B/R believes the Boston Celtics need better luck, not necessarily just more effort, should they wish to improve their defensive production
The Boston Celtics have seemed like a shell of their 2019-20 selves throughout the majority of 2020-21.
Despite making it to within just two games of reaching their first NBA Finals in over a decade last postseason, during this follow up campaign the shamrocks have struggled mightily just to stay afloat within the East’s playoff picture, finding themselves below .500 on several occasions thus far and, now, are seen barely holding onto the sixth seed with a record of 32-30.
While their offensive prowess — though, admittedly, inconsistent — has remained relatively the same in comparison to last season, as they are averaging just about one less point per game this year on practically the same shooting splits, it is their production on the defensive side of the ball that has caught the eyes of many.
Last year, the Boston Celtics were one of the best units on the less glamorous side of the ball, boasting a fourth-best defensive rating of 106.5. With the majority of their core returning for this year’s campaign, including their NBA All-Defensive juggernaut, Marcus Smart, many were under the impression that their fortunes would roll right along.
Unfortunately, however, this has simply not been the case.
62 games into the year, Boston finds themselves stationed nine slots lower at 13th overall with a defensive rating of 111.3.
To some, it’s quite obvious that this is the case, as their own eye test has shown them to be a tad bit slower in comparison to 2019-20, coming in late on rotations and losing assignments loose paper in the wind.
However, even still, some would argue that this observation alone is not a good enough reason for why they’ve slipped so far in their defensive prowess/ production.
Of course, these lapses in effort certainly play a role, but the folks at Bleacher Report are more under the impression that a higher entity is at play here.
When analyzing the number of challenging shots in which they’ve forced their opponents to take, coupled with the unfortunate conversion rates for said attempts, writer, Grant Hughes, believes that it’s more so due to bad luck that they’ve fallen so low:
"We’ve spent time discussing what looks like a reason to doubt the Celtics, but here’s the thing: Based on the types of shots they allow, they should rank fifth in opponent effective field-goal percentage. Instead, they rank 18th. The Celtics are allowing the right kinds of attempts; they’re just going in at a higher rate than expected.It’s hard to accept after several months, but the best explanation for Boston’s defensive slippage may be bad luck."
Now, Hughes would later go on to state that inconsistent levels of hustle and grind could obviously be playing a part in their underwhelming ranking on defence.
However, should they continue forcing their opponents into challenging shots, it’s only a matter of time before their luck runs out and, in turn, comes back to the side of the Cs.
Next. 2 stars Cs must monitor closely this offseason. dark