BOSTON — The Boston Celtics entered Wednesday night’s game with an 8-14 record against the other nine top-10 teams in the NBA this season (in terms of record). Yet they managed to walk out 9-14.
Led by Jaylen Brown’s 31 points, Boston clawed and scratched its way to a win, snapping the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 12-game win streak. The fully-healthy Thunder, to be exact.
It wasn’t a perfect performance. No performance ever is. But on Wednesday, it was enough, and that’s what matters.
But how did it all unfold?
If beating the Thunder is the solar system, then this is the Sun. It’s at the center of everything. Without it, the Celtics would have wilted under the pressure of OKC’s defense.
Oftentimes, playing “fast” is associated with constant ball movement. Off-ball movement. Never stopping. But against the Thunder, in particular, that’s not necessarily the case.
It’s about slow vs. fast. It’s about hesitation vs. action.
Oklahoma City sends a lot of help on defense. On Wednesday night, almost every single time Brown or Jayson Tatum touched the paint, the Thunder sent a help defender. However, when the Celtics were slow to make a decision, that help was far more effective.
Here’s an example. At every point in the play, the Celtics are just a half-second behind the Thunder. First, OKC closes the window for Derrick White to make the pass to Tatum, who is coming off a flare screen from Neemias Queta.
Then, Jalen Williams catches up to White, so Queta can’t hand the ball off. Then, Payton Pritchard doesn’t pass to Queta on the roll in time, because Isaiah Joe was showing help from the corner. Then, White doesn’t get the dump-in pass to Queta in the lane, and he ends up with an awkward shot at the rim.
Had the Celtics been a tiny bit quicker to make any of those decisions, or if they had run a half-step faster or zipped a pass a bit more, they could have ended up with a better shot. Those are the miniature battles in a possession where it’s won or lost.
It’s a similar story in this play. Tatum gets a screen from Queta, but rather than continuing his drive (albeit into an awaiting Lu Dort) or finding a pass, he stops.
The Celtics have to reset, and then the opposite occurs.
As soon as White sees that he has a shred of space to drive on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, he takes it. And since he took advantage of the small gap OKC gave him, Boston ends up with a good look at the rim.
Tatum picking up the ball here could have thrown a wrench in the entire possession.
As the first half unfolded, Tatum stopped the ball