NBA Notebook: New Celtics defense, Spanish inquisition, and Seattle's latest scare

After the Boston Celtics' preseason contest against the Charlotte Hornets, I wrote a column about the defense. About how the Celtics are going to be employing a new style this season.

It's a style they tried to play last year. But they didn't have the personnel. Jaylen Brown is a point-of-attack defender. Neither Anfernee Simone nor Nikola Vucevic was suited to play a high-octane style of defense.

Now, the Celtics do have the personnel. Paul George, despite a cold shooting start, has been lights-out on the defensive end. The same can be said about Baylor Scheierman and Neemias Queta.

Last year, Boston's season-high in steals in a single game was 14. They grabbed 16 steals in each of their first two preseason contests. Boston has been a turnover-creating machine.

And the turnovers are doing their job. The Celtics have been one of the best defenses of the preseason thus far. They've been absolute monsters on that end of the court

Risks are part of the style the Celtics are playing. Guys are shifting over on defense. Double-teaming ball-handlers. Jumping into passing lanes. Yet the risks aren't really risks when the Celtics have such a good structure in place.

Boston is phenomenal at having one player guard two players off the ball. They play in the gaps perfectly to prevent open shots and, perhaps more importantly, to read opposing offenses.

That said, the Celtics' starters haven't exactly faced top-tier competition. Brown, LeBron James, and Joel Embiid were all out when they played Philadelphia. Kon Knueppel and Coby White missed their game in Boston.

But as noted in the column I wrote, it's less about the opposing teams and more about the process. Regardless of who was on the floor, the Celtics themselves have looked like a well-oiled machine.

They are completely connected. It's as if they've been playing together for years. Obviously, they will have to prove the scheme's validity against better opponents, but for now, things are looking up for Boston's new-look defense.

1. Achilles injuries

In the Oklahoma City Thunder's preseason game against the Indiana Pacers, rookie Otega Oweh ruptured his Achilles. He will be out for the entire season.

This is already the second Achilles injury of the preseason. Philadelphia 76ers big man Ariel Hukporti, whom they signed in free agency this summer, ruptured his Achilles in the team's preseason opener against the New York Knicks.

The regular season hasn't even started yet, and we've already seen two season-ending injuries. And both injuries occurred in the same manner.

Both Oweh and Hukporti were pushing off their back foot to accelerate forward when their Achilles gave out. It's an injury that's become scarily common in today's NBA.

Just last year, Damian Lillard and Tyrese Haliburton missed the entire season with Achilles injuries. Jayson Tatum made an impressive return in March from his injury. Then, in the playoffs this year, Donte DiVincenzo ruptured his Achilles.

Dejounte Murray. Dru Smith. Isaiah Jackson. James Wiseman. All of those players have ruptured their Achilles in the last two years. Perhaps the wear and tear of playing basketball from elementary school onward (especially with AAU ball) is catching up to the current wave of NBA players.

2. Aday Mara's Spanish club

Rookie Aday Mara has been one of the most impressive players of preseason thus far. He looks like a monster on the court, and people are already looking at him as the future of the Thunder's center position.

But there's a problem: He's still