Boston Celtics: 3 keys to victory over the Houston Rockets

Attack the rim

Despite the successes that Houston’s small-ball lineup has found over the past 11 games, it is certainly not a unit void of flaws. Being that the tallest person in the starting lineup (Robert Covington) is 7-8 and their “technical” center (PJ Tucker) is 6-5, one could probably guess what one of the team’s biggest struggles are: protecting the paint.

Over their11 game stretch, the team is allowing 53.8 points to come in the paint per game (fifth worst ranking in the NBA) and are allowing a conversation rate 63.9 percent on 34.5 attempts per game from within five-feet of the rim.

Often times, when playing a team like Houston, opponents like to try and beat them at their own game — fight fire with fire, if you will. With the fact that Houston runs such a small unit — especially down low — attacking the rim with their length could prove to be quite successful.

Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward have all shown the capability of excelling when churning strong to the rim. Couple this with the way Daniel Theis has been performing of late — 16.8 points on 57 percent shooting since coming back from the All-Star break — and you have all the more reason to challenge the Houston Rockets’ interior defense.