Defense foundation of the Celtics' success</p> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'></p> Obviously, the main draws for James Posey to sign as a free agent with the Celtics were the chance to play with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen, and the possibility of a legitimate run at an NBA title. As for playing on the NBA's best defensive team thus far, that has been a bonus.</p> The Celtics (20-2) entered last night's games tops in the NBA in several major defensive categories. Boston's opponents are averaging NBA lows of 86.5 points, a .413 field goal percentage, a .305 3-point percentage, and 17.2 assists per game. The Celtics are coming off a 90-77 win over the Raptors Sunday in which they held Toronto to a season low in points, field goals made (28), field goals attempted (72), and assists (16).</p> "Honestly, I really didn't [expect it]," Posey said. "It was more of just being capable of winning games and things like that. I guess you're looking at firepower. We got that on the offensive end. But our defense is pretty tough right now.</p> "I think it's just the will to compete and going out and doing your job the best that you can. And you get that from everybody from [Garnett] on down to the bench. You don't get that on other teams for the most part. You got guys that take responsibility when they mess up and we correct mistakes. We just go back out there, make sure we are on the same page, and cause havoc."</p> With Garnett and Allen joining Pierce in Boston after offseason trades, offense was expected to be the catalyst for a lot of wins. Offensively, however, the Celtics entered last night's games 11th in scoring, averaging 100.7 points per game. But Boston also averages an NBA-best margin of victory of 14.1 points, with Detroit a distant second (8.5).</p> So it's actually the Celtics' defense that has carried them to their NBA-best record.</p> "That's going to be the makeup of our team," Pierce said. "When teams think about the Boston Celtics, they are going to think of a defensive-minded group."</p> Said Garnett: "We work so much on our defense that the confidence comes into the work that we display."</p> Why has Boston's defense been so great thus far?</p> First-year assistant Tom Thibodeau arrived with a reputation as one of the best defensive coaches in the NBA. He has helped his teams rank in the top 10 in defense in 14 of his 17 seasons. Posey is a versatile defender off the bench who can check guards and forwards, and he takes a lot of charges. Boston entered last night's play third in the league in steals per game (9.4) and turnovers caused (17.1).</p> "You don't get a lot of easy baskets [against the Celtics]," said one NBA advance scout who attended Sunday's game. "The [driving] lane doesn't open up too much. Everybody seems to be contested. They follow their man through a possession. You don't see anyone set a pick that isn't followed through a possession."</p> Said Raptors forward Chris Bosh: "Their defense is very aggressive. They are very long and athletic and the plays we usually make just weren't there [Sunday]. We need to take this game to see how they play defense."</p> <div id="articleEmbed"> <div id="relatedContent" class="embed"> <div id="informBox" class="relatedBox"> Garnett has been given the most credit for the Celtics' team defense.</p> </div> </div> </div> Garnett was a six-time All-NBA first-team defensive player with the Timberwolves during his 12 seasons there and made the second team twice. He is fourth in the NBA in defensive rebounds per game (8.8) and has 1.5 blocks and 1.6 steals per game. Pierce has said he is surprised the 2004 NBA Most Valuable Player never has won a Defensive Player of the Year award. The agile 6-foot-11-inch, 220-pounder has a rare intensity on defense that is infectious, and he's extremely vocal near the basket.</p> "They got Garnett," the NBA scout said. "When you get past your initial [defender] you got to look for him. [I'm not surprised], because they got Garnett. I'm sure he's changed the whole attitude of defense more than [coach] Doc Rivers."</p> Said Celtics guard Rajon Rondo on Garnett being vocal on defense: "When he's behind me I'm comfortable and I know everything that's going on. That's how it should be, because I don't know what's going on behind me, Paul don't know, Ray don't know."</p> As good as the Celtics' defense has been, they expect it to get even stingier. How? The team has nine new players and they've only played 22 games together.</p> "We practice on it every day," Posey said. "We're getting better and better. We still got room for improvement."</p> Said Rondo, "We can improve on everything, really. Individual defense. Help defense. Taking more charges. Pose takes the majority of the charges. Be there early [for charges] before it's too late. The rotation's getting better."</p> Tomorrow's anticipated Eastern Conference showdown with the Pistons (17-7) not only includes possibly the two best teams in the conference but also the NBA's top defensive teams.</p> The Pistons entered last night averaging the second-fewest points per game allowed at 91.1. Detroit was third in field goal percentage (.436), fourth in 3-point percentage (.330), and fifth in assists allowed per game (19.7). Although the Warriors entered Sunday averaging 109 points per game, the Pistons limited them to 87 and 41.8 percent shooting in a 109-87 win.</p> "Boston has been very impressive with their 20-2 start, but it has been the defense," said ex-NBA player Jon Barry, who will be doing analysis for ESPN during the nationally televised Celtics-Pistons game. "Tom Thibodeau, who was brought in after years with Jeff Van Gundy, is one of the best defensive coaches I've been around. On nights the Big Three can't get it going offensively, their defense wins games.</p> "It's no coincidence San Antonio has been one of the elite teams over the past decade. Championships are won with defense."</p> Pierce yesterday was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week. He led the Celtics to a 3-0 record while averaging 25.3 points and 5.0 rebounds, and he connected on 24 of 27 free throws.</p> The Celtics' 20-2 record ties seven other teams for the second-best start through 22 games in NBA history. The best start through 22 games was 21-1 by New York in 1969 and Houston in 1993.</p> </div></p>
