After a strong regular season campaign, the Boston Celtics opened the 2023 NBA Playoffs in resounding fashion. While their 112-99 victory over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 1 of their first-round season doesn't look like a totally dominating victory, the final score makes this game look much closer than it actually was.
The Celtics throttled the Hawks early in this one, taking a 30-point lead into halftime. Atlanta was able to cut the deficit down to 12 early in the fourth quarter, but Boston quickly pushed it back up to 20 without really having to break a sweat. Early indications show that the C's are on a totally different level than the Hawks, and while their second half slip was concerning, this series could be a quick one.
It may only be one game, but we learned a lot about the Celtics after they suffered some bouts of inconsistency throughout the second half of the season. So with one win down and 15 left to go, let's take a look at three key takeaways for Boston from their Game 1 demolition of Atlanta.
3. The Celtics can get whatever they want in the paint against the Hawks
Throughout the regular season, the Celtics relied heavily on the three-point shot to help them win games. It was a pretty easy formula; if they hit threes, typically they would win. If they didn't, for the most part, they would lose. It seems like the Hawks were well aware of this, and they made an effort to limit Boston from beyond the arc throughout the game.
This backfired pretty quickly, because the C's simply attacked the Hawks in the paint all game long. With Clint Capela being stuck at the perimeter guarding Al Horford, Atlanta had nobody on the interior who could disrupt the Celtics on their drives. This was something we identified in our analysis of the series before it got underway, but Atlanta strangely opted to make things even easier for Boston here.
Even with Robert Williams III on the floor instead of Horford, Atlanta had no answers for Boston when it came to their paint defense. The Celtics had a concerning offensive output in the second half, but they were missing open interior looks and settling for tons of jumpers. But when they want to, they can get to the paint at will, and it doesn't look like the Hawks will have any answer for them there throughout this series.
2. The Celtics have a fantastic defensive game plan, particularly against Trae Young
The Hawks may not be the most fearsome defensive unit in the league, but they certainly have some weapons on offense who can do some damage. Trae Young and Dejounte Murray are the key players for Atlanta's offense, and while Murray had a decent day, Boston made sure they were going to make Young's life miserable throughout this game.
Young is supposed to be Atlanta's best player, but it got to the point where the Hawks were making runs in the fourth quarter without him on the court. Young scored just 16 points on 18 shots, and while he picked up eight assists, he also had five turnovers. The Celtics pressed Young whenever he crossed half court, and cut off his passing lanes in the paint, limiting his impact as a passer almost strictly to lobs for John Collins for much of the game.
There's a very good chance Young will be more efficient shooting the ball in future games, but this was extremely encouraging from Boston. Some concerns flared up in the second half, but realistically speaking, those issues can get glossed over when you are playing with a 30-point lead. Young didn't appear to have any answers to Boston's defense, and it will be interesting to see how he adjusts moving forward.
1. The Hawks cannot stop Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown at the same time
Again, we looked at the mismatch the Celtics had on their hands with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown against virtually any of the Hawks defenders ahead of this series, and well, it certainly looked like a mismatch in this one. Tatum dropped 21 points in the first half, before receiving more attention in the second half and letting Brown do most of the damage down the stretch.
What we saw on paper ended up being what we saw in this game. The Hawks have Murray as a strong defender, but there are holes everywhere else for Atlanta. Pulling Capela out of the paint is pretty easy to do with Horford on the floor, and anytime Young is on the court, he's a mismatch for every player for Boston. Tatum and Brown took full advantage of this by getting to the paint whenever they wanted, and they faced shockingly little resistance throughout the game.
Tatum did struggle a bit with the double teams he faced down the stretch of this game, but he has enough experience dealing with these situations that he should be able to adjust accordingly moving forward. But when Tatum and Brown want, they proved they can get whatever looks they want against the Hawks, and that should help them continue Boston's domination throughout this series.
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