Worse defense since the 2006-2007 season?

[Alleyoopster]

Maybe it's my imagination but it seems like I haven't seen the Celtics give up so many easy lay-up baskets since the 2006-2007 season.  Add to that, last night whenever they tried to bring more help to the middle there was always someone open for an uncontested 3 from the corner (Marcus guilty here?).  I realize it's preseason, yet they had difficulty with their 2nd and 3rd units. 

One example of poor defense is seeing Kelly O not helping out on double teaming the ball when the opposing guard is trapped outside the key.  He simply stands in his statue position until the offensive player finds room to escape.  He needs to spend a few hours watching Jae Crowder tapes and learn how he swarms all over players working to pry the ball loose.  He obviously isn't going to be as good as Jae in this regard, but he can at least put his body on a player and make it more difficult for him to pass the ball. 

The good news is Rozier is here to play defense.  Hope his high energy level proves to be contagious.

[saltlover]

I'm betting the Celtics will have a top ten defense like last year.

[Celtics4ever]

I have seen some lapses as well.   Mainly from the guys who are not good athletes and the rookies and those are to be expected to some degree.  I think KO has been mobile and moving better than in the past.   I recall this play though and one other last night and I was like what the heck?  To me, he has stood out as better than Sully in this regard.   Though I though even Jared tried harder last night.

[Rosco917]

Still... even with the addition of Amir, we need another defensive presence in the paint. A quick, athletic 6-11 rim protecter would do wonders for the problems described.

We will still have a decent defense this year, stemming from our small's that defend so well.

[Fafnir]

Maybe. Last year they relied on their guards to both take pressure off the bigs and gang rebound.

[hwangjini_1]

I'm betting the Celtics will have a top ten defense like last year.

beat me to it. yes, as a team you can expect the celtics to play good defense this year. i expect the team to play better defense as everyone gets more reps at the defensive sets and know each other better. this is still pre-season and players are still learning.

[PhoSita]

I don't think the Celts have the size or length on the wing, or the athleticism, strength, and quickness in the interior, to really be a great defensive team.

Stevens will cobble this unit into an above average defense again, though, I have no doubt.

The offense will be the bigger issue.

Still, I think we can expect to see a number of games where the Celts get pounded inside.

[Alleyoopster]

Last night I re-watched the first half of the game against the Nets and came away with the feeling that the Celtics didn't play all that bad defensively.  (Hence, maybe my original post was way to premature and totally incorrect....I'll have to re-watch the second half to see what may have motivated to write that original post.) 

I did notice that there were some defensive lapses like when players didn't switch correctly and left players alone for open shot opportunities.  And, there were some blind sided picks that the Celtics didn't seem to be prepared for that made it easier to score.  Plus, the Nets second team was hitting some tougher shots that their first team didn't hit when we played them a week earlier. 

Some of the Nets easier scoring opportunities were not from defensive lapses rather they came off Celtic turnovers, e.g., poor passing or players losing the ball trying to dribble between players. 

I was off base regarding Olynyk too.  He can be incredibly aggressive when it comes to setting traps.  (maybe too much at times) He forced one player into the corner all by himself.  I don't believe it lead to a turnover, but there was definitely a lot of pressure there.  I think if he did something similar in the second half when the guards initiated pressure it might have lead to turnovers. 

As for double teaming/trapping that backfires too.  Zeller tried that once near the top of the key and it lead to an easy score.  Also, RJ looked to help out teammates who were guarding players near the top of the key and left his man or someone else's man open in the corner.  This happened with a couple players.  I believe Turner was a victim of this as well at the beginning of the game. 

My one concern was that there seemed to be a lack of communication between switching assignments.  One time Marcus had to come from the middle of the key to the corner to try to block a shot as someone was wide open.  Why that happened I'm not sure.  Maybe it was a combination of missed assignments?

On a more positive note:  What I hadn't noticed so much the first time viewing is how well Marcus is passing the ball.  He's totally focused on finding the open man.  Also, the Celtics scored a lot of easy baskets and missed some easy shots which they normally would hit.  This is very encouraging. 

[SHAQATTACK]

Still... even with the addition of Amir, we need another defensive presence in the paint. A quick, athletic 6-11 rim protecter would do wonders for the problems described.

We will still have a decent defense this year, stemming from our small's that defend so well.

DA

Needs to bite the bullet , cough up the draft picks to acquire Nerlins ,  before he becomes an old man like KG did wasting away on a nothing team.

[LilRip]

Still... even with the addition of Amir, we need another defensive presence in the paint. A quick, athletic 6-11 rim protecter would do wonders for the problems described.

We will still have a decent defense this year, stemming from our small's that defend so well.

DA

Needs to bite the bullet , cough up the draft picks to acquire Nerlins ,  before he becomes an old man like KG did wasting away on a nothing team.

If C's can land Nerlens without giving up Smart, then DA is in a two-horse race for GM of the year (the other GM being the Spurs GM). Nerlens Noel is heaps of ridiculous.

[KeepRondo]

I think the defense will tighten up once the season starts. I'm more concerned about the potential 11 or 12 player rotation on offense. Stevens probably has too many players to keep happy.

[Celtics4ever]

I don't think the Celts have the size or length on the wing, or the athleticism, strength, and quickness in the interior, to really be a great defensive team.

I agree, and a lot of other teams are great at this position or have a good SF.

I think our defense is front loaded in the back court.   We are weak once the ball goes below the foul line but strong in the back court.   

[fairweatherfan]

I don't think the Celts have the size or length on the wing, or the athleticism, strength, and quickness in the interior, to really be a great defensive team.

Stevens will cobble this unit into an above average defense again, though, I have no doubt.

The offense will be the bigger issue.

Still, I think we can expect to see a number of games where the Celts get pounded inside.

The nice thing about the modern NBA, and probably part of the reason why we haven't emphasized getting a rim protector, is that there's only a handful of teams that can consistently pound the ball inside.  Defending the perimeter, especially the 3, seems more useful across the board these days.  I think we were top 5 in opponent 3 pt% last season (can't look it up), so hopefully we can keep it up.

[Endless Paradise]

More meaningful number when it comes to opponent three-point field goals is the number of attempts since there's very little a team can do to affect a three-point shot once it's actually launched.

[PhoSita]

I don't think the Celts have the size or length on the wing, or the athleticism, strength, and quickness in the interior, to really be a great defensive team.

Stevens will cobble this unit into an above average defense again, though, I have no doubt.

The offense will be the bigger issue.

Still, I think we can expect to see a number of games where the Celts get pounded inside.

The nice thing about the modern NBA, and probably part of the reason why we haven't emphasized getting a rim protector, is that there's only a handful of teams that can consistently pound the ball inside.  Defending the perimeter, especially the 3, seems more useful across the board these days.  I think we were top 5 in opponent 3 pt% last season (can't look it up), so hopefully we can keep it up.

Well, I don't know, I think "pound inside" has just changed in how it looks.  Once upon a time, defending the paint meant having big post defenders who could give guys like Dwight and Bynum trouble (e.g. our friend Perk).

Now, pounding inside is all about attacking the rim out of the pick and roll and on backdoor cuts off perimeter ball movement.

I think the Celts lack the length on the perimeter to make it really hard for opponents to get passes inside, and they lack big men with the lateral quickness, explosiveness, and length to swallow pick and rolls and discourage shots at the rim.

So I don't think the Celts will be bad defensively, like I said, but I expect them to get exposed inside fairly often, while making the most of the talent they have, especially defending the perimeter.