A new defensive strategy for Kyrie, Jayson Tatum's touches and more leftover Celtics-Warriors thoughts

A mix of leftover thoughts and observations after the Celtics fell to the Warriors on Saturday night. 

1. A new way to hide Kyrie Irving on defense: There is no good place to put the All-Star defensively when the choices are Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, particularly when Irving is carrying a very heavy load on the offensive end. In response to this problem, Brad Stevens used an interesting wrinkle for much of the second half by putting Irving on Draymond Green in the halfcourt, while slotting Jayson Tatum on Thompson during crunch time. The decision worked fairly effectively down the stretch, as Tatum did an admirable job sticking with Thompson off of screens, despite losing him on a couple key possessions in transition. Irving likes to take gambles as a defender and he’s far better set up to do that against a non-shooter like Green or Andre Iguodala as opposed to Thompson or Curry, who has the potential to make him pay much more with their jumper after a poor contest or a late closeout. The Celtics used smart defenders on Iguodala/Green for most of the game and those guys did a nice job of providing support to teammates and sagging off those non-shooters. It’s one of the few ways that a defense can slow down this Warriors juggernaut and the C’s did it effectively for much of the night in the halfcourt, making the Warriors play in a crowd.

2. A surprising commitment to the offensive glass: Boston grabbed 15 offensive rebounds in this one, which tied for the third-highest total in a game this year. The Warriors are a middle of the road rebounding team, but the fact that the C’s were so effective in this area is a promising sign against a big man like Cousins. Al Horford (five offensive rebounds) and Marcus Morris (four offensive rebounds) made a point of setting up shop in the paint as the Warriors rotated to contest shots and helped produce 23 second-chance points that were crucial to keeping the hosts in the game on a night they shot just 41 percent from the field. A silent factor in this equation was none other than Terry Rozier. He only grabbed one offensive rebound in the box score (which he put back for a score) but he also managed to contest another Celtic miss in the fourth quarter that directly led to a Horford dunk putback. His ability to fly in from the perimeter against the Warriors guards (who don’t box out much) along with Irving (three offensive rebounds) is going to be a weapon when these two teams meet next. It’s easy offense and needed to keep pace with one of the best offenses in the league.

3. The Celtics attacked DeMarcus Cousins even more than I thought: The center may well have had a target on his back for this game. After re-watching the second half of this contest, it was hard to find consecutive possessions in which Cousins was not targeted in the pick-and-roll or via a switch. Stevens essentially simplified the offense when he was in the game, attacking in transition as much as possible to find Cousins in a spot where he was slow to close out or make the necessary switch. The end results were extremely positive for Boston (as evidenced by Cousins being a minus-9 in his 23 minutes).

It was surprising to see how positively his teammates and Steve Kerr talked about his defense after the game. He made a nice play or two forcing a steal and a block against Irving, but the vast majority of Boston’s fourth-quarter offense came with him in the game. If Cousins ends up playing 30-plus minutes for Golden State this year, that will be a net positive for Boston and other potential playoff Warrior opponents. He’s not bringing enough to the table on offense to offset his defensive issues.

4. Jayson Tatum needed more touches when Kyrie Irving and Al Horford were resting in third quarter: One of the biggest problem stretches of the game came in the final 5:23 of the third quarter. Irving and Horford headed to the bench for the final few minutes of that stretch, in preparation for them both going the distance in the fourth quarter. That left a bench unit featuring Rozier/Brown/Hayward/Tatum/Theis to battle with the Warriors for a few minutes and it didn’t go particularly well. The hosts scored just three points in the final five-plus minutes of the frame, digging a six-point hole for themselves heading into the fourth quarter.

There was no main culprit for the offensive woes during this period. Gordon Hayward got into trouble a couple times (a bad jumper and getting stripped in traffic). Terry Rozier was hesitant to shoot from the top of the key. Marcus Smart attempted a couple of ill-advised postups.

However, the biggest issue here was a lack of touches for Tatum. He took a couple of tough shots in isolation situations, but the fact that he did not have plays being run for him was problematic. He was red-hot in the frame (11 points in first five minutes of third quarter) and the C’s need to ride that advantage when he has it going. Instead, he was an afterthought for much of the rest of the quarter, even while Horford and Irving sit. With a bench that’s struggling to produce offensively on a regular basis and was playing without a true point guard (Smart also sat) at the end of the frame, Tatum needed to get more chances. Either that, or the starters need to be staggered more against a team with as much talent as the Warriors.

5. Boston’s halfcourt defense was superb in fourth quarter (except for the fouling): The Warriors made just five field goals in the fourth quarter and three of those came in transition. That’s a superb performance by Boston’s halfcourt defense against the best offense in the NBA. Smart blanketed Curry for much of the frame, while Horford repeatedly stoned Cousins in the post in single coverage. Irving’s lack of hustle/poor gambles was directly responsible for two made Warriors basket but if the C’s played a little more disciplined and failed to foul jump shooters on multiple occasions, this would have been talked about as one of the best defensive performances of the year for Boston.

For a team that has been struggling to find its defensive gear late in games as time, there was a lot to like about the fourth quarter. If the Celtics didn’t get sloppy with their turnovers and shot selection, this would have been a memorable win for Boston. Instead, it is a learning experience for a team that has had a few too many miscues in big spots this year.