#1 – How to Attack One of the NBA’s Best Defenses

There’s no secret about this: the Timberwolves are one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. Their long wings, Rudy Gobert’s rim protection and Anthony Edwards’ point-of-attack defense form an explosive cocktail. So how do you attack such a defensive fortress? Well, Joe Mazzulla and his coaching staff had a few play calls that opened things up.

They performed the same baseline action twice – once in the first, once in the fourth. On both plays, they made sure Jayson Tatum started far away from the ball to spread the defense out as much as possible. At the same time, they ran staggered screens under the basket for Sam Hauser to lure two players to the shooter.

On the first play of the game, this opened up Al Horford for a three-pointer, who hit it to JT, who also hit it to Jrue Holiday for an open three-pointer. On the second attempt, Queta was the second screener and used Hauser’s gravity to race to the rim and catch the alley-oop. Simply.

One set we’re seeing more and more often is a play where Al Horford sets a down screen and then a ram screen. This forces McDaniels to switch and leaves Jayson Tatum open. That’s why Gobert has to help, and Tatum can drive and find him on the edge.

The Celtics also used the same play the Dallas Mavericks used against the Timberwolves in the last playoffs: a double drag screen to pull Gobert off the field. The Frenchman is first switched to Jayson Tatum, then he has to switch to Sam Hauser. The shooter pulled Gobert well away from the rim, allowing Tatum to easily drive toward Mike Conley.

Nice to see some play calls for Payton Pritchard too. It shows how much his status has evolved. On this play, the Celtics run a staggered action for him. At first it looks like he’s setting up a screen for Horford, but the veteran pivots in the middle of the action to set back a screen for Pritchard.

Payton ran toward the ball and had the space to tackle Mike Conley.

Yes, the Celtics take a lot of triples, but that shows how much more complex the game plan is. Great play calling from the coaching staff and great execution from the players.

#2 – The defense falls asleep early

Despite having one of the best defenses, the Celtics were a little slow to respond early in the game. The Timberwolves used a lot of post-ups from Julius Randle to double-team and force the Celtics players to help off the ball.

Still, the Celtics initially struggled to keep up with the ball movement. However, they showed great flexibility and adaptability in defense throughout the game.

#3 – Defensive Flexibility

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. Last night was a great example of the Celtics’ defensive flexibility. Jayson Tatum, a tall and long forward, is paired with the ball handler while Jrue Holiday takes care of Rudy Gobert, a center. In the pick-and-roll, they literally just have to switch and the threat is gone.

After the turnover, Tatum shuts down the ball to keep Luke Kornet close to the basket, and the action ends with a difficult follow-up attempt by Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Later in the game, we also saw the Celtics deploy a zone defense to punish the Wolves’ lack of shooting ability.

The Celtics showed their defensive flexibility and adapted to the match. They also showed they could improve their defensive play following Joe Mazzulla’s comments about turnovers.

#4 – Defensive playmaking

On the broadcast, TNT’s Kevin Harlan and Stan Van Gundy couldn’t stop talking about Joe Mazzulla’s comments about the Celtics’ defense, focusing on the team’s lack of defensive playmaking. In fact, the Celtics are good at forcing difficult shots, but they aren’t the best at forcing turnovers and rushing offense.

Well, in the last two games, the Celtics forced their opponents to lose the ball on more than 20% of their possessions. That’s far better than the season average of a 13% turnover rate for Celtics opponents. With Porzingis out, it’s no surprise that the Celtics are finding another way to defend the basket.

#5 – Jrue Holiday dilemma

In the first half of the game, the Wolves tried the double-big lineup with both Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid – and it didn’t go well. Since the Celtics’ only big man was Al Horford, one of the Wolves’ two big players had to deal with Jrue Holiday.

The Grizzlies did the same with Jaren Jackson Jr., but none of the Wolves’ big men had the combination of length and agility that the young Grizzlies possess, and they paid the price for it. Because of this move, the Celtics scored three straight baskets from Jrue Holiday. Knowing how close the game was at the end, it’s a shame for Minnesota.

#6 – Jayson Tatum takeover

Another dilemma the Wolves faced was Jayson Tatum playing like an MVP in the third quarter and taking over the game. In 12 minutes, the Celtics’ starter scored 16 of the team’s 29 points.

What the Celtics did was mess up the screeners for Jayson Tatum as a ballhandler. They sent in Jrue Holiday, Luke Kornet and Payton Pritchard to force the Wolves to constantly adapt. The goal was to find a mismatch while keeping Gobert away from the rim.

Of his 7 made field goals, Jayson Tatum had 2 rim attempts, 3 mid-range shots and 2 triples. Overall, a great offensive stretch.

#7 – Fight with Randle after the fact

One of the takeaways from the two games against the Wolves is that the Celtics could have problems on defense against players like Julius Randle. Not because of his point, but because of the influence he has on the Celtics’ defensive behavior.

The former Knick had 27 high-efficiency points and 7 assists to punish the Celtics for sending two players on him. In the future, the Celtics will have to adapt their defensive strategies against such players. Maybe send help from the baseline or try to stay home and allow the aftermath? We’ll see; I’m sure Joe and his staff already have great ideas.

#8 – Neemias Queta’s effect

Secretly, this might have been one of Queta’s best games of his Celtics career. Without him, the Celtics dominated rebounding. He brought so much size and energy and was able to grab rebounds even when it seemed impossible.

He also set some great screens throughout the game and scored a game-high 11 points on assist screens. Against such a big team, Queta’s ability to absorb contact and stay connected to the ball handler while creating a size advantage on the boards was crucial and helped the Celtics greatly. He was the only Celtic with a double-digit +/- in the game.

#9 – 1 shooting foul

Despite an impressive win, I want to highlight two offensive issues from last night. First, the Celtics were only fouled once out of 92 shot attempts! The lack of propulsion and rim pressure certainly explains this, but this has long been a problem for the Celtics, who have sometimes failed to put up easy points.

While the Celtics only managed 6 free throws, the Wolves went to the line over 20 times. If the shots aren’t falling, the Celtics need to be able to get to the line. They didn’t need it last night, but maybe soon.

#10 – 0 points in the last two minutes

The problem in #9 is related to another problem that occurred last night. The Celtics didn’t score in the final two minutes of a close game. To end the game, the Celtics subbed Payton Pritchard for Queta, which could have cost them the game.

In fact, Queta was key to the Celtics’ rebounding and defense, and the Celtics were outscored 5-2 in the final two minutes. Even though the Celtics were beaten along the boards, they didn’t attempt a single layup or free throw in the final two minutes. They attempted five jump shots and missed them all.

January will be a month full of challenges; This first one was a success, but there is still a long way to go.