How the Celtics’ high IQ dominated the NBA Finals

[@TheDietCoffey]

Coaching is one thing all these TV analysts always seem to ignore. The Celtics SCHOOLED the Mavericks with their scheming, and yet the "experts" STILL couldn't explain why even if you showed them this video.

[@mrenga]

I was also surprised JKidd didn't take any blame. He didn't adjust to the regular season looks the Cs gave him. Celts ran many same plays successfully.

[@wannabegolfin24-72]

They keep asking "what happened to kyrie?!" While never once acknowledging what boston was doing to take him out. It also has to be noted that this was boston's worst 5-game offensive/shooting stretch of the season (combined with KP being in & out). If boston were to shoot close to their average, this people would've witnessed the worst NBA finals in history (ratings-wise)

[@kubaszymkowiak]

I was also impressed how Jaylen and Jrue and basically all of them positioned themselves on the court to cut off passing lanes and limit assists. They were basically like "Luka might get 40, but if we can get down his assist number and make him turn the ball over - we win". And they were right. Those guys commenting that Tatum deserved the MVP equally as much as Jaylen, only watched the box score - Jaylen was instrumental to their gameplan and to generating turnovers. He also cut down on his turnovers after abysmal numbers last year vs. the Heat.

[@mutually_assured_destruction_]

JJ redick said it on his channel somewhere after game 2, "mazzulla created a math problem for the mavs"

[@deaniart]

@@mrenga Another thing that Kidd is to blame for: He MIGHT have damaged his team's confidence and morale in Games 2 and 3 by saying that Brown was the Celtics' best player. Trying to use mind games on the other team basically says to your players, "I don't believe that you're capable of beating them if they're in sync. You're not good enough to beat them." That message was an underlying message of doubt for the Mavericks and inspiration for the Celtics.

[@KingJerbear]

I heard a lot of comments about how the Celtics play "boring" basketball. But the bottom line is, it's only boring if the only thing you can focus on while watching the game is the ball itself, all the off-ball movement, defensive switches and sets, and manipulation of their opponent is like poetry in motion for real basketball fans.

[@davidbright8913]

Well put 👏🏾💚☘️

[@somedude15231]

Yea I really don't get that. Good ass basketball is always fun to watch. I mean, just ask any Spurs fan and they'll tell you how beautiful a basketball possession can be. The Cs played some beautiful basketball this season, on both ends of the floor. Not every play has to end on a dunk or a block to be exciting. It would only be boring cuz they keep blowing out their opponents, but still

[@ericdeben]

It’s only boring if you focus on the score because they usually blow teams out

[@rossconklin7140]

People used to say that about the Spurs. I guess people like ISO/ hero ball?

[@KingJerbear]

@@rossconklin7140 Well that's just it, if you're watching the ball it's exciting to see guys beat defenders one on one or make crazy stepbacks.

[@tluvsbeauty1]

Joe is almost certainly intellectually gifted, and he has used that intellect to think about the game of basketball in a way that no one really ever has before him. So grateful to have him as our coach💚

[@kubaszymkowiak]

Well, some people did. It's not like it's otherworldly ingenious and never seen before. It's just tailor made for those guys, efficient, simply all around great.

[@jeffreyorcutt2876]

joe is a really smart guy but even he has said he has "stolen" most of the ideas he uses from other people, as all coaches do. He is still brilliant in his implementation of them.

[@David-iv6je]

That puts him above about half of the coaches in the league. He also has one of the best rosters I've ever seen. Porzingis is a floor-stretching wild card who may not be worth hanging onto because of injury frequency, but Horford is the guy whose durability and defensive skill complemented that floor stretching. I think they can run it back for one more year. Me, I'd play Tingis Pingis and Horford 20 minutes each.

