ATLANTA — Threes have never been more important to the game of basketball. The Boston Celtics know what better than anyone. So, in an era where teams are taking more than ever, defending the three-point line is just as crucial. But it all depends on how you do it.
“It's funny, because [for] the last few years, we wanted to take away the threes, and this year we allow threes, at least above the break,” Jaylen Brown said post-game on Saturday night. “So, complete flip from last year and the previous years.”
The Celtics allow the sixth-most threes per game this season (39.1). They also take the second-most (42.7). But there’s a stark difference between giving up threes and what the Celtics have been doing.
Boston changed its defensive system this year. They’re helping more, focusing on protecting the rim, and closing out late on three-point attempts. On Saturday, the Atlanta Hawks shot 14-of-26 in the restricted area (53.8%) and 7-of-24 (29.2%) in the rest of the paint.
They also shot just 15-of-46 (32.6%) from beyond the arc.
“We got to do a good job of just not getting up in the air to where they create two-on-ones, and we foul them, and they get dunks or put-backs and stuff like that,” said Joe Mazzulla. “So, actually, I thought our details were pretty good as far as our closeouts, and they test those. So, I thought we were able to do that tonight.”
Meanwhile, Sam Hauser led a Celtics’ three-point barrage that fueled a 132-106 Boston blowout in Atlanta.
Much like the Celtics have done all season, the Hawks threw extra pressure all around the floor. But they did it in a different way. Where Boston helps on drives and rotates from there, Atlanta brought their big, usually Onyeka Okongwu, up to the level on screens. They wanted to constantly pressure the Celtics’ ball-handlers.
One plan worked. The other didn’t.
This is what the Hawks wanted to do on Saturday night.
Early in the game, they bring Okongwu up to the level against Brown, who makes a skip pass to the corner, where Baylor Scheierman is waiting. Vit Krejci had sunk into the paint to cover Neemias Queta’s roll, but he closes out quickly—just not quickly enough to guard Scheierman’s no-dip three.
In a perfect world for Quin Snyder, Krejci’s contest is good enough to dissuade Scheierman from taking the shot. Atlanta’s defense would continue to rotate, and Boston would succumb to the ball pressure.
That is not how things played out.
Meanwhile, the Celtics’ defense helps on drives. Their centers often sink back into the paint, protecting the rim, while help defenders from the wing and corner collapse into help.
Here, Luka Garza is Boston’s last line of defense after Corey Kispert gets past Derrick White. But Hugo Gonzalez is there, too. Kispert sees that, kicks the ball out to Krejci, who swings it to CJ McCollum in the corner.
Brown sprints out, closing out just as Krejci did against Scheierman in the previous play. But McCollum misses.
“They're a good shooting team,” Mazzulla said. “So tonight, they were a little off. They missed some easy ones.”
But the effort was there. Kreji and Brown both showed the willingness to close out and get a contest on the opponent’s open three.
The Celtics’ help-and-rotate style of defense allows them to do that consistently. What Atlanta decided to employ on Saturday night did not.
A few plays after that Scheierman three, Okongwu is up at the level again, ready to switch onto the ball. But McCollum stays on Scheierman, so at that point, Krejcji has to help over into the paint again.
Scheierman sees it, makes the right read, and finds a wide-open Hauser in the corner.
This next one’s a pick-and-roll with White and Queta. Again, Okongwu helps up, forcing the Hawks’ corner man to shift into the paint. Queta gets a free roll, Atlanta rotates, and Gonzalez screens his own man to give Hauser an open corner three (again).
It was an endless cycle of the same coverage.
Brown, in particular, saw a hefty dose of ball pressure, but it only opened up the three-point line for Boston even more.
“I felt like we were getting into the paint, which caused the defense to help, and kicking out and getting open looks that way,” Hauser said. “And obviously, JB drew a lot of attention tonight. D-White a lot of attention tonight. I don't know how many assists he had, but I know it was double digits. But I think it all starts on defense.
“I think our defense was really good tonight, and that led to transition buckets [and] open looks, and when you get stuff like that, it kind of opens everything else up.”
By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the Hawks were so desperate to keep up their ball pressure and prevent potential mismatches that they double-teamed Xavier Tillman in the post. Ron Harper Jr. got an open three because of it.
All the while, the Celtics’ defense was rolling. Everything went according to plan.
They want to pressure drivers, force kick-outs, and close out late on three-point shooters (especially guys who aren’t known for their long-range shot). In doing so, they put themselves in the best-possible positions for closeouts.
Even here, when the Celtics get cross-matched, and White ends up guarding Okongwu in the post, Queta fights back into the play. Boston forces Okongwu to give the ball up, and White gets a late closeout on McCollum.
The biggest difference between the two styles—Boston’s rim protection and Atlanta’s decision to bring their bigs up to the level in the PnR—is how they allow defenders to close out.
Atlanta’s defense isn’t closing out from the right places. Where Krejci (or whoever is helping from the corner) is being expected to close back out on his original matchup, they should have Okongwu instantly rotate to the corner once the guard catches up to the opposing ball-handler. (Or they should change the coverage completely.)
Boston, on the other hand, almost always has their big man in the paint. Or at least someone in the paint. This means that, even when a player does sink into the paint to provide help, they don’t have to close out from nearly as far away.
The Celtics have constructed a team of athletes capable of flying around. That’s what their entire defense was built around.
“We pride ourselves on our defense,” Brown said. “Our guys play hard, and we have a defensive game plan, and we come out and try to execute it, regardless of personnel. We got some guys that make multiple effort plays, and all that type of stuff adds up. So, I think we've been playing well, for the most part, on the season. It was definitely a different defensive system than what we've been used to, but I think we've adjusted well, and give credit to the coaching staff.
“The defensive system, I feel like, was adjusted to maximize our group, versus our group trying to play whatever defensive system that the coaches suggest. But I think Joe and the staff made sure our defense kind of brought the most out of what we have, and I think that's why we've been able to have some success.”
As Boston spent Saturday night chasing around drivers, keeping Jalen Johnson away from the ball, and closing out hard, Atlanta was in the dust.
They tried to pressure the Celtics’ ball-handlers, but there was always a three-point shot one or two passes away.