Celtics Playbook: Three Impressive Plays vs. Timberwolves

Breaking down three different actions from the Boston Celtics in their win against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Well, the first game of 2025 is in the books, and it has a nice fat W next to it.

Even without Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis, this Boston Celtics team handled its business against a 2024 Western Conference Finalist. To be fair, the Timberwolves are going through a bit of a rough patch. Trading away Karl-Anthony Towns has really affected their spacing, and Julius Randle’s ball-dominant style of play hasn’t helped either.

Still, when you’re coming into an opponent's arena, missing two All-Stars, and you still manage to handle your business, that’s a reason to celebrate. What I liked most, was that the win came courtesy of a two-way performance. The defense was just as impactful as the offense.

Best of all, for an Xs and Os nerd like me, Mazzulla opened a few pages of his playbook.

So, because I’m later than I would like to be in getting this out — still finding a rhythm while I wait for the wife (teacher) and kid (student) to go back to school — I’m going to do something I haven’t done in a while. I’m going to focus on some of the plays the Celtics ran. Then, tomorrow, we can take another look at the game, but from a different angle.

Let’s dive in.

Three play calls from Boston’s win over Minnesota

BLOB Cross Stagger

BLOB = Baseline out of bounds.

I pulled four different variations of this action. Not all of them end in a bucket, but they all show good process and execution. Most importantly, they give us something to look for moving forward.

First, let’s start with an annotated play, which will make it easier to understand all the jargon.

Play: BLOB Cross Stagger Exit

A big reason why I like this play call is its simplicity. It’s essentially a stagger screen through the paint, with a shooter cutting onto the opposite side of the floor and receiving the rock in the corner.

This appears to be Mazzulla’s go-to baseline inbounds play, and has been run multiple times this year. Yet, it really stood out to me in this game.

For the above clip, Al Horford is operating as the first screener in the stagger screen. He’s also setting a screen for Derrick White to cut through the paint — this is known as a cross-screen. Neemias Queta is setting the second screen, further back from Horford, completing the stagger screen.

The fact White exits onto the perimeter after Queta’s screen makes it an exit screen.

Screen to cut across the paint = cross-screen

Screen to exit onto the perimeter = exit screen.

Two screens spread apart but pretty much in line with each other = stagger screens.

Nice and simple.

White is one of Boston’s best catch-and-shoot threats. Getting him the rock as he cuts into the corner is a smart decision, especially as he’s knocking down corner threes at a 51% clip this season.

Also, who doesn’t like it when a player banks in a shot against the clock out of a set action?

Another variation of this inbounds play is having the second screener (the exit screener) slip toward the basket.

Play call: BLOB Cross Stagger Slip