[@eliyarrows2456]

@@David-iv6jetheir management of KP this year was perfect. Dude did not play more than 2-4 games in a row besides the first 5 of the year. They honestly just got unlucky in the playoffs with his injuries. His first was a weird one but fully recovered before the end of the ecf, the second was unheard of and happened on just a bad luck play. They understand he’s their x-factor, he unlocks the offense and makes them a defensive monster. I expect the same treatment of him next year. He only takes the most efficient shots, averaged the most points per shot attempt last year, he is quite obviously an all star level player and he just cares about winning and being appreciated more than being recognized by the league. I mean who’s better, Jarrett Allen or KP? It’s KP by a country mile imo, but he’s not durable enough to be a regular season player and he’s grown to recognize that. Wish Embiid would do the same lol, just play 50 games and miss out on awards so that you’re actually healthy come playoff time.

[@pydiboy]

I guess you haven't heard of Phil Jackson......

[@rayp526]

When people talk about playing Basketball the "Right Way" this is what they mean. 🍀

[@rodericko9534]

LeBron James.. perfect example..

[@eliyarrows2456]

@@rodericko9534I disagree completely. Lebron James is a top 2 player of all time, he is an incredible individual force. People should not look to him for how to play winning basketball because you simply aren’t as good lol, he played the right way because he was good enough to deserve the ball every single possession to make the right play. The Celtics are a better example. Everyone sets screens, everyone moves off ball, everyone makes the extra pass to a better shot, everyone plays intense defense, that’s the right way. The Lebron teams are only the right way when you have the best player in the world lol. Look at the mavs, Lukas career is scarily similar to Lebrons so far, yet they just lost a finals because they had to rely on him alone too much (JUST LIKE LEBRON). Meanwhile the Celtics just won a finals where JT didn’t shoot the ball well and KP was only healthy for 1.5 games. Because their whole team is like that.

[@elijahcruz9027]

@@eliyarrows2456 Yes as a team, the 2014 Spurs and This Celtics Team is a good example of winning, unselfish and team oriented basketball. As individuals, Lebron is the perfect example completely as he gets his team involved with his passing, on court coaching, defense and when needed, his own individual scoring. Yes i agree that high usage rate of a singular player is not a good thing as that means it's more load on the individual however it is a good thing when they have good role-players playing alongside them and it leads to success. Lebron having a high usage rate is bad if that means the only player the opposing team defends is him, reminiscent of the 2007 finals. Lebron having a high usage rate is a good thing if he has the supporting cast to maintain it, take his championship teams for example which had Wade and Kyrie. If the example you're looking for is a low usage rate team player that plays the right way then that's roleplayers like Iguodala who make the right play and it won't show up on the box score. And we know well enough Lebron makes the right plays and if he was on this amazing and well built celtics superteam then he'd still play the right way the best.

[@hikebikearchaeology1782]

yeah Auerbach would approve of the way they played this season. :D

[@Equilyzr]

@@rodericko9534get off your knees

[@HugoSousa-kd2lp]

I think Boston as a city and the Celtics as an organization are such unsung heroes. Not only are they finding the right athletes to draft and trade for, but they are also do an incredible job cultivating loyalty and hard work ethic. Every Celtic is hard working and buys into two-way play, and they are such a strong team that they can field their bench for half the regular season, getting a ton of experience and training on them too. I truly believe that if Tatum and Brown had been drafted to other teams they would not be champions that they are today, they benefited from the Celtics organization as much as the other way around. Boston has been taking players and turning them into the best version of themselves and making everybody look good. Then trading them when they are at their highest value for other athletes that they know they can cultivate. Boston is just such a well run Sports Team from top to bottom.

[@cwispypata]

Brad Stevens had a hand in this current culture ever since he took the reins from Trader Danny. Stevens seem to prioritize (1) fit (2) talent and (3) character when he makes the call. Even the organization as a whole will surely double down on choosing high character fellas after the Udoka fiasco couple years ago.

[@M_Lev___]

Well said and excellent comment Hugo! .... Celtic Pride.

[@JW_______]

It's like they're following the old Patriots playbook

[@derbagger22]

Danny was able to make so many moves to stock the cupboards. Stevens came in and replenished it.

