WASHINGTON — With 9:13 remaining on Thursday night, Anfernee Simons came off a Neemias Queta screen on the wing, pulled up, and drained a three. It put the Boston Celtics up 122-88 on the Washington Wizards. A 34-point gap.
Immediately after, Hugo Gonzalez picked up CJ McCollum full-court.
It was the new Celtics defense personified in a single moment.
Joe Mazzulla overhauled the defense this summer. As the front office prioritized the financials, Mazzulla pivoted. The same styles that led Boston to two straight 60-win seasons (and a championship) weren’t going to work anymore.
He landed on a complete defensive 180. “The past two years, at least since I've been here, we've kind of been a sit in our shift, let them play one-on-one [defense]. We're not really helping too much,” Jordan Walsh said post-game in DC. “And now, this year, it's all about helping the other guy out.”
Rather than relying on individual defense and a lack of fouling, the Celtics are scrambling. The second a ball-handler turns his head, they swarm. It’s been chaotic, it’s been a work in progress, and it’s been led by an unlikely bunch.
Jordan Walsh, Hugo Gonzalez, Josh Minott, and Baylor Scheierman.
The Four Horsemen of the Celtics’ new defense.
Celtics new defense has changed everything
On Thursday night in Washington, those four guys combined for eight stocks (steals and blocks). Each of them a blur on the court in their own unique way, yet all contributing to Boston’s defensive scheme.
“I think guys just did a good job executing the game plan,” Mazzulla said of the Celtics’ defense in their 146-101 win over the Wizards. “It was good attention to detail by the players. I thought their physicality and their ball pressure was great, and when you have that type of ball pressure, you force guys into poor spacing, and then you're able to kind of make plays.
“I thought the guys did a great job executing the details of the game plan, and I thought we played with a good level of energy throughout the entire game, everybody that played.”
By some numbers, Boston’s defense hasn’t been anything special. They rank 16th in defensive rating (115.0). Yet they allow the third-fewest points of any team in the association (110.7). Only the 21-1 Oklahoma City Thunder and 14-5 Houston Rockets give up fewer points per game.
Constant ball pressure hand calculated risks have sat at the forefront of the Celtics’ defensive goals. And sometimes, those risks don’t pay off. “We'll live at a kick-out three if we can get a good contest. We can live with it,” said Walsh. “But we're not anything in the paint, for the most part.”
That philosophy has gotten the Celtics burned. In six of their last 10 games, their opponent has shot at least 40% from distance, and in three of those, they shot 45% or better.
Boston is 6-0 in those games.
Math rules the Celtics' defense
Much like his now-famous three-point-heavy offense, Mazzulla’s defensive math has dominated this season as well.
For as well as teams have shot from three at times, the Celtics allow the fewest shots per game (85.3) this season, and that’s while also giving up the third-most offensive rebounds per game (12.5).
The Celtics’ defense has been in complete control.
By flying around, gunning for turnovers, and living with late contests on some threes, Boston has funneled teams into playing the offense that they’re comfortable with. And The Four Horsemen have been at the forefront of the change.
“It's more so just the physicality and the ball pressure. Guys are not comfortable in our defense, because we just, as soon as you cross half court, we're picking you up,” Xavier Tillman told Hardwood Houdini in Philadelphia earlier this season. “Or even, for guys like Hugo and Josh and Jordan and Baylor, like they're picking up at the other free-throw line. They're turning you, turning you, by the time you get down to half court, there's 15, 16 on the clock, and you're kind of gassed, and you're supposed to be the guy who's gonna get the shot.
“So, we do a really good job of just upping our physicality and being the tougher team. And not just saying that, but literally hitting, bumping, and doing all the little things to make you tired.”
Having an entire five-man unit that sprints around on defense puts an immense amount of pressure on offenses. Every pass or dribble is at risk of becoming a turnover. But it’s more than that.
If Minott jumps a passing lane and doesn’t snag the ball, that leaves the Celtics in a one-on-two. That’s where the next man rotates. And if the other teams makes that pass, another rotation comes through.
