𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬

Abhay Pancharathi

Three short years ago, the consensus of NBA "Analysts" and Fans alike was that Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown had to be broken up, lest they be doomed to be two excellent players on a mediocre team. They were redundant, incompatible, and a litany of other synonyms meaning they wouldn't work together. And they were right, the 2021 versions of the Jays would not have won a championship, especially against these Dallas Mavericks. Monday, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown won the first Championship of their, short, NBA careers. Game 5 perfectly encapsulates how far Tatum and Brown have come and why they're poised to extend the title gap between the Boston Celtics and the rest of the Association.

Playmaking

To watch the 2020-21 Boston Celtics was to watch an unhealthy reliance on isolation basketball, leading to long scoring droughts when teams doubled JT or JB. Game 5 proved how far their growth as playmakers has taken them. Jayson Tatum was a playmaking machine yesterday, tallying 8 assists to 0 turnovers in the first half en route to a 21-point advantage, and 11 assists to 2 turnovers for the full game. Look at the playmaking gap this entire series between Tatum and an incredible passer in Luka Doncic.

Tatum has done an excellent job leveraging his scoring ability to create opportunities for his teammates. He recognizes that teams are forced to send double, and even triple teams his way while being able to sense which teammates are open. 

This is every example from Monday where Tatum used his "gravity" to find open teammates. After being blitzed on a pick-and-roll, he slithers a pass to Jrue Holiday in the paint who easily finger-rolls in a layup to open scoring. Then he does it again. Kickout to Sam Hauser for three. Swing pass to Brown for three. Holiday in the dunker spot. And then another kick out to JB for 3.

This playmaking barrage blew the game wide-open, especially because Tatum was excellent in limiting his mistakes, having 0 turnovers at halftime. These easy looks were efficient offense for Boston's litany of great shooters. To put into context how amazing this Celtics team is at shooting threes, their top 8 players in minutes per game all shot at least 35% from three. This is as dangerous a team ever constructed when it comes to shooting. 

It would be one thing if Tatum were the sole distributor but his fellow star, and Finals MVP, Jaylen Brown had some highlight reel-worthy dimes as well. A 6 assist 1 turnover outing helped relieve Tatum's pressure when he was doubled. 

This massive playmaking leap from the Jays is why they can get away with not having a "true point guard". While in the past the Celtics offense would devolve into an iso-heavy mess, namely in that disastrous yet crucial 2022 finals, now their stars can identify when to leverage their scoring ability to create shots for other teammates.

Crossmatching

This series answered any remaining questions about whether Joe Mazzulla is a cog in the machine that is the Boston Celtics, or merely a benefactor of the elite talent on the team he's coaching. He coached circles around Jason Kidd, a coach who first became a head coach in 2013. In perspective, in 2013 Joe Mazzulla was only 2 years removed from playing collegiate basketball. Mazzulla is younger than a player on the team he coaches, 38-year-old Al Horford. Despite this, his decision to "crossmatch", or to put his Power Forward Jayson Tatum on Dallas Centers, and his Center Al Horford on Dallas wings was the crucial coaching decision in this series. This simple decision was brilliant, as it meant attempts to switch Horford onto Luka Doncic through a pick-and-roll meant the short Derrick Jones Jr. was the screener, instead of the towering Daniel Gafford. DJJ's relatively small lob radius completely shut off the first facet of Dallas' offensive strength: lobs.

The crossmatching also helped limit Dallas' other offensive strength, the corner 3-pointers. With their most prolific corner 3 threat this playoffs, Derrick Jones Jr., being dragged into pick-and-rolls, and DJJ not being the lob threat Daniel Gafford/Derek Lively are, Boston defenders were free to stay home on 3s that now were only coming from PJ Washington. This resulted in far fewer corner 3s than in prior series, and an influx in above-the-break threes, a shot that DJJ/Washington/Kyrie Irving are all poor at.

Payton Pritchard

While not as impactful as either of the Jays, Boston's tenacious starting backcourt, or Boston's centers, Payton Pritchard has carved out a niche as a highly efficient iso scorer, albeit on limited attempts, and also a type of specialist. With 4 seconds left in the first half of Game 5, Luka Doncic missed a free throw, and Al Horford, upon securing the rebound, immediately looked around for the diminutive point guard from Oregon to take the half-court prayer.

The idea of having a specialist come in for one play and serve one purpose is a novel idea across all sports. A football team with a weak-armed quarterback may look into a "designated hail-mary thrower" or a baseball team may look into a pitcher that is excellent against certain types of batters to close a game. Boston has a special type of player, and it's only a matter of time before different teams attempt to find their own Payton Pritchard

The City of Champions

Boston is home to champions again, ending the second biggest "drought" in their history. These Celtics look poised to prevent that drought from becoming any bigger too, having every single player under contract next year and several intriguing young prospects for when Al Horford and Jrue Holiday age out of productivity. The age of their two-star players belies a mature skillset beyond their years. The Jays have not entered their prime yet, for example, if Tatum can recapture his 2020 jump-shot, or if Brown tightens his handle this team will be impossible to stop. As promised by Jaylen Brown, they will be back.