The Celtics have now misplaced three of their final 4, this one to a Philadelphia 76ers crew whose Massive Three has barely shared the court docket collectively. But it surely wasn’t Paul George or Joel Embiid who killed the Celtics. As an alternative, it was the diminutive Tyrese Maxey who constantly blew previous his defenders and bought two ft into the paint, the place he both completed an more and more absurd array of layups or sprayed out to Philadelphia’s keen — and uncharacteristically correct — shooters.
(Facet be aware: Might you by no means discover somebody who hates you as a lot as Caleb Martin hates Boston.)
By the tip, Maxey had accrued 33 factors and 12 assists. It was one more in an extended line of huge video games from small guards in opposition to the Celtics. We’re just some weeks from Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell combining for 57 factors on 33 photographs with simply three mixed turnovers. Proper after that, it was Ja Morant for 32 and 9.
And people are solely within the losses. The Celtics have emerged victorious this season regardless of massive performances from guys like Damian Lillard (33 factors on 15 photographs) and Cam Thomas (31 factors). Even the Wizards’ Jordan Poole has had two good video games in opposition to Boston in three tries.
This development dates again to final yr’s playoffs when Donovan Mitchell torched the Celtics in three video games, scoring 32 factors on 52% field-goal capturing and 53% deep-shot capturing earlier than he bought damage.
Now, these are all superb gamers (give or take a Poole get together). Everyone struggles to defend fast guards. However the Celtics aren’t all people, and they need to try for higher.
(Relatedly, Boston has struggled with quick groups since final season. This yr, the three groups with the quickest time to a shot — Memphis, Atlanta, and Chicago — have all overwhelmed the Celtics. Nonetheless, that angle deserves its personal story, so we gained’t get into it right here.)
Jrue Vacation is handsy and bodily, however he’s seemed a quarter-step slower this season (he missed final night time’s sport in opposition to Philly). He’s been blown by extra usually this season than I can ever keep in mind seeing earlier than. His superior metrics, whereas nonetheless wonderful, additionally recommend he’s having his worst defensive efficiency since his early New Orleans days.
Derrick White is an exceptional participant and defender, however he’s at his finest as a helper, the place he may be the most effective within the league. He’s a little bit extra weak as a straight-up one-on-one defender.
That leaves us with Jaylen Brown, who, since final season, has usually taken on the function of guarding the opposite crew’s quickest guards. Brown has developed into an amazing close-quarters fighter, utilizing jabs, physicality, and pristine footwork to torture small guards when he can set the phrases of engagement. His bullying of Lillard earlier within the season was among the finest on-ball defensive sequences of the season:
And even final night time, Brown had success when he picked Tyrese Maxey up excessive close to the halfcourt line, like a boxer pushing their opponent in opposition to the ropes:
The issue is that constantly executing that degree of particular person protection over a full sport is untenable. It requires immense vitality and might result in foul bother. Trendy groups are adept at utilizing screens and off-ball work to get weaker defenders switched onto ballhandlers. Even when Brown had been prime Kawhi Leonard, he can’t recover from each display, and he wants extra assist from Boston’s bigs than this:
Containing the swiftest gamers will at all times be a crew effort that closely includes the facilities. Nearly as good as Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford are, they aren’t the fleetest of foot. Porzingis is a robust shotblocker, however he’s been hampered by accidents and hasn’t seemed snug in house. Horford, in the meantime, has had loads of good defensive moments however doesn’t have the minute-by-minute athleticism to comprise the most effective downhill drivers constantly.
It’s not their fault. On the perimeter, nearly no massive gamers have the lateral quickness to maintain up with one-cut guards like Maxey, which is why it’s so necessary to maintain him in a field and present early assist.
Tatum, specifically, stands to enhance. He has spent giant chunks of the yr guarding facilities, which implies he’s usually the final line of protection. Tatum has usually acquitted himself properly within the put up and on the boards, and I applaud him for that — guarding up a dimension is difficult and sometimes thankless! However weirdly, he normally appears much more involved with stepping into rebounding place than lending a serving to hand:
These struggles aren’t simply anecdotal, though they fail the attention take a look at like me after I by accident enrolled in a grad-level laptop structure class. Need some ugly stats? Based on Synergy, the Celtics enable the third-highest factors per possession in opposition to pick-and-roll ballhandlers. They’re additionally properly beneath common on hand-offs, an analogous offensive mechanism, and isolations. Good on-ball guards don’t wrestle in opposition to Boston like they need to on paper.
I’ve talked beforehand about why giving up photographs to pick-and-roll ballhandlers and gamers in isolation is an efficient factor general; these are usually inefficient playtypes. However that doesn’t imply the Celtics can’t attempt to be higher! Display screen navigation was a significant power of Boston’s perimeter guys final season, however Vacation, White, and Brown have all been just a bit bit worse in that space this season. Perhaps they need to take some cues from Donald Duck.
Is it effort, the championship hangover impact? To an extent. Is it an absence of communication? At the very least a little bit. I’m undecided what number of occasions we’ve seen Vacation and White leveled like a crash-test dummy at halfcourt once they attempt to decide up a ballhandler excessive, however I do know it’s too many:
The Celtics’ basic defensive scheme loathes overhelping. Watch that Maxey clip once more; see how reluctant Boston’s different three defenders are to go away their males, and that’s by design. Joe Mazzulla is snug letting guys work in opposition to Brown, White, and Vacation and dwelling with the outcomes.
Ought to he be? We’re beginning to collect a physique of proof that this technique could must be tweaked in opposition to sure jitterbug guards. Nobody within the league leaves his defenders on an island like Mazzulla, and the Celtics’ previous defensive successes show the effectiveness of that technique. The league is at all times altering, although. Groups modify to success. Boston could be clever to bend — no less than a little bit — with them.
The sky isn’t falling. This isn’t a dying knell to Boston’s repeat hopes, and so they’ve tallied some superb video games in opposition to scoring guards like Trae Younger (who, to be honest, isn’t very fast) and Lillard on totally different nights. However on the identical time, doubling up as a champion is difficult, and it means plugging no matter leaks within the Good Ship Russell pop up all through the season. The Celtics will possible must face no less than two of Maxey, Lillard, Mitchell, and Jalen Brunson (who dropped 34 and 39 in consecutive video games in opposition to the Celtics final season) within the playoffs. They should begin problem-solving sooner relatively than later.
