Joe Mazzulla doesn’t chastise his players in the media, but he came as close as he’s going to get on Sunday.
Asked about being on the verge of joining a special Celtics fraternity of coaches who have won a title, Mazzulla’s entire answer was “That will never happen if you don't run back on defense, rebound, execute and get to your spacing. That's the most important thing.”
When asked about his Italian heritage, he said “You're just made by all the experiences and things that you have. Regardless of what I am, what I'm made from, first and foremost, my identity, Christ is the most important thing before all that. And after that, it's about winning for the Boston Celtics and the process of winning -- getting back on defense, playing hard, transition, rebounding, spacing, execution. Those things are the most important.”
There is no doubt that the Celtics didn’t do any of those things effectively in Game 4. They played uncharacteristically sloppy basketball, even in the face of some new defensive wrinkles by the Mavs. But even as the Mavs have adjusted in the past couple of games, the onus is on Boston to read those adjustments and react properly. They have to understand where the openings are and attack them.
“When you miss the first read, it's not a lack of execution from the guys,” Mazzulla said. “It's not a lack of trying to execute. It's if you miss the first read and you miss the first window, it's really hard to get that window back against a team. … If you miss that first one, it's a nightmare to get a second and third one, and that's when you end up taking a couple shots you don't want to take.”
For example:
1: I’m not sure what Tatum’s plan was there.
2: Derrick White brought Luka Doncic into Tatum’s driving path. Was that a surprise for Tatum?
3: White and Al Horford are standing and watching. Tatum got too deep, but no one has given him a passing option.
4: Tatum was so deep into make-a-play mode that he missed White in the corner when Horford finally lifted and White finally got to the spot.
And this was all the first possession.
Dallas is trying to keep their bigs at the rim, preventing a lot of the drives that opened everything up in the first few games. Daniel Gafford and Derrick Lively are helping way off the corner guys and mucking things to prevent turning corners. Doncic is doing a better job on the ball, but he has a lot of help now.
Jaylen Brown didn’t try to drive on Doncic because Gafford was at the rim. Jrue Holiday drove left on Maxi Kleber when Gafford stepped out to avoid the 3-second call.
Want to see an easy counter to this that Boston uses all the time?
That screen is there for Tatum on the previous clip:
The Celtics just need the right personnel for this play, which I think goes back to Tatum at center. Sub Sam Hauser in first, play five-out, and just wait for the bigs to dip over to the other side. At that point, it’s screen the guy up high and make the pass to a lifting shooter.
They just have to make the shots. Boston can run that two or three times in a row and build a double-digit lead, force a timeout, and Dallas will scrap the defense.
Personnel is going to be very important. If Kristaps Porzingis is playing, then we can scrap all of what I’m saying in this piece. He’s the counter, end of story. If he’s not, then I don’t think the Celtics can go to Xavier Tillman.
Tillman is no threat here. He’s not a shooter (even though he hit one in Game 3) and he’s not a driver (even though he did get an and-1 in this game). They are going to play off him whenever he’s in the game, so he’s either going to shock the world and go 5-5 from 3 to eliminate the Mavs, or Boston will have to go in a different direction. I just don’t think he’s an answer against this particular Mavs defense.
The Celtics should also unleash a little more Tatum/Brown action. This play here is a great set up for a dribble handoff.
Brown runs DHO with bigs all the time in that situation. Why can’t Tatum get out of score mode, call Brown up, and run one as the big here? The progression from that will be
1: Brown vs. Luka with a head of steam down the middle of the floor and Horford as a dump-off option.
2: Brown stepping behind the screen for a 3.
3: Two guys follow Brown and Tatum breaks free for an open jumper.
4: Tatum spaces to the corner and Horford comes up so the action flows into a pick-and-roll with Tatum holding the corner.
Boston has to read these situations and, to borrow a phrase from Mazzulla, have the humility to run the right play even if a superstar turns into a DHO screener on a play.
The Celtics have counters they can go to if they want them. I’m not even sure they would have worked the way the Celtics were playing in Game 4. I think contrary to popular belief, the Celtics weren’t lazy or disinterested in Game 4. I think they were pressing and they lost focus because of it. I think they were so caught up in the mistakes they were making that they ended up making more.
Just watch White on this play:
It sure looks like he went to Josh Green in transition but then … he didn’t. And of course, Green had an angle for the offensive rebound that was so perfect that Pythagoras would be jealous (shots go long so often, even when they hit front rim, from that distance).
If White is getting that lost on plays, it’s going to be a tough night no matter what. He is never that lost.
And go and count the seconds it takes for Brown to reenter the screen after stopping to complain to the ref here:
That's a complete loss of focus and discipline.
It’s no wonder Mazzulla highlighted getting back on defense, rebounding, executing, and spacing. Those have been hallmarks of Boston’s first three wins but they lost all of that in Game 4.
“I firmly believe we had the right intentions. We wanted to win. We wanted to play the right way. That moment -- we wanted that moment,” Tatum said of Game 4. “But I think we maybe put too much pressure on ourselves at that moment to be perfect or think it was going to go how we wanted it to go.
“Joe did a great job today of reminding us that it's okay to smile during wars. It's okay to have fun during high-pressure moments. That's what makes our team unique and special. … That's really what we talked about today. Get back to having fun and being a team and how special we are and the team that got us here.”
Give Dallas credit for making some changes, but Boston has all the answers. If they keep their heads on straight and play their normal game, they’ll return the favor in Game 5.