Do we not have enough defensive IQ?

[LilRip]

This has been a weird season and while I think we’re better than our record suggests, I don’t think we’re in the same tier as some of the top teams are. We seem to manage well enough on offense despite the lack of knockdown shooters and heavy iso ball, but it’s really the defense that’s missing this year (vs previous years).

What’s the reason behind this? It’s the little things: miscommunication on switches, guys falling asleep, late rotations, getting burned on bad gambles.......

But why is it happening this year? Part of me thinks it’s just lack of attention to detail. Guys aren’t locked in and so they miss out on things or take things for granted. But the eye test tells me that our guys play hard and they’re willing to play defense. Which now makes me think... do we just lack the overall IQ to play good D?

Teague, Timelord, Semi, Pritchard, Nesmith, Javonte, Carsen... these guys have found themselves playing significant minutes in some way or the other and they all seem prone to getting lost or making bad decisions on defense. It’s not like we’ve been getting blown out but a string of bad possessions is enough for our hard-earned lead to evaporate or a close 2-point game to became a 10-point hole.

We have some solid team defenders but unfortunately, the TT-Theis combo hasn’t been great, Grant seems to always get called for fouls, and Kemba’s half a step slower.

I’m still hopeful that when Smart comes back, the Kemba-Smart-Brown-Tatum-Theis lineup will right the ship, but it seems like our bench is a minefield of bad team defenders. We hear all the time how strong defenses have guys “moving on a string” but when there’s 1-2 low IQ defenders out there, that string can unravel real quick.

What do you guys think?

[BMark]

The team lacks size and strength.  That has been exposed previously but it was no more apparent than the Jazz game.  The Jazz drove the ball to the rim, seemingly oblivious of the Celtic defenders.

[wdleehi]

It is IQ or :

• Lack of consistency
• Lack of practice to fix issues
• Lack of effort

[NKY fan]

Below average talent that Brad is doing his best into turning into 15 min bench players.
Combine that with average and below average bbiq guys on the bench and you get what you get. They obviously play hard but effort and hustle can overcome only that much.
So imagine most other teams drafting (years in a row) Payton pritchards and Timelords that can shoot and have IQ while we keep drafting the same type of players - underdogs ... combine that with Kemba losing his athleticism and our current record shouldn’t be surprising. We also faced a somewhat tougher opponents than the average team.

[lrybrd]

Observations:

1.  Our guards cannot stop drives to the paint at the point of attack and compromises our defense horrifically as we go into scatter mode.
2.  Teams are constantly attacking Kemba which puts us at a severe disadvantage.
3.  Our pick and roll defense is awful.  There were multiple occasions last night against the Jazz where they let Gobert cut to the hoop without a person within 8 feet of him.
4.  Teague is lazy and makes stupid gambles which compromises our defense.
5.  Grant Williams needs to learn how to play defense without fouling.  He had 2 nonsensical fouls last night in the 4th quarter which put the Jazz in the bonus early.

As a side note, it would great if we could get the refs to start giving some respect to Theis.  There are more questionable calls on him than I recall anyone ever receiving in a Celtics uniform.  Maybe Stevens should actually blow a gasket one night to get the refs/league to take notice.   

[Who]

I was listening to a clip from JJ Redick's podcast where he was talking to Mike Conley. Redick was saying how insanely difficult it was to play effective defense against the Jazz this season. They are much more unpredictable than last year, spread the court out with lethal shooters and force you to make 3-4 perfect close-outs (deny both the shot and the drive) on every possession to deny shooters on the drive and kick.

It was interesting how he said - how brutal it was as a defender to play against that offense. The constant sprinting out to shooters on defensive rotations, the inability to make any mistake because of how efficient their shooters are + how good and how big of a target Gobert is around the basket. It was just - exhaustion. Physical and mental exhaustion.

I can't remember whether Redick said they were the toughest or one of the toughest offenses in the league to play against this season. One or the other. Gave them a lot of praise.

It is just something to keep in mind when reflecting on the C's defense the other night against Utah.

------------

The other big issue with the defense is injuries. Lots of guys in and out of the lineup. Combine that with a large number of small backcourt combinations that are getting exposed on defense + some slow twin big lineups that get exposed for their lack of speed + lack of reliable wing depth + struggles of Grant Williams + Kemba's struggles as he returns post injury.

