The Boston Celtics are down to their final strike. They rallied from a 16-point first half deficit in Game 5 of the 2022 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, only to once again collapse in the fourth quarter. As a result, they will be facing elimination for the fourth time this postseason.
Of course, Boston has won their previous three elimination games during these playoffs, and that resiliency should be helpful come Thursday night when the series shifts back to TD Garden. But Games 4 & 5 were about as bad as the Celtics have looked throughout the playoffs, and they are going to have make some quick adjustments for Game 6 if they want a shot at forcing a Game 7.
That’s going to be easier said than done for a couple of reasons. For one, Boston looks gassed, which makes sense considering how much work they have had to put in just to get here. Playing against a criminally underrated Golden State defense isn’t helping either.
Rest can come in the offseason though, and the Celtics need to do what they can to push the start of their offseason off until next week by winning Game 6 and forcing this series to go to seven games. But in order to do that, they are going to need to make some big changes to their offense. Here are two ways they can fix up their offense to help improve their chances of winning Game 6.
Boston Celtics offensive fix No. 1: Stop running a five-out offense
Boston won Game 1 of this series on the back of a 40-16 fourth quarter. They got most of their points thanks to some lights out three-point shooting, and it was a simple change that unlocked things for them in that final frame. Rather than use two bigs, coach Ime Udoka used only one, and surrounded them with shooters. That lone big was usually Al Horford, which meant Boston had five shooters on the floor and lots of spacing.
The Warriors ended up getting beat by the drive and kick game, and it looked like Boston had found their offensive gameplan for the series. Drive to the rim, and hope that you find either an open layup or draw enough help to free someone up at the perimeter. Boston’s offense has been at its best when they have been able to run this type of offense.
The problem is Golden State has largely adapted to this by playing some phenomenal help defense. When someone on the Celtics drives, Golden State usually has two or three guys in the paint waiting for them. They aren’t super worried about Boston hitting every single one of their threes, and even then, their help defenders are usually able to get back out to the perimeter to contest those shots. It’s read and react for the Warriors, and they are doing it perfectly.
The C’s haven’t been able to adapt for the most part, and it’s led to some ugly offensive outings. Jayson Tatum is being asked to do a ton on offense, and while he’s doing the best he can with all the attention he’s getting, it’s clear he’s struggling. Jaylen Brown is unable to navigate the sea of arms Golden State is throwing at him on his way to the rim, which is resulting in a large amount of missed shots and turnovers from him.
The one guy who has seemed to break this trend of offensive struggles is Robert Williams. The Warriors don’t really have an answer for Williams on offense right now. When Williams isn’t on the floor, Golden State is pressing high on the perimeter because they know they can get back to the paint and help if someone drives, in part because nobody on Boston is lurking in the paint; everyone is on the perimeter instead. That changes when Williams is on the court.
Now Williams can’t play the entire game of course, but Boston has other big men who can attempt to replicate Williams’ role, and it starts with Horford. Horford has been wasted on offense this series by primarily standing at the three and waiting for the ball to come his way. The same goes for Grant Williams.
The Celtics have a significant height advantage over the Warriors, especially when Kevon Looney isn’t on the floor, but aside from Williams, nobody has used it to their advantage. The primary issue is their five-out offense. It’s effective when shots are opening up, but Golden State has been pretty content to just sink into the paint on drives, and jump back out to the perimeter when the ball gets sent there.
When there is only one big on the floor for Boston, that guy needs to be in the paint putting pressure on the Warriors defense. In theory, it clogs up the paint, and while that may be true, the benefits outweight that potential roadblock.
If Tatum drives to the rim and has another guy stationed closer to the paint, rather than everyone just sitting at the three, Golden State doesn’t have as much incentive to help defend him. And even if they do, someone on Boston will be in the vicinity to help, which would significantly help reduce turnovers. It also forces the Warriors to be more diligent when it comes to rebounding, as Boston hasn’t been that great on the offensive glass so far.
The offense has largely gone stagnant because everyone has been standing at the perimeter waiting for their turn to shoot the ball. That’s sunk them into a 3-2 hole, and if they want to take another trip out to California, they cannot continue to do that. Putting more pressure on Golden State in the paint with their bigs, primarily Horford, is going to be key to helping the offense stay in rhythm throughout Game 6.
Boston Celtics offensive fix No. 2: Use someone in the Draymond Green bumper role
The three words “fix”, “offense”, and “Draymond Green” would seemingly never be in the same sentence given how this series has played out so far for Green, but here we are. Yes, Green has struggled on offense, but that doesn’t mean that Boston can’t look to use someone in the same capacity that Golden State uses him.
Green gets used in a sort of “bumper” role on offense where he will be the primary screener for Steph Curry, and then roll to the free throw line. If Curry gets doubled, he can simply toss the ball to Green, who usually has one of two choices. He can either drive for a layup, or dish the ball to the guy who ends up getting left open once help comes his way. Again, simple read and react stuff from Golden State here.
This could be effective because Boston seems intent on hunting mismatches all game long. The problem is it’s draining on their players given how physical Golden State has been, and it usually takes more than half of the shot clock to get the matchup they like, so something is going to have to change here. It won’t get eliminated entirely, but something needs to be done to help their offense get sped up.
Golden State countered Boston’s mismatch hunting by throwing double teams at Tatum to keep Andrew Wiggins, his primary defender, on him. Tatum was OK at finding his teammates in Game 5, but again, the Warriors reacted quick enough to disrupt most of the work Tatum was doing to get his teammates involved.
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The guy who has usually been screening for Tatum lately is Marcus Smart, and he may just be the perfect guy for this role. Tatum wanted to attack Curry all night long, so Smart was usually the guy trying to screen Wiggins off of Tatum. He rarely succeeded though because he almost always ended up at the top of the key.
Pushing Smart, or whoever the screener is, closer to the paint at the free throw line, puts more pressure on the Warriors defensively. By sitting at the three, Smart is making things too easy because Golden State can quickly recover. When you move in a few steps to the free throw line, it makes things more difficult.
Whoever ends up defending Smart in this scenario will have a tougher time getting back to him because Smart will be closer to the paint than the defender. That alone forces Golden State to work more than they already had been. Smart is a bigger point guard, and if he gets by a guy like Curry defending him, he’s going to be able to hold him on his back if Tatum can get him the ball here.
Then it creates the same situation as Golden State would get with Green. Smart will have momentum going to the rim on the smaller Curry, and he can either go for a layup or dish back out to the perimeter if help comes his way.
Even if this only results in Smart getting the ball at the free throw line, it’s a more dangerous spot for him to have the ball than behind the three-point line. This opens up room for a lot more off-ball movement, both at the perimeter and on cuts to the hoop, which is the whole goal of these fixes.
Everyone is ready to proclaim the Boston Celtics dead in the water, and given how Game 5 played out, it isn’t all that surprising. But Boston is still alive, and as we have seen countless times this postseason, you can’t count them out until they don’t have a pulse. The Celtics may be on life support, but they are still kicking, and you can bet they won’t go down easily in front of their home crowd on Thursday night.