Celtics' big playoff secret weapon is still flying under the radar against 76ers

It’s easy to point to the three-point math as a staple of the Celtics, and a defining measure of their successes and failures, but there’s a lot more going on. Yes, of course, the threes are a huge part of the equation, but it’s not just about taking and making a lot; if it were that simple, every team would do it.

The key to the Celtics’ success is how they generate those threes, and how they compromise defenses and eventually break their will. And the best way they can do it is with their relentless pursuit of offensive rebounds.

All year long, Boston has been an elite offensive rebounding team, and the 76ers have been a poor defensive rebounding team. We knew it would be an edge for the Cs, and in Game 4, they massively leaned into it. Overall, the Celtics won the rebounding battle, 63-40, which included a 14-6 advantage on the offensive end.

Crashing the glass and generating extra possessions leads to kick-outs and open looks against a defense that’s already scrambling and in rotation. That’s where a lot of the best shots come from, and the Celtics’ 18 second-chance points were a huge part of the victory.

Offensive rebounds are backbreakers for an opponent

The benefit of the O-boards goes way beyond the box score, also. It forces the opponent to stay back instead of getting out in transition, it causes mismatches when the defense has to reset, and every bonus possession feels crushing to the other team.

It’s hard enough to defend the Celtics for 24 seconds and to force a miss. To see them come up with the ball, kick it out, and start running that offense again is completely demoralizing. The Boston role players have become weapons when it comes to crashing the glass, and you can see the likes of Baylor Scheierman, Jordan Walsh, Sam Hauser, and others come flying in when shots go up.

You’d think teams would have caught on by now, but they still seem surprised when the Celtics aren’t racing back on defense, and are instead collapsing to the rim. Over the course of a game, it really wears on teams, forcing them to work that much harder and longer. A lot of the early offensive boards may not have led directly to baskets, but the extra mileage it put on the Sixers showed through in the second half when they looked exhausted, and the Cs were in a rhythm, lighting them up for 72 points after recess.

The shooters were able to get warm, and when you give the Celtics that many chances, they are eventually going to take advantage. The three-point math game is a simple one, but it’s not factoring in the biggest variable of how the Celtics are able to get all those shots in the first place.

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