We’re back! 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 17th to December 24th are considered. The C’s went 3-0 this week, with wins over the Heat, Raptors and Pacers.
5. Bailout from the bench mob
With 9:22 left in the 3rd quarter and down 20 against the Haliburton-less Indiana Pacers at home, Mazzulla pulled Brown, White, Pritchard and Queta—the Celtics’ core four. He was clearly disappointed in the lack of effort and urgency they came out of halftime with. And, by the time White and Brown were inserted back into the game with 1:15 left in the quarter, the bench mob had shrunk the lead in half.
How? With plays like this. Hauser is loaded up in the driving lane for Nembhard’s quickness—Mathurin notices, so he cuts. But both Garza and Simons react immediately, jumping into their help positions and forcing a turnover. This was one of many effort plays that brought Boston back into the game.
There are almost too many smart things Derrick White does on this play to count. First, he sprints out to the corner when Hauser secures the offensive board—this gives Sam an outlet pass and clears the paint of defenders. Then, as Hauser swings him the ball, he runs into the catch because he knows Agbaji will be sprinting into his closeout—this makes Agbaji fall. Finally, White blends his floater into a pass, making Mamukelashvili unsure whether he should block the shot (pass) or whether he’ll be called for a goaltend if he does (Trae Young does this all the time, and it’s extremely effective).
Coaches love to talk about hustle. They’ll tell you to dive on the floor and get all the 50/50 balls, but they’ll never tell you how. Well, just watch Derrick White. Getting loose balls—especially a bouncing loose ball—is about getting the rock at its lowest point. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not aimlessly throwing your body on top of the ball or diving at people’s feet. Because White goes after the ball at a lower point than Gardner, he comes up with an easy 50/50 ball. Work hard, but also work smart!
2. Exploiting non-shooting
Having non-shooters on the floor is obviously detrimental to a team’s offensive flow, but what if those players could actually weaponize their non-shooting to their advantage? That’s exactly what Queta does on this play.
Because Neemy doesn’t shoot threes, his defender Kel’el Ware doesn’t feel threatened by his presence on the perimeter. But when he gets the ball and Hauser immediately begins to use him as a screener, Ware is too far behind the play to adequately guard the action. Sam gets an open three-point look, and Queta gets a wide open offensive rebounding lane to the rim (if Hauser misses the shot) as a result. Beautiful stuff from Queta and Hauser.
I’ve talked at length about the Celtics’ use of Spain action this season. As a result of Queta’s rim gravity and the rest of their shooters’ (White, Pritchard, Hauser, etc.) ability to make movement threes, it has made sense as a prominent part of the team’s offensive attack—and opposing teams know that. That’s why Mazzulla totally fakes the Pacers out of their pants by running a fake Spain action where the supposed backscreener (DWhite) actually receives an exit screen from a fourth player in the corner (Minott). Look at the three Indiana defenders involved in the action—everything about their positioning suggests they think a Spain action is coming, but they’re wrong.
