{"id":644579,"date":"2017-03-19T10:52:11","date_gmt":"2017-03-19T14:52:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/?p=644579"},"modified":"2017-03-19T10:52:11","modified_gmt":"2017-03-19T14:52:11","slug":"your-morning-dump-where-the-cs-defense-is-finally-coming-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/your-morning-dump-where-the-cs-defense-is-finally-coming-together\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Morning Dump… Where the C’s defense is finally coming together"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here\u2026 highlighting the big story line. Because there\u2019s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.<\/i><\/p>\n

They still have to prove it to themselves, too. Smart and others called out the team last fall for not defending up to last season\u2019s standard, essentially saying they had become soft. He may be ready to admit the tough-guy standard is again being earned.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re getting back there, definitely,\u201d he said. \u201cSome work to do, but there\u2019s more and more games we\u2019re playing that way, putting those types of games together. We see glimpses of it, but we have to do it for a whole 48 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n[…] \u201cWe\u2019ve played better recently and the numbers back that up,\u201d said Stevens. \u201cBut that\u2019s something you have to go do the next game. It\u2019s hard to be a good defensive team night in and night out. The difference between a top-10 defensive team and whatever we are right now is a point per possession, maybe. One point out of a hundred possessions. So it\u2019s a small margin. We just have to continue to build on what we\u2019ve been doing, because we\u2019re getting better.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Herald:\u00a0Celtics finally see value to playing with chip on their shoulder<\/a><\/p>\n

The scene<\/strong><\/p>\n

Florence, Italy. The year is 1502. <\/em><\/p>\n

Michelangelo taps his hammer and chisel to a giant block of marble that is barely taking any discernible shape. There is a knock at the door. In walks Michel di Felgerini, a local scribe.<\/em><\/p>\n

Felgerini: So, what’s this giant rock supposed to be?<\/p>\n

Michelangelo: It’s going to be a statue of David. I have this grand vision of…<\/p>\n

Fegerini: David? The guy from the Bible? The giant slayer? No offense, Mike…<\/p>\n

Michelangelo: My name is… Michelan…<\/p>\n

Felgerni (interrupting): … Mickey, Mikey… whatever… no offense but this giant rock sucks. And now I hear they’re talking about you doing some work at the Sistine Chapel? Frankly, I don’t see what anyone is talking about with you. You’re supposed to be this great artist but all I see is a big rock and no sign it’s going to be anything. Talk about overrated.<\/p>\n

Felgerini turns and walks out snickering to himself. Michelangelo goes back to his work, muttering under his breath how he doesn’t understand why so many people pay attention to Felgerini.<\/em><\/p>\n

End scene<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Celtics defense was shockingly bad at the beginning of the season. But now, with nearly a full season of perspective to look back over the sculpting of this team we can see that injury and experimentation had delayed he evolution of a good defensive team.<\/p>\n

Long stretches without Al Horford, Marcus Smart, and Jae Crowder limited what the Celtics could do. And Brad Stevens’ early insistence on the Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Smart, Crowder, and Horford lineup helped sink the Celtics defensive rating to the bottom of the league.<\/p>\n

Now, though, we have the early season lessons to lean on and a pretty healthy team to execute the defensive strategy. The Celtics have climbed to 12th overall in defensive rating and 4th in the league since the All Star break. If they’re going to make any kind of run in the playoffs, they are going to have to keep up this defensive intensity and shut teams down rather than try to out-score them.<\/p>\n

In a funny twist, the Celtics uptick in defense coincides with a drop in their offense. Their post-All Star offensive rating is 103.5, good for 21st in the NBA and tied with the Knicks and Pistons. Before the break, they had the league’s sixth-best offensive rating. As a result, their net rating has dropped from 3.4 to 1.5.<\/p>\n

