Boston Celtics Continue to Rely on Defense
The Boston Celtics are finally putting the rough start behind them as a second consecutive commanding victory has put them back at .500. The Celtics struggled early but a stellar second half left the Milwaukee Bucks in the dust.
The Celtics ran away from the Bucks in a game where one player scored above 15 points and it took Isaiah Thomas 20 shot attempts to get those 20 points. Once again, the bench came through and dominated but this game was all about defense for the Celtics.
As a team, the Celtics shot a terrible 23% from beyond the three point line but they did all the little things that the Bucks could not keep up with. Once again, the Celtics won the turnover battle 17-12 and while we have come to expect the Celtics to generate a ton of turnovers, it is the rebounding that is catching people off guard.
Despite facing a highly talented front court the Celtics won the rebounding battle 45-41 and it was Jared Sullinger who led the way. Sullinger brought in 10 rebounds and Amir Johnson was a close second with 9 rebounds. 5 offensive rebounds from Sullinger went a long ways in making up for the shooting struggles.
Apr 15, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jared Sullinger (7) drives for the basket against Milwaukee Bucks center Miles Plumlee (21) in the fourth quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. The Celtics beat the Bucks 105-100. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Another surprising rebounding contributor was R.J Hunter. The rookie guard was given 19 minutes of playing time and he is dong a great job of taking advantage of the opportunities created by multiple injuries to the back court. Hunter was third on the team with 7 rebounds and he is making sure that he is doing all the little things to keep him a part of the rotation. Hunter was a pest on the defensive end and ensured that nothing came easy for the Bucks.
Collectively, the Celtics did not allow a single Milwaukee player to truly get rolling on the offensive end. The Bucks had no players above 17 points and had just 5 players with more than 5 points. The Celtics’ defensive activity ensured that every Bucks shot was contested and even if they did not turn the ball over the Celtics continually forced bad shots.
Defense is clearly the main focus of this Celtics team and they are riding it to commanding victories. 83 points against will win the Celtics a lot of games this season and the fact that they almost broke 100 points on a disastrous shooting night means they are finding ways to win games even when they are not at their best.
The Celtics are no longer relying too heavily on Thomas and they have proven that they are more than capable of winning and producing when he is struggling.
The best part about this whole situation for the Celtics is they have been a dominant defensive team with Marcus Smart out of the lineup. Smart is second on the team in steals and is arguably the best all around defender. Just as the Celtics are finally beginning to establish great offensive flow, they are going to be getting better and better on the defensive end.
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Smart will certainly make the Celtics better on the defensive end and they will only continue to improve offensively. The Celtics are finally finding their identity and it is no surprise that the Celtics are once again depending on defense to win them games.