[@jpabcede5016]

Weird that the narrative is now "hate on Danny", when he was the one who started everything. Right when he nudged former Celtic Kevin McHale to give him Garnett.

[@keionsprime3656]

Hats off to Boston, they were in a class of their own this season

[@mortystraphouse5077]

they have an all star team and played all injured teams in the playoffs lmao the nab finals sucked. stanley cup is 1,000x better and im not a hockey fan like that

[@scottrichmond3548]

@@mortystraphouse5077 Your tears taste delicious!

[@phanessed]

@@mortystraphouse5077they 4-1 a 50 win team easily, also the team they beat in finals knocked out 3 50 wins teams. Says a lot for Boston… learn ball

[@davidbright8913]

Thank you! 💚☘️

[@connorfoley6185]

@@mortystraphouse5077 Kp was injured most of the playoffs and the Celtics would have won even with a healthy east. dominated regular season and playoffs

[@paulg.dunphy1501]

Mazzulla was impressive. Love this team.

[@aieshadaniels6104]

Jamal and UD face expression alone tells you the respect #Mazzulla has earned amongst the #NBA league now!

[@gottabedaryl]

Their first mazzulla experience

[@innoc3ntbystndr]

They both wanna come out of retirement and play for coach Mazz. 😂

[@nickgilday8946]

I was thinking the same thing…. When mazzulla starts to make sense and you get the thought process, that’s the face we all had haha.. it’s the “oh shit… he’s… he’s so right” face

[@youngboomerragevictim8857]

Haslam look like he was confused an egg on face for picking the Mavs

[@goodisanoun]

There is a reason Brad kept Joe around during the changeover of front offices. They were on the same page both team building and strategy. One of the most well balanced teams in league history. Which is a blueprint for successful teams in the new CBA.

[@geordiejones5618]

It's funny because Brad before the extensions I think that off-season after the Finals loss he was talking about some of the challenges and opportunities with the new or upcoming CBA changes and since then he's been by far the best executive in the league. I hope him and Joe grab a few and show the league they really were ahead of the game both business and basketball wise.

[@goodisanoun]

@@geordiejones5618 it was a one time opportunity. Be aggressive and get your team together before the new CBA. That's past so now everyone is playing by different rules.

[@geordiejones5618]

​@@goodisanounsurprised the Nuggets didn't use that time to make themselves into a bonafide dynasty. It kinda looks like they did what the Lakers did after 2020. Both of which are baffling, title teams that get worse despite great players because of terrible management. Gotta love Brad, loved him as our coach but he's the best exec in the league until outshined by someone else.

[@AABatteries32215]

Everyone talks about Jaylen browns iso defense on Luka, which obviously was fantastic and deserves all the praise, but I think we should also discuss how impactful Tatum’s defense was at taking away the impact of Daniel gafford, Derek lively, and pj Washington on offense due to limiting the roll and the lob. Truly a team wide defensive masterclass with a great coached system and a full 5 man unit executing to perfection.

[@Monaco377]

It's not just Tatums defense. He was anchoring the entire offense. Without Tatum, guys like Brown don't get the open looks they were getting. Thats why Brown said he shares the MVP with Tatum, because he knows the deal.

[@igk916]

Yeah Tatum is the unsung hero on our defense this post season run. He was the key piece to letting brown go 1 on 1 with luka how he did. If tatum wasnt on the bigs to prevent an easy switch, Jaylen wouldnt even have a chance to guard luka, cause they would just hunt KP and AL all game long and JB would never be the primary defender, Tatums defensive versatility is what opens the door for Brown to do what he does. Same thing in the Pacers series, game 1 tyrese and myles turner went off in the first half in the pick and roll. In game 2 we made the adjustment with Tatum on myles turner, and Haliburtion would pass out every time Tatum was his primary defender nullifying their best weapon on offense. Turner got into early foul trouble as a result and only had 9 at half, where in game 1 he had nearly 20 going into halftime.

