The Celtics Game 1 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks can be whittled down to three distinct areas:
Bad decisions/missed opportunities
I’ve decided to do three separate pieces to highlight each of these areas. There will be overlapping themes to all of three of these since they're all offensive-focused.
The first two pieces in this quick series both fit under this umbrella. A few of the turnovers and 3-point shots they took are the result of poor decisions. Take, for example, Grant Williams here:
Remember at the end of Game 1 of the Brooklyn series when Marcus Smart faked two guys flying at him and then passed it to Jayson Tatum for the game-winning layup? How different is this situation right here besides the end-of-game situation?.
Williams has two undisciplined closeouts staring him in the face. He has Daniel Theis sealing off Brook Lopez in the lane, and he has Derrick White building a campfire and putting up a tent in the right corner.
He made a bad choice by taking that shot, and that was a missed opportunity for him and the Celtics. An upfake would have cleared the lane for him to get to the rim or dump a quick pass to Theis for a shot at the rim and/or a foul on Lopez. He could have also passed to White for the most open 3 in the world, or even had a give-and-go if Portis bit on the fake but stayed between Williams and the basket.
But more so than those kinds of plays, Ime Udoka has been lamenting the missed chances to get the ball to Robert Williams.
“The lob threat and the drop offs that we did have that we didn’t make, guys may not be used to that with him being out for those games,” Udoka said. “But understanding how Lopez and their bigs are protecting the rim, those passes were there all night.”
It’s a fair point that the Celtics pivoted so much into having Theis that there is an adjustment to the style of play that worked so well for their offense all season. Once upon a time, the Celtics were a lob-happy bunch, happy to test the limits of earth’s gravitational pull on him. Now, it seems like they're not even looking for him.
On the surface, this looks like a fine play. Tatum is met by Brook Lopez, Al Horford is at the 3-point line, so a quick flip to him for an open 3 seems fine. Except…
Smart is pointing to Horford, but with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Lopez trained squarely on Tatum, Williams has slipped behind them for an easy lane to the basket. All Tatum has to do is look up, lock eyes with Giannis, and toss the lob behind him. He might even jump a little bit to make it look like he’s taking the floater, just to suck in the defense a touch more.
Plays like this have to be made because it now puts the threat of Williams in the heads of the defense. If Antetokounmpo was overly concerned about Williams, he’d be angled differently, and that could be what gives Tatum a sliver of room to keep attacking next time.
Some of this is also on Williams to recognize his lane and call for it. He has to make himself available.
Horford missed an obvious dump-off to Williams in search of an open 3-pointer as well.
Horford doesn't miss these plays much, and the pass to Smart was also fine, but Williams was sitting there under the rim with Jevon Carter on his hip. That's an automatic two points that Boston passed up.
Opportunities like this can’t be missed against Milwaukee.
Even more nuanced plays like this need to be seen through:
Nine seconds is plenty of time on the shot clock for Smart to do something other than throw this contested 3 up there. This is a garbage shot. This is the type of shot that makes sports talk radio heads yell at Smart.
Tatum was coming across the lane to set a pick and either get the switch or roll to the basket. If Smart just let things flow a little bit more, the ball could have gone to Tatum and the defense could have collapsed. From there, Horford could have been wide open for a 3-pointer, or Williams could have caught a lob if Lopez stepped up to help protect the rim.
Missed opportunities to get Robert Williams going will be costly for the Celtics. He’s the guy who can blow up Milwaukee’s drop coverage. He’s the guy who can make the Bucks pay the most for how they guard the rest of the team.
Boston’s best run of the season included a heavy dose of Williams scaring the hell out of other teams. They will need to pay attention to where he is on the floor and make the best decisions possible so they're not missing these opportunities.
Milwaukee doesn't give up points at the rim very often. Everyone two they can get there is a potential game-changer.
