How can the Celtics attack Golden State in Game 3?
The Warriors defense stepped up in Game 2. How they did it, and how Boston can counter tonight.
After the Boston Celtics used a fourth quarter explosion to steal Game 1, you knew Draymond Green and the Warriors weren’t going to take it lightly. Golden State responded with a great defensive performance in Game 2, forcing 18 turnovers and ultimately blowing out the Celtics. Jayson Tatum finished a minus-36 for the game.
The Warriors made a couple of important adjustments. Primarily, they put Draymond Green on Jaylen Brown instead of Al Horford, with Klay Thompson moving to Horford. This matchup change had two important effects. For one, Horford no longer got open looks as a result of Green’s usual marauding away as a help defender. Thompson stuck to Horford and erased any activity.
And for another, Green locked up Brown. Brown’s ability to beat Thompson off the dribble was a big reason why the Celtics got as many open threes as they did in Game 1. Before, Brown would beat Thompson and force Green to stop him at the rim, which left shooters open. In Game 2, Green prevented Brown from getting into the paint at all. Brown shot 5-for-17 for 17 points.
Overall, the Warriors stuck on shooters more in Game 2. They improved their aggressiveness on the ball and did a great job of containing drives. As a result, the Celtics relied heavily on shooting threes on kickouts. In the first three quarters, when the outcome was still in doubt, the Celtics shot just 9-for-34 on two-pointers. They attempted only eight shots within five feet in the first three quarters.
Golden State is great at rotating precisely to get in front of the rim. Watch how they envelop Tatum at the rim:
Tatum does well to get by Kevon Looney on a switch. But Andrew Wiggins, switched onto Robert Williams III, is waiting at the rim, and Green helps from the corner to stop a drop-off pass or lob to Williams. With Looney still contesting, Tatum is too flustered and crowded to make an early pass to Brown, who should be open as a result of Green’s help.
It is important that the Celtics’ ball-handlers find a way to get off the ball early to take advantage of the Warriors’ help. It sounds counter-intuitive to encourage kickout passes when your core problem is a lack of shots at the rim. But early passes are a way to generate ball movement. The Warriors will close out the first shooter. But then someone else will be open, and eventually someone should get either a look from deep or a chance to drive to the rim.
The Celtics need some level of dribble penetration to create those sequences, and that didn’t happen nearly enough in Game 2. Brown couldn’t do anything against Green, and Tatum struggled to get into the paint against Gary Payton II and Wiggins. Stephen Curry had an excellent defensive game. Boston should look to run more simple screen sets on the perimeter to get Tatum and Brown on the move.
They should also consider setting up the offense with more optimal matchups — i.e., generate switches at the beginning of a possession, and space the floor. These isolations of course run the risk of bogging down the offense and encouraging Tatum hero-ball. It is rarely good when Tatum gets into Kobe mode. But against switches, Tatum can get into the paint more easily and will be less likely to turn the ball over.
Tatum struggled attacking directly from screens, when he tried to go after a favorable matchup immediately. His handle can be a little too loose in crowded areas:
Curry swipes the ball as Tatum tries to burst through against Jordan Poole. Tatum ended with four turnovers and only three assists. He has to find easier playmaking reads.
Stepping back and getting past Poole or Looney on a switch will create better looks from three and swing-swing sequences, generating rotations. It will be important, as usual, for the Celtics to set up their perimeter players so that the first read is a good shooter like Brown or Grant Williams. They should try to keep Brown on the perimeter, perhaps running through decoy screens, to drag Green away from the action.
The Warriors will always be able to put bodies in front of the rim. Green is a generational force, capable of being everywhere at once. The Celtics will have to move the ball well enough to bypass the Warriors’ initial line of defense. It’s easier said than done, but Ime Udoka will have counters in Game 3.