10 takeaways from the Celtics’ clutch finish in New York

#1 – A unicorn in New York

Ten years ago, Kristaps Porzingis, the Unicorn, was drafted by the New York Knicks. A decade later, the Latvian big man is now playing for the Boston Celtics. Last night, at Madison Square Garden, where his NBA career started, he reminded the world why he was the 4th pick.

The Celtics really needed his shot-making to overcome the Knicks’ aggressive game plan. The big man, from spot-up and pick-and-pop situations, stacked three-pointers in the hearts of Knicks fans — even from 39 feet.

On top of the incredible shot-making, there were again some flashes of passing and playmaking as an offensive hub, looking like Karl-Anthony Towns frankly, the 1st pick of the 2015 draft. The two centers offered a great duel last night, shooting from deep, driving, dominating from the post-up, while being the tallest players on the court.

Funny enough, despite both being centers, they rarely defended each other because coaches love to mix matchups to play with spacing. Nevertheless, it was a joy to watch these two unique players dominating in the same game.

#2 – Dealing with KAT

Karl-Anthony Towns’ offensive skill set is very challenging to deal with. With the Boston Celtics using Kristaps Porzingis as a roamer in the paint, they had to try different players on him. They also tried zone defense, but nothing really worked. KAT is too tall and is able to punish a smaller matchup if he gets the ball inside.

When he got the ball on the outside, he was able to drive thanks to the New York Knicks’ great spacing. His ability to dribble, combined with his size and strength, is hard to stop. With his touch, he can stop for a floater or pull-up. If the rim is open, he can finish with a nice finger roll.

The Celtics were able to slow down the Knicks’ offense late in the second quarter with a double-big lineup. They played with Luke Kornet and Porzingis, alongside Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, and Jrue Holiday. Tatum matched up with Towns, while Kornet and Porzingis were on Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart to take away the spacing and put bodies in the paint.

With two bigs on the floor for the Celtics, it was harder for the Knicks to run their usual offense around KAT with cuts and off-ball movement. Thanks to the tall-ball lineups, the Celtics forced the ultimate turnovers late in overtime to win the game.

#3 – Derrick White running the point

With Jaylen Brown out of the game, White had more responsibilities with the ball in his hands. Also, as the Knicks were very aggressive in trying to take the ball out of Jayson Tatum’s hands, D-White played like a typical point guard during parts of the game.

On the play below, he uses Kristaps Porzingis’ screen to get the switch and gives the big man the matchup he needs. As the possession unfolds, the Knicks are switching off-ball to find a better defensive matchup against Porzingis. As this happens, White handles the ball like a true point guard, and as soon as he sees the opening, he sends a bullet pass to Payton Pritchard, who is cutting to the basket.

A little later in the game, from the same set, White generates another switch for Porzingis with a ball screen. As KAT switches onto him, Derrick White takes his time to find his spot, and as soon as there is enough space, he pulls up from three above the center.

Derrick White is improving as a ball handler month after month, game after game, leading me to wonder what he could do with a bigger role.

#4 – Jayson Tatum hunting Mikal Bridges

Earlier this season, in late February, I was quite surprised when I saw Jayson Tatum going after Evan Mobley, looking for the DPOY to be switched onto him. In New York yesterday, he did it again. He went at one of the best defensive players in the league and attacked him one-on-one.

From the post-up, Jayson Tatum was able to dominate the matchup and looked more comfortable than against OG Anunoby or Josh Hart. His game was more focused on jump shots and fadeaways than usual, attempting only two shots at the rim.

When he is feeling it like that, there’s not much a defense can do. He was pulling up for turnaround fadeaways like it was a layup and, when the Celtics needed it the most, capped his great performance with a pull-up three to tie the game.

#5 – The Knicks winning the possession battle

Joe Mazzulla is a shot margin psycho, and he always wants his team to create more shot opportunities than their opponents. Last night wasn’t the case — and it could have cost the Celtics the game.

To win the possession battle, teams focus on offensive rebounds and generating turnovers. Usually, the Celtics are pretty good at limiting these. They rank second in limiting turnovers and seventh when it comes to limiting offensive rebounds.

With Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson dominating the glass, the Knicks grabbed 17 offensive rebounds, while the Celtics were limited to nine. On top of that, the Celtics lost 15 possessions because of OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges’ length and aggressive positioning.

The Knicks fell short of winning the game, but their game plan was pretty smart to disrupt the Celtics’ usual tactical approach. If Jayson Tatum wasn’t so clutch, the Knicks would have won thanks to a clutch offensive rebound from Anunoby and a late turnover from White. Turnovers and offensive rebounds might be the way to disrupt the Celtics.

#6 – Optimized spacing in the fourth

To finish the game, the Celtics used a small lineup with a lot of shooting capabilities. Alongside Tatum, White, and Porzingis, Joe Mazzulla gave a lot of minutes to Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard. With these five players on the floor, the Celtics’ spacing was at its best, and they were able to drive and kick until the defensive shell broke.

It’s not new to see the Celtics closing games with Pritchard instead of Jrue Holiday, because teams have started to treat him as a non-shooting threat. Yet, it was surprising to see the Celtics close the fourth quarter with Sam Hauser instead of Jaylen Brown or Luke Kornet — especially with the Knicks being so aggressive on the offensive glass.

#7 – More size in overtime

As the Knicks were able to dominate late in the fourth because of their size, the Celtics changed their approach in overtime. They played minutes with Holiday and Kornet to bring physicality and size to avoid being punished again.

And it worked out pretty well. Kornet grabbed two offensive rebounds within two minutes and stole the ball once. Luke Kornet and Jrue Holiday’s size and defensive ability were also very important in slowing down the Knicks’ elite offense in the most important minutes of the game.

#8 – Getting to the line

In overtime, the Celtics found a new way to generate offense when the shots weren’t falling. Despite making half as many field goals as the Knicks in the final period, the Celtics were able to score more points because they got to the line often.

Overall in the game, the Celtics attempted 25 free throws for 87 shot attempts — a very good and unusual balance for a team that once again showed they can adapt their offense based on the opponent’s strengths and game plan. As the Knicks were very aggressive, the Celtics took advantage of it and won the game from the line.

#9 – What is happening with Jaylen Brown?

I have a hard time understanding what’s happening with Jaylen Brown, who played only 22 minutes and was clearly not ready to play — so why did he? He isn’t in the running for any All-NBA teams and is not 100%. So, why would he need to play half a game?

I’m no doctor, but the latest decisions concerning his playing time are questionable to me.