The Celts are not awful in the clutch, their body of work tells you that.
That might not be the sexy take, but it’s the truth.
There is also this idea that the only evidence of improvement in this area comes via perfection.
Sorry, basketball is not perfect.
Game winning shots or shots in one possession games are extremely volatile.
Be harder to guard, force the defense to make decisions, and manage the clock correctly.
If you want Tatum to take all the shots?
If you want Jaylen to get some looks?
So then I started thinking more about it.
That’s some surface-level talk radio-bang out bullshit.
I also think that as fans, we all have to do our part.
You never know who’s reading amirite?
Dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, no movement, dribble, dribble, contested jumper.
First and foremost, pace is most important.
I’m going to say that once and we can all just apply that to everyone in these spots.
But in terms of sets?
hey pay attention to who is starting this set.
Look at the pace at which everyone is moving.
There’s no standing and dribbling.
Given this spacing, look at the paint.
Look at how open that shit is.
The second White catches the ball what happens?
A quick decision right into the paint.
As we all should know by now, the key to Mazzulla Ball is paint touches.
He reads Maxey’s rotation and finds Tatum for a wide-open and in-rhythm 3PA.
Getting Tatum open C&S 3PA should be high on the list for these pop in of moments.
On the season, Tatum shoots 43.9% on C&S 3PA.
Let me ask you, what do you feel better about?
Tatum taking a knockout 3PA off the dribble in isolation or something like you saw above?
I think we all know the answer.
Why I love this play:
1.
Things are initiated with the guards
2.
It forces the defense to rotate
3.
That’s perfectly fine, as long as you’re going about it the right way.
Standing around and watching?
Using KP to come up and set a high screen?
These moments are all about creating the advantage right?
Well, if Allen switches, you have two mismatches.
One being Tatum’s speed against Allen, the other being KP on the roll.
Why else do I love this?
Just like the PHI play.
this brings the rim protector out 35 feet.
If LeVert had really committed to challenging, Jaylen is there for the dump off.
You also have KP crashing hard against a smaller defender in the event there’s an OREB opportunity.
Things don’t have to be in these moments.
Keep it simple, play to your advantage.
Seriously, it can be as simple as just setting a high screen for Tatum and forcing the switch.
You don’t want to screen with KP here because of the Bam Factor.
It is my professional recommendation that you do not attack Bam in clutch time situations.
The point is even on a play like this, it forces the defense to make a decision.
I will say it again.
You know what’s been a weapon this season?
Tatum in the post.
I’ll mention it one more time, look at the pace.
Once he got the ball, did he wait?
Did he fade away?
He was decisive, he was aggressive, and he attacked the rim.
This is his reminder that he does not have to settle.
But just like with Tatum, what matters is how you are generating the looks for Jaylen.
That 23 dribble bullshit into a contested 3PA we saw against the Hawks?
No matter what you do in that spot, Tatum is going to force the defense to react.
As soon as he catches the ball what happens?
The Heat are forced to rotate.
Then, instead of everyone just standing and watching Tatum and hoping he scores, watch Jaylen.
He reads the rotation and makes the no brainer off ball cut to the rim.
What about using him as a screener?
I’m going to keep saying it after every one of these freaking things.
Notice who is initiating this play.
Here we see Jaylen run a slip screen with Kornet coming up to then screen Jaylen’s guy.
This gives Jaylen an easy-to-read situation.
The idea here is no different from the other Jaylen play.
It needs to be about getting him in positions where you are limiting his ability to make a mistake.
Even without Tatum on the floor, this team can still be effective.
Derrick White
OK, so what about our beautiful bald point guard?
You know, the guy who is shooting something crazy like 53/50% in clutch time?
Here’s why this play rules in my opinion.
That’s a chef’s kiss decision if I’ve ever seen one.
Why is that important?
Because that cut is what forces LeVert to rotate in and check KP.
If Jaylen had decided to kick it to Tatum, that’s probably there was well.
Speaking of C&S….
Here’s an example of a situation where Tatum is the initiator.
That’s fine as long as he remembers not to dribble out the entire clock.
The same principles apply here as almost every other play we’ve seen.
Be decisive, be quick, be aggressive.
By Tatum exploiting his mismatch, it forces the Pelicans to help.
It also forces Brandon Ingram to make a decision, which he fails.
Yet another example of what can happen if you force your opponent to make a split decision.
To no surprise, the Basketball Gods reward you.
This needs to be a KP post touch every single time.
The bigger overall theme is that you brought in this human basketball cheat code…..so use it.
And this does NOT mean just pick and pop and hope his 3s go in.
You know what makes the Nuggets so good in these spots?
They use their giant big man to generate high quality looks at the rim.
You know what the Celtics have?
A giant big man who generates high quality looks at the rim/in the paint.
For the thousandth time, just keep it simple and lob it to the 7'3 guy.
Maybe that’s going to have to come against the zone.
You know it, I know it, we all know it.
Had Love closed that shot off, Horford is wide open in the corner.
Had Butler crashed, Tatum is open in the other corner.
We have a shit ton of evidence that suggests the opposite.
Do that, and the Celts playoff clutch offense should look even better.
