Defensive problems for Boston. The Celtics are undoubtedly one of the pleasant surprises of this season with the third place in the Eastern Conference, behind only the Milwaukee Bucks and the Miami Heat. Despite the good results obtained so far, the Celtics still have to improve in many aspects.
One of these concerns defense. After the defeat against the Raptors, coach Brad Stevens highlighted how recently the team had made too many defensive mistakes and that they had to return to previous levels.
Marcus Smart is the defense column of the Celtics. His absence is remarkable, and it has been seen in the last eight games, in which Boston struggled a lot in defense, precisely because they had to give up on Smart.
But, a team like the Celtics, who want to fight for the playoffs, cannot depend on defense only on one player. The Celtics must grow, coach Stevens must find the right set-up for a team that cannot depend on a player, in this case Smart, purely for the defensive phase.
To overcome this problem, the Celtics may decide to take a look at the market before the trade deadline.
In any case, the Boston Celtics remain one of the most fearsome teams this season and, with the right set-up, they could scare everyone.
