The Celtics did a pretty sensational job defensively in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s thriller against Houston Rockets. The hosts limited the Rockets to just 30.8 percent shooting from the field and 2-of-17 from 3-point range. James Harden went scoreless in the midst of a 0-of-6 frame. Houston got to the free-throw line just six times as a team. Yet, for all of Boston good individual defenses against mismatches, they found themselves not finishing the job on countless possessions against a Rockets squad that was playing no one taller than 6-foot-7 for the majority of the frame.
The problem? The Celtics largely stopped boxing out.
The Rockets are normally not a team that goes for offensive rebounds. They actually rank last in offensive rebounding rate through since transitioning to smallball last month and dealing away Clint Capela, their best offensive rebounder. However, with the team misfiring so much from the perimeter, the visitors knew their only chance was to hunt down second chance looks. They did that incredibly well in the fourth quarter as seven offensive rebounds led to nine of Houston’s 23 points in the frame, effectively devastating Boston’s defense on several possessions after they got stops on the initial shot attempts.
“That was the game right there, box outs,” Jaylen Brown said. “They got some big box outs late that contributed to them winning. We just got to do a better job of those guys crashing, stuff like that, we knew that going in. Unfortunately, we didn’t make the plays necessary, but they are one of the best teams in the league at doing that.”
“The physicality really affected us in both of these games against Houston,” Brad Stevens added. “Like, it really affected us. We have to become a little bit better holding our ground. Part of it is just the brute strength and part of it is picking your spots a little bit better, getting angles a little bit better. Then I think the other thing that’s always a great reminder is that that possession is never over until you have the ball. And they killed us on the glass in the third and fourth quarters from the corners and slashing and crashing. Those were big, huge plays.”
So who exactly were the biggest culprits on the missed boxouts? (Boston only had 12 on the game compared to 25 for Houston) And can we expect this to be a lingering issue for this team when going small? Let’s look at the fourth quarter for some answers.
1. Austin Rivers offensive rebound: Marcus Smart fails to box out Austin Rivers who sneaks in for a long rebound from the perimeter.
2. Daniel House putback dunk: This is a tricky one. Semi Ojeleye is guarding Daniel House Jr. but heads to the rim to cover a cutting Robert Covington. That leaves Brown on the left wing covering two guys when James Harden gets his shot up. Brown stares at the ball instead of finding a body to box out, leaving House Jr. with a wide-open rim run. Brown was in a tough spot here but he was still ball watching.
??? pic.twitter.com/erUf77HoHG
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) March 1, 2020
PJ TUCKER GIVING IT HIS ALL. Winning play. pic.twitter.com/XNSD62UO7g
— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) March 1, 2020
Russell Westbrook with the ferocious putback dunk! Brodie still got it. #NBA #Rockets pic.twitter.com/WZtk0L6mnd
— The BenchWarmer (@BenchWarmerPost) March 1, 2020