NBA Notebook: Celtics found an identity forcing turnovers despite slow start

Anfernee Simons drained three triples in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter on Friday to steal back the lead in a game where Orlando led by 16 points in the first quarter. The Celtics controlled the boards and shot margin, sacrificing the free-throw battle, per usual, and held a significant advantage in turnovers into the final 12 minutes, 9-14.

That gave Boston hope for a comeback win over a strong Magic team that hadn't played to its potential yet this season. As long as the shooting came back to earth, the Celtics would stay within striking distance. That's the story of the season so far, with Boston in a bad slump from deep while many of their opponents have lit it up. In the small margins of the game, particularly turnovers, they've built other advantages to remain competitive through roster turnover and the Jayson Tatum injury. 

"We're forcing turnovers, we're crashing a little bit better, playing a little bit faster," Joe Mazzulla said last week. "Each team has strengths, you gotta lean into those."

After back-to-back stops that followed five straight Magic scoring plays, Josh Minott threw the rebound he grabbed right to Anthony Black in stride toward the Celtics' basket. Neemias Queta missed a layup six possessions later, a point-blank look so good that it might as well count as a turnover -- especially since he committed a take foul after. Minott, Payton Pritchard and Jaylen Brown gave the ball away on three of the next five possessions, empowering Orlando to go ahead by double-digits and dropping the Celtics to 4-6 despite winning the turnover battle over an opponent for the 10th straight night to begin this year. 

Boston reduced its margin for error, posting only a +1 turnover differential, such that the team couldn't overcome a hot Magic shooting night (17-36 3PT, 47.2%). Orlando cooled down two nights later (23.3%), but held the Celtics to their fewest three-point attempts all season (33). Boston needed a 14-17 turnover edge, their 11th straight win there, to generate 29 of their 111 points in a four-point win. All four Magic turnovers in the fourth quarter transitioned into Celtics baskets. 

That constant provides the Celtics the best chance, they believe, to overcome a talent and experience advantage many teams will hold over them. And while it hasn't fully panned out in their 5-6 record yet, Boston built the best turnover differential in the NBA so far, an impressive feat for a team that struggled to force turnovers in each of Mazzulla's first three seasons, partially by design. It would hurt their defensive discipline. So they instead focused on never committing them. 

"Another game where we haven't turned it over," Mazzulla said after the Celtics beat the Wizards, committing only five to Washington's 19 giveaways. "It goes a long way. People will watch a game and be like, 'oh, they're missing a lot of shots,' but they very rarely watch a game and be like 'oh, we're doing a great job not turning it over.' It's been one of the strengths of the team over a couple of years, and the guys have picked up on that, and just continue to get better on our reads offensively." 

The Celtics rank first with 11.5 turnovers per game, one fewer than the second-place Thunder. Boston finished in an effective tie for the fewest in each of the past two seasons after committing the seventh-fewest in 2022-23. They played a disciplined approach on the other side, though, finishing with elite defenses in each season despite ranking 26th, tied for last and 27th in forcing turnovers in each of the last three seasons. They expressed some interest in becoming more disruptive before leaning into a drop defense, switching on the perimeter to keep defenders in front of them and funneling shots toward the least efficient offensive player on the other side. 

Two things changed that approach going into this season, the obvious losses on the defensive side, between Jrue Holiday and three centers excellent at protecting the rim. The Celtics also lost significant rebounding personnel between those players and Jayson Tatum, so the onus increased to get more stops before shots go up. Analytics have also long spoken highly of winning the turnover battle, with Dean Oliver's four factors that decide games including shooting (40%), turnovers (25%), rebounding (20%) and free throws (15%). 

It also helped to see how impactful defensive disruptiveness, combined with a change in officiating emphasis around the league, powered the Thunder's championship run after they led the league in opponent turnovers (17.0) last regular season. The Celtics now foul more than anyone except the Pistons after rarely committing them in recent years, and have pressed more than all but three teams -- a league-wide trend they experimented with in recent years before fully embracing it this season. 

