#1 – Spacing issue
The Boston Celtics’ elite spacing is… gone? At least that’s what the numbers are saying. Lately, the Celtics have increased their rim frequency, but the efficiency has gone down. On top of that lack of efficiency at the rim, they aren’t able to generate free throws.
This is caused by a couple of things. First, Boston has played more with two big men than last year, which has shrunk the space in the paint. Celtics opponents can leave a player in the paint when they have two centers on the court, turning the driving lane into a packed road.
On top of that, teams are more willing to leave the Celtics open from there. They’d rather help on the driving lane and the pick-and-roll and close hard on the shooters if needed.
The Celtics are going to need their spacing back and find a way to stretch the opposing teams’ defenses — especially with their current defensive problems.
#2 – Ball-screen defense
The Raptors have multiplied the screens on the ball handlers — and they have various players who can set screens and carry the ball. For example, late in the game, they used Olynyk as a ball handler on pick-and-roll action, which tricked the Celtics’ defense and turned it into an open shot at the rim.
The Raptors also made the Celtics pay for their lack of defensive focus with stagger screens. In the action below, the two screens and Scottie Barnes’ cuts turn the defense’s attention away from Mitchell, who can find his way to the rim.
Boston’s defense on ball screens has been problematic lately. The switches are soft and aren’t stopping the offense from finding the shot position they’re looking for.
#3 – Raptors in motion
The work and offense implemented by Darko Rajaković are impressive. Last night, they made 35 assisted field goals — 11 more than the Celtics over the game. The Raptors don’t have a creator, so they create through motion and ball movement.
They have a lot of off-ball players who can punish Boston’s size and lack of mobility. They multiplied the cuts from Barrett, Barnes, Mitchell, and Dick to force the Celtics’ defense to help and rotate. However, the Celtics couldn’t keep up and made a lot of defensive mistakes. Nate from CelticsBlog compiled the mistakes in the video below:
They used Poeltl as an offensive hub and moved around him. This worked out really well to create an efficient offense because Poeltl dragged Porzingis away from the rim and forced the other Celtics to come and help. This had two negative impacts for the Boston Celtics defense: the rim protection was less valuable, and this opened up the corners.
On top of that, Poeltl’s scoring seemed unstoppable for the Celtics’ defense.
#4 – Jakob Poeltl killing the Celtics defense
Over the three games Jakob Poeltl has played against the Celtics this season, he made 87% of his field goals! His scoring and ability to drag Boston’s rim protectors have been key for the Raptors. This season, Poeltl is scoring 20 points per game vs. the Celtics.
He has been very good as a roll-man in the pick-and-roll and is able to punish the drop with his floater touch. His ability to shoot from 10 feet away from the rim was one of the reasons the Celtics’ zone defense didn’t work out as expected.
#5 – Ineffective zone defense
The Celtics tried the 3-2 zone defense to slow down the Raptors’ offensive movement. Yet, the Raptors found their way again by putting the ball around the free-throw line.
The Raptors weren’t bothered by this Celtics defensive trick, and they were okay pulling up above the big man from the short mid-range zone. Overall, the Raptors didn’t even need their transition offense to dominate the Celtics’ defense.
#6 – Payton Pritchard great offensive game…
One of the only bright spots from last night’s game was Payton Pritchard’s offensive creation. The young point guard played 30 minutes and kept the offense going while expanding his game. Of course, he had a couple of three-pointers from his usual off-ball movement, but there’s more to his game.
Indeed, as noticed earlier this season, his driving game seems to be rising again after a slow start. He doesn’t hesitate to drive and use his great handle to beat his defender off the dribble. We also see that he is more willing to use his broad shoulders to post up other guards and find shots at the rim.
While the Celtics are in the middle of a slump, Payton Pritchard’s offensive game expansion could lead to great things for the Celtics, who definitely need a push. However, playing Payton Pritchard a lot of minutes has a price — a defensive one.
#7 – … while being hunted on defense
The Raptors don’t foul. The Celtics are known for hunting seals, but the Raptors are also great at finding the weak spot in a defense and just going at it. With a lot of minutes from Payton Pritchard, the Raptors could run their offense around finding a great spot and isolating Pritchard defensively.
This is the reason why last year, the deeper the Celtics went in the playoffs, the less Payton Pritchard played. If the Celtics coaching staff wants to keep him on the court, they need to find a way to protect him.
#8 – Out of bounds stagger action
A little nice play call from the Celtics. A few games ago, we focused on the stagger actions following out-of-bounds plays. They did it again last night vs. the Raptors. From the sideline, the ball goes to the post-up, while White runs through not one, but two screens and dives to the rim.
This is a great way of using the spacing to generate great shots at the rim. A shame that the Celtics’ offense was stagnant last night when we witnessed such great movement.
#9 – Jayson Tatum lack of usage
Jayson Tatum took only 15 shots and 5 free throws over 36 minutes in a game where nothing was going offensively. After a great high-usage game against New Orleans, it was painful to watch him not really involved in the offense. It’s even harder to understand when you see how much of a threat he is on his drive.
Against New Orleans, there was also a lot of pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop with Kristaps Porzingis — where did that go? This could have worked really well against the Raptors’ defensive coverage and forced Jakob Poeltl away from the rim. The Celtics are a great collective team, yes, but they need to insist more on Jayson Tatum when the offense is slowing down.
#10 – Is there a problem with Derrick White’s shooting?
Derrick White has made 10% of his three-point attempts over the last 4 games (3 losses and 1 win by a small margin). With the current spacing and defensive problems, the Celtics need Derrick White to find his shooting touch back, sooner rather than later.
No need to worry yet — it seems that all the Celtics except Payton Pritchard are struggling with their shots.
Nonetheless, in the standings, the Celtics are closer to the Orlando Magic in 5th place than the Cavaliers in 1st seed. If the Celtics want to be in the best position possible coming into the playoffs, they’re going to need to adjust quickly and find their rhythm back.
