At first, it seemed as though the Charlotte Hornets could shoot their way to victory on Tuesday night. The Boston Celtics fell behind, but they were only down six by halftime. And by the end of the game, they walked away with an 11-point victory.
But what happened along the way? What can be pulled into the evidence locker as the playoffs approach?
1. Defending LaMelo Ball
As the Celtics look to stop some of the NBA’s top stars, they are inevitably going to have to get creative. Nothing comes easy in the NBA.
For a lot of the game, Boston didn’t want to send extra pressure at LaMelo Ball. They stuck Sam Hauser on him, had him go over screens, and tried to chase Ball off the 3-point line.
Boston uses this game plan a lot. Opposing players will make some shots, but not all, and the Celtics will be in the perfect position to get rebounds and close possessions on the back of Hauser’s solid individual defense.
But Ball was on fire.
Here, Hauser forces Ball off the 3-point line, but he ends up making a floater in the lane.
Had Neemias Queta helped up, maybe Ball would have missed the floater. But Moussa Diabate would have gotten the board. Boston took the risk of Ball making the contested-from-behind floater rather than giving Diabate a put-back dunk. Ball made them pay.
Then, on this play, with Jordan Walsh guarding him, Ball showed why he’s so great against all coverages.
Walsh goes over the screen to take Ball’s 3-point shot away, but since Ball is able to float into threes off one foot, he still manages to find his shot.
Ball consistently found ways to score against Boston’s defense.
2. The Celtics’ LaMelo Ball adjustment
However, midway through the third quarter, the Celtics made a subtle change.
It didn’t last forever, and Ball still scored well in the third, but it significantly slowed down his rhythm. And when Boston deployed the strategy, it forced the Hornets to try out different looks.
Rather than having Queta guard Diabate, the Celtics put Jayson Tatum on him. So, if the Hornets wanted Diabate to screen for Ball, the Celtics could simply switch Tatum onto him.
That forced Charlotte to use Sion James, whom Queta was guarding, as a screener, as it wanted to pull Queta into the action.
But when that happened, Queta just helped up and stopped Ball because James isn’t a threat to roll to the rim like Diabate is. That’s exactly what happened on this play, and Walsh ended up nabbing a steal.
Walsh denied Ball off the ball, Tatum stuck with Diabate, and Queta guarded James.
He dropped back deep into the paint, and even when James tried to shoot over him, Queta was ready to contest the 3-point line.
And even when the Hornets did manage to get Queta switched onto Ball, the Celtics big man held his own.
3. More transition examples
The Hornets play fast basketball. And in the first quarter, they found some success in transition. But there are different types of transition plays, all with varying levels of acceptability.
Here’s one example. Charlotte gets out and runs, and Ball ends up nailing a three.
But Boston got back. All five Celtics players were in front of the ball by the time Ball shot his three. He just pulled up from deep.
Meanwhile, this is the type of play that will lose the Celtics games if it happens too often.
Two Hornets players beat the Celtics to the rim, and they ended up getting a dunk in transition.
4. Sam Hauser threes
If Hauser is getting open threes, it usually means good things for the Celtics’ offense.
Though he’s gone through some cold stretches this year, Hauser has been one of the NBA’s most consistent 3-point shooters for his entire career. This will be the first year ever that he fails to shoot at least 40 percent from deep, and he’ll clock in just barely under that mark.
So, the fact that teams are willing to leave him open just to get the ball out of Brown and Tatum’s hands is a perfect indicator of how much gravity Boston’s stars have.
Here, all it takes is Tatum rejecting the Queta screen, and Ball helps in the lane. Hauser gets an open look from the corner.
Then, on this play, the Celtics didn’t even have to run any offense to get an open shot.
The Hornets immediately double Brown way above the 3-point line in order to make him pass. Derrick White cuts into the middle of the floor, Brown finds him, and White swings it to the corner for an easy triple.
Make or miss, open Hauser threes are a great sign for Boston’s offensive flow. (But making them would certainly be more ideal for the Celtics’ title hopes.)
5. Nikola Vucevic’s looks
It wasn’t a pretty game for Nikola Vucevic on Tuesday night. For the second straight game since he returned, the big man struggled. He shot just 1-of-10 from the floor.
But there were some encouraging signs. He missed quality looks.
In this pick-and-roll with Baylor Scheierman, Vucevic gets an open floater in the lane. He’s hit this shot over and over again throughout the course of his career. But here, he just misses.
Then, on this play, Vucevic pops out to the 3-point line and has all the space in the world to shoot. Again, though, he misses.
Vucevic was matched up against Ryan Kalkbrenner for a lot of his minutes, and the Hornets were in drop defense. That took away Vucevic’s ability to post-up and pick on mismatches in the post. And if he’s not hitting his floaters and threes in that type of situation, it’s going to be tough for him to be effective on offense.
If Vucevic can’t find a flow before the postseason, it may be time to go back to Luka Garza. But for now, getting Vucevic reps is important.
6. A fun start-of-game play
This was the first play of the night. And it was a fun one.
First, there’s the fake White handoff with Tatum. That takes Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller’s attention away from the rest of the floor.
As that’s unfolding, Queta and Hauser are setting up as if they are going to set double screens for Brown, with the intention of bringing him up to the wing to receive the ball. And the Hornets don’t want Ball to be switched onto Brown.
However, instead of screening up, Hauser screens toward the basket. Brown cuts inside, going against what the defense likely thought was happening, and gets an easy bucket at the rim.
It was a fun switch-up to start the game off, catching Charlotte off guard.