Jaylen Brown set the tone right from the jump.
"He has the presence to be the quarterback on the defensive end," Mazzulla said of Smart."We’re able to change matchups, and when he’s doing that, our defense is special. It starts with him, and I think he brought it both physically and mentally on the defensive end, which was huge for us."
Defense was critical to Boston's run to the 2022 NBA Finals; they boasted a 106.3 defensive rating and held opponents to 105 points or fewer in 13 of their 24 games. The Celtics rarely reached that level defensively during this regular season, relying on a high-octane offense to put teams away."Setting the tone defensively was key," Brown said after the game."Just letting them know from the jump it's gonna be a long night.
The Celtics' offense is much-improved from the 2022 playoffs, as evidenced by Derrick White pouring in 24 points and five players hitting multiple 3-pointers. Their focus for the remainder of this Hawks series should be replicating the defensive effort they displayed Saturday -- an effort that could be the different between a playoff exit and Banner 18.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Celtics Vs. Hawks Takeaways: C's Dominate First Half, Hold on Late for Game 1 WinThe Celtics’ 2023 playoff run got off to a strong start as they cruised to a 112-99 win over the Hawks in front of the TD Garden crowd. We share our takeaways from the Game 1 victory.
Read more »
Celtics Make Statement With Big Win at TD Garden, Go Up 1-0 on HawksThe Boston Celtics were ready to take care of business on Saturday in the C’s first game of their 2023 playoff campaign, beating the Atlanta Hawks 112-99 at TD Garden. The C’s led by 30 points at halftime and staved off a 4th quarter surge by the Hawks to go up 1-0 in the series. The Celtics went 3-0 against…
Read more »
Jaylen Brown Honors Bill Russell With Sneakers for Game 1 Vs. HawksJaylen Brown went the extra mile on Saturday to honor Bill Russell as the Celtics began their playoff run against the Atlanta Hawks at TD Garden.
Read more »
Joe Mazzulla ‘Not Concerned at All' About Hawks' Second-Half RunCeltics head coach Joe Mazzulla made it clear he isn’t sweating the Hawks cutting their 32-point deficit to 12 late in Saturday’s Game 1 win.
Read more »
How Jaylen Brown Adjusted After Hand Laceration ‘Split Open' Vs. HawksJaylen Brown apparently had issues with the stitches in his right hand Saturday, but that didn’t stop him from scoring a game-high 29 points in the Celtics’ Game 1 win over the Hawks.
Read more »
NBA Playoff Preview: Why I'm picking a Celtics-Nuggets finals, and a Boston titleIn the playoffs, coaches shorten rotations and starters play a far bigger chunk of the games. How do we account for that? johnhollinger's new rating system helps guide his predictions for every series – and suggests a Celtics-Nuggets NBA Finals.
Read more »