The Boston Celtics just concluded a four-game road trip where they finished 3-1, losing to the OKC Thunder, 105-92, after falling apart in the second half and with a 10-point lead at halftime.

After this game, head coach Joe Mazzulla and most of the team attributed the loss to poor spacing, saying that they all need to do a better job of fighting for their space, which will help the rest of the team do the same.

In the next game after this, on Tuesday in Denver, the Celtics used more double-big sets than they have all season. It created the space the team has been searching for and opened a new level of versatility for Boston.

In the first half against the Nuggets, Mazzulla used all of the combinations of big men that he could. It was fascinating to see because it was reminiscent of Celtics basketball from a handful of years ago:

• Porzingis-Horford
• Porzingis-Kornet
• Porzingis-Queta
• Horford-Queta
• Horford-Kornet

This works so well because of the style-variety of centers on the roster. Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford are shooters and can finish down low. Having both of them on the court together brings some unpredictability in a way because of how they can stretch the floor. Teams have to respect both of them as the shooters they can be.

Luke Kornet is always a pleasant surprise. He holds his own on both ends and knows how to play in the system with this group. He seems to always make a play to remember when he’s in the game. Neemias Queta is a powerhouse that is versatile on both ends of the court and brings a physicality to the team that no one else on the roster has.

Here are some of the double-big sets that Mazzulla used on Tuesday in Denver.

In the clip above, we have Porzingis in the left corner and Horford on the right wing and Jrue Holiday in the right corner with Tatum as the ball handler. With a ton of space on the floor, Tatum drives and kicks to Horford, who nails the open three.

In the clip above, we have Porzingis do a quick pick-and-pop at the top of the arc while Kornet, from the left wing, attacks the paint and gets behind DeAndre Jordan for a basket. The action of Porzingis popping and Payton Pritchard shading towards the left wing, it opens up the entire paint for Kornet.

In the clip above, it’s Horford and Queta on the floor together. Horford gets the ball and Queta sets a pick at the top of the arc and then rolls with Holiday to the paint. Queta finishes with a lefty hook over Jordan. With Hotford on the court here, especially starting with the ball at the right wing, he has to be respected as shooter, thus, stretching the floor and creating space.

As you can see from the few clips, Porzingis and Horford on the court with either Kornet or Queta stretches the floor because of the shoot ability of Porzingis and Horford. One of them stays up top while the other goes down low, it stretches the floor and opens opportunities for the Celtics.

When Horford and Porzingis are on the court together, they can stretch the floor by playing parallel to each other from across the court, or even both of them down low. The possibilities are endless and it has to be respected.

A lot of the recent use of double-big is due to a wing depth issue, as it gets thin behind Sam Hauser, who’s been struggling more often than not this season. When this happens, Mazzulla is resorting to double-big and it’s been pretty successful as of late.

The success of the double-big lineup isn’t going to save the Celtics throughout the season with player management of Horford and Porzingis not playing in back-to-backs. They’re the key to the double-big.

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Photo Credit: Chris Schwegler, NBAE via Getty Images