Since the start of the playoffs, the Mavericks' great defensive strength was to have walled off their racket, against the Clippers but also against the Thunder and the Wolves. With Derrick Jones Jr. which floated behind the first defensive curtain, and the pair Daniel Gafford – Derek Lively II under the circle.
But as expected, the Celtics pose a particular challenge to the Mavs, with their wide-open game. It is indeed difficult for the Texan pivots to let go of Kristaps Porzingis behind the 3-point line to come and protect the circle, which makes the outside defenders, and in particular Luka Doncic, more vulnerable…
As Ben Taylor of Thinking Basketball explains, Boston's strategy is clear: generate changes so that Luka Doncic is the first defensive curtain, which Jayson Tatum and company can easily pass, and take advantage of the absence of opposing pivots in his back to provoke assists from other players.
What impact does Kristaps Porzingis' injury have?
A perfectly illustrated strategy by Todd Whitehead statsfrom Synergy, which calculated the time spent in the paint by Dallas players when the opponents had the ball.
Thus, this time dropped drastically for Daniel Gafford and Derek Lively II, who occupied the racket 44% and 23% of the time during the first three rounds of the playoffs. A presence which increased to 24% and 14% respectively during the first two matches of the Finals, almost a drop by half for the two pivots!
In return, it is the other players (Luka Doncic, Derrick Jones Jr, PJ Washington and Kyrie Irving) who must help in the paint, even though they are obviously much less intimidating…
An essential data, which explains why Dallas respectively held the Clippers, the Thunder and the Wolves to 46.2%, 44.2% and 49.6% on their penetrations, while the Celtics shoot at 55.9% when they attack the circle on the first two series matches, while also generating more assists.
And even if Luka Doncic explains that he has worked on this role of backline help since the preseason, it is above all the injury to Kristaps Porzingis which could help Dallas to close the racket for the rest of the series.
