SAN ANTONIO – Many things have changed for the Boston Celtics since their loss to San Antonio on Nov. 1. They’re confident that those changes may help them overcome the 16-4 Spurs tonight at the AT&T Center.
The most important change of all is the fact that Boston’s offense, which mustered up only 87 points on 35.7 percent shooting against San Antonio the first time around, is now operating at a very high level. The Celtics are scoring the most points in the Eastern Conference and have caught a rhythm over the past two-plus weeks.
“We’ve improved at the offensive end knowing where we’re going to get our shots,” said forward Jae Crowder. He also added, “We’re playing together, the ball is moving and we’re not being stagnant at the offensive end. We’ve got bodies moving and ball movement, and that helps the flow of the offense.”
All of that motion has helped Boston to push the ball through the basket at a much higher rate over its last 11 games. The C’s have shot nearly 45 percent from the field and nearly 35 percent from long range during that time span. Those numbers are much improved from the team’s first eight games of the season, when it shot 41.6 percent from the field and 29.1 percent from beyond the arc.
San Antonio caught the C’s in the midst of their underwhelming start to the season from an offensive perspective. Boston hung with the Spurs until the final minutes, but that was not as a result of its offense.
“I thought we shot the ball horribly that game,” said Jared Sullinger. “There were a lot of shots that we normally make that went in and out.”
Crowder, Bradley and Brad Stevens all echoed similar sentiments while speaking to the media Saturday morning. They all believe that the team played hard and well against the Spurs but simply misfired too often to knock off a team that looks like a title contender.
“When I went back and watched that game, I was not disappointed in how we played,” Stevens said. “I thought we played very, very well. And I thought we missed shots that we have to hit.”
The C’s cannot afford to do the same tonight, as Stevens later added.
“Against this team,” he said, “if you don’t make jump shots you’re in trouble.”
Boston is much more equipped to make jump shots against the Spurs this time around thanks to its improved offensive flow, but also because of major lineup changes.
David Lee and Tyler Zeller, who both score the majority of their points around the basket, started against San Antonio on Nov. 1. Amir Johnson and Jared Sullinger have since taken over the starting power forward and center spots, respectively, and they’re both shooting the ball very well.
Sullinger has connected on 45.7 percent of his field goals and 32.5 percent of his 3s this season. San Antonio will need to respect his jumper from all over the court.
Johnson is much less of a jump shooter but he has been hoisting up 3s at a career-high rate this season. He has made five of his 16 attempts and opponents are quickly learning that they must respect his shot from long distance as well.
While Sullinger and Johnson did not start during the first matchup between these two teams, they did provide a solid boost off the bench, combining for 20 points and 12 rebounds.
“I thought that Amir had some good minutes against the Spurs. I thought Sully did too,” said Stevens. “Those guys actually finished the game.”
The issue for Boston is that those guys finished the game in losing fashion. The Celtics hung around with San Antonio thanks to strong defense, but they couldn’t make enough shots to push them into the winner’s circle.
That was then, and this is now. The C’s have improved greatly at the offensive end and now have two additional shooting threats in the starting lineup. Those changes may be just enough to reverse the outcome of their first matchup with the Spurs.
