BOSTON — The Celtics traveled to San Francisco roughly three months after Joe Mazzulla took over as head coach for his or her first assembly with the Warriors for the reason that 2022 NBA Finals. Inside their locker room, gamers joked because the room grew loud. Solely Jaylen Brown walked by as teammates debated their alma maters.
After Boston’s 21-5 begin, no person needed to confess this recreation meant one thing extra. particularly after Golden State drubbed the Celtics 123-107, in a similar way to how the Finals performed out that summer time. Jayson Tatum light away from the ball, scoring 18 factors in 40 minutes with two assists, Jaylen Brown scored 31 factors to maintain it shut and Draymond Inexperienced helped aggressively to take the rim away. Mazzulla shrugged, liking the pictures Boston acquired and saying he wasn’t disenchanted with the consequence.
A much less glad Celtics workforce took the ground on Sunday afternoon. Golden State nonetheless had one thing over Boston. Again in December, Inexperienced’s presence broke their drive-and-kick recreation, making Tatum take a look at his worst whereas forcing the ball out of his palms in an additional time loss. With out Kristaps Porzingis out there once more, the sport appeared losable.
As a substitute, Boston drove up the result in as many as 56 factors in a recreation that knocked the Warriors again on their heels, then onto the bench for all the second half. Brown scored 29 factors and jarred with Inexperienced whereas spiting dares for Brown to shoot and teammates needed to maintain feeding Brown.
“When you have got a artistic thought and it doesn’t work and also you’re taking the ball out of the basket they usually’re hitting 10 threes within the first quarter … That’s what we used to do to groups,” Steph Curry stated. “It’s type of demoralizing.”
Whereas the Warriors tried to shake off the 140-88 loss — Inexperienced blaming it on a trick protection formalized quarter-hour earlier than the sport — the loss left Golden State reeling. Curry smiled whereas discussing the protection’s plan to show a vulnerability in Boston’s offense. Inexperienced and Steve Kerr each tried to flush it in methods the Warriors have efficiently up to now, reaching the playoffs and successful collection every of the final two years regardless of their very own points like an growing older core have introduced. These vulnerabilities, nonetheless, existed in 2022 and earlier this season when the Celtics misplaced. A seriousness and a focus to element needed to emerge.
That’s turn out to be the story of Boston’s 11-game win streak, the franchise’s longest for the reason that 2017-18 season early in Kyrie Irving’s tenure. They don’t let groups off the hook. After a sluggish begin, Tatum started mashing Curry and Warriors guards on the rim even because the Celtics unloaded 49 three-point makes an attempt. Inexperienced stated pictures simply went in, the best out and inverse of Mazzulla’s 2022 argument. In actuality, Boston’s rising consideration to element to the place the ball wanted to go overwhelmed Golden State’s protection the best way it had each different workforce it’s performed since February started.
“They’ve stayed motivated, hungry. You at all times take these moments and perceive it’s a must to get higher they usually’ve carried out that,” Curry stated. “The best way they’ve been taking part in, they appear very certain of themselves and their identification and who they’re. You give them credit score. They got here out and whooped us from the leap … they’ve elevated their recreation and also you’ve gotta give them credit score … linked each side of the ball, they clearly play a bodily fashion after which they know methods to house and what pictures they’re making an attempt to create. It looks as if they’ve confidence regardless of who has the ball of their palms. It’s an identification and a confidence in the way you play each night time. You possibly can really feel it with sure groups … you don’t win 11 in a row on accident.”
Brown unloaded on the Warriors’ baffling method to hedge, however that excessive mirrored an more and more dire downside for the Celtics’ competitors across the league. Towards lineups stuffed with playmaking, dimension and taking pictures, there’s nowhere to cover small defenders. Dallas had simply allowed 87% taking pictures to Boston’s gamers when Luka Dončić guarded them. The Celtics can keep that success with totally different lineups, with the Al-Horford-starting-in-place-of-Porzingis lineup going from holding the road (-0.1 internet ranking) to a +4.3 that might rank within the top-10.
The Celtics’ total internet ranking reached +11.6 with the win, they usually’ve crushed groups by a mean of over 22 factors per recreation throughout this streak, together with two of their document three 50+ level wins this season. Boston did that final 12 months, however their consistency quarter-to-quarter, half-to-half and game-to-game dazzles compared to final 12 months’s inconsistencies and let downs. Now, Mazzulla seems extra concerned with operating up the leads the Celtics construct.
“A very powerful issues while you play these guys is the margins,” Mazzulla stated. “The emotion of the threes and the velocity at which they play is one factor, nevertheless it comes all the way down to margins and transitions. Tonight, the blokes did an important job on the finish of the primary half, we solely had one turnover they usually solely had two offensive rebounds. In recreation one, we had been up 17 and we didn’t shut the third quarter effectively, didn’t begin the fourth quarter effectively and it turned a detailed recreation. If you play in opposition to a workforce like that, shut video games are troublesome … it’s the workforce’s self-discipline and their mindset and their togetherness.”
Seeing turns into believing after a sure level, with Kerr and Curry changing into a part of a protracted line of NBA personnel to name the Celtics the highest workforce within the league. Their flexibility to participant smaller and bigger lineups whereas sustaining suffocating protection on Curry and Chris Paul, whereas exceeding their offensive normal with out Porzingis continues to erase issues that accidents might knock them off their path. Seemingly robust matchups — Warriors, Warmth, Knicks, and so forth. — from a 12 months in the past have turn out to be more easy. A game-by-game method, Tatum stated not too long ago, has allowed the Celtics to attain that stage of consistency.
Boston can now test the Warriors factor off their checklist, too, one thing this workforce needed to get previous no matter how more and more unlikely it’s that the Finals would characteristic a 2022 rematch. Golden State gave groups a blueprint for the best way to protect the Celtics by taking away the rim; that now appears to be like silly.
Different groups, like Philadelphia final week, have switched aggressively to remove the three. Boston dismantled each defenses, and whereas the Warriors’ pedigree makes it price contemplating their skill to shrug off the common season, and whereas the Celtics’ previous playoff misfortunes have made it truthful to withhold judgement on their championship favourite standing — this workforce appears to flat out get it.
Their skill to show all of the little issues into one thing massive, a number of the greatest and most constant two-way manufacturing we’ve ever seen from a workforce, makes it tougher to not dream. Jrue Vacation talked about avoiding offensive lulls as one thing the Celtics, in response to Horford’s post-Knicks name for even higher manufacturing, might enhance at.
How was this for that?
“We received the beginning of the third quarter, 17-10, and that’s actually vital to be in conditions the place you have got an opportunity to have a letdown and also you win it by seven. That’s why they stayed on the market and that’s why we practiced that,” Mazzulla stated. “Not taking unhealthy pictures, not turning the ball over, not quitting on performs and giving up rebounds, not not getting again in transition.”
