Target practice: Celtics take advantage of mismatches against Lakers’ Austin Reaves

Thursday night time’s loss to the shorthanded Lakers wasn’t the result the Celtics wished, however as head coach Joe Mazzulla has burdened all yr, generally, it’s course of over outcomes.

To wit, in an interview with The Athletic’s Jay King, Jaylen Brown burdened the significance of not simply being essentially the most proficient crew, however the smartest, too. That’s meant a extra “deliberate” give attention to the offensive finish and forcing and profiting from mismatches.

“Consideration to element,” Brown said. “It’s the smallest particulars. If a giant is up or if a giant is again. In the event that they’re switching or in the event that they’re staying, sustaining. Simply studying the completely different coverages on the fly and making the appropriate learn versus the appropriate protection.”

Mazzulla adopted up by saying that t Austin Reaves. Reaves is a scrappy participant. He finds methods to get to the road on offense and makes use of his wiry 6’5 body as finest he can on D, however he’s a under common defender. In a playoff collection, he’ll get focused and picked on by the most effective groups and that’s what Boston did for many of the night time.

Per Second Spectrum monitoring, offensive gamers shoot 6% higher in opposition to Reaves on two-point photographs. Of all of the Lakers perimeter defenders, he’s attacked essentially the most. By comparability, listed here are the Celtics’ top-6 beneath the identical microscope:

All are plus-defenders contained in the three-point line and no one is de facto singled-out.

To open the sport, Reaves began on Derrick White (with D’Angelo Russell checking Jrue Vacation). Instantly, the Celtics put him by way of a number of screens, hoping to both get him switched on to Jayson Tatum or Kristaps Porzingis. Above, the Lakers fail to speak the protection and White waltzes in for the uncontested layup.

Right here’s an identical motion to open the third quarter. Once more, it’s Reaves on White. Reaves goes over the display and will get a fingernail on White’s jersey as he scoots previous him and hits Porzingis for an alley-oop dunk with Jaxson Hayes in no man’s land.

Late within the fourth quarter with the Celtics nonetheless making an attempt a comeback, it was Vacation’s flip to go one-on-one with Reaves. On back-to-back possessions, Vacation pounded him within the publish for straightforward buckets.

On the night, the Celtics made 6-of-9 photographs in opposition to the Lakers poorest perimeter defender, as soon as once more flexing each their expertise and brains. Again in December, they have been 12-of-15 in opposition to him. Sadly, it wasn’t sufficient in opposition to their rival on Thursday night time, but when the 2 face off within the Finals for the thirteenth time for Banner 18 this summer time, don’t be stunned if Reaves is once more the main focus of the Celtics offense.