There's an old saying that there are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics. It’s a saying that might come up when looking at the Celtics defense this season, which has had its moments, but almost feels unworthy of being ranked second in the NBA (third according to Cleaning The Glass, which filters out garbage time stats).
“Even though the numbers say that we finished second, I actually do believe that there's a lot of room for improvement for our group,” Al Horford said after the team’s Monday practice. “I believe that we will do that. So I'm excited. It's a challenge for us. But we definitely want to be better, defensively.”
Boston is the only team in the league in the top five of both offensive and defensive efficiency (the points scored and allowed per 100 possessions), but it might not feel like Boston’s defense was elite this year. That's probably because their 110.6 defensive rating this season would have been the third-worst in the NBA just five seasons ago. Just last season it would have only been good for 13th. Times have changed.
When asked why the defensive numbers have changed so much, Joe Mazzulla said “I think more threes. I think just the shot quality from teams. I think teams are trying to play faster. I think teams make an emphasis on offensive rebounding, and forcing turnovers.”
But now the Celtics are heading into the playoffs, and that has historically meant some of the advantages offensive players have had in the regular season tend to go away. After a regular season where the rules and the whistles have been slanted towards offensive players, the possibility of some of that evening out is music to the ears of defensive specialists like Marcus Smart.
“The way the game is structured is for the offensive player,” Smart told Boston Sports Journal. “The playoffs gives a little more, not much, but it gives a little more leeway to the defensive player who's at most of the disadvantage. Especially when the offensive player can initiate so much contact. You have to allow that defender to embrace the contact and give a little bit back.”
I’m sure most of you pictured James Harden in your mind’s eye in the scenario Smart just described. If not, now you will.
“There's no way you can just allow offensive players to initiate contact and then they get flop … and the defender is automatically to blame for the foul,” Smart told BSJ. “So the playoffs kind of takes that away a little bit more and you can kind of see a little more defense than you probably would during the regular season.”
It’ll be a return to the Celtics of old, should that come to pass. The Celtics pivot to a more offense-first mentality was born from some necessity as Robert Williams missed the first half of the season. But the more he has played, the more we’ve seen glimpses of that defense-first mentality. Boston is +4.7 per 100 possessions when he’s on the floor, and they're giving up five fewer points per 100 possessions on defense when he’s on the floor.
“I feel like we never left it. I feel like we always hung our hat on defense,” Williams said. “It's an easy effort, it's a problem if you can't give effort. It's something we all expect out of each other. We've been making big steps on the offensive side of the ball and that's great, but you never try to downplay the defense.”
Try to downplay? No. Boston didn’t do that. But with Mazzulla at the helm, a five-out style of play, Al Horford’s emergence as an elite 3-point shooter, and no Williams patrolling the back line, the Celtics had to make a choice.
“We obviously didn't want our defense to slip,” Smart said. “But it happens. When we spent so much time on one thing, it was only right that something was gonna go. And now we're kind of getting back to that standpoint of balancing it out where the offense is at a high rate and the defense is right there with it. I think that's the key to it, not being too (overly focused) on one or the other.”
Smart is part of the reason why the defense has slipped. The Celtics are giving up 3.4 more points per 100 possessions with Smart on the floor. Even though the other team is turning it over 1.6% more with Smart on the floor, it’s not often the Celtics are outscored with Smart out there defensively.
Smart tells me he feels good heading into the postseason. His neck has regained range of motion after the pinched nerve made it so he could barely turn his head or even sleep comfortably. The plus side, he said, was that it helped him rest a few of his other lingering maladies so he’s as close to 100% as he can possibly be for a deep playoff run.
It’s something Smart says he’s ready for. With Robert Willliams giving him the backup that he needs, and the physicality the playoffs allow, Smart’s ready to put regular season issues behind him and get back to being the player who won Defensive Player of the Year.
“Oh, I can't wait. I can't wait,” Smart told BSJ. “This is the real season. It starts now. Playoffs, this will we all work our butts off for at the beginning of the year … Obviously, my defense and play just hasn't been up to standard. But that's all going to change now.”