#1 A different version of Tatum
A common theme this season has been to question Jayson Tatum’s scoring production. Everybody knows he’s capable of being among the league leaders in points per game. And we all came into the season wondering how long it would take to see Tatum record his first 50-point game of the season. That hasn’t been his role this year, though.
Instead, Tatum has been an elite-level point forward. He’s been at his best when orchestrating play, controlling the glass and attacking mismatches in the post. That doesn’t mean he can’t dominate as a primary offensive option. It just means that with the talent on the Celtics roster, Tatum hasn’t needed to be the “alpha” in the regular sense of the word. However, he has been producing “alpha” performances in a different way.
Yet, Tatum’s role was adjusted with Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis both out of the rotation against the Utah Jazz. Suddenly, a Utah team that’s ranked 29th in the NBA had to try and stop one of the most skillful scorers in the NBA when he was tasked with spearheading the offense. Tough times.
This was Tatum’s first bucket. This is who he is now. He’s a force when driving the lane. He’s strong enough to dislodge, or in this case dismiss, his defender, and he’s more than happy to explode around the rim.
Another thing that Tatum does well these days is score out of the pick-and-roll — as both a ball-handler and the screener. You’re just as likely to see Tatum be the “popper” in a pick-and-pop as you are to see him snaking his dribble over a screen as the ball-handler. That kind of versatility can give defenses nightmares. How can you guard a player that cycles between being the screener and the screenie?
Here he is as the “popper.”
As the roller.
And as the ball-handler.
When you factor in his ability to operate as a catch-and-shoot threat and his dominance in the post, it’s hard to poke holes in Tatum’s offensive skillset. He is genuinely one of the most pure scorers in the league. The difference is that he expanded his game to be more than just a scorer, and that has led him into some very deep waters.
Some nights, the Celtics need the high-scoring version of Tatum. Most nights, they need the complete forward version, that’s the player we’ve seen all season, and that’s the player we will see during the playoffs.
#2 Kornet keeps Kornet’ing
Another post-All-Star game, another solid night for Luke Kornet. He stepped into the Celtics starting lineup against the Jazz. Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis were both on the injury report.
What I like about Kornet’s game is that he’s found a way to exist on the perimeter despite not being a three-point threat. He’s embraced a role as a hand-off hub and a screen-and-roll big, while he’s also improving with his work on the offensive glass.
Kornet has become incredibly comfortable initiating hand-offs around the elbow extended and can orchestrate empty-side DHOs from similar locations, too. His size and frame make him a difficult body to navigate for the chasing defense, allowing him to spring the ball receiver free after handing the ball off. From there, Kornet has shown an ability to flow into a secondary screen to roll to the rim.
On offense, Kornet primarily gets his buckets out of rim-runs and roller situations. However, his baseline cut against Utah was a surprising development that made me sit up and take notice.
Kornet’s contract expires at the end of the season, and he will become an unrestricted free agent. If he continues to provide value as Boston’s third big in the rotation and shows a diverse skillset within a five-out offense that thrives on motion, there will no doubt be some interested teams lurking in the summer.
#3 Oshae Brissett’s minutes were good
Like, really good. Brissett has carved out a nice niche role for himself with the Celtics. He’s an energy guy who causes havoc with his hustle and physicality. No rebound is safe when Brissett is crashing the glass. No cut or driving lane is open, either.
When you look at the boxscore, as I had to yesterday, it would have been easy to assume that Brissett had a relatively quiet night. That’s why I don’t like looking at the box score and asking it to paint a picture. The lessons are taught on the court. Brissett was impactful. He increased the Celtics’ on-ball pressure, fought for loose balls, and galvanized his team.
Personally, I’m not expecting to see much Brissett once the postseason begins. Not unless the Celtics need to jolt of energy to get back into a game or halt a run. Yet, knowing he’s on the bench and can make his presence felt instantly is a comfort blanket that every contending team needs to have. Brissett isn’t an enforcer, but his physicality, energy and explosiveness can give the Celtics a different dimension when needed.
#4 Another look at Tillman
We’ve rarely seen him since Xavier Tillman was acquired before the February 8 trade deadline. However, with Horford and Porzingis both sidelined, we did get another extended look at the versatile big man.
Overall, Tillman played his role well. He occupied the correct spots on the floor. He found success as a screener. Displayed some physicality in the paint. Secured rebounds on both ends of the court. And he drained a three.
Tillman has the skill set to mimic Horford’s role within the rotation. He’s not going to be as reliable from the perimeter in terms of scoring. Still, his positioning, defensive versatility, and physicality in the paint will help spell the veteran’s minutes when needed.
Whether Tillman cracks the playoff rotation or is used as a situational big remains to be seen. It would appear he’s capable of excelling in either role. However, with Kornet ahead of him in the rotation, it’s hard to see where Tillman’s minutes would come from if he wanted consistent playing time this season.
Still, the talent is there, and he plays a cerebral brand of basketball. If Joe Mazzulla wants to integrate him into the rotation, there’s no doubt he would find a way to make it work.
#5 Lots of corner actions
The Celtics have explored multiple ways to attack out of the corners this season. They’ve run stagger actions for shooters to lift out, multiple variations of “Zoom” actions, some “21” and some “Pistol,” and some low-angle pick-and-roll offense.
