Celtics need to dial up last year’s defense
OKLAHOMA CITY — Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said his team has to beware of making in-game adjustments to players who are playing beyond expectations, such as Denver’s Bruce Brown in Sunday’s loss to the Denver Nuggets.
Brown is a 41.2 percent 3point shooter, which is well above average in the NBA, but he attempts only three per game. During Denver’s 123-111 triumph at Ball Arena, Brown hit his first four, all of them wide open as the Celtics appeared content to let him to shoot.
Their primary goal was to contain two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, but they didn’t do that either. He finished with his ninth triple-double of the season: 30 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists.
Not only did the Celtics allow Brown to get untracked — each time he made a three, he raised his hands as if to say, “why ain’t y’all guarding me?” — they watched as bench sparkplug Bones Hyland showboated and used the game as his personal And-1 mixed tape. In one sequence, he shook defender Sam Hauser, who fell to the floor, then shimmied before missing an open 3-point attempt.
In the second half, Jaylen Brown took it upon himself to approach Hyland about his antics and the two got into an exchange that ended with both patting each other on the chest to make amends.
It’s obvious the Celtics are going to have to win games with defense, especially when their shots aren’t falling. And they are going to have to play with more of an edge, defending more physically, so Hyland doesn’t dribble the final 24 seconds of the third quarter and get to the rim with relative ease.
“They got too comfortable and they played really, really well,” Jaylen Brown said of the Nuggets. “We don’t get to play them again; that’s good for them. I thought they played well. We watched film and the guys that were shooting the ball don’t usually shoot the ball like that. We’ve just got to do more and not let them get too comfortable.”
There was a reason the Celtics’ Dec. 7 win over the Phoenix Suns was one of their best of the season, and it wasn’t the offense. The Celtics attacked Phoenix defensively in the first period, blitzing Deandre Ayton and Devin Booker to frustrate them, and took control early.
Too often the Celtics try to making early statements offensively by bombarding opponents with 3-pointers, as they did against the Nuggets. That failed miserably as the Celtics missed 16 of their first 19 attempts. They need to make more early statements defensively, so players such as Brown and Hyland don’t get too comfortable. The Celtics can’t let Hyland and Brown combine for 38 points and also yield a triple-double to Jokic.
Defense needs to become more of an emphasis because Jokic didn’t beat the Celtics on Sunday. The other Nuggets did.
“You want them to stop doing something [like showboating], you have to take it away,” Brown said. “We could have done a better job of picking up our intensity.”
The Celtics’ defense doesn’t compare with last season. It doesn’t have to if they are going to be so good offensively. But the defense does need to impact games. Too often opposing players are getting open shots because the Celtics are chasing shooters or don’t get back on defense.
They are so focused on making 3-pointers that they lose focus on getting defensive stops. Mazzulla said the team responded well Sunday when shots weren’t falling. He said they grabbed offensive rebounds. He said they got to the free throw line. He said they got out in transition.
“On the defensive end, we just have to be able to stay poised and understand that they’re hitting those shots and try to string along three, four stops in a row,” Mazzulla said.
“It was one of those games where we really didn’t take away anything.”
When asked about potentially starting Robert Williams to give the club more of an early defensive presence, Mazzulla didn’t address the subject. He started Grant Williams to begin the second half Sunday and it had little impact.
Mazzulla has kept Robert Williams around 20 minutes per game and he’s fared well offensively, while his defensive rating has dipped slightly from last season. But it’s apparent the Celtics will have to improve defensively to reach their championship aspirations. Robert Williams makes the Celtics a better defensive team and also plays with an edge that just isn’t on the floor to begin games.
“When you’re not shooting the ball well, human nature kind of lets that affect the defensive end,” forward Jayson Tatum said. “Really good teams can counter that. Just figure out a way to win and 26-11 [Celtics record] so more often than not we have.”
Defense was the issue in Denver and the Celtics should be angry they didn’t stop anybody. But there’s some changes that can be made, and the biggest center around the use of Robert Williams.
The Celtics need to be grittier and take more pride in playing defense. So far, that passion is inconsistent.