This Is Not The Same Boston Celtics

There's no doubt that the Celtics are a different team with Kristaps Porzingis on the floor, and in our last video we went over how important Porzingis' floor spacing and ability to hunt mismatches in the post was for Boston's offense. And coming into Game 1 of the NBA Finals, I thought Porzingis' presence on the court was going to stretch out the Mavs defense and give Boston's playmaker space to attack the paint. But, I did not expect Kristaps to have this much of an impact with just 20 minutes of playing time. Now, throughout this game, Porzingis' floor spacing was on full display, where he's comfortable letting go 30-foot bombs with no hesitation. You'll see Derek White here working off his Tatum ball scoop, and notice how Porzingis on the opposite wing is going to shift up towards the logo. And from this spot, there's no chance of stepping out and contesting the shot. Throughout this matchup, Porzingis also did a ton of damage in the post. 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Plus, they're so confident in their product that they're offering a 7-day free try. Ready to try it out? Use code THEKIDS here for a 35% discount on your first month. Now in the first half, Dallas was switching a majority of Boston's ball screens, which gave Porzingis a bunch of favorable matchups in the post. And from these spots, Christeps can overwhelm the defense with his size and shot making. And Christeps has also developed a really patient pivot game, where he uses a variety of jab steps and shot fakes to create scoring windows. Watch him here catch and turn his body to protect the ball, then he's going to take one dribble and use his low gather into his shot. And like you just saw, Christeps is also comfortable and generally looks off the dribble. Watch him here lift the defense up with a shot fake, then take one dribble and rise up for a clean right left jumper. I like this move where Christeps is going to again get to a shot fake, but watch how he's going to transfer this back foot all the way across and create space with the step back. And Porzingis's impact also carries over to the defensive end, where his presence around the basket altered and outright eliminated a bunch of Dallas's looks. When defending in pick and roll, Christeps is an elite drop defender. Having good positional awareness of keeping himself in front of the ball while also being close enough to recover back to the screen. And in drop Christeps can surprise the offense with how tall and lengthy he is. Right here Kyrie Irving thinks he has a routine pull up off the screen, but with Porzingis's momentum being pulled back, he still has the reach to extend out and get a piece of this shot. This is also a nice play here, where Christeps is able to slide and wall off this Kyrie drive, then shift across the paint and swap this layup. And this is where I think Boston's defense is at its best, with their elite perimeter defenders pressuring the ball and forcing it downhill into Christeps' sides. I also think Boston's point of attack defense was a huge factor in their first half blowout. Jalen Brown was giving Luca a ton of issues on the ball, and he was able to pick his pocket a few times which is pretty rare to see. Now one big worry I did have for the Celtics coming into this series was if their bench players could hold their own defensively, but both Hauser and Pritchard did play some elite 1 on 1 defense on both of Dallas' stars. And simply put, if both of these guys can consistently guard Luca and Kyrie like this in open space, this series is pretty much a wrap. Watch Hauser here slide and keep himself in front of the ball, to then stretch out and pick Luca's pocket. Now granted this is just one game, and I do highly doubt that Boston's bench players are going to consistently play this kind of defense for the rest of the series. Throughout the first half, Boston was also giving up a bunch of wide open 3s to Dallas' roleplayers. Notice on this play how Porzingis is going to slide across the paint, completely taking away any scoring option for Luca, and Boston's happy to give P.J. Washington a wide open 3. We can see the same thing on this play, where Porzingis is going to again slide down and Now Luca at the end of the second half did start to get his offense going, and this is where his combination of strength and pace was on full display. Because Doncic is a real off the dribble shooting threat, he forces the defense to step up and meet him out beyond the 3, which then opens up these downhill drives. Now Luca may not be the most explosive player with the ball, but he is elite at using his body to work and chisel his way to spots. And once Luca gets his man on his hip, it's pretty much impossible to move him off his driving line. Off the bounce, I also think Doncic has underrated footwork. Watch him here drop down into a combination off the dribble, then skip his feet up, which allows him to load up and explode into this drive. And again, once Luca gets the defense on his hip, it's pretty much over. We can see him hit the same move here, where Luca is going to bring the ball through and skip his feet up, which again allows him to get the outside angle and put the defense on his hip. And Luca from here still has the strength to carve through Al Horford and create a clear driving line. Dallas also had a ton of success targeting Porzingis in pick and roll. While Chris Steps is an elite defender around the basket, he does lack the foot speed to switch out and cover elite pointer stores. You'll see Chris Steps on this play drop back below the three. So Luca in response is going to snake the ball to his left to then aggressively attack and get outside of Porzingis' frame. And notice how Luca is going to drop his shoulders selling the drive to then step back and separate behind the line. So down this stretch, the big adjustment the Celtics made was to get their centers out of the pick and roll actions. Doncic has the skills and feel to pick apart any traditional ball screen coverage. But if you switch these screens with the guard and don't give up an immediate advantage, I think that is the lesser of two evils. Notice on this play how the Celtics have Tatum guarding lively, so Dallas is going to instead put Pritchard in his ball screen. And while this isn't a favorable matchup for Boston, the Celtics still have high IQ defenders off the ball who can slide down and provide help. I like this off-ball read by Holiday, where Luca is trying to isolate against Horford. And to create more space off the ball, Doncic is going to wave this player through. But Holiday is going to stay home and plug up this gap, which pushes Luca out into a tough 10-foot push shot. The Celtics were also doing some pretty switching to keep Porzingis in the paint. On this play, you'll see Porzingis initially guarding lively. And as he sprints up into the screen, watch how Pritchard is going to switch over and be the one defending this ball screen. And this way Boston gets the best of both worlds, having a quicker defender on the ball who can stay in front, plus having a 7-foot rim protector hovering around the paint. Now one simple adjustment the Mavs could make in game 2 is simply play with more pace. In the half court, it's easier for Boston to dictate matchups and use those pretty switches on these Gafford and Lively ball screens. But in transition, Dallas will force these cross matchups, and they'll have more space to cook in And I thought Dallas overall got really good looks on the break. Irving had multiple wide open 3s that are for sure makeable shots for him. Watch Luca here skip the ball to the corner, which forces Boston's defense into a scramble. And this opens up a wide open 3 for Kyrie that he just misses. And other guys besides Luca and Kyrie can leave the break. I think P.J. Washington for sure has plenty of athleticism and skill as a ball handler to put pressure on the rim and make plays. Now overall this is just one game, and there is plenty of time for both teams to make adjustments. So we'll see what happens in game 2. If you enjoyed this breakdown, please like and subscribe. And let me know in the comments who you have winning game 2. The kids here.