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Boston Celtics: Surprisingly defense is weak link

By Sam Minton

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - AUGUST 04: Bam Adebayo #13 of the Miami Heat reacts after scoring a basket and drawing a foul in the second half of an NBA game at HP Field House at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 4, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kim Klement - Pool/Getty Images)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - AUGUST 04: Bam Adebayo #13 of the Miami Heat reacts after scoring a basket and drawing a foul in the second half of an NBA game at HP Field House at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 4, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kim Klement - Pool/Getty Images) /
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The Boston Celtics have been known for their stellar defense but they have struggled to contain opposing teams.

When you think of a Brad Stevens coached team, they are known for two things, great ball movement and quality defense.  The Boston Celtics must have forgotten how to play defense during the quarantine.

Since making their way down to the bubble, Boston’s defense has been lacking. That was evident on Tuesday night when the C’s ended up losing to the Miami Heat.

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Now the Heat are a talented team as they showed on Tuesday night, but they were without one of their best players in Jimmy Butler. You can’t be giving up 112 points to a Butler-less Heat team.

Down in Orlando, the C’s are allowing 118 points per 100 possesions. That’s just unacceptable. If they continue to play like that they won’t go far and won’t stand a chance against the Bucks.

Also, the Celtics defense is ranked 21st out of 22 teams. It’s stunning how poorly the C’s are doing in that aspect of the game.

Boston has shown they are able to score. Gordon Hayward and Kemba Walker are looking as healthy as they have ever been and Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are playing some great basketball.

They need to start holding teams to under 100 points. Boston isn’t made to win shootouts.

The C’s have a chance to turn things around as they face the Nets on Wednesday. This should be an easy win for Boston. Brooklyn is without a lot of their key players. They might have defeated the Bucks but that seems more like a fluke than anything else.

This isn’t a must-win for the C’s but if they do lose it will be rather alarming. Starting their time down in Orlando 1-4 isn’t what was expected. Will they be able to turn things around in the playoffs?

Next. Bill Russell has mastered Twitter. dark

Boston needs to be better defensively. It’s as simple as that. If they start playing quality team defense they will start winning games.

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