counterattacks.
Transition defense has been an Achilles heel for the Celtics for multiple seasons at this point and is a surefire way to give Boston some tough decisions on a possession-by-possession basis, allowing you to further speed them up on offense as you begin to take control of the pace of the game.
3. Crash the offensive glass
This isn’t an easy task for any team. The Celtics rank first in the NBA for percentage of defensive rebounds secured and are sixth in limiting second-chance points scored. However, there is a genuine lack of size within the Celtics roster that bigger or more explosive opponents can take advantage of — think Mitchell Robinson or Jarrett Allen for the types of players who can cause issues.
For the most part, teams will struggle to control the Celtics' offensive glass; after all, they rank 2nd in the NBA for defensive box outs per game, yet if you can find a way to overpower them around the rim, there’s little they can do to adjust due to the lack of personnel that can bring size, speed, and strength to the rotation at the center position.
Still, this is clearly the most difficult aspect of the ‘blueprint’ and isn’t something that can be won solely on effort and grit. You need the right player(s) in your rotation to make this work.
4. Attack the paint with rip-throughs off the catch
The Celtics employ an aggressive switching defense; sometimes they switch one through five and others one through four with their big man in drop. Either way, there are ways to punish switches such as slipping screens or hunting mismatches. However, teams have been finding success when driving into the teeth of the defense directly off the catch, punishing any pre-switching (soft switching) that is taking place to find open pockets of space.
Throw some down screens into those rip-though actions, and suddenly, the Celtics' defense looks average as they struggle to navigate the complexities of their own system while trying to react to their opponents' quick decision-making.
If you watch how Mikail Bridges attacks the Celtics on this possession, you will get a good indicator of how quick rip-throughs are hurting the team's defense. A quick Pistol action (hand-off on the wing into a ball screen) allows Bridges to quickly rip after receiving the pass, forcing Jayson Tatum to slip, while the screener keeps Robert Williams from getting too deep into the action. The result is an open shooting pocket around the nail as Tatum navigates the screen after having to flip his hips and change direction to chase down Bridges following the switch.
5. Get physical
I’m not of the belief that the Celtics are ‘soft.’ In fact, I seriously dislike that narrative and see it as an old trope that has become far too played out in recent seasons. Yet, there is some truth to how the Celtics alter their approach when teams get scrappy, especially if they’re physically challenging you on drives or around the boards.
It’s not that the Celtics wilt under the heat of battle, but rather, they look for new ways to generate their offense or limit their opponents on the defensive end. It’s like taking the detour rather than sitting in traffic, you’re going to get where you want, but it might add some more miles to the clock and cost you additional gas.
There’s nothing wrong with preserving your body and avoiding contact when the option is there, but if you can force the Celtics to begin taking the longer route, you’re taking them away from their initial gameplan, and that’s going to give you an advantage for the rest of the game.
Final thoughts
None of these ‘steps’ are reinventing the wheel, and for the most part, every team in the NBA is looking to control these areas of the floor. Nevertheless, it does feel like when all of these aspects are combined, it equals a recipe that the Celtics haven’t figured out how to counter yet, and it’s empowering their opponents to take the game to them — leading to some good results.
Luckily, there are still five weeks until the regular-season ends, so there is plenty of time for Mazzulla and the coaching staff to start fixing some of these blemishes in the Celtics' makeup, but with games ticking down and another tough stretch of form, those changes need to happen soon, otherwise, we will be looking at another run of Game 7’s and we all saw the toll that took last season.
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Post by Admin on Mar 6, 2023 18:31:56 GMT -5
Gotta get the groove back: 10 Takeaways from the Celtics slide Boston has lost three of their last four games By Keith P Smith
1. In an effort to show that your intrepid author listens to feedback, we’re going to present these Takeaways a bit differently. This version won’t be very clip-heavy (just one), nor all that focused on the Boston Celtics double overtime loss to the New York Knicks (only tangentially). Instead, we’re going to present some things that have us really concerned as it pertains to the Celtics.
Let’s start with the general feel or vibes around the team. Jayson Tatum said the Celtics need to “get our groove back”. Al Horford said the team isn’t “locking in as much as we need to”.
Both are correct.
But the real question is: Why is that happening?
Are the Celtics tired? Possibly. A lot of guys are playing a lot of minutes. That’s on top of a long season, and some guys going mostly non-stop since the bubble. So, that could be a factor.
