Earning it: 10 Takeaways from Celtics/Cavaliers

#1 Shaking off the rust

The opening quarter was rough. Clearly, the Boston Celtics had enjoyed a few days off and were a little rusty. They went 1-10 from deep and 8-for-22 from the field. Outside of Jaylen Brown (more on him later,) the Celtics were stone-cold for the majority of the quarter. Sometimes, slow starts happen, especially after a stretch without games.

Still, you weren’t alone if you were concerned as the Celtics went to the bench at the end of the first. Fortunately, we’re all aware of how quickly this team can get hot and erase a double-digit deficit, so being down by 10 with three quarters left to play was far from a disaster.

Hopefully, any lingering rust has been shaken off, and slow starts won’t become a habit moving forward.

#2 Active hands

Even when shots weren’t falling in the first quarter, the Celtics were competitive on the defensive end. Against a Cavaliers team that likes to run lots of early offense and use a bunch of hand-offs, the Celtics needed to muck things up. So, they did.

Boston recorded 18 deflections throughout the game, along with 9 steals. They used their size and length to clog up the passing lanes, to pressure ball-handler’s while trailing the play, and to blow up actions before the Cavaliers had a chance to create advantages.

This was my favorite hustle play from the game. Derrick White didn’t give up after he failed to secure the offensive rebound. Instead, he stuck with it and got the pilfer after creeping up on Jarrett Allen. An extra offensive possession following an opponent’s defensive rebound is a major momentum shifter, especially when you can draw a foul on the play.

Being willing to drag the game into the trenches and impose your physicality is something that can help swing a game or slow down an opponent that’s got it rolling. It’s encouraging to see the Celtics embrace the “dawg-like” aspects of the game. Oftentimes you need to show a nasty streak, and that isn’t always by being physically aggressive, because sometimes it can be as simple as consistently mucking things up.

#3 Jrue Holiday’s defense

The above possession is a perfect illustration of why Brad Stevens moved to add Jrue Holiday to the roster during the offseason. Holiday is in an off-ball position guarding Darius Garland. The Cavaliers guard loops from the weakside corner into a dribble hand-off with Allen at the top of the perimeter. Allen then re-screens for Garland, forcing Tatum to switch to the guard and Holiday to switch to the center.

Rather than jostling to get in front of Allen, Holiday plays the passing lane, getting his hand on the entry pass and forcing a turnover.

Here’s another example. Holiday starts the possession by defending the inbounds pass. The Cavaliers go to a high split action, with Max Strus cutting toward the rim and Donovan Mitchell receiving a hand-off from Allen. Holiday looks to pressure the ball along with a dig from Al Horford.

Kristaps Porzingis has rotated over to defend Allen on the roll, leaving Isaac Okoro along on the weak side. Holiday recognizes the open man and sprints to close him out, removing the threat of a catch-and-shoot jumper and forcing Okoro to attack off the dribble. A Porzignis dig and Holiday’s rearview pressure eventually force a tough pass from the Cavaliers’ wing, leading to another turnover.

#4 Tatum’s all-rounder

At some point, I need to stop pointing these out. Jayson Tatum had another all-round performance. He didn’t dominate on offense but ended the game with 25 points. He wasn’t a standout defensive performer but secured 10 rebounds, 2 deflections, 4 contested shots, and 2 blocks.

This version of Tatum is the best we’ve seen. He’s consistent. He’s impacting the game on both sides of the floor. He’s creating for others. And he’s doing it within the flow of the offense. Yes, his first “Tatum Game” of the season is going to be awesome and long overdue.

The difference is we’re not relying on those games to see the best version of the St. Louis native, or to be the turning point in a game, or even the season. Tatum’s game is well-rounded and oftentimes understated. He’s a true star in the league and is still improving. Still, these “quiet” double-double nights are now par for the course, but that doesn’t make them any less impressive.

If you’re looking for more reasons to be impressed with Tatum’s team-first mentality, this clip from Tuesday’s post-game press conference is a great supplement for this takeaway.

#5 Brown’s at his best when he’s aggressive

Much has been said about Jaylen Brown’s lack of assists in recent games. To me, it’s all hogwash. Brown is playing some of his best basketball. He’s aggressive, gets to his spots, knocks down his shots, and creates havoc for opposing defenses. He’s also making the right reads more often than not, at which point an assist is not in his power.

According to NBA Stats, Brown is averaging 27.7 passes per game with 6.7 potential assists per night.

“It’s one of the most misleading stats of all time,” Mazzulla said. “You know what needs to happen for you to get an assist? So, we look at potential assists. To me, it’s one of the most misleading things to say a guy didn’t get an assist. It doesn’t mean he didn’t make the pass; it doesn’t mean he didn’t make the right read. It just means that on his potential assist opportunities, the shot didn’t go in…In reality, we don’t need him to average more potential assists from him; we need him to score.”

Brown isn’t expected to be a primary playmaker. As Mazzulla noted in his post-game press conference, his role is to score and penetrate in order to create defensive rotations. In that role, Brown is excelling.

