The Boston Celtics are, finally, who we thought they were

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/lowe-boston-celtics-finally-thought-184234840.html



The Boston Celtics are, finally, who we thought they were


Justin Quinn
Fri, February 18, 2022, 10:42 AM



Trap game loss to the Detroit Pistons aside, the Boston Celtics have transformed themselves around the 2022 NBA trade deadline into a defensive juggernaut of sorts, pushing up the Eastern Conference standings with an identity on that side of the ball that has proven among the stoutest in the league.


And fans and analysts are taking note, openly wondering just how dangerous this team can be by the time the 2022 NBA Playoffs arrive in mid-April. One such analyst is ESPN senior writer Zach Lowe, who started off his weekly “10 NBA things” column addressing the Celtics’ late-season resurgence and his thoughts on where it can lead them.

“The Boston Celtics are, finally, who we thought they were,” begins Lowe.


“The most interesting thing in NBA defense over the last 20 games has been Ime Udoka’s semi-radical decision to slot his shot-devouring center — Robert Williams III, Lord of Time — on wings away from the ball,” writes the ESPN analyst.


“The next-biggest Celtic — Al Horford in Boston’s starting five, sometimes Grant Williams, Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown in smaller looks — takes the other team’s main screen-setter, and switches everything.”


“The idea is to build a forcefield around the paint by switching up top, with Robert Williams looming along the baseline ready to pounce,” suggests Lowe.

“A happy side effect is sewing confusion in offenses: Wait, where’s Time Lord? Oh, there. So who’s guarding our main screener? Are they just going to switch? Should we run our normal stuff anyway? Or divert our offense to attack Williams? But that would mean using a less dangerous screener, and Williams is really good at switching too! Oh, crap, there’s 5 on the shot clock and Marcus Smart is six inches from my face.”

“Boston is about to overtake the Golden State Warriors for No. 1 in defensive efficiency,” relates the author.


Just how good is Boston’s defense? Per Lowe — very, very close to the best.

“Their starting five has allowed a bonkers 88.8 points per 100 possessions — easily the stingiest mark among lineups that have logged 100-plus minutes. Luck has helped; opponents have hit 29% on 3s against that group, and 34% against Boston overall. During Boston’s current 9-1 stretch, opponents have shot 32% on midrangers.”

“For the season, no team’s opponents have underperformed their expected effective field goal percentage by a larger margin than Boston’s, per Second Spectrum,” he continues.


“But Boston is driving this. Only the Warriors allow fewer shots at the rim. The Celtics have kicked their fouling habit,” he adds. “They are long and tenacious — neck-and-neck with the weirdo Toronto Raptors as the best at unnerving shooters with flying closeouts.”

“Opponents have made just 51% of shots at the rim with Williams nearby — eighth-lowest among 100-plus rotation guys who challenge at least three such shots per game.”


Noting new Celtic Derrick White “by most advanced metrics ranks among the league’s 20 best defenders,” Lowe advances his argument on Boston’s absurd defensive prowess by suggesting that “(s)maller groups with Time Lord as the only traditional big have been impenetrable.”

“Boston’s potential new closing lineup — Smart, White, Brown, Tatum, Robert Williams — might be a problem.”


“Opponents will concoct ways to attack Boston’s unconventional scheme,” he offers. “Boston will adjust.”

“In preseason, I labeled Boston a lock for a top-six spot — with a chance at seizing No. 3. (Remember when everyone assumed Milwaukee and Brooklyn would go 1-2? Whoops.) That looked foolish for 30 games, but the optimism was about this defense. The Celtics now have the East’s best point differential.”

“They are a threat to beat any conference rival in the playoffs, though a long shot against the Bucks,” closes Lowe. “How the seeding shakes out will be pivotal.”


With the Celtics’ last regular-season game slated to be played against the Memphis Grizzlies on April 10, we’ll know soon enough how that seeding will shake out.

And with it, we’ll get a solid preview on just how deep that vaunted defense might carry Boston.


Bob


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I saw this article and was surprised it was an ESPN+ article and how much of it was revealed before doing its traditional "fade".

The genius move by Ime on RWIII is simply that. Pure genius. Let's see how this goes!

db