3 keys to the Celtics-Wizards series
The Celtics will have their hands full in the second round against the Wizards' explosive backcourt.
COMMENTARY
There’s no rest for the Eastern Conference’s top seed.
The Celtics had little time to celebrate their first playoff series win since 2012, Game 1 between Boston and the fourth-seeded Washington Wizards is Sunday at 1 p.m. at TD Garden. Washington served as one of Boston’s chief rivals during the regular season series that was split between the teams. Those contests were highlighted by several instances of bad blood, including a postgame scuffle in Boston and the Wizards dressing in all black for the Celtics “funeral” ahead of a matchup in Washington.
What should fans be watching for as the seasoned Wizards come to town this weekend? Here’s a look at three things that will loom large in the second-round showdown.
- Can the Celtics slow down the Wizards backcourt?
Outside of LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, no two teammates combined to score more points per game in the first round of the postseason than John Wall (29.5) and Bradley Beal (25.8). Wall has been playing some of the best basketball of his life in the past two weeks, shredding Atlanta’s potent defense with 52 percent shooting from the field and 10.4 assists per game. That type of production will put Boston’s backcourt to the test immediately, as Wall and Beal anchor a much more high-powered offense than the Bulls presented.
The biggest challenge for Brad Stevens in this series is figuring out the best plan of attack in defending the Wizards starting guards. You can bet that Avery Bradley will spend the majority of his series chasing Beal around screens on the perimeter, making the matchup against Wall a bigger problem. Isaiah Thomas did an admirable job defending Jimmy Butler in isolation last round, but Wall’s dribble penetration ability will be an emphasis all series long.
With nowhere else on the floor to hide Thomas against Washington’s starters, (6-foot-8 Otto Porter would be too much of a mismatch), the onus will be on Boston’s bigs to help Thomas with his matchup on Wall. Marcus Smart will help as well, but he struggles at times defending speedy guards.
Those issues make me wonder whether the C’s will resort to trapping and letting the likes of Markieff Morris and Otto Porter Jr. try to beat them with their shooting. That was not a winning formula in the regular season for Boston, so the guess here is that the Green will try to stick to man-to-man defense with smart rotations, rather than a trapping style.
- Does Brad Stevens stick with a small starting lineup?
It’s hard to imagine Stevens going away from the starting lineup switch that won four straight games against Chicago in Game 1, but the bigger question I have is whether he will stick with it for the majority of the series against Washington. Gerald Green was an offensive spark plug against the Bulls, averaging 11 points per game in his four starts, but he’ll have a more intimidating defensive matchup against Markieff Morris or Otto Porter in Round 2.
Porter is the bigger threat on the perimeter (43.4 percent shooting from 3), while Morris has the size (6-foot-10) to expose Green in the post if the Celtics try to slot him there defensively. The key for Green is making sure he provides enough scoring and spacing on the offensive end to balance out his defensive deficiencies. If not, Stevens could turn to Jonas Jerebko or Kelly Olynyk as a more reliable defensive presence, while also maintaining some perimeter spacing.
Whatever Stevens decides, it’s hard to envision him going back to his regular season starting lineup with Amir Johnson at the 5. The Celtics’ offense really found its groove without him in the fold against the Bulls, and the matchups favor Boston again in this series when they go smaller. Johnson could see some spot minutes off the bench against Washington’s reserve bigs, but look for the Jerebko/Olynyk combo to continue seeing extended run.
- Can the Celtics win the battle of the benches?
Boston’s second unit was plagued by inconsistency throughout the majority of the regular season, but they found their stride at the perfect time in Round 1. Kelly Olynyk emerged as a consistent big man, Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart broke out of 3-point shooting slumps, and the whole group collectively was able to maintain and even build on leads while Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford rested. That’s a luxury that Stevens did not have during the regular season, and it could very well continue against an underwhelming Washington bench corps.
The Wizards will be missing reserve center Ian Mahinmi for at least Game 1 of the series as he continues to recover from a strained calf, leaving them with just one true experienced big man (Jason Smith) off the bench. Sharpshooting swingman Bojan Bogdanovic will have to be accounted for, but the rest of the Wizards bench is an inconsistent bunch. The one wildcard to keep an eye on is Kelly Oubre, who has favored well in stints while guarding Isaiah Thomas and other C’s guards. The unit as a whole is a defensive mess though, and the C’s arguably have the edge at every single reserve spot.
Wizards coach Scott Brooks doesn’t rely on his bench much for that very reason, (Wall and Beal averaged 38 minutes per game against the Hawks) so it’s essential that the C’s take advantage of the limited time Wall and Beal are off the floor.
