The Celtics took early advantage of their four steals and seven blocked shots, but Mazzulla’s adjustment forced them to change their defensive strategy in the end.
Chicago The Celtics surged up the floor on their way to a 16-point advantage late in the first quarter on Thursday. They ripped off four steals, stuffed seven shots, and looked like the Boston defense of 2022. The Bulls then steered clear of the Nikola Vucevic pocket passes that Boston consistently anticipated and intercepted. Joe Mazzulla made a decision that he usually leaves to the players: he changed the way the Celtics guarded the pick-and-roll. Although this slowed the massive number of turnovers the team forced early on, it was reminiscent of how Mazzulla earlier this month described the Celtics’ success despite having relatively few forced turnovers.
It all goes back to what Mazzulla stated back then: “There are several ways to skin a cat.”In many aspects, you can be an excellent defensive team. Even though I don’t like that we can’t force turnovers, I believe we excel in many other aspects. There’s a catch-22. You’ll be unreliable in other circumstances and give up other things if you try to force more turnovers. In the end, we rank in the top two or three in shot selection defense; therefore, I believe that controlling rebounds and turnovers better fits our team’s culture and character than forcing turnovers,and I still believe that we occasionally play rather aggressively.
Midway through the first quarter, Derrick White alone blocked three shots and drained two threes to equal a feat he had accomplished only once this season. After trailing 13-5, Boston scored three points in a single play thanks to two steals in the lane by Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis, which let Brown and the team get out in transition. After Tatum missed a layup to set up White’s first rejection, the defense heroically recovered to guard Vucevic. Porzingis then stopped Chicago’s second and third attempts at the hoop, forcing White to go the other way for a layup.
The Bulls responded, going on a 47-28 run to take the lead at the half, forcing the Celtics to make adjustments as they won 129–112 overall. White acknowledged that Mazzulla made the right decision this time.
They were doing a decent job, according to White, of getting Vooch the ball in the seam early on. “We attempted to increase the difficulty by slightly altering the coverage. More involved supporters—I believe Jrue touched it a few times for that quick pass along the seam. You attempt to modify it to be a little more challenging after observing what they’re attempting to accomplish and what they enjoy doing. Tonight, it was Joe, but he had the option to speak with J.T. or Jrue. J.B., K.P., Al, or whatever, he speaks with them all. He has a great deal of faith in us. We are the ones on the field; we inform him of what we observe, and he takes action.
After White swiped Coby White’s pass and dunked in transition, Boston led by sixteen points. White then converted a pull-up three to cap off a 12-point first quarter of his second half. Between quarters, the Celtics blew that lead, letting the Bulls’ bench score 16 points in a row, led by six straight points from Andre Drummond inside the paint. Alex Caruso and Ayo Dosunmu then extended the lead outside for three-pointers. Boston turned the ball over, set poor screens, rushed shots, and went scoreless on six of their seven opportunities.
Luke Kornet stole a Caruso pass in the lane to put Sam Hauser out for two, the Celtics’ sixth theft in that run. Payton Pritchard stopped the run short of a tie with a corner three.
In a 39-point Bulls quarter, which they concluded by converting their long run into a lead prior to halftime, that defensive vigor simply evaporated. Chicago swung several pass attempts, posted Vucevic, caused mistakes, and attacked the offensive glass to open up paths for the Bulls to score. The Celtics attempted to get Kornet closer to the hoop with a pre-switch, but Vucevic outran him and rolled away from Jrue Holiday, beating him to the rim.
who provided him with screen coverage at the highest level of the defense. Chicago finished the half with a brilliant possession in which every Bull touched the ball, including White, who side-stepped Brown for a three after Caruso stopped a pass from going out of bounds. Chicago went 14 for-20 in the second quarter, including 7 for-8 inside.
“To start the third, we made some slight adjustments to our pick-and-roll coverage,” Mazzulla stated. which, in my opinion, enabled us to attack the ball with a little more physicality. Additionally, I felt that third quarter’s shift action was a bit more active.
We played excellent first, third, and most of the fourth quarters, in my opinion. The second quarter, however, was characterized by significant lulls in the offensive performance and poor defensive execution.
After missing the last five minutes of the second quarter, Porzingis made his reappearance for the second half with a post-up finish, leading the Celtics to a more coordinated offensive effort. When DeMar DeRozan attempted to front Porzingis in the high post, Brown shifted the ball to his left for White to make the entry pass for another Porzingis score. Boston then used mismatches to get Tatum to the line twice.
A potential Dosunmu layup to tie the game at three points on the break was turned into a 10-0 Celtics run by Brown’s chase down block, which completely opened the scoring. At the conclusion of the shot clock, Tatum made a clutch step-back three, and an offensive loose ball slid past Drummond and into Hauser’s hands for a transition three. Porzingis also drew free throws after posting White. 86–72 was the Celtics’ lead.
Shortly after, Hauser lost his balance, collapsing to the sidelines as he collided with Kornet.
Kornet believed he had knocked him out. Hauser did not come back, but Pritchard came in and made two long-range jumpers that kept the Bulls within striking distance even though their 10-for-17 run continued far into the fourth quarter. Other than a cut, Hauser recovered well, according to Kornet.
After a run of defensive lapses, Mazzulla requested a timeout with two minutes remaining in the quarter. However, White’s pull-up three and two put-backs by Kornet dashed the Bulls’ hopes by giving Boston a 21-point lead. Following the initial dunk, Kornet dabbed all the way up the court.
It’s called the spaz-dab, I think,” Kornet corrected. Six years ago, or so, middle schoolers. It was big back then, I believe. That’s exactly what it was.
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