Getty Jayson Tatum, Kevin Durant, Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics won their 19th game of the season on December 4, defeating the Brooklyn Nets 103-92.
Speaking to the media following the game, Brooklyn’s superstar, Kevin Durant, discussed the Celtics’ strength in depth, explaining how Boston can retain a high-efficiency level even when some of their primary rotation players are out of the lineup.
“You got such a deep team, a team that’s been together, good continuity, it’s a next man up mentality for them. Robert Williams hasn’t been there all year, and they’re 19-5. Marcus Smart in and out the lineup, they still got Derrick White and Malcolm Brogdon they can bring in, you know what I’m saying? Two guys that can do pretty much the same thing he does, so they got a deep team,” Durant said.
In Smart’s absence, Malcolm Brogdon rose to the occasion, helping the Celtics with 13 points, eight assists, eight rebounds, and a steal while shooting 40% from the field and 50% from deep. Unfortunately for Boston, White didn’t fair quite well, shooting just 14.7% from the field on one-of-seven. However, his point-of-attack defense significantly influenced the Celtics holding Brooklyn to under 100 points.
Jayson Tatum Credits Boston’s Defense
Last season, the Celtics boasted the top-ranked defense in the NBA and built their post-season success based on a stringent rearguard that often held teams to under 100 points per game.
To begin the new season, the Celtics have failed to scale those loft heights and currently sit 14th in the league for defensive rating. However, when speaking to the media as part of his post-game press conference, Tatum credited Boston’s defensive efforts against the Nets as a key factor in the team’s victory.
“Our defensive definitely won us the game tonight, no doubt about that, for sure…Communicating, you know, everybody being on the same page. Guys gonna make mistakes, guys gonna get beat. But, you know, it’s a team sport. You always gotta keep your head on a swivel, be there for your teammate and everybody rotating behind you. So, those second and third efforts are when we’re ultimately at our best, and we gotta do that more often than not,” Tatum said.
Of course, once Robert Williams returns from injury, the Celtics will undoubtedly see a sharp improvement in their defense due to his unmatched ability as a rim protector and shot deterrent, but until then, Boston at least looks like their defense is trending in the right direction.
Joe Mazzulla Impressed by Celtics Defense
Whenever Sam Hauser or Payton Pritchard take to the floor, opposing teams look to hunt mismatches and attack one of the pair in the half-court. On December 4, it was Durant who was looking to exploit favorable matchups against one of Boston’s perimeter shooters.
However, the Celtics did a fantastic job with their help defense and often limited any advantage Brooklyn created by generating mismatch opportunities in the half-court – something that interim head coach Joe Mazzulla praised during his post-game press conference.
“I thought those guys did a good job. We followed the game plan, execution, our guys took tendencies, and I thought our weakside activity was very, very active. We were aggressive at the point of attack, and we were ready to rotate on the weak side,” Mazzulla said.
The Celtics will be back in action on December 5, as they face the Toronto Raptors on what is the second night of a back-to-back for Boston.