Take this play for example. Brown times his cut to perfection. He waits for Holiday to engage the defense. As you can see, three defenders are focused on Holiday, leaving Brown open to saunter into the paint before receiving a pass and getting the finish. The timing of the cut made this play. Too early, and the defense reacts. Too late, and Holiday likely doesn’t have the angle to get the ball out of his hands.

Being used as a scorer doesn’t mean you need the ball in your hands all the time. It also doesn’t mean Brown won’t make the right reads, depending on how the defense plays him. It’s just a role that accentuates his core skillset while also allowing him to keep developing other areas of his game.

#6 Gettin’ nerdy with it: Zoom Reject

I loved this play. The Celtics go to a normal zoom action (pin-down in the corner to create a dribble hand-off for a shooter); however, the play call was never intended to get the screen receiver the ball. To make it better, the initial pin-down involves both Brown and Tatum, which means the action carries enormous gravity for the defense.

Instead, Porzingis “rejects” the hand-off with Tatum, and Brown back-cuts his man, leading to an easy pocket pass. Dunk.

The Celtics used one of the most common actions in the NBA to generate an easy bucket for their best slasher. The action involved Boston’s three best offensive players, too, meaning the defense was in a tough pick-your-poison situation. They picked wrong.

#7 Shifty guards continue to be an issue

The Celtics’ biggest weakness in recent years has been shifty guards who can snake their dribble, knock down pull-up jumpers, and operate without the ball in their hands. We’ve all seen the Ish Smith games. And we’ve become accustomed to Donovan Mitchell having big nights against the Celtics.

There’s a reason elite guards come at a premium. Their ability to carve a defense open with their movement, dribbling ability, and shot-making is a tough ask for a defense to contain. Cleveland has two shifty, high-level guards in Mitchell and Garland. For the most part, Boston did a great job of limiting their impact.

However, there were times when you just had to tip your cap and accept that Garland and Mitchell could penetrate whenever they saw fit.

So, rather than looking to contain the dribble penetration, the Celtics looked to take away the middle of the court whenever possible.

In this instance, Mitchell spins off his man and gets downhill. Boston puts three bodies in the paint to take away a rim attempt, forcing Mitchell to pass out to the corner, giving the Celtics time to close out and reset their defense.

In this clip, Caris LeVert is the ball-handler who’s looking to penetrate. Once again, the Celtics take away the middle of the floor by putting bodies around the nail and pinching on the drive. Again, LeVert is forced to kick the ball out.

Boston’s defense is versatile enough to adapt and overcome their shortcomings, and defending dribble-penetration from high-level guards is certainly something they’ve been working on outside on man-to-man and switch defense.

#8 Gettin’ nerdy with it: Switching up coverages

Speaking of defense coverages, the Celtics threw some curveballs down the stretch. For the majority of the game, Joe Mazzulla had his team switching 1-through-4, with the center playing drop defense. That’s been the Celtics’ primary defensive system all season, and for the most part, it’s worked extremely well.

However, with the Celtics looking to pull away and create some wiggle room, they began switching up how the defended screening and hand-off actions.

Above, the Celtics run some up-to-touch defense, where Tatum is within touching distance of the screener, allowing him to switch onto the ball-handler with lightning pace, applying pressure and looking to force a mistake.

In this clip, the Celtics look to “cancel” a hand-off by getting the defender’s body in-between the intended recipient and the big man in the delay. Allen still manages to feed a pass over the top of White, albeit via a slight deflection, leading the Celtics to flow straight into a trap.

And in this final clip, the Celtics use a hard hedge to pressure the ball-handler after coming off a re-screen. Porzingis is defending on the perimeter and operates as the “hedger,” taking a beat and then recovering to his man.

By mixing up their defensive coverages, the Celtics added an unpredictability into their game. The Cavaliers would struggle to run designed plays, as they would’ve been unsure how the Celtics were looking to defend their actions. As such, Boston forced Cleveland into a position of deliberation, limiting their early offense and taking control of how the game flowed down the stretch.

#9 Porzingis’ big third quarter

What third-quarter struggles? Porzingis dropped 13 points in the third quarter after enduring a quiet offensive night up to that point. The veteran big man has been coming up big for the Celtics whenever they need it, and considering their recent struggles in the third, it’s only right that he was the one to step up.

Porzingis has been such a core addition to the roster, so I just wanted to give him his flowers for stepping up at a time when the Celtics often struggle.

#10 Derrick White makes things tick

This was another “Derrick White” game. White plays his role to perfection. He fights on defense, hustles on offense, and comes up clutch whenever the team needs a bucket. His second-quarter shooting from deep was a major boost as the Celtics looked to take control of the game. As was his off-ball movement throughout the night.

Smart movement like in the clip above, is what makes White such a vital piece to the Celtics puzzle. As you can see in the video, White’s movement engages two defenders around the nail, allowing Holiday to lift out of the corner and get an open jumper from the wing. I like to call plays like this “cut creation,” and it’s something White excels at.

Looking ahead

The Celtics have Wednesday off before heading into a back-to-back against the Cavaliers (again) and then the Orlando Magic. Neither game is going to be easy. Yet, the Celtics are at full strength and have enjoyed enough rest for us to feel confident about their physical condition going into those two games.

I’m hoping they go 2-0. But whatever happens, they should both be fun!