Poor Clock Management, Late Quarter Execution Costs Cs against Brooklyn

The Celtics turned a lead at the end of 3 quarters into a loss Friday night, once again struggling to close out a game. However, an overlooked and perhaps equally important aspect of the Celtics loss to Brooklyn was their inability to close out quarters 1,2, and 3, as Jared Sullinger told A. Sherrod Blakely after the game.

“While much of the focus for Boston has been their inability to close out games, Jared Sullinger sees the issues down the stretch as problematic leading up to the fourth quarter, too.

“If you look at the first, second and third, we didn’t close those quarters out either,” said Sullinger. “And it crept up and we came out with a loss.””

Sully is absolutely right. The Celtics did a poor job executing in the closing minutes of each quarter, especially the 3^rd, and Brooklyn was able to steal a few points in each. Let’s take an in-depth look at their late quarter execution and clock management.

1^st Quarter

The Celtics led by 4, 27-23, with a minute to go in the 1^st, but some poor execution in the final minute allowed Brooklyn to cut the lead to 1. The clip below starts with a Brooklyn possession in which they run a simple pick and pop out of a Horns set for a wide open Brook Lopez jumper. Green could have been in a better position to stunt at Lopez, which would have given Brandan Wright more time to recover.

The Celtics come down on the other end of the floor in a clear 2-for-1 opportunity, but Green turns it over trying to hit Brandan Wright off a pick and roll, handing the 2-for-1 chance over to Brooklyn. Fortunately for the Celtics, the Nets make an equally bad play, with Sergey Karasev passing up a wide open three and throwing the ball to Plumlee, who wasn’t expecting it.

Jameer Nelson smartly holds for the last shot for the Cs and draws a foul shooting a three with 6 seconds to go on a savvy veteran move. The only downside was that he left Brooklyn with six seconds to work with. It appeared as if the Celtics would head into the 2^nd with a 4 point lead despite their failure to properly execute a 2-for-1, but a poor switch between Nelson and Wright gave Jarret Jack a great look at a straight-away three, which he knocked down to cut the lead to 1.

Recap: Cs -3 in the final 1:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzJvmRkD374

2^nd Quarter

With a 3 point lead and 1:25 to go in the 2^nd, the Cs let Jack get deep into the paint to find Plumlee for an and 1. After the Plumlee missed free throw and a missed three by Boston, Mirza Teletovic is fouled making a post move against Jeff Green and connects on 1 of 2 free throws.

The Celtics do a better job executing their 2-for-1 opportunity this time, as Sullinger makes a nice post move for a bucket, but follow that up with awful pick and roll defense leading to an easy dunk for Plumlee. Keep in mind, the Cs could have went into locker room trailing had it not been for a couple of missed free throws for Brooklyn.

Recap: Cs -3 in the final 1:25

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRE1uKcpfBA

3^rd Quarter

With 1:10 to go, the Celtics held a comfortable 12 point lead, but Evan Turner allows Deron Williams to reject a ball screen without much resistance and Kelly Olynyk helps one pass away, leading to an open three for Teletovic.

Turner then turns the ball over before Olynyk makes a tremendous hustle play to save a layup. When the dust settles, the Cs have the ball up 9 in a golden 2-for-1 opportunity with 43 seconds to go, but the Celtics are once again unable to execute and settle for a contested mid-range shot from Jeff Green, allowing Brooklyn to have the final possession. Williams makes Boston pay with a baseline fadeaway to end the quarter.

Recap: Cs -5 in final 1:10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIggkIVKR-g

In a total of 3:35 to end the first 3 quarters, the Celtics were -11. In a game that was decided by 2 points, their lack of execution at the end of each quarter made a huge difference. If the Celtics are able to close out even one of these three quarters well, they win the game. Poor execution late in quarters is common for young teams. The Celtics loss of focus on the defensive end is clear, as they were only able to generate two stops in the nine defensive possessions seen above.

The importance of 2-for-1s on the offensive end cannot be understated. Basketball is a game of possessions, and any time a team can steal one or two through proper clock management, they hold an advantage, not to mention the momentum a late quarter shot gives a team heading into the next period. Consider the end of the 3^rd. The actual outcome was a contested midrange jumper for Boston and a Deron Williams fadeaway for the Nets. The Cs could have easily gotten a similar quality shot to the Green jumper earlier in the clock, giving Boston an extra possession. Even if the first shot is not a high quality look, two shots are almost always better than one, especially in the NBA where players are highly skilled at making tough shots.

As an example, take a look at where Vince Carter launches this three from to get a 2-for-1 for Memphis.

https://vine.co/v/OHj7u9Mdr3w

The quarter that hurt the most was the 3^rd. If the Celtics were able to play even with Brooklyn in the final 1:10, they would have gone into the 4^th with a 12 point lead, as compared to 7. In the end, those 5 points made all the difference.

This is part of the growing process for Boston. Had they played Brooklyn even in the final minute of each quarter, they would have held an 18 point lead heading into the 4^th. Good teams find a way to win those small battles. Maintaining focus and understanding time and score are qualities that Boston needs from every player on the floor, and hopefully Brad Stevens uses this as an opportunity to get that point across.