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1. This was one other full victory for the Boston Celtics. In their very own phrases, they performed the proper method and did it throughout the tip of the sport. Very like earlier this season, when the workforce went by a tough patch and bounced again with some actually good basketball, it appears we’re seeing a redux now.
For a change, these Takeaways aren’t going to deal with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. That will appear an odd choice in a recreation there the 2 stars mixed for 61 factors, however that’s type of what they do. And to be totally clear, the Celtics stars basically ran a layup line to the rim. Whereas that’s superior to see, and their particular person shot profiles from this recreation are fairly good, a bunch of layups don’t make for overly attention-grabbing clips.
As a substitute, we’re going to provide shine to a few of the “different” Celtics. Tatum and Brown will present up, as a result of a number of stuff they did was created by others for them, or vice versa. However let’s present some love elsewhere for a change.
2. Derrick White has been indispensable this season. He’s arguably Boston’s most constantly efficient two-way participant. As Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown’s roles have grown on offense, they don’t at all times convey it 100% on protection. That’s probably not a criticism, however a merely truthful commentary, and one which’s true about each predominant offensive engine.
So, that leaves White because the man who most frequently brings it on each ends, even when his offensive peaks aren’t as excessive as Tatum or Brown’s. Right here’s an instance proper from the beginning of this recreation. This sequence helped set a tone for the Celtics. This clip begins with the aftermath of White getting one in all his now-patented strip blocks. It then ends with White making a steal that led to a Tatum bucket:
Good issues occur when White will get the ball in transition, as a result of he understands tempo higher than anybody on the workforce:
White additionally has an incredible sense of the place his defender is leaning. If the defender is just too far somehow, White is placing him within the spin cycle:
This can be a affected person and terrific discover by White to Brown, who delivers the actually sturdy end:
3. We mentioned it after the final recreation, however Rob Williams raises the Celtics ceiling. A number of gamers and Joe Mazzulla shouted out Williams being again as giving the workforce that further juice they should make their run. These are performs Williams makes for Boston that nobody else does.
Want to scrub up some messiness? Right here’s Williams to dam the shot together with his forearm:
Derrick White is aware of what he needs right here the entire method, as did Jaylen Brown on the preliminary drive. Ultimately that persistence pays off with everybody’s favourite lob to Rob:
Creating further photographs is one in all Williams’ specialties. This can be a good offensive rebound and an incredible move to Grant Williams for the second-chance dunk:
Eight rebounds and three blocks are nice from Williams. However what’s actually eye-catching is that he had three steals. Meaning he’s lively and fast and making issues messy for the opponent. That’s the type of game-wrecking power the Celtics want him to be to get again to the Finals.
4. Method again when, your intrepid writer wrote about how the Celtics had cracked the code on three-point defense. For years, Boston ranked within the top-10 in three-point protection, which is normally a stat largely attributed to luck. However the Celtics had been doing it otherwise from different groups.
Properly, they’re again to it once more this yr too. After weeks of sitting in the course of the pack, Boston has amped up their efforts on the arc. They held the Pacers, one of many league’s prolific three-point-bombing groups, to simply 4-of-26 from deep. That effort moved Boston as much as seventh within the NBA in opponent three-point share. That’s a part of a gentle climb and an indication that the Celtics are rounding into defensive kind once more.
5. Marcus Sensible’s stat-line from this one is fairly understated. He had 5 assists and three steals, however solely took three photographs. However that’s in some methods, the proper Sensible recreation. He was lively on protection, and did a pleasant job taking Tyrese Haliburton out of his recreation earlier than Haliburton sat for the evening.
And Sensible made some stat performs too. That is good basketball. Jaylen Brown hits the paint, then Sensible makes the additional move to get Derrick White an incredible look:
This steal is usually being in the proper place on the proper time, however Sensible is at all times in the proper place on the proper time when he’s on his recreation. What’s actually enjoyable is the move he loops to Jayson Tatum for the layup:
Sensible and White are beginning to develop some nice chemistry now. Sufficient so, that you simply wish to see them keep the beginning backcourt for so long as issues hold rolling alongside:
6. Al Horford is a treasure. He does so many issues to assist the Celtics win. A kind of issues is setting screens to get his teammates going.
This can be a extensive pin-down display that frees Jaylen Brown up simply sufficient for the triple:
Jayson Tatum has gotten actually good at working behind a transition display from Horford:
This late in a blowout, Horford doesn’t care about his personal numbers. He might have popped out when the protection made no effort to path him off a display from Tatum. However as an alternative, Horford flows direct into one other display, which permits Derrick White to dribble right into a pullup three:
7. After all, Al Horford makes many extra direct performs as properly. This can be a good effort to get for the rebound, then it’s an ideal TD move dropped on Jaylen Brown:
That is simply Horford being smarter than the protection. He units an unused display in transition and when the defender stays with the cutter, Horford merely pops again for his personal shot:
And, like the nice Workforce Dad that he’s, Horford is at all times there to scrub up a multitude:
8. Okay…so we lied…we’re going to focus a Takeaway on Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Nevertheless it’s not about them scoring. It’s about them making issues occur for others.
Brown might have shot this, however outdated pal Aaron Nesmith did a pleasant job chasing over the staggered screens. Brown as an alternative drops it again to Al Horford for the higher look:
Brown’s playmaking has hit a brand new degree. That enables Boston to make use of actions the place loads is going on. Watch this set a few occasions to see all of the participant motion because the Celtics learn and react to the protection:
Extra actions the place Tatum and Brown display for one another are creeping into the Celtics offense. This one is off-ball, which makes it much more enjoyable. Take a look at how a lot Indiana overreacts to this, which leaves Tatum extensive open:
When your stars are prepared to set off-ball screens, everyone seems to be prepared to set off-ball screens:
9. That is only a fast, however delicate factor right here. Grant Williams has been experimenting with a no-dip shot increasingly more lately. It’s one thing a few of the finest spot-up shooters use loads, as a result of it permits for getting a shot off towards tighter contests. It takes time to good, however Williams appears to be getting it down:
10. The Celtics are discovering themselves once more. Even when late-February and early-March had been irritating, because it felt like Milwaukee and Philadelphia had been going to roll into the playoffs, Boston is getting there now too. One might even make a case that the others might need peaked too early. We gained’t, as a result of the Bucks and 76ers are good groups and can be a handful within the playoffs.
However the principle factor is the Celtics are trying loads just like the Celtics once more. And the workforce appears to have adopted a really Patriots-like one-game-at-a-time method. By focusing solely on the subsequent recreation, Boston can get locked in total. That’s a playoff mindset at work.
The Celtics are again at it with an early 6:00 PM ET tip on Sunday towards the San Antonio Spurs. We’ll see if the constructive momentum can proceed by the tip of the weekend.
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