Shrewd Joe Mazzulla Move Saved Celtics Season

Game 3 ended up going to plan, as Boston blitzed New York in the Garden by a score of 115-93. Five Celtics scored in double-figures, led by Payton Pritchard off the bench with 23 points. The team shot 20-of-40 from three-point range, and the Knicks simply had no answer for the offensive onslaught.

Brian Robb of Mass Live analyzed the game in its entirety. As noted by Robb, Mazzulla's recognition of a matchup he aimed to exploit was a major reason for Boston's success. Ironically enough, it involved the Celtics going right at New York's best player.

"Mazzulla does a better job of hunting mismatches relentlessly than most coaches in the NBA, and he did a tremendous job of getting this group to do that in Game 3 early….Boston also got aggressive against both players off the ball, using their miscues to create wide open looks all over the floor. Boston especially went after [Jalen] Brunson much more in the post during Game 3. The Knicks readily sent an extra teammate to help Brunson out in those spots, leading to in rhythm catch-and-shoot 3s on the perimeter."

For as good as Jalen Brunson is, defending has never been his strong suit. It's likely a reason why he aims to create as many charge calls as he does. In this contest, Mazzulla intentionally orchestrated several pick-and-roll sets where bigger players would be guarded by Brunson in the post on switches.

Isolating him does two things. For one, it makes him actually work on the defensive end of the floor where he'll presumably get fatigued to the point where it impacts his effectiveness scoring the basketball. Secondly, if Brunson is being bullied by bigger players, it forces New York to help at a much higher clip than it would like — thus leaving Celtics shooters wide open.

As the clip details above, this is the exact scenario that unfolded. The Knicks defense would collapse on whomever Brunson was guarding — and it opened up things all over the court.

This is part of the chess game in a seven-game series between two highly competitive squads. Tom Thibodeau created his reputation as a defensive genius years ago. It's now his turn to try and hide Brunson as best as possible without exposing the rest of the team and giving the Celtics good looks at the basket.

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