Everything changes in a vertiginous way when an important click is made in life and that changes the perspective 180 degrees. The Boston Celtics needed him if they wanted to have a future and they have. What is the ceiling?
Boston Celtics and mediocrity matched
At the beginning of the season Ime Udoka had promised a team that was tough on defense, that would pass the ball and move in attack, moving away from mid-distance and clearance.
The first three months of the season showed that many of the things that had openly criticized Brad Stevens continued to be replicated, especially from its main star, Jayson Tatum, who was going through his worst year with the shot and did not seem to give up on his desire to use the medium distance and the ISO as primary sources of his offense.
To make matters worse, the health problems continued in the month of December with many casualties due to COVID-19, the search for a gaming identity and questions about whether the staff that they had was adequate for what they wanted to execute.
The prospects before the championship were promising, the forecasts gave the Boston Celtics between the sixth position in the pessimistic version and the fourth as the most optimistic. The start was not the best, the only positive thing that could be rescued was the defense, which, except for the first six games, always maintained its elite level.
The big problem for the Celtics was on offense. Marcus Smart did not serve as point guard all the time he had to, because Dennis Schroder carried him many times and when they shared the court (too much time when it was proven that it did not work) it was the German who absorbed the tool in his hands.
Josh Richardson was one of the few good news of the first months of the Udoka era. The former Mavs, contributed shooting of three, good defense and an alternative to the lack of goals from the greens.
Jaylen Brown after a brilliant start, had a muscle injury that left him in the dry dock for a while and on his return he was noted as conservative when exposing himself to the transition or when having to force the physical machinery.
Grant Williams was the only player on the bench next to Richardson who was consistently performing, but it wasn’t enough for him to win.
At the end of December, after the COVID-19 wave in which players like Joe Johnson, among others, participated, the first signs of change began to be seen, especially in offense, and the victory against the Suns marked the first change marker
It was not enough. Despite the improvement and the rotation cut made by the coach, the Celtics continued to sink the clutch, in the ways of the offense and falling to teams that were well below their level.
Losses to Spurs in the finale, senseless blown leads against the Knicks or stumbles at home against Portland. They overwhelmed everyone’s patience.
The most serious thing was to see the same red flag that we have observed in recent times, a lack of intensity, of character, individual decisions that can be criticized and an alarming lack of offensive regularity in an attack that was done in shifts and with individual arrests.
On January 6, the Boston Celtics defeated the Knicks and began their journey from minor to major, consolidated by a rotation in which lineups were adjusted and were accompanied by a more benevolent schedule.
Rubicon of the season
The first fundamental change came from the hand of health. The Boston Celtics for the first time in a long time were able to keep their high rotation on the floor for more than 10 consecutive games.
With the consolidation of the players and their time on the court, they began to believe in what they were doing, especially in attack. Since the game with the Suns, there was a clearer intention to move the ball in search, not of the correct shot, but of the best shot.
Udoka also optimized the time on the court for several players and started limiting the time for others. Dennis Schroder was phased out of minutes with Smart and was required to speed up transition timing.
The next point was the change in the position of Robert Williams, who went to take care of the non-shooting wing and close the rotations in the paint as a defensive finisher with Al Horford or Grant Williams taking care of the big one.
If the Boston Celtics’ defense was good, this modification took it to an elite point, only seen by the 2017 Warriors from the numerical impact, also opting for the possibility of running more and finding attack from defense.
Jayson Tatum, who hadn’t been having a good year since the launch, adjusted his shot chart, abandoning midrange to the detriment of attacking the paint. Additionally, his 3-point percentage jumped from 30% (his career-low) to 37.8% since Jan. 1.
All of the former Duke’s numbers were optimized and consolidated, from the highest volume of assists, the types of shots taken, rebounds and his long-range shooting percentages.
It is to ponder and assess this statistical change, but the forward’s great leap forward came from understanding what was happening on offense and how the decisions he had to make involved his teammates more than the number of times in one-on-one situations. and clarified in medium distance.
The Jayson Tatum who forced situations and ended up biting the ball in the foot, disappeared in favor of the Tatum with his head up and quick release of the ball to the corners or his role as blocker and player off ball.
This also happened with Jaylen Brown, who despite having a relapse in terms of his shot, began to officiate more as a facilitator of the game, collapsing the paint and assisting the big one or the shooters in the corners.
The wins helped lead to an aggressive decision for Brad Stevens in the dead line repatriating Theis and freeing up space in the rotation with the departure of Langford, Richardson and Freedom.
The arrival of Derrick White, gave the next jump in offense, more than anything in fluidity and reading the correct shot. Although his shooting ability remains a concern, the former San Antonio maximized the passing offense and added another brick to the defensive wall.
The door was left open to Payton Pritchard in the second unit and his connection with Jayson Tatum became a relief to unclog the dub moments at forward. Udoka gave him court time and the former Oregon reciprocated with an effort from behind and an ERA of 7.25 meters.
The Boston Celtics in this 2022 went from being shipwrecked in 11th place to being just one game from the top, in one of the most incredible comebacks in recent memory. Nine games from the end of the regular season, the peak of performance is finding its cruising point and not even the wettest dreams of the green fan expected this after the initial collapse.
The Celtics over the last 15 games
#1 Net
#1 Offense
#2 Defense pic.twitter.com/HuIXbR0i7X— CelticsMuse (@Celtics_Muse) March 25, 2022
From the numerical point of view, the question is much more impressive this 2022: First in defensive ratio, First in offensive ratio from the All-Star Game stoppage, First in net rating with +12.6, seventh in post-All Star assist ratio, fifth in assists (27.3) and so we could continue.
The curiosity goes through his pace of play, which is one of the lowest in the league (96 possessions), but it is a clear indication that the ball moves more when stationary and more time is used to take the best shot. (in the podcast we expand on this point).
Looking ahead, it only remains to consider the players’ health and rest, improve the number of times they go to the free throw line (it’s still very low) and sharpen their nerve for the most important part. of the season, in one of the most difficult and complicated Estes in recent times.
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