"I think it's changed a little bit since the rule changes about 1.5 years ago that allowed you to be a little more physical on the perimeter," Wizards head coach Brian Keefe said. "I think coaches are smart, they realize you can cause some havoc out there by picking up full, getting hands on people and trying to put people in uncomfortable positions. Coaches all want to disrupt offenses, because the offenses are really hard to guard, so I think that's what you're seeing." 

Mazzulla's ability to limit Celtics turnovers, a fatal flaw on their 2022 trip to the Finals, became an underrated byproduct of the amount of threes the team took. Boston doesn't hesitate when they find space to shoot. They don't over-pass and rely on the isolation prowess of their best players. They're searching for a balance through a slow shooting start to the year, the biggest factor in their below .500 record, currently ranking 23rd from the field (44.9% FG) and 27th from three (32.7%). That's tough to overcome, but the Celtics have done almost everything possible to win the other battles. 

"They do a really good job with their spacing, really hunting threes, they do a great job crashing, especially from the corners," Will Hardy noticed last week. "They're very good at creating an initial advantage, I think one of the best teams in the NBA in their discipline when ... guys are being guarded by switching defenders ... then once they have the advantage, they do a great job of making quick decisions on their drive-and-kick ... they also have guys that can squeeze off threes in tight windows, and for those players, they're good shots. Maybe three-point shooters that aren't as good, they wouldn't be considered as high of quality, but I look at a guy like Sam Hauser, for example, and I think if the ball gets out of his hand and doesn't get blocked, it's a good three." 

They're now 10-1 in generating more shots than opponents after Sunday's win, 10-1 in producing more three-point volume, 7-3-1 in offensive rebounding totals and managed 5-6 in the three-point efficiency matchups -- their record. While they've dominated the turnover margin, committing 126 and forcing 186 (+6.0 per game), they've lost every free-throw attempt battle (0-10-1) save for their win over the Cavs, where they drew even. It's one of many fine lines they're walking as they try to force more turnovers. 

They're putting two on the ball more often, so defenders behind those traps get put into rotation. That exacerbates the Celtics' occasional rebounding issues, which Minott helped solve. That lineup change put less shooting on the floor, and the scrambling in their own end allowed more three-point looks to their opponents, who are 37% from deep (T-22nd). It's like when they fix one leak, another springs loose elsewhere. 

But they've made ball control their identity, an early choice that puts them in the same class as the prohibitive favorite Thunder (+5.3 margin) in at least one category. For all the shooting struggles Derrick White and Pritchard have shared (26.6% 3PT), they've combined to produce 112 assists with only 29 turnovers. That's allowed Brown to focus more on scoring while posting a one-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio. 

"Why do we (rarely turn the ball over?" Pritchard said after Wednesday's win over Washington. "Because we prefer not to. No, I mean, I try to hold myself to a high standard of not turning it over, having a good assist-to-turnover ratio. I actually had two bad ones tonight, so frustrated with myself on those ones, because those led to a foul on the other end and the other one was just bad, so if you can always get shots and not turn the ball over, you have a high chance of winning." 

Here's what else happened around the NBA this week...

Atlanta (5-5): Kristaps Porziņģis missed a second straight game with what the Hawks described as illness management after missing a pair of games earlier in the season with flu-like symptoms. The Athletic reported last month that doctors diagnosed Porziņģis with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, commonly referred to as POTS, an autonomic condition that can dramatically increase a patient’s heart rate when standing up. It's likely the culprit for his postseason fatigue that at times left him unable to compete for the Celtics into the second round against the Knicks. He's averaging 17.6 PPG, 6.3 RPG and 3.3 APG with 1.3 BPG (43.3% FG, 31.4% 3PT) in seven appearances with the Hawks. Atlanta is 3-2 through four games without Trae Young, with Nickeil Alexander-Walker scoring at least 20 points in three of them. Mo Gueye (21 PTS, 7 REB, 7 AST) led a 20-point upset win over the Lakers with three starters missing on Saturday. 