Yet, the most common way the Celtics have pressured the defense is by running empty-side (or empty-corner) sets. If there’s no shooter in the corner, there’s no defense, either, thus creating more room to drive or to flow into a tough-to-contest jumper.
The above clip is sort of a failed example. Payton Pritchard rejects the screen from Tillman and decides to isolate. However, the spacing in the strong side corner is clear to see. It’s evident how easy these type of actions can be to manipulate, especially when you have spacing around the perimeter.
We can see the Celtics going back to an empty corner action in the above clip. This time, Tatum can duck into a post-up following his screen. Again, the Celtics can exploit the additional space by not having a shooter in the corner. Tatum’s shot doesn’t fall, but the overall process is one we’ve seen work throughout the season.
Boston moved away from attacking empty corners as a core part of its strategy earlier in the season. I like the idea of iterating through its playbook and different offensive approaches as the postseason draws near. For me, the Celtics’’ shooting and slashing talent make attacking empty sides a logical choice. I would expect to see more of this in the coming weeks.
#6 Dunker spot Jrue, again
First of all, it was awesome seeing Jrue Holiday flash some off-the-dribble creation against Utah. He was tough to contain when driving into the defense and looking to make reads once the Jazz looked to collapse. Here he is penetrating off the bounce before hitting Sam Hauser to complete the “Spain PnR” action.
Yet, as I’ve said at multiple times this season, it’s Holiday’s upside as an inverted dunker spot threat that continues to catch my attention.
Holiday is an intelligent player. He reads the game well, can see the floor like a playmaker, and can operate at multiple positions. That’s why having him occupy the dunker spot in possessions like the above is so intriguing. Watch how he relocates to the strong side dunker to “short” the pick-and-roll and receive the pass from Tatum. That allows Holiday to hit the touch pass to the rolling Kornet for the dunk.
This season, we haven’t seen the Celtics run much “short” action. Usually, Holiday would come higher up the floor for these types of sets. However, his value in the dunker spot as a passer, decision maker and scorer makes it logical to keep him hovering around the baseline.
#7 An aggressive D-White
With so many members of the Celtics rotation missing, White stepped into a secondary offensive role. He ended the game with 24 points, hitting 7-of-11 from deep. It’s been a while since we’ve seen White playing with this sort of force and aggressiveness on offense. At times, it felt like the Jazz were struggling to contain him.
With a bigger focus on scoring the ball, we didn’t see much of White’s playmaking ability — that responsibility fell to Holiday.
It’s no secret that White can iterate through different roles during a game. No matter his focus on offense, he will always be a reliable defender — as displayed by his three blocks against Utah.
After the game White said that he came into the game with the mindset of just “letting it fly.” That strategy seemed to work. I’m not too sure about Kornet’s La La Land joke, though.
#8 Pritchard’s eye test didn’t match the stat sheet
On the stat sheet, Pritchard had a tough night. He went 3-for-12 from the field and 2-for-9 from the perimeter. He didn’t really make an impact as a playmaker or a rebounder. Yet, when watching the game, his ability to change the pace, cycle through his gears and push the tempo on the break gave Boston an edge off every missed shot.
Pritchard is also really good at recognizing when to get off the ball and relocate, which allows him to keep the Celtics’ spacing alive and use his deep shooting range to generate gravity. On paper, Pritchard had a tough night against the Jazz. However, he played his role well, impacting the game in areas that don’t appear on the stat sheet.
It may not have been his best performance, but it was far from his worst.
I’ll leave you with this great clip of Pritchard using a “slow step” behind the back crossover to cook his defender in transition and open up a lane to attack the rim. Really pretty stuff.
#9 No room for Neemy
With Horford and Porzingis both out, and Kornet moving into the starting lineup, I had kind of expected Queta to slot into a third-big role. However, Mazzulla opted to stick with Kornet and Tillman throughout the game, leaving the two-way center as the only DNP-CD of the game for the Celtics.
Jaden Springer, Svi Mykhailiuk and JD Davison all got some playing time. I’ve been skeptical regarding any potential minutes for Neemy since the addition of Tillman. Seeing him stuck on the bench when the primary center rotation has been chopped and changed was a pretty telling sign.
#10 These games are a formality
At this point in the season, with the first seed all but guaranteed, these games are a formality. We know it. The team knows it. The rest of the league knows it. Yet, the Celtics have to go through the process.
I like having a stretch at the end of the season to work on things and look to tighten up some aspects of the offense and defense. I also like that other teams are still fighting for something, forcing the Celtics to remain focused and continue chipping away at a potential 60-win season.
Still, the playoffs will be here before we know it. This is the calm before the storm. This is the prequel to a potential blockbuster movie. And we’re here for all of it.
Looking ahead
The Celtics are back in action on Thursday. They will have a rematch against the Phoenix Suns. This time, the game will be at the TD Garden. I’m interested to see how the Celtics look to limit Phoenix’s offense, as they will undoubtedly be looking to even the season series.
Hopefully, the Celtics rotation will be back at full strength, with Porzingis being the player I’m most hopeful to see after his three-game (and counting) absence. Win or lose, we will be back here on Friday morning to dissect the game. Hopefully, we will be talking about the Celtics fourth straight win. How quickly things change.
