- Horford isn't as laterally quick as we may have thought, which means he can be beaten on D in the pick and roll. And he's an average rebounder, which means you've downgraded your rebounding when you factor in the loss of Sullinger. I still like what Horford gives this team, but I'm beginning to think he's more of an asset on offense than defense.
- Amir Johnson has continued to deteriorate. Meaning that your starting 4 and 5 together lack some of the the athleticism to stay with fast, physical teams.
- Bradley has been injured.
- Smart is a bit heavier this year and not as quick (from my eyeball test, with no hard evidence to back this up), and he's had to expend more energy on the offensive end. I still think his D is elite, but I've seen guys blow by him more frequently this year.
- You're slowly integrating Jaylen Brown with a few minutes a night. He's got loads of defensive potential, but he tends to get lost. That's to be expected; dude's 20.
You guys please tell me if you agree or disagree, or let me know what I left out.
Agree with pretty much everything here.
Smart in particular. I don't think he is defending at the same level as either of his first 2 years in the league. He is not as quick as he was then. He is bigger and slower and does not defend quick guards well anymore.
Rozier and Jaylen have been problems for the defense. They are the worst offenders on the team (outside of Isaiah) defensively. Especially Rozier. Both guys get lost far too often. The team defense will tighten up once Rozier is no longer in the rotation and they switch back to a 3 guard backcourt rotation.
Amir has continued to get worse. He is a 4th/5th caliber big man now.
And Jae Crowder is not defending at the same level as last year. I wonder if he is playing through an injury or something because he just doesn't have the same level of quickness, activity, feistiness on defense as last year.