Analyzing tactical changes Boston Celtics have made under Ime Udoka as compared to last year
We're four games into the new Boston Celtics season, where head coach Ime Udoka and his coaching staff have implemented a plethora of new ideas for both the offense and defense. Falling to two losses in their opening two games, followed by back-to-back victories, we've already seen this team's complete floor and their potential as a competitive unit.
Of course, adjustments are fluid, and what has been implemented is subject to change as the season continues. Players get injured or banged up, opposition scouting reports become more substantive, and new wrinkles are born out of sheer luck.
However, with only the opening four games to go on, let's look at some of the significant adjustments Ime Udoka has implemented to start the season.
Boston Celtics switch-everything defense
Most coaches have a switching scheme in their playbooks, and many of them utilize some form of that scheme on a daily basis. Ime Udoka has gone one step further and has his team switching (and pre-switching) everything.
Switch defense is often considered one of the best methods for nullifying an offense's advantage in the pick-and-roll while also ensuring a defense can hunt or remove a mismatch. The Boston Celtics have decided to take this a step further and have begun working on a switching scheme that pits their big men against shooters on the perimeter while asking their guards to operate in a veer-back role.
If you've been listening to any of my podcasts in the last week or so, one concept you might have heard me talking about is the "veer-back."
Where a big switches onto the perimeter and the guard switches onto the roll-man. Here's a good example https://t.co/ICyQTjQ8Md
There are two reasons for positioning your bigs on three-point shooters. First of all, it acts as a three-point deterrent when you have Robert Williams and Al Horford. Both are capable of blocking jump shots and guarding you on the perimeter. Secondly, it allows your wings to focus on pinching in, limiting drive and kick opportunities, and making finding the roll man difficult.
Unfortunately, switch defense can be easily exploited. A well-timed slip-screen will have a rolling big man in the oceans of space, while dribbling hand-off actions can cause confusion amongst defenders. There's also the power of off-ball screening and how a switching defense can fall a step behind if they're not communicative on every possession. Teams have been taking advantage of the Boston Celtics in recent games as they figure out the finer nuances of their new system.
Oh, can we please stop soft-switching? Awesome.
Boston Celtics relying on more motion offense
Gone are the days of high pick-and-roll and isolation-heavy offense, and in comes a new motion-based scheme aimed at putting everybody in their preferred spots.
This being the most significant portion of the Celtics offense is important, as it signifies a larger rate of ball movement and motion offense. Sure there are still kick-outs from isolation and pick-and-roll plays, but the ball is moving much more to start the year twitter.com/AdamTaylorNBA/…
Udoka has multiple years of coaching experience as an assistant, with most of it coming from the Greg Popovich coaching tree. As such, we're seeing some solid variations of traditional San Antonio Spurs plays. From hammer screens, to "strong," with a plethora of screening actions and some plays from the "wide" series.
The Celtics opened the first and third quarter with variations of this stagger (strong) set. For this set, the final Williams screen gets Schroder a mismatch with Plumlee which the Celtics exploit. https://t.co/Uo5tOj7wFu
The Boston Celtics offense hasn't clicked the way Udoka would have liked, but there are certainly signs of progression, especially from their stars. Against the Charlotte Hornets, tatum" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for a total of 71 points, while Dennis Schroder dropped a casual 23 points.
We're seeing Tatum diversify his offensive shot chart, ducking-in to post-up position, operating on the elbows, and obviously attacking guys off the dribble or off the catch. Brown has been more judicial with his drives, using them to set up swing passes or to guide defenders to a screen before exploding to the rim.
Grant Williams has discovered his three-point shot thanks to the off-ball movement creating viable scoring pockets for him. Frankly, Udoka has simplified yet radicalized the offensive outlook for the Boston Celtics.
Boston Celtics two big lineup
Ok, ok, Brad Stevens also ran a two big lineup for the Boston Celtics last season, and in fairness didn't have the talent level at his disposal that Udoka does now. Stevens was forced to run Tristan Thompson and Daniel Theis together at the four and five. However, Udoka was fortunate to use Al Horford and Robert Williams in the same positions - a big difference.
Ime Udoka has implemented an unstoppable horns set where Williams operates as the roll man while Horford fills the role of a "popper," making their offense difficult to predict and contain. Running a versatile double big line-up when paired with their switching system has made the Boston Celtics a difficult prospect to guard and break down. It has also ensured vital spacing for Brown and Tatum to operate on the wings.
Juancho Hernangomez, Grant Williams, and Jabari Parker are also in the rotation. This means the Boston Celtics can continue to run these big front-court line-ups even when the starters go to the bench.
Overall
Overall, Udoka has created a new system for both the offense and defense, which will take time to bare fruit. However, in the early games there have been glimpses of development both as a team and individually. We won't know the scope of Udoka's initial success with his schematic changes for another few months. Currently there's a lot to like, and undoubtedly more to come for the Boston Celtics.