C’s control “Time of Possession” to subdue rising Suns

I know, I know. Time of Possession seems more up Bill Belichick’s alley than that of Brad Stevens …

… but hear me out.

The Celtics started their second game in as many days sluggishly, falling into a seven-point hole before running off five consecutive conversions in the final two minutes to be able to slither into Q2 holding a four-point edge.

The Suns’ 27 Q1 possessions took up 330.9 seconds of clock time (12.26 seconds per), Boston’s equal number of opportunities occupied 317.1 seconds (11.74 per). Both sides’ successful possessions (i.e. conversions) required about one second less than that average.

Over the final three segments of play, the Celtics compiled a Possession Time advantage of…