I am a bit surprised, but happy, by this news on twitter....
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@HalfCourtHoops
The Boston Celtics are the #1 team in the NBA in After Time Out Situations - part 1 in a new series breaking down their favorite sets.
Boston Celtics ATOs: Creative Guard Design
Huh ?
Ime's ATO plays consist of giving Tatum the ball and clearing everyone else out of the way so he can go 1-on-1 or 1-on-2 or however many defenders he dribbles into before putting up a heavily-contested step-back fadeaway of some sort.
You are watching a different Boston Celtics team than I am. Ime rarely calls an ATO play for Jayson, let alone an iso. Celtics plays are designed with multiple options, in any case (not unlike other NBA teams).
Eventually Ime will get his due around here. He's an acute observer, as his press conferences show, and has a balanced and integrated overview of strategy and tactics. He has a keen basketball mind. Most important, though, his team plays some of the best defense in the league - that's the real mark of a coach who is succeeding at his job, the most important measure. That only happens when the head coach is a leader of men.
It has been agonizingly slow to bring the offense some workability; it's only about now that Jayson's and Jaylen's Assist %s have gotten up almost to where they were last year, to pick one critical statistic among many. It's telling that both of those guys' Ast%s have gradually crept up as the season has gone on; and that is one of many reasons for optimism for Boston Celtics fans.
Many have pointed out - and not without reason - that the recent competition has been weak. And yet the offensive execution has been at a level we didn't see as recently as New Year's.
Here's the bottom line: Ime Udoka has shown that he's an outstanding NBA head coach, and he will be the Celtics' head coach for years.