So what does all this mean?<\/p>\n

To me, it means (a) the Celtics can’t really be any good without being fully healthy. The most positive results have come when we’re not forcing guys to do too much outside their comfort zones. And (b) it’s hard for this team to be good at offense AND defense. I really do think some of the earlier failures were partially due to guys expending a lot of energy on the offensive end and taking it a little easy on the defensive end. This team, as good as it is, lacks the talent to be a great two-way team. They almost have to choose which end they’ll take most seriously and roll from there.<\/p>\n

I think that focus should be on the defensive end. It might result in guys taking a few more jumpers but it could also result in more turnovers and transition offense. That’s going to be how playoff basketball is played, so the Celtics might as well get used to it now.<\/p>\n

In the end, it takes a full season to come to the final judgement of what the Celtics really are. Yeah, we’re not in the business of sitting back and waiting… things like daily podcasts and social media analysis exist… but with all of the things going on in the short-term we have to keep a long-term view in the back of our minds.<\/p>\n

David was a giant block of marble that, over time, was crafted into a masterpiece. This Celtics defense was a big mess and it’s being crafted into… well… not quite as masterful as David but still something a lot better than it was before. And maybe it will get even better over the next month or so and we’ll take a step back and realize it these guys were building up to something after all.<\/p>\n

Page 2: Jae Crowder is cool with taking a back seat to win<\/h1>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t put a ceiling on my game,\u201d he said. \u201cOnce the opportunity presents itself, I try to just step up to the opportunity. But we run a lot of stuff for Isaiah on the court and that just limits me on the offensive end a lot, so it is what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n[…] \u201cI play to win games,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t care about what the fans say or what the critics say about anything, to be honest with you. That\u2019s what I bring to a team. I\u2019ve become a real student of the game. I watch a lot of film. I critique myself on a different level. It\u2019s all just growing up and being a smarter basketball player, and I think my dad has always encouraged me because it helps me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t really get caught up in stats. That\u2019s not why I play the game. I\u2019ve won a lot of accolades, but at this level I don\u2019t care about that. I just care about winning. I want to go down as a winner.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Globe:\u00a0Jae Crowder has improved offensively. But he\u2019s accepted a complementary role<\/a><\/p>\n

Crowder’s shooting has been so good this year. It’s hard to really grasp how good it’s been because it’s not easy for anyone to take 10 shots a game and still hit the percentage he does. Most guys need to get going and get into a rhythm.<\/p>\n

I’m curious what Crowder would do with more shots. Would he have bigger production like he did against Brooklyn, or would he just become less efficient?<\/p>\n

I’d love to see the Celtics play at higher pace to make that happen, but that’s not going to happen this season. Like Crowder said in the piece, they run so much for Isaiah Thomas because he’s their best offensive threat that others sacrifice a bit to make that happen. I don’t think Crowder gets appreciated enough for being that guy.<\/p>\n

Whether Crowder gets that opportunity depends on where he is next season. Will he be here in Boston, or will he be part of a trade? And will that trade get him more chances to score and show his full game?<\/p>\n

We Boston fans have been criticized for falling in love with some of these players, but it’s tough not to love Crowder. I’ve long said he’s the perfect Boston player. He’s gritty, he’ll defend his ass off, and he’ll hit big shots when needed. He’s a blue-collar guy who sacrifices for the team and does what needs to be done. It’s hard not to love that guy.<\/p>\n

If he does need to go in order for the Celtics to take that next step, then we will all wish him well and thank him for what he did… and then wait for that next fan base to hit us up on Twitter to say “now I see why you guys loved him so much.”<\/p>\n

And Finally…<\/h1>\n

The Cleveland Cavaliers sat LeBron James, Kevin Love, and Kyrie Irving for last night’s nationally televised game against the Clippers. This is the second week in a row one of the league’s premier teams rested ALL of its stars for a Saturday night ABC game. And the league was NOT happy about it.<\/p>\n

\n

When did the league call? Griff: "Seven minutes after it was announced. Yeah, they were not happy."<\/p>\n

— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) March 19, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n