Boston (5-6): Lost to the Jazz on a last-second Jusuf Nurkić put-back as shooting struggles continued, briefly falling to last place in the NBA at 31% from three as a team during the second half. That turned around with a 39% effort against the Wizards, their largest win of the season, before late mistakes by Josh Minott and Neemias Queta compounded into letting the Magic pull away from a tie game midway through the fourth quarter. Anfernee Simons played only two first-half minutes in the loss before returning in the second half and providing a shooting bump, breaking out for 25 first-half points two nights later in a win before scoring zero in the second. Jordan Walsh hit both threes, including the game-icing look late in the right corner, in his third straight appearance in the rotation. Jaylen Brown, who did not receive a fine for complaining about officiating following what the NBA later admitted was a missed tripping call against Keyonte George in the loss, accused the officials in Orlando of getting retribution against him in the fourth quarter, where he scored two points. Brown ranks third to Shia Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyrese Maxey with 308 total points this season. Boston plays a back-to-back between Philadelphia and at home against the Grizzlies on Tuesday and Wednesday. They'll then get a break until next Sunday. 

Brooklyn (1-9): Cam Thomas (hamstring) will miss 3-4 weeks with a strain he suffered during the Nets' first win of the season against the Pacers on Wednesday. Only Michael Porter Jr., Noah Clowney and Nic Claxton reached double-figures in the team's 18-point loss to Detroit that followed. The loss dropped Brooklyn into last place alongside Philadelphia at 0-1 in the Celtics' NBA Cup group, with the Pistons and Magic moving to 1-0 and Boston falling to 1-1 on Friday. The Celtics will see the Nets, who are 22nd in offense and last in defense, next Tuesday in Brooklyn before meeting again on Friday in Boston for the Cup matchup. Thomas will miss both games. Haywood Highsmith (knee) also remains out to begin this season. Despite their rebuilding status, Brooklyn's five first round picks Egor Dёmin, Ben Saraf, Drake Powell, Nolan Traoré and Danny Wolf have all averaged fewer than 20 minutes per game this season and have struggled offensively. Dёmin started on Saturday and scored 10 points. 

Charlotte (3-6): Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel became the silver lining to another slow Hornets start to a season, averaging 16.4 PPG, 6.0 RPG and 2.3 APG on 44.3% shooting, converting 40.5% from three on 8.2 attempts per game. Only Grizzlies wing Cedric Coward has scored more total points among rookies this season, while Knueppel also ranks fourth in the class in rebounds. Rookie big Ryan Kalkbrenner, who the Celtics worked out and had the chance to draft in the second round before trading back, has averaged 9.2 PPG, 6.9 RPG and 2.6 BPG on 81.3% shooting. 

Chicago (6-3): Coby White (calf) will soon rejoin the surging Bulls, who have emerged as one of the surprise success stories in the NBA behind Josh Giddey's 21.4 PPG, 9.6 RPG and 9.3 APG on 46.3% (38.53 PT%) shooting into his second year with the team. Giddey signed a long-term contract to stay with the team while White begins his contract year after his own breakout with Chicago in 2025, setting up an interesting dynamic as they reunite. White expects to play at some point on the Bulls' upcoming three-game road trip, which begins in Utah on Nov. 16, according to The Athletic. Giddey (ankle) left Saturday's late loss to the Cavs after a vicious crossover move by De'Andre Hunter and is questionable for Monday's game against the Spurs. 

“Obviously, the team’s start has been great, right?” White said. “We’re No. 1 in the East right now. I think we have a really good team. Nobody picked us to be where we’re at right now. We’re confident in ourselves and confident (in) each other ... I think the way I play fits perfectly with the way that we play ... Quick decisions. I’m not a ball stopper; I don’t hold the ball. I just play to win. So I don’t see no problem or anything when it comes to me getting back to it.”

