Did the Philadelphia 76ers reveal Boston’s secret weapon or maybe the soul of Joe Mazzulla?
After the Celtics’ 117-99 blowout of the 76ers on Tuesday night, head coach Joe Mazzulla said that it was one of the “best games of the year.”
“This game showed a template of how teams are going to guard us and it gives us another thing for us to practice,” Mazzulla said after Boston made just five three-pointers on the night.
Instead of relying on their perimeter play, the Celtics drove overzealous close outs and powered through defenders. They scored 64 points in the paint and went to the line a whopping 37 times.
Maybe they don’t need the practice.
Because of their youthful speedy personnel, teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder (63.4 drives per game) and Indiana Pacers (56.3) grind opposing defenses by constantly putting them in rotation with drive after drive after drive. Make one mistake, miss a switch, or take one action off and they’re either challenging at the rim or kicking out to an open shooter.
The Celtics, on the other hand, averagely nearly the fewest drives per game; the Nuggets are dead last at 38.0, the Lakers are a hair above at 38.8, and Boston sits at 38.9. They’re not exactly old or slow; they just don’t need to exert so much effort in creating space for a good shot. Here’s the kicker: the Celtics are third in the NBA in FG% off drives at 53.7% with Jaylen Brown (10.1 drives, 54.5 FG%) and Jayson Tatum (8.9 drives, 58.6 FG%) driving that number.
Two years ago, pundits were trying to break up the franchise cornerstones because their skills overlapped too much. There was no apparent need for that redundancy. What Brad Stevens and Mazzulla has built since then is the most lethally efficient pick-your-poison offense in the league. On Tuesday night with the Philadelphia 76ers playing small, head coach Nick Nurse lined up Tobias Harris and Kelly Oubre across from Brown and Tatum respectively. Forty-eight minutes later, the Jays combined for 20-of-34 from the field and 21 trips to the charity stripe.
Those results beg the question, “why would the Celtics stray away from something that they’re so good at?” Mazzulla, a math stan if there ever was one, might say that he’d rather trade good shots for great shots, but it’s likely not as reductive as three being more than two.
Maybe Mazzulla is trying preserve Tatum and Brown. With such a talented roster, it only makes sense to build a system to everybody’s strengths and not just its All-Stars.
Maybe Mazzulla is saving a more pounding play style for the playoffs. That would make sense. The postseason is traditionally slower and played in the trenches of halfcourt sets. Their 2-1-2 zone might be the curveball that finally cuts enough in April. Driving is the 107-mph fastball they’ll go to in the clutch.
Selfishly, I hope it’s not because of math or gamesmanship. What I’ve enjoyed about this Celtics season so far has been the artistry of it all and I think that’s in large part to Mazzulla’s growing influence in how they play. Some of that is certainly born out of his love of soccer. Check out former CelticsBlogger and The Athletic’s Jared Weiss’ profile on Mazzulla and his adoration of Pep Gardiola for that.
But I also think that so much of how Boston is playing now is a reflection of not just what Mazzulla thinks, but who he is. No one would blame him if he wanted his young superstars to handle the ball more and take 20+ shots a night — that’s the recipe for MVP candidacy and when you have a player like that on your team, they command respect and subsequently, a favorable whistle. Drive, drive, drive and you’re going to the line for easy points. Something tells me that Mazzulla wouldn’t want to win that way though.
Since training camp, Mazzulla has taken a holistic approach to team building. In a way, winning may have actually disguised how difficult a process this has all been. To a man, everybody has talked about sacrifice and respecting each other’s space. So, while driving may be an effective way to score, it’s often a singular venture.