The Boston Celtics suffered a humbling defeat at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday as Joe Mazzulla’s team was held to just 27 points during the second half.
Five members of the Celtics’ rotation combined for 0-of-19 in the final 24 minutes of the game, with 13 of their shots coming from deep.
Throughout the contest, the Celtics took 46 three-point shots despite being ice-cold from deep. Boston finished the night with a 19.6% conversion rate. Yet, despite its struggles, the Celtics never changed their approach.
Oklahoma City is one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. Coming into the game, it knew Boston led the league in perimeter attempts but ranked 28th in rim frequency. Every shot Boston took from three-point range was a small victory for the Thunder’s defense.
That’s where Mazzulla and his coaching staff must improve. It’s one thing to have a defined style of play, but it’s another to stick to your guns when it’s clear things aren’t working. This isn’t the first time Mazzulla has allowed the Celtics to shoot themselves out of a game, and unfortunately, it won’t be the last.
Still, the fact remains that if a team is content to take away your airspace and force contested threes, the best counter is to drive the lane. The Celtics had a considerable size advantage against the Thunder, yet they rarely worked out of a Kristaps Porzingis post-up or allowed Jaylen Brown to explode downhill off a screen.
It’s hard to criticize a Celtics team that dominated its way to an NBA championship just a few months ago. Yet, other teams around the league have improved. Those same teams have also gathered more data on how to slow down Boston’s offense.
If Mazzulla can’t find a secondary offensive system to ease the pressure when shots aren’t falling, Boston’s chances of winning back-to-back titles are going to take a significant blow.
