![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,<svg height="439" width="780" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"/>)
Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams knows that, for the fourth time in this impressive NBA playoff run, Boston will be looking at yet another different style of offense. First, it was Brooklyn’s isolation-heavy game, followed by the Giannis Antetokounmpo-centric Bucks. In the conference finals, it was the grinding, physical play of the Heat.
But none of those teams can match the unique offense run by the Warriors, whose constant cutting and working off of screens wears down just about any defense.
“They’re a lot more able to make shots, a lot more movement, a lot more chasing,” Williams said ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals. “I feel like our team is built for that. We’re built for not only that but also the physical nature. Chasing those guys like Steph (Curry), Klay (Thompson), Jordan (Poole), we know exactly how much they move off the ball. They’re just as much a threat on the ball as off.”
The Celtics’ switch-heavy defense is well-suited to slowing down an efficient offensive juggernaut like the Warriors, who have posted a league-best 116.1 offensive rating in the playoffs and score 17.3 points per game off cuts, also the most in the NBA postseason. The problem, though, is that the Warriors require 24 seconds of attention, and can demoralize an opponent with their shot-making.
The Celtics have been a team that too often loses its focus when things don’t go well. That trait led to a warning from a league assistant coach: “The Warriors will knock down shots in the face of good defense, they can crush you and your spirit that way. Boston can’t get into that.”
Insider: ‘They Can Render That Moot’
Heavy.com NBA insider Steve Bulpett echoed that sentiment, too, in a pre-series video chat. The Celtics had the top-ranked defense in the NBA this season, and have been No. 2 (105.2 points per 100 possessions) in the playoffs. They switch just about every screen and cut, which should help corral the Warriors. But they’ve not seen the level of off-ball movement or skill they will see from Golden State.
“It’s harder to move the ball against a switching defense but the Warriors are the best in the league at it. So there’s that,” Bulpett said. “They’ll still put pressure on the Boston defense with that ability alone. Add to that, you have got a number of guys on the Warriors who can just get hot at a certain time. … You can defend the hell out of the Warriors and they could still hit a bunch of 3s in your face. They can render whatever you’re trying to do defensively, they can render that moot.”
When that happens, when a defense does a good job keeping the Warriors in check for most of a possession, then lets up a 3-pointer anyway, it can be deflating for a team.
“I don’t know if it is on the Second Spectrum analytics, but I’d like to see an analysis of how a Warriors opponent’s shoulders slump after Steph Curry puts one in their mug, or Jordan Poole or Klay Thompson,” Bulpett said. “They have guys who can frustrate you.”
Can the Celtics Handle the Adversity the Warriors Cause?
The Celtics have handled a wide range of adversity this season, and have twice won Game 7s in this playoff run. They’ve been tested. But they still sometimes show the fragility that was evident early in the year, when they four times blew leads of more than 19 points in losses.
That cropped up in Game 5 of the conference semis against Milwaukee, when they squandered a 14-point fourth-quarter lead, and again in Game 7 of the conference finals against Miami, when they nearly coughed up a 13-point lead with just over three minutes to play in the game.
“You’ve got to be able to withstand what they do against you individually,” the coach said. “You can be right on top of your game, you can be doing everything right and they still make shots. Now, they’re going to have stretches where they miss, we have seen that from this team. They can lose by 20. But they are going to cut, they are going to use screens.
“The Celtics are very, very good at defending cutters and screens, they did it well against Miami. And the Warriors have not had a team they’ve played who defends like Boston, who switches so effectively. But the Celtics, they also get off their rhythm pretty easily. They have not been on this stage.”
0 Comments