The 90-Point Threshold

In the 2021-2022 season, there was a lot of talk about keeping opposing teams to 90 points or fewer. There was frequently a watch as games pushed into the second half if the defense could keep the opposing team under that threshold – it felt like Brian Scalabrine mentioned every other game. All things considered, if you could achieve that threshold, you were probably going to win the game. During that season, they achieved it 11 times during the regular season, and an additional four times in the postseason, and did indeed win all 15 of those games.

That feels like a long time ago. NBA teams averaged 110.6 points that season, and then more than 114 in each of the past two seasons. That doesn't sound like much, but it's a really big jump. Entering tonight, the C's had only kept teams to 90 or under twice in the regular season, and then three times in the playoffs – the final three games of the Miami series. Those games were great, and the 140-88 win over the Warriors on March 3rd was low-key important as well, because mentally the C's needed that emphatic win. But I don't think it is out of turn to suggest that the Game 1 win over the Mavericks was Boston's best defensive performance of this season, and it probably stands up against some of their greatest defensive performances ever. With 5:17 left in the fourth quarter, the C's were up 100-75, and Jason Kidd threw in the towel, pulling Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving from the game.

They achieved this by only sending help to Luka when he was at the perimeter. The main way that Luka and Kyrie Irving get the Mavericks offense going is to crash into the paint and then when the defense collapses, they kick it out to the corners for three-point attempts for their other players. That simply did not happen in Game 1. Look at this shot chart:

Just three threes attempted in the corner, and one make. One of the attempts was when Irving drove into the corner and had nowhere else to go. In other words, it wasn't on a kick-out pass. When Dončić or Irving got into the paint, the Celtics left them in single coverage. Irving wasn't an issue. He got whistled for travelling, he got his shot sent back, and nearly every shot he took in the trees was a high-difficulty rainbow. Luka got his points, particularly at the end of the second and start of the third. But he only had one assist, and that is crucial, because aside from PJ Washington – who had a few good drives where he impressively put his head down and bowled his way to the hoop – no one else on Dallas can consistently create their own shot.

You could look at that and say well Luka will adjust, and look to score more in order to force more double teams, but Luka got to 27 points with 4:28 left in the third quarter, and Boston's strategy never changed. A couple minutes later, Luka brought the ball up, and got the switch he wanted, to Al Horford. Al forced him to his left, and Luka put up a three, fading away from the hoop. It's a shot I've seen him hit many times, and it's a demoralizing shot when he hits it. He missed it, but that's not what I think is important. What's important was that Luka didn't really have a better option. Take a look:

No one is open. Maybe Luka could have tossed it to Tim Hardaway Jr. next to him in the corner, but he was just into the game for the first time, and wasn't any more open than Luka was. For the game, Brian Windhorst of ESPN said on SportsCenter that the Celtics only allowed six chances for Luka assists. The Mavs shot 1-for-6 on those shots, and that may not happen again, but as he said, the important number is the six. The Mavs came in shooting 57% on Luka passes, but because the C's didn't double team him consistently, he didn't have a lot of passing lanes. I will be surprised if that changes.

With the C's not doubling, it meant that there weren't a lot of easy looks in the paint for Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II. Gafford had just eight points and three rebounds. Lively was even worse, with just two points and five rebounds, and the rookie looked completely overwhelmed. He was whistled for five fouls, and committed approximately 14. After each call, he seemed confused or belligerent. In seven of each of their last eight playoff games, both Gafford and Lively each pulled down at least six rebounds. In their Game 5 win over Minnesota in the Western Conference Finals, they combined for 17. Tonight, they combined for eight, and there were no lob dunks in sight.

Over and over, the Celtics just look prepared, and executed their game plan flawlessly. Jayson Tatum once again dominated the glass, and there were plenty of active hands on the perimeter, with Jaylen and Derrick White creating steals that led to easy fast break buckets on three occasions. Much like in the 2022 NBA Finals, it was about as flawless a victory as you could ask for, and a great night to be a Celtics fan. The challenge now is to get three more.

Other Game 1 Observations

• Kristaps Porzingis was amazing in his return, and looked to be 100%. The play that really cemented it for me was his put-back dunk in the third quarter. Take a look here. If you’re worried about your calf, you just don’t crash that hard to the hoop. You hang out at the three-point line and wait for a pass that may or may not come. Instead he sprinted from the logo to the paint, and got an easy dunk. Porzingis played free and easy all game, and if this is the way he plays all series, the C’s medical staff are going to be hailed as heroes. And the best part was that because the team built up such a big early cushion, he only had to log 20 minutes of action. A lot of that is only needing him for 3:24 in the fourth quarter, but even during the competitive parts of the game, the team was able to give him extended breaks. You couldn’t map it out any better.
• After hitting just one three pointer in the four games of the Indiana series, Sam Hauser knocked down two in the first half tonight, and then another one late in the fourth. That had to feel good, and was very encouraging to see. Just as encouraging was the fact that he and Payton Pritchard both competed hard when switched onto Luka, and didn't give him any easy buckets.
• Not a single Celtics player took more than 16 shots, and a couple of Tatum’s that got him to 16 were in garbage time. The C’s did an incredible job of unselfishly hunting mismatches. The only player who truly shot poorly was Pritchard, but he was saddled with a couple of grenade shots (bad shots at the end of the shot clock) and I’m not too worried about him.
• It was nice to see the Stay Ready Crew get a few minutes at the end, including a late trip to the bank for Svi Mykhailiuk, which I didn’t have on my bingo card. Svi, Luke Kornet, and Oshae Brissett now all get to say they played in an NBA Finals game. That has to feel pretty sweet, especially for Svi. The C’s are his seventh team in as many NBA seasons, and while his role on this team is limited, he’s played well when given the chance. To get into that game must have meant the world. It was a world away from the games he grinded out the past few years on some pretty dismal teams in Charlotte, Detroit, and Oklahoma City.