As admitted Luka Doncic, the Celtics generally defend one-on-one, to limit assists as much as possible. This deprived the Slovenian of his usual shifts during Game 1 of these 2024 Finals, but it also requires having players capable of “switching” and holding the first defensive curtain.
“This is what we have been working on all season” recalls Jayson Tatum at a press conference. “What makes our team so special is that we have no one to hide on defense. Whether it's the big guys or the outsiders, we switch and accept the challenges of one-on-one defense, knowing that there is help because it's a team sport and we have to be on the same wavelength. We don’t do “shows” or things like that because it can compromise the defense. If you want to play on our team, you have to defend. And everyone knows it. »
The “show”, It’s a defensive strategy. in which an interior who cannot defend one-on-one against an exterior will simply “show” himself after a pick-and-roll to slow down the ball carrier, while waiting for his teammate to come back from the screen. A strategy which opens gaps, and which Boston refuses.
Luka Doncic targeted
First defended by Jaylen Brown, Luka Doncic found himself, through the game of “switches”, facing Jrue Holiday, Jayson Tatum, Payton Pritchard, Derrick White, Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis and even Sam Hauser.
“It helps a lot to be able to send different guys on him, different guys who defend in different ways” explains Jrue Holiday. “Some are aggressive, others not, but even our whites defend so… We hope that it will be a challenge for him, and that we can continue to do it. »
Voluntarily or not, these statements also illustrated the offensive strategy of Boston, which precisely targeted Luka Doncic in the first curtain. Because with the Celtics' very wide play, the Slovenian had much less, unlike in previous rounds, Derrick Jones Jr, PJ Washington, Daniel Gafford or Derek Lively II behind his back to cover opposing penetrations. And he will have to hold up better in the duels during Game 2.
Luka is going to have to play *much* better defensively on the perimeter if Dallas is going to win this series.
He gave up too many blows by's that directly led to baskets or put the Mavericks in rotation: pic.twitter.com/d3C6DJFAVD
— Eric Shapiro (@eric_shap) June 7, 2024
