Boston Celtics: 3 burning questions the Celtics must answer in 2021-22

Boston Celtics burning questions: 2. Can the team improve defensively?

Defensively, the Celtics took significant steps backward last year.

Boston slipped to 13th for defensive rating last season, giving up 111.8 points per 100 possessions, compared to having the fourth best defensive rating in the NBA the prior year.

Injuries played their part. Brown and Tatum, two fantastic perimeter defenders, missed time through injury, as did Marcus Smart, still one of the league’s most tenacious on-ball defenders. The team had to deal with a lot of instability with its top defensive players in and out of the lineup during the season.

But it was still a surprise to see just how much the Boston defense slipped last year. The team ranked in the bottom half of the league for opponent threes made per game at 12.8, with opponents also making 37.4 per cent of their three-point attempts across the year – the ninth highest percentage.

Teams got too much joy on the perimeter against a Celtics team that has some of the best wing defenders in the NBA. Opposition free throws also proved to be a problem, with teams taking the sixth most amount of free throws per game against the Celtics.

These are very fixable issues. It would be a surprise not to see the Celtics up there among the league’s best defenses next season if Tatum, Brown and Smart can all stay healthy. The team has a sturdy defense in the paint too with Al Horford, Robert Williams and Enes Kanter three solid options at center.

Stevens has also gone further in addressing last season’s dip in defense by appointing a defensive coach in Udoka and also bringing in defensive minded players such as those mentioned above.

But nothing is a given in the NBA. The Celtics must set the tone early on in the season to establish a stifling defense that gives up less threes and free throws.