Have the Boston Celtics ushered in a brand new period of “tall ball” as a response to years of small ball being the NBA’s dominant paradigm? After slogging via unskilled pairings of dual bigs the Celtics deployed in latest seasons out of sheer necessity, they found an extremely efficient iteration constructed round taking part in heart Robert Williams III and Al Horford collectively.
It created a league-leading protection that different groups just like the Orlando Magic, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Minnesota Timberwolves emulated, maybe signaling but a brand new course for the league. “With every thing else even, greater is definitely higher than smaller,” associated broadcaster and former coach Stan Van Gundy in a latest article by CBS Sports activities’ James Herbert.
“In Van Gundy’s view, the success of the Celtics, who had the very best protection within the NBA final season and the No. 2 offense from January onward, has lots to do with the league trending taller,” writes Herbert, noting Van Gundy is even predicting a return to publish play within the league because of this.
“The Celtics had an opportunity to safe Williams’ future on a long-term extension this offseason, however they couldn’t make the numbers work,” writes Bleacher Report. https://t.co/p3fcXHDAEs
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) November 3, 2022
It’s definitely potential, but when it does occur, it’ll require the form of expert large males Boston introduced on with their reunion with Horford — ask any Celtics fan how poorly extra conventional bruisers within the publish with little means to shoot the ball or move it might go.
“Ideally as a workforce you need to have a variety of versatility and suppleness to have the ability to play lineups situationally,” shared Van Gundy, which sounds very very similar to one thing else Boston has developed in the midst of the final yr.
Hearken to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi
YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