Boston Celtics focused on fixing their slipping defense

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2019/12/boston-celtics-focused-on-fixing-their-slipping-defense.html




Boston Celtics focused on fixing their slipping defense



Today 1:50 PM




Toronto Raptors' Fred VanVleet (23) drives between Boston Celtics' Kemba Walker ( and Gordon Hayward (20) during the second half on an NBA basketball game in Boston, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)



By John Karalis | JKaralis@masslive.com



BOSTON - The Boston Celtics are currently the league’s fourth-best defensive team, and they’re mere percentage points from being second.

If you’re looking to explain how the Celtics, even after everything that happened to them this past summer, have the fourth-best record in the NBA, you can start right there.

But the reason they’ve lost those percentage points and are fourth instead of second is because of a recent defensive slippage. Over the last three games, Boston’s defensive rating is 21st in the league at 110.7. They’ve managed to overcome it by running the league’s eighth-best offense over that time, but it burned them badly in their loss to Toronto.


“The focus today was cleaning up some things we weren’t as good at the last few games, specifically on the defensive end of the floor,” Brad Stevens said after the team’s practice today. “Just make sure we’re tightening up who we need to be the rest of the year.”

The grind of the regular season can take a mental toll on teams. It’s not hard to lose focus and slip, sometimes in games.

“You gotta be mature about it," Jayson Tatum said. "With the schedule, you can’t always practice as much as you want. You just gotta understand if you want to be a part of something special, you gotta have the same level of focus every day.”

The Celtics are trying to re-integrate Marcus Smart and, to a lesser degree, Gordon Hayward at a time where the schedule doesn’t allow for much full-court practicing. Add to that a natural tendency by some players to simply slip with some of their technique and there is a possibility of things falling apart. If timing is off or communication lapses for even a second, the whole house of cards falls.


“You make a mistake, there’s four shooters and a dunker on the floor. Sometimes there’s five shooters on the floor,” Stevens said. “That’s the one thing about that Toronto team the last couple of days, that we’ve played a couple times, I saw a game where all nine guys that played hit a three. That’s pretty unique. I just think, you certainly can’t have somebody that falls asleep, you certainly can’t have somebody that’s not really locked in on that end.”

Here’s an example of how one mistake can turn a decent defensive possession into a bad one.


John Karalis

@RedsArmy_John
Replying to @RedsArmy_John
Final example is how fragile this lineup can be. Lowry attack Kemba on the switch but Tatum loses sight of what's going on off the ball & doesn't box out. This lineup is small & prone to putbacks. Lapses like this are killers.

https://twitter.com/RedsArmy_John/status/1211671256023613440

12:31 PM - Dec 30, 2019


“We didn’t compete at the level that we needed to,” Tatum said. "You definitely could see that in the Toronto game. They just played harder than we did and it showed, especially just getting back in transition. We gotta do a better job of that.”

The obvious question is how the team will pull that off considering their schedule, which is about to get pretty hectic. The Celtics have two days off before a back-to-back on Friday and Saturday, and they don’t get consecutive days off again until the All Star break.

“In this league it’s important to compartmentalize what the next task is,” Stevens said. “Whether it’s coming in and getting your workout in today – your pre-practice work and lift, treatment, getting ready for the game tomorrow, how you prepare. You don’t get big pictures as much as, this is what I have to do today to improve, what I have to do today to be successful, and try to stay in that moment as much as possible.”

When the Celtics defense is at its best, it can be one of the best in the league. We saw flashes of that mixed into the muck of the home loss to Toronto.



John Karalis

@RedsArmy_John
Replying to @RedsArmy_John
3rd example is the effective scrambling. They attack Kemba again (teams always will). Hayward is awesome here. Switches, scrambles on the kick but in full control, scrams Kemba out of the mismatch, then gets the steal. An amazing defensive possession from Gordon here.

https://twitter.com/RedsArmy_John/status/1211670503523532801

12:28 PM - Dec 30, 2019


The biggest issue that Boston faces is their uniquely built team, which is part of what can make them so good. There’s no giant rim-protector to erase mistakes, so Boston’s best chance is to make as few mistakes as possible. Hoarding 6′7″-ish wings has been part of the plan, and together they can form a virtually impenetrable wall around the perimeter by constantly switching. It leaves Boston with little margin for error.

“We have some things – as have been well-discussed and before the season were well-pointed out – that we have to manage.” Stevens said. "To do that we have to play well in other areas, specifically at the point of attack in transition and with our ball pressure. And those are areas where, when we slip, you can see it immediately. And it affects our whole defense.”


bob


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