The Boston Celtics will open their playoff series against the Heat on Sunday.
The Boston Celtics’ path to the NBA Finals begins today. A repeat of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals sees Joe Mazzulla’s team facing off against the Miami Heat. The Celtics have been dominant against Erik Spoelstra’s team this season, winning all three of their matchups.
Yesterday, I examined the Heat’s offense and its success on the defensive end. Today, we’ll examine the different actions Boston has run that have worked against the Heat throughout the season. I have chosen to stick with the first game of the season between these two teams, primarily because as they season wore on, both Spoelstra and Mazzulla kept their playbooks closer to their chest.
The opening matchup between the two rosters was the most “action-heavy” of the three meetings in terms of set plays rather than the standard principle-based offense they always run. Essentially, there was more of a chess match.
As a quick refresher, Miami likes to trap teams into taking a bunch of threes but is among the best perimeter defenses in the league. They’re also designed to deter rim attempts, although their ability to defend those shots is rather poor. As such, Mazzulla will be looking for ways to attack the mid-range, get his stars going downhill and create space on the perimeter.
When I was looking at the play data and seeing how the Heat are limiting threes, this was the first play I thought of. The Celtics run a double down screen in transition. Derrick White and Kristaps Porzingis essentially run an elevator play for Jayson Tatum, allowing him to catch the ball in miles of space and get his shot off without a hand in his face.
Little wrinkles like this are going to be key. The more open looks Boston can get from deep, the quicker they can build a cushion throughout the night.
According to Synergy, the Heat are among the better transition defensive teams in the NBA. They hold teams to 49.6% shooting, ranking them in the 90th percentile for defensive points allowed per transition possession. So, it makes sense that the Celtics would use their scoring gravity on the perimeter to open up dribble-drive offense as the defense looks to build out to the ball.
Boston puts Tatum and Jaylen Brown in the corners, stretching out the defense’s low helpline. Porzingis is at the top of the perimeter, with Jrue Holiday in the weakside slot. Bam…
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