The Celtics are still firmly in the league's No. 1 record, and compared to the beginning of the season, the Celtics have now entered a phase of tactical adjustments, and the recent injury troubles of the Celtics, so their changes are also very necessary. In response to the current situation of the team, Celtics head coach Mazzulla has developed a starting lineup of Tatum, Brown, Holiday , White and Hauser, and this ultimate five has also produced good chemistry.
The reason why the Celtics need to make tactical adjustments is also because the team has made a lot of changes in personnel rotation this season. In order to promote the team, the Celtics traded for Porzingis in the offseason, but this also made the Celtics lose their defensive titan Smart, coupled with the departure of Lowe and Gwee, the Celtics' bench depth has actually declined. If you want to stay competitive, you need to develop more tactics and rotate personnel.
At the beginning of the season, the Celtics maintained a good upward momentum, after all, their core rotation was still stable enough. However, as the schedule deepened, the Celtics suffered an injury crisis, especially after the suspension of Porzingis and Horford, the Celtics' interior height declined, and the team did not have a suitable backup center, and the development of small-ball tactics was also necessary, which made the Celtics have changed now.
The new starting lineup, dominated by Tatum, has an absolute ability to create offensive space. Hauser has been off the bench for long periods of time, but since the start of the season, Hauser has been able to shoot 45 from three-point range8%, and while the other four all have the ability to attack with the ball, the Celtics can open up enough offensive space on the court. Even against teams that excel at scoring and have tall centers, the Celtics can have an advantage.
In the Celtics' new five-man lineup, Holiday plays an important role. Holiday is a consistent one-on-one player and can draw on defenders with his excellent individual scoring ability to provide subtle assists to his teammates. Even if the opponent sends one-on-one defense, Holiday is able to pull away from the defense and create space for the rest of the Celtics to shoot, which is the starting point for the Celtics' tactics.
Although the Celtics' five-man lineup is not tall enough, it can maximize their excellent defensive ability. Due to the drop in height, the Celtics are able to make efficient and infinite changes on the court, and even when the opponent has a tall post player, the Celtics are still able to use small areas to create mistakes and use them to launch counterattacks. In terms of tactical threat, Celtic are in better shape now than they were at the start of the season.
The Celtics have been committed to developing their own small-ball tactics, and with Mazzulla's continuous adjustments, the Celtics have gradually formed their own unique tactical system. Even the Golden State Warriors of that year did not have the small-ball tactics of the Celtics to show such great power, and this is also an important part of the Celtics' championship this season.