The True Sign Of A Champion Is Finding Ways To Win Playoff Games Even When Things May Not Go Your Way

Maddie Meyer. Getty Images.

Now that we've all had some time to digest the Celts Game 1 win, I'm happy to report that, yes, winning playoff games still feels great. A shock, I know. In this journey to 16 wins, every one is going to look different. Once you get into the playoffs, you have to train your brain to not approach games or series in terms of "what should happen", and instead understand that every game, every quarter, every possession is it's own challenge. Sometimes you're going to look great, everything is going to click and you're going to look like an unstoppable force.

Other times, it's going to look gross. There are going to be mistakes, droughts, tough moments, and challenges that test your mental toughness and your ability to still find ways to execute, even when nothing is going your way.

Both are normal. Both are inevitable. This is what winning in the playoffs looks like, so you may as well embrace it.

What you should also avoid doing is comparing what you see to the other series around the league. None of that shit matters. It's not about what you do in relation to other team that may have won, it's about did you handle your own business? If the answer is yes, then that is what matters. Not how it looked, not by how much or how little your may have won by, did you win? That's it.

Now, we can also be honest. Even if winning is what truly matters, that doesn't mean you shouldn't want to play well. In this win, I'd say it was a C/C+ level performance from the Champs, which may have been good enough to win Game 1 against Orlando, but that's it. They'll have to be better in Game 2, but we'll worry about that on Wednesday.

It also should be mentioned that even if Game 1 had it's flaws, the Celt still won by 17 points. As I always say, perspective is important. It's not like they lost this game, and it's not like they needed some sort of last second prayer just to pull out the win. They won rather comfortably while playing nowhere close to their ceiling. Call me crazy, but that's not so bad!

By now, you should know the stat, but teams that go up 1-0 are 683-195 (77.8%) all time in NBA history. In the first round, they are 286-74 (79.4%). Game 1s help set the tone, even if there is still a whole lot of basketball still to come. 

With that said, let's begin

The Good

- Imagine starting anywhere else? In most cases, there's usually some competition for this top spot, but in Game 1, the answer was clear pretty much from the opening tip. This was the Derrick White Game

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Not to overreact, but you just watched the second player in NBA postseason history to have multiple career games with 7 3PM and at least 2 blocks. You may remember his explosion against the Heat last year as well. The only other time we've ever seen that happen is when Klay Thompson did it, with his 2nd game coming in 2022, a year GS won the title. I'm just saying.

Heading into the playoffs we knew it was going to be important that Derrick be ready to go as a C&S threat. When he's truly locked in and that jumper is back to being a magnet ball, it takes the Celts to a level that opposing teams really struggle to match. With all the attention on the Jays, White is able to feast off their gravity and once you give him even a sliver of space, that 3 is going up and there's nothing you can do about it. 

Remember, he had been shooting 44.4% from deep in his last handful of games in the regular season, and considering how poor the main options shot the ball, I'd say White's shot making was pretty fucking important. When he doesn't hesitate and just shoots that shit with confidence, it's crazy what a difference it makes. There's a reason everyone implores Derrick to stay aggressive and take whatever shot he wants, because when he gets cooking like this, I'm pretty sure the Celts never lose. Even if you think there won't be too many games this postseason where Derrick goes 7-12 (you're wrong) from deep, the point is that doesn't really matter. It happened once, it secured a win. In a game where someone needed to step up and carry the production while others struggled, Derrick rose to the occasion. 

That's what champions do. They find ways to win no matter what it may look like on any given night. 

- While his numbers weren't as gaudy, do not let that trick you into thinking that Jrue Holiday's impact was not gigantic in this win. Sure just 9/3/5/3 on 3-6 (3-4) may not seem all that impressive, but you just had to watch it to understand

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I could make the case that it was Jrue Holiday who completely changed the momentum of this game. The Magic did a great job of battling back in the 2nd quarter to the point where they had all the momentum heading into the break. How the Celts responded in the 3rd quarter was basically going to decide the game, and that's when Jrue changed everything. When you think of the dominant teams in NBA history, the 3rd quarter is usually when they deliver their death blow. You could tell the team knew their first half was nowhere close to good enough, and they wasted no time turning up the dials and asserting themselves on both ends of the floor. They weren't reactionary, they instead imposed their will. When they do that, there is not a team on planet Earth that can survive it.

When it comes to Jrue Holiday specifically, I do want to take a step back and appreciate what he's done in the playoffs as a member of the Boston Celtics. That was easily his biggest question when he came over, because his results in MIL were definitely up and down. Good one year, a disaster the next. A TS% in the low 50s/high 40s. It's why the Bucks traded him, because they felt like they needed more consistent offense once the playoffs rolled around.

