Despite their shootout against the Nets on Sunday, the Celtics still have the NBA’s best defense by a narrow margin — edging out the Warriors or the Suns by a fraction of a percentage point (depending on how you feel about garbage time).
The Celtics’ defense has become a multi-faceted machine based on complex switching concepts.
“We don’t lack much as far as [defense], of course,” Ime Udoka said on Wednesday when asked a question about Payton Pritchard. “We have some big wings, and strong guards, and versatile bigs.”
That versatility plays an enormous role in the Celtics’ defensive success.