Boston Celtics Back to Winning With Defense

The Boston Celtics are rediscovering their defensive identity, and that could be the key to a playoff run

The Boston Celtics went into this season with the expectation that they would be a top three defense, with a great chance at being the best defense in the league. With absolutely no rim protection or interior presence last season, they managed to be one of the scariest defensive teams in the league, largely because of their ability to generate turnovers and relentless on ball pressure constantly making things difficult for opponents.

The addition of Al Horford was supposed to be the missing piece of their defense, that would allow them to balance out a defense that needed something in their front court. Even though Horford has been a strong interior defender for the Celtics, they started out this season disastrous on defense.

It wasn’t just that the Celtics weren’t in contention for a top three defense, but they were looking like one of the wort defenses in the league. They did not generate anywhere near the steals they did last season, and with their rebounding problems getting worse, the Celtics quickly realized that Horford was not the only missing pieces.

The Celtics dealt with injuries, and that prevented them from establishing the kind of defensive chemistry that made them so good last season, but that was not the only issue. Stevens spoke about strong initial defense that was wasted because of rebounding, but the fact of the matter is that their defensive was not nearly as disruptive as it was a season ago, even when at full strength. The Celtics may not have had their full defensive unit for a large part of the season, but as individuals, the players were not living up the the standard set last season.

More from Hardwood Houdini

The Celtics let their offense carry them into a contending position in the Eastern Conference, but the Celtics always knew they were selling themselves short by not being a strong defensive team. They realize they have the personnel, even if there are still weaknesses that need to be masked. When a team can have a back court of Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley, the versatility of Jae Crowder at the three, Amir Johnson and Horford to fill out the paint and now Jaylen Brown to help with position versatility, there is no denying the defensive potential, even if there is little rebounding to be found.

Since the All Star break. Their offense has regressed, but they can still have all the confidence they need on that end. Their defense, however, is starting to once again become the identity of this team. The Celtics know they are at their best when they are playing strong defense, and that has been the key in this odd stretch of games since the All Star break. Against the Warriors, the Celtics had their best defensive performance of the season, holding the Warriors to a season low 86 points, including a grand total of one point from the splash brothers in the fourth quarter. The game after that showed what happens when they don’t play their best on defense, as the Nuggets cut through them anyway they wanted, and eclipsed the Warriors’ total in just three quarters.

It is starting to become clear that the Celtics need their defense in order to go on a deep playoff run, and after the first part of the season established that they can win with their offense, this last part of the season needs to be about establishing a defensive culture that leads to their wins.

The Celtics had their defensive efficiency down in the bottom 10 in the league for a great part of the season, and they have managed to climb all the way up to 11th. With their defense being up there with anyone else in the league since the All Star Break, it should just be a matter of time before they get back to where they should be in the top 10.

The Celtics need to go into the playoffs with much better balance than they have had all season long, and it has been made clear that everything about this team gets better when they are winning with defense.

The Celtics love to play in transition, not just because it leads to easy layups on the break, but because their ball movement offense is a lot more effective when teams do not get a chance to set up. Even if the Celtics are not scoring right off the fast break, there are a lot more mistakes for them to take advantage of when teams are trying to catch up to them, and their ball movement is great at exploiting that.

The Celtics are one of the most aggressive teams in the league, and they know their biggest strength is the defense of their guards. They have found a lot of new ways that this team is capable of winning this season, but it is the best possible sign that they have been getting these signature wins because of their defensive effort, something that will be much more sustainable in the playoffs than offense.

The Celtics are one of the most prolific three point shooting teams in the league, and while they have proven they can do a good job of finishing from beyond the arc, there will be inevitable slumps in the playoffs. Defense is something the Celtics can have a lot more control over, and can be a lot more reliable when they cannot afford to have an off game.

Consistency is still the biggest issues with this team, and these last 15 games need to make sure they avoid the kind of defensive efforts they had against the Nuggets. The Celtics are finally winning with defense this season, and as long as they stay at full strength they know they have a defense that can disrupt anyone in the league.

Next: Amir Johnson Stepping Up Defensively

The Celtics already have one of the most dangerous and complete offenses in the East, and if they can pair that with the kind of defense they have shown flashes of since the All Star Break, then they will be the most balanced team in the Eastern Conference.

Home/Celtics News