Celtics Top-5 Highest IQ Plays of the Week

We’re back! Welcome to the Celtics’ Top-5 Highest IQ Plays of the Week! 

Sure, we love the high-flying dunks and the deep, off-the-dribble step-back threes, but this is a place for the under-the-radar plays that might not get the credit they deserve. The plays that get the basketball sickos and nerds out of their chairs. The plays that even YOU could make in your weekly rec league game. 

Each week, the plays will be ranked from five to one—one being the smartest—and will only be taken from games that occurred within the past week. For this week, games from February 19th to February 26th are considered. The Celtics went 3-1 this week, with wins over the Warriors, Lakers and Suns, but a loss to the Nuggets. 

5. Simple but effective patience

This play seems simple, but I love Queta’s patience and greed when it comes to finding the best available pass. After bigs get offensive rebounds, so many of them have a tendency to kick it out to the first open shooter before thoroughly surveying their options. Here, though, Neemy forgoes pitches to both White and Pritchard before eventually finding Brown for the even-more-open three. It’s about going from an okay shot, to a good shot, to a great shot. The game is slowing down for him before our eyes.

4. Timely cut

I’m not sure whether Hauser is improvising here or this is a planned cut, but it’s a heady play nonetheless. When Pritchard’s ghost screen results in a brief moment of space, it’s Sam’s defender who’s responsible for a stunt at PP. But when Hauser 45 cuts (a cut from the wing), he forces even Porzingis to spend an extra split second worrying about his rim presence, which makes the Latvian’s closeout to Vucevic worse than it should be. Imagine what this play looks like if Hauser stays—or don’t, and I’ll spell it out for you. Sam probably gets swung the ball, but Porzingis is close enough to guard both him and Vucevic with their poor spacing, forcing him into either a contested shot or a poor extra pass with bad spacing. Beautiful cutting instincts  from Hauser here.

3. Rear view contest

The Celtics played a lot of drop coverage this week—which, more than any other pick-and-roll coverage, necessitates active and intense guard defense. It forces the player defending the ball-handler to usually trail the offensive player while still somehow affecting his pull-up jump shot. On this play, White effectively trails Cam Johnson and somehow gets a rear view block—something he’s better at than probably any other NBA player— even though he gets caught on the screen. Special recovery from White. 

2. Keeping everyone on their toes

As accurately presented by Bill Simmons on a recent podcast, Boston’s pathway to dominance this season has followed a clear formula: Brown+White+Pritchard+guys who work hard. But how do you find guys who will consistently play with above-average intensity and effort? You make nobody feel fully safe and comfortable in their role, and you randomly start Ron Harper Jr. over players who have regularly been in the rotation. Mazzulla’s willingness to shake things up and keep guys on their toes has been refreshing and fun, and I think it has forced players like Scheierman, Walsh, Gonzalez, and Hauser to do the little things if they want to stay on the floor, which has, in turn, made them better players. Baylor is all of a sudden an elite defender and rebounder? 

1. Hugo’s rising confidence

I like a couple of things that Gonzalez does on this highlight play. First, I appreciate the fact that he immediately extra-passes the ball to Harper Jr. without spending even a split second  considering a shot or drive—this gives Ron more time to operate and make a decision. Then, Hugo backpedals along the arc, giving Harper Jr. more space and forcing more difficult closeouts for both Podziemski and Porzingis, which then allows Gonzalez to attack space and show us some of what he has been working on with the developmental coaches.