Last May, after falling behind 0-3 in the Eastern Conference Finals to this very Miami Heat team, Joe Mazzulla admitted he felt that the Celtics had lost their defensive identity and that there was some sort of disconnect on the defensive end.
“I think it starts with we have to defend,” Mazzulla said after his team suffered a demoralizing Game 3 defeat, with the Heat shooting 56.8% from the field and 54.3%.
“We have to get stops, and yes, when you do not execute on the defensive end, and they make shots, then it affects the way you play offense. So, we just have to put our identity into our defensive execution first.”
At that point, it was too late. Despite their valiant efforts to claw back with three consecutive wins, forcing a Game 7, the 0-3 deficit proved insurmountable.
Nevertheless, Mazzulla and the Celtics didn’t lose sight of the lesson learned, and as they entered the 2023-24 season, they adopted a defensive-minded approach.
“Defense is what gets you in the door. Defense is the admission ticket,” Mazzulla said on media day in October. “You just have to do it. You don’t really have a choice. That’s how I can get better as a coach. When something is obvious to me, I have a tendency to not emphasize it as much.”
The Celtics and Mazzulla remained true to that approach all season, and the results showed. They finished second in defensive rating (110.6), conceding the fifth-fewest points per game (109.2) and boasting the second-lowest shooting percentage allowed (45.3%).
In their Game 1 win over the Miami Heat, they continued to dominate on that end of the floor.
Boston stifled Miami’s offense, allowing them to score only 94 points, fewer than any total they allowed to Miami last postseason, and that total could have been much lower.
Over the first three quarters, Miami shot just 24-of-62 (38.7%) from the field and 5-of-28 (17.9%) from deep. However, Boston took its foot off the gas a little bit in the fourth quarter, surrendering 35 points on 14-of-19 (73.7%) shooting from the field and 7-of-9 (77.8%) from deep.
“Well, we had four turnovers and then had seven in the fourth quarter, so I would say that points off turnovers [led to that],” Mazzulla said on the 35-point quarter. “Six points on off-ball defense communication, and some of them, they made some shots there. So, I would say 70/30 we can control.”
In basketball, every aspect of the game is interlinked — an idea Mazzulla consistently emphasizes. Boston’s strong defensive play directly influences its offensive performance. That was particularly highlighted in Game 1, where Boston’s offensive rating of 126.6 mirrored its defensive resilience at 104.9.
As Mazzulla underscored six months earlier, defense is the cornerstone of the Celtics’ success. It sets the tone for their game and ultimately led to victory in Game 1.
“Just being connected, outside of that stretch in the fourth, we were locked into what we’re trying to do,” Derrick White said after the game. “Just trying to make them make and take tough shots.”
At the center of Boston’s defensive dominance was Jrue Holiday, who made life miserable for Miami’s co-leading scorer, Tyler Herro.
With star Jimmy Butler sidelined with a knee injury suffered during the Play-In Tournament, the Heat needed Herro to be a hero and provide offensive stability. However, Holiday had other ideas, effectively shutting him down. Herro struggled, scoring only 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting (30.8%) and turning the ball over twice against Holiday’s relentless defense.
“He was very solid. Jrue’s ability to just stick to a game plan but, at the same time, use his instincts is huge for us,” Mazzulla said on Holiday postgame. “He did a great job on that throughout the game, staying with him and making it difficult. And we need him to continue to do that. So, [we] got off to a great start defensively with his effort.”
“Jrue does all the things that may not always show up on the stat sheet every single night, Tatum added. “His presence. His ability to screen, to always want to guard the best players. Take tendencies away. He got a lot of timely offensive rebounds for us tonight. Jrue is a champion. We’re very lucky to have him on our team and everything that he brings to our team for us to be successful.”
Holiday -- a five-time All-Defensive selection and the only player on Boston’s roster with a championship ring -- understands the importance of defense, especially in the postseason. When he won the NBA Finals in 2021 with Milwaukee, his Bucks posted the best defensive rating in the league that postseason (106.8).
If the Celtics want to achieve their goal of raising Banner 18, it starts on the defensive end. And on Sunday afternoon, they made an excellent first postseason impression in that department.
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