https://twitter.com/i/web/status/929084731739836416
This is incredible. Small(er) sample size for sure, but out of the top 11 individuals in defensive rating, 7 of them are Celtics, including Baynes (1), Horford (2), Smart (6), Tatum (7), Brown (9), Irving (10), and Rozier (11).
The fact that 7 of the top 11 guys are from one team, Mario chalmers is #4, and JJ Reddick is #8 makes me question the metric a little bit.
As did I, until I went on basketball-reference and saw 7 of top 12 DRtg are Celtics. Six of top 14 leaders in Defensive Win Shares are also C’s.
It’s true, the Celtics have been THAT good defensively.
It's not the end-all-be-all, but it does indicate great defensive teams.
For instance, the year the Pistons won the championship, they had 3 in the top 20. That same year, the Spurs had 5 in the top 20 (and remember that year was between two championships for the Spurs).
We are likely to regress to the mean somewhat, but it is a pretty telling statistic. If you look at each year's league leaders in defensive rating, normally the best defenders are at the top and the best defensive teams have multiple guys on the list.