cover art by Little People Max
The God of Killing
The Nets stumbled all the way this season, after Kyrie Irving refused to take a vaccine and missed the game, Kevin Durant suffered a knee injury in the middle of the season, and finally James Harden was dissatisfied with the request to leave the team and came to Ben Simmons who has not been able to play yet, but in the end, he still finished eighth in the Eastern Division. Into the play-offs, and in the play-offs beat the Cavaliers to get the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.
If the Clippers that Paul George returned were once the most unwilling low-seeded team in the West, then the Nets, where Durant and Irving can both play, should be the most likely team in the East. Just over half of ESPN’s 21 “experts” predicted the Celtics would advance before the start of the game, and 10 predicted 7 games and only 1 predicted 6 games. After a week in the playoffs, although the series is not over yet, the Celtics made a 3-0 draw with a complete advantage, and even had a great chance to sweep the Nets out, which absolutely no one expected (Pharaoh Wang Sell me, the author predicts that the Celtics will eliminate the Nets 4-0).
The most surprising thing about this series was that the Celtics managed to suppress Durant, the almost inexplicable offensive machine. Durant’s scoring average of 22 points in this series is the lowest of his career in the playoffs (34.3 points last season), his average turnover is 5.7, and his 36.5% shooting rate is the lowest since his first playoff appearance in 2009-10 (since consecutive Nine seasons have not been lower than 40%, until this season), although the three-point shooting rate is still 40%, but the number of shots dropped from 6.8 in the playoffs last season to 3.3, and the total number of shots also dropped from 23.5. to 17.3 times. And how did Celtic do it? What kind of defensive strategy did Celtics implement to successfully suppress Durant, who nearly (half-size shoes) eliminated the Bucks last season?
It takes a village…
Just like the Pistons had so-called Jordan Rules against Michael Jordan, the Mavericks also had a set of zone defenses in the 2011 championship game to confuse and limit LeBron James, the Celtics were able to limit Durant’s offensive firepower because of a complete defensive strategy and Disciplined execution. And after watching the first three games of the series, it can be observed that Celtic’s defensive strategy has several key points:
- Don’t allow Durant to easily catch the ball near the 45-degree free throw line or mid post where he’s most used to offense, maximize deny passing lanes to keep him off the ball, and then push him to keep him out of the way Easy to catch the ball.
- If Durant is on the ball, there’s absolutely no room for him to have comfortable jumpers, and whenever Durant cuts, or tries to take a one-step jumper, there must be a Celtics player on the front of the cut.
- If the Nets are going to use the pick-and-roll to try to create a dislocation for Durant or a space for another player, there are two scenarios:
- Players with a roll-in threat in the paint, such as Andre Drummond or Nic Claxton, will sink back but stay in Durant’s cut path. Players defending Durant must go over screens and chase Durant to prevent him from having an easy jump shot. .
- If it’s a non-roll-in threat like Bruce Brown Jr., switch the defense, and the switcher goes out to prevent Durant from having a jump shot, or double-teams Durant to pass the ball.
As a general principle, it is better to allow other Nets players to score than to give Durant any comfortable opportunity to score, forcing Durant to do the scoring, air-cutting, and covering for his teammates that he can do but not instinctively. Body collision. To implement such a defensive strategy against Durant, the most terrifying offensive weapon in NBA history, it absolutely requires the five defensive players on the field to have basic skills in defensive positioning, deny card position, communication with pick-and-roll, defense, movement and physical confrontation, and There is a high standard of discipline in defensive action. The Celtics’ main rotation may be the most suitable group of players to execute this defensive strategy. Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Daniel Theis, Al Horford, Grant Williams and Derrick White all have tall wingspan and Traverse speed. Even Payton Pritchard is an above-average defender, not to mention Robert Williams III, who has returned from injury.
On the matchup, when the Celtics’ starting lineup has time to set up a defensive matchup after a goal or a timeout, it’s Tatum against Durant, and Grant Williams if it’s replaced. Williams matched Durant. And if it is the Nets’ offensive and defensive transition after a defensive rebound or Celtic error, whoever is closest to Durant will guard Durant. The purpose is to reduce Durant’s defensive players who have not fully returned to defense or are still communicating and switching through early attacks. Time to stand at your favorite waist position and hold the ball.
