After a pair of 13 point victories in Atlanta, the Celtics are heading back to Boston looking to sweep the Hawks. The scoreboards of this series, only showing 13 point victories, doesn’t do the Celtics’ pure dominance justice, though. Through these two games, they have shown why they are legitimate contenders to win it all after falling just short last year.
In Game 1, the Celtics entered halftime with a 74-44 lead, just pure dominance. Their largest lead was up to 32, and in Game 2, that number got as large as 22. Truthfully, their +11.3 NetRtg through the first two games undersells how good they have been.
It’s fun to play offense, and I will reach that point in the column at some point. However, it all starts with the defense for Boston. Through all of the Game 2s in each series, they have posted the best DRtg at 101.0. This isn’t anything new, either, as the Celtics also had the best DRtg for the latter half of the regular season (post-All-Star Break) at 111.4.
It’s not like they’re playing a lackluster offense either. They aren’t playing the Bulls, Raptors, or Heat (the other East Play-In teams), none of which had a necessarily good offense. The Hawks, however, don’t fit into that category. On the year, they ranked 9th in offense with a 116.3 ORtg, and the numbers rose to 4th and 121.7 post-All-Star Break. Of course, their offense was led by none other than the playmaking sharpshooter Trae Young, who is struggling this series.
It’s no surprise that the Celtics are so good defensively, especially when just considering their personnel on that side of the floor. On the perimeter, they have the best defensive backcourt in the league with Marcus Smart and Derrick White, so it’s easy to see why Young has been in jail this series. Despite being the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Smart isn’t even the best defensive guard on this team, as that title really belongs to Derrick White. Additionally, when locked in, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are quality defenders. On the interior, Al Horford and Robert Williams bring a pair of stout defenders, which guarantees the Celtics always have an elite rim protector on the floor at all times.
Young is scoring 20 points per game and 7 assists per game, which is already really bad for his standards. When you also consider that he is turning the ball over 5 times per game while shooting at a 43.7 TS% (35.0/23.1/69.2 splits), it’s really embarrassing. White has been the primary matchup for Young, and his defense has just been absurd on such a skilled offensive talent.
Against White through two games, Young has scored 14 points on 5-17 shooting -- a 37.3 TS%(!!!). During the regular season, Young produced 0.94 PPP (points per possession) as a pick and roll ball handler. This series, that number is at 0.67. White has just been spectacular defensively this series, and he’s just showing why he is deserving of All-Defensive Team honors for his prowess on that side of the court. He’s elite on the perimeter as an elite screen navigator who isn’t afraid to get up close on the defender and also provides elite rim protection for a guard. Overall, the Hawks are shooting an atrocious 14-40 (35%) when White is the primary defender.
While White has (undoubtedly) been the team’s best defender, he isn’t the only one who has been elite on this side of the floor. Jaylen Brown has locked in this series, particularly on the ball, as the Hawks have shot 6-27 (22%!) against him. The Hawks are shooting 18.2% on shots within 6 feet when guarded by Al Horford (by the way, this number is 18.3% for the 6’4 White on 3 more total attempts). These two have been the other best defenders, but this has been without even mentioning the impact of Robert Williams and Marcus Smart.
The offense has not been as elite as the defense through two games, and that’s alright. It ranks 9th through all Game 2s with a 112.3 ORtg, but it’s bound to go up. After the All-Star Break, the unit ranked 8th at a 118.5 ORtg, but in the 2022 portion of the season, they had the league’s best unit with a 118.9 ORtg. Through the first month and a half of action, this number was at 123.0, so it’s clear what this offense can look like at its best.
And why not start with Derrick White? Sure, he isn’t the best offensive player on this team -- or even top two --, but he needs to be recognized for what he has done offensively this postseason. Through two games, he’s averaging 25 points and 4.5 assists on 75.8 TS% (62.1/50.0/88.9 splits). He is getting downhill and putting pressure on the Hawks defense while also maintaining his role as an elite connector. The Celtics are really letting him cook and receive more on-ball reps. Combining this offense with his defense, he has been the clear-cut best guard this series, over the pair of 2022 All-Stars Trae Young and Dejounte Murray. He really could be the focus of an entire column.
Of course, Jayson Tatum is getting his, too. He’s averaging 27.0 points, actually down from his 30.1 in the regular season, on 58.8 TS% (48.9/50.0/100.0), also down from his 60.7% in the regular season. It’s clear he can do more, which is good because he has obviously been spectacular already. In his 12 isolations over the pair of games, he’s scoring 1.08 points per possession, up from his 0.93 in the regular season.
It feels like I’m digging Jaylen Brown too far down in this column. In addition to his aforementioned lockdown defense, Brown is doing the thing on offense too: 23.5 points on 58.6 TS% (51.4/40.0/71.4). With all due respect to John Collins (who really deserves a better situation than Atlanta, by the way), he really isn’t good enough defensively to consistently slow down Brown.which explains his pair of efficient outings.
While these three have been the guys for Boston, the always reliable Al Horford is shooting 50% (4/8) from three. Marcus Smart is really playing into that facilitator role, averaging 6.5 assists. 6th Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon has struggled, but he undoubtedly will get it going after averaging 15 points and shooting 44.4% from three in the regular season. Robert Williams is obviously an elite roller, reflected by his average (sarcasm) 90.9 TS% thus far. Shoutout Sam Hauser, too, who is getting playoff minutes and will undoubtedly have a game where he gets hot and drains multiple threes at some point this postseason.
Tonight at 7:00 p.m. EST, the Celtics have the opportunity to extend the series lead to 3-0 and all but lock it up. The spread being at -5 for the Celtics feels really odd to me, truthfully, as another double digits victory feels impending to me. I predict a Celtics win and sweep; they’re that good.
These Celtics really have all of the makings to hang banner #18, but they won’t be met without resistance. Milwaukee just embarrassed Miami, who made it look close with a 37 point 4th quarter, without Giannis Antetokounmpo, and whoever comes out of the gauntlet that is the Western Conference will be a tough opponent.
Charlie Spungin , NBA Analyst