Boston Celtics’ Defense Has Been as Impressive as the Offense
By Alex Eddy
The Boston Celtics have been winning with defense this season
The Boston Celtics‘ offense has been extremely impressive this season, especially in the eight game win streak. The chemistry between Kyrie Irving and Al Horford has been on fire, and the Celtics as a whole have been playing tremendous team-oriented basketball. Like Kyrie always says, this team really fits well with the Brad Stevens’ system.
Honestly, what has been even more impressive than the offense is the defense. The Celtics have yet to surrender 100 points in the eight game win streak. Opponents are only averaging 93.2 points per game against the Celtics this season, which leads the league, and the Celtics are also number one in defensive rating in the NBA.
Everyone is buying into Brad Stevens’ plans on both ends of the court. Irving has really taken accountability defensively, and it seems like has has really benefited from the tenacious mentalities of Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier.
Horford is anchoring the defense. He is an early front runner for defensive player of the year. He is mobile, can switch onto multiple positions, he is active on the boards, and constantly communicates with his teammates.
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The Celtics have also been successful because they have position less players like Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Marcus Morris. This combination of length and size has helped make this defense so good.
And of course, you can’t give enough credit to Aron Baynes. He is just the bruiser and paint presence that the doctor ordered. His physicality defensively and on the boards has added another dimension to this team, and he allows Horford to slide over to the four. Moving Horford between the four and the five creates constant matchup problems for opposing teams.
Teams are really struggling to score against the Celtics, and opponents are only shooting 30.8% from downtown, which leads the league. The confidence for the Celtics is extremely high right now. They are dominating on both ends of the court.
Next: Celtics Becoming a Dominant Rebounding Team
You can’t put into words the credit that Brad Stevens deserves. With a complete turnover in the roster, Stevens has made this new team jell more quickly than anyone could have anticipated. Look for the Celtics to continue their streak into Atlanta on Monday night.