Boston Celtics Need Balance on Offense

The Boston Celtics need balance to be at their best on offense

The Boston Celtics played one of the best games of the season against the San Antonio Spurs, and unfortunately fell short. The Celtics gave themselves a great chance, and rode some great individual scoring to get an opportunity to send it to overtime. If it wasn’t for more late game heroics from Manu Ginobili, the Celtics probably would not have needed overtime.

On the surface, it looks like the Celtics have a solid offensive game. They put up over 100 on the second best defense in the league, and saw Kyrie Irving creating as well as he has done all season long. Jayson Tatum was as reliable as ever, and they got a great boost form Terry Rozier off the bench.

The Celtics got enough from their individuals on offense to win most games, but the Spurs reminded them of what they need to do to be at least best, in order to beat the best teams in the league.

Outside of those three, the Celtics were a bit of a disaster. Jaylen Brown had a strong third quarter, but that is the end of positive contributions. The Celtics did not get enough players involved, and the ball movement was non existent.

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Al Horford had one of the worst games of his season, and it is no surprise that the offense did not function properly without him facilitating everything. The Celtics did not have a single player get more than three assists, and the entire starting lineup combined for six.

Anything that went well for the Celtics on offense was because of individual play. They got the performances to make sure they game was close, and Irving got the look he wanted for overtime. That being said, this game reveals how much better they can be on offense, if everyone is contributing.

The Celtics are never going to be worried about their top scorers, but they always put themselves in a better position when they are balanced. It is not just about the ball movement, but that is where it starts. The Celtics need to be getting the easy looks for as many players, and they need to be getting more players involved.

It can be a lot of fun to see Irving go out there and take on an entire team by himself, scoring each and every time he needs to. The problem is that will only take the Celtics so far. It will always be difficult on them if they are just looking to that individual scoring, and that leaves them open to results like they got against the Spurs.

The Celtics have been phenomenal in the clutch, but not every single shot is going to fall for them. It will happen again when things do not go their way during those last plays, and the focus needs to be making sure they are not in a position to lose like that late in a game.

Against the Spurs, that is a lot easier said than done. Normally, you will be happy with a chance to win late against the Spurs like the Celtics did. That being said, we were also able to see the kind of separation the Celtics could get if the entire team is involved on offense.

The Celtics once again saw their three point percentage dip below 30 percent against the Spurs, and no individual is going to be able to carry that. Both Irving and Tatum shot phenomenally from thee, but the rest of the team was a disaster. No matter how much damage Irving and Tatum can do as individuals, the offense still needs the rest of the team to get involved.

The Celtics have capable shooters all over their lineup, but the majority of them need the space to be created for them. The Celtics did not move the ball as well, and that was not a problem when Irving was able to create. The problem was that the Celtics did not do enough to get the other involved, to give Irving that help he needs to carry the offense over the top.

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The Celtics are still a work in progress on offense, and their performance against the Spurs was a great reminder of how much individual talent they have, and how much more room they have to improve on that end.

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