When the Boston Celtics arrived at Capital One Arena in Washington to face the Wizards in the morning on January 23, there was no sign that this meeting would mark the turning point of Boston’s tumultuous season.
The Celtics were coming off of one of their most disheartening losses of the season, after losing a double-digit fourth quarter lead at home to the Portland Trail Blazers, who were without star point guard Damian. Lillard.
Jayson Tatum had missed 18 consecutive 3-point shots over a span of four games. The team’s offense hovered around the NBA’s bottom 10 spots. The Celtics fell to 23-24 and 10th in the Eastern Conference. More than halfway through the season, Boston appeared to be heading for a brief playoff stint, if at all.
Then came the 116-87 demolition of the Wizards, which saw Tatum score 51 points and bring Boston back to a 24-24 season record. In the locker room after the game, Marcus Smart sensed that change was on the way. “After that game, we had this mentality, this mindset and this sense of urgency that you felt that a change was starting to happen”it Smart. “Once it started, and we got on the right track, it was a smooth ride from there.”
Since that time, the Celtics have transformed into arguably the best team in the NBA, finishing the regular season with the league’s best record (28-7), offense (120.2 points per 100 possessions) and defense (104.8). And, after sweeping Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets and struggling for seven games against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks, the Celtics are in the Eastern Conference Finals against the heavy favorite Miami Heat.
But one of the most notable midseason turnovers in NBA history didn’t really begin on Jan. 23. It started long before the results were visible on the ground. “I do not think so”, said Brad Stevens, president of basketball operations for the Celtics, “that anyone could have guessed it was going to take off as it did.”
How the Boston Celtics found the magic recipe
The Celtics’ lowest point came on Nov. 1, just seven games into the season. After losing a 14-point lead to the Chicago Bulls, who beat the Celtics 39-11 in the final period, Smart slammed Boston’s superstar wing tandem.
“All the teams know we’re trying to go for Jayson and Jaylen,” Smart told reporters after the game. “Every team is programmed and studied to stop Jayson and Jaylen. I think everyone’s scouting ratio is to get these guys to pass the buck. They don’t want to pass the ball.”
That moment was a milestone in a campaign — led by a trio of talented perimeter players who appeared in more than 50 playoff games for Boston — that seemed destined to disappoint for a second straight season.
Instead, he became a distant reminder of the turnaround — and what finally started to work for Boston. “We have a lot of great players in the squad, so it was just a matter of figuring out how to play together”dit Grant Williams. “It’s the same with Ime [Udoka, qui est un] freshman head coach, so it was just about learning how to not only establish himself in the league, but also establish the model that the Celtics want to have. As we have grown we know exactly what we want and what we are.”
Some of the Celtics’ early misfortunes were beyond their control. Brown and Al Horford missed much of training camp, and Horford missed in December after following league health and safety protocols. Smart, meanwhile, went into protocols in January and missed six games.
Boston also reversed its bad shooting luck. That showed up in some particularly ugly losses, like when the Celtics had the worst catch-and-shoot performance in Second Spectrum history (since 2013) in a loss to the LA Clippers in December. Boston jumped to second in the league in quantified shot probability from that win at Washington, all regular season long.
The Celtics also found better fits for Udoka’s preferred system.
The franchise used part of its exception to sign Josh Richardson in the offseason and convinced Dennis Schroder to take a massive pay cut to play a role off the bench. Both are used to holding onto the ball, however, which fits with the natural tendencies of both Tatum and Brown that Udoka hoped to change.
Schroder and Richardson were traded at Deadline: Schroder, Enes Freedom and Bruno Fernando for Daniel Theis and Richardson and Romeo Langford for Derrick White.
The moves paid off immediately, including helping Udoka put together the fluid attack he’s been praising since arriving last summer. Prior to the trade deadline, Boston ranked 19th in the NBA in assists per game, and 49.4% of its field goals came from assists, which placed it 18th. Afterwards, Boston moved up to seventh place in those two categories.
“If I could have chosen the guy who would have been perfect to complete our group, it is [White]”dit Udoka. “He’s a better offensive player than J-Rich, and a much better defender than Dennis, so you kind of have those guys combined into one.”
Boston’s starting lineup, consisting of Smart, Brown, Tatum, Horford and Robert Williams III, was an elite team. By bringing in White and giving Grant Williams and Payton Pritchard more time off the bench, the Celtics had a tight eight-man rotation that fit Udoka’s game plan. “At the start of the year, we had guys trying to find new roles,” it Smart. “We experimented with new roles, new guys, new faces. It was a lot. [Maintenant] connectivity shows.”
Tatum rises in rank and Smart finds his true role.
It’s easy to talk about ephemeral things like connectivity, teamwork and togetherness. But none of that wins games if it’s not paired with talent.
“The biggest thing that has happened in the NBA in the last two months”, an Eastern Conference leader recently said, “is that Jayson Tatum has become the player the whole world thought he already was.”
Even after some particularly tough shooting in the first half of the season, Tatum finished the season averaging 26.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 4.4 assists. But more important is his progression as a passer and playmaker in the second half of the season.
His assist tally increased by nearly one per game after the All-Star break, and even earlier in the season Udoka relied on Tatum as his primary passer when Smart and Brown were leaving the field. Boston outshot opponents by 12.2 points per 100 possessions with him on the court, and Smart and Brown off. “The numbers are out of the ordinary with him as a passer”, Udoka said. “When you see what he is – with his size, his vision and all that – for me it’s a no-brainer.”
The final piece of Boston’s transformation was the arrival of Smart as the team’s starting point guard. It’s a role that Smart has, for years, begged to play. “I’m just happy to finally be put in a position where I’m excellent”, it Smart. “I am not saying that the other positions I held were not good. It was just… I was like a Swiss army knife, and it felt like I had no real role in the team. I was just doing a bit of everything.”
Although he was drafted in 2014 as a point guard from Oklahoma State, he played alongside a host of other point guards, from Isaiah Thomas and Terry Rozier to Kyrie Irving and Kemba. Walker. But once Walker was traded for Horford last summer, there was no choice but to hand over the keys to Smart.
Udoka is convinced, however, that Smart could be the player he needs to lead his attack. He said that unlike other goalies who have played with Tatum and Brown over the years, Smart is a general from the ground who favors passing. Marcus makes one of his craziest passes, and he says: “I got you”Udoka says raising his hand to imitate Smart apologizing for a bad play. “It’s like Manu’s situation [Ginobili] with [Gregg Popovich, l’entraîneur des Spurs]. You have to let him be who he is and live with some craziness… what you’re doing is trusting Marcus. “
Read also – Philly, what now?
–
Nicholas Depres
–
–
