Paul George has, for the most part, looked quite good for the Boston Celtics. Yes, there have been some warts, but they are quite fixable, and George looks like he was made for the new and improved Mazzulla Ball. Among those who understand why George could be so important to Boston this year is former Celtics coach Doc Rivers.
Rivers coached George in the latter's first year with the Los Angeles Clippers, so he knows how George plays. While talking with NBC Sports Boston's Chris Forsberg, Rivers explained that he noticed not only that George was an elite off the ball defender when he coached George, but also that he set the tone for the rest of the team.
“On ball, Kawhi was better, but I remember Ty Lue and I talking one night and I was like, ‘You know, Paul's an elite defender, and I think he's even better off the ball.’ What's happening is elite off-the-ball defenders can be contagious.”
Calling George an elite defender is not exactly catching anyone off guard. In only two preseason games, George racked up seven steals in total, which led to quite a few fastbreak points. He showed just how chaotic he can be on that end of the floor
But the notion that he could actually inspire the other Celtics defenders to do the same thing? That makes this upcoming season even more exciting.
Forcing turnovers could elevate Mazzulla's defense even higher
The funny thing about the Celtics in the Mazzulla era is that they have consistently been among the best teams in the NBA on the defensive side of the ball. Dating back to 2022, when Mazzulla first started calling the shots, Boston has been ranked second (110.6), second (110.6), fourth (110.1), and fourth (111.7) in the NBA in terms of defensive rating.
However, even with that being a knock fact, they haven't typically forced many turnovers. In that same time span, they were third-last in opponent turnovers per game (12), last (11.3), fourth-last (12), and second-to-last (11.9)
But George could be the poster boy for what's going to change this year. He disrupts offensive flow as a defensive playmaker by forcing turnovers, which limits possessions by opponents and creates more for the Celtics (they call it "possession maxing" or something like that). If Rivers' word prove prophetic (and the preseason has demonstrated that they are), Boston is in line to be even better than before, both defensively and overall.
Fans can take issue with what Rivers says knowing his reputation after he left the Celtics, but the man knows ball. Better yet, he got a good look at George, so he knows what he's talking about. If he believes George could enhance the team culture through his defensive tenacity, there's no reason not to believe it.
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