The Celtics’ defense is winning in a new way

The Celtics’ defense is off to a very strong start this season, and they’re finding success from an unfamiliar place.

Against the Bulls, Boston forced 16 turnovers, 10 of which came directly from steals. They currently rank third in both opponent turnovers and deflections per game.

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This is something that has hardly been in the team’s DNA in previous seasons. Last year, even with the fourth-best defensive rating in the league, they forced the second-fewest turnovers.

The bulk of their defensive identity revolved around dictating who shot and where the looks came from. It’s a fine strategy, but it has limits. It’s more predictable, and offenses can adjust to a defense that sits back in ways they can’t against a frenetic one.

Against Chicago, they were swarming, scrambling and recovering. Moving on a string, they looked like one connected entity. Six different players registered a steal, with Payton Pritchard, Derrick White and Paul George each recording multiple.

The biggest crowd pop of the night came after back-to-back interceptions turned into scores.

Aggressive nail help has been among the most noticeable playstyle shifts driving this. White, George, and Jayson Tatum were eating up space to lock down driving lanes. They made the Bulls uncomfortable getting downhill, and they weren’t successful capitalizing when the Celtics were in rotation.

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The Bulls felt the squeeze from the start. When asked about Josh Giddey’s slow start, Tiago Splitter pointed right at Boston’s pressure.

“They do this trap when you go by the half court and they trap you,” Splitter said. “You just got to be ready. We talked about it before the game.”

Caleb Wilson was a bit more blunt about the first quarter. “I feel like we laid down,” he said. “I don’t know what else to say.”

It’s hard to argue against that. Boston had them in a 19-point hole heading into the second quarter. It was fueled by a deflection or steal on what felt like every other possession.

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Pritchard helped set that tone. He came into the night unhappy with his defense through four games, and Joe Mazzulla had challenged him on it.

“I’ve been…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/celtics-defense-winning-way-114900106.html

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Publish date : 2026-10-31 11:49:00

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