THIS Is Taking The Celtics To THE NEXT LEVEL

A lot has been said about the improved play from the Celtics. Especially the defensive strategy.
But what many don’t notice is the effort that it takes from the players to execute it.
In this first example we have a long rebound which opens up a fast break for the Hawks.
And as we stop it right here the pass goes to Hunter who is all alone and this should be easy 2 points.
But neither Grant Williams nor Marcus Smart will give up on this play. They hustle back, and Grant will get there just enough to bother and force a delayed shot attempt which buys some time for Smart to get all the way back and go up for the block.
So as we let the play roll you see that through sheer effort, Boston saved this possession and what should have been a layup or a dunk.
And talk about a monster recovery here on this play.
Trae Young on the drive attracts the help, and first off look at Smart here who is battling Capela but already having 1 foot out to Hurter, before the pass is even being made.
As he closes out on the rotation, now focus on Aaron Nesmith who is right here under the basket. The pass goes to Hunter who is all alone at the moment, but as we let it roll, check out the incredible hustle to contest this shot as much as possible and provide a body and a hand up in front of Hunter. If not directly, then I’m sure that it impacted the shot in an indirect way.
And it definitely sets a standard for the rest of the guys on the team.
Next, on the drive by Bogdanovic, we have the kick out, Williams closes out to the corner, Smart then immediately goes to Huerter, and Pritchard sprints to Young who’s out of frame here.
Since this is a bad pass and Hunter will try to pass out of it, this would have been a steal either way, either from Smart or from Pritchard, so we play it, and you can see that Marcus is the one who gets the steal, a great touch pass to Williams and this is another great defensive execution by Boston.
At the end let me just play this a bit funny clip, but still you can see the effort from Payton Pritchard who falls down, rolls back on his butt, gets up and is able to put a hand up, which again, may not have directly impacted this shot but just to set the tone defensively and fight hard on every single possession.
I did not plan on having 2 videos raving about Boston in such a short time period, but these few examples that I saw last night were too perfect for me to pass up this opportunity to show them to you.
And yeah, from now on, you can catch me explaining plays not just on this court, but as you saw on NBA courts as well. Live on location. That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.