10 takeaways from the Celtics outclassing the Suns on both ends

#1 – Jaylen Brown’s efficiency

This has been talked about often enough, so there’s no need to dig too much into it, but Jaylen Brown’s efficiency hasn’t met expectations this season. For context: among the 50 players averaging more than 20 points per game, he ranks 45th in True Shooting percentage, trailing RJ Barrett and Paolo Banchero.

Yet last night, Jaylen Brown scored 31 points on impressive efficiency. Let’s have a look at how that was possible and what it means.

One of his first buckets came from a backdoor cut. Brown’s cutting game has kinda disappeared since he became an All-Star, but that was a big part of his game when he was younger. In his first year in the league, he was taking 48% of his shots at the rim. That number is now down to 30%. More cuts—especially in the Celtics’ spacing—could lead to easier shots and better efficiency.

Another area where Jaylen Brown has struggled this season is above-the-break threes (the triples that aren’t from the corners). From there, he has been shooting just 30%, while making 44% of his corner threes.

The pull-ups haven’t been falling for JB this season, and that’s why the play below is a great example of what he could do to make up for it. With great patience, he isolated and attacked Nick Richards to finish above the rim.

Despite the lack of overall efficiency, there is one play type he has been mastering all season: the post-up. He is one of the most efficient players in this area, and last night’s game was another great example of why. With his bulk and size, he can get into the paint and finish over his matchup.

Another action that gives Jaylen a lot of freedom is when he has the ball on an empty side. On the right wing, for example, that gives him plenty of space to drive and attack without help from the defense.

Overall, this performance shows how much Jaylen Brown should get to the rim and into the paint more often—and how he can benefit from the Celtics’ elite spacing.

#2 – Book couldn’t cook well enough

Without Kevin Durant, it was expected we’d see a lot of Devin Booker. The guard took one-third of the Phoenix Suns’ shot attempts and half of their free-throw attempts. The volume was impressive, but the efficiency wasn’t high enough to compensate for the lack of talent around him. With a 59% True Shooting percentage, Devin Booker wasn’t able to perform well enough to counter the Celtics’ strategy: letting Booker’s teammates try to beat them.

The screenshot below perfectly illustrates what the Celtics were trying to achieve. On the play, there is a spread pick-and-roll in the middle of the court with Booker on one wing. Note how close Al Horford is to Booker on the weak side compared to the rest of the Celtics players and their matchups. The Celtics were happy to let them play four-on-four as long as Devin Booker didn’t get the ball.

When Booker did get the ball, they put a lot of pressure on him, clogging the driving lanes and sending extra defenders in the pick-and-roll coverage. Even when Devin Booker started possessions off-ball, the Celtics’ defense trapped him as soon as he touched the ball.

With the lack of supporting cast talent—and Bradley Beal’s one-point performance—Devin Booker tried his best but couldn’t do anything against the Celtics.

#3 – Jayson Tatum loves to attack big men

Last night in Boston wasn’t a good time to be a Suns big man because of Jayson Tatum. The Celtics’ go-to guy spent the game attacking Ryan Dunn, Oso Ighodaro, and Nick Richards. Through drives, pick-and-rolls, and pull-ups, he was able to dictate the offense and punish the Suns on every switch.

The highlight of that big man hunt was this dunk over Ryan Dunn, and the night reminded us all what a big man hunter Jayson Tatum can be.

#4 – Horns Flare variations

A little bit of X and O’s today in the 10 takeaways. The Celtics used their classic Horns Flare action. The play starts with a Horns set: two players in the corners, two at the free-throw line, and one at the top. Derrick White passed the ball to Porzingis at the elbow and ran right to use Jayson Tatum’s screen at the opposite elbow.

In the first example below, Royce O’Neale wants to protect Bradley Beal from Jayson Tatum and stays low… which opens White for three.

A few moments later, the Celtics ran the same play with the exact same set and movements. However, this time, O’Neale didn’t want to leave White open and positioned himself higher… leaving Beal on an island. When Tatum caught the ball, it was too late for Booker to help—two free throws for the Celtics.

They also ran the same play with Al Horford later in the game.

Great offensive design from the Celtics coaching staff once again. They’ve been doing great work lately.

#5 – Getting to the line

As we just saw with Jayson Tatum’s cut to the basket from the Horns Flare, the Celtics were able to stretch the defense and get to the line more than usual. They are one of the teams with the lowest free-throw rates (27th out of 30), with 17.5 free-throw attempts per 100 field goal attempts. This isn’t due to bad refereeing, but because of Boston’s shot diet, which is heavy on jumpers.

Yet last night, the Celtics relentlessly attacked the rim through drives, cuts, and pick-and-rolls. Thanks to that emphasis on putting pressure on the paint, they were able to generate twice as many free throws as the Suns.

#6 – Another Luke Kornet classic

For the second game in a row, Luke Kornet grabbed only offensive rebounds. Is he the best NBA player when it comes to extending possessions?

#7 – Forcing tough floaters

What stood out defensively was the number of floaters and short mid-range shots the Phoenix Suns were forced to take—and how well the Celtics disrupted them.

From that zone, the Suns are one of the best teams in the NBA, shooting 48% on attempts between four feet from the rim and the free-throw line. Last night, that efficiency dropped to 34% on 23 attempts—and only two shooting fouls were drawn.

Great discipline from the Celtics’ rim protectors, who managed to take away the layup while still contesting the floaters.

#8 – Protecting the rim at all costs

Speaking of rim protection, Kristaps Porzingis gave all he had trying to block this dunk attempt from Cody Martin.

Thankfully, it turned out to be nothing serious for the Celtics big man. Still, it’s worth noting that Boston was able to lower the Suns’ rim efficiency despite Phoenix being the best team in the NBA at rim field goal percentage (71%).

#9 – Brown & Kornet alley-oops

In a previous 10 takeaways, we talked about Luke Kornet’s growing synergy in the pick-and-roll with Jayson Tatum and Derrick White. Last night, we got a look at Luke’s developing connection with Jaylen Brown, too.

During the fourth quarter, the Celtics ran two pick-and-rolls in a row for JB and Kornet. Both plays ended in great alley-oop opportunities—stopped only by Bradley Beal fouls.

Luke Kornet’s growth as a rim runner and Jaylen Brown’s passing improvements were on full display.

#10 – New 3-point record

The Celtics broke the record for most three-pointers in a regular season. Any thoughts from Joe Mazzulla?