#1 – Kristaps Porzingis felt like home
What a start for a comeback. After showing transparency about how emotional that comeback was for him, KP didn’t lose his focus. As soon as the game started, KP reminded Brad Stevens why he traded for him in the first place. The Latvian big man brought strong rim protection off the jump, blocking two shots back to back.
Quickly after that, he triggered a bomb from deep just like old times, as Neemias Queta was way too low in his positioning against such an elite shooter.
Overall, despite the loss,
it was a great night for Kristaps Porzingis, who seems to finally be back in shape and ready to play multiple games in a row – and on top of that, he received a nice standing ovation and video tribute in the first quarter.
#2 – Jayson Tatum the maestro
It’s been only six games, but the Celtics’ best offensive weapon might already be built around Jayson Tatum and his pick-and-roll game. It is really efficient because it either creates space for JT because of the screen – or the defense will focus on JT and that leaves the roll man open – and if the defense protects both, be sure that #0 will find the open players despite the crowd around him.
The Celtics really wanted to go after the Warriors’ drop coverage. This is one of the reasons why JT is such a valuable ball-handler in pick-and-roll situations. When the defense drops like here with Porzingis, he will pull up from deep with ease.
The Celtics also added a little twist with a Spain pick-and-roll, with Sam Hauser setting a backscreen to free KP. This creates chaos within the Warriors defense, and JT goes to the rim for a layup.
The pick-and-roll keeps on going for Jayson Tatum and Neemias Queta, and that could be a game changer for the Celtics’ season.
#3 – Jaylen Brown carried the Celtics early
It’s hard to find a good balance between off-ball threat and ball dominance when you are skilled at both, like Brown. Especially when there are other ball-handlers around him.
Well, in the first quarter, JB found a great equilibrium between drives with force and cutting from behind while the defense was looking somewhere else.
Yet, when he had the ball, things were working pretty well for the Celtics too, as he kept driving on whoever the Warriors were putting on him. On this play, he doesn’t even use the screen from Neemias Queta and bullies two Warriors to find his way to the rim.
Having a force like JB in the post-up and on drives is amazing when a play call doesn’t go as planned. Below, the screens and the cuts from Hugo Gonzalez aren’t enough to create separation from the off-ball movement with Pritchard, so Brown just goes for it.
After a strong start (19 points on nine shots in 12 minutes), Jaylen Brown had more difficulty getting going, but the playmaking from JT and others was enough to finish what he started. His struggles later in the game were also caused by an aggressive Warriors defense that forced him into five turnovers.
#4 – Defenses are becoming more aggressive
This trend is correlated with recent Celtics opponents, but you can see that teams are trying to be more aggressive on the Celtics ball-handlers. Like Phoenix a couple of days ago, the Warriors were willing to commit fouls sometimes so they could generate turnovers. In their rotation concepts too, the Warriors didn’t hesitate to leave a weakside player alone to cut a passing lane.
The Celtics will need to learn from these possessions because there is a pattern. The weakside defender, like Green below, waits until the drive from Brown starts and then goes for it.
Yet, the Warriors also made a lot of fouls because of this level of aggression. For example, with nine minutes left in the 3rd quarter, the Celtics were already in the bonus. On the other side of the court, the Celtics also have some defensive concepts to bother the Warriors.
#5 – A taste of his own medicine
A couple of seasons ago, the Warriors made the bold strategy to leave Jaylen Brown open to start the game – resulting in an absolute massacre, as Brown didn’t let that bother him and kept shooting until the Warriors were forced to adapt. Well, last night it was Draymond Green who was left open from three, and safe to say things didn’t go the same way.
As the game started, the Celtics put Jayson Tatum on Kristaps Porzingis because the Latvian big man wouldn’t be able to post up the big wing. While JT was on KP, Neemias Queta was roaming off Draymond Green. Despite making the first two triples, the Celtics kept the same approach.
This created a wall for the Warriors ball-handler. Like in the clip above, there is no driving lane, and the Warriors are forced into another empty possession with a Draymond Green three.
Beyond that defensive bet they made on the Warriors forward, the Celtics also wanted to test Porzingis’ ability to deal with double teams.
#6 – Sending double on KP
Back in February, the Celtics didn’t hesitate to trap Porzingis when he was posting up a mismatch.
So, coming into the game, the Latvian big man was ready for what could be coming. As he posted up his former teammate Derrick White, he was mindful that the pressure could come from anywhere. Ron Harper Jr. runs toward him, leaving Green alone at the rim for a second, and KP finds him straight away.
So, in the next similar situations, the Celtics were far more careful, using stunts instead of doubling the big man, with the Draymond Green defender always ready to help. A great example of how offenses and defenses learn and adapt to each other in the NBA, even in the regular season.
#7 – Payton Pritchard playmaking
With the high focus the Warriors defense had on the Jays, it was important that someone else could carry the ball and the burden of creation – so PP stepped up when asked to do so. We saw it all season long: Payton’s ability to go anywhere on the court with the ball in his hands thanks to his amazing handle and low center of gravity. With those abilities, he can get to his spot whenever he wants.
As the season unfolds, defenses are more and more inclined to help on his drives. With more responsibilities this year, Pritchard has learned how to better read his plays and use his gravity to find open teammates, like on this play for Luka Garza.
Not only is Pritchard creating for himself, but the Celtics are calling some great actions for him. On this Double Get action, Jayson Tatum is the first screener and Neemias Queta is the ball-handler, ready to hand it off to PP. With the space and Pritchard’s speed, this is really hard to stop for a defense.
#8 – Queta all-around impact
Speaking of Neemias Queta, his impact on this game and on the team’s offense has been really versatile over the last few games. As Joe Mazzulla mentioned when talking about his relationship with Jayson Tatum in the pick-and-roll, the Portuguese big man has made great improvements as a connector.
And it shows in a lot of situations. In this play, Queta runs into the paint after a pindown screen for Jayson Tatum. As he gets the ball on the short roll, he reads the defensive help and swings it to Sam Hauser, open in the corner.
As the season keeps going, the Celtics keep having more guys to build their offense around. Queta is not only impacting the game with his rebounding and screens now. It goes beyond that, as they keep passing and touching the ball a lot more.
#9 – Celtics spacing
Before the game, I asked Steve Kerr about the Celtics offense and the process behind picking the poison between giving the stars isolation or helping and living with the ball movement it creates.
The Golden State Warriors coach explained that beyond the individual talent, what makes it very hard to defend is the spacing in which the Celtics are playing. For him, the Celtics currently have the best spacing in the NBA – which is scary knowing how much talent they lost in the summer.
Yet, with great coaching and smart court geometry, it reminds one of the most efficient teams at the rim, with a 71% field-goal percentage on shots within 4 feet from the basket.
#10 – Legends live forever
It was quite unusual to witness such a giant and charismatic man standing in the middle of the room as we were walking into the press conference room. Everybody seemed to be in awe of that surprise.
Then came an unprepared collective interview with questions about the past and current Celtics. What stood out was the Robert Parish respect and appreciation for Joe Mazzulla and the culture he built with this group.
The other thing that struck me was the stars in the eyes of everyone in the room. It’s rare to be a spectator of such a genuine, cute moment like this one, where everyone seems to be feeling the same admiration for a player. A legend.
