#1 Playing at a high level
It’s always easy to say this after a win, but the Boston Celtics have begun taking their production to a new level. With the All-Star break behind us, it makes sense that Joe Mazzulla’s team would begin finding a new gear. It’s expected. It’s required.
Finding that gear in just your second game after the break, though? Well, that’s encouraging, to say the least. The Celtics manipulate teams. They put them in binds on both sides of the floor. And then, they wait. They strike as soon as they see the other team’s heads start to drop or feel the momentum begin to build.
Against the New York Knicks, that strike came in the third quarter. The Celtics outscored the Knicks by 9 points. They dished out 7 more assists. And they torched New York from the three-point line, going 9-of-13 from deep with six players scoring at least one three-ball.
Throughout the broadcast, there was much talk surrounding Jayson Tatum’s patience. He was earning praise for how he feels the game and let’s it come to him. I agree. He should be receiving praise for that.
But I think the entire Celtics roster is playing a cerebral brand of basketball. We saw it from the opening tip against New York, and we will probably see it again when Boston faces the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday.
#2 Jaylen Brown looked unstoppable
Jaylen Brown’s first-quarter scoring has been a topic on these takeaways all season. When he’s aggressive from the jump, we see the best version of him throughout the game. Heading into the All-Star break, Brown took his foot off the gas in those early exchanges, with Kristaps Porzingis picking up the slack. However, against the Knicks, he was back to his best.
For me, this is when you know Brown is cooking. It’s not the three-point pull-ups. It’s not the smooth finger rolls around the rim. It’s the mid-range fadeaway jumpers. That’s his go-to counter. That’s his “I’m feeling myself” move. And, when those shots fall, the defense starts to question how best to guard him, opening up his physical drives to the rim, like the one below.
His scoring outburst didn’t stop in the first quarter, though. Brown his five more shots in the second, three in the third, and one in the fourth. Only three of his makes came on the perimeter, which, given his interior scoring ability and his role as a featured scorer, is just fine.
I liked this play. Not because of the dunk but because of how smooth Brown looked with his crossover and how he angled Isaiah Hartenstein out of the possession. The dunk was just a nice exclamation point on the finish.
Outside of his scoring, Brown was also a factor on the glass, grabbing eight boards, and he dished out three assists. Yet, I really liked his overall defense. He rotated well, jumped passing lanes and handled himself well on switches. It was a complete performance from Brown from start to finish. He gave the Celtics a reliable scoring option whenever they looked to pressure the rim or attack the mid-range.
#3 Kristaps Porzingis is a nightmare matchup
Knicks fans know Porzingis all too well. They know what he can do. However, this version of Porzingis is a version that Knicks, Dallas Mavericks, and Washington Wizards fans rarely get to see. Why? Because he’s loving life with the Celtics. He’s playing as a third option that can scale into a secondary or primary option, depending on what the game’s calling for. His role is fluid, and that’s allowing him to have fluidity in his overall performance.
That’s a 7-foot-2 big man hitting a Dirk Nowitski fadeaway via a one-dribble step-back in the mid-range. That’s Porizngis having fun. That’s one of those shots where you ask yourself, “How is anyone supposed to guard this?”
During the game, Porzingis scored two around the rim; he had one at the nail, one on the elbow, and three from deep. Scoring versatility is what makes Porzingis such a unique weapon, and it’s why he’s made the Celtics’ offense so unpredictable.
Then, on the other side of the floor, Porzingis gives you rim protection and size. He boasts good hip flexibility, so he can change directions at pace. He excels in drop but can also be reliable in guarding the perimeter. He contests shots without leaving his feet, making it easier for him to recover when opponents drive a close-out.
All of those wrinkles in his game were on display on Saturday night. And that’s before we even begin talking about his passing out of the post and the patience he shows when drawing two and looking for the cutter.
Playing the Knicks undoubtedly comes with a little extra spice for Porzingis. Yet, he handles it well and plays within the confines of Boston’s system. He’s a true X-Factor. I doubt this will be the last time I say that between now and the end of the season.
#4 Gettin’ Nerdy With It: “Chin Ricky”
There’s quite a bit of X’s and O’s terminology sprinkled into the remaining takeaways. Please feel free to check out the glossary if you’re interested in any of the things we discuss in these takeaways.
The last time I saw the Celtics run this action was against the Knicks, and even then, it was via a slice screen rather than a “Chin action.” It was their second meeting of the season, which occurred back on Nov. 14. Since then, I haven’t spotted it being run — which doesn’t mean it hasn’t — it just means I haven’t noted it down.
Nevertheless, I like the action a lot. It gives the Celtics optionality off the catch and can create scoring opportunities on multiple levels of the floor.
First of all, here is an annotated version of the play from that game in November so we can have a good feel for how “Ricky” works.
Now we have that down; here’s how it looks when coming via a “chin action.”
Credit to Bojan Bogdanovic; he defended the action well and navigated Al Horford’s re-screen with a veteran’s poise. As such, some of the advantages this sort of play would create quickly dissipated. Still, Tatum found a way to make things work. He put the ball on the floor, created space and drove the gap.
Tatum’s shot didn’t fall, but his willingness to attack and embrace contact allowed him to secure the foul call and get to the line.
#5 Horford plays his role
Sometimes, it’s easy to overlook what Horford brings off the bench. He’s never been a “jump out of the screen” performer. He plays his role. He does the little things. And every now and then, he has a flurry of possessions that gets the crowd fired up.
