10 takeaways from the Celtics experimenting their way past the Jazz

#1 – Leaning into Porzingis passing

A few weeks ago in January, when the Celtics’ offense was struggling a little, I suggested in an article that Kristaps Porzingis’ passing could help the Celtics add some versatility to their offense. Indeed, because of his size and gravity, the space on the floor is different when he has the ball at the top or from the post-up.

Last night, through various actions, the Celtics designed their offense to compensate for Jaylen Brown’s absence, and Porzingis’ passing was one of the keys. Using the Latvian as an offensive hub disrupts the defensive structure because he either drags the rim protector away from the paint, or the mismatch causes a double team and opens things up for his teammates.

Very good discipline from the Celtics. They saw this game as an opportunity to try new approaches and keep sharpening their tools, even against a 16-win team. Curious to see if this new offensive trend will remain against some of the best teams and in the Playoffs.

#2 – Empty side pick-and-roll

As the Celtics tried to use scheme, they also worked on their usual plays. One of these plays is a pick-and-roll on an empty side. As no one is in the strong-side corner, the defensive help options are different. Next to the pick, the Celtics like to place a player at the top so the ball can be swung to him before he passes it to the player down in the paint. This is the play the Celtics used to take a big lead against the Lakers in the third quarter a few weeks ago.

Last night, the Celtics did it again against the Jazz with Horford and Porzingis moving in space. The structure of this play call can take different forms, as the ball-handler could be anyone between Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, or Jayson Tatum here; and the screener could be literally any of the players on the court, as the Celtics love to mix the matchups.

The Celtics’ half-court offense is number two in efficiency this season, and Joe Mazzulla’s innovative playbook is one of the reasons why.

#3 – Jazz putting the big in rotation

Last night’s game was also insightful in showing how offenses could try to break the Celtics’ defensive shell. As they played some minutes with two bigs on the floor, the Jazz tried to generate movement and forced the big man to be in the rotation. A great example below shows two ghost screens that caused Al Horford to be switched onto the ball-handler. This isn’t the best situation for Al, even more so if he has to deal with a pick-and-roll. As Horford defends on the ball, Porzingis is the pick defender—and that’s what the Jazz were aiming for. Because Horford and Porzingis are less mobile than the other players on the court, and better at rim protection, forcing them to both defend the pick-and-roll turned the Celtics’ defense upside down and generated some gaps.

There are ways to prevent that, such as zone defense or off-ball switching. Yet, I think it is important to notice that even tanking teams can find weaknesses to exploit, and there are tactical insights to be learned in every game of the regular season.

#4 – Containing Sexton

The second defensive challenge for the Celtics was to find a way to slow down Collin Sexton. You might not know it, but Collin Sexton is secretly one of the most efficient guards over the last two seasons, and he showed it pretty well last night in Salt Lake City.

Like Tyrese Maxey or Donovan Mitchell, Sexton is the type of player the Celtics have a hard time dealing with, as they are a bit faster than Derrick White or Jrue Holiday. Despite their lack of size, these fast guards usually do well against the Celtics’ elite defense.

At some point in the game, Joe Mazzulla and the coaching staff had seen enough and decided to stop Collin Sexton, challenging the other four players on the court to beat them. They started blitzing Sexton on the pick-and-roll, forcing him to give the ball to one of his teammates.

When they started pressuring the Jazz guard, the score was 67–60 and he had scored 26 points in 20 minutes. He played 15 more minutes and scored only four more points, and the Utah Jazz offense couldn’t keep up in the second half. Great adjustment from the coaching staff.

#5 – Tatum defensive playmaking

Speaking of defense, Jayson Tatum started the game strong with three steals in the first quarter. Usually, the Celtics aren’t too aggressive when it comes to forcing turnovers. However, the Utah Jazz’s ball management is one of their weaknesses, and the Celtics knew they could put pressure on their offense and create transition if they were pugnacious on the ball and in the passing lanes.

Thanks to this approach, the Celtics scored 22% of their points off the Jazz’s turnovers—a great mark for a team that usually has a more conservative approach.

#6 – Derrick White three behind-the-back steals

Recently, Jack Simone, former writer for CelticsBlog, did an insightful video on Derrick White’s secret defensive skills.

Well, Derrick White’s steals from behind might still be a secret for some teams, as the former Spur was able to force three turnovers from these situations. In transition or in a half-court set, the defensive-minded guard was able to display great hand and eye coordination to generate transition for the Green Army.

#7 – Post-up offense

Despite being pictured as a very modern offense with a lot of threes, the Celtics are also dominating in one of the most old-school play types: the post-up. With almost seven actions finished with a post-up attempt, the Celtics are the third team with the most of these actions this season.

Last night, with Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis, the Celtics punished the Jazz’s individual defensive weaknesses by posting up repeatedly. Despite not being a very efficient offensive approach (1.03 points per possession on post-ups), the post-up often tricked the defense into committing a foul or sending two players to the ball.

#8 – Luke Kornet rim protection

Based on recent statistical research from Owen Phillips, Luke Kornet has been one of the best rim protectors this season.

In drop coverage, when the Jazz tried to attack his lack of mobility or in transition, Luke Kornet once again disrupted a good share of the rim attempts when he was on the court.

Having both him and Kristaps Porzingis on the roster is incredibly valuable for the Celtics’ rim protection.

#9 – Is Baylor Scheierman the new 10th man?

So, yes, he didn’t score a single point, but Baylor played 12 minutes in last night’s game. The season is almost over and the Playoffs start in less than a month, leading me to ask: Have Baylor Scheierman’s recent performances made him the 10th man in the Celtics’ rotation?

#10 – The Cavaliers are only 5 wins away

What would have sounded totally insane a week ago might seem less crazy today: can the Celtics catch up with the Cavaliers? As Boston has one of the easiest remaining schedules in the NBA and Cleveland is struggling to get back in the win column, could it be possible for Joe Mazzulla’s team to end up at the top of the Eastern Conference? Or should the Celtics focus on resting the team before the Playoffs? Time will tell.