For the Celtics, the important thing is not necessarily the 3-points

A journalist asks him how comfortable his team is when the opposing team raises its voice on defense. “ Rather comfortable “, retorts Joe Mazzulla while showing the match sheet to the press: “ It's right there, so very comfortable. It took us a while to get there. […] The key is to play physical on offense, get to the free throw line and make them. »

So many principles that his Celtics applied wonderfully this night against the Sixers. As their coach said, they had to wait until the end of the first quarter and the start of the second to understand that they would not win thanks to their favorite weapon: the 3-point shot.

“ It's very complicated to defend against us. They 'switched' on defense to try to deprive us of our 3-point shots […]. We realized how the opponent was defending us and we had to make this adjustment », Reports the technician, whose team only took two winning shots in the second quarter.

Three times more free throws

His players were pushed to attack the opposing circle, which Joel Embiid did not provide protection last night. “ There are a multitude of ways to win during a match. We were on the free throw line, we scored points in the paint, which helped us… They took 20 more shots than us, but you hit your shots and you are aggressive, that can balance », Judge Jaylen Brown.

He was one of three players on the team, along with Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis, to shoot from the penalty line 10 times. The Sixers only obtained 12 free throws (11/12), while their opponents obtained triple that (34/37). The differential is just as impressive in terms of points scored inside (64 to 42), or rebounds captured (56 to 28).

The Celtics took possession of the racket to compensate for their tiny 5/22 behind the arc, their most discreet 3-point night of the year, ahead of a 7/29 against the Magic in November. Boston had lost its previous three games that ended with 10 or fewer field goals.

The Celtics prefer good shooting to 3-point shooting

“ Each match will present a new challenge. We could have won in another way. We never said we had to win (while shooting 3-points). We always take what the defense gives us and we are one of the best teams to do it. That's kind of our offensive philosophy, take the best shot and find the best shot. », recalls the coach who says he does not like 3-points, but “ good shots “.

A speech confirmed by Jayson Tatum : “ He never told us to take 44 (3-point) shots per game. It's about taking the right shot, respecting everyone's space. » An action three minutes from the end of a match which had already swung in their favor illustrates this well. Jayson Tatum found himself in a one-on-one against Cam Payne, of whom he made short work. The spacing was such that no Philadelphia player was able to come in the way of his authoritarian dunk.

Thanks to its 17-0 run in the last quarter, Boston won comfortably after a meeting rich in lessons for Joe Mazzulla and his assistants: “ It was probably one of our best games of the year – I didn't say best win – in terms of the information we were able to extract. It really gives us the opportunity to win in a different way. It showed us a model of how opposing teams will defend on us and gives us something else to practice on. »