Cleveland (7-3): Darius Garland (toe) returned from offseason surgery and posted eight points and four assists in 26 minutes while the Cavs won by 11 over the Sixers. They mashed the Wizards on Thursday behind Garland's 20 points and nine assists before he rested on Saturday against Chicago. Garland shot 10-for-27 from the field and 6-for-16 from three between the two performances. Donovan Mitchell, his backcourt partner, averaged 30.9 PPG and 5.0 APG on 55.3% shooting (44.7% 3PT) to begin the year. Max Strus (foot) has progressed to on-court work without contact, and hasn't suffered any setbacks, Kenny Atkinson said last week. 

Dallas (3-7): Fell to the bottom of the west with a four-game losing streak that mounted with a loss to the Pelicans and a double-digit defeat in Memphis. They're last in offense to begin their first full season without Luka Dončić while Kyrie Irving recovers from ACL surgery. That left rookie Cooper Flagg (40.4% FG, 28.6% 3PT), Klay Thompson (31.6% FG, 26.4% 3PT), Naji Marshall (41.8% FG, 15% 3PT) and D'Angelo Russell (38.3% FG, 31.1%) as primary offensive facilitators who have struggled to navigate the Mavs' larger lineups, who have at least held the team's defense up to sixth in the league. Some around the league have begun asking if GM Nico Harrison's job could be in jeopardy. Anthony Davis (calf) sat again on Saturday after missing the previous four games, but was upgraded to questionable. Naji Marshall beat the Wizards with 30 points in Washington. 

Detroit (7-2): Atop the East as they build on their breakout season and return to the playoffs in 2025. Cade Cunningham is averaging 25.6 PPG and 9.7 APG on 46.6% shooting. Jalen Duren's 19.2 PPG and 11.3 RPG ranks among the most productive bigs in the NBA, while Isaiah Stewart and Duncan Robinson have shot 39.3% from three. Detroit ranks 15th in offense and second in defense, with only the Thunder, Nuggets, Rockets and Spurs ranking higher than them in net rating (+6.0). Malik Beasley and the Pistons reportedly share interest in a reunion if he gets cleared in the gambling investigation against him. Detroit filled its final roster spot with Isaac Jones this week, but Javonte Green's contract remains lightly guaranteed until January. 

Golden State (6-5): Draymond Green admitted that the Warriors defense sucks and took the blame for his own s****y performance in the 129-104 loss to the Nuggets. Golden State fell to .500 without Steph Curry (illness) and Al Horford, who rested as part of a three games in four days stretch for the team. The Warriors rank 18th in offense, 16th in defense and have only received double-figure scoring from Curry, Jimmy Butler, Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski and Moses Moody. Horford, through six games, is shooting 29.7% from the field and 20.8% from three in 22.0 minutes per game. The Warriors' schedule remains tough with a trip to Oklahoma City and a mini-series in San Antonio. Al Horford broke out for four threes and three blocks in a bounce-back win over the Pacers. 

“I’ve failed,” Green said. “If our defense looks as sh—- as it does, I’ve failed. So you can send as many messages as you want, until we do it, I’m failing at it.”

Indiana (1-9): Received some relief following a horrifying start on the court and injury report when Andrew Nembhard (shoulder) returned on Saturday, posting 22 points and six assists in a loss to the Nuggets. The Pacers brought in reinforcements before the game, waiving Mac McClung to sign veteran guard Monté Morris. Including Nembhard, Indiana declared eight players inactive before losing to the winless Nets on Wednesday, including TJ McConnell, Tyrese Haliburton, Obi Toppin and Bennedict Mathurin. 

Clippers (3-6): Bradley Beal looked back at his Suns tenure and said it made him someone else before preparing to face them for the first time as a member of the Clippers. Beal received boos during introductions and every time he touched the ball in Phoenix, shooting 2-for-14 with five points before LA sat him down midway through the third quarter for the rest of the night. Beal is averaging 7.4 PPG on 35.9% shooting since accepting a buyout from the Suns and joining the Clippers over the offseason. 

“To me, it wasn’t about get back,” Beal told The Athletic. “We whooped y’all a couple weeks ago. So it wasn’t like, you know, I don’t think it’s about that. For me, it was — no disrespect to Phoenix — but it was more meaningful for me to go back to D.C. and play, after being there for 11 years and that’s my franchise, you know? I feel like I was more geeked about that than coming back here. There’s no disrespect … but they have their way how they feel.”

