Coach Ime Udoka says Celtics need to focus more on improving 3-point defense
Days away from the regular-season opener, Ime Udoka said he wants the Celtics to focus on shoring up their 3-point defense.
The Celtics ranked 21st in opposing made 3-pointers, 18th in opposing 3-point attempts and 20th in opposing 3-point percentage during the preseason. Those should all come with asterisks given the number of minutes soaked up by non-rotation players during the exhibition schedule, but Udoka still saw enough to believe his team needs to improve at covering players behind the arc.
“One thing is transition, we’ve got to get better from the preseason and defending the 3-point line, specifically in transition,” Udoka said. “We did some good things, made teams try to beat us from two. We held teams to low assists percentages but we just want to guard the 3-point line a little bit better.”
The Celtics did a lot of switching during the preseason — more than Udoka said he would like to do during games that matter. He wanted to acclimate players to the strategy for whenever they do use it. In certain situations, Udoka thinks Boston has the personnel to excel with that defensive style. But during the preseason, the Celtics weren’t always crisp with their execution. A scan of the tape against Toronto, the last game Boston was moderately healthy, showed several obvious mistakes. The following clips were all taken from the first quarter of that game, when the Celtics were using mostly their main players.
Mistake 1: Robert Williams gives OG Anunoby too much cushion on the switch
错误1Anunoby has made 39 percent and 39.8 percent of his 3-point attempts over the last two seasons, respectively. The Celtics need to be attentive to him, but Williams lays back on the switch and is fortunate Anunoby misses.
If Udoka continues to send Boston’s centers into coverage on the perimeter, they will need to be sharper. Especially for Williams, those assignments will require an adjustment from the strategies he has typically played in the past.
“Obviously I gotta slide my feet way better,” Williams said earlier in the preseason. “But practicing against my teammates, Payton, JB, JT, Dennis, is preparing me to play against guards when I switch. And you just gotta trust your teammates got your back, take away shooters’ tendencies, take away drivers’ tendencies, and know that you got help.”
Mistake 2: Grant Williams commits a similar sin
错误2Just minutes after Robert Williams’s failure to close out properly, Grant Williams loses track of Anunoby in a similar fashion. This time, Anunobody capitalizes on the opportunity.
The Celtics gave up 46 3-point attempts to the Raptors, including 24 in the first half when the two teams were largely playing a regular rotation. Toronto has a lot of outside shooting, but Boston’s coverage left a lot to be desired.
Mistake 3: VanVleet left wide open
错误3In the moments before this video, the Celtics are caught in a defensive scramble after sending two defenders toward Fred VanVleet on the drive. Though not obvious who deserves blame for this mistake, Payton Pritchard and Robert Williams have an apparent miscommunication about who should close out to Scottie Barnes and who should take Fred VanVleet. Pritchard takes Barnes even though that’s not an ideal matchup for him, and Williams is caught looking around for someone else to defend. He closes out late to VanVleet, a career 38.4-percent 3-point shooter, but the Celtics get lucky with the open miss.
Mistake 4: Gary Trent left wide open
错误Trent has shot close to 40 percent from behind the arc for his career. He’s a dangerous threat. Still, the Celtics leave him all alone. Pritchard switches the action. Robert Williams lays back almost 10-feet away from Trent, who walks into an extremely easy chance.
The Celtics had some issues with the switch-everything approach they used at times during the preseason. Udoka said they need to clean up some things within their defense, though he pointed out they won’t always defend that same way. With the regular season coming, he wants the team to implement some new coverages.
“We’ve started to add some more schemes,” Udoka said. “And I really emphasized on that switching everything in the preseason. So we’re starting to add some things New York specific now, but in general we’ve accomplished a lot of goals numbers-wise that we set in the preseason, those four games with mix-and-match lineups.”
Roster down to 14
The race for the Celtics’ 15th roster spot garnered some attention over the last couple of weeks. But for the time being, at least, nobody has won it.
The Celtics waived forward Jabari Parker on Sunday, leaving the team with just 14 players on NBA contracts. Boston could eventually fill the extra roster spot, but some teams opt to leave a place open for flexibility or as a cost-saving maneuver. The Celtics also have an open second two-way contract behind rookie Sam Hauser.
If Brad Stevens does look to fill the 15th NBA roster spot, the list of experienced free agents will include some notable names. Avery Bradley, Dante Exum, Stanley Johnson, Kris Dunn, Jahlil Okafor and D.J. Wilson were all recently waived. Harry Giles, a close friend of Jayson Tatum, was also recently let go by the Clippers. The 6-foot-10 center has played sparingly over his first three NBA seasons, but owns solid career per-36-minute averages of 16.1 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks. Giles, 23, was one of the most highly-regarded prospects in his high school class before experiencing several serious injuries.
Parker’s $2.2 million contract only included $100,000 in guaranteed money, but would have become halfway guaranteed if he had remained on the Celtics roster through the first game of the regular season. He averaged 6.4 points per game over 10 regular-season appearances for Boston last season after signing with the team in April. Though Parker landed a playoff role last season and showed off his knack for scoring throughout his brief stay in Boston, the Celtics gave Grant Williams and Juancho Hernangomez more opportunities early in the preseason to earn the backup power forward minutes.
