Parquet plays: find the mismatch, punish the help, and eat

In a Finals rematch with the Mavericks, the Celtics’ punishing offense was on full display just like it was in the gentlemen’s sweep of Dallas.

At this point, we’ve all heard the killer whale analogy applied to Mazzulla ball. Boston’s offense works as a pod of sea carnivores who work together to hunt for food in the NBA ocean. Despite their shooting woes of late, the Celtics still boast the third most efficient offense in the league behind the Cavaliers and Knicks.

Boston is one of the few teams in the league that plays through their wings. Both Jayson Tatum and now Jaylen Brown have much more playmaking responsibilities after spending their formative years working side-by-side with on-th-ball point guards like Isaiah Thomas, Kyrie Irving, and Kemba Walker; both are averaging career highs in assists at 5.5 and 4.8 respectively.

For Joe Mazzulla’s mismatch-hunting offense, it makes a ton of sense. The Jays can bully smaller defenders at the point of attack and are quicker than most front court bigs on the switch. In a Finals rematch against the Mavericks, the Finals MVP and Game 5’s closer combined for nine dimes and 46 points.

Just like they did throughout the Finals, the Celtics targeted Kyrie Irving with Tatum and Brown. If he’s going to switch on Kristaps Porzingis on the roll, even better. As soon as KP starts making his way to the free throw line with Irving on his back, Tatum swings the ball to Brown for the better passing angle on the entry and it’s ultimately Spencer Dinwiddie that Porzingis hits the and-1 over.

This is what makes Porzingis such a nightmare to deal with when he’s the “pick your poison” option for opposing defenses. The Celtics already have a mismatch with the Jays on most opposing defenders but mix in Porzingis as the screener and it opens up so many more possibilities. Just like he did last season, he’s leading the NBA in post-ups, scoring 1.23 points per possession.

Here, this isn’t Brown with the ball in his hands, but the Celtics are still looking to take advantage of Irving defending him. With Kyrie playing so far up denying the ball (and trying to deny the mismatch really), JB just runs him into a dribble hand-off and cuts into the free paint generated from the 5-out spacing. It’s another Cookies n’ Cream connection.

In the second half, Dallas’ zone defense slowed Boston’s offense down a bit, but it didn’t change the Celtics’ principles. They assisted on 19 of their 22 made field goals in the third and fourth quarters by pinpointing where they could attack. With a big at the break — in this case, Daniel Gafford — they again used the Jays as playmakers in the middle of the floor. Gafford is an athletic and able defender, but one-on-one with Tatum, he’s just a step slow and Tatum can shoot right over him.

On a night when all five starters finished in double figures, it’s evident that when everything is clicking, everybody eats.

“Outside of JT and JB, when those other guys get it going like D-White and Jrue Holiday, that’s what makes them special and makes them great,” Irving said. “Everyone kind of criticizes them based on what their season is this year, but if you look at their first 42 games, it’s pretty similar compared to last year. Maybe two years off. This is a well coached basketball team.”

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