We knew it would happen, and it did. Ime Udoka’s Rockets overpowered the Celtics and won the possession battle. The Rockets were aggressive on the ball-handlers and present in the passing lanes, generating a turnover on 16% of the Celtics’ possessions.
Joe Mazzulla’s team was aware that the Rockets would play this way. They have been dominating their opponents all season by generating more possessions. Yet, the Celtics were dominated on the boards – forgetting to box out and being late.
The game plan was to be ready for that. As Luke Kornet and Porzingis started the game, it showed how important the possession battle was.