The Celtics are talking about defense constantly. Even after two of their most prolific offensive performances all season. It’s their identity after all.
“Defense, defense, defense,” Jayson Tatum said on Thursday, pointing out the key to Boston’s four-game winning streak. “Defense, defense, defense.”
Offense keyed the latest win, which veered into a shootout, though. The Celtics topped the Hornets, 115-101, on Wednesday after escaping a high-paced third quarter that Boston won, 35-30. Tatum — scoring 98 points over his last two games — and his team won another scoring contest two days earlier by pouring 126 points on the Nets.
A team that once struggled to shoot, grew stagnant, turned the ball over and played disconnected on offense is scoring as well as any other NBA offense right now, ranking second in the NBA with 119 points per 100 possessions over 11 games since the trade deadline. They’re also boasting the third-ranked defense (107.5) over that stretch.
Ime Udoka predicted, and possibly understated, the emergence after the Celtics thumped the Kings, 128-75, in Marcus Smart’s second game back from COVID and injury in January. The team had just blown by the Wizards on the road, with Tatum waking up from his shooting funk by drilling nine threes. Only two games earlier, Tatum launched an errant last-second three to cap an 11-point fourth quarter collapse against the Blazers and mark two straight losses where Boston leaned into threes while shooting under 30% from deep.
The Celtics entered the game against Sacramento ranked 19th in offense, 21st in assist percentage, 22nd in effective field goal percentage and rarely scoring over 30 points in any quarter.
“We know for the offense to take the jumps and improvements that we need, a huge piece is going to come in transition,” Udoka said then. “Taking care of the ball is the first thing, but getting out and running based on our defense is a huge part of it. Over the last 15 games or so, we really have increased our transition attempts … our offense, we can cut our numbers in half and get into the top-10 if we really get out in transition. That’s been the emphasis.”
Pace, for Udoka, meant quicker decisions in the half court as well as the fast break. Smart began to pace the offense, embracing challenges that he can’t be the point guard, with his most focused passing efforts of his career in the games that followed his return. Tatum’s ability to get off the ball and find teammates grew. Robert Williams III and Al Horford took on larger roles in the passing game before Dennis Schröder’s isolation tendencies swapped out for Derrick White’s movement mentality at the trade deadline.
The Celtics have won 9-of-11 with their current cast, boasting the fourth-highest assist rate (65.4%), a third-ranked assist-to-turnover ratio (2.23) and even the team’s shooting (56.4 eFG%) exploded into the top-five. Tatum, shooting 38.8% from three in those games, and Horford, 45.2%, escaped season-long slumps from deep.
Smart continues to ride a 2022 hot streak at 36.7% while Grant Williams’ 46.2% three-point shooting and Payton Pritchard’s 37.5% in a regular bench role since the deadline have rounded out quality floor spacing.
“I always had faith in us,” Tatum said. “I’d seen some stat that I guess the first half of the season, everybody but Grant was shooting below their career average. It’s a long season, so I just knew that we’d turn it around at some point. It was only a matter of time … I like where we’re at last 15 games or so.”
Tatum’s 44 points on 16-for-24 shooting and overall downhill approach against Charlotte highlighted his growth as the engine of Boston’s offensive explosion. He took out the flamethrower again, finding his step-back, fadeaway and side-step jumpers that make him unstoppable at his best. The newer aggressive side of his game, embracing contact, complemented to his long-standing finesse, dunking three times on Wednesday for the first time in over one year. He’s cutting, screening and positioning himself closer to the basket on switches against smaller players, backing down out of setting picks to the free throw area in what’s become a deadly play.
The Celtics started the night hammering the glass. Williams III grabbed six offensive rebounds in the first quarter to build an early advantage through an area the Celtics rank 11th in (27.7 OREB%). Then, the team went on to finish with 30 assists on 46 baskets, including a number of go-ahead passes like Horford’s lob to Tatum.
Udoka noted the Celtics set their season-high at that point for those kick-ahead passes in the first half of that January win over Sacramento. Tatum, at times a plodding, methodical isolation player in the half court, bought into that mentality too. After a similar rout over Philadelphia weeks later, he openly endorsed the mantra.
“If myself or somebody gets the rebound, just kicking the ball ahead,” Tatum said. “I think we’ve been emphasizing that a lot. Even if it don’t always lead to transition or fast break, just kick the ball ahead. Put a little pressure on the defense, then we get set. I think something as small as that that everybody’s bought into has just allowed us to play with more pace and everybody be just a little bit more involved.”
Tatum found out how much easier the break can make his game, where he doesn’t need to face as much added half court pressure to score. It connects him with two natural transition players in Horford and Brown. Smart’s forcing the issue toward the rim as much as anyone, opening the door to more rim looks for a group that still ranks 22nd in shots per game at the basket (27.0). They’re playing against a set defense in the half court 1.3 percentage points less often than the average team since the deadline (78.8%) — bumping them up to 11th in shots at the rim.
The team’s half court scoring improved greatly too, scoring 119.1 points per possession in those situations over that stretch according to Cleaning the Glass, and much of it comes back to trust that teammates will make shots or the right play. Offensive rebounding has helped, with Boston and Utah tied scoring 27 points on put backs per 100 missed shots or free throws since Feb. 11, with Williams III averaging 4.7 ORPG and Horford 1.7. Nobody has ever put back missed three-pointers like Williams III.
The Celtics held Charlotte to 9-for-23 shooting in the fourth quarter while Tatum hit a pair of spot-up threes that put the Hornets down by 19 early in the frame. Boston had to escape a frantic third quarter first, Smart driving downhill and finding teammates early, White doing the same on his way to eight assists and Tatum forcing the issue toward the basket to draw free throws and a technical on Kelly Oubre Jr. to create some separation at 87-78 after a basket-for-basket quarter.
Udoka reeled the emphasis back to defense over the final 12 minutes. Everything he envisioned, from the Celtics playing faster, playing well with two bigs, Tatum passing the ball more and elite defense turning into offense came to fruition in 2022. Sustainable top-10 offensive and defensive play will place Boston in more championship conversations as the season nears its conclusion. Udoka isn’t talking about that yet, but after mentioning the impact of his challenging the team’s mental toughness in New York in early January, keep listening to him. The team has.
“You’re seeing the numbers with Jayson, but everybody else is contributing in their own way. He’s making it easy on them, but what I pointed out to the group was Derrick and Marcus, 17 assists, one turnover only. They’re doing a great job finding guys, passing up good shots to get great ones for others. That’s what it’s going to take going forward. Can’t rely on one guy, two guys to score all the points. We want to have an unselfish team that plays a good, appealing brand of basketball and I think we’re doing that. Making extra passes and getting guys wide open looks. That’s all you can ask for.”
