Boston Celtics Proving No Individual Can Stop Them
The Boston Celtics are proving that their team play will withstand any individual performance
The Boston Celtics captured another victory against the Milwaukee Bucks, extending their league lead in wins. It is also looking like the Celtics worked through a lot of their issues during their crazy streak. They are not making it as difficult on themselves to get these wins, and they are withstanding better performances.
One thing that has always defined Brad Stevens’ tenure with the Celtics is playing as a team. The Celtics might have more isolation and individual talent in how they play this season, but they always get to their best as a unit.
There are plenty of times when Kyrie Irving takes over on offense, but we have seen the Celtics do a lot of damage with him off the ball, and even on the bench.
On defense, everything is about what they do as a unit. They have great perimeter on ball defenders, but they still find ways to use their length to help off ball. They have all kinds of versatility in their front court, and then need all the pieces to come together to work properly.
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The Celtics use the length of their wings to make up for the size and rebounding problems, and they have bigs that can switch in any situation. Marcus Smart is the quarterback out there making sure everyone is in the same place, and they have used all these pieces to maintain the best defense in the NBA.
The Celtics always want to have their success as a team, and when they are playing this well, that means that there is no individual performance that can stop them. The Celtics understand that sometimes there will be a player or a matchup that runs wild, and causes a lot of damage. The Celtics are proving that those individual performances are never going to be enough to beat them.
Just in the last two games, the Celtics have seen Devin Booker showcase all his ability, scoring 38 points. Giannis Antetokounmpo followed that up with 40 of his own against the Celtics. While the Suns are more used to losing when Booker goes crazy, the Bucks expect to win when Antetokounmpo is at his best.
The Celtics made it clear, however, that is takes more than your best player being at their best to beat them, and that could give them an opportunity to subvert the expectation that the team with the best player on the court is usually going to be on the winning side.
The Celtics do not think about having the best individual player, even if they often do, because everyone has shown a willingness to buy into what the team wants to do, and have no problem letting that one player run wild, knowing that it will hurt their overall team performance.
There are a lot of players who can take matters into their own hands in the NBA, but the Celtics are proving that if you take that approach, you are not going to be able to win.
The Celtics do not need the leading scorer, because their ball movement and balance is getting production from every player on the court. The Celtics almost never have the leading rebounder, because they get that edge from their wings and guards, rather than their bigs. And they do not need to have the assist leader, because they do not have one individual who instigates all the offense.
Stevens always deserves the credit here, because all it takes is that one individual seeing an opponent go wild to think that they need to be the one to make up for it. Right now, the Celtics are not descending into that kind of play. There was a time when Irving had to bail them out a lot more, but now that the balance is coming it is not needed nearly as much.
Stevens also deserves credit for putting in the systems and game plans he does. He is able to recognize when there are individuals that you just cannot stop, but he always finds an option to compensate. He always give his players an opportunity to work together in a way that will neutralize anything any individual might be able to do.
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We can clearly see that the Celtics are still transitioning, and it is all good right now. Things are coming together on offense the way most expected at the beginning of the season, and that is turning them into one of the most balanced power houses in the NBA.