Memphis (4-7): Ja Morant received a one-game suspension in a Grizzlies loss to the Raptors for a postgame exchange with head coach Tuomas Iisalo, returning for losses against the Pistons and Rockets before Memphis found a win over Dallas. The Grizzlies rank 25th in offense and 18th in defense, with Morant falling to 35.8% from the field and 14.8% from three this season. Rookie Cedric Coward provided a silver lining through the first 10 games, posting 15.0 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 2.8 APG and 1.0 SPG on 55.4% shooting, but Santi Aldama, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Jaylen Wells haven't added the complementary scoring that the team needed when Desmond Bane departed. The feud between Morant and the team follows an offseason where they did not engage in extension talks despite agreeing to a new deal with Jaren Jackson Jr. Morant said he's lost his joy recently following the incident. The Celtics host the Grizzlies on a back-to-back on Wednesday in Boston. 

"Y'all asked that question to them, huh? Y'all asked that question, so y'all know the answer to that," Morant said of the incident. "Yeah, they told y'all that, right? There you go. Obviously, they can't go and tell y'all something I ain't say."

Miami (6-4): A fire destroyed Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra's home on Thursday with nobody in the building. No one was injured. Spoelstra and the Heat had flown from Denver overnight when a call came in at 4:36 a.m., shortly before the team landed in Miami. Official declared the fire contained around 8 a.m. after a long battle. The fire remains under investigation. Spoelstra coached the Heat's win over the Hornets the following night, speaking before the game with his three children and expressing thanks for the support he received in the aftermath. Bam Adebayo (toe) missed the game with a sprain and is considered day-to-day. 

"Things in the house, those things can be replaced," Spoelstra said pre-game. "And if they can't be replaced, what does it really matter? This is really what matters. Family, the closest ones, our dog also was safe, thank God. We're just grateful. We're grateful that everybody is safe and in a great place."

Later, after the win: "It just hit me, right now, after the game. I just want to go home," Spoelstra said in his postgame news conference. "My kids, we're taken care of. I will see them tonight. But in a perfect world, I'd rather go home."

Milwaukee (6-4): Giannis Antetokounmpo's stat line seems to get sillier every year -- 33.8 PPG, 12.3 RPG, 6.2 APG, 0.9 SPG and 1.1 BPG on 63.1% shooting. He posted 41 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists in a win over the Bulls on Friday. Antetokounmpo passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most 40-point games in Bucks history with 56. 

New York (5-3): Karl-Anthony Towns said the trade from Minnesota to New York still stuns him over one year later. Towns posted 15 points, 10 rebounds and four assists with two blocks in a blowout win over his former Wolves, whose jersey he still pictures himself wearing. He dunked on former teammates Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert in the win, but Julius Randle, who went back to Minnesota in the deal, continued his strong start to his second season there, averaging 25.9 PPG, 7.2 RPG and 6.3 APG on 55.5% shooting. 

Oklahoma City (10-1): Just a ridiculous basketball team that should be considered the prohibitive favorites to repeat as champions, as they scorch to the best start in the league without Jalen Williams (wrist). Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ranks fourth in scoring (33.2 PPG) with the most total points in the league. Isaiah Hartenstein did his best imitation by dropping 33 points on Sacramento in a blowout win to respond to their first loss of the season. He added 19 rebounds and three assists in his best performance with the Thunder. Ajay Mitchell is an early candidate to win Most Improved Player of the Year, averaging 17.1 PPG, third on the team, 4.0 RPG and 4.1 APG on 46.2% shooting. Gilgeous-Alexander said his 2025 championship run left more to be desired. That followed comments by Mark Daigneault to the team to enter this year as if they lost to Denver in the second round. 

