Boston Celtics: 3 advantages Cs have over Warriors in NBA Finals
By Ryan Cinque
Boston Celtics advantage No. 2: Elite switching defense
Boston’s league-best defense might just be the best matchup for the Warriors high-powered motion offense. The Warriors run an offense predicated on non-stop motion and heavy screening. Teams that are less willing to switch in order to avoid unfavorable matchups end up getting burned anyway as they have guys scrambling around to chase players like Steph Curry, Jordan Poole, and Klay Thompson. It’s just too difficult and too exhausting to chase guys around screens all game long which is exactly why a switching defense works perfectly against an offense like this.
That being said, if this form of defense is so effective against their offense, then why don’t more teams use it? The answer to that is because having the right personnel is just as important as running the right schemes. The Celtics have so much versatility on defense that they can afford to switch on every screen without giving up much on the defensive end.
The Celtics finished the regular season as the most frequent switching team on defense. In this postseason, they are currently ranked second in that category. Out of all 16 playoff teams, The Warriors rank ninth in opposing teams switches. This means that Golden State has not dealt with a lot of switching through the first three rounds, and that this Boston defense will feel completely different to them.
This could give the Dubs some trouble in the half-court as they try to get clean hand-offs and clean looks at the basket off of screens. The Warriors are very turnover prone and they cough the ball up 14.9 times per game, the second worst rate in the league. The added pressure and lack of space could facilitate to a large number of Golden State turnovers which would play right into Boston’s hands.
If a possession comes down to the end of the shot clock, the Cs are also full of elite one-on-one defenders with a lot of length to bother the Warriors guards. At the end of the day, Curry is nearly impossible to contain but the C’s versatility and length can make things tough for Curry and the Dubs.