Marcus Smart on low preseason expectations for Celtics D: 'That was a slap in the face'

http://celticswire.usatoday.com/2018/03/03/marcus-smart-on-low-preseason-expectations-for-celtics-d-that-was-a-slap-in-the-face/



Marcus Smart on low preseason expectations for Celtics D: 'That was a slap in the face'


By: Jared Weiss | 2 hours ago



After the Boston Celtics traded away Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder, national pundits thought their defense would slip. Marcus Smart said that was a “Slap in the face.”

When the Boston Celtics shipped out Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder, much of the national conversation centered on concerns that their defense would fall apart.

People around the team knew better, seeing for awhile that while Bradley is an elite on-ball defender of guards, that was a limited part of what makes a great defense. They knew Crowder had an erratic final season on defense and was torched by LeBron James in the playoffs.

More importantly, they knew that Jaylen Brown in his second season and the addition of Gordon Hayward would allow Brad Stevens to run a more swtich-heavy scheme with big wings, allowing the team to implement the optimal defensive system in the five-out era.

But most of the national conversation only had a long-distance view of the situation, so Marcus Smart got really tired of hearing the doubt. In an interview with ESPN’s Chris Forsberg, Smart explained just how annoying it was for him.


“I kinda thought that was a slap in the face to the guys that were on the team,” Smart told Forsberg. “For them to say we weren’t going to have any defense — those two guys, I love those guys, they’re wonderful guys and they’re awesome defenders, but I think I’m a top-notch defender, an elite defender and, like I said, one of the top defenders in this league. So it was kinda a slap to my face to me, and to my teammates, the guys that were already here. Like Terry and Al and those guys. We didn’t take that lightly. We took that personally.”

That would help explain their motivations behind the 16-game winning streak that shocked the basketball world. They lost Hayward less than six minutes into the season and bounced back a few days later, playing suffocating defense as they raced out to the league’s best defensive rating by a wide margin.

They’ve had some ups and downs throughout the year, particularly when Smart missed a month with a deep hand laceration. But they’ve bounced back since the All-Star break for a four-game winning streak and are maintaining the top defensive rating in the league at 103.2 per Cleaning the Glass. They have a 1.6 point advantage over second place Toronto and are a full basis point better than Philadelphia for the lowest eFG% allowed in the NBA at 49.0%.

Smart and Horford have emerged as defensive player of the year candidates while Brown, Terry Rozier, Aron Baynes and even Kyrie Irving and Jayson Tatum have graded out better than expected in most defensive metrics. While individual capability is obviously vital to a good defense, Stevens has shown that having the right pieces to fit the optimal scheme is what makes the real difference.

With the steady hand of Horford and the relentless potency of the Cobra, Boston’s defense had been doing the face slapping all year long.



bob
MY NOTE: The Celts are #1 in the NBA in opponents' fg% (43.5%. #2 is Philly @ 43.7% and GSW is 3rd @ 44.1%). We are also #1 in the NBA in opponents' 3pt fg% (33.8%. #2 is Philly @ 34% and Washington is 3rd @ 34.1%). Overall, our defense is #2, as far as giving up points. Only Pop's Spurs are better. And that's without Kawhi!!



.

Possibly just another reason why Smart is so motivated on defense.

Very good for us and not so good for opponents.