Are the Celtics bored? That seems more likely. Most of this group has played in big games for almost their entire careers, including last season’s Finals run. It seems like the regular season has lost its luster for Boston.
If it’s fatigue, that’s far more of a concern. There’s still a lot of basketball to be played. That’s something that Joe Mazzulla, Brad Stevens, the training staff and the sports science staff need to figure out.
It’s boredom, that’s a whole other thing. It’s akin to senioritis. You’re ready to get this phase done to move onto the next one. But if you don’t take things seriously enough in this phase, you might never get to the next one. That’s something that Boston needs to buckle down and refocus on.
2. Going back a few weeks now, the Celtics transition defense has been awful. It’s cost them several times. Sometimes it comes when guys don’t rotate back as a shot goes up. That’s not great, because it’s a focus, effort and communication thing. But that’s easy to clean up.
What’s worse are plays like this:
That basket came exactly six seconds after Derrick White hit a layup on the other end. Not having your defense set after you score is a mortal sin in the NBA. Immanuel Quickley made Boston pay for that time and time again throughout this game.
Increased focus on getting back on defense and cutting off easy scoring opportunities is a must for Boston over the last month or so before the playoffs start.
3. Next on the list of worries is what has happened with Jayson Tatum’s and Jaylen Brown’s shooting.
Tatum is shooting 46/35/86 this year. That’s really not bad, given the volume of difficult shots he takes. What’s worrisome is the inconsistency of Tatum’s shooting. He’s all over the board this season. Here is Tatum’s three-point shooting since the All-Star break:
· 3-for-12
· 3-for-8
· 1-for-9
· 4-for-6
· 0-for-7
· 6-for-17
There are some good nights mixed in there, but some horrific ones too. The days of Tatum shooting 40% from three over the course of the season are probably gone. He simply takes too many contested shots for that to happen. And that’s fine, as long as he doesn’t dip into the low-30s as a three-point shooter.
What could help Tatum is changing up his overall shot profile. Over the past two seasons, Tatum has all but eliminated the midrange shot from his profile. Two years ago, Tatum took 18.8% of shots in the midrange. This season that’s down to 12.3% this season. And Tatum isn’t a bad midrange shooter. He got crazy a few years ago with the long fadeaways and the like, but he’s got the size and skill to dribble into good midrange pullups more than once per game. Bring those back.
As for Brown, he’s now down to 33.8% on three-pointers, which is the lowest figure of his career. And it’s coming on a career-high 7.4 three-point attempts per game.
Now, to be fair, Brown is also taking a lot of contested shots too. He’s no longer someone the defense wants to test by leaving open. That guy is long gone. But Brown isn’t keeping up his percentage as his volume and difficulty of shots increases.
Last thing on this, but it’s an important one: Both Tatum and Brown need to trust their teammates to get them more looks. The Celtics have enough creators and ball-movers to get the stars easier looks. Brown is at a career-low on assisted three-pointers. Tatum’s has bumped back up, but it could still be a lot higher.
The stars have to carry the load and have to handle the lion’s share of the creation. But making it even a fraction easier on them would be a boon to them and the Celtics.
4. Boston is the NBA’s best defensive rebounding team. That may seem crazy, but it’s true. They are comfortably ahead of the Miami Heat atop the NBA in defensive rebound rate.
But late-game rebounding can still be a challenge for Boston. Quite regularly, Al Horford is on the floor as the lone big at the end of games. For all of the wonderful things Horford has done in his career, and continues to do, rebounding has never been a particular strength of his. It’s putting a lot on him to ask him to control the glass, especially at his age and playing the minutes he is.
But this isn’t a Horford thing. It’s a Celtics thing. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown can do more on the glass late in games. All too often, they are leaking out for scoring chances. When Rob Williams is in there late, he needs to box out and find a body vs just trusting he’ll outjump everyone. Grant Williams needs to block out better too, and the guards can also crash back.
The Celtics have to stop letting late-game defensive stops go to waste by not finishing the possession with the rebound.
5. Let’s do two quick ones on Joe Mazzulla.
We’ll start with the rotations, because that’s actually the far bigger issue. First, we’ll start with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. One of them usually goes most, if not all, of the first and third quarters. The other then comes back to lead lineups made up of mostly reserves. (As an aside, this works better when it’s Tatum and the bench than Brown and the bench. The numbers have told us this for years now.)
