A couple of elements got here into play when the Orlando Magic offense got here crashing again all the way down to its league-worst normalcy.
Their 3-point capturing regressed again to its regular requirements, having gone 7/18 from distance within the first half and simply 3/9 from the perimeter within the second, and their paint scoring was hindered by Boston’s swarming assist protection on the rim, however the issue most essential to this explicit weblog has to do with the defensive efficiency of Jrue Vacation.
Kung Fu Jrue, as he’s apparently recognized in response to Basketball Reference, performed about as stable a defensive recreation as you’re going to seek out. Orlando gamers shot simply 2/10 when guarded by Vacation, with that 20% defensive effectivity being the bottom amongst any Celtics starter in Recreation 1.
Extra importantly, he defended Orlando’s dynamic wing duo at a formidable charge. Based on Basketball Index, Paolo Banchero was defended by guards simply 19.88% of the time in the course of the common season (twenty eighth percentile amongst all gamers). Sadly for him, Vacation shouldn’t be your common guard.
Jrue was the chief of the pack on the Banchero task, defending him for a team-high 5 minutes and 15 seconds (38% of his minutes defensively for the sport). In that point, Banchero was flummoxed, stymied, swarmed and simply downright depressing in these possessions, capturing 0-for-4 with one turnover when defended by the All-Defensive Group mainstay.
On two of these shot makes an attempt, Vacation’s energy holds up towards the bodily imposing Banchero, who resorts to a baseline fadeaway that you just’ll reside with each single time he has the ball. On the opposite two, Banchero was extra aggressive, working his means into the paint like a participant his dimension ought to when defended by a guard.
Fortunately, Vacation had assist.
On each makes an attempt, Kristaps Porzingis fully deserted the Wendell Carter matchup to ship a serving to hand. Until Banchero the playmaker emerges and punishes the eye drawn his means, the Celtics can promote out on these drives, forcing Banchero into harder seems to be on the rim.
Franz Wagner fared solely barely higher, capturing 1-for-3 with two turnovers when defended by Jrue (1:45 spent on that matchup). Very similar to Banchero, Wagner doesn’t see lots of time coping with guard mismatches, dealing with off towards them 28.32% of the time over the course of the season (forty second percentile). Wagner was principally defended by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown all through this contest, however within the moments the place Vacation wanted to step up and deal with the task, he delivered.
I don’t imagine Orlando was ready to see Vacation take that lively of a task on their main scorer. There was only one recreation this common season that Vacation matched up on Banchero, and the Duke product shot 3/6 from the sector, had zero turnovers and earned one journey to the road in that 2:46 pattern. NBA’s monitoring information reveals that there was no occasion of Wagner and Vacation matching up this season.
The ultimate shot of this clip package deal ought to look acquainted. With Vacation defending him, Banchero settles for that very same off-balance baseline jumper we noticed yesterday.
Therein lies the fantastic thing about a Recreation 1. Common season information, tendencies and matchup histories can inform us a narrative or present a touch on the tactical instructions a coach can observe, however it will probably additionally throw us off the scent. There are changes and counter-moves to observe that’ll present us if Vacation continues to hone in on these wing matchups, however the reality of the matter is after one recreation, we all know what he can do on these matchups, each on an island and with some assist. We’ve seen Jrue’s defensive aptitude instantly affect a Banner 18 run, now we’re off on a quest for No. 19, and that protection stays as sharp as ever.
