#1 – Turnovers management
Deep into the season, you have a sense of what the game should look like and what could be a turning point. For this matchup against the last two champions, taking care of the ball while forcing turnovers would be one of the keys to winning overall.
Boston has been the best team in the league at avoiding turnovers, and OKC is right behind them. In the meantime, OKC is also one of the two best teams at forcing turnovers. The goal for the Celtics was to make sure they don’t get dominated in that area
so they could stay in the game as long as possible.
Which they did. Both teams lost the ball 12 times, and many of those were caused by the high pressure put on the go-to guys for each team. Jaylen Brown lost the ball 6 times while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander turned it over 4 times.
From these turnovers, both teams did a great job defending the transition as the Celtics scored only 14 points off turnovers and the Thunder 16. The turnover battle being so even is one of the reasons the game was close. Let’s now look at the other layers of that strategic battle.
#2 – Keeping Neemias Queta in the paint
The Celtics and the Thunder went into that game knowing that Queta would hardly defend the opposing center. With Isaiah Hartenstein sidelined, the two centers for OKC were stretch bigs with Chet Holmgren and Jaylin Williams. In these scenarios, Joe Mazzulla and his coaching staff have shown they would rather have a wing like Hauser on the opposing big while Queta defends the opponent’s worst shooter.
On the play above, Queta isn’t concerned at all with Alex Caruso and roams in the paint to make sure he can help on the drive and protect the rim. Yet, as soon as Caruso has the ball, he must defend him and does a great job blocking the layup attempt.
When Caruso was in the weakside corner, it was the perfect situation for Queta because he could come from behind and protect the rim like a goalkeeper. Here, Payton Pritchard is beaten on the drive, but here comes Queta and his long arm.
So, if the Celtics found a way to defend the paint so well, how is it possible that the Thunder had 75% efficiency on shot attempts within four feet of the rim?
#3 – Too many defensive collapses
Despite great effort on defense, especially on SGA, the Celtics made too many mistakes to get the win in the end. It’s little things, but against such an elite team, it makes it hard to win with these defensive errors.
Here for example, Caruso and Queta are on the strong side, which takes away the rim protection. Jordan Walsh stays up to help Pritchard on the ball and that creates a big gap in the paint so Aaron Wiggins can cut and finish at the rim.
The rotations weren’t on point from time to time, leading to way too many easy shots at the rim. Here again, the cut to the paint is open because nobody tags the roll man. It could have been Brown from the strong side or Luka Garza who could have come from the weakside and left Lu Dort alone — but no one showed up and that’s a dunk.
That play shows well why the defense can’t fall asleep even for a second around a great playmaker like SGA. Jaylen switches off the MVP but wants to help in the driving lane. However, he forgets his man on his back and that’s another open shot at the rim for OKC, who made sure to cash out on these defensive mistakes.
Overall, 18 field goals made from 24 attempts at the rim for the Thunder. The Celtics will need to fix that before the next matchup in Boston later this month.
#4 – Flare screen to open corners
While the defense had flaws in its execution, there were also great things going on offensively, especially to open the corner. The Celtics knew the Thunder are a team that will collapse easily to make sure they protect the paint. To use that as an advantage, Boston used a flare screen to attract defenders and open the corner.
Here for example, Queta’s screen and run to the paint absorbs SGA and that leaves Baylor Scheierman open.
While you could think it is accidental and that it was caused by Caruso’s fall (or flop), the Celtics ran the same action a little bit later, this time for a Hugo Gonzalez corner three. This is a great example of how gravity can make a defense break.
#5 – Jaylen Brown’s gravity
Speaking of gravity, Jaylen Brown’s game last night was a statement about the player he has become. Some plays in particular speak loudly, and this one with Sam Hauser is one of them. The Celtics shooters come and set a screen to force a switch on AJ Mitchell but the Thunder defense would rather send two players, even if that leaves one of the best shooters in the NBA open.
This screenshot from his seventh assist also says a lot. There is Dort on his back, Cason Wallace on his right, and Williams in between him and the paint. Because of his gravity, both Pritchard and Queta are open and this leads to another open shot.
Yet, with great gravity comes big responsibilities and sometimes Brown got caught up with bad passes and offensive fouls — but that’s part of the deal. The Thunder were willing to send two players at him and maybe the Celtics could have exploited that a little more rather than forcing the decision with JB.
Of course, he scored 34 points and was able to generate 14 free throws, but this also came with 15 missed shots and 6 turnovers. It is hard to find the right balance when you are responsible for your team’s gravity.
#6 – An isolation tournament
But Jaylen Brown wasn’t the only one hunting for one-on-one shots. SGA and Pritchard also had their share of isolations. Payton started off well with a couple of made shots against Wallace and Holmgren.
And of course, the step-back to close the first half. Despite having three players focused on him and the whole arena expecting him to be the one who shoots.
Despite this good start, the Celtics guard was only able to convert 6 of his 17 shot attempts, struggling from deep with a 2-for-9 mark beyond the line. And while PP and JB had some ups and downs in their isolations, SGA seemed unstoppable with 35 points on 18 shot attempts.
Dealing with SGA scoring was hard, but the Celtics still showed some great things despite the defeat.
#7 – Dealing with a MVP
How do you stop one of the two best players in the NBA? Well, you don’t — but you can pick your poison.
The Celtics remained very disciplined and avoided, as much as possible, jumping on fakes and getting caught in SGA’s wizardry. Also, the Celtics have something quite remarkable when it comes to defending such a player: a deep roster with a lot of wings.
On this possession SGA uses a screen from Isaiah Joe to get rid of Jordan Walsh’s matchup, but instead he is now defended by Ron Harper Jr., who finds a way to steal the ball with his long arms.
Yet SGA was still the offensive engine for his team, and what might have become even harder against him is forcing him to give the ball away. Not because he doesn’t want to, but because he has improved a lot as a passer.
Despite playing without Jalen Williams and Hartenstein, the point guard was also able to make the whole team shine with nine assists and take advantage of the Celtics’ willingness to put pressure on him. He remained calm and collected and the Celtics lost the minutes he was on the floor by 14 points.
#8 – Dominating the glass
Despite losing because of an offensive rebound, the Celtics won the possession battle against the Thunder because they exploited one of their only weaknesses: the defensive rebound. Especially without Hartenstein.
Because of that impact on the offensive glass, the Celtics had five more possessions overall than the Thunder — and in a game decided by one possession, it could have changed a lot if Chet hadn’t gotten the board at the last second.
But that’s the trick when you play only with wings and guards. Holmgren was taller than anyone else on the court and the Thunder got lucky that the ball bounced near him. Yet the Celtics’ possession battle edge almost won them the game and it will be interesting to see if they can do it again in a couple of weeks.
#9 – The spanish Caruso
What a game from Gonzalez! As often against great teams, his ability to play multiple positions on defense and his motor to win possessions have a direct impact on the game. Just watch this possession where he blocks a triple and steals the ball from SGA on a drive.
That is special. On offense too, the juice he brings in transition and on the offensive board makes the team far better in the possession battle when he is on the court. Look how fast he is to get to the other end of the court for a layup.
Against OKC and Alex Caruso, analysts across the internet quickly saw how much Hugo Gonzalez could be inspired by the two-time NBA champion’s path, and how much he already impacts the game like him.
#10 – No place like home
Six games out of seven at home in the next weeks for the Boston Celtics — a great opportunity to get closer to the 50th win. Could Joe Mazzulla’s team use the TD Garden crowd to fuel a run and secure a top-two spot in the East before April?
