The rebounds allow the Celtics to be three wins away from touching the sky with their hands for the eighteenth time in their history.
BOSTON – Forty years ago, the Boston Celtics lost Game 1 of the 1984 Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers in the old Boston Garden, approximately 100 yards and approximately three floors below where the franchise won Game 1 of the 1984 Finals. 2024 on Thursday, the TD Garden.
Hollywood recently told the story of that epic seven-game series, with the Lakers running straight from the court to the bus in their uniforms after that particular victory to escape the rowdy Boston fans. But not everything since “Winning Time” was based on true events. The Lakers didn’t actually run out of the arena. In fact, legendary Lakers coach Pat Riley even gave an interview before leaving.
“No rebounds,” Riley noted after the gutsy 115-109 victory, “no rings.”
The way today’s Celtics play might have baffled players of that generation. On Thursday night, the 2024 Celtics made more 3-pointers in the first half (27) than the 1984 Celtics did in all seven Finals games combined (24). The 1984 Finals were the series in which Kevin McHale clotheslined Kurt Rambis and Larry Bird insulted his teammates by saying, “We played like pussies.”
Many things have changed over the decades, but some things have not. Riley’s quote has become famous for a reason: it’s true. The Celtics finished with 30 more rebounds in the 1984 Finals than the Lakers, and won Game 7 in large part because they crushed Los Angeles on the boards by 19.
Or, as the more modern philosopher Kawhi Leonard once said, “the man on the board gets paid.”
Rebounding is a vital part of Boston’s modern dominance, even if it doesn’t get much credit. In Game 1, Boston outrebounded the Dallas Mavericks by 10 in the first quarter alone, helping build what turned out to be an insurmountable 17-point lead.
The Celtics are the number one rebounding team in the playoffs, grabbing nearly 54% of the available rebounds. During the regular season they were fifth in the league, earning 51.5%. There are many reasons why the Celtics are 13-2 in the playoffs; Outrebounding their opponents by a total of 87 in those 15 games is significant.
“We have to rebound, we have to run back, we have to play defense, pay attention to the details,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said before the Game 1 victory. “We have to execute, we have to crash. We have to play hard… the things it will take to win this series are no different than the things we talked about in the preseason: habits, mentality, details, execution.”
“No bounces, no rings” is more concise. But the point is the same, generations apart.
It might even be fitting for a team that seems to have been ignored and underrated for most of the season that its old-school approach to one of the game’s core tenets barely registers, and that extends to its franchise player.
Jayson Tatum tends to draw criticism for his playoff performance, sometimes up and down. It’s true that he is known for having a poor, ill-timed shooting game, for becoming a little passive in decisive moments, and for sometimes getting a little loose with the ball; in fact, he had six turnovers in Game 1.
What doesn’t get enough attention is how Tatum transformed into a rebounding demon in the postseason during his career. He has led the Celtics in rebounding over the past two regular seasons, averaging 8.4 per game over that span. This season, his 8.1 rebounds tied for 25th in the NBA. Good numbers, but nothing like what he has done in the playoffs.
Tatum has averaged more than 10 rebounds in each of his last six playoff series, and he’s off to a strong start in these Finals, hauling in a game-high 11 in the Game 1 win. In the playoffs, he’s seventh in rebounds per game with 10.4 and third in total rebounds, only behind Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic.
That’s a vital part of Tatum’s job because the Celtics often assign him to the opponent’s center, keeping Kristaps Porzingis out of the primary actions of their pick-and-roll defense and allowing the big man to focus on help defense.
“Guys that I chase or look up to like Larry Bird, he was one of the best rebounders in the NBA,” Tatum said in an interview with NBC Sports Boston this week. “It’s about wanting to do everything. Joe (Mazzulla) always challenges me to dominate and it’s not about scoring 30 or 40 points, but about my impact on the game.”
Rebounding is especially important for the Celtics because they go through cycles where they have turnover issues, making boards a way to regain control of the possession game. They also shoot gigantic amounts of 3-pointers (39.9 per game in the playoffs, by far the most in the NBA) which leads to long rebounds that can compromise their defense, which is why Mazzulla emphasizes breaking the glass for everyone in the field.
The Mavericks, on the other hand, were in the bottom five in rebounding percentage during the regular season, although they have been better in the playoffs. Largely due to Doncic’s relentless play and his improved center rotation with Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford, the Mavericks rank sixth among playoff teams in rebounding percentage.
But rebounding remains a Celtics strength and an area where Tatum, who has made an effort all season to contribute in more ways than just scoring, has an advantage. And they know it, even if it’s not a topic of conversation.
“The toughest team will win,” Mazzulla said. “The team that makes the most plays will win. The team that can execute the details at a high level will win.”
