SAN FRANCISCO -- Sunday is the last day we can refer to the remainder of the 2021-22 NBA season in terms of weeks. In fact, we lost the plural to that a week ago.
If this series goes seven games, the finale will be a week from today here at the Chase Center. And when you get down to mere days left in the season and what amounts to a best-of-three series, everything boils down to one simple concept.
Who can do what they do, and do it better than the other guys?
“I think anytime you get to this point in the season, there's not many huge adjustments you can make,” Draymond Green said after the team’s Sunday practice. “They know who you are, you know who they are. You're not going back to reinvent the wheel. You're not going back to change your playbook. You're not going back to change your personnel. I think in understanding that, you have to do what you do to the best of your ability. … It's just a matter of who can do that more consistently, that's who will win the series.”
Doing things consistently hasn’t exactly been Boston’s forte in the playoffs, especially on the offensive end. They run like a well-oiled machine for long stretches, and then it looks like someone threw twigs in their gears. Steph Curry dropped 43 points in a performance that has the masses raving, and Boston still had their chances to win the game.
“Offense is going to determine, I feel like, the rest of the series for us in a sense.” Grant Williams said before the Celtics hit the practice floor. “If we control and do what we're supposed to do, we have success. … But when you have so many turnovers, when you don't necessarily execute and get less shots and allow offensive rebounds, extra possessions for them, it's hard to win games that way.”
Offensive execution begins with Jayson Tatum. He’s shooting 45% from deep in this series, but less than 28% from inside the arc, which is abysmal. The issue, as highlighted yesterday, is coming at the rim.
“I'd say some stronger finishes,” Ime Udoka said. “When he plays off two and draws the contact, he's finished well.”
Tatum acknowledged the need for a little more power and a little less finesse, saying “playing off one foot and trying to look for fouls isn't -- has not been working in my favor as much. So I think playing off two feet, attacking angles, instead of trying to initiate the contact and things like that.”
A stronger Tatum at the rim changes so much for the Celtics on offense. Not only would that mean more makes and, very likely, more free throws, it would create more opportunities for his teammate and allow for the Celtics to set their defense.
For all the talk about Curry’s monster game, it’s lost that the Warriors' offense was bad when they had to run against Boston’s halfcourt defense. According to Cleaning The Glass, the Warriors' offensive efficiency was 83.9 in the halfcourt in Game 4, a brutally low number.
“I think the narrative gets shifted to Curry and what he's doing. But in our wins and losses, they are scoring the same points,” Udoka said. “We had several opportunities, being up five, six, seven, and poor offense or turnovers let them back in the game. … against this team, anytime you run some poor offense, turn the ball over, live ball turnovers, let them get out, we know how quickly they can get back in the game. That was the case in Game 4 when we had our chances.”
Udoka is right about the Curry narrative. It’s easy to understand that the general consensus is to marvel at his 43-point night and say that was the reason Boston lost, but it overlooks a stretch from 3:49 to 1:42 where nobody on either side scored and Boston missed four 3-pointers. It ignores an offensive rebound allowed, two second-chance points, and then a Boston turnover to effectively ice the game.
Obviously, the Celtics would like to keep Curry to something less than 43 points, but they can withstand that if they get away from stagnant offense.
“It's just continuing to play the way that got us to that point,” Al Horford said. “It's really making sure that we have good ball movement on offense and continuing to be solid on the defensive end. I feel like if we do those two things, that puts us in the best position.”
How do they do that? Jaylen Brown says it’s about focus.
“I think focus is something that, for us, has differed from game to game,” Brown said. “It's almost human nature when our backs are against the wall a little bit, we play with more focus and intensity and determination. And sometimes when we're not, we're a little too comfortable. I would like our focus to be intense, and I would like our focus to be at a high level coming into Game 5.”
OTHER NOTES
MARCUS SMART IS NOT 100%
Who is, though? When the Celtics hit the practice for a light workout ahead of Game 5, Smart spent the first 10 minutes or so of warm-up shooting on the sideline getting his variety of right leg injuries (quad, ankle, foot) loose.
He eventually did hit the floor, keeping it light to start and having some fun shooting (and making) lefty half-court heaves before the team got started.
WITH THE LEFT… Marcus Smart in his trick shot bag again! pic.twitter.com/WPaFnO2vLN
— NBA (@NBA) June 12, 2022
“Mentality is you've got to keep going. Can't ever give up. You can't take breaks. You've got to push yourself to the limit,” Smart said of getting himself psyched up to get out onto the floor. “For me, I'm just telling myself constantly, no matter how hurt you are, no matter how tired you are, you've got to keep going. That's the mentality you have to have to be a really good defender, let alone a great one.”
ROBERT WILLIAMS PRESSES ON
Williams asked out of Game 4 because his left knee started to bother him, but even he isn’t sure how it happened.
“I was actually looking for the clip. I can't necessarily tell you if it was the jumping or the landing, but typical soreness, man,” Williams said. “But I feel okay.”
The Celtics are a different team with a full-strength Williams patrolling the paint. The good news is that he was on the floor with the team at practice, and he’s expected to play.
“The day off, the rest, equaled with today and tomorrow, optimistic he'll be good to go,” Udoka said. “But we'll test it before the game as usual.”
KEEPING JAYLEN BROWN INVOLVED
This is something I highlighted after Game 4, and it’s something the Celtics will focus on in Game 5. The biggest issue for Boston right now is getting Tatum right at the rim, but just behind that is keeping Brown involved more consistently throughout the game.
“They are not guarding him the same as Jayson. I think they are guarding him more one-on-one,” Udoka said. “He's obviously a high-level scorer that can take advantage of that. Putting Green on him on the perimeter a little bit I think takes Green out of his comfort zone, and he's one of their best help defenders. He's had some advantages there.”
Brown can take more advantage of his defensive matchups, but he also has to take more control as one of the offensive pillars in crunch-time situations. He’s done well with that when he doesn’t have the ball, but he can do more when he doesn't.
“At times I do need to take the onus and get us more organized and get us more space and a little bit more composed,” Brown said. “That's a part of my growth as a basketball player and my maturity and things like that. Can't put everything on the coaching staff. We're on the floor. So at times, somebody has to get everybody square, get everybody level-headed and be a little bit more composed.
“But we just got to be better as a group overall in those moments and just take our time a little bit and just be a little bit more poised.”