#1 – Empty side offense is back
During the Eastern Conference Finals last year, the Boston Celtics used a lot of empty side offense. If you’re not familiar with this approach, it’s quite simple. Instead of attacking from the middle of the court, like NBA offenses often do, the Celtics start from a side where the corner is empty.
On top of that, they make sure Al Horford, or whoever is defended by the rim protector, is sitting at the slot on the opposite side. This 5-slot setup was popularized by Quin Snyder with the Hawks. It makes it very difficult for a defense with a defensive anchor to come help. Indeed, they want to keep Myles Turner as close as possible to the paint, so the rest of the floor must be covered by four players instead of five.
Playing from one empty side makes it even harder because the help cannot come from the strong side, as there is no one in the corner. It can’t come from the baseline, as there is also no one there. Therefore, it can only come from the top or the opposite corner, which puts the defense a step behind and can open up opportunities for three-point shots.
To take advantage of this, the Celtics can either run pick-and-roll, knowing there won’t be any help coming from the low man, or they can use their speed to drive or their strength to post up, knowing that the help is too far to bother them. Chess, not checkers.
#2 – Al Horford on Pascal Siakam
Facing a strong frontline like Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner could be difficult for most defenses, especially with two of the best defensive players out (Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis). Yet, the Celtics have the tools to adapt to most of their opponents.
Myles Turner is a pick-and-pop type of center, thanks to his shooting ability. Therefore, it would be tough to contain his duo with Tyrese Haliburton if the Celtics decided to drop with Al Horford. Instead of forcing Al to switch onto Haliburton, they put Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum on Myles Turner and keep Al away from the action.
This has the added benefit of Al Horford playing defense on Siakam one-on-one in the post or isolation. As we’ve seen against Giannis Antetokounmpo or Joel Embiid, he can still do that. Moreover, as the Celtics don’t consider Siakam a shooting threat, the Indiana Pacers won’t benefit from great spacing since Al remains close to the paint when Siakam doesn’t have the ball.
#3 – Celtics unbothered by Pacers mixing up coverages
The Celtics have built a reputation for struggling against zone defense, but that wasn’t the case last night. While mixing zone and individual defense, the Pacers tried their best to keep Myles Turner close to the rim.
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However, the Celtics’ ball movement made it impossible for the Pacers to keep up. By wanting to limit access to the rim, they were forced to leave the corners open.
The Pacers’ defense couldn’t match the Celtics’ movement, and the offense didn’t have enough juice to compensate.
#4 – Celtics put pressure early on out-of-juice Pacers
The night before facing the Celtics, the Pacers had already played the young Oklahoma City Thunder. Facing two of the best teams in the NBA in 24 hours isn’t exactly in the Christmas spirit, but the Celtics took advantage of it.
Right from the start, the Celtics put hard pressure on both ends of the floor. On offense, they attacked early in the possession, making sure to match or even top the Indiana Pacers’ quick style of play.
On defense, they picked up the ball handler early and tried to force turnovers as much as possible. By picking up the ball handler at half-court, they forced hard passes, and Jaylen Brown was there to capitalize on them.
#5 – Jaylen Brown’s own dunk contest
Jaylen Brown remains one of, if not the best, in-game dunkers in the NBA. Last night against the Pacers was another great example of that. He warmed up a little with a couple of easy dunks… and then exploded on Myles Turner!
Thirty seconds later, he stole the ball from Myles Turner and ran away with it to finish with a beautiful windmill dunk—gracious.
#6 – Jordan Walsh involved early
With a few players out, it was expected to see some minutes from the “stay ready” group. This time, it was Jordan Walsh who was invited to the show. However, Joe Mazzulla and the coaching staff had quite a difficult assignment for him: stopping the great TJ McConnell. TJ might be one of the most disruptive players, always moving with or without the ball—knowing how to trick you into forgetting him and finding an open look.
It was a good challenge for the rookie and showed that he might be more suited to guarding a different type of offensive player. Indeed, after only a few minutes, he got caught off-ball before being outspeed by TJ McConnell on a drive. A little later, the Celtics adapted their defense by assigning Payton Pritchard to the quick Pacers guard.
On offense, Walsh was more active than usual, ready to set screens or crash the offensive boards. This is what the Celtics want him to do while waiting for his handle and close-out attack to develop into a new weapon.
On this last action late in the game, we could see flashes of an already improved handle and passing. Is it real? Could this translate into meaningful minutes beyond garbage time?
#7 – Payton Pritchard’s versatile game is growing
Against the Pacers, Payton Pritchard showed again that there is more to him than just shooting. As mentioned earlier, he was a much better matchup for TJ McConnell and blocked him on the Pacers’ first try to drive on him.
On the offensive side, Payton delivered quite the performance. Not because he flirted with a triple-double, but because he impacted the offense in various ways. Off-ball, as usual, we saw him running and creating chaos in the defense. And with the ball, we witnessed new ways of using him.
Against Tyrese Haliburton, we saw him play the post-up (not the empty side set mentioned earlier). His strong core and low center of gravity make him able to overpower the tall but slim Pacers point guard. On top of this unusual approach, he delivered great passes and helped the Celtics offense play their fast-paced game plan.
#8 – Third-quarter play call to keep the Pacers away
The Pacers were dominated and tired but remained close until the fourth quarter. With the volume of three-pointers these days, no lead is safe. While ahead by 20 points, it was good to see the Celtics executing their game plan.
Early in the third, they ran a nice set where Horford set a down screen before popping to the three-point line while Derrick White had the ball. This forces Bennedict Mathurin to be behind Jayson Tatum, and Horford pops Turner away. Therefore, D-White only had to deliver a nice pass above the Pacers’ guard, and Tatum delivered.
Another set that worked really well (and should be used more often) came in the middle of the third. The Celtics played a double drag screen for Jayson Tatum. Myles Turner hedges onto Tatum while Mathurin recovers, giving Horford time to be open at the three-point line while Jaylen Brown creates more confusion by setting a second screen. A great use of the Jays’ scoring threats.
#9 – Boston’s offensive feast
Alongside the impressive score, the Boston Celtics’ offensive efficiency was amazing last night, in many ways. First, they had a 61% eFG% before garbage time, one of the best marks of the season regarding shooting efficiency.
On top of that, they dominated the possession battle with only 11% turnovers while grabbing 39% of offensive rebounds after a miss! They also successfully generated easy points with more free throws than usual.
A great overall offensive game, and it would have been hard to do a better job bouncing back after the last two games.
#10 – Well-deserved Gino time
Like a late Christmas gift, the TD Garden was finally able to enjoy a well-deserved Gino time. The Celtics still have two games left in Boston before 2025. Could they extend the Gino Time streak into the new year?
