Celtics' Defense a Major Key to Success

The Celtics are the NBA's last undefeated team, at 5-0. And that's not even the most surprising number surrounding this year's squad. What is?

91.0

That's the number of points per game Boston's defense has surrendered so far this year. It's good for sixth best in the NBA.

Last year, Boston gave up 99.2 points per game. That was eleventh worst in the NBA, but that number is a bit deceptive. The West was a much higher scoring conference last year (Eight teams averaged over 100 points in the West versus just one Eastern team). Concurrently, seven of the bottom 10 defensive teams were in the West.

More telling was the point differential of -3.4, which showed that Boston on average scored 3.4 fewer points than they allowed. That number was fifth worst in the league.

Bottom line: the Celtics' defense last year was bad, and unlike some of those teams in the West, their offense wasn't good enough to overcome it.

Now in just a year, Boston has gone from one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA to one of the best.

John Hollinger, ESPN's resident basketball statman, rates Boston's Defensive Efficiency (the number of points a team allows per 100 possessions) at 91.4. That's best in the league.

Their point differential leads the league at +16.6. They're outscoring opponents by an average of 16 points a game.

Simply put, they're preventing other teams from scoring. And their putting so many points on the board that their opponents can't fight back.

Now of course, five games is a small sample size. But for Celtics fans, it is still encouraging to be ranked at the top of the league in a spot that was long this team's weakest point.

When the Big Three of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett was assembled, fans knew they were going to be in for some high-octane offense. All three players rank among the league's top scorers the past few years. True to form, each is averaging over 20 points per game this year, with the Celtics averaging an East-leading 107.6 as a team.

But who would have thought that the team's defense would have seen such a huge improvement? Granted, any improvement could be considered good improvement after last year's debacle. But even so, it is encouraging to see the kind of benefits the C's have experienced from on both sides of the ball.

To whom can these dramatic changes be attributed?

Well, to start, Kevin Garnett. The presence of one of the best big men in history has had a profound effect on Boston's defense. Garnett has been a force in the paint and leads the league with 15.8 rebounds per game. A re-invigorated Paul Pierce has taken his already adequate defense up a notch. Big men like Kendrick Perkins and Glen "Big Baby" Davis have gotten the chance to pick the brains of one of the NBA's best defenders.

Another major contributor has been the coaching staff. When head coach Doc Rivers brought in assistant Tom Thibodeau, he did it with the intention of improving the team's defense. Thibodeau is known around the league as a defensive specialist, having previously served a similar role with the Houston Rockets. Under Thibodeau's guidance, the Rockets set franchise records in defensive efficiency. Houston led the league last year in defensive field goal percentage.

Thibodeau has had the chance to mold the young minds of players like Perkins and Rajon Rondo. Perkins has been praised for his tenacious style of defense while Rondo was drafted largely on the strength of his defense. With a teacher like Thibodeau to guide them, they could become the defensive cornerstones of a franchise on the rise.

And if the C's stay on the pace they're on, there's no telling what heights they reach. On both sides of the ball.