The Warriors are showing us the new NBA, and the Celtics better be taking notes

[Ed Hollison]

Watching these first two Finals games has really got me thinking about the what the Celtics need to compete for a title. For the record, I wouldn’t count the Cavs out just yet. But it’s not too early to start taking notes if you’re a C’s fan.

First, the Warriors ability to “switch everything” on defense is so much better than the Cavaliers. Ordinarily teams are faced with two choices in the pick and roll: 1) try and maintain the defensive matchups, but risk having your defense fall out of position; or 2) switch defenders, but risk getting caught up in a big one-on-one mismatch.

The way the Warriors are constructed, they can choose option two and not get burned. Klay Thompson caught defending Kevin Love? Fine. Draymond Green finds himself against Kyrie Irving? No big deal. Shaun Livingston switches onto Lebron James? We’ll manage. Essentially the only key player on that team that can’t  guard multiple positions is Steph Curry, and he’s, you know, like, the MVP.

Cleveland is just so much worse at this. Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson can’t defend in space if he gets caught up on a guard. Kyrie Irving or Dellavedova get abused by taller players. Even guys like Iman Shumpert, who’s made a name for his defense, really can’t defend multiple positions.

What can the Celtics learn from this? Here are some scattered thoughts.

-   Marcus Smart is built for this style of defense. Remember him guarding Millsap in round 1? Remember when he guarded Porzingis? He’s the only guy on our roster that can conceivably guard up to four positions. This guy is tailor-made for the new NBA, and is destined to make his mark in the NBA playoffs before his career is through.

-   By contrast, think about Avery Bradley’s style and capabilities. Superb on-the-ball defender, indeed worthy of an all-defense nod, but he’s fairly limited in the types of players he can cover. I’m not saying I’d ditch Bradley, but just keep this in mind.

-   Pure rim protectors are overrated. These days, you can just drag these guys out to the 3-point line and negate what they’re good at. Get them caught defending a little ball handler in the pick and roll and they’re toast. That’s why Timofey Mozgov is so irrelevant right now in the Finals, and Draymond Green is the MVP so far. So stay away from guys like Hasan Whiteside (to take one example) in free agency. Don’t scoff at the idea of drafting Bender, who (I’ve heard) has the tools to be a potential switch-everything defensive beast, nevermind what he might become on offense. And be patient with Mickey, who one day could give you that rare combo of shot blocking, defending in space, and spreading the floor.

-   Bigger, heavier guys will always have a place in the league. The Warriors wouldn’t be where they are now without Andrew Bogut. You need a guy like Sullinger on your team, for instance, at the very least to body up guys like Greg Monroe during the regular season. But don’t overvalue players like this, because they’re unlikely to be one of the top players on a championship team.

-   Lastly… How much is a guy like Jahlil Okafor (whom we tend to love on this site) worth? In the switch-everything, guard-multiple-positions style of NBA defense above, he’s a potential nightmare. A smart coach would be trying to scheme up ways to get these types of great post players back to being relevant, and they might figure it out one day, but for now I just don’t see it. They just don’t have the value they used to.

[spikelovetheCelts]

Just remember they lost twice at home to two guard heavy teams. Us and Portland.

[straightouttabahstun]

You make some very good points and this is a very well put post. I do think, if anything, the league should take some notes from the 2 games the Celtics have had with the Warriors. Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart are definitely the types of players you want on your team to guard this new style of play. We have, IMO, a top 3 perimeter defense because of those two.

 Any team that wants to figure out how to be competitive with the Warriors should watch how the Celtics and the Thunder have played them. They are the only 2 teams in the league who seem to have figured them out

[saltlover]

Fine post.

Regarding AB, I would say one reason he will remain a viable defender, even in a "switch everything" universe, is that he's very much able to extend how far out he plays defense.  Most players can't pick up their man 30 feet away from the rim without giving up too much space if they get beat.  AB can stick with his assignment so far away from the hoop that switch everything still works.  If he gets switched onto a big, it is many times far enough away from the hoop that the size and strength disadvantage won't matter.  Or, he may be far enough from the hoop to safely go under a screen and not need to switch.  Furthermore, he forces teams to get into their offenses much later than normal, creating less time for teams to take advantage of any switching matchups that may occur.

