The query I posed to the workers: Everyone knows that Luka goes to get his factors and assists it doesn’t matter what the Celtics throw at him. However what are some ways in which you suppose the Celtics can sluggish him down or reduce his total influence as a lot as attainable?
Wealthy Jensen
To me, good protection in basketball is all about discomfort. It’s about making the offense take the photographs you need them to take, while you need them to be taken. When Luka passes, can the C’s protection guarantee it’s caught in a clumsy spot?
Luka is extraordinarily efficient going downhill, and particularly to his proper. Can the C’s assist protection and rotations maintain Doncic from discovering momentum (and fouls), whereas leaving his passing targets well-defended? If Luka will get by Derrick or Jrue, so much will hinge on how he will get by. If Jrue/Derrick ship him into assist, particularly on his off-hand, that’s so much higher than getting by on the fitting facet and having nothing however a defender attempting to shut out in his manner.
Will assist rotations be crisp sufficient that they’ll give Luka only some tenths of a second to determine a goal?
Jack Simone
Slowing down Luka Doncic is probably not attainable. He’s within the tier of NBA participant able to attending to his spots and controlling the courtroom in his manner for 90% of a sport. The place the Celtics can reduce him down is reacting. Exhibiting stress in a single spot simply to alter the protection the subsequent possession. Dropping again in pick-and-roll protection just a few instances after which blitzing him whereas the protection rotates on the back-end. Doncic will work out the Celtics’ coverages. That a lot is inevitable. The query is, can the Celtics change their coverages sufficient to maintain him jumpy and reduce the injury of others sufficient to make Doncic beat them alone?
Jeff Clark
I simply suppose the Celtics should ship wave after wave of defenders at Luka. Not simply from sport to sport, however from play to play. Put somebody totally different on him each play. Swap up the blokes defending the screeners too. Movement from drop protection to zone to modified switching and the rest you may consider. Choose up full courtroom generally. Go double massive generally. No matter you may consider, simply don’t do the identical factor 2 or 3 instances in a row.
Sam LaFrance
I believe the Celtics are fairly properly outfitted to defend Luka (as a lot as you may). Minnesota acquired killed as a result of they didn’t have any defenders who had each the dimensions and mobility to stay with him. Gobert and Cities can’t transfer properly sufficient and McDaniels simply didn’t have the energy to maintain him uncomfortable. This seems like the right alternative for Jaylen Brown to make some extent to All-Protection voters. He advised the media that he was actually disillusioned to have missed out on that honor. Brown was at his greatest this season when he was guarding star ballhandlers. He did job on Luka all through the common season and has a grand stage to copy that efficiency within the Finals. When he’s sitting, or simply doesn’t have it, Jayson Tatum has the identical set of instruments to try to sluggish Doncic down. Dimension, athleticism, and size. Tatum has confirmed out when he’s been requested to defend among the league’s greatest. The occasion that involves thoughts most is the loss in OKC again in January. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander killed Boston all sport then JT picked him up within the fourth and held him scoreless.
Mike Dynon
The Celtics have the depth to make use of quite a lot of defenders on Luka, which could sluggish him down a bit – however in all probability not sufficient. The Dallas star averaged 35 factors, 15 rebounds and 12 assists in two video games vs. Boston this season. Nevertheless, he’s not nearly as good on protection, so the basic technique is to make him expend power when the Celtics have the ball. Put on him down and produce good photographs by aggressively operating on each transition alternative and attacking him with pick-and-rolls in halfcourt units. The excellent news is that even when he will get his numbers, that doesn’t assure a Mavs win. Within the aforementioned video games, Luka’s plus/minus stats had been -13 and -20, and the Celtics gained each.
Trevor Hass
As famous above, stopping Luka completely is basically not possible. He’s in all probability going to common round 30, 10 and eight, and Celtics followers are going to despise him in just a few weeks in the event that they don’t already. However for my part, there’s a strategy to make him human – be disciplined. Don’t foul him whereas he’s capturing a 3. Time your traps properly. Stress the ball with conviction and tire him out. Pressure him into contested 3’s, not simple ones. Forestall him from controlling the center of the ground. Be certain he is aware of you’re there. Don’t fall for his antics. Doing the little issues at a excessive degree, again and again, provides as much as massive outcomes.
Drew Doxy
I believe the very best factor to do is simply stick Jaylen Brown on him and attempt to keep away from needlessly switching on picks. There aren’t as many obtrusive mismatches obtainable for him to take advantage of, however Doncic does a lot injury poking holes in transitory moments defensively. The second two defenders take to bodily swap is a second Doncic has to reveal you. Jaylen on ball defensively is the place he’s at his most centered, and that permits you to make the most of the opposite plus defenders in Boston’s lineup extra creatively. It allows you to stick Jrue Vacation on Kyrie Irving, and you then nonetheless have Tatum and White obtainable to create defensive chaos with well-timed assist. If Doncic burns Jaylen one-on-one and we lose that manner, so be it. I’d quite take my possibilities there than los as a result of Derrick Jones Jr. acquired comfortable with simple photographs and went 9-for-10. (edited)
Adam Taylor
I might agree with everybody’s sentiment of throwing a number of defenders at Doncic. Giving him a number of totally different seems is smart. As does conserving a bodily and explosive athlete like Jaylen Brown on him for stretches.
I might additionally count on to see some crossmatching. Doncic is used because the PnR ball-handler in 35.5% of his whole offensive possessions. Cross matching Jrue Vacation, Jaylen Brown or Derrick White onto the screener, permitting them to leap on Doncic as he comes over/off the display screen could possibly be a great way of disrupting his rhythm and placing him into uncomfortable state of affairs’s.
The important thing to this Celtics protection is its versatility. Leaning into all of the totally different coverages, state of affairs’s and mixtures might be key in containing what Doncic does on the ground.
I’m additionally a giant believer in specializing in taking away his shops. Bunker down on shooters or cutters. Pressure him to beat his preliminary and secondary coverages, with out having the discharge valves obtainable within the corners or spaced into the slot.
Mark Aboyoun
Between the rotation of men I believe we’ll throw at him (Jrue, White, Brown, and Tatum) I believe Boston is properly outfitted in making him see totally different matchups. I believe going to zone from time to time will assist sluggish him down and get the ball out of his fingers. Everyone knows how particular Luka is, so it’s all about making it as troublesome as attainable.