[@samuelk34]

@@Monaco377oh no another Tatum fan boy whose mad Brown got MVP! Tatum shot 38% from the field. Thats why he didn’t win MVP. Get a grip kid

[@Monaco377]

@samuelk34 Only kid here is you for yet again thinking scoring is the only thing a player can do on offense. You want to see Brown in Tatums shoes? Go watch game 7 vs Miami last year. He shot 8-24 and had 8 turnovers.

[@samuelk34]

@@Monaco377 Get down on your knees and give me 50! sorry your fav player didn't win mvp. He shot 38% from the field. He's a shot chucker. Tatum finals performances are one of the worst of all time.

[@Global476]

3:50 really interesting statistics here, Mavericks love those corner 3s and the fact that Boston dropped their percentage down to only 6% is insane, it took Dallas completely out of their comfort zone

[@Hawkwinter01]

Yeah, and it wasn't just the Mav's that got taken out of their comfort zone, the other teams the Celtics faced had similar problems. I have no doubt that other teams will be studying this during the off season. I hope they don't, though. Go Celtics! 🍀

[@derbagger22]

Yeah, that stat was shocking.

[@lousgrandcrew]

Thank you for this one! Finally some credit to the Celtics coaching and tactics and as to why JT never went off to splash big points. It was a well-oiled machine that exploited other teams not by sheer talent but Joe Mazzulla outcoached everyone this year. A team sport master class where neither JT nor JB needed to have combined 80 point games.

[@Global476]

I can admit I was a Boston hater the whole season, but I have to give their props they were the most dominant team all year and they played perfect basketball, so my hats off to Boston

[@davidbright8913]

Thank you on behalf of Boston and all Celtics fans 💚☘️

[@clarasundqvist6013]

People say watching the Celtics is boring, but seeing the details of how their offense works and how in sync they all are is nothing short of sexy 🔥

[@kobekobekobekobekobe]

Actually after watching half of this video I genuinely think that the Celtics deserved every bit of their wins. Fantastic defence and use of anaylitics. Scheming was fantastic

[@noplus7262]

Thinking Basketball on the NBA channel? Hell yeah! Great content hope to see more featuring like this.

[@dh5363]

You can really see the Pep Guardiola influence in Joe's detailed and systematic approach of the game. Pep changed football forever, and we might see a massive change in the basketball landscape with Joe.

[@donigilobor7721]

Congratulations Thinking Basketball! ❤ to watch your creation here in NBA...😊

[@TwG.63]

It's good to know that NBA has recognized him

[@GenteelCretin]

as soon as i heard that voice and vocal cadence i was like 'aw nuh-uh.' very cool. well earned.

[@BoltTwice]

And people said this series was boring…..it was a MASTERCLASS Happy to see thinking basketball on this platform he is a true basketball analyst!!!!!

[@cwispypata]

Having @ThinkingBasketball's insights on how the Cs dominated the Finals in the freaking NBA page is basically the league admitting the Mavs had no chance in hell outside of Luka/Kyrie making impossible circus shots for 48 mins. Good to see this video here. Besides Mazzulla and the coaching staff, big chunk of the credit goes to the players themselves for buying in to the system and using all of the 82 games to master their defensive craft.

[@TolbertOseiOwusu]

Another insightful content from Ben Taylor . My goat 🐐 ❤

[@nelxson2000]

In a trip to Manchester City's training ground some time ago, Mazzula was speaking to some of the players. He shared how he studies their (Man City) transition defense and counter attacks. Linking it to basketball. After game 5, Mazzula said Pep Guardiola helped him with transitions and movement of the players because Dallas is a great defensive team and they had to be creative. Watching the Celtics you can see the similarities especially with the spacing, the fluidity of the players and their ability to adapt to what the opponent does. Mazzula is now studying how Pep Guardiola is able to keep building dominant teams that never tire of winning. Good luck yo everyone else.

[@wannabegolfin24-72]

You can say what you want but you better say that Joe Mazulla is a HELLUVA coach. Just look at how in sync the players are. Read, react, execute & most of all, be unselfish enough to make that pass

[@deaniart]

Celtics won in 2008 despite Doc Rivers' coaching. Celtics won in 2024 because of Joe Mazzulla's coaching.