Also, he can shoot, which is a really nice feature for someone who can play that kind of D.

[BitterJim]

Bradley isn't great on switches, but he's so good at getting around picks that it doesn't really matter

[merkins]

It is for the reasons listed above I truly believe the only untouchable on this team is Smart. His versatility on defense aside, he demonstrated in this year's playoffs he has the ability, if not the consistency, to elevate his game and become a top two way player in the league.  Consistency will come with experience.  This and no team will offer a deal for him that reflects that upside.

[footey]

Great post, TP to OP.

[PhoSita]

I think there are lots of things to learn from the Warriors.

At the same time, it seems to me that a common thing people do is look at a great team built around extreme talents / attributes / skillsets and assume that that team provides a model for how every title contender has to be built in the "modern league."

If you have two all time great shooters and a unique two way playmaker and five position defender in the frontcourt, building your team like the Warriors is probably the best way to go.


But most teams don't have anything resembling that. Trying to copy the Warriors is more likely to give you a weak imitation of a great team rather than the genuine article.

My philosophy is, put together the best core talent you can and then figure out how to play your best guys together as much as possible and maximize their effectiveness.

Doing that may look something like the Warriors, or it may look completely different.

Let's remember that even getting to face the Warriors would require winning three series in a row. I can imagine that certain talented players might help the Celts win a few playoff series even if they wouldn't necessarily be super useful against the Warriors.

I disagree, for example, about big centers like Whiteside or Deandre. The lesson of the Warriors is that a pure center can be negated if his dominance on the boards and finishing inside is not enough to negate the advantage the other team realizes by going small.

If a pure center can grab tons of boards and finish lobs over smaller players, that might be enough to bust a small ball lineup. Especially since most teams can't field five players who are talented enough offensively to really punish a team for sticking with a paint dominating center.

[Csfan1984]

I agree Warriors have very good athleticism as a whole and length. Despite small ball lineups they are not small at 1-3 they have size or athleticism advantages at each spot. Curry, Livingston are good sized PGs. Klay, Iggy and Barnes more size and athleticism. Even their bigs either have good size or elite athleticism. That is how their defense and offense thrives. They can take advantage of movement and exploit rotations quickly. Of course great shooting forces aggressive close outs creating even more openings.

C's need more size, shooting and athleticism. Currently it's undersized, can't shoot and only their guards have quickness. They need a complete retool if they want to be the Warriors.

[TheSundanceKid]

TP, very nice post, well thought out. I agree with most of your points. I think the only one I disagree with is Okafor, I still think you can be successful with a guy like him, assuming he can grow enough defensively to be competent. Matchups are still important. If the Cavs had gone up against the Spurs or OKC we could be talking about a very different finals.

You make a very good point about Smart, defensively he is exactly what we need to build. Unfortunately his shooting is negating that at the moment but I'm ever hopeful that he will improve in that regard.

With Sully I've long been a fan of his and I've long said he should come back. I do think that above a certain price we should let him walk though, not sure what that price is yet. There is a need for a player like him on this team but I think you can get someone else to fill the role at a lower price and for a guy that isn't in the core going forward you don't want to commit to too much money

[Donoghus]

A lot of it is personnel.  Golden State really hit that jackpot in that regard. 

This team doesn't play this "new NBA" nearly as well if it doesn't have the ponies.   As Simmons said, you have two of the top 10 greatest shooters of all-time on the same team and both in their absolute primes.  When does that ever happen? 

Stars really aligned here.

[LGC88]

Watching these first two Finals games has really got me thinking about the what the Celtics need to compete for a title. For the record, I wouldn’t count the Cavs out just yet. But it’s not too early to start taking notes if you’re a C’s fan.

First, the Warriors ability to “switch everything” on defense is so much better than the Cavaliers. Ordinarily teams are faced with two choices in the pick and roll: 1) try and maintain the defensive matchups, but risk having your defense fall out of position; or 2) switch defenders, but risk getting caught up in a big one-on-one mismatch.

