Bring on the Knicks

The Celtics have a chance to sweep their season series

On Thursday, a big-time third quarter from Jayson Tatum helped the Boston Celtics secure a win over the Chicago Bulls. In truth, though, the versatility within their roster shone through. Derrick White had 12 points and 3 blocks in the first quarter. Brown went for 14 points in the second. Tatum had 15 in the third. There was even some garbage time at the end of the fourth quarter.

Let’s be real: beating the Bulls — this version of the Bulls — isn’t much of a statement. They’re missing Lonzo Ball, the player they built their roster around. Patrick Williams was also sidelined and will be for the rest of the season. Tougher tests are sure to follow.

That brings us to the New York Knicks. The Celtics are 3-0 against them this season. A win tonight would sweep the season series. When healthy, New York is a genuine threat. The additions of OG Anunoby, Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks have transformed the Knickerbockers into a potential NBA Finals team if the seeding breaks in their favor.

We won’t see that version of New York tonight. Anunoby is out. Julius Randle is out. Mitchell Robinson is out. Three critical guys within Tom Thibodeau’s rotation are all missing.

Don’t get it twisted, though. The Knicks are still a problem. Jalen Brunson is a wizard on offense. Isaiah Hartenstein is the Severus Snape within New York ranks (the master of the dark arts,) and Bogdanovic has added a new offensive dimension that has to be taken seriously.

Offensively, Thibodeau’s team runs a balanced system.

• 32.3% of their shots come within four feet of the basket (around the rim)

• 23.8% are in the short mid-range. An area I like to call “Floater Range.”

• They limit their long twos, with just 7.5% of their overall shots coming from this region.

• They rank 7th in the league for corner-three frequency, with it making up 10.5% of their overall offensive frequency.

• And their overall threes make up 36.4% of their offensive approach.

Yet, their balance doesn’t translate to consistent success.

• They’re hitting 62.8% around the rim, good for 23rd in the league

• Floater range is a weapon, converting 45% of their attempts

• They’re middle-of-the-pack from all mid-range, hitting 43.8%

• They convert at a 41.5% clip from the corners

• And they are middle-of-the-pack from deep, ranking 15th with 37.4% of their threes falling.

Over time, Bogdanovic and Burks will likely alter what areas of the floor the Knicks are finding success in, but on the season, it’s clear they’re doing their damage when attacking, dropping bigs or forcing help and kicking out to the corners. Brunson’s overall scoring is also a significant factor.

Then, there’s the defense. It wouldn’t be a Thibodeau team if they weren’t defensively sound. We’re talking gritty, well-drilled, and versatile. That’s why they rank 9th in the league this season and would likely have claimed higher if Anunoby hadn’t suffered an injury.

Still, this is the Celtics we’re talking about. The team with a starting five is all capable of being All-Stars. They’re walking into every game as the favorites to win, and today will be no different.

I’ll be honest, the games against New York are always some of my favorites. The Knicks are a sleeping giant with a rabid fanbase; it’s fun when both teams are competitive. I’ve also enjoyed that the Celtics have gone pretty deep into their playbook during their first three games against the Knicks.

Here are some of my favorite actions from those meetings.

Zoom P’n’P

This clip is from the first game between these two teams. Boston goes to a standard Zoom action (a weakside pin-down for a shooter to lift out of the corner and receive the ball via a hand-off) that flows into a pick-and-pop between Payton Pritchard and Kristaps Porzingis.

As you can see from the above clip, Hartenstein is put in a tough spot. He slightly drops below the screen to defend a potential drive from Pritchard, forcing him to close out on Porzingis when the pass is made. That additional second allows Porzingis to get into his shooting motion and release his shot with minimal impact from the close-out.

Empty corner P’n’P

This time, the Celtics go to an empty side pick-and-roll between Jayson Tatum and Porzingis. Porzingis pops after the screen. New York sends two at Tatum, leaving Porzingis open on the perimeter, as such, one of Tatum’s defenders has to recover back out. Once that happens (after a nifty fake from JT,) he spins on Robinson and gets the tough layup to drop.

Strong Phoenix

“Strong” is another way of saying ball reversal. It’s a 3-player sequence. Here, Jrue Holiday passes to Sam Hauser, who then passes to Payton Pritchard — that’s “strong.” From there, Boston flows into “Phoenix,” a screen-the-screener sequence where the initial screen receiver sets a pin-in screen for the second screener — focus on Tatum to see how it looks. Also, don’t get this confused with “Twirl,” as that occurs on a double pin-down rather than a high stagger.

Slice Ricky

I’ve annotated this one before, so just thought I’d share the full breakdown. We’ve also taken a closer look at the Celtics’ slice actions in a recent Newsletter - if you missed that one, you can find it here:

SLOB Phoenix

The Celtics go back to “Phoenix,” this time out of a Sideline Out of Bounds play.

Ghost Flare

This is arguably my favorite action the Celtics run. It’s simple. It’s effective. And it generates multiple options in the half-court. It’s pretty easy to spot, too. Brown sets a ghost screen, then flows straight into a flare screen via the big man — in this case, Porzingis. Whoever is the ball-handler (White in this case) waits for the flare to occur, then hits the ghost screener with the pass.

I will have you covered if you’re also looking for some pre-game content. At 2 pm Eastern today, I’ll be joined by ESPN’s Monica McNutt for a live-streamed game preview. You can turn on notifications by clicking here.

Of course, Will and Greg will have you covered with the post-game recap on YouTube, which usually begins around 10 minutes after the final buzzer. Tap in with those guys and show some love. Then, we will have a Three Man Weave episode coming at you on Monday as we flow into our usual audio/visual coverage to begin the week.

Pledges are turned on

I’m probably going to keep mentioning it moving forward, too. I have turned pledged subscriptions on for this newsletter. Pledging doesn’t mean you’re going to be charged anything.

It basically means you’re saying, ‘Hey, when you do decide to start charging, I’d be down to support that.’ If that’s you, please consider pledging, as it won’t cost you anything, and it lets me see where I stand in terms of potential upside on paid content.

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Some programming notes

I’m still figuring out how this newsletter is going to look in terms of game coverage. But I’m also cognizant that I want it to keep growing. There have been many kind words said about some of the recent posts, and while they won’t all be deep dives (just look at today’s,) I think it’s important to nail down consistency in terms of production.

So, starting Monday, I aim to take this newsletter daily. While I get used to the additional workload, some days might be missed. Shit, there might be a couple of misses in a row. But long term, that’s the aim.

Some posts will be short. Some will be deep dives. Some will be film studies. Others might just be to check in with everyone and see how you’re all doing. Nevertheless, I’m serious about this, and it’s time to turn up the heat.

All being well, I will catch you all again tomorrow! Oh! And get at me with score predictions in the comments!