When the ball movement is good in a basketball game, we like to say the ball is popping. It’s a pretty standard basketball term.
I didn’t get to use it much last season. Ime Udoka got to use it in his second preseason game.
"It did pop around the gym a little bit more (tonight),” he said of his offense. “We want guys to shoot the open shot but also get off of it quickly if you don't have something. ... In general tonight, as in the last two days of practice after the Orlando game, the ball has been moving great."
The great ball movement against Toronto often came courtesy of two guys tasked with really pushing that part of their games: Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart. After a bit of a haphazard offensive showing by the Celtics against Orlando, Smart and Tatum settled more into what the coach was hoping for.
“I think it’s huge,” he said of Tatum’s passing, which often came out of post ups. “He’s a willing passer. We knew Toronto was extra aggressive on mismatches on the post so we baited some moves early and he’s done a good job. He’s done it all camp.”
One of his best passes was this beauty to Romeo Langford who was spotted up in the opposite corner.
This pass from Tatum needs to get a whole lotta love. Great recognition from Robert Williams to set that back screen to make sure Romeo got the clean look pic.twitter.com/Xz9OCfwbah
— John Karalis 🇬🇷 (@RedsArmy_John) October 10, 2021
“He finds guys crosscourt and has the size to—you see things that a guy like LeBron (James) or Luka Doncic—he can see over the crowd and he’s been great with that,” Udoka said. “Guys are moving and getting to their spots and he’s getting them some open shots out of the post.”
Al Horford was the beneficiary of three of Tatum’s seven assists.
“His feel on reading the defense, he’s getting a lot of attention and he’s getting the ball in his hands a lot, and Toronto likes to double, so time and time again he’s done a good job of getting rid of the ball,” Horford said. “Those times I happened to be at the top there, and I just knew I had to be ready to shoot. He’s doing a good job of feeling it out, knowing when to be aggressive and go score, and when to pass it. It’s a fine balance, but I feel like that’s one of the areas he’s gonna take a big step this season.”
While Tatum was taking advantage of Toronto’s ultra-aggressiveness by posting up, Smart did what a point guard is supposed to do. When he realized the extent of the Raptors desire to protect the paint, he baited them into it.
“Tonight he quickly realized that if he puts pressure on the rim, the way that they were playing, the defense was collapsing,” Horford said. “So it was opening up shots for all of us. So he did a really good job of recognizing that. The thing about Smart is that he adjusts on how they're playing. He just kind of figures it out. So tonight, that's kind of what he did for us.”
Every one of Smart’s seven assists went for 3-pointers, so while he only scored nine points, his scoring and assists were worth 28. An ability to get into the teeth of the defense and still get the ball out to open shooters, and do it accurately, is critical for a point guard in today’s league. And for Smart, this level of adjustment and control of the game is a welcome step forward from the first preseason game.
Smart and Tatum are two of the keys to this offense resembling anything Udoka is hoping for. Theoretically, they have the ability to accomplish it. The practical application of those skills is starting to confirm that they can do what’s needed. Now they need to keep doing it.
“It's really great, just seeing how that ball is popping, kicking it out to shooters,” Grant Williams said, making him the second person to use that word tonight. “We have a lot of willing guys, a lot of willing passers and a lot of guys who can knock down a lot of open shots. The offense will continue to improve, continue to get better. We probably missed a lot of reads tonight we could have had and we still have a significant amount of turnovers so I can only imagine what it's like when we truly get better every single day.”