[@notsoeloquent]

2008 was the opposite, 3 HOFs and Rondo destroyed the league in their first season together. Doc didn't have to do much.

[@clarasundqvist6013]

⁠@@notsoeloquentthere’s never a guarantee that any team can win a title, too much goes into it. Just look at the KD/Kyrie/Harden experiment in Brooklyn, everyone expected them to win but a mixture of bad chemistry and injuries kept them from achieving that. The ’08 Celtics, similarly to the ’24 Celtics, had everyone buy in and the team stars managed to blend well together - and part of that has to be credited to Doc, especially since the players themselves have said as much.

[@jcosta223]

@@notsoeloquent gotta give it to thibs for the coaching that year. doc got everyone to buy in

[@roryregan210]

They won in 7 games to the damn 37-45 hawks with one of the most talented teams of all time, I’d give that blame to rivers!

[@ianp3063]

@@roryregan210 All I remember from Rivers' time with the Celtics (not his stints after) was they won all the game 7s you expected them to win, while extending some series to 7 games where they had almost no business winning like against the Heat. Not saying it was due to Rivers, because Rondo was practically a coach too with the way he studies film and how Doc actually defers to him. Playoff Rondo was not an accident.

[@90927]

i love derick white

[@ryand9036]

Derick White MVP first two rounds of the playoffs.

[@mannydaprofit2869]

Boston’s defense was elite . Casuals won’t understand. They clearly made it very difficult for Dallas to get anything off . Kyrie and Luka looked lost out there

[@derbagger22]

And they can go at you for 48 minutes. Any one of the starting 5 can guard Luka. Luka got points but he couldn't maintain throughout...

[@mannydaprofit2869]

@@derbagger22 exactly.

[@DrNoSpectre]

Boston=High IQ sounds about right!

[@geekdiggy]

this is one of the most satisfying videos i've ever seen. thanks for putting this together!

[@Eu023]

Love Thinking Basketball

[@Dunc2222]

Terrific analysis, the best I've heard yet on the finals. Mazzulla deservedly is getting credit for Boston's tremendous multi-layered strategy at both ends. But these players deserve just as much credit for their execution and intuitive understanding of how to play together. This is the most high-end, disciplined and intentional thinking defense I've seen in 45 years of watching the NBA. They've even surpassed the Spurs in that regard.

[@kennykent5336]

Ben Taylor is the GOAT

[@MikePalmieri-fb9fo]

Ben Taylor is setting the standard for easy to digest basketball analysis

[@BratatoChip]

Love my coach !! 🍀

[@kimlamberthmatic6720]

I didn't know Thinking Basketball was in the NBA App and Channel. One of the best basketball channels out there guys. :)

[@Aadharshrestha]

Celtics played very good

[@fox9769]

Woah I thought this was a thinking basketball upload. Turns out NBA uploaded it. Crazy.

[@aecudi]

Thinking Basketball on NBA, the world is healing

[@naytikvora7946]

Shout out to Thinking Basketball I have been following for two years.

[@oakiode1]

Thinking basketball now officially part of the NBA.... As Rick Ross would say.."now that's big time"...Congratulations Sir, well deserved.

[@davidf8692]

Excellent commentary

[@eliyarrows2456]

As a Celtics fan I had a very fun conversation with a guy I worked for this year about how the Celtics seem to target smart players. It’s rare they have a guy on the team who’s selfish and plays individual basketball (even tho their 2 stars are iso scorers, it’s understood that they’re just that good). It’s rare to see Jrue, White, Al, or KP make a bad play. For the secondary supporting cast around the stars, that’s extremely rare. They all take a smaller role. And then the 3rd rank guys know their role. Hauser just shoots 3s, Pritchard is aggressive with the ball, Kornet just blocks shots and dunks, Tillman and Brissett just play D and get boards, it’s just a roster full of guys who understand their role and don’t take bad analytical shots.

