How do we improve the defense?

[Evantime34]

Need a PF who can defend the perimeter and rebound. A glue guy.

Not many of those around who can also shoot the ball and space the floor on the other end.

Yeah, after Hayward my personal biggest FA target is Jamychal Green.

How much do you think Green will cost? How much would you be willing to pay him.

I agree that improving our rebounding at the 4 spot is probably the most likely way to improve the defense, although I thought Crowder took a step back defensively last year and I wouldn't be surprised if we sign Hayward that his defensive is an upgrade.

I'd like to see the Celtics return to where they were the previous season in terms of forcing turnovers. If they do that it will be a huge step towards improving the defense.

In all likelihood the Celtics will set up a team that is extremely efficient on offense and does just enough on defense to win games.

[tarheelsxxiii]

Max out IT.

Build a frontcourt. Defense should be a priority for the PF.  I'm on board with J. Green.

Problem with J. Green is, if we go after Hayward we won't have enough cap space to sign him unless he signs for the room exception. Do you guys see J. Green being available for the room exception?

I do not see him being available for the room exception.  He's restricted, and Memphis would match that in a minute.  I do see him being available in a sign-and-trade.  It'd be tricky to work out, and would depend on how we made room for Hayward, but not completely impossible.

Seemed like Mem put feelers out for him at the deadline. Think he's also like 28, may work a bit against him

[Rosco917]

The Celtic defense is a switch, switch, switch affair, its all based on not having opposing teams take advantage of IT.

What this looks like is IT bounces around like a ping pong ball trying to locate the player least likely to be a scoring option, and the remaining Celtic players get to chase the ball down. The Celtics are a pretty good defensive team, they work hard, and this works more than not.

Because the Celtics are a limited team on the offensive end, they seriously need IT on the floor as much as possible to score the ball. This is the quagmire the Celtics need to over come. By getting another true scoring option, and a suitable PG to give IT more rest, the Celtics defense will have the ability to play more straight up D, conserve a little energy, and hopefully shave points off their defense. 

[saltlover]

Max out IT.

Build a frontcourt. Defense should be a priority for the PF.  I'm on board with J. Green.

Problem with J. Green is, if we go after Hayward we won't have enough cap space to sign him unless he signs for the room exception. Do you guys see J. Green being available for the room exception?

I do not see him being available for the room exception.  He's restricted, and Memphis would match that in a minute.  I do see him being available in a sign-and-trade.  It'd be tricky to work out, and would depend on how we made room for Hayward, but not completely impossible.

Seemed like Mem put feelers out for him at the deadline. Think he's also like 28, may work a bit against him

They put out feelers for him because they thought he might get offered more in free agency than they would be able/willing to pay.  But 2 years, $9 million, which is what the Room Exception approximately comes to, is certainly in their price range.  That Memphis put out feelers for him at the trade deadline is why I think a sign-and-trade is possible (although, again, it would potentially be very tricky to work with the cap if we get Hayward.)

And Green turns 27 this month, so age shouldn't hurt him much in a new deal.

[saltlover]

Need a PF who can defend the perimeter and rebound. A glue guy.

Not many of those around who can also shoot the ball and space the floor on the other end.

Yeah, after Hayward my personal biggest FA target is Jamychal Green.

How much do you think Green will cost? How much would you be willing to pay him.

I agree that improving our rebounding at the 4 spot is probably the most likely way to improve the defense, although I thought Crowder took a step back defensively last year and I wouldn't be surprised if we sign Hayward that his defensive is an upgrade.

I'd like to see the Celtics return to where they were the previous season in terms of forcing turnovers. If they do that it will be a huge step towards improving the defense.

In all likelihood the Celtics will set up a team that is extremely efficient on offense and does just enough on defense to win games.

I think Green is in the $12-14 million per year range, which I'd be willing to go for.  Maybe a little bit less.

[Jvalin]

The Celtic defense is a switch, switch, switch affair, its all based on not having opposing teams take advantage of IT.

What this looks like is IT bounces around like a ping pong ball trying to locate the player least likely to be a scoring option, and the remaining Celtic players get to chase the ball down. The Celtics are a pretty good defensive team, they work hard, and this works more than not.

Because the Celtics are a limited team on the offensive end, they seriously need IT on the floor as much as possible to score the ball. This is the quagmire the Celtics need to over come. By getting another true scoring option, and a suitable PG to give IT more rest, the Celtics defense will have the ability to play more straight up D, conserve a little energy, and hopefully shave points off their defense.

Good luck switching everything on D with IT (and to a lesser extend Horford) on the floor.

Best thing to do is hide IT on the worst guard/SF of the opposing team and just hope for the best. If they start exploiting the mismatch (like the Wizards did with Porter), there is pretty much nothing we can do to stop them.

[jpotter33]

To me, signing Griffin helps us out a ton in this regard.

1) Though not an "elite" rebounder, Griffin would instantly be our best rebounder, and it stands to reason that he'd be even better not sharing the court with an elite rebounder like DJ anymore.

2) Though just an average defender himself, he pushes Al back to his natural center position defensively, which is where he'll certainly be best for the rest of his career rather than chasing younger guys out on the perimeter.

3) Griffin's extra offense and playmaking will take pressure off of Crowder and AB/Brown offensively, which theoretically should allow them to expend more energy on the defensive end. Granted, this is also on Brad to make sure to stress to these players their roles on the floor, especially someone like Crowder.