"Honestly speaking, I didn't like the way we won, if that makes sense," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "I didn't think we won an NBA championship playing our best basketball. And that was the first time we'd been that far in the playoffs, so it was a learning experience for us, but it takes another level of focus, discipline, assertiveness, aggression, to like, be who we were in the regular season and do that throughout the postseason. 

Orlando (4-6): Desmond Bane (22 PTS, 6 REB, 7 AST) broke out after a slow start to his Magic career, leading Orlando to a win in the first game of a mini-series between the Celtics and Magic. The physical game featured Paolo Banchero shooting struggles (45.5% FG, 22% 3PT) and an efficient Franz Wagner (47.5% FG, 36.4% 3PT), emblematic of their start to the season. Orlando tried to speed up its approach to begin this year and only improved to 20th in offense while falling to 14th in defense. Jamahl Mosley discussed the growing history between the two teams before the game, stemming back to their tense five-game series in the first round. He's continuing to struggle to get the best out of the team, offensively, an early trend to watch as they begin their first season with expectations. 

Philadelphia (6-4): Jared McCain (thumb) returned from surgery to shoot 0-for-4 in 15 minutes in his season debut against the Bulls. Philadelphia rested him on the second half of a back-to-back against the Cavs, then did not play him in Toronto, where a Trendon Watford triple-double (20 PTS, 17 REB, 10 AST) and Joel Embiid's 29 points. Embiid is averaging 19.7 PPG on 46.0% shooting while taking off every other game over Philadelphia's last six. Paul George (knee) did not meet with doctors over the weekend as expected in what could've marked his final hurdle before returning from offseason surgery, Nick Nurse revealed on Sunday. Dominick Barlow (elbow laceration) held down the four position before Watford took over the position that George will soon return to. The Sixers host the Celtics for the third time in the opening month of the season on Tuesday at 8 p.m. 

Portland (5-4): Jrue Holiday continues to thrive for a competitive Blazers team that's 5-3 under interim head coach Tiago Splitter. Holiday is averaging 17.4 PPG, 5.3 RPG and 8.2 APG on 44.3% shooting (35.8% 3PT), picking back up a larger role with his new team. Robert Williams III returned from offseason knee surgery to average 2.5 PPG and 3.2 RPG in 9.3 minutes per game while shooting 5-for-7. ESPN documented how the NBA is responding to the Chauncey Billups arrest. 

Sacramento (3-7): Shades of prime Russell Westbrook returned with 23 points or more in three of the Kings' last four games, including a triple-double with 16 rebounds and 10 assists against the Warriors. He's averaging 16.0 PPG, 7.1 RPG and 6.0 APG on 47.7% shooting (45.7% 3PT) for a team getting an efficient 20+ PPG each from Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, along with 52.9% three-point shooting from Malik Monk. Their issue is on the defensive end, where they rank 26th after giving up 144 points to Minnesota. 

Utah (3-6): Lauri Markkanen is one of the new season's breakout players, averaging 28.3 PPG, 6.1 RPG and 2.0 APG on 45.2% shooting (33.7% 3PT), including a 20-point, nine-rebound effort that shocked the Celtics on Monday on the second half of a back-to-back. He slowed down to 3-for-16 over the following two games and the Jazz appeared on the verge of another rebuilding season with a young roster. There are some fun players among this group, Keyonte George averaging 22.1 PPG and 7.2 APG to begin his second season, Kyle Filipowski is warming up and Ace Bailey reached double-figures for the first time on Friday, but Walker Kessler (shoulder) will undergo season-ending surgery ahead of his restricted free agency next summer. Georges Niang (foot) traveled to Boston on Monday and discussed his trade from the Celtics after a short stint with the team. 

Will Hardy, a former Celtics assistant alongside Joe Mazzulla, explained why the Celtics take so many threes before the game. 

Washington (1-9): Khris Middleton (knee) sat out three of the Wizards' last four games, including a blowout loss at the Celtics, where Alex Sarr scored 31 points and challenged Neemias Queta to defend him straight-up better as the night went on. Former Blazer CJ McCollum managed only three points in 18 minutes. He discussed playing alongside his former teammate Anfernee Simons before the game.