‘Last year is past’: How the Celtics can salvage their season

BOSTON — As fans began pouring out of the TD Garden midway through the fourth quarter of the Boston Celtics’ stunning loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night, the muttered words in the hallways and lobbies were “the year past”.

Similar to the 2022 NBA playoffs, in this same second round, against a potent Milwaukee Bucks team, when the Celtics lost a very disappointing Game 5 at home in a 2-2 series and faced the daunting task to play away to avoid elimination in Game 6.

Jayson Tatum then had one of the best games of his life, scoring 46 points with unstoppable force to lead the Celtics to a resounding victory against the Bucks that changed the course of the series.

After the 76ers completed their 115-103 victory in Game 5, in which they were never seriously threatened in the second half on Tuesday, Boston fans naturally turned to the positive thoughts of the team-defining win. last year in Milwaukee.

As for the possibility of needing to win a Game 7 to get out of this series now that Boston is down 3-2, that’s also not unheard of. Go back to those words, “last year.” The 2022 Celtics won two Game 7s to advance to the Eastern Conference playoffs, including earning the rarest gem, a Game 7 road victory at the home of the Miami Heat.

So, naturally, that’s what Celtics fans clung to when dealing with disappointment. Except …

“Last year,” Celtics guard Jaylen Brown said, “it was over.”

Simple and deep.

This series has laid bare just how different the Celtics are from last year’s team that came within two wins of winning its 18th championship. Most faces are the same. The ones that are different, namely Malcolm Brogdon, have been excellent additions; all Brogdon did was win the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award.

But they are not the same.

It would be unfair and reckless to believe that the Celtics couldn’t bounce back and win the next two games. It’s also wrong to assume that the Celtics of the 2023 playoffs are mirror images of the 2022 version.

This year’s Celtics have different priorities, many of which stem from the styles of their coaches.

Last season, Ime Udoka usually focused on defense first and made line-up and strategy decisions to back him up.

For example, Udoka used to play defensive greats Al Horford and Robert Williams III together. Horford is a solid defender of big men on the ball. Williams is one of the best weakside shot-blockers the league has seen in the last decade, and he’s especially dangerous when allowed to move freely as a safety guard.

Udoka also had an affinity with defensive end Grant Williams, who played nearly 30 minutes per game in the playoffs last season and was often the main defender for opposing high scorers.

The Celtics had the second-best defense of any playoff team last year. Sure, Tatum made the difference in that season-saving Game 6 in Milwaukee. But the Celtics held the Bucks to just 88 points per game on 40% from the field in Games 6 and 7 which they ended up winning. When they beat Miami in Game 7 to reach the Finals, the Celtics allowed 96 points on 42% shooting.

That was then.

Celtics first-year coach Joe Mazzulla was on Udoka’s coaching staff, but Mazzulla has a different opinion. He tends to focus on offense and makes decisions that lean that way.

For example, the Robert Williams-Horford pairing is largely a thing of the past and hasn’t been seen against Joel Embiid and the 76ers. Grant Williams’ minutes have been cut in half as Mazzulla prefers to play more offensive-minded players like Brogdon.

The Celtics have three players who earned votes to the NBA All-Defensive Team that launched Tuesday, with Derrick White making the second team.

But the Celtics rank 10th among playoff teams in defense this year, a big drop from last season.

They also rank first in offense.

When Mazzulla analyzes his team’s performance, he often focuses on offense.

“We shot more free throws (in Game 5); we shot more 3-pointers,” Mazzulla said. “I thought we were looking relatively good. We missed 10 open 3s in the first half, and if some of them went in, we would have felt a little different about ourselves.”

All season, Mazzulla has focused on the math around 3-pointers. He shoots and hits more than your opponent and you win. And he sets his strategy to match.

The 2022-23 Celtics are a product of this worldview. They are 34-2 this season when they hit more than 40% of their 3-pointers, a remarkable and reducing stat. In Game 5, when they needed it most, they were 9-for-33 from beyond the arc (27%) before a pair in trash time bumped it up to 32% on the night.

When they shoot below that 40% magic number, they’re 29-28, pretty average. To win Games 6 and 7 again, average is not enough.
Mazzulla was asked after Tuesday’s loss about Joel Embiid’s 33 points and 11 trips to the free throw line. He responded to a defensive question with an offensive response.

“A lot of it has to do with how you play offense,” Mazzulla said. “If you’re not playing offense and going out and running and those (Embiid posts) are hard to stop, because then you’re deciding what you’re willing to give away.”

Let’s be clear: A lot of the time the Celtics take a lot of 3s and pummel their opponents with them. In Game 2 of this series, when they won by 34 points, they made 20 3-pointers to Philadelphia’s six.

That could happen again. They have great scorers and streaky shooters, from Tatum to Brown to Brogdon to White. The Celtics are a very powerful team that had been the favorite at Caesars Sportsbook to win the title since the start of Game 5. (They are now fourth, behind the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers and 76ers).

But if the Celtics are going to come back and win this time, you have to admit it won’t be like last year.