Coach Ime Udoka says Celtics need to focus more on improving 3-point defense
Days away from the regular-season opener, Ime Udoka said he wants the Celtics to focus on shoring up their 3-point defense.
The Celtics ranked 21st in opposing made 3-pointers, 18th in opposing 3-point attempts and 20th in opposing 3-point percentage during the preseason. Those should all come with asterisks given the number of minutes soaked up by non-rotation players during the exhibition schedule, but Udoka still saw enough to believe his team needs to improve at covering players behind the arc.
“One thing is transition, we’ve got to get better from the preseason and defending the 3-point line, specifically in transition,” Udoka said. “We did some good things, made teams try to beat us from two. We held teams to low assists percentages but we just want to guard the 3-point line a little bit better.”
The Celtics did a lot of switching during the preseason — more than Udoka said he would like to do during games that matter. He wanted to acclimate players to the strategy for whenever they do use it. In certain situations, Udoka thinks Boston has the personnel to excel with that defensive style. But during the preseason, the Celtics weren’t always crisp with their execution. A scan of the tape against Toronto, the last game Boston was moderately healthy, showed several obvious mistakes. The following clips were all taken from the first quarter of that game, when the Celtics were using mostly their main players.
Mistake 1: Robert Williams gives OG Anunoby too much cushion on the switch
错误1Anunoby has made 39 percent and 39.8 percent of his 3-point attempts over the last two seasons, respectively. The Celtics need to be attentive to him, but Williams lays back on the switch and is fortunate Anunoby misses.
If Udoka continues to send Boston’s centers into coverage on the perimeter, they will need to be sharper. Especially for Williams, those assignments will require an adjustment from the strategies he has typically played in the past.
“Obviously I gotta slide my feet way better,” Williams said earlier in the preseason. “But practicing against my teammates, Payton, JB, JT, Dennis, is preparing me to play against guards when I switch. And you just gotta trust your teammates got your back, take away shooters’ tendencies, take away drivers’ tendencies, and know that you got help.”
Mistake 2: Grant Williams commits a similar sin
错误2Just minutes after Robert Williams’s failure to close out properly, Grant Williams loses track of Anunoby in a similar fashion. This time, Anunobody capitalizes on the opportunity.
The Celtics gave up 46 3-point attempts to the Raptors, including 24 in the first half when the two teams were largely playing a regular rotation. Toronto has a lot of outside shooting, but Boston’s coverage left a lot to be desired.
Mistake 3: VanVleet left wide open
错误3In the moments before this video, the Celtics are caught in a defensive scramble after sending two defenders toward Fred VanVleet on the drive. Though not obvious who deserves blame for this mistake, Payton Pritchard and Robert Williams have an apparent miscommunication about who should close out to Scottie Barnes and who should take Fred VanVleet. Pritchard takes Barnes even though that’s not an ideal matchup for him, and Williams is caught looking around for someone else to defend. He closes out late to VanVleet, a career 38.4-percent 3-point shooter, but the Celtics get lucky with the open miss.
Mistake 4: Gary Trent left wide open
错误Trent has shot close to 40 percent from behind the arc for his career. He’s a dangerous threat. Still, the Celtics leave him all alone. Pritchard switches the action. Robert Williams lays back almost 10-feet away from Trent, who walks into an extremely easy chance.
The Celtics had some issues with the switch-everything approach they used at times during the preseason. Udoka said they need to clean up some things within their defense, though he pointed out they won’t always defend that same way. With the regular season coming, he wants the team to implement some new coverages.
“We’ve started to add some more schemes,” Udoka said. “And I really emphasized on that switching everything in the preseason. So we’re starting to add some things New York specific now, but in general we’ve accomplished a lot of goals numbers-wise that we set in the preseason, those four games with mix-and-match lineups.”
Roster down to 14
The race for the Celtics’ 15th roster spot garnered some attention over the last couple of weeks. But for the time being, at least, nobody has won it.
The Celtics waived forward Jabari Parker on Sunday, leaving the team with just 14 players on NBA contracts. Boston could eventually fill the extra roster spot, but some teams opt to leave a place open for flexibility or as a cost-saving maneuver. The Celtics also have an open second two-way contract behind rookie Sam Hauser.
If Brad Stevens does look to fill the 15th NBA roster spot, the list of experienced free agents will include some notable names. Avery Bradley, Dante Exum, Stanley Johnson, Kris Dunn, Jahlil Okafor and D.J. Wilson were all recently waived. Harry Giles, a close friend of Jayson Tatum, was also recently let go by the Clippers. The 6-foot-10 center has played sparingly over his first three NBA seasons, but owns solid career per-36-minute averages of 16.1 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks. Giles, 23, was one of the most highly-regarded prospects in his high school class before experiencing several serious injuries.
Parker’s $2.2 million contract only included $100,000 in guaranteed money, but would have become halfway guaranteed if he had remained on the Celtics roster through the first game of the regular season. He averaged 6.4 points per game over 10 regular-season appearances for Boston last season after signing with the team in April. Though Parker landed a playoff role last season and showed off his knack for scoring throughout his brief stay in Boston, the Celtics gave Grant Williams and Juancho Hernangomez more opportunities early in the preseason to earn the backup power forward minutes.
