Is the Celtics Defense Legit?

I’ll be honest, I didn’t see this one coming.

I really don’t think any of us did to be honest. I mean, after losing arguably the best on-ball defender in the NBA it’s difficult to imagine actually improving on that side of the ball. But so far this season, that’s exactly what the Celtics have done.

Headlined by the loses of Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder this offseason, it seemed the C’s were destined to take a step down on defense. With Bradley being an All-Defense contender and Crowder — love him or hate him — being a serviceable 3-and-D wing, it appeared crazy to think the C’s wouldn’t have a dip in defensive production, right? Wrong.

As of right now, the Celtics have the best defense in the NBA. They currently lead the league in Defensive Rating at 95.1. This comes as a shock considering they currently start 2 players who are 21 or younger. Usually, starting young players comes at a cost in the NBA, but this hasn’t been the case for the C’s. Still, questions loom if the Celtics defense is actually legit, or just a result of a small sample size. I’m here to tell you, it’s legit.

The first standout stat is the team’s defensive rebounding percentage. Right now, the C’s are averaging 36.3 defensive rebounds per game, which ranks 6th in the NBA. This is a huge improvement over the team’s 32.9 defensive rebounds per game ranking 22nd in 2016-17. Their improvements on the defensive glass are on display even more when you look into the team’s defensive rebounding percentage. The C’s currently rank 4th in this category with a percentage 81.2. Compare this to last season’s ranking of 27 at 75.3% and their upgrades are fully on display.

You may be wondering what defensive rebounding has to do with a team’s defense. The answer is simple — second chance points. Obviously, by limiting a team’s second chance points also limits their ability to accumulate overall points. So far, the Celtics have been doing a great job of limiting teams’ second chance points. As of now, the C’s allow the 3rd fewest second chance points of any team at 9.8 a game. Once again, when you compare this to the year prior the Celtics were substantially worse ranking 27th while giving up 13.9 points per game.

So, what changed from a year prior? How could a team improve so much after losing valuable defensive players?

Wingspan. The Celtics have players that are extremely long and fast taking up an immense amount of space. Just listen to the starters measurements:

Irving – 6’1 Height, 6’4 Wingspan

Brown – 6’7 Height, 6’11 Wingspan

Tatum – 6’8 Height, 6’11 Wingspan

Horford – 6’10 Height, 7’0 Wingspan

Baynes – 7’0 Height, 7’2 Wingspan

As a whole, they trump almost all of Boston’s starters last season in length. This constant length forces opposing offenses into tough situations benefiting Irving. It allows him to play teams’ passing lanes resulting in easy steals and then transition points.

It’s no wonder Irving currently has the most steals in the NBA and averages 2.6 a game.

Next: Aron Baynes and the Value of Toughness

This isn’t diminishing Irving’s defense either — thus far he’s been nothing, but spectacular. He’s reading passing lanes, keeping defenders in front of him and most importantly giving effort on defense. He currently ranks 2nd in the NBA in defensive win shares with the only player ahead of him being Al Horford. If you think that’s crazy trying taking this in: both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown also rank within the top-10 in this category. The only Celtics starter outside of the top-10 in DEF WS is Aron Baynes who is ranked 26th.

Needless to say, the Celtics defense is legit. While they may not be AS dominant, expect the C’s to continue their defensive success throughout the season.

Sources: NBA.com & DraftExpress