#1 What a defensive display
Every time we see this Boston Celtics team record an impressive win, it’s started on the defensive end. Facing down the Phoenix Suns, with their star trio of Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, and Devin Booker, is never easy. Frank Vogel has so much offensive firepower available.
Yet, midway through the first quarter, the Celtics flipped a switch. From there, they never really looked back.
This possession shows everything the Celtics defense is about. Players are switching. They’re filling gaps. They’re communicating. And, when the time is right, they’re pouncing with traps to force the ball out of an offensive threat’s hands. The fact that they turned this possession into a breakaway dunk is emblematic of their two-way talent and how quickly they can run up the score on any team in the league — regardless of who’s on the roster.
#2 Jrue Holiday’s defense was exceptional
This is the definition of Jrue Holiday cooking on defense. He absolutely blows up the high screen action, forces the ball out of his man’s hands, reads the rest of the action and rotates over to get the stuff on the far side of the rim.
When you ask yourself why Holiday was acquired during the offseason, look no further than these games. These performances.
What I love about Holiday is how he can make an impact when defending every position on the floor. The above clip shows him giving Royce O’Neale the business when guarding the corner. He gets beat on the close-out, recovers, gets taken on the crossover, recovers, challenges the shot and forces the miss.
Holiday plays winning basketball on both sides of the floor. He had 10 assists, by the way, just to give him a few extra flowers.
#3 Moving the rock
The Celtics ended the game with 31 assists. Holiday had 10, and Derrick White and Jayson Tatum each had five. Brown and Horford had three to their names. We can go down the list. Everyone in the Celtics rotation outside of Oshae Brissett — who had three minutes of playing time — had at least one dime to their name.
The Celtics were moving the rock. They were cutting off the ball. Screens were coming from everywhere. Simply put, the Celtics played for each other. They focused on team-based basketball, and the offensive success followed.
The above possession is a good example of the Celtics playing for each other. Xavier Tillman sets the away screen for Horford. Tatum makes the entry pass toward the nail. Horford quickly redirects the ball to Sam Hauser for the easy corner three. Three players touched the ball. Four were directly involved in the action. Only one of them took a dribble.
When the ball moves with that type of pace and selflessness, it’s easy to carve open a defense to generate a high-quality look.
“I think we’ve been emphasizing it over the last few weeks,” Brown said during his post-game press conference. “Sometimes we can get a good shot, but getting the defense a little more, we can get a great shot if we’re a little more patient. We’ve been emphasizing that more.”
#4 Tatum loves the big-time matchups
Whenever Tatum is matched up against another elite talent, he takes his game to another level. We’ve seen him turn Super Sayain on numerous occasions. So, when he suddenly caught fire against Kevin Durant, it wasn’t a surprise. It was, however, enjoyable to witness.
It often feels like Tatum suddenly starts hitting shots that he would usually miss. How many times have we seen him bully his way to the rim only to overshoot the lay-up? Or go to his side-step three off the dribble, and it falls short. Yet, put a future Hall of Famer in his way, and suddenly, he’s making shots at a drastically improved clip.
This is the version of Tatum the Celtics will need if they’re going to secure a championship this season. He was decisive and aggressive but still willing to move the rock and get his team involved.
#5 Brown can be the bully
“I just feel like I’ve improved on a lot of the stuff I needed to work on,” Brown said. “Overall, I just improved my mentality. I attacked my weaknesses. I feel like some of the stuff you could say about me last year, you can’t say about me this year.”
Brown’s physical strength, athleticism, and explosiveness allow him to be an aggressive scorer when driving to the rack. His dislodging Bradley Beal—who he was once rumored to be traded for—was another display of the sheer physical dominance Brown brings to the court. He’s a different player this year. He’s a star. He’s a vital part of what Joe Mazzulla’s team is doing on both ends of the floor.
It’s never ok to be a bully. However, it is ok to play like one when you’re attacking the paint. Brown has added a mean streak to his game, making him look unstoppable when he’s getting to his spots.
#6 Horford popped
24 points, 3 boards, 3 dimes, 3 steals, 1 block. 8-of-14 shooting. 6-of-10 from deep. Horford is nearly 38. He passed Dave DeBusschere, Jerry Lucas, Manu Ginobili and David West in scoring last night – per HoopsHype.
Horford is in his first full season as a bench contributor. At his age, on a team that also boasts Kristaps Porzingis, having Horford coming off the bench makes perfect sense. However, when he does need to step into the starting lineup, he is still capable of making a huge impact, despite the fact that he’s firmly in the twilight of his career.
The above play is the perfect example of Horford’s night and the energy he brought to the table as a veteran big man who’s still capable of guarding on the perimeter and running the break.
#7 Tillman looked solid
Joe Mazzulla ran a three-big rotation. Horford got the start. Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman split the back-up minutes. Tillman played well. He gave the Celtics some additional physicality off the bench, which helped offset the upside of Jusuf Nurkic in the post.
Outside of guarding big and holding his own, Tillman moved well on offense, filled his spots and played his role. I especially liked his “grenade DHO” with Holiday to open up a scoring opportunity.
Tillman held his man to 4-of-8 shooting from the field. He shot 2-of-4 on his own attempts. Slowly but surely, he is making an impression as a steady role player who can step in and give the Celtics something different. If he keeps doing that, there will be some sort of role for him in the postseason.
#8 Bench depth is a differentiating factor
The bench depth was one of the biggest differences between the Celtics and the Suns. Mazzulla has been getting fantastic production from his second unit all season. Payton Pritchard, Hauser, Horford, Brissett, Kornet, and whoever else has their number called all perform and slide into the system.
The Suns? Well most of their bench depth was shipped out as the front office constructed the current roster. Some were sent packing as part of the Durant deal. Others were moved on when Bradley Beal came to town.
Either way, Durant and Co. will be under a lot of pressure to figure things out. Yet Phoenix looks just as likely to get bounced in the first round as it does to surge to the Western Conference Finals. Matchups will be everything for the Suns. For Boston, matchups will just be another obstacle. That’s the biggest difference.
#9 The value of off-ball Tatum
Look at how the Suns overreact to Tatum cutting toward the nail via an off-ball screen. The Celtics had just gone to something out of their “Chin Series” as Tatum chin cuts off Holiday’s screen. Two defenders go with him, leaving Horford with oceans of space on the perimeter. Kornet waits until Durant has chased Tatum and left an open passing lane, and then he hits the skip pass for the veteran big man to drain a wide open three.
Tatum isn’t the only player on Boston’s roster with elite shooting gravity. The fact Boston can run the same play, with different players in the action, and create totally different results is a great sign for the postseason. It’s hard to guard a team when coverages have to change for every player in the primary rotation.
#10 Playoffs clinched
That’s it. The Celtics are officially the first team in the Eastern Conference to clinch a spot in the playoffs. It won’t be long until they confirm their stats as the first seed in the East. It’s also looking likely that Mazzulla’s team will secure the best record in the NBA and will receive the upside that comes with such a loft ending to the regular season.
We’re on the cusp of a 60-win year, and the Celtics are playing like champions. Now, the hope is that they can sustain this production level and continue to build on it.
Looking ahead
I tried something different with today’s takeaways. They’re a bit shorter, primarily because we’re essentially at the end of the season. They won’t always be this short, but I’m interested to see if you liked it, prefer it, or never want to see it again.
Boston are back in action on Sunday when they face the Washington Wizards. I’ll be here on Monday to dive into how that game went.
