Celtics/Raptors Early tweak from Brad Stevens: Marcus Smart is defending Kyle Lowry to start the game. Lowry has been getting going early in each game. Smart guarding Lowry has two advantages for Boston. Celtics defense has focused on stopping Lowry penetration. I expect Brad Stevens to try and match Kemba Walker's minutes tonight to Marc Gasol's. That way the Celtics can bleed as much out of pick and roll against Gasol's drop coverage as possible. Boston was more ready for Toronto's zone than any point in this series. Celtics are playing against the zone with purpose tonight. No hesitation driving the gaps and getting the ball moving. The Celtics are really engaged defensively. Communication on switches, switch-backs and jump-switches is on-point early. If I was Stevens, I'd consider playing Williams more against Gasol and Theis against Ibaka. Williams is having trouble recovering back to Ibaka on the pick and pop. Not as much of a worry with Gasol in the game. Celtics straight switched that Raptors PnR. Subtle little tweak. When Toronto went super small, Stevens went to the three-guard lineup with Walker/Smart/Wanamaker. That allows Boston to counter Toronto's ballhandlers better, without fear of getting beat up inside on switches. This is some of the best defense the Celtics have played all year. Raptors look a step slow and Boston is way too quick for that. Maybe the minutes-load is catching up with Toronto? Raptors came out pretty desperate to start the second half. The Celtics look a little content. Raptors went small. 2-2-1 press from Toronto. Nurse waved the white flag. It's about time for Stevens to pull his starters now too. It's getting increasingly ragged. No reason to keep them out there. Celtics made the extra effort plays tonight, knowing they had to match or exceed Toronto's effort. Nuggets/Clippers Looks like Zubac had a mandate to be more physical with Jokic. That's now 4 fouls on the Clippers trying to pressure Jokic on the perimeter. Denver running some sets for him to dribble himself into postups, Clips probably are going to have to double. Looks like Harrell is going to look to slip that PnR early with Jokic coming up hard. That enables an easier pass to him and he's at the rim before the help. Kawhi had three assists in the first quarter, a reflection of the way he's found shooters to keep the ball from sticking. As gifted as MPJ is offensively, man he has room to grow in terms of shot selection. Clippers not being able to guard Jokic and getting smoked with him off the court seems like a rough equation for them. Harrell has absolutely killed the Clippers in this stint, as he has basically all playoffs. It’s time that Doc decides to go in a different direction to win games. Paul George has been really good so far - playing with a lot of rhythm. Clippers finally showed life on defense with that 12-2 run to close the half. Jokic will make a few great plays, but the Clippers simply need better effort on defense. Too much ball watching, lazy rotations, standing around when the ball hits the rim. But those 3 minutes of ball hawking is a big reason they’re within 2. Nikola Jokic’s weight loss dropped his strength and he can’t bang you down on the block as well, but he is a great shooter. With the performance of PG, it will be detrimental for the Clippers to lose this one. This is the adjustment to the rotation I wanted to see from Doc, Beverley with the 2nd unit. He totally blew up the Nuggets' first play. Once again, Denver stretches the lead with the second unit. This series after the last series shows the highs and lows of Jamal Murray. There’s still ton of work to be done to become a superstar. If Green is able to return then he should be getting Montrez’s minutes. If the scheme is to get Jokic up near the ball on PnR, Nuggets guards have to force handler to use the screen.
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