Boston Celtics: 3 key adjustments that led to Game 1 win vs. Warriors

Boston Celtics adjustment No. 2: Putting Marcus Smart on Draymond Green

Coming into the series, everyone thought Marcus Smart would be attached to Steph Curry at the hip, not letting him get open looks from his off-ball movement. Smart is one of the best players in the league at navigating screens, making it an ideal matchup for Boston.

While he spent most of the first half doing that, the inclusion of Derrick White caused coach Udoka to tinker with the defensive matchups. With Smart and White playing together in some of Boston’s best lineups, he opted to place the DPOY on Draymond Green, and have the former Spur chase around Steph.

White is just as good at navigating screens as Smart is, and can even hold his own on a switch. Curry beat him in isolation on a nice up-and-under move late in the fourth quarter, but besides that, the two-time MVP had trouble finding any open looks after his historic first quarter.

By placing Smart on Green, when the Warriors wanted to involve Curry and Green in any sort of screening action, Smart could easily switch onto Curry. Golden State gained no advantage off of screens when White and Smart were the defenders in the action, causing them to try to involve Wiggins and Looney more. However, Green is by far the best playmaker of that bunch, making it beneficial to keep him out of the main ball screen.

Additionally, when Green is not in the action, Smart can easily help off of him on drives in the lane, as the Celtics aren’t scared of his shooting ability. This defensive transition is made possible due to White’s defensive prowess in his own right, as Brad Stevens’ trade deadline acquisition is lining up to be one of the best in franchise history.