As a Celtic, I'm not sure you could ask for better production

A 50/40/90 guy with a 62% TS%?????

Yeah, that fucks.

This is the benefit of Jrue being allowed to be the 4th or 5th option. As we saw, he can take quarters over if needed, but that's not his role. His role is to make his open 3s, make his layups and lock up his assignment defensively. All year, we were hoping that Holiday was mostly coasting through the regular season so he'd have plenty in the tank in the playoffs, and after his performance yesterday, it's hard not to think that's what we're seeing. 

You may not love the transition 3s, but in this series specificall,y that's an important shot. The Magic defense is so good in the half court at limiting your 3PA, you have to find ways to take clean looks. That means finding your spots in transition and letting it fly. As far as I'm concerned, Holiday has earned the right to take these shots, even if there's 20 seconds on the shot clock. 

While the shooting is certainly a welcomed sight, the on ball defense and the ball pressure is what tells me we're not getting a coasting Jrue Holiday. He was everywhere. This is important because the tougher you can make it for the Magic to get into their offense, the higher chance you have that the possession is going to break down, and they'll have to settle for a low percentage shot. That all starts with ball pressure. 

- For those who STILL can't accept Joe Mazzulla as The Guy, I'll inform you that he has now won 17 of his last 20 playoff games. Is that good? I'm thinking that's pretty good, but it's hard to say. 

This idea that the Celts and Joe can only win one way (by bombing 3s) is such a tired take, I just laugh when I hear it now. They just won a playoff game scoring 103 points. The beauty of Joe is that he can mold this team into whatever a game needs in that moment. 

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Plus, he also gave us perhaps the greatest Psycho Joe moment to date

This is the mentality of a pyshco. This is the mentality of a champion. Joe Mazzulla does not recognize or acknowledge pain. You aren't dead, so get up. Fight through it. That's the warrior mentality that has turned this team into what we see today, and if you can't understand that by now, that seems like a YOU problem to me.

- Much like DWhite, in a game where the stars may not be shooting as well as you hope, that means the "others" need to step up and pick up the slack. Derrick did his part, and so did Payton Pritchard. Given that he struggled in all of his matchups against the Magic this season, there was definitely a fear that when it came to a playoff opponent, this may not be the series for him.

Instead, he showed us that he is in fact built for this moment

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19 points on 6-8 shooting with 4 3PM, it was Payton's shotmaking early that got the Celts their initial separation, and it was the exact type of spark that his role requires in the playoffs. We've seen time after time this season, but Pritchard has the ability to swing momentum all by himself, and it doesn't always have to come via his shotmaking.

While that helped, defensively Pritchard was also a menace, even with his height disadvantage. As a passer he was great at getting into the paint and finding shooters, all while not turning the ball over in his 25 minutes. I'd argue this was about as close to a perfect Payton Pritchard performance as you're going to get, and it came at the perfect time considering how much some of the starters struggled. 

Between White, Jrue, and Pritchard, I think it's safe to say the guards won the Celts this game. 

- There's a reason NBA games are 48 minutes long. A lot can happen over the course of 4 quarters, and I'm not sure what Joe said to everyone at halftime, but it clearly worked

There were a handful of differences in the final 24 minutes compared to that first half, and I think it started with how much more locked in defensively the Celts were. Not just in terms of holding ORL to 39/33%, but look at the OREB number. Just 3 OREB in the final 24 minutes, which tells you they were finishing these defensive possessions cleanly. Thank you Jayson Tatum! 

We also saw the Celts get back to a proper 3PA volume nuber, which as you can see compared to ORL, the math battle was on their side. Part of the reason ORL hung around in the first half is because they were winning the 3P battle, both in terms of volume and percentage. That, should never happen. So it's no surprise that once the Celts got back to playing Mazzulla Ball, they blew this game wide open.

Lastly, I'm looking at the TOs. A GREAT number considering what a tough defense the Magic are. The Celts finished with only 9 TOs for the game, and this played such a huge role in why the fastbreak point battle was 26-4. There's your game right there folks.

The Magic struggle enough offensively that if you take care of the basketball and don't allow them to get out on the break in transition, it's going to be really hard for them to put up enough points to win, which is how this game went. They couldn't make the Celts pay despite all their OREBs (11 2nd chance points), and they couldn't turn the Celts over/score off turnovers. Those are two problem areas that usually get the Celtics in trouble in the playoffs, so to see them be solid in those areas was great.

