Grant WilliamsHe was still fuming, as he made his involuntary walk back to the CelticsLocker room
It all started in the fourth quarter. He set a crushing screen on his back. Alex CarusoHe was in transition and was called foul. He was not stationary but did lean into Caruso slightly. Close call. Williams was shocked but could continue. He picked up his phone a second later. Zach LaVineHe slid in front, pressing a switch, and attempted to charge it.
He landed on his stomach and began spinning down the ground like a curling rock. A rookie official called him for a blocking violation. Williams was moving, but LaVine extended the elbow into Williams’ chest on contact. It’s a tough call that’s usually going the offensive player’s way.
That was too much for Williams, who may only be in his third year, but felt he’s earned that whistle. He attempted to spin on his feet to burn some steam but his dizzying path collided with the official. He turned around and walked back to the table in disgust, hoping to resume play.
He ran off and began barking his way to the court. Williams is eager to talk to the officials at all times, when they’re happy to hear it and when they’re most certainly not. At this point, there wasn’t anything more to say.
Two …interesting calls on Grant Williams followed by an ejection. https://t.co/EjHt9or5VV pic.twitter.com/OxHM7E8Du6
— Pull up shoot (@NElGHT_) October 25, 2022
He walked into the locker-room and saw his coach sitting there. They began to talk. It wasn’t much.
Joe Mazzulla had been dismissed for the third quarter’s technical fouls. You can’t scold a kid for getting detention when you’re sitting in the detention room too.
“I mean, who am I to talk?” Mazzulla told reporters in Chicago, recognizing the irony of trying to coach his player in that moment. “But at the same time, we have to be better.”
They were leading 35-16 at 3:29 in the first quarter. Then, they were losing less that eight minutes of playing time. They were 35-16 with 3:29 left in the first quarter. After that, they lost less than eight minutes of playing time. BullsAt one point, the game went from a winnable win for Boston to a loss without a win in ten minutes.
For all the strides they’ve made as an organization, maintaining composure is still a key objective in the proverbial corporate outlook. They admitted it was the next step they needed to take after losing the Finals to the franchise that collects Larry O’Brien trophies like they’re Pateks.
It was almost inevitable that they would lose their edge after all the events leading up to training camp. It’s a bit dull. They must refine it through friction of attrition. Mazzulla was able to keep his cool and make himself the bad guy for leaving the team in the dust, even though he seemed to agree with the adjudication.
“I just have to have better composure under the circumstances,” Mazzulla said. “I was just trying to get the referee’s attention. In moments like that, when things aren’t going your way, you just have to be more composed, do a better job.”
But Mazzulla isn’t on the floor, as Marcus SmartObserved post-game Nic Vucevic Andre DrummondTogether, they contributed 35 rebounds. The Celtics’ top eight rotation players combined for 35 rebounds.
Whether it’s the defensive pressure or persistence on the boards, there are a lot of simultaneous solo acts going on that aren’t finding harmony in D Major.
“Everybody has to help. It can’t be one person trying to do everything,” said Smart. “It’s gonna take a concerted effort from everybody. Everybody has to kick in and have that mindset to not have a night like this.”
Rob Williams’ absence is felt more acutely by the day, especially against a team that has 7-footers who can score at the rim and athletic star wings. But this wasn’t just a matter of the personnel matchup not working in the Celtics’ favor. There’s a schematic element.
Boston’s primary defense was to switch either 1-through-4 or across the board last season, with the team in up-to-touch coverage on pick-and-rolls. The four guards would then drop a step below screen level to protect the ball screen. This left the center free to patrol the paint and watch out for the weaker side shooter.
Rob Williams was a top-tier player in the pivot zone role last season. Al HorfordIt could be handled as well as the second unit center. But the Celtics have spent most of this season in a deep drop on pick-and-rolls, inviting ball handlers into the paint because Boston isn’t confident whoever would be on the back line can actually handle covering that much space.
So Mazzulla is running some comical coverages, a reflection more of the state of the roster than the preferred game plan by a coach who helped design the league’s best defense last season. It’s why you see Vonleh in a Mariana Trench drop, sitting so deep into the paint he needs binoculars to see Brown get velcroed to the screen while LaVine launches the 3.
Full play is possible here, as Bulls can play 2-on-1 at the perimeter with Noah Vonleh dropping coverage and parked inside the paint. pic.twitter.com/Ywawxc9m6i
— Hoop Informatics 🏀📊🎥 (@HoopInformatics) October 25, 2022
Drummond can make a deep drop against him, as he is able to get the ball onto the floor quickly. LaVine, one of most dangerous and trigger-happy pull-up shooters in the league, is holding the ball. In the past, the Celtics would be able to run a rotation that could always stay up-to-touch in this personnel pairing, ensuring LaVine doesn’t have space to get off the shot and they could tag the roll on Drummond without being exposed in the weak side corner.
But they’re not there yet. They’re still learning, and they have new people, and new neurons, to help them find the synapse within their defensive hive minds.
This deep drop wasn’t a one-off for this game. They were doing this against OrlandoHe is one of many pick-and pop bigs that can get exposed looks because of the coverage. Jamahl Mosley, Magic coach, can make a pick-and roll with a simultaneous roller on either side of the play to make it seem like the defense has lost the original screener.
Even though they screwed up those switches — in coverage where there wasn’t really supposed to be a switch — Blake GriffinCould have been closed on Mo BambaHis scouting report was to make him a dribbler and run him off of the line. The team’s early habits include putting on an offensive show, then taking it easy on defense.
There’s just not enough pressure at the point of attack, which is necessary for a team with new rotation players that need to develop defensive chemistry. Keep this in mind Jaylen BrownI got stuck on the screen against Chicago. It was the same issue with drop coverage against Orlando.
Jayson TatumStimulating does a good job Franz Wagner at the free throw line and Vonleh does a fine job straddling the roll man at the rim and contesting the floater, but Brown needs to maintain inside leverage on Wagner’s hip to make this coverage work.
It’s why there are plenty of plays where it looks like the new guys are blowing it, but it’s on the vets at the point of attack to give them a chance to succeed.
“I think every team thinks they’re past it, but we’re human, it happens,” Smart said. “Just try to minimize them as much as you can, not have too many of them and move on. This is a great test. Just gotta respond.”
This team has the perimeter defense talent to cover any situation. But talent doesn’t get you much on defense over the course of 48 minutes.
It’s game four, loss one. Mazzulla’s first ejection and defeat. There’s a lot of time to figure this out. But it’s a problem that finally proved it won’t go away easily.
(Photo by Joe Mazzulla [right]: David Banks/USA Today
