Doing It With Defense

by Jeff Clark on Dec 17, 2007 6:00 AM EST in Boston Celtics Articles

What more can you say about this team's defense? Sure Kevin Garnett and Tom Thibodeau were huge additions for this team. They are probably the most important reasons why this team has jumped to the head of the pack defensively. But they can't be the only reason.

One man, especially a big man with cat-like quickness, can make a huge impact on the defense, but it doesn't work if guards are constantly breaking down and letting their men get into the lane. A defensive guru can draw up assignments and rotations till his dry erase marker goes dry. But it means nothing if the players don't care enough to execute every play down the court.

The most pleasantly refreshing surprise to come out of this season has been the top to bottom, everyone-buys-in, commitment to team defense. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen weren't known for defense any more than Rip Hamilton was known for defense before he got to Detroit. But each is talented enough to know where they should be on rotations and each has the motor and motivation to do what it takes to win. And when it works, when they see it work, it only fuels the fire. See the following quotes from the game recap:

"Our philosophy is that defense is going to win games for us," Garnett said. "We're trying to have the defense fuel the offense, and it's been working."
"That's going to be our staple pretty much all year long," Pierce said. "We're going to take pride on the defensive end.
"When you get 12 guys committed and on the same page, night in and night out, anything is possible," Pierce added. "That's what we have right now."

It sure sounds like they are committed. And now that they have a taste of how many wins a great defense can bring, we can hope that they'll be more and more motivated to bring it every night. Again, the Pistons were able to make it a team-pride thing. They wanted that identity. They knew that it only fed into the psyche of the opponents. Once the other team started getting down, it looked like an enormous uphill battle to get back into the game. It is the same way now for C's opponents.

"Their defense is very aggressive," Bosh said. "They are very long and athletic and the plays we usually make just weren't there. What we need to take from this game is to see how they play defense."
"They played hard and took us out of what we wanted to do," Humphries said. "They made it tough for Jose [Calderon] and our guards to get the rhythm they usually get."

I love that. How great is it to hear teams talk about getting out of what they want to do?

For all the attention the offensive players get on this team, it is the team defense that wins the games. It isn't the "big three" so much as it is the Three Musketeers attitude of "all for one and one for all."

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Comments

So much for the desires of some people to see Boston turn into Phoenix East. And that’s a good thing. I dislike the way the Suns play. If you’re looking for a basketball role model, look no further than the Spurs or Pistons.

by lemonadesky on Dec 17, 2007 8:23 AM EST reply actions

lemonadesky said:
So much for the desires of some people to see Boston turn into Phoenix East. And that’s a good thing. I dislike the way the Suns play. If you’re looking for a basketball role model, look no further than the Spurs or Pistons.

We don’t need to look that far. We have our own role model at TD Banknorth Garden.

by TrueGreen on Dec 17, 2007 9:48 AM EST reply actions

The biggest difference between this year and last few years is what is being done on the defensive end. It has allowed them to build early leads and has helped them hold off runs by the other teams. I love hearing other teams talk about like that. I think the C’s have good balance right now, which shows in their record. Love what I am seeing so far!

by scooter on Dec 17, 2007 9:50 AM EST reply actions

top to bottom, the organization seems to have bought into the defense first attitude. the san antonio model is what wins. kg is no russell, then again, russell was no kg on offense. what sticks out more than anything is the lack of ego being displayed by all. it is refreshing in this ego driven age.

by nazzbo on Dec 17, 2007 10:06 AM EST reply actions

Of course the biggest difference from last year to this year is new players and players’ attitude re: defense as Jeff discussed. The celtic tradition of “team” is again in tact. that is so much fun this year.

by Freeease1 on Dec 17, 2007 10:31 AM EST reply actions

It’s a lot easier to dig in on defense if you truly believe that the other guys are digging in as well. We were treated to a lot of “why bother?” defense the last couple years. Somehow there seems to be a lot more trust: that other teammates won’t let your defensive effort go to waste.

by Thruthelookingglass on Dec 17, 2007 11:19 AM EST reply actions

You can play offense like the Suns and still be a good defensive team. Auerbach’s Celtics were the prime example.

I’m really pleased to see Pierce’s commitment to defense this year. Even Ray Allen has been defending well. In fact, every guy in the Celtics top nine is at least an adequate defender, with two guys off the bench(Tony Allen and James Posey) being excellent defenders. There has been no “weak link” for other teams to exploit.

by Brickowski on Dec 17, 2007 11:29 AM EST reply actions

I knew something good was up with this team when I saw Ray Allen clamp down on Kobe Bryant.

by The Real Large James on Dec 17, 2007 11:59 AM EST reply actions

Agree with everyone. The defense has been the biggest surprise of the season, and a main reason for our success. The Detroit game is going to be a good test, at the right time.

I always said that Pierce could be a very good defender; it’s nice to be vindicated.

by Eeyore III on Dec 17, 2007 3:55 PM EST reply actions

What’s amazing to me is that half of the C’s highlights these days are defensive plays. Incredible!

by LuckyNumber07 on Dec 17, 2007 3:55 PM EST reply actions

I agree with all. Last year watching Perk step out on the high pick & roll only to concede easy baskets vs this year with Garnett sliding and either getting back or setting up Perk to do the stopping. Also last year our rotations were too often someone running in a panic from one side to another. Now each guy is sliding one guy. When it is done right, defense is as much fun to watch as offense
Obviously Thibodeau has brought something we didn’t have last year BUT it is the players producing the results. Garnett is the MVP but Eddie House, gunslinger by reputation, is working his butt off on D out of pride. Same with Ray Allen. And Pierce has been the COMPLETE player. They are as high over taking a charge as scoring a 3. I LOVE it!

by Wildblu1 on Dec 18, 2007 7:56 AM EST reply actions