After the sport, Abby Chin requested Payton Pritchard if there was any takeaway from the loss. The Celtics guard advised the media, “I don’t even know if there’s a takeaway from this sport. I feel you simply form of flip the web page. They only punked us, and also you gotta prepare for the following one.”
Effectively, Payton, I’ve a couple of takeaways for you, in case you permit me. However sure, the Rockets punked you — beginning with the offensive glass.
#2 – Bullied by the larger group
At first look, the field rating may counsel that the Celtics did an honest job rebounding the ball with 14 offensive boards. The Rockets grabbed solely 12, so technically, the Celtics had been higher on the glass final evening? Effectively, no.
The Rockets “solely” had 12 offensive rebounds, however they missed simply 35 pictures. In the meantime, the Celtics grabbed 14 offensive boards however missed 63 field-goal makes an attempt. The field rating numbers may look flattering at first, however the actuality was fairly completely different. Led by Steven Adams, the Rockets dominated the Celtics with extra dimension and grit on the few possessions they really missed a shot.
Per CleaningTheGlass.com, on half-court possessions solely, the Rockets rebounded 57% of their misses — the very best mark for any group this season throughout the league. After all, dimension is a matter, however the Celtics aren’t the one small group. This rebounding dilemma must be addressed if Boston needs an opportunity to compete — particularly in video games the place opponents are on fireplace.
#3 – The Rockets launching from deep
Sure, the Celtics acquired bullied, nevertheless it’s additionally truthful to say the Rockets acquired fortunate. Josh Okogie went 3-for-5 from downtown, Reed Sheppard 4-for-5, Tari Eason 4-for-7, and even Amen Thompson hit a 3.
Most of those three-pointers had been open — not as a result of the Celtics tousled, however as a result of they selected to break down the paint to decelerate drives and post-ups, leaving Houston’s shooters open. The Rockets overachieved from deep, hitting 66% of their threes on 29 makes an attempt.
Regardless of the taking pictures luck, that method made sense — the Rockets don’t have many elite shooters. The larger problem was that, even whereas defending the rim, the Celtics nonetheless acquired dominated inside: 81% effectivity on the rim and 35 free throws allowed. So how did that occur?
I don’t have metrics to guage the Celtics’ willingness to run again in transition, so I’ll simply share a couple of performs from a stretch within the second and third quarters the place it felt just like the Rockets merely determined to run slightly tougher. Some Celtics hustled again — others, not a lot. I’ll allow you to make your personal evaluation with these clips from final evening’s sport.
And-one for Amen Thompson in transition:
And-one for Jabari Smith in transition:
A taking pictures foul on Alperen Sengun in transition:
The Celtics will typically be the underdog this season, like in opposition to the Rockets final evening. And when that occurs, they will’t afford to be outrun like this and count on a special final result.
The Celtics rapidly understood they wouldn’t have the spacing to beat Houston within the half-court. The numbers confirmed it: 1.27 factors per possession for the Rockets in half-court play versus simply 0.8 for Boston. The one option to shut that hole — even slightly — was by way of transition offense.
So, the Celtics had been ultra-aggressive on the ball, attempting to drive the Rockets into tight areas and rushed passes.
Baylor Scheierman additionally compelled three offensive fouls to cease Houston, exhibiting his basketball IQ and willingness to place his physique on the road.
However as soon as once more, the Celtics’ transition spark got here from their new quantity 8, Josh Minott.
#6 – Minott led by instance
Whereas a lot of the Celtics had been outmuscled and outworked, Josh Minott led the way in which — exhibiting his explosiveness and energy by leaping over greater our bodies for offensive rebounds. Between his steals and offensive boards, Minott generated 5 additional possibilities for Boston.
As talked about above, the Celtics will want these additional possessions all season as a result of the half-court creation and spacing from final yr are gone. Boston’s capability to get to the rim in half-court conditions is likely to be among the many league’s worst: thirtieth in rim frequency, seventeenth in rim effectivity, and thirtieth in free-throw fee.
