All season, one of the things that has defined the Boston Celtics exceeding expectations has been their ability to find whatever a particular game needs in their depth. In some ways, it mirrors the success of the Indiana Pacers last season, though the composition and style of play are different for the Celtics. But in the postseason, conventional wisdom (excepting, of course, Indy) has shown that teams which lean into their best players win more.
Part of this is the tendency for postseason play to find and exploit the weaknesses of a team’s less well-rounded players, sometimes even rendering regular season stalwarts unplayable. But we have also seen using depth and adaptive strategy around core strengths succeed with the Pacers. Speaking via conference call Friday (May 1), Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla confirmed that despite having shortened the rotation for the first round, he still sees depth as a strength. “I think you’re always trying to look to take advantage of the roster you have,” he said, “and … it’s been a strength of our team throughout the regular season, something we tried to do throughout the first six games as well.”
To his credit, particularly later in the series vs. the Philadelphia 76ers, we have seen more of Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman, and Luka Garza in meaningful minutes. But for the Boston coach, executing the ball-movement style of play that helped them win this season is also — perhaps even more — important.
“Regardless of who plays, just executing the game plan, executing their details,” said Mazzulla when asked what he’s looking for when considering at the team’s rotation vs. Philly. “Do a better job of the margins. Whether it’s offensive rebound, taking care of the ball, defensive rebounds, it’s just regardless of who’s playing, sticking to that process.”
If the Celtics do adapt to how the Sixers are defending them (and how the game has been called) while staying true to their fundamentals and players who’ve helped them win this season, a showdown with the New York Knicks in the East Semis will be their reward.
But if they continue to play as they have been in the losses, it will be an early exit from the postseason, followed by some hard questions in the offseason about the future of this roster.
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: For Joe Mazzulla, depth key for Game 7 vs. 76ers, but playing Celtics ball more so