FanPost

Celtics may have top-5 defense this year

First fact to get out of the way: In the just-ended preseason, the Celtics had the NBA's #1 defense, with an incredible DefRtg of 93.4 (that's 93.4 points scored per 100 opponent attempts; or 0.935 points per opponent attempt). And it wasn't close. The next best team was Utah, at 95.2. (~100 was the approximate league average.)

After applying all the usual caveats about preseason and meeting Philly twice, etc. — we're still left with what I consider a VERY impressive feat, on defense.

Now, the usual argument here is that we don't have a top-flight rim defender. True, we don't. But neither did Miami when they recently won the championship twice in a row. And neither did the Celtics in '08 (I don't consider Perk to have been a top-level rim defender).

It's arguable that a rim defender becomes less and less essential as a team's perimeter defense gets better and better. That's because rim defense is generally only required when perimeter D has failed. If you can stop the ball before it gets inside, your rim defender remains jobless.

So how good is the Cs' perimeter defense? Well — good enough to carry their overall D to #1 in the NBA this preseason. But even forgetting about that (because "it's only preseason") — the Celtics' perimeter defense is patently awesome. We sometimes forget how uniquely effective Avery Bradley is on D, when healthy. The guy is an animal. Drives opposing PGs nuts. Makes em beg to be left alone. And now, we've added Smart — who's almost as animalistic as Bradley! Maybe/sometimes even more so.

If we assume that Rondo will focus on solid D too — as part of his overall team-oriented rebirth — we're looking at what could be the NBA's #1 defensive backcourt. Seriously.

And if we ever do get a real rim defender — well, watch out, NBA. We'd be looking at one of the best, if not THE best defense in the league.
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The Cs' Offensive Rating was 100.1 this preseason, #20 overall. To seriously contend, CW says you gotta be in the top 10. We'll see what happens in the regular season, when Brad's experimental rotations go away. Still, one gets the feeling the Celtics are not going to get much better than league average on O.

So where does that leave us? How far can we go?

Put it this way: In 2010, the Celtics reached the Finals (and almost won it) with a #5 defense and a league average #15 offense (http://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2010.html).

Anything is possible.

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