Members of the Boston Celtics will be the first to tell you they have not lived up to their expectations on the defensive end.
In fact, it’s been one of the biggest criticisms of the Celtics so far.
As Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown have had to take on a lot more responsibility on offense, the other end of the floor has suffered. It’s prevented Boston from putting teams away or closing out narrow games.
So, ahead of Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Smart explained what he believes is happening.
“We let guys do what we talked about prior to the game not letting them do: getting into their bags, and really getting to their spots, and really getting to what they love to do,” Smart told reporters. “And then effort. Our effort just isn’t there. We’re dying on screens, me included. We’re a step slow. We’re confused. We’ve got to fix it.”
The inconsistencies have been apparent to president of basketball operations Danny Ainge, too.
Still, Smart isn’t entirely concerned. For one, Boston only once has benefitted from having its starting core all available on the same night. The longest-tenured Celtic also said he’s seen this before.
“This isn’t the first time that we’ve started out slow, especially early on in the season and we haven’t figured it out, and what’s going on, and why is our defense this? And then we turn it around, and not only that, but we have a group of guys who pride themselves on attention to detail,” Smart said.
Smart also knows the defense the Celtics have been playing as of late certainly won’t fly against LeBron James and the reigning NBA champions.
“We’ve got another game coming up tonight against the defending champs,” Smart said. “And what better way to get back on track than tonight?”