4) If we keep AB, his defense should return to a more elite level with it being a contract year for him. In the more likely scenario where we trade AB and Brown starts at the 2, Brad needs to stress to Brown he's primarily a defender in the starting lineup and should focus on playing solid D first and foremost. His extra size, length, and athleticism out there should also greatly help our D.

Essentially, I think just getting a more balanced lineup with better overall rebounding, size, length, and athleticism will help us tremendously defensively next year. A lineup of IT, Brown, Jae, Griffin, and Horford has elite two-way potential, as long as everyone plays to their roles and strengths (and Griffin stays healthy).

[Atzar]

To me, signing Griffin helps us out a ton in this regard.

1) Though not an "elite" rebounder, Griffin would instantly be our best rebounder, and it stands to reason that he'd be even better not sharing the court with an elite rebounder like DJ anymore.

2) Though just an average defender himself, he pushes Al back to his natural center position defensively, which is where he'll certainly be best for the rest of his career rather than chasing younger guys out on the perimeter.

3) Griffin's extra offense and playmaking will take pressure off of Crowder and AB/Brown offensively, which theoretically should allow them to expend more energy on the defensive end. Granted, this is also on Brad to make sure to stress to these players their roles on the floor, especially someone like Crowder.

4) If we keep AB, his defense should return to a more elite level with it being a contract year for him. In the more likely scenario where we trade AB and Brown starts at the 2, Brad needs to stress to Brown he's primarily a defender in the starting lineup and should focus on playing solid D first and foremost. His extra size, length, and athleticism out there should also greatly help our D.

Essentially, I think just getting a more balanced lineup with better overall rebounding, size, length, and athleticism will help us tremendously defensively next year. A lineup of IT, Brown, Jae, Griffin, and Horford has elite two-way potential, as long as everyone plays to their roles and strengths (and Griffin stays healthy).

Despite the injury concerns, I agree and was about to post something similar.  Griffin addresses nearly all of our major needs on both ends of the court, and the upgrade from our current PF situation to Griffin is much larger than the upgrade from Crowder to Hayward.  I think he should be our first target in free agency. 

[hodgy03038]

For starters we need better offense. More buckets means less rebounds and fast breaks for the other team. Secondly we need better defensive and offensive rebounding. Those items along with our current defense makes us a much better team.

[ThePaintedArea]

I still think the biggest move to help the defense is improve the defensive rebounding.  Two many 2nd, 3rd.... shots after playing good defense on the first shot.

I think that's the big issue.

Here is Basketball Reference's Four Factors for the Celtics' defense:

eFG%   0.503 (5th of 30)
TOV%   0.127 (16th of 30)
DRB%   0.753 (27th of 30)
FT/FGA   0.223 (23rd of 30)

I'm sure that some people will have quibbles with BR's math, but I think that we can agree that other methods will at least give the same general result.

What this tells you is that field goal defense is top 5.  That is the most important of the Four Factors, so any personnel changes should not be to the detriment of that, which is already working.

Weakest is, as you point out, defensive rebounding.  I think that we can assume that improving that would also affect FT rates - offensive rebounds result in a disproportionate number of foul calls.

Looking at these data, you would not conclude that Rim Protection is the big priority going forward.  But you would also clearly not want to give a guy a lot of minutes simply because he improves your defensive rebounding (a caveat about Zizic, for one).

Boston was middle of the pack in forcing turnovers. I would suggest that this is not an area that needs special attention.  Of course it's better to cause more, and given Ainge's emphasis on team speed and the youth of the roster, it might be a little surprising that the number isn't any better than it is.  But nothing trumps good position defense, rotating, and closing out, and you trade middling turnovers for good field goal defense anyday.

It also should be mentioned that these numbers are for the whole season, and one thing about the Celtics this past season is that they were disastrously bad before New Year's.

As for personnel, does Blake hurt your field goal defense? I think that it would work, while he would improve the defensive rebounding.

Millsap definitely improves your field goal defense, though by himself he doesn't move the needle on defensive rebounding.  These things interact, so perhaps his defensive contribution would help the team's defensive rebounding.

[nickagneta]

After signing Hayward by trading away Bradley for draft picks do a sign and trade of KO for Tyson Chandler.

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

I still think the biggest move to help the defense is improve the defensive rebounding.  Two many 2nd, 3rd.... shots after playing good defense on the first shot. 

yup

[Beat LA]

After signing Hayward by trading away Bradley for draft picks do a sign and trade of KO for Tyson Chandler.

He'll be 35 in October, has two years left on his deal, has never had any appreciable level of skill, and has always been a punk (well, at least imo, anyway).  Pass. 

[LatterDayCelticsfan]

After signing Hayward by trading away Bradley for draft picks do a sign and trade of KO for Tyson Chandler.

Or WCS. He is younger, and less likely to be burned on switches

[Monkhouse]

After signing Hayward by trading away Bradley for draft picks do a sign and trade of KO for Tyson Chandler.

Or WCS. He is younger, and less likely to be burned on switches

Which is funny, because the main issue with him, is that he doesn't know how to help on defense, or switch properly.

I like WCS, but I think at this point, he's set to be a role playing lite version of Tyson Chandler.