The way the Warriors are constructed, they can choose option two and not get burned. Klay Thompson caught defending Kevin Love? Fine. Draymond Green finds himself against Kyrie Irving? No big deal. Shaun Livingston switches onto Lebron James? We’ll manage. Essentially the only key player on that team that can’t  guard multiple positions is Steph Curry, and he’s, you know, like, the MVP.

Cleveland is just so much worse at this. Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson can’t defend in space if he gets caught up on a guard. Kyrie Irving or Dellavedova get abused by taller players. Even guys like Iman Shumpert, who’s made a name for his defense, really can’t defend multiple positions.

What can the Celtics learn from this? Here are some scattered thoughts.

-   Marcus Smart is built for this style of defense. Remember him guarding Millsap in round 1? Remember when he guarded Porzingis? He’s the only guy on our roster that can conceivably guard up to four positions. This guy is tailor-made for the new NBA, and is destined to make his mark in the NBA playoffs before his career is through.

-   By contrast, think about Avery Bradley’s style and capabilities. Superb on-the-ball defender, indeed worthy of an all-defense nod, but he’s fairly limited in the types of players he can cover. I’m not saying I’d ditch Bradley, but just keep this in mind.

-   Pure rim protectors are overrated. These days, you can just drag these guys out to the 3-point line and negate what they’re good at. Get them caught defending a little ball handler in the pick and roll and they’re toast. That’s why Timofey Mozgov is so irrelevant right now in the Finals, and Draymond Green is the MVP so far. So stay away from guys like Hasan Whiteside (to take one example) in free agency. Don’t scoff at the idea of drafting Bender, who (I’ve heard) has the tools to be a potential switch-everything defensive beast, nevermind what he might become on offense. And be patient with Mickey, who one day could give you that rare combo of shot blocking, defending in space, and spreading the floor.

-   Bigger, heavier guys will always have a place in the league. The Warriors wouldn’t be where they are now without Andrew Bogut. You need a guy like Sullinger on your team, for instance, at the very least to body up guys like Greg Monroe during the regular season. But don’t overvalue players like this, because they’re unlikely to be one of the top players on a championship team.

-   Lastly… How much is a guy like Jahlil Okafor (whom we tend to love on this site) worth? In the switch-everything, guard-multiple-positions style of NBA defense above, he’s a potential nightmare. A smart coach would be trying to scheme up ways to get these types of great post players back to being relevant, and they might figure it out one day, but for now I just don’t see it. They just don’t have the value they used to.

TP for you, spot on with what is nba nowadays.
Lot of fans should take notes on that post, specially the Okafor lovers.

[cltc5]

I think the Celtics currently reflect this but we don't have the talent yet.  Hopefully it develops or we acquire it, but I couldn't help but watch and notice similarities to what we try to do and to some degree what Sam Antonio has tried to do.  One thing, you need to be locked in on defense which requires fresh legs, and you can't have that one player to rely on all game like the Cavs have to

[chambers]

I think the Cavs are trying to play the Warriors tempo and not their natural style. They were a brilliant three point shooting team this year and that's all but vanished.

The Warriors D is great, but it's their shooting that has changed everything.
Brad Stevens and the Celtics are modern pioneers of switch defense and it's visible with our entire roster.
It's why Danny goes after guys like Crowder, Smart and Winslow.
I agree with you, but I don't think the C's need to take notes defensively.

The Warriors are also lucky that they haven't really been tested by a truly great big man in these finals runs, and Danny Ainge has said numerous times that he believes size is the key to giving them match up problems-as we saw with okc.
Personally I think Okafor is the potential beefy 7 footer with size and skill to give a team like GSW major problems- he's questionable defensively but at age 20 he can still potentially be salvaged with the right (Brad Stevens) guidance.

Just remember that OKC had Klay Thompson hit eleven threes on them and the okc bigs made Green and Bogut look like Tyler Zeller. Small is great when everyone is doing it and you're the best at it because of your shooting, but it's not perfect by any means.

I think GSW has shown us more than anything, the absolutely dominating effect that the three point shot can have with ball movement and crisp passing- as we saw from the Spurs vs Miami a few years ago.

[PhoSita]

Let me put it this way.

I'd much rather have a team as talented as the Warriors or Thunder with pieces that don't fit the current en vogue style of play, as opposed to a team of lesser talents and role players who can perform an imitation of the small ball, switching style.