What went wrong last year?

[Moranis]

Per basketball-reference, the Celtics defense the last 3 seasons was #4, #14, #2. Their offense those years was #4, #10, #7. Defense was the biggest slippage.

And I think what everyone is getting at is that it was a combination of many things.

Kemba being in and out all season hurt continuity and then when he was in, everything was such a struggle for him. And it was like the team was trying ignoring how much of a struggle it was.

It's been mentioned about what having Kemba come off the bench would've done. For one thing, it would've officially handed the team to Tatum and Brown. Having Kemba as a relatively high usage starter muddied the waters for everyone.

Tatum trying to live up to the new hype (he had made his first all star game the season before), Jaylen trying to match him, Kemba not being able to produce like he did but everyone pretending like he was, Tristan Thompson not fitting, COVID, bubble burnout... And some young stars trying to figure things out.

It feels like they figured something out this season.

The thing is, both Tatum and Brown had better statistical seasons last year then they had this year.  Tatum and Brown weren't the problem, it was everyone else.

I'm reminded of Bob Ryan talking about Isiah Thomas, saying he thought Thomas took too long to get to his peak but that he "got it" in 1987. You know what happened in the '87-88 season? Thomas' stats dropped. He averaged his lowest apg in 5 years and his lowest ppg in 6 years. But what Ryan was talking about was that Thomas figured out how to integrate his talent with the team to maximize not just his own impact but his teammates as well.

I think Tatum's improvement from last year to this year was similar. Tatum's numbers aren't much better but I thought this season he was making more of those numbers and making his teammates efforts more impactful than he has in past. Ditto Jaylen.

Is that the biggest reason for the Celtics improvement from last year to this? Probably not. But it's definitely a factor.

Or the Celtics just got older from 86-87 to 87-88 and by the Celtics, I mostly mean Larry Legend.  He was awful against the Pistons in the 88 playoffs, while he was awesome in the 87 playoffs against the Pistons.

[gouki88]

Defensive rating  20-21 season 111.8 13th ranked, 21-22 season 106.2 #1 ranked.  The biggest single factor was getting rid of Kemba.

Not just getting rid of Kemba, but replacing him with Horford.

This + a few other factors.

Smart was not nearly the defender he’s been this year last season. Timelord has been reliably healthy and able to play extended minutes. Tatum has taken a leap this season defensively. We’ve been healthy for the second half of the season.

Yes, but how much of that is not having to cover for terrible defenders like Kemba and Fournier.  A bad defender often makes everyone else on the team a worse defender.

Smart had been excellent previously covering for similarly bad defenders like IT

[tenn_smoothie]

chemistry, chemistry, chemistry.

All the factors discussed here have contributed to this team starting to play together,
but as we have seen so many times in the history of the NBA, if you don't have chemistry, you are not winning a title.

[Moranis]

Defensive rating  20-21 season 111.8 13th ranked, 21-22 season 106.2 #1 ranked.  The biggest single factor was getting rid of Kemba.

Not just getting rid of Kemba, but replacing him with Horford.

This + a few other factors.

Smart was not nearly the defender he’s been this year last season. Timelord has been reliably healthy and able to play extended minutes. Tatum has taken a leap this season defensively. We’ve been healthy for the second half of the season.

Yes, but how much of that is not having to cover for terrible defenders like Kemba and Fournier.  A bad defender often makes everyone else on the team a worse defender.

Smart had been excellent previously covering for similarly bad defenders like IT

but the team defense wasn't nearly as good and IT4 was a much better offensive player than Kemba

[gouki88]

Defensive rating  20-21 season 111.8 13th ranked, 21-22 season 106.2 #1 ranked.  The biggest single factor was getting rid of Kemba.

Not just getting rid of Kemba, but replacing him with Horford.

This + a few other factors.

Smart was not nearly the defender he’s been this year last season. Timelord has been reliably healthy and able to play extended minutes. Tatum has taken a leap this season defensively. We’ve been healthy for the second half of the season.

Yes, but how much of that is not having to cover for terrible defenders like Kemba and Fournier.  A bad defender often makes everyone else on the team a worse defender.

Smart had been excellent previously covering for similarly bad defenders like IT

but the team defense wasn't nearly as good and IT4 was a much better offensive player than Kemba

You're the one who brought up how "a bad defender often makes everyone else on the team a worse defender". This has not necessarily been the case with Smart

[Moranis]

Defensive rating  20-21 season 111.8 13th ranked, 21-22 season 106.2 #1 ranked.  The biggest single factor was getting rid of Kemba.

Not just getting rid of Kemba, but replacing him with Horford.

This + a few other factors.

Smart was not nearly the defender he’s been this year last season. Timelord has been reliably healthy and able to play extended minutes. Tatum has taken a leap this season defensively. We’ve been healthy for the second half of the season.

Yes, but how much of that is not having to cover for terrible defenders like Kemba and Fournier.  A bad defender often makes everyone else on the team a worse defender.

Smart had been excellent previously covering for similarly bad defenders like IT

but the team defense wasn't nearly as good and IT4 was a much better offensive player than Kemba

You're the one who brought up how "a bad defender often makes everyone else on the team a worse defender". This has not necessarily been the case with Smart

and that is true.  Smart this year was the best defender he has ever been.

[tenn_smoothie]

Not living in the immediate Boston area, I do not hear all the inside stories and speculation about what is going on inside the team.
Given that, what were the specific problems and destructive actions that Tristan Thompson last season and then Dennis Schroeder this season, brought into the Celtic locker room ?

[Big333223]

Defensive rating  20-21 season 111.8 13th ranked, 21-22 season 106.2 #1 ranked.  The biggest single factor was getting rid of Kemba.

Not just getting rid of Kemba, but replacing him with Horford.

This + a few other factors.

Smart was not nearly the defender he’s been this year last season. Timelord has been reliably healthy and able to play extended minutes. Tatum has taken a leap this season defensively. We’ve been healthy for the second half of the season.

Yes, but how much of that is not having to cover for terrible defenders like Kemba and Fournier.  A bad defender often makes everyone else on the team a worse defender.

Smart had been excellent previously covering for similarly bad defenders like IT

but the team defense wasn't nearly as good and IT4 was a much better offensive player than Kemba

You're the one who brought up how "a bad defender often makes everyone else on the team a worse defender". This has not necessarily been the case with Smart

and that is true.  Smart this year was the best defender he has ever been.

The first time in his career he hasn't had to pick up the slack for another guard an he wins DPOY.