Boston Celtics: 3 tweaks the Cs can make to improve their defense

Defensive improvement for Boston Celtics No. 3) Acquire elite screen navigators

If the Boston Celtics are going to switch less often, then it probably means they will drop more.

That may sound like a bad thing, but it’s not.

Having Robert Williams defending the rim instead of being stuck out on the perimeter every other possession would do wonders for the Cs, and the same goes for Al Horford. However, if the Celtics are not going to switch, they need players that can avoid doing so.

Most teams will try to target Evan Fournier Boston’s bigs to create mismatches for the perimeter stars.

Ime Udoka wants to keep his perimeter defenders on the opposing team’s perimeter creators, but he also does not want to give up open shots. A good way around this is by playing the Celtics bigs up and acquiring elite screen navigators.

Horford and Williams are mobile bigs, so playing them a bit up the floor to take away floaters and midranges is not a problem so long as they don’t get put in a two-on-one situation.

Elite screen navigators are not necessarily easy to come by. Luckily for the Boston Celtics, they already have two in Marcus Smart and Romeo Langford, but seeing as Langford won’t see the floor much due to his offensive limitations, it would be wise to search the market for a third.

Wesley Matthews is an excellent screen navigator and won’t cost the franchise much money. He is entering free agency after netting $3.6 million from the Lakers and coming off a horrid season.

He won’t receive much attention, and he certainly won’t get offered any more than what he made last season. The Boston Celtics can swoop him up for a one-year, low-cost contract to be one of their marquee defenders and shooters off the bench.