Can the Boston Celtics keep up their surprisingly great defensive efficiency?
The Boston Celtics boast one of the most formidable defensive units thus far into the 2019-20 NBA campaign. Are their defensive efforts for real, or are they doomed to regress as the season rolls on?
Through the first five games of the 2019-2020 NBA season, the Boston Celtics have a 101.4 defensive rating, good for 9th best in the league.
With the departure of All-Star big-man Al Horford and always reliable center Aron Baynes, the Celtics were expected to take a step back on defense, while constructing a better offensive team this year.
However, so far that has not been the case. With their 101.4 defensive rating, Boston is 5.6 points better than last year, as they had a 107 defensive rating for the 2018-19 season.
This begs the question: is Boston’s defense for real, or is it another example of a small sample size?
When looking into more defensive statistics, it’s clear the Celtics excel in transition defense, allowing the least points off turnovers to their opponents with 11.8 per game, almost two points less than any other team.
This makes sense, considering most of their lineups contain three or four wings. They have the ability to use their length to get back on defense to disrupt fast breaks and drives to the rim.
A place where the Boston Celtics have struggled so far this year is securing rebounds. They are both 21st in defensive rebound percentage (72.7%) and allowing second chance points (14.4 per game).
This also falls in line with the preseason concerns, as without a true seven footer on the team, the shamrocks have struggled to secure rebounds to end possessions. This stat may be skewed due to Enes Kanter missing four out of five games so far, but he certainly won’t be helping on the defensive end aside from his rebounding presence.
Another important factor in analyzing the Celtics successful start is their strength of schedule. So far, they have played the Knicks twice, the 76ers, Raptors, and Bucks.
The 76ers, Raptors, and Bucks are all in the top 13 in the league in offensive rating, while the Knicks sit at a lowly 28th. This could certainly impact the defensive rating for Boston, considering they have played New York twice this year already.
Those three offensively-stout teams will most likely be at the top of the Eastern Conference at year’s end, so it will be important for the Boston Celtics to have a successful defense despite the loss of their defensive anchors.
So far, Beantown has experienced a boost from their young wings on the defensive side of the ball, including the likes of Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and, to no one’s surprise, Marcus Smart.
We’ve always known Smart was an amazing defender, landing himself on the all-defensive first team last year, but Tatum and Brown were more unknown. They clearly have potential, and this year they are showing they can be above average defenders at their respective positions.
Tatum and Brown are both in the top 50 of defensive win shares so far this year, being 19th and 44th respectively.
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Not to mention the great starts from rookie Grant Williams and sophomore Robert Williams, two players that Celtics fans did not expect to have such a big impact on the defensive side of the ball this early in their careers.
The Boston Celtics have the tools to construct a top-10 defense in the NBA, proving through five games that they can stand up to anyone. Lets hope this trend continues, as we move along in November and beyond!