10 takeaways from the Celtics figuring things out in Florida

#1 – Al Horford, the winner

He is the oldest man on the court, but he might also be the biggest winner. Al Horford recorded five blocks last night, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

His impact on defense was tremendous. He was able to deal with the two young stars, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, but was also very important in the help position. His ability to both defend ball-handlers and be a disruptive rim protector, still at 38 years old, is just amazing.

He is taking this series very seriously, protecting his teammates at all costs since Game 1 when KCP took down Jayson Tatum. Last night again, he stepped up and calmed down Wendell Carter Jr. after a hard foul.

The offensive rebound he grabbed late in the fourth might be the most impressive offensive play, but his connecting ability and capacity to stretch the floor were also crucial for the Celtics’ win. Like Joe Mazzulla said, there should be a boxscore for the things Al Horford does so we could all appreciate it.

#2 – Getting Porzingis to the rim

The Celtics’ big man has been struggling to shoot from three and to convert from the post-up. So, instead of insisting, the Celtics adapted the way they use him on offense. While he is a great shooter for his size, he can also play as a typical rim runner. His screens are good enough, and his shooting threat makes defenses think twice about their coverage.

Because he stretches the floor so well, he can also be used as a cutter from the weak side. The Magic alternate their defensive coverage from switching to doubling on the ball. When that happens, he gives space in the short-roll zone around the free-throw line. Al Horford is very good in that situation. Because of Porzingis’ height, he is an easy target on such actions from the short-roll.

And when all these dunks and layups pile up, the confidence is back and the shots start falling again. Glad to see the big man feeling himself.

#3 – Jayson Tatum making the superstar shots

The Magic defenders are taking away the three-pointers and making it hard to get to the rim. What’s left? The two-pointers, the post-ups, and the mismatch hunting. Good news: the Celtics’ go-to guy can handle all of that. To start the game, the offense wasn’t going anywhere, so Jayson Tatum took his responsibility and scored 10 points in the first quarter.

The Magic defense is confident and won’t send help. They are forcing the Celtics to do what they usually don’t. In a regular game, the team would start to send help on the post-up and isolation from Jayson Tatum, but not the Magic. So, Tatum had to do what he loves: play one-on-one basketball and take superstar shots.

What worked well to start the game also saved the Celtics from another disappointment at the end, with a first post-up move over the former Duke player.

A little bit later, he was able to draw a foul from three. He shot nine free throws during the fourth and scored or assisted 18 of the Celtics’ 18 points. A dominant performance from the Celtics’ go-to guy in a much-needed win on the road.

#4 – Fighting for the margin

Every possession seems to be a new battle for the Celtics against this Magic team. This causes a lot of tough shots, and the shooting efficiency has never been this low. Boston’s eFG% dropped from 56% in the regular season down to a little higher than 50% against the Magic in the postseason. Nonetheless, more misses give more opportunities for offensive rebounds.

At the end of the game, when it still felt like it could go both ways, two offensive rebounds helped save the day. First, it was the ultimate winner, Al Horford, who fought and won his battle against Franz Wagner below the basket. This much-needed offensive rebound was turned into two points by Derrick White.

Then, here comes Payton Pritchard, who was once again able to go above his matchup and get the much-needed offensive rebound to extend a clutch possession. On the other end, the Celtics did their best to limit the Magic’s offensive rebound surge, which helped them win in Game 3. Joe Mazzulla repeated during the press conference after the game how much they “held them to one shot.”

Once again, the margin mattered, and the Celtics fought hard for it.

#5 – Only two turnovers in the last 24 minutes

Finally, after three and a half games, the Celtics were back to being the best at taking care of the ball. They were able to limit the Magic defense to only two forced turnovers. But, it also says a lot about the offense that the Celtics were running.

Most of the made buckets and fouls drawn were from isolation and post-up. The ball didn’t move a lot, with only five assists in the last 24 minutes. But that’s what the Celtics can do. The level of talent is so high that, instead of taking too much risk with ball movement, the Celtics were able to beat the Magic players one-vs-one.

This isn’t pretty basketball, but it works, and that is what the Playoffs are all about. Nonetheless, Joe Mazzulla and his coaching staff gave us a couple of nice play-calls during that second half.

#6 – Nice play-call off the TO

These two play-calls were built around Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, and Kristaps Porzingis. The first one that stood out resulted in a three-pointer for D-White. He first started with the ball in his hands, then gave it to Tatum at the slot. After that, he ran to the paint to set a cross-screen for Porzingis.

But that’s a bait. The real threat is after Payton Pritchard sets a screen for White — a pindown screen so the guard can run back to the three-point line and find himself open. Beautiful call by the coaching staff.

A little bit later in the fourth, after a timeout, the Celtics ran another nice play, this time for Porzingis. At first, it looks like a classic handoff action at the top for Tatum and Porzingis, but once the Latvian big man gave the ball away, he ran to the paint using White’s back screen on his matchup. That set him free at the rim and gave him enough time to miss the first attempt and make the putback.

In a second half where the offense was stuck in an isolation circle, these two plays gave the Celtics some ball movement and created five decisive points.

#7 – Boston pushing the pace

Despite not moving the ball a lot, the Celtics pushed the pace in the second quarter. Often, after a make or a miss, you could notice how quickly the Celtics were trying to get into action.

The ferocious defense from the approach is less likely to be prepared in transition or semi-transition, so the Celtics played as fast as possible.

From defensive rebound transition, the Celtics scored on an impressive 1.55 points per possession efficiency, which gave them the boost they needed to get over the hump. Plus, playing fast can make the defense make mistakes — and the Magic did quite a lot.

#8 – Making them pay for fouling

Indeed, the Magic’s overly aggressive defense is starting to turn against them and might be the reason they lost last night. The Celtics shot more at the free-throw line than beyond the three-point line, very unusual.

Because of their aggressiveness, the Magic made the Celtics be in the bonus way too often, and way too early in the fourth. This encouraged Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to look for fouls, which they did. We noticed in the preview that free throws could be a turning point. Well, it was the case last night for the Celtics.

#9 – Again a zone to end a quarter

In my latest on Porzingis’ defensive struggles, I was suggesting the Celtics could go back to a zone defense sometimes to disrupt the offensive flow, and they did so. An example below where they started in a 2-3 zone.

What is very important for a zone defense is its ability to adapt to the matchup and turn into an individual defense later in the possession when needed. The Clippers are doing that very well, for example. Therefore, depending on the flexibility and adaptability of the players on the court, it’s either better to stay in a zone or to turn into a matchup defense.

The Celtics started the possession well but got caught by a baseline cut from Caleb Houstan. Luke Kornet couldn’t keep up, and that’s on Jayson Tatum to anticipate. But there was a miscommunication that ended up in an open three.

#10 – Time to close the series

The Magic won’t quit and will come to TD Garden with the same energy. They aren’t afraid to foul or to hurt. Last night again, Jayson Tatum ended up on the floor way too often for a player that still has an NBA Finals to win. The Celtics must win sooner rather than later to get some rest before the next battles.