A lot has been said about the Celtics’ new defensive scheme, which is much more aggressive and has been forcing turnovers at a much higher rate. But beyond the new and improved turnover creation, the on-ball defense, especially against star-level players, has been out of this world.
The season is obviously still very young, but through nine games, the Celtics haven’t allowed a player to reach 30 points yet this season. In fact, the most they’ve given up to a single player was 27 to Michael Porter Jr., and that was in overtime. In seven of their games, they haven’t even had a player surpass 25 points.
That’s pretty nuts for 2026, when scoring is through the roof across the board. The schedule hasn’t exactly been a doozy, but still, this includes limiting guys like Cade Cunningham, Jalen Brunson, Kevin Durant, and others.
Those guys certainly aren’t slouches, and they’ve all been handled by the Boston defense. It’s clear they’ve committed to aggressive on-ball defense and pinching in to keep players out of the paint and force more shot attempts from the perimeter.
Celtics have shut down big-time scorers all season
The scheme and the commitment across the board have certainly been a big part of it, but it’s important to give some credit to the players who have been tasked with stopping the opponents’ best players. Joe Mazzulla has started every game with either Jordan Walsh or Hugo Gonzalez, and most of the time at least one of them, or Baylor Scheierman, is on the floor.
Those three have done a tremendous job at the point of attack, and they’ve kept guys from getting into a rhythm by forcing tough, contested shots over and over again. Paul George, Jayson Tatum, and Derrick White have certainly played a big role as well, and we can’t ignore the rim protection and deterrence of the bigs, especially Neemias Queta.
Obviously, I’m not expecting this trend to continue all season, but it’s a great start, it’s extremely encouraging, and overall, I don’t think it’s a fluke. This is a commitment across the board, from the coaching staff to the players, and things are being executed masterfully so far.
It helps when you’ve got the right personnel, and the Celtics have waves of defenders to bring at guys, but the strategy deserves a lot of credit as well. Mazzulla and his team have put the players in position to succeed, and they’re doing so to a T.
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