The Celtics came into the playoffs boasting the NBA’s top defensive rating. In Game 1 against the Bucks, though, they had the second-best defense on the floor.
The Milwaukee Bucks, now fully equipped defensively with the late-season return of Brook Lopez, looks like the NBA’s best defense. In the opener against the Celtics, the Bucks kept Boston to just 89 points.
The Bucks’ defense is predicated on letting role players hoist threes while dominating the paint, the most valuable space on the floor. This strategy completely defined the game, as evidenced by Boston’s shot selection.
The Celtics took 50 three-pointers in game one. 50 is an astounding number for a team that averaged 37 in the regular season. The team shot fine from three – 36% – it was the percentage inside the arc that was the issue: just 29.4%.
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Boston’s shot-chart can help explain their horrid shooting on two-pointers. The Celtics very infrequently settled for midrange shots, instead opting to push the envelope and attack the rim. When they did so, drivers ran into the elite rim protection of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez. Those two altered, challenged and denied plenty of shots in the game.
Typically offenses want shots from three and from the paint. But with an elite defense like Milwaukee’s, offenses need to learn to take the looks they can get.
The Boston Celtics’ stars, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will especially need to learn this lesson. The duo shot 10-31 for just 33 combined points. Most notably, the two took a combined zero midrange shots. The result was plenty of plays like this:
On this play, Jayson Tatum had a gap of breathing room in the mid-range area (as well as a kick-out to Jaylen Brown), but instead attacked the fortified paint defense.
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The adjustment the Celtics stars have to make is to look to attack in the mid-range area – to expose the soft spots of the Milwaukee Bucks’ defense.
The Bucks will let the Celtics take threes all day long, as long as they aren’t showing any diversity in their attack. Adding the wrinkle of mid-range attacks could open up things for the offense. Knocking down those looks could pull defenders out of the paint. In addition, it could alter coverages such that tough movement threes turn into easy spot-up opportunities.
Also – let’s not forget that Tatum and Brown are two of the best mid-range scorers in the game. Both players came into the league more comfortable from that range than from three. Though they’ve worked to expand their ranges, a return to their roots could be the key to unlocking the Milwaukee Bucks’ daunting defense.
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The playoffs are a unique experience in the NBA. As defensive game plans get more specific, offensive adjustments can get more unorthodox. While teams harp on rim attacks and threes in the regular season, playoffs require immense offensive versatility due to defenses’ abilities to take away primary options.
As the Celtics’ star players, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum need to be the offensive catalysts that keep the team going. They possess the scoring versatility that could open dunks and threes for Boston role players, and they need to capitalize on it.
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Better shooting from deep would help – but shifting focus to the available mid-range looks will be paramount to an offensive turnaround this series for the Boston Celtics.