The teaching workers clearly understood that. The Celtics went from twenty fourth to third in compelled turnovers and 18th to seventh in offensive rebounds. Minott is likely to be the participant who finest embodies this new identification. On this play once more, as quickly as he will get the defensive rebound, he runs and finds Chris Boucher slicing to the rim.
They talked about all of it summer season — the Celtics must run. Minott is a runner, and the remainder of the roster must observe.
#7 – Jaylen Brown’s half-court troubles
One of many gamers who may benefit most from higher spacing is Jaylen Brown. The Rockets’ protection fully swallowed Boston’s spacing and compelled Brown into poor selections. Ime Udoka is aware of him nicely and crafted a defensive sport plan that funneled him into robust possessions.
The purpose was easy: as soon as Brown acquired the ball, take away his spacing and drive him to both drive into visitors or accept contested pull-ups in opposition to lengthy defenders like Jabari Smith Jr. or Kevin Durant.
It labored. Brown made solely a few layups in half-court possessions however took seven pull-ups and made only one. On high of that, he didn’t draw a single free throw and dedicated 5 turnovers — half of the group’s complete.
Defensively, too, Brown had lapses — forgetting to run again in transition or dropping his man off-ball. Towards a group like Houston, with Sengun orchestrating cuts from the put up, off-ball consciousness have to be sharp.
Final evening, the Rockets managed to bait Jaylen Brown into being the worst model of himself. Now it’s time for him — and the group — to show the web page earlier than going through the Utah Jazz.
#8 – Boston attempting the zone
Final yr’s Playoffs confirmed that the Rockets could possibly be bothered by a zone protection — particularly the Golden State Warriors’ 2-3 tandem zone, like within the instance beneath:
Nevertheless, issues are a bit completely different now. First, the Celtics don’t have the defensive masterminds of Draymond Inexperienced or Jimmy Butler to trigger that form of disruption. Boston’s zone construction final evening was softer, and the Rockets repeatedly managed to get touches in the course of the zone, collapsing the complete setup.
Additionally, the Rockets spacing is now manner higher with Kevin Durant. Plus, the younger core, lead by Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr., aren’t afraid to pull-up from deep or the mid-range anymore.
#9 – Pritchard and White usage-increase influence
Derrick White is among the many gamers with the largest utilization improve from final season to this yr (+6.1% in utilization fee per CleaningTheGlass.com). Pritchard isn’t far behind, with a +4% bump.
It’s regular to see a slight drop in effectivity with the next load, however the decline for each has been dizzying.
Whereas poor taking pictures luck performs an element, there’s extra to it. White hasn’t been capable of generate the identical high quality seems with much less spacing. His rim effectivity dropped from 71% to 42%, and from 56% to 25% within the floater zone. Capturing variance explains a part of it, however these rim numbers level to an even bigger downside.
As for Pritchard, the identical mixture of unhealthy luck and expanded position applies. With extra creation duty, he’s taking many extra mid-range pictures — thrice as typically as final season. It reveals versatility but additionally hurts his effectivity. Nonetheless, he’s been stable from that space, which creates gravity and opens lanes for teammates.
Each are studying on the fly to deal with greater roles, and regardless of the tough begin, there’s motive for optimism. Nevertheless, defenses will alter rapidly, and that scouting report is coming. Final evening, Houston’s elite protection held White to 5 factors and Pritchard to 14.
#10 – The Celtics are at their finest with Queta on the courtroom
I don’t wish to dive into minutes or lineup debates too early within the season, however the eye check suggests the Celtics look their finest when Neemias Queta is on the ground — although he’s averaging simply 22 minutes per sport.
The house he creates together with his screens, his vertical menace, and his rim safety give this undersized group an actual probability to compete.
The season remains to be younger, however thus far, the Celtics are outscoring opponents by 12.5 factors per 100 possessions with Queta on the courtroom (156 minutes, excluding rubbish time). The protection specifically has been elite throughout these minutes. After all, the pattern is small, and a part of that’s as a result of lack of a real backup middle, however Queta’s scenario shall be price monitoring because the season unfolds.
