#1 – The best offense vs. the best defense since December 20th
What a great way to promote a game from Sean Grande.
Last night’s game was a duel between the Celtics’ offensive surge and the Raptors’ defensive wall. Unfortunately, Scottie Barnes’ injury made it harder for Toronto to remain elite on the defensive end,
but the game was still a 48-minute tactical battle.
Let’s dig into it.
#2 – Boston won the game in transition
Boston’s transition offense, and defense, were the keys to winning that game last night. While the Celtics struggled to contain Toronto’s half-court offense, their transition discipline was far better.
Joe Mazzulla’s team was able to limit Toronto’s efficiency in transition to 1.06 points per possession — which is quite remarkable, considering they were scoring 1.24 points per possession in half-court situations.
On the other end, the Celtics scored 1.85 points per possession in transition, creating a gap that the Raptors couldn’t compensate for with their strong half-court offense.
#3 – The Raptors were able to punish the Celtics’ aggressive coverage
The Celtics wanted to slow down the ball as much as possible, but it came at a cost. While they did a great job of containing the ball-handler, limiting drives and free-throw opportunities (only 10 shots at the line for the Raptors),
this approach opened up other zones of the court, especially the corners. Here, on Toronto’s first basket, Payton Pritchard stunts hard on the ball to take away the drive, which leads to an open three in the corner.
By sending two players to the ball, the Celtics gave the Raptors an opportunity to display their strong passing game (39 assists last night). Here again, the defense creates a four-on-three situation, and as Jaylen Brown overhelps on the pass, it generates another open three in the corner.
This was probably something the Celtics were willing to live with, as the Raptors aren’t a great three-point shooting team. Boston made the bet to protect the paint at all costs and deal with the results of shooting variance. Overall, it was close, but the transition defense compensated for the shooting luck Toronto had.
#4 – Toronto doesn’t switch to start the game
Something quite surprising happened to start the game, before the Raptors eventually shifted to more zone defense and a switch-everything scheme. Toronto clearly wanted to avoid the Celtics’ usual mismatch-hunting offense, so they avoided switching and fought over screens — but created another problem.
With strong screeners like Neemias Queta and elite shooters like Payton Pritchard, Derrick White, or Sam Hauser, not switching can give up a lot of space. Here, Pritchard goes through one handoff, one ghost screen, and one screen from Queta, giving him the space needed to pull the trigger.
By not switching, the Raptors also gave away a lot of driving opportunities, which the Celtics made sure to punish.
This unusual defensive approach had a very interesting consequence on the Celtics’ shot profile. For the first time this season, Boston took more shots at the rim than from beyond the arc.
#5 – More lay-ups than threes
Per Cleaning the Glass, the Celtics had 32 attempts at the rim (35% frequency) compared to just 26 three-point attempts (28% frequency). The last time the Celtics took more shots at the rim than from beyond the arc was in April 2024, with a starting lineup of Payton Pritchard, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, Sam Hauser, Jordan Walsh, and Luke Kornet.
Another fun fact on that night from April 2024, it was Mike Gorman last night as a TV play-by-play announcer.
#6 – Payton’s ability to get to the paint
Among all the Celtics, Pritchard’s ability to get into the paint last night was pretty amazing. During the previous matchup against the Raptors, he had already shown how comfortable he is attacking mismatches like Sandro Mamukelashvili, and he did it again last night.
His driving game, especially out of the pick-and-roll, was particularly impressive. His sense of timing and handle allow him to trap defenders into the screen, giving him plenty of space to attack. Despite being the smallest tree out there, the paint seems to be his garden.
#7 – Creating shots for Hauser
Back in the starting lineup lately, the Celtics wanted to make sure to create shot opportunities for Sam Hauser. First, they went to their typical Spain pick-and-roll actions, where he sets a back screen and pops beyond the arc.
Then, still early in the game, they ran a nice play call where Hauser set a screen on the ball to create chaos in the defensive organization before running into a flare screen from Queta. As the Raptors avoided switching, this left him open.
Still in the first quarter, the Celtics kept capitalizing on Toronto’s decision to avoid switching. Here, a pindown screen from Luka Garza, combined with Sandro’s drop coverage, created another open look for an elite shooter.
His last basket came in the fourth quarter with the same play call. This time, he used the space and punished the drop coverage with a mid-range jumper.
#8 – Jaylen Brown got the call he wanted
After another frustrating night recently, Jaylen Brown finally got the free throws he wanted, right from the opening tip. On the first possession of the game, Ja’Kobe Walter bites on the fake, sending Brown to the line for his first trip of the night.
Overall, he finished with 13 free-throw attempts on 16 field-goal attempts — certainly a good feeling after the Nuggets game, where he felt he deserved more calls.
#9 – Simons’ second quarter
Anfernee Simons played just five seconds in the first quarter — and then sat only five seconds in the second. During that stretch, he scored or assisted on 20 of the Celtics’ 31 points. From catch-and-shoots, pull-ups, and transition plays, his offensive impact was perfect for keeping the momentum after a 37-point first quarter.
His gravity continues to create advantages, like here, where his connection with Jaylen Brown leads to open shots. He takes full advantage of the space he has on the catch, driving before kicking it right back to Brown for another open three.
He keeps showing strong integration in his role as a sixth man — though the trade talk won’t stop until the deadline passes.
#10 – Speedy Gonzalez is amazing
After an impressive block a few days ago, Hugo Gonzalez amazed me once again with a block seemingly out of nowhere.
He also had some very nice drives, including this beautiful layup, looking like a Spanish Michael Jordan.