Corner-help blocks have become a staple of Boston’s defense, purely due to the never-ending rotations they’re thrown into.
Mazzulla has had them preparing for this new reality since the summer.
“I think, for the last few years, it was just a lot of just one-on-one, and then this one's kind of more, all five guys are connected,” White said. “So, we've been doing it pretty much the whole summer. Just kind of just adjusting into that more shifting into flying around, trying to get more turnovers.
“In the past, it was kind of just trying to make him take tough shots over the defense. So, I think it was a little bit of an adjustment, but we've been just talking about it every day, so just kind of got to pick it up.”
Celtics are constantly helping each other
The entire concept was, and is, straightforward: If someone takes a risk, help them. If you get burned, someone will be there to help you.
Sounds simple. But it’s much easier said than done.
“I think it's easy to learn, but I think it's hard to do,” said Walsh. “It's easy to pick up the concept of, be pulled in, or be extra shifty, be extra help, but I think to actually go out and do it is way harder because we're used to, obviously, just sitting in shifts and then getting out and playing one-on-one a lot. So being able to sink in even more, and then still be able to get out and contest the jump shot. So, I think it's harder, but I think it's easier to pick up.”
But the fact that the Celtics were working with a near-clean slate made the leap from one defense to the next a bit less complicated.
“I think the process was easier than it looks, just because we have almost a whole new team,” said Walsh. “And so, they kind of broke everybody down to build them back up, in the sense of your foundation of how you play defense. I think it was easier than people thought, but I think that the biggest thing was just, you would want somebody to help you, so you go help the next person.
“That's kind of the philosophy. Just help as much as you can. Nothing's really your fault unless you're not helping somebody else.”
Walsh’s emergence as a starting-lineup staple stems from his defensive contributions. He’s guarded the likes of Tyrese Maxey, James Harden, and Donovan Mitchell, picking up each of them full-court.
Scheierman has done the same. As has Gonzalez. As has Minott.
“Everybody's picking up full-court,” said Walsh. “The pressure's on a completely different level that I feel like we didn't have last year.”
That’s what Mazzulla wants.
“I think he's asked that of everybody. Not just me,” said Scheierman. “We're trying to obviously play fast and pick up full-court, and that's something that I'm getting more and more comfortable with and enjoying doing that when I'm up there. I think it helps me kind of getting in a rhythm, being able to get into the ball and kind of get the juices flowing when I get in there.”
Picking up 94-feet is merely the tip of the iceberg for Boston.
Celtics never stop - and opponents can't, either
If a star puts the ball on the floor to drive, they stunt in. If a ball-handler loses focus for a millisecond, they pounce. If a ball trickles off someone’s foot, Scheireman, Walsh, Minott, or Gonzalez will be on the floor at a moment’s notice.
Gonzalez has gone careening into the stanchion on multiple occasions this season, all in the pursuit of chasedown blocks and saving points.
With every steal, block, and hustle play, the Celtics are igniting their own fire and dousing their opponent’s with cold water.
“Absolutely. It's momentum,” said Walsh. “Because if I press up on you and get a steal, then now, the next three possessions, I'm going to do the same thing. And then I'm going to try and get another steal. And if I get another one, it's another three more possessions that I'm going to do it. I'm just going to keep doing it until it stops working.
“And I'm gonna eat off of it, the team feels energy off of it. They're put in a mood where it's like, 'Oh my goodness. Who's going to bring the ball? We got to switch it up.' So, it's just kind of like, disrupting them, their pace, their rhythm, that makes a difference.”
This offseason was spent preparing on how to be different, all in the pursuit of winning. Boston lost core defensive pieces. Jrue Holiday—gone. Kristaps Porzingis—gone. Al Horford—gone. Luke Kornet—gone.
The Celtics could have utilized the summer to teach the new team Mazzulla’s old defense. He didn’t have to change just because the team did.
But he did. He did change. He changed everything.
Mazzulla and his staff took a blowtorch to the Celtics’ old defensive scheme, and Walsh, Gonzalez, Scheierman, and Minott rose from the ashes.