We’re back! Welcome to the Celtics’ Top-5 Highest IQ Plays of the Week!
Sure, we love the high-flying dunks and the deep, off-the-dribble step-back threes, but this is a place for the under-the-radar plays that might not get the credit they deserve. The plays that get the basketball sickos and nerds out of their chairs. The plays that even YOU could make in your weekly rec league game.
Each week, the plays will be ranked from five to one—one being the smartest—and will only be taken from games that
occurred within the past week. For this week, games from March 21st to March 28th are considered. The Celtics went 2-1 this week, with wins over the Thunder and Hawks but a loss to the Timberwolves.
5. Stampede catch
I’m such a big fan of the stampede catch and think Jaylen Brown is at his best when he employs it as much as possible—and this specific possession presents an awesome illustration of the play’s effectiveness. Because McDaniels has his eyes on Pritchard, he’s unprepared for Brown catching the ball and immediately driving through his chest. The stampede catch is effective for anyone, but especially a guy with Jaylen’s physicality and straight-line drive ability. McDaniels’ momentum going away from the hoop plus Brown’s momentum going downhill towards the rim equals great offense for Boston.
4. Brown’s growth
This has been a year of massive growth for Jaylen Brown, and his calmness and balance in the paint has been his most significant improvement in my opinion. This move—in which Brown uses a low, controlled pickup cadence on his right hand and subsequently shifts his weight to the left side—is a super difficult move to defend and is a good way of Jaylen leaning into his strength and size. The move allows him to square up his body and forces the defense to make a decision about swiping at the ball (and potentially fouling) or not swiping and allowing Brown an easy layup attempt. Jaylen must be watching some Donovan Mitchell highlights.
3. Trusting Baylor’s defense
I have really enjoyed Joe Mazzulla’s willingness to lean into Scheierman’s defensive instincts this year. Though his 2014 draft profile from NBA.com posited that Baylor “hasn’t been able to develop too much on the defensive end of the court, and since he’s not an elite athlete, he could have problems defending quick guards and bigger players,” the Celtics have used an open mind with him and have realized that he actually provides lots of value on that end. They’ve put him on opposing stars (in this case, SGA) and allowed him to be pesky with his length and hands. Here, Scheierman does an amazing job poking at the ball but then pulls his arms back when Shai tries to foul-bait. Beautiful stuff.
2. Box-out 101
The textbook box-out is one where you have your opponent in such an advantageous position that even if the ball touches the ground, you still get it—and that’s exactly what happens on this play. Not only does Pritchard beautifully track the ball off the rim, but he continues to push his defender back while the ball is still in the air, which awards him perfect position to eventually get the board. Want to learn how to get rebounds while being small? Watch Payton Pritchard.
1. The Celtics—peel switch gods
This exact peel switch has become a staple of the NBA’s 4th best defense, and it has left opposing ball-handlers looking like JV high school players all season. On spread pick-and-rolls in which a guard dribbles to the middle of the floor, the Celtics will often (but, importantly, not always) have the weak-side wing’s defender take the ball-handler and thus have the on-ball defender (in this case, Derrick White) close out to the perimeter shooter. This seemingly simple peel switch—which actually requires exquisite communication, timing, and IQ—has completely thrown off opposing offenses all year and is at the forefront of innovative defensive concepts around the NBA. Unbelievable implementation from Mazzulla and the rest of the staff.
