With the top-rated defense in the NBA, it makes sense that the Boston Celtics are finally starting to get some love when it comes to the coveted Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) award. In fact, it would be a bit incredulous for at least one of the team’s several stalwart defenders to not be in the conversation given their identity and current case as a contender is built around that side of the ball.
But there is a very good case that the best defender on the team plays a position that — at least historically — has not had much in the way of success of taking home that particular piece of hardware, though there’s a solid chance multiple Celtics could end up on an All-Defense team even still.
A new article by Basketball News’ Mark Schindler took a closer look at how the league’s defensive honors may be apportioned by season’s end, with some Boston players properly featured in the conversation.
Schindler actually has veteran Celtics point guard Marcus Smart in the lead for the DPOY award, ahead of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Rudy Gobert, and Bam Adebayo in that order.
Leading a trio of bigs, the B/N author correctly notes that a “guard hasn’t won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award since Gary Payton in the 1995-96 season,” but suggests that even still, “there’s real viability in Marcus Smart bucking that trend.”
“The Boston Celtics have been a good defensive team for much of the year;” continues Schindler, “they’ve ascended to dominant in 2022, building a 23-9 record off that foundation since the start of the year.”
“Across five-man units that have played at least 250 possessions, there is not a stingier group than the Celtics’ starting lineup, allowing just 93.8 points per 100 possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass. That’s 17.8 points below the league’s average Offensive Rating. Smart is the best defensive player on the best defensive team in basketball. He’s a menace at the point of attack, one of the true “switch-all’ players in the NBA.”
“While every player on the court is a positive communicator — a substantial part of great defense — Smart reigns supreme as the defensive signal-caller by directing traffic and calling out switches and pre-switches (the hallmark of Boston),” he notes.
“The passing lanes aren’t safe as Smart excels as one of the most disruptive off-ball players in the league, averaging 5.0 steals and deflections per game combined (top-10 in both categories, per Second Spectrum),” observes the B/N analyst.
“He consistently toes the line of overaggressiveness and controlled chaos, but his immaculate timing makes that one of his greatest strengths. He knows his personnel on-court and uses it to his advantage, abusing non-spacers or seeking out blind spots of a ball-handler or post defender. If you have a weakness, Smart will find it.”
And the Flower Mound native is not alone in his tendencies towards defensive impenetrability for the Celtics, with backcourt teammate Derrick White getting some love from Schindler for the All-Defensive Second Team as well.
“Admit it, you thought we were going to say Robert Williams III — and perhaps they should have, but Boston’s defensive menaces are thick this season, with plenty of plausible candidates.
“When the Celtics went all-in on Derrick White at the trade deadline, I couldn’t have been more ecstatic,” writes Schindler.
“He fits everything ‘Boston’, he continues. “He can switch, he’s hard-nosed at the point of attack, he’s incredibly active and intuitive off the ball and he makes disruptive plays.”
“If someone asked me who I thought the most technically sound defender in the league is, I’d probably go on a seven-minute, glowing rave about Derrick White any day of the week. Being solid is a good thing and also an incredibly hard thing to do. Defensive awards are all about consistently being good — not just overwhelming moments strung together. White navigates screens well, but his fight to reconnect on the back end and contest late, and tip or block a shot, is special. The secondary and tertiary efforts set him apart.”
“There are a lot of players who tend to approach basketball in a segmented way (not a bad thing, it’s just natural!),” suggests Schindler, “but White attacks each possession continually — always on a swivel, always roaming, always filling the gaps.”
One could conceivably also make a solid case for big man Al Horford as well as the Timelord, and rather than seeing their exclusion on this list in favor of other Celtics, Boston fans should revel in the recognition their favorite team is earning players up and down the roster with their smother style of play.
With the stretch run nearly over and the playoffs nearly here, the Celtics seem to be embracing their identity to the fullest at exactly the right time — and given the old adage about championships and defense, that can only be a good thing.
This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!
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