Celtics’ offbeat offense scrapes by Cavs in Game 4: ‘Whatever it takes’

The Boston Celtics did not look like the Boston Celtics in Game 4.

The same Boston Celtics who led the league in three-pointers this season were held to just 32 attempts. The same Boston Celtics who finished eighth in the league in shots per game took only 78.

Not only did the Donovan Mitchell-less Cleveland Cavaliers completely alter the Celtics’ offensive approach, but they simultaneously shifted their own. Cleveland chucked up 48 threes—the most in the playoffs and tied for the third-most all year. They also took 94 total shots, their most in a postseason game.

But the Celtics still won.

Heading into Game 4, there were only 15 games this season, regular season and playoffs included, in which the Celtics made 38 shots or fewer. They were 6-9 in those games, accounting for half of their total losses across the year.

They made 38 on Monday night and gritted out a win.

“It’s all about, the more you want to be the harder playing team,” said Jayson Tatum. “They test you. They’re well-coached, they play extremely hard, the guys that come off the bench, they compete. You want to match that with physicality and pace—finding the right match-ups with whoever you’re trying to attack or put into action. Just being aware of what we’re trying to do.”

David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The Celtics have won with the three-ball all year. Drive-and-kicks reign supreme within Boston’s offensive playstyle, yet they found themselves constantly challenged by the Cavs behind the arc.

Derrick White, who lit Cleveland up in Game 1, was held to just six shot attempts. He’s averaging 8.4 three-point attempts this postseason but only got four up in Game 4.

Forced into a new style of offense, the Celtics aren’t focused on what has worked in the past or what the numbers bear out. They want to play the way the game allows them to.

“It’s never been really about the three-point shot,” said Joe Mazzulla. “It’s been about taking the best shot. And regardless of that, we’ve been fighting to take really good shots. And that’s the most important thing.”

That said, it took the Celtics some time to adjust. An 8-2 run by the Cavs to start the game led to a frustrated Mazzulla timeout after Max Strus buried a three in transition. From there, Boston went on a 10-0 run of their own. The same trend occurred in the third: A Cavs 8-2 run met by a timeout and an 11-3 Celtics run.

But another offensive factor reared its ugly head throughout the game: turnovers.

Boston coughed up the ball 14 times, including 10 in the first half alone. There were four bad passes, three lost dribbles, two offensive fouls, and one stepping-out-of-bounds call. Almost every single turnover was self-inflicted.

They solved the issue in the second half thanks to one key change carefully detailed by Mazzulla.

“Just passing to the guys with the green jerseys,” Mazzulla said. “That’s poise. That’s the most poise you can have.”

Easy as pie.

“Literally. Just pass.”

After an ugly first half of offense, Mazzulla simply told his team to pass the ball normally. The rest would take care of itself.

“Balls are getting deflected and thrown out of bounds. And, like, just pass,” Mazzulla said. “It’s that simple. I’m being dead serious. Just stay spaced [and] make the right pass. I know, I’m sorry, I’m not coming off that way, [but] I’m being serious.”

David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The Cavaliers’ urgency in guarding the arc was met by physicality from Boston. They bullied their way into the teeth of Cleveland’s defense, earning 24 free throws (and sinking 21 of them).

And most importantly, they were composed.

“I was more trying to just make sure we got good looks,” said Mazzulla. “Sometimes I was playing fast. Sometimes, we were slowing it down. So, really, it was just situational dependent upon the possession, when we got stops, when we felt that we had something, run.

“I thought at the beginning of the game that we were playing really, really hard but not playing with a ton of poise. I thought late in the game we were playing really hard and with a ton of poise.”

Cleveland made a run late in the game, cutting the Celtics’ lead down to as little as five points with less than three minutes to go. A huge part of that was Boston’s lack of offense. They went over five minutes of game time without a field goal from the 7:56 mark to the 2:49 mark.

Defense carried them through the end of the contest, bailing out an awkward offensive performance and gaining them a 3-1 series advantage.

That’s why there are two sides to the coin.

David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

On the one hand, the Celtics picked up a victory without their usual offensive profile. They buckled down, got to the charity stripe, and won largely without the three-pointer.

On the other, the Cavaliers forced them out of their preferred playstyle, a playstyle that led them to the best record in the NBA and has had an overwhelming level of success. Rather than fighting to play the game on their own terms, they succumbed to the Cavs’ pressure.

They played the game on Cleveland’s terms but beat them anyway.

Boston’s offense was less-than-encouraging on Monday night, but a win is a win. They all count the same on the path to Banner 18.

“Whatever it takes,” Mazzulla said. “The perspective to have is there is no one way to go about winning. Every game is different. Every series is different. Whatever situation we are in, we have to match that mindset to do whatever it takes.”