Earlier than the sequence began, I famous that the crux of Hawks-Celtics would come right down to how Boston’s protection would deal with Trae Younger, Dejounte Murray, and Atlanta’s offense:
Within the remaining fifteen video games of the common season, the Snyder-cut Hawks averaged essentially the most factors within the league at 124.1 an evening. Positive, they performed with tempo to generate extra possessions, nevertheless it’s not as in the event that they had been chucking up a bunch of three-pointers and getting out in transition. As an alternative, Atlanta excelled within the soiled work, the soiled work of combating for offensive rebounds and the “soiled” work of attending to the free throw line.
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As spectacular as Atlanta was on offense to shut out the common season, Boston matched them on the opposite aspect of the ball. Even whereas treating the ultimate three video games as a little bit of a calm down from an 82-game marathon, the Celtics completed first in defensive score at 109.1 factors per 100 possessions; to place that into context, the Hawks had been twenty fifth at 118.5. It wasn’t precisely the stingy D that they closed with in 2022, but when protection wins championships, they’re clearly trending in the proper route.
By two video games and two blowouts, the Celtics have clearly gained on the defensive aspect of the ball.
The Hawks are nonetheless discovering some success with what acquired them into the playoffs: offensive rebounding and subsequently, producing extra shot makes an attempt. In Video games 1 and a pair of, they’ve pulled down 33 boards on the offensive finish and brought 25 extra photographs. The Celtics have mitigated a few of that injury by permitting simply three extra second likelihood factors (25-22) over each video games at TD Backyard and extra importantly, pressured Atlanta into some tough photographs.
As talked about, head coach Quin Snyder isn’t blessed with numerous taking pictures or rim threats, therefore the necessity to crash the glass. In flip, the Celtics have contained Atlanta’s offense to outdoors of the restricted space and contained in the arc. In Sport 2, the Hawks shot nineteen extra threes on Tuesday evening with a bulk of them (16) coming from John Collins and De’Andre Hunter. Boston will gladly take that.
“Our focus is take the photographs we get and the best way that they’re shifted, in the event that they’re open, we take them,” Snyder stated after his workforce had half the variety of photographs they’d in Sport 1 within the restricted space and simply eight free throws vs. 22 on Saturday. “I nonetheless really feel like that once we flip them down and once we get into site visitors, the end result isn’t nearly as good.”
Snyder is correct.
A number of instances when Sam Hauser was on the ground, the Hawks, significantly Trae Younger and Dejounte Murray, hunted him on protection. Hauser acquired caught a number of instances, however for essentially the most half, held his floor.
Hauser will give Younger sufficient area to shoot the pull-up jumper, but when Younger goes to try to get to the rim, he’ll be met with assist protection — right here within the type of Jaylen Brown.
Boston isn’t precisely doing something revolutionary. The Hawks know who they’re and happily, so do the Celtics. On this trendy NBA, the numbers simply don’t favor long-2s, particularly in the event that they’re contested and Boston is making them take each.
Right here’s Younger once more, probing after a pick-and-roll and drawing two defenders. As an alternative of dribbling out and resetting the possession, he will get swallowed up by Al Horford and Derrick White and drive into a nasty turnover with Marcus Good lurking on the assistance aspect.
“In conditions the place groups shrink the ground, simply with the ability to make a learn,” Snyder stated of the issue with coping with the Celtics’ protection. “Generally, it’s a easy play, nevertheless it’s not that straightforward to acknowledge it. Boston is lengthy they usually shrink the ground. After we’re driving, we have to get off it at instances.”
After the Hawks got here into the playoffs as the most popular offensive workforce to shut out the common season, the Celtics have ramped up their efforts on protection. From January to March and April, Boston has tightened the screws month-to-month from an 112.1 defensive score to 111.9 to 109.1. Within the postseason, that’s dropped additional to 100.5.
“We’ve been a bunch that’s hung their hat on protection all 12 months. I believe we began the transition from even when Brad Stevens was the pinnacle coach to Ime Udoka taking it up a notch and even now,” Brown stated.
“We’re a defensive group, we play either side of the ball, and we do it at a excessive degree. Generally, it goes unnoticed. Generally, individuals rely on analytics to make their selections, however when it comes right down to it, in moments like this, that is when our protection issues essentially the most within the playoffs. We’re trying to present what we are able to do on that aspect of the ball in these playoffs, me included.”
OK, JB. OK.