So yeah the defense is under-performing but most of those are fixable issues as the team gets healthy and can put proper lineups on the floor that have more defensive integrity.

The one area I am concerned by is the lack of wing depth. The injury proneness of Romeo and that CBS does not trust Nesmith enough. So that is an area that needs addressing. Not necessarily a big change. Just someone dependable vet who can give 15-20mpg.

Outside of that, health is the biggest factor so far for the defense.

[MickaelPietrus]

After watching the Thunder for the last couple of games Im sure the Celtics are missing someone like Al Horford. As bad as his contract might be, what he does for that team defensively, both on an individual and team level is crazy.

[SparzWizard]

After watching the Thunder for the last couple of games Im sure the Celtics are missing someone like Al Horford. As bad as his contract might be, what he does for that team defensively, both on an individual and team level is crazy.

Having him and his bad contract might be better than Kemba's at this point lol.

[Somebody]

I was listening to a clip from JJ Redick's podcast where he was talking to Mike Conley. Redick was saying how insanely difficult it was to play effective defense against the Jazz this season. They are much more unpredictable than last year, spread the court out with lethal shooters and force you to make 3-4 perfect close-outs (deny both the shot and the drive) on every possession to deny shooters on the drive and kick.

It was interesting how he said - how brutal it was as a defender to play against that offense. The constant sprinting out to shooters on defensive rotations, the inability to make any mistake because of how efficient their shooters are + how good and how big of a target Gobert is around the basket. It was just - exhaustion. Physical and mental exhaustion.

I can't remember whether Redick said they were the toughest or one of the toughest offenses in the league to play against this season. One or the other. Gave them a lot of praise.

It is just something to keep in mind when reflecting on the C's defense the other night against Utah.

------------

The other big issue with the defense is injuries. Lots of guys in and out of the lineup. Combine that with a large number of small backcourt combinations that are getting exposed on defense + some slow twin big lineups that get exposed for their lack of speed + lack of reliable wing depth + struggles of Grant Williams + Kemba's struggles as he returns post injury.

So yeah the defense is under-performing but most of those are fixable issues as the team gets healthy and can put proper lineups on the floor that have more defensive integrity.

The one area I am concerned by is the lack of wing depth. The injury proneness of Romeo and that CBS does not trust Nesmith enough. So that is an area that needs addressing. Not necessarily a big change. Just someone dependable vet who can give 15-20mpg.

Outside of that, health is the biggest factor so far for the defense.

Wish you rated my team's offence in the historical draft as highly as Redick did (obviously Butler isn't a great shooter, but guys like Porter and Dandridge would be pretty dangerous ones in the modern NBA and prime Draymond stretched bigs out of the paint).

And yeah our main issue is health, the amount of playable guys we have on the roster isn't exactly a lot.

[Sophomore]

The team lacks size and strength.  That has been exposed previously but it was no more apparent than the Jazz game.  The Jazz drove the ball to the rim, seemingly oblivious of the Celtic defenders.

This is essentially the same group of players as last year, when we had a top-5 defense. I don’t think the issue is size and strength.

[boscel33]

We don't have enough health.  This is a different defensive team with Smart and Romeo, and yes, I know it's only his second year, but Romeo began to prove he could be a really good defender last season.

[Moranis]

Boston just doesn't have enough top end talent to be a contender this year.  On top of the lack of top end talent, the team has a very shallow bench and still lacks size.  This has been apparent for years and just continues to get worse as the team gets smaller and younger.  Ainge has been treating the team like he knows it isn't a contender and is hoping that he strikes Jimmy Butler like gold with his later picks.  It is obvious and clear and expecting more is just a recipe for letdown.

[todd_days_41]

The Cs have the 5th youngest team in the NBA. Interestingly, they also have the shortest team in the NBA by a WIDE margin.

This is not a championship team. Their roster is not in the same category as the teams who are.

Is it a promising team? Sure. But they're a couple of fairly big moves away from being a true contender.

[PhoSita]

I don't think it has anything to do with IQ.

Rather it's experience --- experience playing at the NBA level is lacking across the roster, and experience in specific 5 man lineups playing together in high pressure situations is lacking.



Even setting aside age, I think if you just go by the number of NBA minutes the roster has played in total, the Celtics would be near the bottom of the league.  I would bet that if you went by number of minutes the players on the roster have spent together on an NBA court in aggregate, the Celts are also fairly low.