Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
[Film Room] What Worked for Celtics' Starters vs. Pacers and What Needs Addressing
The Celtics' 142-138 overtime win vs. the Pacers on Thursday night marked only the seventh time their starting lineup took the court together.
Averaging 4.9 minutes together entering Boston's first game back from the All-Star break, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Robert Williams, and Al Horford were on the floor for 11.3 minutes against Indiana.
Cohesion isn't much of a concern for the group that led the Celtics to the NBA Finals last year, but with 22 games left in the regular season, the final stretch before the playoffs will go toward making sure they're in sync and playing instinctively.
While minutes and rotations don't stay the same for each matchup, this is also a valuable opportunity for the starters and second unit to get comfortable with how they get utilized with everyone available.
Thursday, against a smaller opponent that consistently pushed the pace whether Boston scored or not, the visitors relied more on two-guard lineups than playing with two big men on the floor.
The Celtics only paired Williams and Horford at the start of both halves. Malcolm Brogdon, who registered 24 points, seven assists, five rebounds, and two steals, logged 37 minutes, including as a member of Boston's closing lineup in regulation and overtime.
Derrick White played 25 minutes, one less than the Timelord, chipping in 17 points on 6/12 shooting, knocking down 3/6 threes.
Manufacturing points wasn't the issue for the Celtics' starters, producing 137.5 per 100 possessions. And as the film shows, the Pacers capitalized on but didn't create what hurt them the most defensively, as Boston's starting five surrendered 162.5 points per 100 possessions, resulting in a -25 net rating and Joe Mazzulla not deploying that unit after Williams subbed out at the 6:34 mark in the third frame.
From the opening tip, the familiarity that the Celtics' starters have with each other was evident, playing decisively, keeping the ball moving, and getting it into the paint to help create high-quality scoring chances.
Boston also played pretty well defensively in the starters' first shift. But at times operated too fast offensively, dribbling into turnover-prone situations, resulting in four giveaways in the opening 5:52, leading to eight of Indiana's first 13 points.
Still, when White, the first player off the Celtics' bench, checked in for Williams at the 6:08 mark, the visitors held a 17-13 edge.
While the starters' first run was positive for the most part, once Mazzulla downsized, he didn't deviate in the first half, preferring how that looked against the Pacers' smaller personnel and up-tempo approach.
That's not something to gloss over. Boston boasted the best defense in the NBA last season and is in the top five for the 2022-23 campaign.
There isn't a style of offense the Celtics' starters have struggled to guard. But Thursday, the terms of play warranted relying more heavily on two-guard lineups and leaning into the luxury of having players like White and Brogdon on the second unit.
And while the starting unit's first shift earned a passing grade, how it performed in the third quarter speaks to a season-long concern. Boston has consistently come out sluggish to start the second half.
Indiana, a young, pace-pushing team looking to prove itself against the squad with the league's best record, punished the Celtics for easing into the game after the break.
Naturally, Boston's lack of resistance had a snowball effect.
The Pacers doubled their scoring output in their second chance to test themselves against the Celtics' starters. They put 26 points on the board in a 5:26 stretch, primarily responsible for the hosts making 8/14 (57.1 percent) threes in the third frame, matching their long-range output from the first half on five fewer attempts.
Boston's starting unit was far more effective at the other end of the floor, and their play elevated when they diversified their attack, scoring on six-straight possessions to end their final shift together.
That included utilizing Tatum as a screener in a pick-and-roll with Smart that got the former a layup, feeding Brown in the low post, and running the offense through Tatum down there.
But orchestrating a productive offense against the 25th-ranked defense is less noteworthy than how the starters performed defensively. And with that being their final shift together Thursday night, the Celtics' starting five surrendered 39 points total, and Indiana shot 65 percent from the field, including, 8/14 (57.1 percent) from beyond the arc.
The Pacers shot the ball well all night, converting on 22/49 (44.9 percent) threes. Myles Turner poured in a game-high 40 points, drilling 8/10 long-range attempts. Tyrese Haliburton, the engine of their offense, provided 22 points and 14 assists. He led all participants in the latter, doubling Tatum and Brogdon's team-high of seven.
It was the first game back from the All-Star break, but as Boston kicks it into high gear, aiming to be at its best in the playoffs, it must address the bad habit it's developed of getting off to slow starts in the second half. As well as Indiana shot, the hosts couldn't make the Celtics pay for that approach. In the playoffs, it's likely to prove more regrettable.
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