[@karlabad3457]

Great breakdown

[@donaldkelly298]

And people say joe mazzulla was a inexperienced coach

[@goodisanoun]

He is inexperienced. Doesn't mean he's bad though.

[@tylerriley2587]

They cap for clicks

[@RogueCheepSheep]

In other words, JJ Reddick deserves the benefit of the doubt too then 😊

[@UghaBuhga]

I think he has plenty of experience now

[@tylerriley2587]

@@UghaBuhga yes after a full summer of prepping and planning Joe is in his late 30s and is going to continue to grow

[@DavidBoy333]

Wow a collab with Thinking Basketball i love it

[@davidbright8913]

Excellent work!!

[@FM_Chatti]

Look at UDs face while listening at Mazulla lmao!

[@Jonteponte71]

That play with all the fingerpointing was amazing coordination. Pity it did not result in a swish!

[@walterharris7421]

Udonis Haslem sitting there shaking his head in awe as if his boneheaded takes prior to the chip clinch were never spoken 😂😂😂

[@egordon8]

Had not noticed so much pre-switching watching it live. That is so smart and so well -rehearsed. Mazzula may be a real dude

[@martinhodell8465]

great content! you're the best at this

[@jcjhe059me3]

what a great Coach #JoeMazzulla 🎉 and his entire coaching staff #BostonCeltics 🏆

[@kevinhagberg1648]

Celtics are the greatest franchise in NBA history. Most Regular season wins Most Playoff wins Most Finals wins Most wins in NBA history

[@wolffamily8779]

After last year’s Miami series, I thought Joe Mazzulla was totally overmatched. I’m glad to admit I was apparently wrong. Great video!

[@boethius8114]

Back to back? I like that record

[@jeremiahtop2]

We gone get back to that for the record 😏

[@firejaygaming8947]

I been said this make Tatum the last line of defense because he has the ability to check most centers so when there is pre switches ain’t no mismatches at all and we can switch everything so easy shooting the gaps

[@chrisconcord]

Amazing analysis

[@maxflipper34]

Terrific insight from start to finish.

[@giacomobusnardo8168]

Joe is so good

[@nkumm]

A collab with @ThinkingBasketball ? Awesome. Great KZbin channel for NBA content.

[@rizkuda]

The crazy part is that besides game 1. That was Boston worst shooting spree from three had they been average this series would been over and done with.

[@6WI4]

Ben is everything what's right in life.

[@336BOSTON]

An incredible breakdown!👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿☘️☘️☘️🏆

[@C-majorr]

This video just highlights mazzullas genius

[@GwingWong]

the key point was that celtics had huge resourses of defence. most of the game, they had 4-5 guys on court being ready for switching to defense different players including center, guard or forward

[@aljimdenverarcueno8120]

wow! NBA posted this video.. congrats to the content creator!

[@itismarkymark]

i just learned so much basketball from this video 😂

[@tommytianjayathia1468]

Jamal was bamboozled but he wouldnt care, but UD was shooked and know why his heat was cooked 😂

[@TwG.63]

As a Celtics fan, I doubted Joe Mazulla, now he has my respcet . ☘️

[@jrelan]

"the man cant move faster than the ball" thats one of Pep's main principles in his football philosophy, Mazzulla might just be the basketball Guardiola

[@hunter_756]

gafford & lively were a complete mess if they were outside the paint, derrick & pj never got into rythm because boston wasnt double teaming luka or irving. Their bench players were completely shut down and jason kidd was out coached, it was just a disastrous finals for dallas and a clinic from boston start to finish.

[@rizkuda]

Exactly right my friend. Which sucks that Kyrie gets most of the blame and Kidd doesn't. Don't get me wrong he deserves the blame though, but I think TD Garden also had an effect on him cuz in Game 3 and 4 he played his best basketball.

[@jeebs9]

You want to know what is hiliaorus... I did this in NBA 2K the other night. It actually fucking worked. My opponent didn't know what to do. So basically he isolated the entire game. I could tell he was not use to playing like that and just wanted to get to his pick and roll.