Against the Knicks, Horford had a typical Horford game — quiet but effective. He rebounded well. He controlled the angles on defense. And his screening created the separation his teammates needed, both around the perimeter and on the interior.
Yet, he also got himself some buckets. Without Mitchell Robinson, New York is operating with a make-shift big-man rotation. That allowed Horford to remind everyone that he can still score with ease, especially out of the post or when attacking the rim.
Here, Boston goes with an empty-side pick-and-roll between Horford and Payton Pritchard. Horford mirrors Pritchard’s drive, gets a dominant position in the post, and finishes the play after receiving a dump-off pass after the defense has committed to Pritchard’s probing penetration.
This time, Horford faces up on Bogdanovic, drops his shoulder, creates a driving angle and finishes with a nifty reverse. He’s 36 years old, remember. Yet age doesn’t seem to be a factor for Horford at the moment, as he’s still a reliable member of the rotation on both sides of the floor. The Knicks found that out the hard way.
#6 Jrue Holiday’s swiss-army knife approach
Jrue Holiday’s role is hard to pinpoint. One minute, he looks like the defensive quarterback and designated defensive event-maker. The next, he’s knocking down threes in transition or spotting up in the corner. Or, he’s orchestrating play in the half-court. That versatility is incredibly tough to deal with.
How do you guard a player whose role is consistently morphing throughout a game?
It may have been early in the game, but this defensive action was one of my favorite moments from Holiday. The Knicks go into something out of their “floppy” series. Holiday is tasked with being the “chaser” on Jalen Brunson. He sticks with his man, gets right onto his hips as the DHO is about to occur, and pokes the ball loose. Before you know it, the Knicks have seven seconds to get into a new set and score. Great defense.
Then, on offense, Holiday’s corner three is becoming a legitimate weapon, especially when he’s on the weakside and the defense over-commits to the action in front of them.
Holiday ended the game with six dimes to his name, too. He controlled the tempo when operating as the ball-handler. He kept the rock moving when playing within the system. And he wasn’t afraid to attack gaps as they presented themselves. You can’t understate how he’s helped elevate the Celtics this season, or in this instance, throughout their win over the Knicks.
#7 Gettin’ Nerdy With It Part 2: “Chin Split”
This was an interesting play. We know the Celtics like to run a bunch of different variations out of their “Chin Series.” Adding in the principals from a split cut after the screen to trigger the chin action is smart. It’s also simple: Brown chin cuts toward the post, Holiday splits off around the perimeter and receives the DHO.
From there, Holiday attacks off the dribble and powers his way to the rim for the lay-in.
#8 Derrick White, also a Swiss army knife
If we’re going to praise Holiday for his versatile role and performance, both for this season and in Saturday’s game against the Knicks, we have to do the same for Derrick White. At times, it feels like the two are a package deal. They both scale their roles. If one has it going on offense, the other becomes more defensive minded, then, when necessary, they switch.
White ended the game with 13 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals. He shot 3-of-5 from deep and 5-of-8 overall. He defended. He rotated. He cut. He screened. And he played his game. There’s no hero ball with White. It’s just straight-up hoopin’.
Here’s a perfect example of how White can impact an offense.
He starts off by “UCLA Cutting” from the perimeter. He then sets a “Flex” screen for Tatum on the strongside corner. As Tatum cuts and his defender follows with him, White pops out onto the perimeter. He receives the pass from Holiday, with his defender now guarding at the three-point line.
A screen from Porzingis triggers an empty-side pick-and-roll action. White rejects the screens, attacks the space from the empty side (which he helped clear with the Flex screen) and gets a floater off to punish his defender, who’s playing too tightly on his hips.
White, like Holiday, brings diversity to the Celtics. His presence is a calming factor. His defense and shot-contesting ability is still underrated. He’s a core member of the rotation. At times, the Knicks struggled with his movement and versatility. It’s great to watch.
#9 A solid shot diet
The Celtics took 81 shots against the Knicks. 35 of those shots came from three-point range. The rest came from the mid-range and around the rim. For those who have been calling for a little more balance in how the Celtics approach offense, this game is likely what they were talking about.
After all, the Celtics were cooking from deep. Their shots were falling at an incredible rate. Yet, they continued to pressure the rim and punish any space in the mid-range. They attacked gaps, they punished space, and they took the best shot available, regardless of where that was on the floor.
The evaluation of Boston’s shot diet is encouraging, especially if they can keep it up moving forward.
#10 Defensive rebounding has to be a focus
At times, it’s easy to see why the Celtics are the best rebounding team in the league. Then, you will have a sequence or a couple of sequences where they’re giving up a flurry of boards on the same possession. It happens. You can’t be perfect all the time. However, making a point of controlling the glass has been a key part of the Celtics’ success this season.
As such, it makes sense that they continue to double down when protecting their rim and try to limit those flurries as much as possible. If they can do that, they’re going to be incredibly tough to beat on a night-to-night basis, which, let’s be honest, they already are.
Looking ahead
The Celtics are back in action on Tuesday. They face the Philadelphia 76ers. Joel Embiid is still out with injury. Nevertheless, Boston can’t take their foot off the gas. The best thing this team can do is keep stacking wins and building momentum. As always, I’m excited to see how the game unfolds, and I’ll be here on Wednesday morning with the takeaways.
Until then, enjoy your Sunday and have a great start to the week!
