Why Celtics hope other opponents try Grizzlies’ ‘bold’ Jrue Holiday strategy

The fundamental tenets of Joe Mazzulla’s offensive strategy are math and trust. 3-point shots are more valuable than twos, and if a player gets an open look from beyond the arc, he’d better shoot it.

The Memphis Grizzlies challenged that approach in an unexpected way Saturday night at TD Garden. Their plan: leave Jrue Holiday wide open all game, especially on corner three opportunities.

That wrinkle surprised the Celtics and led Holiday — the lowest-volume scorer of Boston’s five starters — to shatter his career high in 3-point attempts. He surpassed his previous single-game high early in the second half and launched 17 threes in the game.

Holiday’s 26 field-goal attempts were by far the most he’d tallied in a game since he joined the Celtics last season. His per-game average entering Saturday was a modest 9.7.

Memphis’s strategy could have backfired if Holiday had shot the ball with his typical efficiency. But the veteran guard went just 8-for-26 from the floor (30.7%) and 4-for-17 from three (23.5%), and the Celtics lost 127-121.

Despite the lackluster results, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said he was glad the Grizzlies defended them the way they did. He hopes other teams try to emulate it in the future.

“It’s a bold strategy,” Mazzulla said. “I mean, he’s an All-Star. He shoots 40% from three. I think that’s a risky one, and I thought he handled it great. We empower him and want him to shoot any shot that he’s open. And I think that’s a huge gift, because now we’re going to see it again, and it’s going to be great for us. So I’m really happy that they did that for us, and I thought the teammates did a great job empowering Jrue to shoot. He didn’t make them all, but you move on. I’m glad that we saw that, and it’s going to be good for us.”

Kristaps Porzingis thought the preponderance of clean looks made Holiday “almost uncomfortable,” saying the Grizzlies’ plan seemed to have “caught him off guard a bit.” Holiday denied that. He said he actually enjoyed the opportunity to shoot as much as he did — and that his confidence in his shot didn’t waver.

“They’re literally dropping all the way in the paint, and I’m wide open,” Holiday said. “So, yeah, I knew I was shooting ‘em, but I don’t see it as an issue. Some days you shoot it well, some days you don’t. Today wasn’t the best day for me, but I’ll keep shooting.”

Holiday shot a career-best 42.9% from three in his first season with Boston, including a terrific 61.9% on corner threes. Both of those marks have dropped dramatically this season (to 32.8% and 31.9%, respectively), which might explain the Grizzlies’ gamble.

The Celtics eventually sat Holiday for the final six minutes and closed with Payton Pritchard, who made 6 of 11 threes to finish with 22 points.

It also was another example of a team employing unconventional methods against the talent-rich Celtics, who are coming off an NBA championship and boast the league’s deepest roster. The Golden State Warriors tried something similar against Jaylen Brown last season, repeatedly leaving him open to entice him to chuck up threes.

Brown went 5-for-10 from deep in that game, and the Celtics demolished the Warriors 140-88.

“Teams will probably try (the Grizzlies’ approach), and I hope so,” Brown said after Saturday’s game. “We’ve got full belief in Jrue. Tonight, maybe he didn’t shoot the ball as (well) as he’d like, but we’ve got full belief in Jrue and any of those guys, and we want to encourage it. So, yeah, we’ll be ready if teams do decide that.”

He added: “It’s a testament to how good we are as a team. Teams try to do magic tricks, pull rabbits out of their hat to try to throw us off. We’ve just got to be mentally strong, encourage each other and just play basketball.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/GtJkK3l