Why Boston's Short-Roll Game Could Be Game 2's X-Factor vs. Magic

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“I think at the end of the day you’re adjusting every single possession. It’s a game of reads. The game is different. Both teams are changing matchups constantly, changing different lineups. I think by the end of a game each team has gone through multiple adjustments. So I know it’s a trigger word but both teams are doing that almost every possession throughout the game.”

That was Joe Mazzulla's response when he was asked about making adjustments during an April 22 news conference.

The postseason is built on adjustments. Each game is another round on the chess board, with multiple pieces being moved throughout the ensuing 48 minutes. Then, in the days between games, the coaching staff analyses those moves before figuring out the best way to proceed.

Over the past day or so, I've done something similar. The way the Orlando Magic's defense looked to deny actions on the perimeter had me questioning ways to try and counter that level of aggression. I love toying with potential strategies and/or plays and then waiting to see if any of them occur during a game.

Game 1 was somewhat of a blur. Even on the watch backs, it was a primarily freelance offense on both sides, with defense being the central tone. So, I began to look for aspects of Boston's offense that weren't there. Things the Celtics have found success with that weren't prevalent in game one.

I keep coming back to the same thing: Short-roll creation.

Plays like the one in the clip above have been a constant in Boston's half-court offensive creation over the last 18 months or so. In the clip above, we have a 1-4 flat alignment, also known as a 41 flat. 1-4 and 41 are just ways of denoting which players are involved in the action. Flat is a way of saying the three players who aren't involved at the start of the play are spread across the baseline.

Jayson Tatum sets the screen for Payton Pritchard. Tatum then posts up at the top of the perimeter before slipping his defender as he looks to roll toward the paint. From there, Tatum receives the ball, draws the attention of the defense, and finds Sam Hauser for the easy corner three.

How many times have we seen a play like that unfold this season? My guess is a lot. Like a lot, a lot.

Yet, out of all 22 of the Celtics assists on Sunday, none of them came via a roll man. Considering Boston's offense has, at times, leaned heavily into using a roller as a pivot point within the offense, that feels like an area we could see the team explore further in the upcoming matchups.

The hard part will be finding ways to control the defense long enough to create a passing angle. Here's what it looked like when the Celtics tried dragging out their PnR actions on Sunday.

Warning, it's not pretty.

The Celtics tend to drag out their dribbles when coming off screens, especially when aiming to hit the roll man from a favorable angle. Here, we can see Derrick White look to drag his dribble around the perimeter, allowing Kristaps Porzingis to roll into the paint, or at least to the nail.

Unfortunately for Boston, the Magic are about their business when guarding the perimeter. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who is operating in the rearview on this action, manages to poke the ball away as White is funneled toward Wendell Carter Jr.

Turnover.

Here's an example of when the Celtics did look to go to the short roll out of an empty side action. The Magic were on Porzingis as soon the ball touched his hands. The result was another turnover. Porzingis needed more time to get the ball and make a decision.

Paolo Banchero was splitting the difference between Jaylen Brown and Al Horford. Franz Wagner had Tatum, and White was being guarded by Carter Jr. KCP could have rotated back out if needed too. Miami's defense works on a string.

That's why the Celtics struggled to generate anything of substance out of the short roll. However, it does feel like there is a way to punish the Magic's interior defense in these situations. The hard part is getting the defense stretched out enough that the rotations are a beat slower, and the short roller has the processing speed to make reads on a dime.

One way to create the additional space is to run Spain PnR's as an entry action – which is something Mazzulla has done throughout his tenure. The threat of the shooter popping off the rip screen should be enough to create the space the roller needs to receive the pass and become a pivot point.

The above clip is from last season. I picked it because it had two bigs operating as the screeners, which is unusual for a Spain action. However, it shows that Mazzulla is willing to be unconventional in his play calls. He will need to lean into that willingness if he aims to find ways of breaking down the Magic's perimeter wall.

Running Spain actions as an entry is just one of a million different ways Mazzulla can look to create, or find, an advantage. I'm sure he's got an encyclopedia of options that he's been studying, revising, and refining ever since Boston drew the Magic in the playoffs.

Nevertheless, the need to adjust is clear. The more the Celtics can pressure the middle of the floor, the weaker Orlando's defense becomes. They collapse quickly and with intensity, but if the ball moves with pace, then those collapses become a problem rather than a solution.

If Boston can successfully execute these short-roll actions, expect to see more open corner threes for Hauser, Holiday, and White, or driving lanes for Brown or Tatum (if healthy) off secondary actions.

Boston tried and failed when getting into their PnR actions on Sunday, including short-roll and empty side. Now, with a few additional days to gameplan, and some fresh film to study, there should be some hope that we see the Magic put into rotation more frequently, and that starts with paint touches, hopefully some of which are courtesy of a roll man.

What adjustments do you expect to see from Mazzulla in Game 2? Which player do you think could be most effective as a short-roll creator against Orlando's defense? Jump into the comments section or the Discord to let me know!