Over the past week or so, I’ve written two (2) articles about how the Boston Celtics have managed to put themselves in a position to win basketball games by controlling the margins. Leading into their 113-99 win over the Brooklyn Nets, Boston attempted the second-most shots per game and allowed the fewest.
They were also the NBA’s most careful team, averaging just 11 turnovers per outing.
“It’s because we don’t turn the ball over on the offensive end and we force turnovers on the other end,” Joe Mazzulla told Hardwood Houdini last week of his team’s ability to compete despite their inefficient shooting. “We’re winning the shot margin on an expected basis.”
That is not how they left Barclays Center with a win on Tuesday.
Boston turned the ball over a season high 19 times against Brooklyn, which the Nets turned into 21 points. The giveaways also resulted in the Celtics losing the shot margin for the first time since Oct. 24 against the New York Knicks.
I guess it’s only something they do in New York.
Yet, they got away with it and still won this game, unlike their earlier trip to Madison Square Garden.
Here's how the Celtics still won
Ironically, they did so by putting together a hyper-efficient shooting night, making 49.2% of their attempts from the floor and 45.2% from beyond the arc. Shooting efficiency has evaded the Celtics for the majority of the season.
This game, however, marked their third straight shooting above the 40% mark from long range. An uptick in outside shooting would be a welcome circumstance for sure.
Shooting was a big reason for Boston’s victory, but it wasn’t the only reason. Frankly, it’d be pretty unfair to write about this game without addressing the 2-12 elephant in the room -- the Nets.
Brooklyn have established themselves as the East’s best worst team, with their lone wins coming against the putrid Indiana Pacers and woeful Washington Wizards. The final score of Tuesday’s game was within range of pregame expectations, but the path to it was not, thanks to the Celtics’ spirit of giving.
Nonetheless, the Cs put the Nets in a penitentiary in the fourth quarter, allowing just 14 points in the final 12 minutes. Brooklyn actually had more turnovers (7) than made shots (4) in the final frame.
It was a clear “sitting up in the chair” moment for Boston.
“I thought the difference in the game was that the second-half defense and our offensive execution [improved],” Mazzulla explained. “You take a look at it, and it’s a tale of two halves, and really how the game’s connected. They had 25 points in transition and we had 12 first half turnovers… we only had eight turnovers in the second half and we were able to limit them in transition.”
Sam Hauser, Derrick White, and Jaylen Brown simply found a way to get Boston across the finish line. The three were relentless in making winning plays down the stretch to ensure the Cs got the W.
More than anything, what’s going to eventually look like a meaningless November win in Brooklyn against a bad Nets team served as a reminder that the Celtics still have enough championship DNA to win ugly.