[@rizkuda]

Yea I learn from playing Madden. That most players unless high class professional gamers rarely ever scheme or rely on bugs/glitches. For example I got dominated in the first half in passing game by an high overall quarterback by running man and blitz so I adjusted to zones with few blitz in between. He had 217 yards in just the first half in the second half and ended with 290.

[@jeebs9]

@@rizkuda One of the other things was he couldn't post up his mismatches down low 😆

[@gileanibermudez6456]

Loved this!

[@gordongrant444]

GREAT ANALYSIS

[@Adamcfresh]

Excellent video.

[@mctaguer]

Great video. Just to let you know John Karalis has named dropped you guys at least once or twice recently. Good stuff!

[@shaunob11]

Is this the first Thinking Basketball x NBA crossover video?! Congrats Ben, you do the best basketball film breakdowns, imo, so this is well deserved!!

[@djsognal]

Thankfully, not even close.

[@nbapbaupdate8338]

Derrick White & Jrue Holiday INSANE BACK-COURT DEFENSE 💪🔥💪

[@mannydaprofit2869]

One of the best defensive performances I’ve seen in a finals in a long time . Pure dominance

[@9thcup361]

When they beat the Pacers in close games. I knew the Celtics would win, and they did. They knew how to close out games. It was not a surprise to me, they beat Dallas in 5 games.

[@ryand9036]

I thought they were gonna beat them in 4 lol. Crazy how Vegas odds had them in 5 and that is exactly what happened.

[@z00ka8]

Amazing coaching 👏

[@RDEdera93]

And they say Boston is lucky that they played injured teams in the East. Even with a healthy Miami, Indiana and Cavs, they wont beat the Celtics in 7 game series. Coach Joe deserve a ton of credit for his coaching schemes and plays.

[@keironlaifoo11]

Incredible video

[@Sorpzz]

Why is no one talking about how the official NBA channel posted a Thinking Basketball vid?!

[@Monaco377]

I used to not be a Joe fan, let's just put it that way. Now, he has proven that he's learned from his past mistakes, and he's gotten them to the promise land. He's young, around my age, and already a champ coach. Any of my fellow Bostonians, and massholes, should be grateful we have a coach like Joe.

[@dankabigting1187]

The Celtics and TWolves have the best defensive team in the concluding season. The big difference is the coaching style. While the Celtics remained focus in defense ' till the end, the Wolves suddenly collapsed in the WCF because their coach didn't make the switches they should be doing and was unable to push his players to be more physical like the Celtics. The author was right, the Celtics as a team is more cerebral.

[@tommytianjayathia1468]

I was thinking the same thing and found the difference. Wolves panicked and doubled luka while celtics stay poised and kept defending him one on one. Doubling luka opens up a lot cause he's big and picked apart the defense. Celtics live with luka getting his numbers but dont want others to start getting 10,15,20,25 points. Wolves keep playing gobert while they should have gone small so that they have more defensive versatility.

[@tommytianjayathia1468]

@templr44_ true, the only team that matches up well with celtics is only nuggets imo. maybe okc. youth, healthy and athletic.

[@alexanderkwan7250]

There are also some differences between the Celtics' defenders and the Wolves' defenders. Jaden McDaniels is a great defender, but he doesn't have the bulk to handle big, physical offensive players like Doncic, whereas Brown, and even Tatum are bulky enough to handle Doncic without sacrificing any of their quickness. Also, when it came to defending Kyrie, again, the Celtics were better equipped for that.

