Joe Mazzulla’s core values have been taking shape over the first month-plus of the season, with the topic of spacing coming up on a nightly basis.
But he doesn’t talk about common terms in the traditional sense. Spacing was a concept that moved to the forefront of the public lexicon during the five-out revolution in the early 2010s, as bigs started to become 3-point shooters and teams looked to open up the paint as much as possible.
Then going four out, one in came back in vogue as bigs started rolling more or lurking in the dunker spot behind the hoop.
Boston has embraced this since
Al Horford — a pick-and-pop specialist — initially departed and Rob Williams ascended.
Daniel Theis mastered the Gortat, rolling across the paint and sealing off the defender(s) so his pick-and-roll partner could waltz all the way to the rim. The Celtics break that out every once in a while, but they’re now using the big a little differently to disrupt the paint.
When the Celtics swing the ball to the corners and attack, the center is getting in the way on purpose. It’s a recognition of the growth of players like
Grant Williams, who this year has gone from just being able to attack a closeout to thriving against them.
Last season, Grant Williams would up fake, dribble toward the midrange and then pass it to a shooter on the elbow. From there, he would fill a spot on the perimeter and be ready to launch. But even as he improves his handle enough to have a legit shot at going to the rim, players like
Luke Kornet and
Blake Griffin are standing right under the hoop.
It’s a sign Williams is turning into an actual wing, because the scheme is betting he can get deep into the defense and still make rim reads.
How the gamble works is the big stands right under the net as Williams begins to drive, keeping his man in position to protect the rim. That means he would be open under the rim, so another defender has to help off a shooter to cover the big. Because the player closing out on Williams is going to be either trailing him or just out of the play into the corner, Williams has three defenders engaged at the rim and one open teammate somewhere on the perimeter. That can leave a lot of space against a hard closeout defense like
Toronto’s.
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So when Mazzulla talks about spacing, he doesn’t mean large swaths of hardwood to roam. He means precise alignment, even in cramped zones of the floor, to open up all these reads built into the system. Now that his rotation is almost entirely players who can put the ball on the floor and see all those reads, it’s working better than anyone else in the league.