How Can the Boston Celtics Stop Luka Doncic? | JJ Redick & Zach Lowe

How Can the Boston Celtics Stop Luka Doncic? | JJ Redick & Zach Lowe

the best way the Celtics can slow Luca offensively without giving up a million open threes or leaving Kyrie open um I I think we should start here because to me this is this is where the series part of the series this is where the series starts uh I want to start actually not even with coverages I want to start with matchups okay and where you think the Celtics go with the initial matchup so sometimes so I I’ll say this and it could look wrong for like a minute because sometimes coaches will junk up like they’ll use their not real matchups for the first three possessions of the game they’ll think oh wow I didn’t expect that and then they’ll like flip into what you thought so if I had to Peg it for Boston Jaylen Brown on Luca that’s been their preferred method obviously they’ll switch a ton so who really cares uh Drew on Kyrie um Tatum on Gafford which is the pivot point now porzingis I don’t know who you’d rather put porzingis on Washington or and Derek white on the other one of those two players I I guess I would guess porzingis on PJ Washington just because they’ve done that more um but given his shooting that can be a little dangerous but I do think whether it’s the first possession or the first minute or the third minute Boston is going to try to have porzingis not and Horford not Bey on the rim running centers to just sort of complicate the Mavs pick and roll I think we’ll see that a lot I think we’ll see that a lot and and Joe has shown a willingness to to muck up matchups a lot of the coaches now they do this um and we saw we saw it uh during the Indiana series right yeah same thing with Miles Turner Miles Turner yep they did it a lot um so you think Jaylen on luuka and in terms of um like I I want to reiterate your point there are going to be so many bodies different Defenders primary matchups bringing the ball up the court that luuka will see it’s not going to be one guy right OKC was a lot of L Dort LA Clippers it was a lot of Terren man and he’s going to manipulate matchups and get the guy he wants feels like five years does I don’t really even remember what happened remember I talking with the dunker spot guys earlier today about the Sixers Nicks series how about that series a great time it was a great a great time in basketball very far um was a fantastic series uh yeah but like Luca all the perimeter guys are going to take their turn on Luca whether it’s like a switch with seven on the shot clock and you’re will to live with Derrick White on him which is a matchup that hasn’t gone well for the Celtics or like Drew holiday will take him as the primary guy for this stretch and then uh Tatum will do it for this stretch the pivot point to me is where are the Boston big men and what do Luca do in response that’s the interesting question yeah for sure and let’s let’s assume for a second that that is the route that Missoula goes where K and Al are on one of PJ Washington Derrick Jones Jr would you call them alfreds they’re going to be on alfreds uh PJ and Derek they’re they’re alfreds they didn’t make my first annual all Alfred team but that was just based on the regular season I would certainly give them consideration for my postseason all Alfred team who’s below Alfred who bel’s like the weapons I don’t you you know what let’s not even do it let’s just keep going I’m sorry Lucius Fox yeah wow you threw out the first name you could have given me 50 guesses I would who got lucious um so you’ve got on the rim Runner you probably at some point will see Jaylen Brown on the rim Runner I would assume uh how does that change what Luca does in pick and roll does that then become all right I’m just GNA go find the matchup and play one-on-one out instead of playing versus Minnesota where they’re playing drop primarily for some games they obviously mix it up a ton particularly in game three does it just become then an isolation game it could be and like that’s why Luca is so amazing because there’s 17 different answers to this question that he can have and one of them is if you put porzingis on Derrick Jones Jr I’ll just have Derrick Jones Junior come screen for me and you’re going to be in drop coverage and maybe I’ll Attack that and I’ll force a switch and then I’ve got your 73 guy on a switch and he’s barbecue chicken um or but the problem the the whole goal of Boston is if Derrick Jones Jr or PJ Washington or whoever it is rolls to the rim he’s rolling into Lively or Gafford right because those guys were going to be hanging on the Baseline and so the it’s almost like they’re playing the the pick and roll three on three instead of two on two which they would do if it was just like a normal pick and roll but you’ll see him say all right like I don’t really care who’s guarding Gafford you want to switch that let’s let’s try that you don’t want to switch that let’s try another thing but I think it’s a lot of it is going to be where’s the big man if he’s on PJ Washington PJ can pop for threes uh if you drop he’s going to he’s going to make a lot of those plays and he’s just going to prod and test where he Joe is big on expected shot values so my question in terms of what Dallas would be trying to get out of those pick and rolls let’s say that they’re they’re insistant whoever is guarding Luca on the ball is insistent on not conceding the switch in a drop situation to me Washington and Derrik Jones Jr rolling into Tatum on Gafford who’s lurking on the Baseline it seems like they would be better served to pop for three and how much is Joe going to be willing to live with that I think that’s the question right as this series progresses how much of again these are above the break threes for those guys they’ve been phenomenal in the corner how much are we willing to live with pop above the break threes in drop coverage this is the fascinating thing about moula I think PJ could make five in a row and be be like that’s cool like we’re we’re not going to overreact to that like he has the will to just like the Pacers the Pacers just ate him up for mid-range they shot some crazy percentage on mid-range and he was like that’s I’m cool with all of it like just keep doing it the math is going to win out for us and he was right barely but the the thing about Luca is so you’re envisioning that situation where it’s like Luca PJ Washington porzingis drops back PJ Washington let’s say he rolls and so Luca is prodding prodding prodding he’s got a roller he’s got Lively got the rollers Defender dropping back and he’s got Lively’s Defender hanging around the greatness of Luca is he turns situations that look like you’ve won the math like this is a low odds percentage play for Dallas and he wins it anyway because he can make floaters he can make step backs he knows that you know that he can make floaters and step backs so he’ll fake it a little bit and that’s when you take that little fatal like half slide toward him and all of a sudden the passes you thought are gone are there for him and like that’s why this guy is such a see the pass to the corner too the late when he goes up to shoot that’s the one that when he makes that pass it’s like I don’t even know what you’re supposed to do like it’s it’s over like this it’s like and he’s it can’t be said enough that he’s I think he’s listed at 67 some PE sometimes people call him 68 like you what are you 6’4 I’m 6’4 I mean I I’m 511 and 3/4 I claim six feet so I don’t know what it feels like to be 6’4 I don’t know what it feels like to guard a guy who’s 68 at that level the 4 Ines are like it’s a huge deal right that he’s that big like just as a help Defender as the guy on him he sees everything he has everything in the bag

We’re excited to welcome ESPN’s Zach Lowe back to The Old Man and the Three this week to help us preview the 2024 NBA Finals with a mailbag episode! In this clip, the discuss how the Boston Celtics might be able to slow down Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic.

Subscribe to The Old Man and The Three podcast w/ JJ Redick (ESPN / First Take) and Tommy Alter YouTube channel today for more NBA analysis, player interviews and highlights.