[@gridirongodsnetwork]

Prior to the All Star break I dubbed this era of NBA basketball the 'Age of the International Center.' This was an acknowledgement of the dominating, winning effect of the best of the best bigs in the NBA: Jokic, Embiid, Antetokounmpo, Gobert, Towns, Sabonis, Markkanen, etc. I did not anticipate that the Boston Celtics- whose premiere players are versatile wings- would end up winning the chip. A deeper dive into the roster of said rival team, however, would reveal that the Celtics are, in fact, at the cutting edge of this era, with a total of 3 internationally born centers on their roster: Kristaps Porzingis (Latvia), Al Horford (Dominican Republic), and Neemias Queeta (Portugal). Much like an imposing offensive line in football, those whose actions have the greatest impact on winning tend to escape notice, instead resigning themselves to heroism of the unsung variety. Doing the dirty work, and allowing your teammates the glory of favor and adulation of the public. Nonetheless, the foundation, the formula, the championship recipe for this year's Celtics team does in fact confirm my observations of where the league is, and the direction it is going. The next two decades of professional basketball will be very much about the giants of the world defying every known principle of physics and human kinesiology to both dazzle and dominate in the sport of basketball. The Age of the International Center is here, and it ain't going nowhere anytime soon.

[@paulturner9729]

Awesome vid

[@vh448]

Joe may have obsessive compulsive disorder and that may be a good thing. I'm sure he studies films a lot trying to find weaknesses in other teams that Celtics can exploit. He's probably the most analytical coach in the league. Jealous people and critics will make excuses, he's gifted, they played nobody, blah blah while Celtics will continue to dominate. Like Tatum said, "we'll just have to keep winning" to shut people up.

[@Andy_Babb]

JB legit turned NASA down to follow his NBA path. Dudes scary smart lol

[@pedestrianne]

we, the logical, smart and non-toxic sector of lebron fans have loved him since the day he was born. we wholeheartedly acknowledge him as the undisputed 9th greatest of all time.

[@bb1111116]

Mazzulla was allowed to improve as a coach. That’s huge while certain other teams would probably have fired him last season. So, improved coach + 5 all stars + White = a title.

[@charliegpnjrl]

good job debunking those "Celtics only shoot 3s" crowd

[@HarryRosewood]

I'm not good with basketball analytics, so a genuine question here - is this all for real? Because it looks like various plays happen and then analysts like TB say this and that happens to do this and to shut down that. Like the infamous 'the curtains are blue because author wants to represent sadness', and in reality the curtains are just blue with no reason. I mean I don't want to diminish coaching and analysts staff work, but my take is that it is much simpler. What I've seen is that Boston had a much better roster and easier path to finals. Mavs playerd 17 games prior finals, had to score 2,116 points, and had 6 days of rest. Luka was gassed out all the time, Kyrie was shut down psychologically and other players missed open shots all the time. Boston had 15 games, had to score 1,632 points, had 9 days of rest and played home. And everyone except Tatum brought their A game. Tatum only played good when Celtics were up 20 or after 3-0. btw I believe Celtics would've won anyway even if both teams had a hard time reaching finals and Kyrie showed up, but it would've been 4-3 Celtics, rather than 4-0 (I do believe it was a sweep and that one win in Dallas was kinda intentional)

[@holostro]

Bad coaching killed the Nuggets and the Wolves in the playoffs. Boston has to use any tricks up their sleeve to defeat the Mavs and thats when good coaching matters. Jason Kidd didnt even start to adjust after Game 3 lol

[@phanessed]

This is what they should be doing on ESPN. None of the bs they’re doing rn for clicks.

[@rizkuda]

Most of the analysis don't know how to breakdown the game. Look at how the broadcaster looked dumbfounded at the beginning of the video when Joe broke it down.

[@anthonys3906]

Tom Brady breaks down games like this and Henrik Lundqvist for NHL.

[@rayneozier]

The level of discipline from Boston was hella impressive. I’m hoping Coach Charles Lee can bring a little bit of that effort and attention to detail to Charlotte.

[@georginovalsan4715]

That works because JT is tall and strong. It's a case of great roster building and Jalen Brown working hard on his game.

[@JaaaaaanMo29]

Thinking Basketball!!!!

[@P1P31150]

Haslem's face in that very first minute is a graphical representation of his basketball takes

[@1vaultdweller]

We done with the 90s. The amount and variety of defensive schemes and rotations displayed here werent even possible in the illegal defense era

[@Ebstarrunner]

NBA channel had to bring in someone to explain what they couldn't lol