We’re back! And we’re confirmed to be a good NBA team—gap season who? Welcome to the five highest-IQ plays of the week!
Sure, we love the high-flying dunks and the deep, off-the-dribble step-back threes, but this is a place for the under-the-radar plays that might not get the credit they deserve. The plays that get the basketball sickos and nerds out of their chairs. The plays that even YOU could make in your weekly rec league game.
Each week, the plays will be ranked from five to one—one being the smartest—and will only be taken from games that occurred within the past week. For this week, games from December 3rd to December 10th are considered. The C’s went 3-0 this week, with wins over the Wizards, Lakers, and Raptors. Average margin of victory this week? 24.6 points.
DWhite has gotten more opportunities as a point guard this season, and it has been fun to see him showcase some of his pinpoint passing ability. This roll lob to Queta is probably one of his better dimes of the season because it’s placed in the ONLY spot that Neemy can get it without Deandre Ayton getting a hand on it. The timing is down, the accuracy is down, and Derrick deserves a lot of the credit for turning Queta into a legitimate NBA lob threat.
It seems incredibly simple, but plays like this are how I know Queta is in the film room with coaches discussing ways to improve his screening. Queta does an awesome job of re-screening here to make sure the defender who went under still gets hung up on the pick the second time around. He does so without getting a moving screen call, which is a lot harder to do than it looks—he just has excellent positioning and body control. When you see players getting wide open mid-range jumpers off of the pick and roll, it’s often because of the ways in which their big man sets them up with a screen—this is a perfect example. An average screen would’ve gotten White no space, but this screen gets him a high percentage look.
The Derrick White sneak attack is becoming a staple of his defensive success—it seems like he’s getting one of these steals a game. White has such a knack for understanding when ball handlers turn their heads and knowing just the perfect time to back tap them from behind, and it often results in live-ball turnovers and good scoring opportunities for the Celtics. Sure, the downside is leaving your man wide open for three, but the upside of a steal and layup is too much to pass up on from an analytics perspective. Smart cost-benefit analysis in real time by Derrick.
2. Walsh growing before our eyes
This is simply not a move Walsh had the confidence to make a year ago. But after some added conviction offensively as a result of consistent minutes (thanks, Joe), Jordan has gotten the chance to show some added elements to his offensive game, most notably the ability to athletically and decisively drive closeouts. Here, Walsh uses the threat of his shot (also massively improved) to force a contest, and then he uses an awesome pinoy step (up faking during his second step) to freeze the defender for a nice finish at the rim. Promising growth.
I’ve personally never heard of or seen a fast break that turns seamlessly into a post up, let alone from a 6-foot-1 (at best) point guard. But Pritchard somehow makes it happen on this play, and I actually think it’s effective in getting him balanced and keeping him patient. When he gets deep into the paint and realizes there are two defenders within decent contest-distance, he knows he doesn’t have a good opportunity to shoot it. But by waiting, turning his back to the basket, and using his strength, he gets to his bread and butter—the middy fadeaway in the paint. Did PP just create a new move?
