How Ime Udoka unlocked the best version of Celtics, opening the door to Boston’s surprising return as East contender

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2022/02/how-ime-udoka-unlocked-the-best-version-of-celtics-opening-the-door-to-bostons-surprising-return-as-east-contender-brian-robb.html



How Ime Udoka unlocked the best version of Celtics, opening the door to Boston’s surprising return as East contender



Published: Feb. 25, 2022, 6:00 a.m.



Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka talks with Jayson Tatum during the second quarter of an NBA preseason basketball game against the Toronto Raptors Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)AP


By Brian Robb | brobb@masslive.com



No team in the NBA is playing better than the Boston Celtics in the month of February. There has been plenty of credit to dish out for a team that has won 10 of 11 and 17 out of 22 overall after crushing the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night 129-106. Boston ranks 7th in offense, 1st in defense and 1st in net rating since the start of the new year, cementing themselves as potential factors in the Eastern Conference with their turnaround. However, there has been one key factor overlooked as Boston has played its been basketball in over two years during the past six weeks: The steady influence and transformation of Ime Udoka.


The rookie head coach had a rough go for it at times during the first three months of the regular season, just like much of his roster as Boston dropped three games under .500 early in January following an overtime loss to the Knicks on Jan. 6. It’s no coincidence though that Boston has put together its best stretch of basketball since November 2019 while Udoka has masterfully been pushing the right buttons from the sidelines. Let’s take a closer look at some of those tactics and adjustments over the first two months of 2022 that have paved the way for Boston’s success amid a six-game road winning streak in which Boston has beaten opponents by an average of 26.3 points per game.

A steady tighter rotation: There has been plenty of chirping for the head coach to give younger guys a chance and dig deeper into his bench through the highs and lows of the year. However, once the Celtics got back to full strength with Marcus Smart back into the rotation in mid-January, Udoka decided less was more with his core group. Barring a blowout, eight players were going to get to play on an nightly basis. Udoka understandably leaned into using his veterans more off the bench before the trades of Josh Richardson and Dennis Schroder but that came with good reason. Those guys were outplaying Boston’s young reserves and development was not going to come at the expense of wins or letting a chance for guys to gain a better rhythm with longer playing stints with Boston hovering around .500.

Rotation choices are even easier now in the wake of the trade deadline with Derrick White taking over Josh Richardson’s role and Dennis Schroder’s minutes headed to a combination of Payton Pritchard and Aaron Nesmith. The decision to tighten things up when Boston couldn’t build any momentum in December from a record standpoint wasn’t the obvious choice but was clearly the right one.

Minutes management: The head coach rode his top talent hard in the first few months of the year as he struggled to find reliable bench play. However, the team’s success has allowed him to take his foot off the gas wisely in many key spots. Udoka has walked the line nicely between giving Tatum and Brown the stats they want as All-Stars while also ensuring they get appropriate rest in blowouts. In fact, there have been a few games where Udoka has wisely stuck with his starters for longer stints in the third quarter, which opened the door to them being able to sit the entire final frame.


Moves like this fly under the radar over the course of a season but it’s just another example of Udoka pushing the right buttons during this stretch.


The right lineup combinations: It may have taken Udoka a bit too long to bury the Schroder/Smart lineups in crunch time to start the year. Since then? He’s done a masterfully job of leaning into what’s working during real time. He’s leaned heavily into Marcus Smart and Rob Williams while they’ve been playing the best basketball of their careers and transitioned Josh Richardson into the closing five, a grouping that worked well before his dealt away for a better fit in White. Sticking with playing three total bigs in the rotation (and not even giving Enes Freedom a sniff of meaningful minutes in 2022 before he was dealt) over the past 21 games has been essential as well during the team’s turnaround as Udoka has stuck with the best personnel for his defensive scheme.

However, the most encouraging thingie’ve seen from Udoka on this front has perhaps been his handling of White. Some coaches may have been hesitant throwing a new guy into such a big role just days after their arrival. However, Udoka has dove head first into playing his newest name big minutes and during crunch time in key spots. That type of gut instinct has helped rally Boston to comeback wins over the Nuggets and Hawks during the team’s recent hot run.


Defensive tweaks: Boston’s coaching staff has been adjusting the switching scheme from the very start of the season but Udoka’s decision to move center Robert Williams into a wing defender has turned the team’s defense from very good to great over the past six weeks. Williams has thrived as a free safety, helping off unproven shooters with rim protection from the weak side. His 1-on-1 defense has improved enough where quicker players don’t have a clear mismatch him against either with Boston’s switching scheme.

The Celtics starting five is allowing just 88.8 points per 100 possessions, the best mark in the league among starting five-man units. Whether Williams is alongside Al Horford or anchoring the paint as a big with Boston’s bench unit, he’s made Boston tougher to score on than any team in the league. Udoka and his staff deserve immense credit for finding that tweak and running with it.


