The nice thing about having two star players is, well, you have two star players. The burden of offensive creation falls more on their shoulders than a coach’s, and that’s how the Boston Celtics turned into a top-ten offensive group in the league in 2021-22. But what happens when defenses turn their gameplan onto those stars and make everything more difficult for them, including cutting to get open and catch a pass?
Pressure releases, also known as backdoor cuts, help alleviate those finicky defenses that aim to prevent touches for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The Celtics have a great deal of high-IQ players, above-average passers and a lot of cohesion amongst their group to know when to naturally look for backdoor cuts.