The Celtics made a commitment to defense, and it’s paying off

As the Celtics saw their 14-point lead diminish to just five in the closing minute of the game, Derrick White positioned himself in the corner near the Mavericks’ bench, while Jaylen Brown held his spot in the opposite corner, both anticipating a potential pass from Jayson Tatum, who was driving to the basket.

Instead, Tatum blew by Luka Doncic but was rejected at the rim by Derrick Jones Jr at the rim.

P.J. Washington grabbed the loose ball and kicked ahead to Kyrie Irving on an outlet pass. When Irving caught the outlet pass, White and Brown took off in a full sprint.

Irving then dished a bounce pass back to Washington, who caught it at the top of the key. With speed, Washington attacked the rim, only to find himself confronted by the dual defensive effort of White and Brown, who combined forces to reject the shot.

“Just sprinting back, trying to make a play,” White said on the rejection postgame. “Obviously, they were making a little run there, and whatever means necessary, just sprint back and meet him at the rim.”

It’s fitting that this block was the clincher in Game 2, serving as a perfect culmination to another defensive masterclass by Boston.

After limiting the Mavericks to just 89 points on 94 possessions in Game 1, Boston once again held the Mavericks under the century mark, surrendering just 98 points on 96 possessions.

“They are physical,” Luka Doncic said postgame. “They try to guard one-on-one. I think today, they tried to help more. I was able to get some teammates open. But they are physical. They are very physical. We let them be physical. So they are pretty, pretty amazing on defense.”

It’s one of the oldest sayings in sports: Defense wins championships.  If the Celtics do raise Banner 18, their defense will be front and center.

After Game 2, the Celtics are surrendering just 100.3 points per game this postseason. They have held their opponents under 100 points in nine of their 16 (56.2%) games this postseason, posting a perfect 9-0 record in such games. Including the regular season, the Celtics have held opponents below triple digits 24 times, posting a perfect 24-0 record in those contests.

In the modern NBA, winning games without scoring 100 points is extremely difficult. That’s especially the case against a team like the Celtics, who have one of the most potent offenses in the league. However, for the Celtics, it all starts on the defensive end, and when their offense struggled in Game 2, the defense picked up the slack and helped them eke out an ugly win.

“You’ve got to give them credit. They definitely picked up their defensive pressure,” Kyrie Irving said postgame.

The Celtics shot 10-of-39 (25.6%) from three-point range in Game 2. Entering the night, the Celtics were 5-9 when shooting under 30% from distance this season. When shooting under 25%, they were 1-3. Yet, their relentless individual defensive efforts ultimately powered them to victory, and Jaylen Brown believes there’s still room for improvement.

“I think tonight we weren’t as crisp defensively. It was a lot of missed communications out there, a lot of stuff that we gave up that we didn’t give up in the first game. So I think we got to be better in that regard,” Brown said.

“But I just think our effort has been the key, just the mentality, picking a guy up full court, stuff like that. It just wears on them over time. But I think we need to be more crisp going into the next two games.”

Since day one, the Celtics have had an increased focus on the defensive end of the floor. There was a clear disconnect to the attention to detail on the defense in the postseason a year ago, which ultimately led to Boston falling into a 0-3 series deficit that was too much to overcome.

Boston entered the season determined to return to the defense-first mindset that led them to the NBA Finals in 2022. Now back in that position, Boston’s commitment to defense has propelled them within reach of glory once more.