Not good enough: 10 takeaways from Celtics/Magic

Today’s takeaways are going to be slightly different. They won’t be clip-heavy, and there won’t be much in terms of Xs and Os breakdowns. I have some thoughts to share and thought this would be the ideal space to do so. As usual, I look forward to getting everyone’s perspective in the comments section.

The Boston Celtics lost their fourth straight game when facing the Orlando Magic. However, the loss isn’t the issue. Team’s drop games, it’s to be expected. The worrying part is that this loss was a regression for Boston in a game where old habits reared their ugly heads.

#1 Shrinking against physicality

When you think of how the Miami Heat consistently gain an advantage over the Celtics, you instantly think of their physical style of play. They knock Boston around, get in their face, and throw them off their game. Orlando came into the game on Friday with the same blueprint.

“Was it effort, was it toughness, was it execution?” Joe Mazzulla questioned after the game. “I’m not sure which one it was, so I don’t want to comment on it, but obviously definitely frustrated when you go empty possession after empty possession, and then they’re scoring on open threes and offensive rebounds.”

The Magic played with no fear. They fought through switches, got physical, and bullied the Celtics into a defeat. You can’t escape it; the Celtics shrunk as the game wore on. Orlando imposed their physicality onto Boston, and Mazzulla’s squad had little push-back.

#2 An imbalanced game plan

I get it. The Celtics roster has so much top-end talent allowing them to run a read-and-react offense is the best way to incorporate so many skillsets. When the team is in rhythm and playing at pace, running a free-flow system makes sense. Yet, when your opponent is shutting those principal-based actions down and is putting you into some difficult spots, there needs to be a blueprint to fall back on.

In Boston’s second game against the New York Knicks, Mazzula showed a deep playbook that consistently created advantages for his team. Why didn’t the Celtics go to those actions against Orlando? Are we really going to be banking on elite isolation play all season, the same way we did with threes last time around?

There has to be a balance. If the defense shuts things down, call a play, run a series, or do something different. Find ways to attack your opponent and go at with it until they can find a way to stop you. This team has too much talent to accept being shut down for an entire half, regardless of who was missing from the lineup.

#3 The timeout debate

Joe Mazzulla’s decision not to call a time-out during a 17-0 run has certainly created a strong discussion amongst the fanbase. The truth is, there’s no guarantee a time-out would have stopped the bleeding or taken the wind out of Orlando’s sails. And at what point do you stop things? When it’s 8-0? 14-0? Mazzulla has shared his thought process on the time-out issue before.

We also saw him call a couple of time-outs during the fourth quarter. Nothing changed. It didn’t make the Celtics play faster. It didn’t force them to look for better shots. And it didn’t fire them up to play through physicality and lock it down on defense.

This was a team loss. Everybody had a hand in the under-performance. Mazzulla included. But, time outs were not a deciding factor. Perhaps they played a part. And perhaps they didn’t. I’m on the fence with this one, but can certainly see both sides.

#4 Depth issues were apparent

No Jrue Holiday? No problem. That is until Derrick White is forced to leave the game with a contusion after a tough screen from Paolo Banchero. Suddenly, your only available ball-handler is Payton Pritchard. The same at the center position. It all looks good and dandy until you start a double-big lineup, and Kristaps Porzingis leaves the game due to injury. Suddenly, you start to question the overall depth of the roster.

Is Oshae Brissett capable of playing a significant role in the rotation when injury strikes? Can Luke Kornet give you impactful minutes for long stretches? There’s no denying the top-8 rotation at Boston’s disposal is exceptional. But questions remain over 9-through-15.

I’m far from hitting the panic button, but these questions are fair and will arise throughout the season. Right now, there don’t appear to be any good answers.

#5 Where was Svi Mykhailiuk?

The Celtics added Scvi Mykhailiuk to their roster this summer. For me, the addition meant Mazzulla had another shooting specialist to call upon when the team was struggling from deep. Boston went 7-of-29 from three-point range against the Magic. Only Jaylen Brown and Sam Hauser scored more than one of their perimeter shots.

Yet, Mykhailiuk stayed glued to the bench. One of the best movement shooters on the team didn’t get a single minute of playing time. I understand his limitations on defense make playing him for stretches a difficult task. Yet, when you’re trying to galvanize a rotation and need to see shots falling, why not bring in a player who was signed to knock down shots?

#6 Jaylen Brown’s Jekyll and Hyde performance

Jaylen Brown started the game the same way he finished his outing against the Milwaukee Bucks: En Fuego. When his shot is falling, and Brown is aggressive within the flow of the offense, he’s almost unstoppable.

