Since the beginning of the season, Joe Mazzulla has been preaching the importance of winning the turnover battle every game. It’s been an integral part of their identity this season given the difference in talent from the previous years, the margin for error becoming that much slimmer.
The logic is simple: by limiting their own turnovers and forcing their opponents into turning the ball over, they can reduce the effectiveness of their opponents’ possessions, and generate better looks for themselves. Well, the Celtics royally failed in that department when they faced off against the Brooklyn Nets for the first time this season. Yet, they still managed to come away with their third-straight win.
The game was close throughout. Brooklyn jumped out to an early lead, going up by as much as 10 in the first quarter. The Celtics managed to claw back, getting out to a 5-point lead of their own in the second quarter, but they weren’t able to create any significant separation until about halfway through the third, even losing the lead at one point in-between. Boston was up by as much as 11 in the third, but again, Brooklyn took the lead back in the fourth, until the Celtics finally got it together, and broke through for a game-high 16-point lead.
It may be easy to assume the game was close because the Nets were just shooting better than the Celtics – except they weren’t. At the end of the first half, Boston only led by 1 despite shooting 61.1% from the floor, Brooklyn shooting 47.7%. Even from three-point range, Boston shot 52.4% while the Nets were at 50%. It’s not until you see that the Nets put up 8 more shot attempts in the half that the numbers start to make sense, 36 FGA for Boston, 44 for Brooklyn, with the Celtics only maintaining a 1 attempt advantage on threes.
Once you direct your attention over to the turnover battle, the picture becomes even clearer. In the first half alone, Boston turned the ball over a whopping 12 times, already exceeding their season average for a full game. 8 of those turnovers were steals by Brooklyn, meaning they were live ball turnovers that led to easy buckets. Brooklyn generated 17 points off Celtics turnovers compared to Boston’s 4 points off of 4 Nets turnovers.
The Celtics turned the ball over 7 more times in the second half, but managed to increase their defensive intensity to recover, limiting the Nets to only 4 points off of those. Thanks to that increase in intensity, Boston also managed to force more Brooklyn turnovers, generating 9 of them while converting them into 11 points.
To put it plainly, the Celtics were just sloppy with the ball. A combination of bad passes, miscommunication, and loose dribbles killed their offensive momentum while providing the Nets with a spark. It’s a formula that won’t be maintainable against 90% of the league. Even in the second half, Boston continued to turn the ball over, and if it weren’t for a strong flurry from Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, and Sam Hauser in the fourth quarter, the game could have easily slipped out of their hands.
On the season, the Celtics have been doing well in implementing Coach Mazzulla’s philosophy. Before the Brooklyn game, Boston was averaging 11 turnovers per game, now that number jumping up to 11.6. Still, that’s good for the best in the league, the Oklahoma City Thunder comfortably behind them at 12.8 per game. Boston also has the top ranking for opponent points off turnovers, limiting them to just 13.7 per game, though they’re 11th in turnovers forced (15.5 per game) and 13th in generating points off of turnovers themselves (19.7 per game).
These are the margins that the coaching staff wants the team to focus on. Extra possessions go a long way in the NBA, especially for teams who may not have as much talent on their roster. It’s one of the biggest reasons that Boston has remained competitive this season, and they’ll be looking to improve on these margins as the season goes on.