Player buy-in: Look no further than the Celtics’ win over the Nets on Thursday night on this front. A team that had become infamous for letdowns the past two seasons put that concern to bed out of the All-Star Break with their second straight blowout win over a shorthanded Brooklyn squad. Veteran Al Horford pointed to the coach’s impact on the team locked in for the matchup.

“Just real impressed with our group and like coach said, the focus,” Horford said. “That’s one of the things he talked about and he emphasized for us and I think it all started with that practice yesterday. I felt like we had a really good practice and we were all really engaged, committed in what we needed to do.”

Udoka has held his players accountable all season long and while the results were not there early, the buy-in for his coaching never seemed to be wavering. Now, thanks to some roster and strategy tweaks, the team has fully adapted to Udoka’s system and is clearly responding to his urgency on a nightly basis to dig out of an early-season hole marred by late-game collapses. Five straight wire-to-wire road wins is a tremendous feat no matter who the opponents might be.


Final Thoughts

The true final exams for Udoka will come when the postseason arrives but this stretch of basketball leaves little doubt about Udoka’s acumen as a top guy. He’s made necessary changes after a rocky start marred by bad health and tough roster fits and has a revamped roster buying into exactly what he wants to do on a nightly basis. For a franchise that suddenly looks like it has a lot going for it during the stretch run of the regular season, the head coach is yet another thing for the front office to feel good about.


Bob
MY NOTE:  If I have a beef with Ime, and maybe I'm overreacting here, it's that he overplays his starters.  As Robb said "look no further than the Celtics' win over the Nets".  It was a blow out, WAY out, and yet he played 4 Celtic starters 30+ minutes with only RWill playing 25.  There was no need for that.  I realize the trauma from a month or two ago when we almost blew a blowout but that was then and this is now.  Different personnel, more time in the system, playing better.  Forget about giving deep bench players some court time so they can progress and develop just not overworking the starters (including 35 year old Horford, who played 32 minutes) makes some sense too.  Theis, Hauser and Nesmith weren't inserted until there was only 5:32 left in the 4th and the score was 115-88.  That's a 27 point lead.  Kornet and Thomas came in a minute later, replacing Grant and Payton and the score was 120-93, 27 points.  Is Ime really so fearful that Theis, Hauser and Nesmith might so completely blow a 27 point lead he needed another minute before he emptied his bench?  I don't know if Pop is like that but it sure is Thibs.

Bottom line, I agree that Ime deserves credit for the surge as much, if not more, than anybody.  I'm not knocking results, I'm saying fresh legs with the playoffs only 21 games away and our playoff seeding not set in stone are assets to be valued.  We may need to play our top 8 a lot over those 21 games so resting them when we can is valuable too.


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Ktron tried to tell us!! Ime is the real deal. Look out all you knuckleheads above us in the standings. Here we come!

Forever on the dboss train for 10-in-a-row,

db

The stat I saw for when this starting five is playing together, they are 17-6. Let's round that up to .750, a.k.a. 3 out of 4. Given the small performance sample space so far since before the ASG, I don't think it's a stretch to project out that we should win 80% of our games from here on out also given the remaining schedule and no relapses.

For those above us, let's assume they win 65%, which is the overall record percentage for the Top two teams in the East. That means we would gain 1.5 games on those ahead of us every ten games. That would put us in 3rd given 21 games left for us. If we do better than 80%, then we'd have a shot at 2nd or even first.

Anyway, this doesn't look like much of a stretch. Put me down for 3rd BAM!

Where have I screwed up the math?!

db

The title of this article reminded me of a PMA book, for lack of a better term, that came out 20-25 years ago called Strengthfinder by Gallup Polls.

One of the 34 Themes used to determine your Top 5 Themes for yourself was the Maximizer Theme. If Ime is a Maximizer, he would satisfy the definition that states that person's "talents are committed to individual and group excellence. You focus on what is good and seek to transform it into something great."

Maximizer Theme was/is one of the most coveted themes for anyone in your organization per the Gallup Poll people compiling the research. If Ime is indeed that themed person, and it looks like this is the case, look out rest of the league.

db

What I'm also getting at is I believe Ime has told his players we're winning all the rest of our games from here on out and we will be in 1st place when the playoffs start.  Ime right now is just telling them after each game, "I told you so."  Losing that game to DET was a fluke.  Fahgedaboudit.

The funny thing is, our guys are buying right into it.  Their whole demeanor has changed.  They actually believe him.  And he's right.  Nobody's tuning this guy out.  Everybody's on the same page.  Quite a difference from last year.

Something you notice about all winning teams.  Your bench is way more into the game.  Everybody's up cheering and high fiving every possession.  Check our bench out.  They ain't sitting around like KD and BS all slouched back in their chairs.  Yet another reason BKN will go out in the first round. If they even make it to the playoffs.  I can't wait.

db

John Karalis @John_Karalis
yesterday
Charlie Scott, 1976 champion, says on stage "you're not a Celtic until you win a championship." Then he looks at Ime Udoka and tells him no pressure but that's basically how it is.


Bob
MY NOTE:  Yeah, no pressure Charlie.  Not much.

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I'll take it as long as we still win in the end!!

db

Bob


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