Karalis: Celtics offensive adjustments show a path to improvement

The Boston Celtics have been a middle-of-the-road team, so predictably, they have a middle-of-the-pack offense and a worse defense.

That won't get you far.

Generally speaking, a team has to be in the top-five in both categories to be one of the NBA's contenders. It's possible to survive one rating being subpar if the other is elite, like Brooklyn with the league's best offense but the 25th-ranked defense. But Boston, with the 12th-ranked offense and 22nd-ranked defense, isn't close to either.

However, over the past two games, when Boston has moved the ball with a lot more enthusiasm, the Celtics have posted a 118.4 offensive rating, 5th-best in the NBA. The 118.4 rating, if it could somehow be maintained, would be better than Brooklyn's 117.9.

Against Memphis, without two of their main scorers, the Celtics moved the ball very well and put up 126 points. They had 31 assists on 47 made baskets, though it can be argued that with only Jaylen Brown left from the group of Boston's best offensive players, ball movement was the only way they'd score.  

“I think that this was probably more of a carryover from the last couple days than it was necessarily out of necessity per se,” Brad Stevens said, "That’s the way we want to play. And that’s our best chance of utilizing our team to its fullest. And it allows you, again, kind of like the defensive stuff, to be in a game like this where you’re shorthanded.”

I've said this before about Stevens' offense: his dream offense is the egalitarian, everyone-trusts-everyone, half-second offense where decisions are made in an instant and defenders are do-si-do'd into oblivion. Finally, over the past couple of days, we're starting to see some semblance of progress in that direction. 

"A lot of stuff that we added, a lot of the cutting actions that we’ve been doing, have been good for us," Brown said after the game. "A lot of teams will get confused when we come together and stuff like that. So we’ve got to keep that up. It makes the game easier for everybody and as we continue to get better at it, I think it’ll get better to be honest. I like the additions to the offense that we've had."

Cutting is not something that has been synonymous with these Celtics. Perhaps getting away from the double-big lineups has allowed for a little more space and a little bit more freedom. With Tristan Thompson and Daniel Theis on the floor, the emphasis is freeing one of Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Kemba Walker for clean looks while the other two space the floor. With just one big in the game, and one more floor-spacer, there are more lanes to the basket.



“We’ve made adjustments. We all understand what we want to look for," Brown said. "Cutting is one, for easy layups, is something they challenged me, less midrange jump shots, things like that. I’ve been really good in those areas, but that's just something for our team, we feel like is a better shot. So, continuing to just make the right plays the best we can.”

Brown has just 29 possessions this season defined as "cuts" by the NBA's tracking data. Tatum has 32. Walker doesn't even have one registered.

It's an adjustment for everyone.

Brown has been really good on his midrange shots. He's shooting 51.1% on them, and they've made up 17% of his offense. At that percentage, Brown knows he can go to them when needed, especially in playoff situations where they become more necessary.

For now, though, Brown is going to need to change things up.

“I feel like that's a shot that I'm comfortable with, for sure," Brown said. "I’ve been challenged to take more threes. They want me to look for my three-point shot, they think that's a good shot, so I believe in our coaching staff and I believe in what they put in front of me. So any chance I have a good look, I’m going to take it. The midrange shot is a comfortable shot for me, but I want to do as best for our team, so whenever they ask me to do, I’ll do.”

Asking Brown to eschew a shot he likes and is good at to run a broader, better offense is a way for him to lead by example, and to suck Tatum into the flow of getting to the rim and taking 3-pointers. Tatum takes 21% of his shots from midrange and he shoots 40% on those, which is wholly unacceptable.

"I think for sure our shot profile this year has not been as good as it needs to be," Stevens said after the Orlando game. "We’re trying to get layups, trying to get dunks, we're trying to drive the ball."

The 3-pointers that come when those drives turn into kicks are what the team is looking for, more than anything. Tatum watching the Celtics rack up points without him should be part of the message that getting more into the flow of cutting and attacking will just make the offense even more potent.

Memphis isn't a defensive juggernaut, but theirs is ranked 9th in the NBA. By getting more space on the floor and forcing the issue by scheming more cuts into the offense, the Celtics could at least fix one of their big problems this season.

They hang their hats on the defensive end, but if they can ride this wave of offense and buy into these adjustments, then the Celtics might be able to shoot their way to some much-needed wins while they figure the rest out.