“For them, it’s about the team. You can see it with the movement of the ball,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said after Boston’s win over Dallas. “They don’t care who shoots.”
It’s obvious to the Mavericks coach, it’s obvious to the Celtics coach, and it’s obvious to anyone watching: this Celtics group is playing team basketball. The Celtics finished with 33 assists to the Mavericks’ 20, with Derrick White (8 assists), Jrue Holiday (7 assists) and Jaylen Brown (5 assists) leading the way.
The 138-110 demolition of the Mavs marked Boston’s 10th straight victory. It also provided another data point demonstrating that a team-oriented approach works.
Jayson Tatum scored two points in the first quarter, but finished with 32 on the night. Even though he had the hot hand, Holiday only attempted 6 shots and finished with 11 points on 3-3 shooting from downtown. Kristaps Porzingis, who seemingly had a perpetual lag all year, attempted 14 shots and missed the entire fourth quarter.
This has been a dominant theme all season, but the distribution of talent on this Celtics roster means that making the right reads comes before each player’s individual success. This means Jayson Tatum won’t average the same eye-popping stats as Luka Doncic, and Derrick White hasn’t been named an All Star despite his stellar play.
But none of that matters, because the wins just keep piling up.
“Our team doesn’t want me to dominate the ball and necessarily have to make every play,” Tatum said after the game. “It’s not a bad thing, it’s just that our team dynamic doesn’t require it. In a way, it sometimes makes our lives easier: we have won 10 games in a row. There’s really nothing to complain about. We are on the right path.
Tatum explained that in the first quarter there were a series of possessions where the read to the right meant a pass to one of his teammates – Porzingis with a smaller defender in the post, Jaylen Brown with a mismatch, Holiday in the area. In turn, Porzingis finished with 13 points in the opening period, Holiday with 8, Brown with 7 and the Celtics led by 6 points after one.
“If that requires me to pass the ball eight times in a row because that’s the right read, then you have to be confident that that’s what’s going to help us win the game,” Tatum said.
Mazzulla pushed back on the notion that a two-point first quarter meant his MVP candidate was off to a slow start.
“I don’t consider it a slow start. I consider it a team start,” Joe Mazzulla said. “If you look back and look at the shot selection we made, calling it a slow start doesn’t give the rest of our team the credit they deserve for getting off to such a good start.”
Mazzulla praised Tatum’s willingness to defer to others throughout the year and noted that his team approach to basketball has been at the heart of what has made the Celtics successful this season. Last night he echoed the sentiment: “It’s a credit to him – his trust, his patience, his understanding. »
Put your foot on the accelerator in third
For a while, it looked like the Celtics might finally pull together — the Mavericks trailed by just two points midway through the third quarter. But, for the fourth consecutive match, the outcome was decided after an explosion of major goals. With the Celtics leading 81-79 a few minutes into the third, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum hit back-to-back threes to regain control of the ball game. The Celtics then outscored the Mavericks 57-31 for the rest of the game.
“We’re just playing our game,” Porzingis said. “I think the cool thing is we trust each other, and that starts with JB and JT. They find me in my spots, and we make extra passes and do these little things for each other that give us energy.
Tatum finished the night with 32 points, including 16 in the third quarter. During this period, Holiday played all twelve minutes and did not attempt a single shot – because that was not what the game demanded.
“Every possession, there’s two or three of us feeling and realizing we have the advantage, we have the mismatch, but only one person can make the shot,” Tatum said. “If I feel like I have the big one on me, but KP has the small one, I have to be willing to trust him and throw it to him in the post. We take advantage of that, and then they change how they protect us, and then I can find different ways to attack. And you know, we’re winning, so that makes it a lot easier.
What’s stood out over the last few weeks is that when teams respond to the Celtics’ offensive outburst, they aren’t rattled. Against Philadelphia, the Celtics’ lead was cut to 2 with 9 minutes left – and the team then went on a 17-0 run led by Tatum. Before that, against the Knicksthe 20-point lead was cut to 9 with 9 minutes left – so the Celtics scored 10 straight points to put them away.
“We are really good. We’re off to a good start,” Tatum said. “We’re getting a lead.” The teams answer, rightly so – the best basketball players in the world. Then we call a timeout, go in at halftime and regroup. And we talk about the things we need to do better, and we go out there and execute.
