The Celtics’ biggest problem isn’t Stephen Curry

The Boston Celtics have their backs to the wall in the finals – even though their defensive concept is actually working. The problems lie on the other side. The Celtics could learn from their opponents…

The Celtics haven’t lost the Finals yet. So far this postseason, Boston has always found an answer, even after sensitive blows to the neck. The bitter Game 5 against the Bucks was followed by 46 Jayson Tatum points in Game 6 and a blowout in Game 7, against Miami they were twice behind and also lost Game 6, in the end it was enough anyway, this time Game 7 was in a foreign country Hall won.

So don’t write this team off until they’re truly defeated. And yet, after games 4 and 5, it feels a bit like they really blew their chance this time. Or their chances, of which you don’t get an infinite number of on this stage against this opponent.

In Game 5, the Celtics got the Stephen Curry off-night they were waiting for, presumably even speculating about. It still wasn’t enough, they didn’t capitalize on it like they did in Game 4 where almost all Warriors EXCEPT Curry were cold. Because in this case Andrew Wiggins turned it up, of course. But by no means only because of that. More than anything else, Boston tripped over its own feet—once again.

Devastating crunchtime offense, the many ball losses, the missed free throws, “playing like assholes”, as head coach Ime Udoka calls it – all this caught up with the Celtics again and again. Avoidable mistakes, to put it simply, are increasingly becoming the Achilles’ heel of this team.

However, the accumulation of these at the present time is no coincidence.

NBA Finals: The Celtics are running out of steam

This throw exemplifies the last quarter of Game 5: Jayson Tatum is isolated against Andrew Wiggins with the rest of the team essentially watching. On the one hand Curry can help out, on the other hand it would be Gary Payton II, under the basket Kevon Looney is waiting to help out with a possible drive.

However, the drive is not the method of choice, instead there is the fadeaway from the middle distance, one of the most difficult and inefficient throws in basketball. Incidentally, Tatum, who had his best scoring game of the series in Game 5, is 4/20 in the Finals on twos outside the zone. Also because many of these litters looked exactly like that.

Tatum makes an astounding number of his jump shots (excluding threes) either in front of the ring or even throwing airballs, and he’s not the only player on his team to do so. There is usually a fairly easy explanation for this: the legs are “gone”, meaning the Celtics are no longer fresh. At the end of games, that simple fact doesn’t explain all of Boston’s problems, but it does.

The Celtics look flat; This is traditionally the case for many teams who have to survive against the Warriors’ movement system. It may not be as far as Matthew Dellavedova, who was hospitalized with cramps after a Finals game in 2015 after chasing Curry for blocks for 39 minutes, but the streak isn’t over yet…

The Celtics also have aggravating circumstances. In a way, their own postseason sins are catching up with them.

Boston Celtics: Twice to the limit

The missed chances, they take revenge. Boston went the distance against Brooklyn, but against Milwaukee and Miami they went the full distance, although objectively speaking that probably wasn’t necessary. In Game 5 against the Bucks, Boston gambled away a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter, but in Game 6 against the Heat, the Celtics were down 4 points over the final three and a half minutes.

Boston won each of these series because they had the staying power. With the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo was floored in Game 7 after previously carrying his team alone for long stretches. Jimmy Butler was just inches off the Heat in Game 7 when he almost sealed the worst Celtics collapse to date with a three-pointer.

There were two series in which Boston was basically successful with the concept of powering out the opposing superstar and then standing at the end. It almost took revenge, but it worked because you had better defense and a little more shotmaking on your side. Just barely, but still – the concept worked.

NBA Finals: Team or Star? The Celtics pick door 2

The approach is similar against the Warriors, although of course it looks completely different than the defense against Giannis. The superstar should do a lot, on both sides. Curry is attacked as a defender, almost every team does that anyway. But he also has to carry a heavy load offensively. Or may, depending on your perspective.

Curry is consistently doubled by many teams because they want the ball to leave their hands. As a result, Golden State traditionally has numerous overtime situations and in Draymond Green one of the best players when it comes to solving these situations profitably. It’s a matter of which poison you choose – you don’t like to give the Warriors 4v3 or “open” curry throws.

The Celtics more or less chose door 2. That’s why their coverage is unusual, that’s why their bigs drop, although it’s still funny to call it a drop when a big man “drops” is still in front of the three-point line.

They typically rely on their primary Curry defenders Derrick White and Marcus Smart to weave their way around the blocks in time to avoid having to help out. The drop got higher and higher, from time to time you saw switches or double teams, but that’s the basis for the entire series.

NBA Finals – Warriors vs. Celtics: The Series at a Glance (3-2)

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