However, once the second half began, and the Magic upped their intensity, Brown went from the human torch to Elsa — frozen. The problem wasn’t that Brown wasn’t making his shots; that was an issue plaguing the whole team. No, the problem was he had stretches where he forced the issue.

Again, this isn’t totally on Brown. There are times when he’s out there as the featured scorer. His job is to pressure the rim and force defensive rotations. Yet, when his shot isn’t falling, finding other ways to impact the game should be high on the agenda, rather than getting tunnel vision and playing one-on-many basketball.

#7 The Celtics need to add some counters

The above clip shows the Celtics going to a weakside stagger action for Sam Hauser. The idea is to get the sharpshooter an open look as he comes off the two screens. Orlando’s defense has been excellent this season. They shut down the play early, with Cole Anthony canceling a potential pass and/or DHO. The defense then suffocates the Celtics, closing down on shooters and getting into their faces.

It’s moments like this when the Celtics need that secondary action. A screening set that is designed to blow open such intense coverage. Instead, Jayson Tatum is forced into a tough, tightly contested mid-range jumper after the play had broken down.

It’s all well and good having these play designs, but knowing what to do when they’re shut down must be part of the design. Otherwise, we get possessions like the one above.

#8 Gettin’ nerdy with it: Stagger slips

One thing the Celtics did succeed with was running stagger actions where the second screener would slip towards the rim, forcing the defense to either blitz the ball-handler or rotate to defend the roll man if a tagger didn’t slide over.

White does a good job of engaging two defenders by driving toward the paint as Kornet slips and rolls, allowing some separation to be created and releasing a lob pass for an easy dunk.

Boston went to this action and a variation where Al Horford would be a “popper” on multiple occasions. Unfortunately, Orlando’s defense wised up to these actions pretty quickly. Again, a simple counter could have created some additional success here.

Perhaps after the slip, there is a second pick-and-roll and the slip screener becomes the pass receiver in a short action.

#9 Slow pace doesn’t suit the Celtics

On my re-watch this morning, the Celtics’ lack of pace in the second half was jarring. We’ve become accustomed to early offense, pitch-ahead passes, and many transition opportunities. So, to see the Celtics walking the ball up, slowly getting into their half-court actions, and failing to create consistent quality opportunities was disheartening.

Tatum had a tough game. His lack of pace was a clear indicator that Boston had been bullied out of their usual swagger. As the team’s star player, the Celtics go as Tatum goes. If he’s pushing the pace, it’s infectious. If he’s slow, then the negative effects spread like wildfire.

Boston is at their best when playing with pace and making smart, quick decisions. It’s known as the .5 system. Players have 0.5 seconds to decide whether they’re going to pass, drive, dribble, or shoot. Mazzulla has implemented this system over the past two seasons.

Hopefully, the Celtics can course-correct and get back to their usual tempo in their upcoming games.

#10 Silver linings.

I’ve been quite critical of the performance in today’s takeaways. While I feel it’s warranted, I do want to end on a brighter note. The fact is, it’s easy to view the Magic as a bad team after multiple seasons of them being a rebuilding roster at the foot of the Eastern Conference. That isn’t the case anymore. Orlando is second in the East, has a top-3 ranked defense, and has two guys in Franz Wagner and Paolo Bancerho, who will be multi-time All-Stars in their careers.

Losing to the Magic isn’t the gut punch many are acting like it is. They’re a good team. It’s also worth remembering this was the Celtics’ fourth loss of the season. It’s not like they’re slumping, and the postseason looks a million miles away. It was a bad game. There are lots of lessons to learn from. And yes, the in-season tournament group is now blown wide open.

Yet, in the scale of things, the Celtics have started off well and have an opportunity to improve in the coming months. One loss isn’t going to define their season. The same way as one win won’t change much right now, either. Sometimes, you need a loss like this to force change and growth, and given the Celtics lofty expectations, that is exactly what we should expect moving forward.

Looking ahead

The Celtics will face the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday at 6 PM ET. They will need to respond after losing to Orlando, and could find themselves decimating the Hawks defense — which continues to struggle and is currently ranked 25th in the NBA. Still, Boston will need to manage Atlanta’s motion offense and mitigate the impact of Trae Young.

Either way, it’s a chance to put the Magic loss in the rearview mirror and see what lessons have been taken from the game. I’m focusing on what’s ahead, not what’s behind us.