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Malcolm Brogdon Gives Brutally Honest Assessment of Celtics
Last year, the Celtics' identity was their defense. Evolving into a juggernaut at that end of the floor, translating to the lowest defensive rating in the NBA, a flawed stat painting an accurate picture in this case, fueled the most impressive in-season turnaround in league history.
Pivoting from that is perplexing and has proven detrimental throughout the current campaign. Boston's talent propelled it to the second-best record in the Association and its fifth trip to the Eastern Conference Finals in seven years. But throughout the season, the warning signs were evident.
The Celtics repeatedly played down to competition .500 or below, which is why the Bucks surpassed them for the top spot in the East.
And their overreliance on threes was at the root of their most alarming losses, including a defeat at the hands of a Rockets team tied for the worst record in the NBA.
It was easy to brush nights like that aside during the regular season, chalking it up to a title contender saving its energy for the playoffs. But that fed into avoiding addressing their most glaring concern.
As it has done in the past, poor shooting took from their focus defensively. And Boston's lack of variance, often not even sprinkling in points from other spots on the floor, kept the defending Eastern Conference champions out of rhythm and in a cycle of not scoring, giving up points against an opponent allowed to maintain an up-tempo attack and continue operating in transition, and then having to work against a set defense at the other end.
There were times the Celtics got back to defending at last year's level, but they never made the permanent shift to their defense being their backbone.
Everyone in the organization bears responsibility for that, including the players. Understandably, they had the confidence and belief in themselves to embrace going in the direction their first-year head coach steered them in. But it's disappointing they haven't taken ownership of the situation and steered this team back to the defense-first identity that best suits it.
Had they done so, they probably would've finished off a Hawks team missing Dejounte Murray in Game 5. Boston likely beats a Sixers team sans MVP Joel Embiid in the series opener on the TD Garden parquet. And odds are the Celtics wouldn't be down 3-0 to the Heat and looking no different in most playoff performances than they did during the regular season.
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After getting blown out 128-102 in Game 3 in South Beach, with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, among others, not playing in the final frame, Joe Mazzulla voiced the defending Eastern Conference champions have lost some of their defensive identity and "we have to get that back, and that's where part of that is on me to make sure we get that back."
A day later, Malcolm Brogdon said of Boston's being on the brink of getting swept out of the postseason, "It's definitely stunning; this is not something I think anybody would've predicted, but this is the scenario right now, and we've got to try to climb our way back out."
The former Virginia Cavalier also expressed he thinks the Celtics have "taken a few steps back" and that playing the Heat has exposed that for all to see.
"It's showing because we're playing a very disciplined, consistent, well-coached team, but I think in the Atlanta series, I think in the Philly series, I think (that) we got away with things that now are biting us, so that's definitely troubling."
When asked to elaborate, the Sixth Man of the Year stated, "I think it's mainly on the defensive end. We haven't been consistently great defensively all year long. And that was the team's identity last year. And I think that's slipped away from us. We've had spurts where we've been great defensively but not consistently.
"Honestly, we've struggled in every series we've played. So now we're playing a team that's playing as if they're the best team in the league, and they're just incredibly disciplined, incredibly consistent. And I think we've struggled with teams that are consistent on a possession-by-possession basis every night."
Even for a team whose words consistently hit the right notes, Brogdon's assessment's refreshing to hear.
The challenge Boston should embrace on Tuesday is proving it can defend like it did when stifling the Hawks in the fourth quarter of Game 6 to close out the series. Like it did when limiting the Sixers to 86 points in Game 6 in Philadelphia. Like it did when only yielding two more points in the winner-take-all matchup between the storied rivals. And for the Celtics to show their character by returning to the identity that best suits them.
Otherwise, they may shoot their way to a Game 5, but it's more likely the approach undermining their season will end it Tuesday.
Further Reading
Trading Jaylen Brown is a Gamble the Celtics are Better Off Not Making
Grant Williams Reacts to Heated Altercation with Jimmy Butler
Celtics Address 'Letting Go of the Rope' After Game 1 Loss to Heat
