Activate an NBA podcast or discuss present – it may be ESPN’s The Hoop Collective or The Lowe Put up, First Take or NBA Right this moment, or nearly any platform that produces NBA content material – and see how lengthy it takes earlier than somebody mentions how unhealthy the Celtics are within the clutch. Chances are high, it’ll be inside the first three minutes of the staff’s title being talked about. The Boston Celtics and “choking” have merely change into synonymous over the previous couple seasons.
In each of the prior two years, the Celtics have had adverse internet scores in playoff clutch time (-11.4 final yr and -14.2 the yr earlier than). Weirdly sufficient, Boston truly went 12-11 in clutch-time video games throughout these two seasons. However the eye take a look at advised the story – they didn’t look good when it mattered most.
However this playoff run, it appears totally different. The Celtics have the perfect clutch internet ranking within the NBA and have a 4-0 file in these video games. They’ve a greater offensive ranking, defensive ranking, and help proportion within the clutch this yr than they did in both of the earlier two years. And by quite a bit.
However why? Are they only lastly making pictures? Effectively, that’s at all times a part of the equation – it’s a make-or-miss league, and Boston has a better true capturing proportion this season than both of the earlier two.
Nonetheless, it’s additionally about their tempo. The Celtics was the staff that performed quick for 43 minutes after which screeched to a halt for the ultimate 5. They stopped doing what was working for your entire recreation and went away from their identification. However Joe Mazzulla and the C’s have made a transparent effort this yr to maintain pushing the tempo down the stretch, and it has paid dividends for his or her crunch time offense – which, in fact, helps your crunch time protection.
Right here’s a typical crunch time possession from final season: isolation with 10 seconds on the clock, although there’s nonetheless greater than sufficient time to run an motion and get a stable look. No screens, no off-ball motion, after which a poor choice to high all of it off. Nothing remotely inspiring right here.
And right here, you’ve received the polar reverse. Sprinting the ball up the court docket, making fast choices with the ball as soon as it’s swung, and getting a terrific look with 16 seconds left on the shot clock.
Folks affiliate tempo solely with fastbreaks, however it’s much more than that. It’s about getting the ball up the court docket rapidly and beginning your offense at 21 as an alternative of 14. It’s about getting a move on the wing and – as an alternative of sitting with the ball and ready for the protection to get again in place – occurring the catch of the ball and attacking with pressure. That’s what the Celtics have achieved extra of in clutch time this yr.
Trying forward
Boston has a preposterous 43.9 internet ranking in playoff clutch time this yr. Let that sink in for a minute, as a result of it’s removed from regular. They’ve been the perfect crunch time staff within the league throughout an important video games, and it’s not shut.
However, in a possible matchup with the Mavericks, they’ll meet their match. The Mavericks have a playoff file of 6-2 within the clutch and have two of the coldest clutch gamers within the league. It’s robust to belief anybody with the ball of their palms on the finish of a recreation greater than Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. They’ve proven it previously, they usually’ve proven it throughout this playoff run. The C’s might want to proceed their stellar clutch-time play – and towards much better competitors than they’ve confronted thus far – in the event that they wish to take residence Banner 18.