Occasionally, if Tatum or Brown has it going, Mazzulla will ride them. That’s perfectly fine. The challenge comes with a regular game where neither is on fire. Sometimes it’s Tatum out early, sometimes it’s Brown. There’s no real consistency there.
The best teams tend to stick to a pretty rigid pattern, only adjusting if the game tells them they need to. For years now, Steve Kerr has played Stephen Curry the whole first and third quarters and brought him back in about halfway through the second and fourth quarters. It allows Curry and his teammates to develop a rhythm. Boston could use some of that.
The other worrying part of the rotation is whatever is happening with the bigs behind Al Horford and Rob Williams. Grant Williams is usually playing, but his minutes have been all over the place lately. (We’ll do more on him later!) But sometimes it’s Mike Muscala. Sometimes it’s Luke Kornet. Heck, even Blake Griffin has been thrown in there at times.
When it’s foul trouble, injuries or looking to change the energy, that’s all fine. But game-to-game, guys shouldn’t wonder if they’ll play or not.
One last rotation thing: There’s no reason Payton Pritchard should be a DNP-CD in a game where Malcolm Brogdon is out and other guys are pushing 50 minutes.
All that said, let’s move to topic two for Joe Mazzulla: timeouts.
We aren’t going to kill Mazzulla for the lack of timeouts…except in one case. He has to be more willing to call a timeout, and quicker, when things are messy late in the game.
Against the Knicks, Boston had a set they wanted to run, but the players weren’t on the same page. Mazzulla let at least six seconds come off the clock before calling a timeout and setting a play. And it was a good play too! (Yes, Tatum made the right play and the right read. Don’t be one of those people shouting the star should force a shot vs creating a good shot.) The problem was there wasn’t enough time to get a second shot up after the miss, had Boston rebounded the ball.
This has happened a few other times, most notably when the Celtics have gone no-timeout following a stop with the shot-clock off. That’s a fine strategy, provided things don’t bog down. If and when they do, Mazzulla has to step in, call a timeout and call a set.
6. The last few are going to be more rapid fire.
Marcus Smart isn’t the same guy defensively. Maybe it’s injuries, or age, or minutes or an accumulation of all of those things, but Smart isn’t the DPOY guy he was a year ago.
Yes, the DPOY plays are still there. But the every-play defense isn’t as good as it was a year ago. Guards are beating Smart off the dribble with stunning regularity now. He’s actually much better against big wings and true bigs now.
That’s why we’re going to suggest that Derrick White, who is having a terrific defensive season, take over as the main on-ball perimeter defender more often. And that means putting White in more lineups where he can be deployed that way. That might mean starting White more often, but it definitely means putting him in the closing group more often.
7. What happened to Grant Williams? He was pretty good on defense against the Knicks, so this is more of a general question than anything specific to Sunday night.
Williams’ confidence seems gone. There’s a good chance his elbow injury is bothering him a lot more than we’ve been told or he’s letting on. But this isn’t the guy who confidently launched three after three in a Game 7 a year ago.
Boston has to figure out how to get Williams back to letting it fly when he’s open. No more record scratches that turn into hesitant misses or turnovers. For the Celtics to get where they want to go, they need Grant Williams as the third big in what should be a very good three-big rotation in the postseason.
8. Boston doesn’t create enough easy scoring opportunities by forcing turnovers. Boston is just 25th in opponent turnover rate. Part of that is staying solid, contesting shots and rebounding vs gambling for steals. But part of it is that seeming lack of interest in locking in on defense every possession.
The Celtics can still lock up a team. They did it against the Knicks several times. But it’s an occasional visitor now vs a permanent resident.
9. Last thing we’re worried about, but it’s a big one. Boston doesn’t create enough free throws. That makes their reliance on the three-point shot more prevalent than almost any other team in the league.
Jayson Tatum gets to the line plenty. Jaylen Brown gets there a decent amount too. But everyone else seems to end up there once and a while, as opposed to forcing their way there with regularity.
Getting downhill and attacking more has to be a part of the gameplan moving forward. Beyond Tatum and Brown, the Celtics can do this with Derrick White and Malcolm Brogdon too. It’s not always fun watching a free throw shooting contest, but it’s effective. Especially on those nights when the jumpers aren’t’ falling.
