Boston’s rookie forward Semi Ojeleye isn’t the flashy scorer that Jayson Tatum is, nor is he the lengthy rim protector and runner like Daniel Theis. He’s not the wild, electric presence that Guerschon Yabusele is either.
What Ojeleye is is 235 pounds of reliable, switchable, quick-footed defensive muscle. And when Celtics coach Brad Stevens brought Ojeleye in for Aron Baynes near the eight-minute mark of the third quarter in Game 3 against the Milwaukee Bucks, the rookie from Southern Methodist University made life difficult for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Thon Maker, slipped a screen for a nice dunk, and most importantly, didn’t get beat.
Teams need scoring runs and creative playmakers to win games, especially living under the amplified pressure of NBA post season basketball. But they also need tough glue guys that do their jobs quietly and efficiently, and that’s what Ojeleye brings to the table.
It doesn’t sound like much when measuring by counting stats or what broadcasters choose to focus on going into and coming back from commercial breaks. But when revisiting Boston’s third quarter comeback from Sunday afternoon, Ojeleye’s ability to keep Antetokounmpo in front of him and push Maker out of the play took the pressure off Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, and Tatum. While his teammates were engineering the replay-worthy stuff, Ojeleye was in the trenches.
Take a look Ojeleye’s diligence in action:
At first glance, this doesn’t appear to be remarkable stuff. It is fundamental defense, though. The kind of poise that Boston lacked for the better part of the first half. Ojeleye starts the possession guarding Antetokounmpo, in his defensive stance and on his toes. It gets exciting when Antetokounmpo puts the ball on the floor for a hard drive, and Ojeleye shows off some of the best lateral quickness and footwork on the team. He stops the drive short the ball pops back out to reset the play. Easy bucket averted.
Next, Antetokounmpo darts back to the ball to set a pick for Brogdon. Ojeleye and Tatum engineer a seamless switch, and Ojeleye hops to position on the ball, back at the top of the key. When the drive comes from Middleton a few seconds later, Ojeleye squeezes the lane and his teammates make the second stop of the possession. Boston ball.
Through his first four postseason games, Ojeleye’s played only 45 minutes. His counting stats don’t look like much. But, per NBA.com, he’s lined up on top Bucks scorers Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton on 13 possessions, for a total of only 5.5 points (3 for Middleton, 2.5 for Giannis). It’s a small sample size, but that’s .4 points per possession.
Again, there’s no way this type of play puts Ojeleye on SportsCenter, but stopping Antetokounmpo, keeping Brogdon away from an easy three, and pressuring Middleton to help all contribute to the Celtics team defense that kept them rated No. 1 in the league all season long.
Ojeleye didn’t have much to offer on offense during the Celtics’ run in the third quarter of Game 3. In fact, he had just one bucket on four attempts. But it came off a quality read and react combo with Al Horford, and resulted in a high percentage shot.
Horford starts the action at the top of the key, with Maker charging to close out. Maker, who launches himself at anything that smells like a shot fake, bites hard when Horford shows him the ball. At the same time, as Antetokounmpo rotates to cover the block and establish the second line of defense, Ojeleye reads Horford’s move and deliver a quick shot to Antetokounmpo. Ojeleye sees the drive coming, slips off Antetokounmpo into the paint, gets his hands on a great shovel pass from Horford, and finishes strong.
Ojeleye had another moment of quiet, muscly brilliance three minutes later in the third quarter.
This is the kind of stuff selfless teammates are made of. Ojeleye doesn’t touch the ball for this entire possession. Instead, he spends all twenty seconds making space for his teammates and reading the play. Notice that Ojeleye doesn’t accomplish this by spending the possession in the weak-side corner.
As the Horford three-point attempt rims out, Ojeleye stops short and slides back into position on the low block. He keeps his head on a swivel, watches the ball swing around the perimeter and sees Tatum drift into the weak-side corner. As Rozier hits Tatum with the pass, Ojeleye turns his entire bulk into a frantically scrambling Maker. This buys Tatum plenty of time for a wide-open look and an easy trey.
With a short-handed roster in the postseason, any win Boston win or major comeback was bound to feature scoring heroics from multiple young starters or bench stalwarts. Semi Ojeleye was never going to be one of those heroes. He is destined to play more tough minutes, bodying bigger players out of drives and closeouts and quietly throwing shots at defenders to make space for his scoring teammates. Does it make the highlight reel? Nope. But it’s the unsung stuff that’s made the Celtics the stingiest defense in the league, and that’s a key part of this season’s success.