Throughout the season, The Athletic provides analysis of everything the Celtics do on the floor. To preview the upcoming playoffs, we approached a panel of coaches and scouts at various levels — including the NBA — and started with a simple premise: How do you beat the Celtics in the playoffs?
After hours of conversations, we have distilled the most interesting theories, details and strategies. Our panel consists of two scouts from NBA teams who were granted anonymity so they could speak freely and five coaches from various basketball backgrounds and levels.
Our coaches:
- Sean Martin, an assistant coach at American International College, Springfield, Mass.
- Patrick Murphy, head coach at Longmeadow High School, Longmeadow, Mass.
- Terrell Hollins, head coach at Concord Academy, Concord, Mass.
- Trey Witter, assistant coach at Trinity College, Hartford, Conn.
- Donald Hadesman, former assistant coach of the Windsor Express, Awful Coaching on YouTube.
To start things off, we asked our panel: What’s your analysis of the Celtics’ offense?
Our panel shared what they’ve seen from the Celtics this season and some of their tendencies, which will be followed up in Part 2 — how to stop the Celtics’ offense — Saturday.
Interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
NBA scout A: They’re a great team, but you have a better chance of beating them in a series than the regular season because there’s time to go through everything with your players. In the regular season, you have a staff meeting and go through shootaround and film, and then next thing you know, it’s first bus to the arena. It’s quick.
You would know the coverages, and you’re used to them. Teams are going to be better equipped to know what’s coming. The margin for error is so slim against (the Celtics).
NBA scout B: Their 3-point shooting is top in the league in both volume and efficiency. Being able to generate those looks comes from having five players who can play with the ball in their hands at all times. That’s the biggest thing.
But the one weakness you can attack is sometimes, you can get them to settle into the worst shots. I feel like that’s the way you have to attack them. When things go stale for them at the end of fourth quarters, they stop getting the penetration, and it turns into iso hero ball. They’re still generating decent 3s but not the good ones they generate for the first three quarters.
Martin: You’re hoping for a bit of luck to go your way. You need something to fall that wasn’t supposed to go your way to win this series, given they’re the best team in the NBA.
NBA scout A: Those guys with their firepower, mucking up the game is crucial. That means you are changing your coverages. You’re going from a switch to a blitz, denying a guy to get to the ball so he can’t bring it up, mixing in zone. You gotta muck up the game and make it dirty with those guys.
Murphy: I watch these teams with this automatic switch. They’re kind of, like, “We’re just gonna go through the motions,” and everybody does it. It’s just in modern basketball so much about switching the screen. They did some blitzing, and I thought they had some success with it. But I’d be worried if you blitz it, getting the ball out of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown’s hands, you’re creating a four-on-three with guys who are just really good.
Martin: The Bucks went zone and changed their defenses, and it completely disrupted the rhythm of the Celtics. I think you take that strategy and implement it as much as you can. If you’re in a seven-game series with them, I would change defenses once a quarter.
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Murphy: They’re gonna get shots up. If you can limit those second-tier guys and get Brown and Tatum to shoot 10, 11 (3s), that’s going to get you in a better spot. A recipe for disaster on any team is when Derrick White or Jrue Holiday are 4-for-6 from 3.
I would not try to help off those secondary players as much as everybody else is doing. I know that sounds a little crazy, but I’d be in the mindset of — Tatum and Brown are gonna get 70 between them — but let me try to limit Al Horford, Holiday and White’s points. If you stay with a Sam Hauser, he’s not creating on his own.
Hollins: I would do less help on the drives because most of the players who are driving are not driving to score, outside of Tatum and Brown. I’ll just live with those other guys beating me on drives, but I’m not giving up open 3s. I’m just not doing that.
Even at times, pick up full court, try to wear them down a bit. Force them into shooting it, but force them to play a little faster than they are accustomed to playing. They’ll get tired and that’ll help (their opponents) out a little bit.
