The Celtics are now the most productive offensive unit in NBA history thanks to their innovative offensive philosophy. More importantly, though, is that they are now more equipped to handle postseason obstacles.
When Kristaps Porziņģis speaks after a game, he sits down in the locker room and goes into great detail about what he saw on the floor. A fireside conversation for fans of Xs and Os.
He talked about how Philadelphia guarded him after the Celtics defeated the Sixers despite shooting a season-low 22 three-pointers. He even got up to gesture to how the Sixers veered rather than immediately switched against his screens.
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“I saw that they saw I’m popping and they’re early veering, so right away, the guard is coming with me so we don’t get an advantage and I’m standing on the perimeter,”
he said. “As the game went on, I started to hit under, set the screen underneath and start to roll. J.T. and DWhite, they found me a couple times, or we got a mismatch and we kicked from there, or sometimes I just roll and bring in some guys and then we can get some kick-outs, because some help is coming in.
So just creating small advantages within those situations … we have to be a smart team where … boom … if they start doing this, we go to this and we always need to have the answers.”
According to Jaylen Brown, they are the smartest team because they can quickly assess an opponent’s defense, devise a novel solution, and keep doing so until they force the other team to adapt. Boston then advances to the following set it has worked out of. Even while it could result in different shots or outcomes each time, the Celtics, especially with their varied roster, have a countermovement for any defense.
As a result, Boston can now win in numerous ways and have an offense that seems more enduring than their three-point-reliance from the previous season. The Celtics lead No. 2 Indiana by almost two points per 100 possessions on offense, and they have won 14 of 25 games when their three-point percentage is less than 36%, which is a significant improvement from 19–20 in the previous campaign.
PorziņĿis recalled a discussion he had with Brad Stevens last month about how the big man was covered so easily by teams, including the Celtics, when he was a rookie with the Knicks. When CLNS Media/CelticsBlog asked him to explain how he came to have such a keen understanding of how teams covered him that he could react practically instantly, he cited Stevens’ game plan.
“He said it, it was ok, because he’s going to be shooting threes if a big is guarding him, we can put Marcus Smart on him or some guard who’s going to be in my knees, be super physical,” Porzingis remembered. “I was struggling with that early in my career, then I started to figure that out. Then there’s the veers, they give me the pop, then they take it away.
So it takes some time. At this point in my career, I’ve seen all the coverages, I know the different things they’re going to throw at me and I’m just a much more complete player to create advantages out of those situations … I’m always looking for ways to improve, to anticipate things, to see who’s going to guard, what they’re gonna do. It’s a game within the game.”
A few years later, Jayson Tatum and Brown had a similar process. After emerging as the team’s top option, they first assumed the role as primary ball handlers from 2020 to 22. They studied blitzes, double teams, and how to drive and kick their way past defenses. Smart famously urged them to pass more, and they evaluated their inconsistent progress over the course of extended video sessions.
Following one of the greatest disappointments of his career in Game 7 against the Great, Brown asked to continue in the facilitating dynamic with the arrival of Derrick White and Jrue Holiday. In response, he has made his fewest turnovers per game since 2020 (2.3) and he and Porzingis have become good friends.
Against Jordan Clarkson on Tuesday, the Celtics shot 53.8%; against Anfernee Simons, 64.7%; against Bradley Beal in Phoenix, 63.6%; against Steph Curry, they hit all six of their baskets; and against Luka Doncic early in the month, they shot an incredible 73.3%. Boston has an eFG% of 57.5.
“We don’t want to be forcing too much … that’s why J.T. deserves a lot of credit,” Porzingis said. “If they’re switching and they have a guard on me, I know this guy and DWhite, all these guys are gonna give me the ball five times in a row if necessary.
This is the type of team we’re becoming. If we see something that we like, we just selflessly go to that one player or that one situation, and we go back to it again and again and again until the other team makes an adjustment. Then, when they make an adjustment, boom, we have another thing to go to.
That’s the cool thing about this team and I don’t want to go on a rant, but to be honest, this is how I feel and that’s why we have so many wins.”
Brown and other Boston players have commended Mazzulla for fostering that mentality and enabling them to play in such a fluid manner. When he visited the Patriots coaches Bill Belichick and Jerod Mayo last year, he even drew routes from the football field and compared the offense’s fluidity to soccer fundamentals.
Mazzulla has also shown flexibility by declaring during his most recent victory over Philadelphia that he is not concerned about making a specific amount of three-pointers.
In contrast to last season, when he declared the three-point attempt percentage to be the most significant basketball statistic because he thought it was the reason behind the Celtics’ 28-point collapse against the Nets in March, he stated that it’s all about making the right shot.
Mazzulla also noticed a different shift following last week’s game against the Nuggets.
Mazzulla talked about side-to-side actions, three or four in a possession, after often saying the Celtics need to take the first open shot during 2023. It’s not promised another one would come, he’d say.
“When you have talent and a lot of talent, you have to challenge them and hold them to a really high standard, but also have them look at the game in a way of where it’s like, I can rely on my talent, but I can be even better if I look a step or two ahead and almost anticipate,” Mazzulla told CLNS Media/CelticsBlog last month.
“I think you see some of the best players in the NBA, over the course of time, talk about as they get older, they adjusted their mental approach to the game. When you study that and you want to help your guys grow, I think that’s part of the game … credit to our guys, they really spend a lot of time in that as a team. Game management awareness, what goes into starting a run, what goes into ending a run, what goes into a play call execution, noticing coverage change ups.”
“(Opponents) might switch, they might maintain, they might go small, they might go double-big,” Brown said. “They’re trying to figure out which is the remedy for success against us. We’re able to adjust, we’re versatile, we’re able to read the game differently …
We’re a more organized team this year. We have actions, we’re thinking the game … we take our time, we identify mismatches and we play the game the right way. I think this is one of the best years that we’ve done that since I’ve been a Celtic … realizing fast, but playing slow.
Recognizing what they’re in, how they’re guarding you, where the advantages are on the floor and then taking your time … not allowing teams to try to muck up the game.”
“We’re the more talented team. We gotta be the smarter team as well.”
Although tedious at times, Mazzulla’s favorite game of the season turned out to be the 76ers game. With the three out, the Celtics established a path of destruction against the caliber of switching defense that decimated Boston in their most significant home loss of the season to the Clippers. Though few teams were able to use that strategy—which is the best at remaining attached to shooters—it still sticks out as a possible weakness in the playoffs against the Celtics.
The game didn’t signal a shift away from the three; in four of its last seven games, Boston has tried 40 threes or more. They remain top in the league with that average (42.3). The Celtics’ arsenal included post-ups, mid-range shooters, and a variety of screens and sets.