10 takeaways from Boston’s composed dismantling of the Blazers

#1 – Jayson Tatum unstoppable scoring

With Jaylen Brown out for a few games, the Celtics’ opponents can focus their defense on Jayson Tatum—and the Portland Trail Blazers did just that. Yet, Tatum once again showed he can get himself going in any situation. On the first ball screen with Al Horford, Tatum snakes the pick-and-roll and puts Toumani Camara on his back. Then, he waits until the last second to change direction on his drive, losing Donovan Clingan and opening a path to the rim.

His great shot-making was also on display last night with this beautiful fadeaway following a split action with Luke Kornet and JD Davison. It was a great reminder of his elite shooting touch from the mid-range, where he hit eight field goals.

The Celtics targeted various mismatches, and in the second half, the goal was to make Clingan switch onto Jayson Tatum. First, they ran a flare screen off the ball—this looks like a play that OKC often runs for Chet Holmgren as a trailer. Here, the Celtics are playing in from a made basket, but it works too.

On the next play, the Celtics use Horford again as a ball handler on a handoff. This two-man game forced Clingan to switch once more onto Tatum, and the All-NBA forward punished it with a four-point play.

From mid-range, at the rim, or from three, Jayson Tatum kept killing the Portland Trail Blazers’ defense — but what about his playmaking?

#2 – And his versatile playmaking

The synergy with Luke Kornet was very obvious again. With or without the ball, Kornet’s screening ability and Jayson Tatum’s offensive feel generated high-quality looks. Here, Tatum uses the flare screen away from the ball to free himself and finds Kornet for the alley-oop.

On the very next play, another great pick-and-roll navigation from Tatum, who finds his way between two defenders following a Kornet screen. The defensive shell cracks as he finds Davison in the corner, who swings it to Baylor Scheierman, who fakes and pulls up from three. This won’t count as an assist for JT, but once again, he’s the initiator and playmaker.

At the end, Jayson Tatum once again comes close to a triple double with nine assists and nine rebounds alongside 30 points.

#3 – Scheierman early minutes

With Payton Pritchard’s early foul trouble, the rookie was called into duty pretty early in the game. He quickly made an impact with a smart drive-and-kick from the corner. He gets the ball and is patient enough to trick his matchup into thinking he might shoot, then drives into the paint as the defense collapses, and finds Derrick White open for three.

Once again, he also showed great instincts on defense by being well-positioned and showing a lot of energy. On the same play, he tried to draw a charge, then got back up, fought for the rebound, and secured the ball.

Lately, he has been the first player called outside the usual rotation, and it’s easy to understand why.

#4 – Punishing Clingan drop coverage

Mount Clingan is hard to climb, but thankfully, the Celtics can do a lot of damage from deep. They looked for ways to either make the big man leave the paint or punish his deep positioning with open shots. The most basic action is a simple pick-and-roll to generate an open pull-up three.

The Celtics also put the ball in Horford’s hands to drag Clingan away from the rim. In the play below, they first tried a stagger twirl action—a couple of off-ball screens with a cut in the middle—but this didn’t open anything. So, Baylor Scheierman got into a two-man action with Horford to attack Clingan’s lack of mobility. The two drives and kicks led by the rookie collapsed the defense and opened another clean look.

With Horford on the court, the Celtics also ran a lot of pick-and-pop with him. This play is known to be a drop coverage killer.

The last example — and my favorite — came late in the second quarter with a sideline action. The Celtics used Kornet as a connector on a handoff to drag Clingan away from the rim and force a help from the corner.

#5 – Great shooting night from Sam Hauser

The electric Celtics shooter hit eight triples—a strong mark that highlights how good he has been lately. Over the last 20 games, he’s shooting over 42% from three, a great sign heading into the postseason.

One play stood out to me and showcased what a great offensive reader he is. In the second half, he executed a Danny Green cut perfectly. The Blazers were mixing individual and zone defenses. To trick them, Hauser moved their backs from one corner to the other, used the ball’s gravity to be forgotten, and punished them for leaving him open.

#6 – Kornet offensive impact

In less than 20 minutes, the Celtics’ reserve big man scored 13 points without a miss, grabbed three offensive rebounds, and delivered three assists. While Horford was useful for spacing the floor, Kornet’s ability to connect plays and dominate the glass helped a lot. His verticality also offers a form of spacing, vertical spacing, we could call it.

Luke Kornet playing above everyone is a great reminder that court geometry is cubic, not flat. If a player can’t space the floor horizontally, he can still be a vertical threat.

#7 – Payton Pritchard special night

For the first time this season, the Celtics’ sixth man was in the starting five—ready to pull the trigger close to the Oregon college where he made his name in the NCAA. Last time he faced Portland, Pritchard scored his career high, and he’s usually at his best against this team.

However, the game didn’t start as expected. Due to foul trouble, he was quickly replaced by Baylor Scheierman. The rookie also started in his place in the second half, while Pritchard returned to the bench. But coming off the bench in the second half put him in his more natural role, and he bounced back with a great performance.

Surely, his parents were happy about it.

#8 – Al Horford is getting ready for the Playoffs

Slowly but surely, Al Horford is playing closer to the rim late in the season. As the Playoffs approach, the Celtics want to ensure all their scoring options are ready. This game felt like most recent ones where Horford was asked to target mismatches and contribute inside.

The visual impression that Horford is playing closer to the rim is backed by the numbers. With 38% of his scoring now coming in the paint, it seems he has adjusted his shot distribution to be closer to the bucket, diversifying the Celtics’ offense.

#9 – Jayson Tatum and the referees

Despite a high usage rate and many paint attempts, Jayson Tatum shot only seven free throws—and it was clear he was frustrated with the referees.

Should Tatum get more calls? With only 11% of his possessions ending in shooting fouls this season, that’s close to a career low. But at the same time, his rim frequency is also close to a career low. Hard to get calls on jump shots.

#10 – Ready for Sacramento

No rest for the Celtics. Tonight, they’re playing the Sacramento Kings—an offense-minded team that dominated Boston earlier this season. Yet, things have changed since then, and the Celtics are now the best road team in the league. Should be a fun one!