Witter: You can’t give up transition. That’s non-negotiable. You gotta get back, stop ball early. You can’t let them penetrate early.
Murphy: The major thing would be to not switch any ball screens. The Celtics do an incredible job of setting some ball screens just to get the switch and get them an even bigger advantage. They run that easy ball screen at the top of the key, and all of a sudden, Tatum’s on the center and it’s all over.
Hadesman: With Tatum, obviously, almost no one can guard him one-on-one, so where’s my help coverage? Do I have it on the strong side of the floor? Do I have it in the middle? Am I shading him toward where my help is? And I’m not going to gamble. I’m going to show my hands, slide my feet, to make sure he gets into that help.
NBA scout B: Tatum can get to the rim, but that’s not the first thing he wants to do, right? That’s where teams have had some success, is taking the rim away from them. It’s a lot tougher with Kristaps Porziņģis out there because then they have a lob threat. But if you can take the rim away from the Celtics and they’re not getting free throws as well, they are going to have to take more of those tougher 3s.
Murphy: You force Brown left, but he’s gotten a lot better going left this year. Tatum, this sounds crazy, but I think I force him right. He likes going left and pulling up. That’s his comfort level. So force him right and see if he can get to the hoop or pull up from the right side.
Left or right? Which way should teams force Jayson Tatum to go is up for debate. (Benny Sieu / USA Today)
NBA scout A: Some teams will force (Tatum) right, but then he’ll cross back over. So teams will influence him left, but then they’re just giving that step back. Your best bet is to press up on him to force him to drive left and take a midrange pull-up going left. But his finishing driving to the left has improved greatly too. A lot of teams that come in on him are very soft on him and don’t make him uncomfortable. He’s a Hall of Fame player, but a lot of players in the switching groups on him give him all the iso room he wants.
Hollins: I would double him a lot once he catches the ball. Mix it up doing a double every other possession and have somebody really strong and physical on him.
Hadesman: When Tatum and Brown catch the ball in the corner, you cannot let them go baseline. Whether you’re doubling or not, you’re supposed to rotate halfway between the ball and the 3-point line in that situation and you’ve got to keep them to the middle of the floor. If you have help and you let them spin baseline, you have no help.
Hollins: Jaylen Brown, I’m not doubling him at all. I’m not really helping. I want him to be the guy that beats us because in a series, say he gets 40, the next game he is gonna be looking to get his.
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NBA scout B: The pivot point is Porziņģis. He’s not the best player on that team, but if he’s not out there, they become more guardable. He’s the only guy that really gives them a vertical spacer, he’s huge, and his ability to shoot a pick-and-pop is on a different level than even Horford.
Hadesman: When Porziņģis and Horford pops, it has to be in the middle of the floor so I can stunt at the ball and recover or I can rotate over and have the big fall to the weak side corner. There’s gotta be some backside action on that.
Murphy: One of the things I thought about was what if you guarded Porziņģis with a smaller guy and put him in the post? Does that create a weird situation where they’re trying to post him up every play and it takes them out of their rhythm?
Hadesman: When you’re doubling Porziņģis, you have to wait until he puts the ball on the ground. You have to double one pass away and then rotate, so I’m leaving something open in the weak side corner.
NBA scout B: It’s a double-edged sword. If you ask any random high school coach, they want the “Hoosiers” five-pass play. But what happens when you have more passes? You’re more likely to turn the ball over as well. But the Celtics are a very low turnover team and part of that is they can generate shots quicker and easier than most teams.
NBA scout A: This year, with all the expectations in the world against an Eastern Conference that is pretty s—–, what’s going to happen after that first loss they get? Maybe they play great. But to me, that’s the biggest question. They’ve done all the right things. They’ve been a great team. But I’m just curious how are they going to feel when someone beats them in Boston.
They’re just a relentless team. They have so much talent, they play hard and there’s no margin of error. You have to play a near-perfect game.
(Top photo of Jaylen Brown: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
