Celtics through 10 days are the best defensive team in the NBA

[JSD]

Listen, I get it, sample size, the whole thing.

But the Celtics through 10 days are not only the best defensive team in the NBA, the gap between them and #2 Denver is bigger than #2 Denver through #9 Golden State.

Rozier, Smart and Tatum are 1-2-3 in defensive rating.

https://twitter.com/SeanGrandePBP/status/1055708132251447296

[knuckleballer]

Missing shots must be contagious.   

[BitterJim]

As long as Denver looks like an elite defensive team, the sample size is too small

[gouki88]

That isn't even a close distance between #1 and #2

Imagine how good we'd be if JT was consistent on that end, and all our guys were firing physically

[Big333223]

Impressive given how unimpressive the team has looked so far.

If they figure this thing out, they're going to be incredible.

[Hoopvortex]

As long as Denver looks like an elite defensive team, the sample size is too small

 Now that Malone is the coach, maybe defense is something that Denver could become known for. I agree with you that we need a bigger sample size, but I think that it's just possible that our (decades-long) prejudices about  The Nuggets might, just might, not apply to today's team.

[Surferdad]

They are also the worst offensive team of the top-10 defensive teams.  That tells me their #1 rating in Points Allowed could just be due to a slower pace.

[bopna]

And we are the worst offensively...

I can understand that if we had the brooklyn Nets talent.

But we have Kyrie who should be torching the East the way Curry is mowing the West.

We barely score 100 each game in a league where the ave is in the 118s.

[Hoopvortex]

That isn't even a close distance between #1 and #2

Imagine how good we'd be if JT was consistent on that end, and all our guys were firing physically

Imagine if Kyrie were. He's the weak link.

[hpantazo]

I’m not worried at all about our offense, I’m extremely confident it will come along. I’m very glad to see that the players and coaches have made defense the top priority early on

[Hoopvortex]

And we are the worst offensively...

28th actually. But bad enough.

We barely score 100 each game in a league where the ave is in the 118s.

Point taken, although that number is also affected by the Celtics' really slow pace.

[Hoopvortex]

They are also the worst offensive team of the top-10 defensive teams.  That tells me their #1 rating in Points Allowed could just be due to a slower pace.

Exactly why you can’t use Points Allowed as a measure of team defense. If you look at per possession data, Boston is still comfortably #1.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Our defense is not the typical physical, hard-fouling, lots of steals and blocks type defense.

Its a modern-day defense. You can't be that physical anymore. You have to disrupt rhythm. The Celtics disrupt the rhythm of the main ways the other team wants to score. It is designed to force ball-handlers into mid-ranger shots, take guarded threes, or attempt to score one-on-one. Those are things modern NBA offenses do not want to do.

This kind of defense requires disciplined position from every player, high IQ from every player, high versatility from every player, and a high feel for teammate position from every player. The Celtics have that in every player on their roster.

Teams can't pick on weak spots. They can't get the shots they want. They can't get into rhythm.

This is no small sample size. They were this good last season too. They were this good in the playoffs. They will just get better as Tatum and Brown get better and Hayward gets healthy.

[gift]

Our defense is not the typical physical, hard-fouling, lots of steals and blocks type defense.

Its a modern-day defense. You can't be that physical anymore. You have to disrupt rhythm. The Celtics disrupt the rhythm of the main ways the other team wants to score. It is designed to force ball-handlers into mid-ranger shots, take guarded threes, or attempt to score one-on-one. Those are things modern NBA offenses do not want to do.

This kind of defense requires disciplined position from every player, high IQ from every player, high versatility from every player, and a high feel for teammate position from every player. The Celtics have that in every player on their roster.

Teams can't pick on weak spots. They can't get the shots they want. They can't get into rhythm.

This is no small sample size. They were this good last season too. They were this good in the playoffs. They will just get better as Tatum and Brown get better and Hayward gets healthy.

Agree. They will get better both offensively and defensively.

[GreenEnvy]

We were an elite defensive team last year, so this shouldn’t be all that surprising.

The fact that we are head and shoulders above everyone else is interesting, considering how poorly we have been offensively. Once we start putting the ball in the basket more consistently and have the opposing team take the ball out, we can set our defense more and actually improve that number.

IMO, out of our top-10, only Kyrie isn’t a plus defender (for the many of you that think Gordon isn’t right now, he will be).