If there’s one key to defending the Atlanta Hawks, it’s limiting them as much as possible in the pick and roll. Atlanta ran the most pick and rolls of any team during the regular season, and that number has only increased since the playoffs have started. It’s their go-to offensive action. By far.
The Celtics have played a relatively consistent scheme against the high pick and roll throughout the first three games of the series – the infamous drop coverage. There have just been vastly different levels of engagement, physicality, and intensity, which have resulted in vastly different levels of success between the games in Boston and Atlanta.