The Boston Celtics are all about defense, ever since the likes of Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett joined the team back in the 07-08 season. The team was built to defend once again this season even with defensive coach Tom Thibodeau heading to Chicago to coach the upstart Bulls.
This season, the Celtics have been great on defense ranked second in efficiency behind (guess who) the Chicago Bulls. The Boston defense holds its opponents to an average of 91.86 points per game, while the Bulls hold their opponents to a slightly lower 91.43. Not much of a difference for two teams that pride their team on defense, right? Well since the trade deadline the two teams seem to be going in different directions with their strong hold on defense.
You see, on the day of the trade deadline the Chicago Bulls stayed put, while the Boston Celtics traded away Semih Erden, Luke Harangody, Nate Robinson, Marquis Daniels, and Kendrick Perkins. Now you might say, whoa, what key players to give away, but in reality the trades worked out well for the team because they got healthier and now have more guys on the bench to help out when others are injured. The key defensive loss though, is Perkins. Kendrick Perkins has always been boasted to be the second most valuable defensive player on the team behind KG, and since his departure, the Celtics seem to be slowing down defensively.
Since the trade deadline, the Celtics have had four games in which their opponents scored over 100 points for the game. The defensive efficiency average for the Celtics is an outstanding 97.7, second only to the Bulls once again. Now in those four games, the Celtics have put efficiency ratings of: 103, 105.1, 110.8, and 114.9. Getting higher each game isn’t a good trend a defensive team would like to have. The Celtics recently let the Clippers torch them for 108 points, looking lost and just uncaring on the defensive end of the floor (they were worse on the offensive end).
The team has a ton of new players to get accustomed to the defensive first mindset, but that is still no excuse to let teams post over 100 points on a gamely basis. With the additions of Carlos Arroyo, Troy Murhpy, Jeff Green, Nenad Krstic, and Sasha Pavlovic, the team will have a hard time as none of those mentioned above have ever been known for their defense.
Meanwhile, the Bulls are content with what they have done on the defensive end, not allowing one team to score over 100 points on them since the break. The team’s average defensive efficiency is a solid 97, tops in the league. They have posted these efficiency ratings since the break: 93.7, 91.5, 82.8, 96.5, 88, 98.9, 87.5, and 101.5, only going over their average twice, while steadily getting better and better on the defensive end.
Thibodeau has always been a coach to preach about defense, and with the performances the Bulls have been putting on, on that side of the ball, the coach has to be content. The Bulls hustle to defend, and make playing defense look crisp. Recently posts from Celtic fans have said that they are jealous of the way the Bulls have been playing defense because just a year ago, that was Boston’s defense. With the Bulls already having the number one defense in the league, they seem to only be improving, which is scary.
The Celtics however, are missing many role players such as Delonte West, Shaq, Jermaine O’Neal (who may never be healthy), Glen Davis, and Von Wafer. The Celtics starting five has always had a big body patrolling the middle, and with Shaq not there to make his presence felt, the Celtics look thin around the paint. Could it be that once the 39 year old veteran returns to the lineup, the defense could as well? The Celtics this season have been a big team of “if’s” and if the team never has all 15 members of its roster healthy, Banner 18 may as well be another “if” to add to this season.
Everyone already knows the Bulls can score offensively as well, which is why the fact they now can stop any given team defensively is a nightmare to other teams in the league. The Celtics on the other hand have had struggles scoring, and require their defense to keep them in games sometimes. With their defensive mentality lacking, the Celtics could start to blow games down the stretch, giving up their top seed in the East. Doc Rivers may need to hold defensive practices to get everyone acquainted, otherwise the Celtics may have a tough time further down the road in a season in which everyone had them pegged in the Finals.