The Boston Celtics returned home to TD Garden on Thursday night for an NBA Finals rematch against the Dallas Mavericks. Though, this version of the Mavs looks very different from the one that was in Boston last year. Luka Doncic is gone, Anthony Davis is wearing blue (though he wasn’t active), and the supporting cast is different, too—led by Klay Thompson.
In his first NBA season away from the Golden State Warriors, Thompson has had a solid year with the Mavs. Playing off of Doncic and Kyrie Irving proved to be a solid situation for him, though now Doncic is no longer a part of the equation. He’s been playing very well.
And it only took him one half on Thursday to expose a huge Celtics problem.
The Celtics let Klay Thompson get hot before adjusting, and that has been a consistent problem this year
Thompson was on fire in the first half of the game on Thursday night. He burned the Celtics in a million different ways, torching everyone from Sam Hauser to Payton Pritchard along the way. (Hauser got the worst of it, so Boston had to switch their defensive coverages.)
He was draining threes, which is normal for him, but he was also creating off the dribble. Thompson found success in the mid-range and driving to the hoop.
In the process, he exposed the Celtics for their wildly inconsistent defensive efforts, which has been a problem for them at multiple points throughout the season. And it largely stems from a lack of adjustments.
For whatever reason, despite being one of the top-ranked defenses in the NBA, the Celtics have gone through stretches where they fail to adjust to what’s happening in front of them.
Against the Houston Rockets, when Dillon Brooks had a historic night from three, the Celtics failed to adjust to his amazing game. On Christmas against the Philadelphia 76ers, Caleb Martin got hot, and they did nothing about it. By the time they did, it was too late.
And that’s the real problem that Thompson exposed in the first half on Thursday.
Boston likes to give some guys certain space while prioritizing guarding other players. That’s not exactly what happened with Thompson, but the fact that they didn’t adjust quickly allowed Thompson to get hot. And that’s a trend that’s been happening all year.
Boston lets certain guys—Brooks, Martin, Trey Murphy III, and others—get hot before adjusting. And by the time they do, it’s too late. That’s what happened with Thompson and the Mavs.