BOSTON - During the final minutes of a disheartening and lopsided loss to the Toronto Raptors in early February, Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens trotted out a three-big lineup and told his players to run a 2-3 zone defense.
The group enjoyed moderate success, or at least more success than what Boston had accomplished earlier that night. Still, Stevens chalked it up as simply "testing things." Given that the Raptors led by as much as 29, Stevens wasn't about to suggest they had found some sort of antidote.
Fast forward two months.
With the injuries to Stevens' roster forcing him to routinely explore the unconventional, the Celtics again threw zone looks at the visiting Raptors on Saturday night.