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

Boston Celtics adjustment No. 3: Sticking with what works

In the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter, the Celtics only made one substitution: Al Horford for Robert Williams. At that point, the Cs were down by four (97-101). They went on a 20-2 run from that point on, with an unlikely unit carrying the load.

A backcourt of Payton Pritchard and Derrick White was on the court in the most important minutes of the game, along with Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Williams/Horford. Instead of forcing Marcus Smart back into the game, Udoka rode with the guys who led Boston’s comeback, not trying to mess anything up.

On defense, the Warriors were trying to attack Pritchard, with some post-ups and isolation plays, but he was holding his own. Klay Thompson hit one 3-pointer over him, but it was a difficult enough shot that not many could contest.

On offense is where Boston made their money. Hitting their first seven 3-pointers of the period, Boston went to a five-out look, with White and Horford turning into the two best shooters on the team. Jaylen Brown was continually beating his matchup in one-on-one situations, forcing help at the rim, which in turn led to alley-oops or open threes.

Boston’s pure execution in the fourth was masterful and was a product of Udoka sticking with successful units. Going small helped them on both ends of the court, and having five above-average shooters on the other end goes a long way. Smart ended up playing only 30 minutes because of this, while White and Pritchard played 32 and 16, respectively.

Look for that lineup to make another appearance later on in this series.