#1 – Doctor Jaylen and Mister Brown
Jaylen Brown’s start to the game brought us back to that Playoff series against the New York Knicks last season, when it felt like he couldn’t find his way and was losing the ball a lot. After the first quarter, he had more turnovers than field goals made, along with two fouls.
It felt like JB wasn’t playing at the right rhythm. As CelticsBlog’s Noa Dalzell reported in her latest article, “Some days, you just feel like when the ball hits your hands — the ball just feels different,” he said after the 123-117 victory. “Today was one of those days. And it didn’t start off that way, because I had some turnovers, and I probably was playing a little bit too fast.”
So, going into the second quarter, JB slowed things down to become more efficient — and it worked. Instead of driving into the crowded paint, JB took the time to screen, pass the ball, and execute the game plan so he could get a mismatch. Once settled, he was then in a good position to be more aggressive and get himself going.
And because of the attention he gets once he gets hot, there was also more space for his teammates.
As the season goes on, Jaylen seems to keep figuring things out. Over the last five games, he scored above 30 four times, above 40 twice, and recorded a triple-double. Way to go, JB!
#2 – Short-roll passing to close the game
Late in the game, the Celtics built on the fact that they were small to create space, pace, and passing. As they knew the Knicks would probably hedge the ball-handler on the pick-and-roll, they made sure the screener could get the ball on the short roll to benefit from a 4-vs.-3 situation.
Josh Minott is a good passer in these situations and the Celtics could take advantage of that defensive coverage and force the Knicks to defend while being a step behind.
A minute later, the screener was Jaylen Brown this time — and he nailed it. With his hard screen, he kept Miles McBride behind him and could short roll into the paint with him on his back. This forced Karl-Anthony Towns’ help from the weakside corner, which gave away a driving lane for Jordan Walsh.
Playing without a big doesn’t take away the pick-and-roll, but it diversifies its outcomes.
The way the Celtics ran some of their stack action looked a bit different than usual. Instead of the usual Spain pick-and-roll with the back screen on the player who sets the screen on the ball, Brown directly goes beyond the three-point line.
Somehow, it makes the roll to the rim a little faster and the weakside help from Jalen Brunson never comes.
Nonetheless, the Celtics also used their classical Spain PnR action to punish the Knicks’ defensive coverage.
Instead of switching, the Knicks asked KAT and Mitchell Robinson to stay low on most of the screens the Celtics set. This was a way to take away the mid-range looks the Celtics love, and also to try to limit the number of times they could be attacked in a mismatch.
The Celtics found a smart way to attack this defensive positioning with the Spain PnR and Stack Replace as mentioned above. They also used rescreening actions or off-ball flare screens, like below, where the drop coverage from KAT gives away an open three to Sam Hauser.
As you can see, KAT remains low on Neemias Queta through two screens. On the first one, Jordan Clarkson was able to contain the shooter, but on the rescreen, the angle Queta used gave much more space to Hauser — and bingo, that’s open.
#5 – Brunson cost the Knicks a lot
Per Hudl Instat, Jalen Brunson defended 17 of the Celtics’ shot attempts. They made 14 of them, representing more than a quarter of the Celtics’ scoring situations. On top of that, there were all the shots he didn’t directly defend because he was late to rotate — or because when his teammates helped, another player was left open.
The Celtics did a great job of targeting him. Far better execution than during last year’s Playoffs.
#6 – Walsh turning misses into points
Offensively, the Celtics had a great overall game with 11 offensive rebounds off only 38 missed shots. Three of these extra chances came from Jordan Walsh in the last six minutes of the game.
It was very smart from him to consistently take advantage of his matchup to carve out space below the circle and get to the ball first. Led by Walsh, the Celtics had a remarkable offensive rebounding game. Per Cleaning the Glass, they scored at 1.75 points per possession in those situations. It matters a lot, especially in such a close game.
On the other end, the Celtics started the game with Queta on Josh Hart defensively. The goal was to bet on the fact that he would miss his three-point shots… but he made the first four, forcing the Celtics to change their approach later in the game.
The reason the Celtics wanted Queta on Hart was to keep him closer to the rim, as usual. When Queta was on the court with Hart, he could play safety without thinking too much about the Celtics’ wing.
#8 – Hugo Gonzalez on KAT
But what stood out defensively last night was Hugo Gonzalez’s performance. Against the Knicks earlier this season, Hugo impressed with his full-court defense on Jalen Brunson. Last night, he was able to slow down KAT in the post.
In the play above, he does his best to force him baseline, giving him as little space as possible. As Queta is ignoring Hart off ball, the big man can provide a bit of help, taking advantage of KAT’s lack of decision-making under pressure.
On the next play, once again KAT isn’t able to create a shot for himself or his teammates out of the post against Hugo, who fights hard even before the ball arrives. JB bites on the fake and gives up the basket at the end, but once again, that’s great defense from Hugo.
This last one is even more impressive as KAT almost loses the ball first when passing it to Hart. Once he finally switches off Hugo and can breathe a little, the Spaniard comes back and forces yet another turnover from the big man.
The Celtics had an interesting approach last night. When the Knicks went big with Robinson at the five, they went small and played without any true centers. As the big man can’t post up or score in isolation, his size matters less, and the Celtics can go small to be faster in transition (when they secure the rebound).
This is also a smart way to force Mitchell to defend the perimeter and pull him out of the paint, forcing him to guard drivers instead of just waiting at the rim. So far this season, the Celtics have a +14.5 net rating when they play without a center (352 possessions).
#10 – Some spark off the bench
Hugo Gonzalez’s defense, Josh Minott’s rebounding, defense, and shooting, Anfernee Simons’ speed, driving, and scoring threat, and Hauser’s elite shooting — the four guys coming off the bench delivered exactly what the Celtics needed after a sloppy start. The “stay ready” group delivered once again.
