The stopper
In this switching defense world, you’d think that having a A+ stopper on your team wouldn’t be too important. Opposing teams could just scrape your team’s best defender off with a screen. However, head coach Joe Mazzulla has employed one of his rangy wings against lead scorers throughout the first sixteen games of the season. After some early tinkering — Sam Hauser and Hugo Gonzalez got some run with the starting lineup — Mazzulla settled on Josh Minott first and most recently, Jordan Walsh.
After a strong showing against Tyrese Maxey, Walsh has played alongside the Fantastic Four since and in that time, he’s excelled in his role. Jaren Jackson Jr. didn’t make a shot against Walsh and coughed up the ball two times. He held James Harden in check for most of the game until Harden went nuclear in the fourth. Michael Porter Jr. got up only two shots against Walsh in back-to-back and missed them both.
If perimeter defenders can’t hold their own in isolation, Boston has been more aggressive with double teams and traps, because if Mazzulla’s offensive strategy is to generate 2-on-1s and 3-on-2s, the defensive focus is crowding ballhandlers and putting them in compromising situations.
The Celtics rank 26th in the league in fouls at 23.6 per game and that’s subsequently led to 27.8 trips to the free throw line for their opponents (25th). Since training camp and preseason, they’ve stressed playing up in coverage and being aggressive in passing lanes. So, while they’ve been whistled more than average, Mazzulla is still banking on winning the turnover margin.
“The risk of the foul is worth it if you can get a turnover out of it. You’re gonna have more of those things. That’s just what comes with it,” Mazzulla said on Sunday. “There are obviously situational ones that you have to get better at: fouling three-point shooters, fouling jump shooters, fouling guys on the gather, fouling in the backcourt on a stab. There’s always 6 or 7 fouls that you can clean up, but at the end of the day, there’s a correlation to playing more aggressive and having [higher] turnover probability.”
Despite an overhaul in their roster, the Celtics are still one of the best teams at limiting shots in the restricted area. Last year, Boston allowed just 23.1 field goal attempts at the rim; this season, they’re second in the NBA at 20.3. Some of that is a product of higher pick up points on the perimeter and as Mazzulla mentioned, “stabbing” at the ball on drives and in the high post. In addition, they’ve also predominantly had their bigs in drop coverage.
Neemias Queta is third in the league in individual defensive rating (100.2 playing at least 20 minutes per game) behind the Thunder’s Ajay Mitchell and Chet Holmgren. Queta isn’t exactly a towering presence, but he’s quick on his feet, has a springy second jump, and displays good instincts on reading offensive players and knowing when to contest.
Limiting possessions and playing perfect
After giving up fifteen offensive rebounds in a loss to the visiting Jazz, the Celtics are seventh in defensive rebounding percentage (71%) over the last eight games. That’s helped support Mazzulla’s approach on pace. By limiting possessions, Boston shrinks the margin of error on both sides of the ball; instead of having to be as perfect as possible over 100+ trips up and down the floor, the Celtics lower that number to 96.19.
They’re third in the league in opposing team’s field goal (43.9) and defended field goal (46.1) percentage. You can’t ask for more. If they can maintain their above-average defensive rebounding, this could be just not a consistent recipe for success in the regular season, but also in the playoffs when the game slows down.