10. The Celtics get right back at it by traveling to play the Cleveland Cavaliers on a back-to-back. As of this writing, we have no idea who might play and not play for Boston. This could be an opportunity to semi-punt the game and rest a lot of the guys who played heavy minutes in the double overtime loss.
No matter what, the Celtics need to find their joy and find a way to have some fun again. They need to enjoy the grind of the regular season vs seeing it as a chore to get through before the playoffs.
When asked about Immanuel Quickley dancing all over the parquet on Sunday night, Tom Thibodeau wryly smiled and said, “Winning is way more fun than fun is fun.”
There’s truth in there, for sure. No one cares how much fun you are having if the losses keep stacking up. But for the Boston Celtics, if they can find their fun again, it will lead to winning again. And that’s the most fun of all.
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Post by kdp59 on Mar 6, 2023 18:50:56 GMT -5
so Mazz SHOULD play double big tonight against the Cavs.
but only has the putrid combination of Grant, Muscala, Blake and Kornet!!
man that is ugly.
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Post by Admin on Mar 6, 2023 19:07:18 GMT -5
and we even passed on Nerlens Noel ... Ugh!
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Post by Admin on Mar 6, 2023 19:08:18 GMT -5
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Post by petey62 on Mar 6, 2023 19:10:01 GMT -5
WE BOUT TO GET BOAT-RACED!
This could get ugly.
Wow, three losses in a row.
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Post by Admin on Mar 6, 2023 19:11:59 GMT -5
Q1: Cavaliers lineup change (Isaac Okoro, Jarrett Allen, Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley)
Celtics lineup change (Mike Muscala, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Blake Griffin)
Cavs win the tap
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Post by Admin on Mar 6, 2023 19:13:50 GMT -5
Moose a 3 from JB
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Post by Admin on Mar 6, 2023 19:14:41 GMT -5
Brown a driving layup
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Post by Admin on Mar 6, 2023 19:16:45 GMT -5
Mitchell 3 and Garland J gives Cavs a 7-5 lead
Griffin takes a chg by Mitchell for the OF
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Post by Admin on Mar 6, 2023 19:17:40 GMT -5
Brown a layup thru contact for the +1 ... he converts (8-7 C's)
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Post by Admin on Mar 6, 2023 19:18:02 GMT -5
Smart an elbow 3
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Post by Admin on Mar 6, 2023 19:19:08 GMT -5
Blake a head fake and he takes off for the rim but whistled for a travel
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Post by Admin on Mar 6, 2023 19:21:43 GMT -5
TIME OUT CAVS ... 11-9 C's
Happy 29th Smart!
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Post by Admin on Mar 6, 2023 19:22:23 GMT -5
Smart a 3 from the nail
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Post by Admin on Mar 6, 2023 19:25:35 GMT -5
Cavaliers lineup change (Caris LeVert, Dean Wade, Isaac Okoro, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley)
Celtics lineup change (Malcolm Brogdon, Mike Muscala, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Blake Griffin)
Brown a driving layup
Brogs a 3 ... 19-12 BOS
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Post by Admin on Mar 6, 2023 19:26:47 GMT -5
Brogs a driving layup is goaltended
Brown TOV on an OF
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Post by Admin on Mar 6, 2023 19:28:21 GMT -5
Hauser TOV to LeVert then fouls Mosley ... 21-18 BOS
Mosley makes both - 21-20
Pritchard for 3!
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Post by cole on Mar 6, 2023 19:29:59 GMT -5
Why make a pass to hauser when he's covered in the corner? What's he going to be able to do with it?
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Post by Admin on Mar 6, 2023 19:33:00 GMT -5
Brogs the drive +1 ... converts ... C's +7
Cavs their 7th TOV
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Post by Admin on Mar 6, 2023 19:34:40 GMT -5
Nice to see more drives than three attempts!
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Post by Admin on Mar 6, 2023 19:35:43 GMT -5
JB fouled on the drive ... makes 1-2
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Post by cole on Mar 6, 2023 19:37:31 GMT -5
incredible the difference in officiating between the two games
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Post by Admin on Mar 6, 2023 19:39:38 GMT -5
Hauser a 3
Mitchell answers with a drive +1
Pritchard ahead of the field for the football pass on the inbounds and blocked but called a goaltend (it wasn't but we'll take it)
Q1 ends with that 33-26 BOS
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