Work it, flip it, and reverse it: the Celtics vs. Luka Doncic

In case you’ve been on NBA socials because the Celtics thrashing of the Mavericks in Sport 1, you know the way Boston attacked Luka Doncic on each side of the ball: swap on screens and defend him one-on-one and assault him in isolation on offense.

Statistically, the numbers are staggering. Doncic recorded only one help (an outlet move in transition to PJ Washington and a beneficiant present from the Backyard scorekeeper) within the Finals opener. For the whole sport, the Celtics restricted him to only six potential assists; by comparability, Jaylen Brown (8), Jrue Vacation (9), Al Horford (12), and Jayson Tatum (14) all had extra.

A lot has already been stated concerning the geometry of all of it and the way the Celtics took away the lob passes and nook threes from the Mavericks’ offensive assault. Right here’s a snippet from SB Nation’s Joe Viray:

The Celtics approached the previous by two important coverages:

1. With Al Horford on the ground, they have been extra eager to change all the things to maintain the Mavericks’ half-court actions flat. This allowed defenders to remain residence on their assignments, together with the corners. The belief in Horford and different “lesser” defenders to carry their very own in isolation towards Dončić and Irving was largely justified.

2. With Kristaps Porziņģis on the ground, the Celtics opted to place him in drop protection in pick-and-roll conditions. This saved half-court possessions a two-on-two endeavor and eradicated the necessity for the opposite three defenders to rotate, all whereas trusting Vacation or White to navigate round ball screens. In any other case, they might swap screening actions that didn’t contain Porziņģis (i.e., switching 1-4).

Take a look at the movie breakdown. Joe’s actually good with the small print.

In case you’re inquisitive about how the one-on-one numbers vs. Doncic escape, right here they’re from NBA Stats’ monitoring information:

There are some noticeable information factors:

At any time when Doncic had both Celtics middle on him, he took benefit. Towards his former teammate, Kristaps Porzingis, the MVP runner-up obtained pictures up, largely of the three-point selection. As Viray notes, with Porzingis within the drop on pick-and-roll actions, Doncic fortunately went to his stepback from behind the arc, hitting 3-of-4. Nonetheless, with Horford enjoying as much as the extent of the screens, Doncic drove just a little extra, however nonetheless solely made 1-of-8 pictures.

After the sport, Luka spoke concerning the Celtics’ protection limiting his playmaking alternatives, saying, “they largely play one-on-one. They don’t ship numerous assist. So, that’s why.” Jaylen Brown took on the majority of these one-on-one tasks, masking him almost 50% of the time. Doncic weights in at 6’7, 230-pounds and Brown 6’6, 223-pounds, so it’s a fair matchup by way of sheer measurement. Nonetheless, Brown’s velocity and energy neutralized Doncic for an evening. Twice, Brown picked his pocket at half courtroom and had two emphatic slams on the opposite finish. Luka did make 4-of-6 towards him, however contemplating how a lot time Brown spent on him, Boston will reside with these makes an attempt.

It didn’t finish on protection. On the opposite finish of the courtroom, they made him work, too. With Doncic as the first defender, the Celtics have been 9-for-17. Doncic had his moments in what I might name “lazy rec league protection” — the flop cost on Brown, two attain round strips of Tatum and Porzingis — however in any other case, Boston made him work. Right here’s an ideal minimize from Eric Shapiro:

It’s demise by a thousand physique blows. At Saturday’s media availability, Doncic vowed to be extra aggressive, blaming team-wide low vitality for the gradual begin. When the Pistons’ Ausar Thompson requested about enjoying so freely and having enjoyable, he responded, “I simply attempt to have enjoyable. That’s the sport I like. That’s the sport that will get me paid. There’s nothing higher on this planet than enjoying basketball to your job. I’m simply attempting to get pleasure from it.”

After Sport 1, it’s exhausting to think about that he’s having fun with the Finals up to now.