Celtics Struggling on Defense: Concerning Trend or Temporary Slump?

The Boston Celtics have built their identity in recent years around a tenacious, lock-down defense. But through the first five games of the 2022-23 NBA season, cracks have started to show in that defensive foundation. The Celtics are 3-2 but have given up 120+ points in their last three contests, including a concerning 132-123 overtime loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

On a recent episode of the “Still Poddable” podcast, Chris Gasper and Jim Murray discussed the state of the Celtics’ defense. Gasper pointed to a headline from his Boston Globe colleague Gary Washburn that summed it up: “It’s official. There’s something wrong with the Celtics defense.” The hosts debated whether this is a fixable issue related to Robert Williams’ absence or a more systemic problem.

Brian Robb, who covers the Celtics for MassLive, joined the conversation and pointed to effort and focus as key factors. “I think a lot of it is honestly effort based right now,” Robb explained. “I think there’s a team now that’s been to the finals, knows they can get there and maybe don’t want to do the great and grind of 82 games of work that they bought into last year.”

Questions were also raised about first-year head coach Joe Mazzulla’s ability to hold players accountable and make tough rotation decisions. “Last night was a fail for Joe Mizzou,” Gasper opined. “It doesn’t mean he’s going to fail in the long term, but it raises some questions for me in terms of whether he has the temerity and he has the gumption to be able to, to make the really tough decisions.”

Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart came under scrutiny as well for his poor shooting (3-15 FG) and team-worst -26 plus/minus against the Cavs. The hosts pondered whether Smart feels entitled to a larger offensive role under a new coach. “I just wonder though, like, does he have a little bit more free rein?” Jim Murray mused.

The Celtics will need to shore up their defense quickly, as they face a rematch with the Cavaliers on Wednesday. That game could be a good barometer of whether this is a temporary slump or a more worrisome trend. As Gasper put it, “I think that’s one of those games where they’ll bring their, a game and that’s gonna be really interesting to see sort of their, a game.”

While it’s still early, the Celtics’ defensive woes are certainly something to monitor. They may be an offensive juggernaut, but as the old saying goes, defense wins championships. For a team with title aspirations, getting back to their gritty defensive identity will be crucial.