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MILWAUKEE – The Celtics just dropped two games in Milwaukee and are now tied at 2-2 in their first-round series with the Bucks. But amid a dramatic second-half comeback bid during Sunday’s Game 4, they may have unlocked two adjustments that could better position them to win the series in the long haul.
That’s called a silver lining.
Boston fell behind by as many as 20 points Sunday afternoon before storming back during the second half to take a lead during the final minute. Giannis Antetokounmpo spoiled the comeback attempt with a game-winning tip-in with 5.1 seconds remaining, which gave Milwaukee a 104-102 win.
The Bucks exited Game 4 with a long exhale knowing that they held on to tie the series up. The Celtics, meanwhile, flew back to Boston knowing that they located their mojo during the second half.
Much of their mojo disappeared over the last three days in Milwaukee thanks to the presence of Thon Maker and Matthew Dellavedova, two underappreciated members of the Bucks’ bench. Those two players made a significant impact on Games 3 and 4, to say the least. Their activity levels were contagious to their teammates.
While Maker and Dellavedova were on the floor during the first three halves of Games 3 and 4, Milwaukee outscored Boston by 43 points and 30 points, respectively.
“The one thing about it is those guys bring that effort, energy and intensity to a game,” Bucks head coach Joe Prunty said of Maker and Dellavedova.
Boston has taken notice, and, during the second half, it made two adjustments that minimized the impact of their effort, energy and intensity.
With 8:17 remaining in the third quarter, prior to a free throw by Terry Rozier, Brad Stevens was walking away from midcourt and back toward Boston’s bench when he heard Milwaukee making a substitution. He glanced back over his right shoulder to find that Maker was checking in. Stevens immediately walked down Boston’s bench and called for Semi Ojeleye, who did not play a second during the first half.
Stevens had clearly made a decision at halftime that Ojeleye would be his counter to Maker. This move was less about size – Maker is 7-foot-1 while Ojeleye is 6-foot-7 – and more about one thing Ojeleye brings to the table: “Switchability,” as Stevens stated after the game.
With the agile Ojeleye playing power forward alongside Al Horford, Boston’s defense was more versatile. The C’s could switch and hedge-and-recover, with no fear of a major mismatch, on every pick-and-roll in which Antetokounmpo was involved. This was particularly important in the 4-5 pick-and-rolls, as showcased below.
The results were staggering.
Boston outscored Milwaukee by 16 points during the second half while Maker was on the court. Ojeleye tallied only two points and one rebound, but his athletic presence at both ends of the floor altered the game and keyed Boston’s comeback.
Another adjustment aided Boston’s run as well. This one was a bit more accidental, but similarly effective.
Dellavedova applied full-court pressure on every defensive possession he played during Games 3 and 4. That pressure didn’t necessarily lead to loads of turnovers by the C’s, but it consistently ate away at their shot clock and took their offense out of rhythm. His pressure also fed energy into his teammates; when they saw him playing with so much effort, they wanted to play with similar effort. And that they did, which threw massive kinks into Boston’s offense.
Late in the second quarter, a defensive rebound by Horford led to a quasi-transition possession for Boston, and Horford was the man who took the ball up the court and initiated the offense. Horford’s defender, Antetokounmpo, sagged off and did not apply any backcourt pressure.
The Celtics went on to run through a smooth offensive set, which led to a 3-pointer by Jaylen Brown, and that got us thinking:
Boston must have recognized this effect in some form.
During the second half, while Dellavedova was on the floor, Horford brought the ball up the court three more times to initiate the Celtics offense. During all three of those possessions, Boston found high-quality looks at the basket: one dunk by Horford, one layup by Brown, and one errant, wide-open 3 by Rozier.
Horford and Stevens stated after the game that those plays were not called specifically to negate Dellavedova’s impact and contagious energy, but the results were undeniable. Boston ran great offensive actions – which were few and far between during the first half – and outscored Milwaukee by six points while Dellavedova was on the floor during the second half. Those facts certainly contributed to Prunty playing Dellavedova for only five minutes and 47 seconds during the final two quarters.
Horford running the point, and Ojeleye mirroring many of Maker’s minutes, were two subtle adjustments that led to drastic improvement by Boston. The Celtics may have dropped two games in Milwaukee, but after struggling for the first three halves of Games 3 and 4, they seemingly have found the antidotes to Milwaukee’s two game-changing reserves.