How Defensively Dominant Can Boston Celtics Backcourt Be?

The Boston Celtics head into the 2014-15 regular season drowning in deficiency: so much weakness, such low expectations. But one bright spot is their backcourt and, more specifically, how outright feared it could be on defense.

There are 2.5 major reasons why: Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart and Rajon Rondo. Despite being the best all-around basketball player (by far) of the three, Rondo resides as third in the pecking order here because his once-tenacious defensive tendencies have waned in recent years. 

Because he’s a human being, and human beings tend to run out of energy, Rondo is also burdened with far more responsibility on offense than the other two and can’t engage the same way they can. Nonetheless, the Smart-Bradley duo is a horror show.

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With Rondo sidelined due to a broken hand, Smart and Bradley were unleashed in Boston’s two preseason contests as the starting backcourt, hounding their assignments the entire length of the floor, transforming into their shadow’s shadow off the ball, contesting every single shot and making life a general nightmare.

The preseason is the preseason, and only so much information can be extracted before what we’re analyzing becomes useless—especially for Smart, whose pro career consists of a two-game sample size—but these guys were always expected to play well together on that side of the floor. 

To see it in action was somehow better than previously envisioned. Against the New York Knicks, Boston scored 33 points off 28 turnovers. Not all of that is due to bullish ball pressure from the backcourt, but there’s no doubt it mattered. 

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Knicks guard Jose Calderon was stalked up and down the floor by Smart on each and every possession. They repeatedly tried running simple action for him on and off the ball (baseline screens, handoffs, pick-and-rolls), but Smart stuck to him like gum to a sneaker, shutting off drives to the basket and closing down shot attempts before they happened.

Here’s one example, with Smart diving under an Andrea Bargnani screen to cut off Calderon’s potential alleyway to the rim. Normally, this isn’t the best tactic, being that Calderon is one of the best shooters in NBA history, but Smart recovers in time to thwart a shot attempt and force a pass to the weak side. New York eventually turned it over.

The impact here is subtle and may sometimes not even lead to Boston stopping the other team from scoring. But for Smart to already combine intelligence and commitment with his insane physical ability makes him a very scary prospect. 

Calderon didn’t wiggle free for an open shot until there was nine minutes and 47 seconds left in the third quarter (his only three-point attempt in 18 minutes of action). Here’s that shot, which only occurs because Smart believes he can steal a cross-court pass intended for Carmelo Anthony. It was his only gamble of the afternoon.

Here’s what Celtics head coach Brad Stevens had to say about Smart after the team’s preseason opener against the Philadelphia 76ers, via ESPNBoston.com’s Chris Forsberg:

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He’s one of these guys that I think will get stronger as the game goes along defensively, and that’s hard to play against for the whole time. I’ve coached a lot of really bright guys at a lot of different ages. Very, very, very few at 20 years old can see the game and react to the game defensively like that. He has the ability to react athletically, too. He can really move. He’s very physical. I’ve said this before, he was really well coached, and combine that with the fact that he’s got a good savvy for the game.

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And from the same source, here are Bradley’s thoughts on how his new teammate can help: "He puts pressure on the offensive player every single time down the floor, and he doesn’t gamble. That’s crazy because he’s young, and a lot of young guys like to gamble. He just plays great, solid defense."

Bradley should know. His defensive ability is cause for dread throughout the league. At 22 years old, he was named to the NBA’s All-Defensive Second Team in just his third professional season. Bradley is versatile, tough and has the reflexes of a springbok. He can harass speedy point guards 90 feet from the basket and wrestle taller players on the block without losing any ground.

What makes him so great is his consistency. Bradley regularly generates highlight-worthy steals when his man has the ball, but his intensity away from the action, on every play, has a noticeable impact on the way Boston defends as a team.

Here's one example from their second preseason game. Without fouling, Bradley fights to deny a pass to a cutting J.R. Smith, wedging himself in between the ball and his man. The effect this has on the play is huge: Instead of Smith catching a pass with his momentum hurling toward the rim, New York is forced to settle on a mid-range jump shot. It goes in, but process here is always more important than the result.

Rondo is miles away from being a bad defender, but relative to the special and rare talent found elsewhere in Boston’s backcourt, he's a third wheel. (When Rondo is the third-best defender at his position on a basketball team, things are set in that area.)

The Celtics have the potential to obliterate opposing ball-handlers from the opening tip, always having one extremely gifted defender on them at all times (whether it be Smart, Bradley or Rondo). 

This is Boston’s greatest strength right now. And by season’s end, it might be difficult to name another threesome throughout the league that makes offense look so difficult. The Celtics may be bad, but no guards will enjoy playing them.

All statistics are courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com or NBA.com unless otherwise noted.

Michael Pina covers the NBA for Bleacher Report, Sports on Earth, Fox Sports and elsewhere. Follow him on Twitter @MichaelVPina.