Ja Morant of the Grizzlies is better known for his ability to drive to the basket, but he made four 3-pointers against the Celtics on Saturday night.
Ja Morant of the Grizzlies is better known for his ability to drive to the basket, but he made four 3-pointers against the Celtics on Saturday night.Winslow Townson/Getty Images
What coach Joe Mazzulla expects this season when the Celtics are the hunted is the unexpected.
Ja Morant entered Saturday’s game 15 of 57 on 3-pointers in 13 games. Yet, he hit his first four against the Celtics in helping the Memphis Grizzlies to a 127-121 win.
Jaren Jackson Jr. was 5 for his past 25 beyond the arc, but hit three of his four tries, including a critical trey in the fourth quarter. The Celtics have enough defensive discipline to allow desired shots from opposing players, such as backing off Morant near the 3-point line so he doesn’t drive to the basket for an acrobatic layup or lob, which is his preference.
But when do the Celtics adjust their defense when if a player is capitalizing off their defensive strategy? Morant hadn’t made more than three 3-pointers in a game since Feb. 7. 2023. Yet, expect the unexpected when opposing players face the Celtics, because they are flourishing in that spotlight.
Memphis came to Boston desperately wanting a signature victory, especially for teammate Marcus Smart, who played nine years for the Celtics. Mazzulla constantly has to determine when to adjust to these career-type nights.
For example, Chicago’s Nikola Vucevic drilled four 3-pointers in a 93-second span to end the first half of the Celtics’ Nov. 29 win against the Bulls. Mazzulla decided to switch Jayson Tatum on to Vucevic in the second half and he attempted just three 3-pointers, making two.
“To me, it goes back to the process of winning and taking care of the things you can control,” Mazzulla said. “You can’t control whether [Morant] hits his first four or he doesn’t but you can control the majority of the transition [scoring] opportunities. When you add it up and they have 24 points in transition in the first half and he makes his first four, that’s a tough one. That’s part of the NBA. They’re a good team, well coached, they have great players.
“But when you’re in those predicaments, you have to fight your best to control the things you can control. Don’t turn it over. Get back on defense. Defend them. To help withstand where talent is going to take over.”
The Celtics realized they would have to relent on 3-point shooting on the defensive end because they had allowed too many points in the paint when Kristaps Porzingis was out of the lineup. In the team’s past seven games since Porzingis’ return, the Celtics are 15th in the NBA in points in the paint allowed at 48.6.
For the season — 24 games — they are 25th in the NBA at 51.7. Moreover, in the past seven games, the Celtics are second in the NBA in lowest opposing 2-point percentage but 27th in 3-point percentage. In other words, the Celtics’ emphasis on rim protection has allowed opposing teams to get cleaner 3-point looks.
And Mazzulla sometimes has to decide whether to allow those looks to their preferred shooters or change his defensive game plan. The Grizzlies won Saturday partially because they converted their second-highest 3-point percentage of the season — 45.5 percent. Yet, two of their average or below average shooters — Morant and Jackson — combined for seven of the 15 makes.
The Celtics' defense is not the same as last season, although they are 10th in the NBA in defensive rating. The continuing presence of Porzingis will boost the defense over time but they’ll have to be prepared for their share of career nights because no opponent is coming into a matchup with the Celtics ill prepared or lacking motivation.
“They shot the ball extremely well,” Jaylen Brown said of the Grizzlies. “I felt it was a great game by them. We fought, but it wasn’t enough.”
The Celtics were obviously exhausted after a rugged game against the Milwaukee Bucks the night before. But they didn’t use fatigue as an excuse. Regardless if the Celtics are playing in a back-to-back or five games in seven nights or are well rested, opposing teams are going to push the tempo to ensure they get transition buckets and don’t have to score against Boston’s set defense.
The Grizzlies scored 22 fast-break points to the Celtics’ 4. The Celtics are lethal in a half-court offense but not in transition, especially when the 7-foot-2 inch Porzingis has to gallop down the floor.
There are still plenty of lessons to be learned for the defending champions, and the Grizzlies gave Mazzulla and his staff plenty of material to review, including their defense against Jrue Holiday. But determining whether to make defensive adjustments, put more emphasis on defending the 3-point line or just rely on players to eventually level off are quandaries that Mazzulla will have to address for the remainder of the season.