A three-game homestand has come to a successful end. A 120-99 butt-whooping ensured the Golden State Warriors’ struggles continued, while giving the Celtics some momentum heading into Friday’s game in Memphis.
Without Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler, the Warriors weren’t at full strength. Yet, as I wrote yesterday, that’s when the risk of a trap game becomes most prominent. There’s something about how the Celtics approach each game that fills you with confidence. They’re not taking anyone lightly, record and recent production be damned.
Let’s dive into the takeaways from last night’s win.
1. Defense, defense, defense
Yesterday, I noted that Boston had held opponents to 100 points or fewer in 20 of its games this season. Well, now that number stands at 21. In statistical terms, the Celtics are limiting opponents to <=100 points in 30% of their games.
Against Boston, 46% of the Warriors’ offense came from deep. Even without their sharpshooters, Golden State stuck to its identity. Unfortunately for Steve Kerr’s team, the Celtics are one of the better teams at defending the three-point line — sitting 11th in the NBA, allowing 35.8%.
When you factor in the Warriors lack of elite shooting talent due to injury, and couple that with the Celtics defensive talent on the perimeter, it’s no surprise the Warriors shot just 24.4% from three in non-garbage-time minutes.
One thing the Celtics do well is limit dribble penetration. They pinch at the elbows. They send help at the nail. And for a team like the Warriors, that lacks a genuine bully driver (now that Butler is out), it can be hard to generate quality looks via spray actions.
And, when a team does manage to snake the dribble into, or near, the restricted area, they’re often met by multiple bodies, pressuring the ball and closing down passing outlets.
All of this results in either a sped-up action, with players hunting for a shot before the clock runs out, or a perimeter-based offense that rarely creates enough rotation to generate open looks.
Of course, if a team tries to iso, the Celtics have the man-to-man talent to deal with that. If they try to hunt mismatches, finding a weak link in Boston’s defensive unit can be tough sledding.
Limiting the Warriors, even the current version, is another reminder of how talented and committed the Celtics are on defense. The scheme works, players take pride in their matchups, and right now, the Celtics are a top-5 defense in the NBA.
From a defense standpoint, the Celtics are playoff-ready. Golden State was just the latest team to find that out.
2. That Tatum-Neemy Connection Is Growing
I think this might be a topic we keep revisiting in the final few weeks of the season. Both Neemias Queta and Jayson Tatum are finding ways to make each other’s lives easier.
Last night, Queta was directly involved in three of Tatum’s seven buckets. All of them came via a screen assist.
Let’s take a look at each of them.