- He only took 1 shot, but I loved how Sam Hauser played. He moved his feet defensively, he played with energy, he hit the boards, it's not often you see him be a +9 without making a single shot and still be able to make a positive impact. He's another guy who hadn't really played well against ORL, so him finding ways to impact winning that didn't come via 3PM is something I;ll take every day of the week.

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Plays like this matter just as much as 3PMs imo

- Shoutout to this team for not pooping their pants in the 4th quarter and blowing their double digit lead. That might not sound like anything special, unless you've been watching all season long. Derrick and Pritchard were great, Tatum made enough plays down the stretch, and the Celts were also able to rest Jaylen for the entire quarter.

Speaking of Jaylen, I thought he moved about as well as expected. He had some explosive plays, he finished 6-14, he didn't turn the ball over, and he made all his FTs. Good enough for me!

The Bad

- As is tradition, there's been a lot of hoopla around Jayson Tatum's shooting performance. Yeah, 8-22 (1-8) and being 0-4 from the FT line is absolutely disgusting. That is objectively true. But also, I can't find myself to give a single fuck. Why? Because he still impacted winning at a high level. His 14 rebounds were massive, his passing was great, and he was a team best +23 in his minutes.

I get why some focus on the shooting, but I've just seen too much Jayson Tatum playoff basketball to give a shit really. Sure, I would prefer he shot better, but I know he can still impact winning even if he doesn't, and at this time of year winning is what matters most. Sometimes you have an off night and your teammates pick up the slack. Shit, SGA just went like 4-13 and the Thunder won by 51 points. 

Some of Tatum's misses were self inflicted in terms of he probably should have just kept the ball moving as opposed to launching a contested shot, but he's also Jayson Tatum and he's allowed to do whatever the fuck he wants. 

Will this be another postseason run of poor efficiency? Who knows, but if the Celtics win, I can't imagine caring.

- More concerning to me was the performance of KP. It wasn't just the missed shots (1-8, 0-2), it was the fact that I didn't feel he was aggressive at all. He played with very little force, and he's going to have to figure out how to make sure to take care of the ball in traffic. The Magic are great at swarming and reaching/poking for the ball, and it felt like every time KP had the ball in a post up situation or around the rim, he somehow lost it. 

He did have his moments defensively in terms of rim protection, as well as clogging passing lanes to generate steals/fastbreaks, but offensively just 5 points and only 1 FGM is not going to cut it. The good news is KP generally immediately responds after putting up a stinker, but let's call this what it was. A stinker.

I was surprised we didn't really see too many pick & pop sets for him, and I wonder if that's a Game 2 adjustment. I'm just not sure KP post ups are the right way to attack this ORL defense, so instead why not utlize his spacing and help create driving lanes for your best players. When you need a bucket, fine, dump it down and let KP go to work. But he's going to be swarmed whenever he has the ball, and the Magic are physical enough to win those battles.

The Ugly

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- I know by the end of the game the Celts won the rebounding battle 42-41, but don't let that fool you. Their defensive rebounding to start this game was HORRENDOUS. Allowing 8 OREB in the first quarter alone was about as inexcusable at it gets, and it's not as if it all came from the ORL bigs. Guys were crashing the glass with no Celtic putting a body on them, the Magic were quicker to the ball, they played with more energy, and when that happens the basketball finds you.

There should never be a situation where the Celts have double bigs on the floor and cannot get a rebound. It could be KP/Kornet or KP/Al or Al/Kornet, the whole point of those lineups is to own the glass. It may not have mattered in Game 1 because the Magic can't shoot for shit, but I've seen enough playoff losses to know that if you suck ass on the glass, you will be burned for it.

Winning basketball, championship-level basketball, requires you to dominate the glass. Once you get to the playoffs, there are few things more important than rebounding. You HAVE to do it. Luke Kornet snagging just one (1) rebound in his 11 minutes tells you all you need to know. This is something that has to be MUCH better in Game 2, because you can't rely on the Magic just never making a shot. Eventually, those second and third chances will go in and you'll be in a tough spot.

- I still can't believe Tatum went 0-4 from the FT line. I don't think I've ever seen that happen befoer at any point in his Celtics tenure. That was odd.

So look, 1-0 is 1-0. The goal is to win, regardless of what it looks like. It does feel nice that a so-so performance can still result in a 17 point win, but this is only the beginning. Things only get tougher from here, and that starts with Game 2. Take care of your shit and put all the pressure in the world on the Magic once this series heads down to Florida. Game 2s generatlly have been a problem child in recent years, so here's to hoping we're over that bullshit.

1 down, 15 to go.