The Boston Celtics Need a balanced approach to take down the Minnesota Timberwolves
The Boston Celtics are coming off their most impressive overall victory of the season, and it was not because of any individual talent. Every single player that got on the court contributed in a great way, and the bench played in a way that should terrify the league.
Against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Celtics need the exact same approach. We have seen individual talent shine in games the Celtics struggle overall, and the Timberwolves have the individual talent that can hang with anyone in the league.
Jimmy Butler is leading the way, Karl-Anthony Towns might be the most difficult big in the league to slow down, and we are just waiting for Andrew Wiggins to really break out. The Celtics certainly have their own talent to win these individual battles, but that will make this game as difficult as possible.
Al Horford and Marcus Smart should both be defensive player of the year candidates, and there might not be better options for Towns and Butler right now. Horford has the versatility to disrupt Towns anywhere he wants to go, and Smart has the strength to push Butler out as a shooter, where he will be the most limited. And, right now, Jaylen Brown is playing better than Wiggins on both ends, and could easily dominate that matchup.
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Throw in Kyrie Irving matching anything anyone can do on offense and that certainly gives the Celtics more than enough top talent to break down the Timberwolves. As great as it sounds, however, the Celtics have struggled far too many times and have thrown away too many games because of that tendency to rely on their talent to pull them out in the end.
The Celtics went on too long of a stretch where they expected far too difficult things from their raw talent, and we just saw what happens when they find that balance that gets everyone involved. Teams have no way of responding to Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart dominating with their scoring, on top of having to account for that top talent. The Celtics now know they do not need any individual player to dominate to crush the team that they are playing.
The problem is that the Celtics cannot depend on the secondary players being as effective, but they have more than enough options to find something that is working. We saw what a difference getting the extra rest and practice time made for the Celtics, and the biggest beneficiary might have been Brad Stevens. He had an opportunity to implement adjustments with the time to evaluate exactly what happened during that deadly stretch.
The Celtics found every edge they could against the Cavaliers, and they will have even more options against the Timberwolves. It may not be the exact same players, but if the Celtics establish balance they will function at their highest, and they have not been losing games when they play like that this season.
Next: Getting to know Jaylen Brown
The Timberwolves are playing great basketball and have their sights set on one of those top seeds in the West. They are figuring things out just as the Celtics are figuring things out, so this could be one of the more difficult games of the season for Boston. One thing the Celtics still need to establish is real consistency in how they play. They played a complete game against the Cavaliers, rather than having so many ups and down and crazy comebacks. If the Celtics find balance, they should be able get that consistency on the court. The Wolves have been good, but not good enough to handle a complete game like the Celtics had against the Cavaliers.