The last of the finest?

Right here’s the arduous truth: the beginning lineup of Marcus Good, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, and Robert Williams simply hasn’t been good this season and that’s placing it kindly. They’ve been fairly unhealthy. The identical fivesome that racked up a ridiculous 24.6 web ranking (118.8 offensive, 94.2 defensive via 443 minutes) final 12 months is a -12.4 (106.7 offensive, 119.0 defensive via 81 minutes).

A part of it may be chalked as much as Robert Williams’ late begin to the season. After lacking the primary 29 video games of the season and one other eleven to get reinserted into and reacquainted with the beginning lineup, Williams nonetheless doesn’t seem like himself at Sport #64. There have definitely been moments when he’s been a wild card in so many wins this season, however that’s simply it. A 12 months in the past, there was a way you possibly can count on the sudden, these 2-3 performs an evening the place Williams would singlehandedly change the momentum of a sport or add the exclamation level to a win.

That’s to not say he hasn’t been efficient. After MVP candidate Jayson Tatum and analytics darling Derrick White, he’s third on the crew in plus-minus at +4.4. Sadly, one thing’s not working.

One angle of interpretation is that Boston’s double-big lineup isn’t according to their present identification. With an emphasis on three-point taking pictures on offense and switching every part on protection, their simplest lineups have been small, that includes both Derrick White within the again courtroom or Grant Williams within the entrance courtroom.

And it’s not as if head coach Joe Mazzulla (or Ime Udoka final season) has relied closely on the Horford-Williams pairing. Final season, Horford and Williams averaged 14.9 minutes an evening collectively final season. That’s down barely to 12.4 minutes via 24 video games this season. The Celtics would possibly begin large to open the sport and the third quarter however transfer away from it pretty shortly.

The proof within the pudding is perhaps in not who begins, however who finishes. Regardless of their current struggles to carry leads, Boston has the second highest win proportion within the league in clutch conditions (72.4%, 21-8) and so they’ve been profitable these video games going small.

There are, after all, the looming matchups with the present #1 seeds in each conferences, the Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets. Each groups begin monster beginning lineups that would definitely require beefed up entrance courts come the playoffs. However that’s a chess match for April, Could, and June. To regain their common season mojo and residential courtroom benefit all through the postseason, the Celtics ought to contemplate not simply beginning small, however taking part in small as a lot as doable from right here on out.

It’s arduous to disregard the roster development of this crew and the analytical philosophy of its head coach. “The three-point try charge is a very powerful stat within the sport of basketball due to the tempo of play, due to the shot choice, and due to the power to go on runs,” Mazzulla mentioned after the Nets mounted a 28-point comeback on Friday night time.

With Robert Williams out tonight with a left hamstring pressure towards the Knicks, count on to see the Celtics to go small once more — if not solely — taking pictures a ton of threes and aggressively switching every part on the perimeter. As a result of if Mazzulla is really a believer within the analytics, it’s all within the numbers.