Boston Celtics Defense Has Earned Respect

Last season, Brad Stevens made a name for himself because of a phenomenal offensive system. Stevens was able to get solid results out of a young and under talented lineup. Great ball movement and pace allowed the Boston Celtics to have enough offensive success to sneak into the playoffs, even if their roster had just been flipped for draft picks.

This season, the focus has clearly shifted. The Celtics still have the same identity on offense. They use unselfish ball movement to create open shots. Unfortunately, the Celtics’ shooting struggles have been very real and other than the game against the Washington Wizards, they have needed to win games in different ways.

Defense was a priority in camp for Stevens and he is already getting results. The Celtics knew that they had a deadly defensive back court duo in Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart but this defense has been about so much more. First of all, the Celtics have been without either Smart or Bradley for over a week now and it has not had too damaging of an impact on their defense.

The guards are still incredibly important, but the bigs and a dark horse defensive player of the year candidate have emerged. The first player that needs to be talked about in the Celtics defense is Jae Crowder. Crowder is not only leading the league in steals, but his 3.5 steals per game is almost a full steal per game more then the second best in Stephen Curry.

Nov 6, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) drives to the basket against Boston Celtics forward Jae Crowder (99) during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

Crowder was finally given an opportunity to be the top defender on his team and he is getting the best results of his career. Crowder is always assigned to cover the opposing team’s beset player and he has produced a career high 92 defensive rating.

There are all kinds of numbers to support Crowder’s phenomenal defense this year but his impact on the defensive end extends onto the offensive end for the Celtics. While the Celtics have collectively struggled to shoot the ball, they are depending more than ever on transition buckets generated by steals.

The Celtics have the seventh best field goal differential in the league and their ability to generate steals may be the biggest reason why. The Celtics’ response to the shooting struggles has been to generate significantly more scoring opportunities than their opponent and the Celtics would be no where without the offense created by their defense.

The defensive results are not just showing in the steal totals. In addition to being the league leader in steals the Celtics are giving up the 7th fewest points in the NBA. Steals are where the defense starts with the Celtics but it has been much more of a collective effort.

The biggest defensive surprise on the season for the Celtics is undoubtedly Kelly Olynyk. Olynyk has developed from a defensive liability to arguably the best defensive big on the Celtics. Olynyk also has a career high 95 defensive rating and is bringing in 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks per game. According to Nylon Calculus, Olynyk has a deterent index of 44.4% and that is higher than notable defensive standouts, Rudy Gobert, Hassan Whiteside and Draymond Green. Olynyk is contesting shots and he is doing a great job at preventing his opponent from scoring.

Nov 13, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap (4) drives to the hoop against Boston Celtics center Kelly Olynyk (41) during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

The Celtics have been searching for a rim protector and while they may not have expected to get it out of Kelly Olynyk, his ability to defend the paint is one of the key factors to the Celtics’ defensive success.

The most surprising aspect of this Celtics team has been their ability to rebound the ball. 14th best in the league is nothing phenomenal but it is a distinct improvement for the team. The Celtics are getting rebound contributions from all their bigs. Just as steals are leading to offensive success, rebounding is leading to defensive success for the Celtics.

They are the number one offensive rebound team in the league (thank you Sullinger) and in addition to giving the Celtics the extra opportunities they need, it is limiting the opportunities of their opponents. In their most impressive defensive game of the year, the Celtics had 27 more shot attempts than the Hawks. They shot poorer than the Hawks but they managed to score 16 more points because of their rebounding and their ability to generate turnovers.

Brad Stevens is establishing a defensive identity that is putting the Celtics in a much better position to succeed. The Celtics can now afford to have a poor shooting day and still escape with a victory because of the defensive focus.

The best part is that the Celtics should continue to improve. Marcus Smart is back in the lineup and Avery Bradley should not be out too much longer. Amir Johnson is finally coming to his own and after blocking three shots against the Hawks he is going to be earning an even larger role on the team. Johnson has shown the potential to be the Celtics’ best shot blocker and that alone will earn him upwards to 30 minutes per game.

After all kinds of roster chaos last year the Celtics never had a proper opportunity to establish an identity. Now that the Celtics have added key pieces and Stevens had a full off season with the full core of the team he is establishing a hard nosed defensive minded basketball team and the results have been better than expected.

More from Hardwood Houdini

The Atlanta Hawks game was a great example of how impactful the Celtics’ defense can be and if their shooting starts to catch up to their defense then they could be in line to do a lot of damage in the eastern conference.

Home/Celtics News