What Made The Celtics Offense So Historic?

The Celtics were a juggernaut during the 2023-24 season, winning 64 games in the regular season and going 16-3 in the playoffs. Boston broke countless records in what was a historic season. The influence of Joe Mazzulla cannot be ignored, as he elevated this team to new heights on offense following a 2022 Finals run with previous coach Ime Udoka.

Mazzulla did his best with what he was dealt in 2023, given the head coaching job just days before training camp opened. This year, however, Mazzulla was more comfortable in his role and the job he had set out before him. Armed with new toys Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, Mazzulla knew what this team was capable of from the jump; greatness.

Nobody To Ignore On Celtics Offense

The Celtics had been knocking on the door for years in the Tatum-Brown era, and after their collapse to the Heat in 2023, Celtics ownership wanted a roster switch up. The Celtics agreed to acquire and give Kristaps Porzingis a contract extension, an elite talent at the center position when healthy. Marcus Smart had to be the piece to go, but the Celtics were able to upgrade at the guard position later that summer when they acquired Jrue Holiday from the Trail Blazers.

As seamless a fit as Holiday turned out to be for the Celtics, Porzingis is the one who changed everything for Boston’s offense. Brown and Tatum frequently have the ball in their hands for Boston, but Porzingis is the skilled big man that they hadn’t had the chance to play with yet.

An elite shooter, Kristaps Porzingis was effective in the pick-and-roll with the Jays as both a roller and a kick-and-pop man in his first year in Boston. He is a multidimensional player who has the skills of the Celtics' previous anchor Rob Williams, but just offers so much more.

If teams willingly switched a guard or wing onto Porzingis in the pick-and-roll, he would welcome them to his torture chamber. He was one of the most effective post-up players in the NBA this past season, averaging 1.3 points per possession. League MVPs Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid were both tied at 1.14 last season, behind the Celtics' big man.

If you blink at the wrong time, Jayson Tatum is whipping a fastball to Derrick White on the wing coming off a screen for a three. If Boston gets the defense in rotation, you better hope the ball doesn’t find Jrue Holiday in the corner for three. Both Boston guards shot over 40% from three this season, always seem to be in the right place, and making the right play to get the best shot.

How could we forget the ageless wonder Al Horford, who shot 42% from three in his age 37 season! Whichever way you look, Boston is rolling out a high-IQ, decisive player who knows their role and can knock down a shot from deep. We don’t even have to bring up bench snipers Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard.

Elite Spacing For Drives

What made last season’s Celtics team so lethal was their willingness to go five-out on offense. With five of their top six rotation players shooting above league-average from three-point land, Boston had elite spacing with all five offensive players around the perimeter. This frees up the paint and makes it so much easier for Brown and Tatum to get to the basket.

Both are supremely talented individual players and elite scorers. If the defense doesn’t send help their way, both can take their man straight to the basket for a score. Brown and Tatum's biggest growth however has come from making the right pass and finding the best shot that the defense gives them. Many times, that results in a kickout three off a drive when the defense sends multiple defenders to the basket. Boston has offensive weapons everywhere you look on the floor, so Mazzulla emphasized quick decisions and ball movement.

The Celtics generated so much more spacing compared to the rest of the league. On average, the Celtics opponents’ big man is 11 feet away from the basket! Teams are terrified of leaving Kristaps Porzingis alone on the perimeter. He can bomb it from a few feet beyond the line and drag the opposing team's big man so much further out than they are used to guarding.

When Jaylen Brown for example sees Bam Adebayo out guarding KP at the top of the key Brown’s eyes probably light up. He will drive to the paint and in most scenarios will either make a driving layup or jam, kick to the open shooter once help is shown, or draw a foul.

Boston is at their best when forcing the defense into rotation and making the extra pass to find the open man. It all starts with the spacing that the Celtics shooters provide for drives to the paint, and forcing the defense to decide whether or not to leave an elite shooter to help on the drive.

High Volume Of Three Pointers

Part of Joe Mazzulla’s offensive philosophy that he doubled down on ahead of the 2023-24 season was his encouragement of taking as many threes as possible. He doesn’t want his players to hesitate or wonder if they should shoot it, he wants them to let it fly.

The results for players like Derrick White, Sam Hauser, and Payton Pritchard to name a few have been undeniable. The confidence that they play with is key to the Celtics' high-scoring attack, and they all credit Mazzulla for believing in them.

Boston led the league in three-pointers made for the 2023-24 season, with 140 makes over the second-place Golden State Warriors. Their 1,351 made threes were also the second most in NBA history for a regular season. The Celtics were the only team to attempt 40+ threes per game, as they launched 42.5 a night. On that insanely high volume, they were second in the league in three-point percentage.

Joe Mazzulla has emphasized in the past how basketball is all about math. If the Celtics are generating and hitting threes at an efficient clip, while playing their usual standout defense, an opposing team has to play near-perfect to beat them.

The Celtics were an absolute buzzsaw in 2023-24 as a result, winning their first 20 games at home to start the year and cruising to the best record in the NBA. There were more instances of Boston having a 30+ point lead (17 times) than them having a deficit of 10+ points (16 times).

Boston set a record during the regular season with three wins of 50+ points, and ten more 30+ point wins. Behind their stellar defense and Mazzulla’s offensive system, the Celtics were able to lap the board with the rest of the league on the way to their title run. They scored 1.22 points per possession, the best offense in NBA history. Boston was just on another level of offense in 2023-24.

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