Celtics' huge changes have completely flipped team on its head

The Boston Celtics did more than just restructure their entire roster this summer—they restricted their entire playbook. Joe Mazzulla completely altered everything the Celtics have been known for in each of the past two seasons, implementing new schemes on offense and defense. And the results have spoken for themselves.

Offensively, this has meant Boston running more plays with layers, rather than just diving into a simple pick-and-roll and making a read out of it. This has helped 

“I think there's a little bit more continuity to it,” said Joe Mazzulla. “I wouldn't necessarily say sets as [much as that] there are [just] deeper levels to the concepts that we have. There's a multiple-action layer to the concepts that we have to generate different kinds of advantages. And I think it's gone well for our guys when we make those reads. 

“And we have moments of the game where it's really good, and then there are moments where we're still kind of missing the read, and that kind of messes up the timing of it. But yeah, I would say just deeper levels to the concepts that we have and a little bit more of a controlled attack at times.”

Celtics running underrated plays fans need to notice

As for the defense, the Celtics have been sprinting around, causing havoc, rather than sitting in place and trusting one-on-one defenders. There’s a much bigger emphasis on help.

“That's kind of the philosophy. Just help as much as you can,” said Jordan Walsh. “Nothing's really your fault unless you're not helping somebody else.”

With the new personnel in place, Mazzulla had two choices: Force the old style onto Boston’s updated core, or change the team's style entirely. He chose the latter, and it’s worked wonders.

Screen-the-screener actions have freed up Neemias Queta for easy lobs at the rim. Or they’ve allowed drivers to kick to the corner if the opposing team sends help to the paint.

Jaylen Brown’s dominance has forced other teams to send multiple bodies to him on drives, which has opened up a ton of space for other Celtics to get open threes.

Individual defensive efforts of Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman, and others have highlighted the team’s new scheme on that side of the ball, all with Queta holding down the fort in the paint.

Every single plan Mazzulla has put in place this season has helped the Celtics be greater than the sum of their parts. That’s exactly why they are where they are today.