Celtics want to be best defensive team ever (And: Best defensive NBA teams ever)

[duncan228]

Defense won’t rest
Celtics want to be best ever
By Mark Murphy
Boston Herald Sports Reporter

Most NBA teams set modest goals. They plan to perhaps get out of the lottery or improve on last year’s win total, maybe target the playoffs. They might take aim on a divisional title.

And then there’s the handful that expect to win it all. The Celtics are back to believing that anything short of another ring will be a letdown. But they also have a secondary goal that is a little wild, a little out of the box.

“We want to be the best defensive team in history,” Kendrick Perkins said.

As evidenced by his deadpan, Perkins has no doubt that this goal is realistic.

On one level this is simply coach Doc Rivers’ latest motivational ploy, like that empty banner on the practice facility wall in Waltham and the power of Umbuntu.

The 2003-04 editions of the Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs are two of the best ever at stopping people. Each held opponents to 84.3 scoring average - a number that is third-best in NBA history. That Spurs team also limited opponents to .409 percent shooting - also third-best all-time. No team has ever held opponents under .402 percent for a season.

That Pistons squad set an NBA record by holding opponents under 100 points for 36 straight games. A month later they came back with a 30-game streak that ranks third-best in league history. That same team set a league record by holding five straight opponents under 70 points, a feat it accomplished 11 times overall.

The 2008-09 Celtics, as tight a defensive unit as you’ll find, held opponents to a league-leading .419 field goal percentage and a 90.3 scoring average. They were second, behind the Pistons, in the latter category.

The Celtics’ addition this season of Rasheed Wallace -- a pivotal member of the 2003-04 Pistons -- gives them a backup post defender of starting quality. Marquis Daniels, like James Posey two years ago, is a wiry athlete who can defend all three wing positions.

With more combinations than ever available to him, Rivers can combat a wide range of matchup challenges.

The actual goal is a nice carrot.

“I don’t mind them thinking like that,” he said. “I didn’t really make a big thing of it. I just said, ‘Guys, you have to have your goals set high.’ (Being from Chicago), I used the ’85 Bears as my example. I asked them, when you hear about the ’85 Bears, what do you think of, and they said, ‘The best defense in history.’

“It’s good if they take this seriously. I wanted them to take me seriously.”

Rivers isn’t the only one talking on a high level. Wallace, shortly after joining the team, raised the bar with his prediction that the Celtics could match or break the NBA’s single season win mark of 72.

Nor did Wallace stop there.

“Rasheed said he thinks this team can break the record they had in Detroit of going seven straight games holding a team under (70) points,” said Paul Pierce. “I was like, ‘That’s kind of tough to do,’ and he said ‘We’ve got that kind of team.’ You definitely believe.”

Can the Celtics hold opponents for an entire season to 40 percent shooting and a low 80s scoring average?

“I think so,” said Perkins, who will obviously have a lot to do with making that result possible.

But like Pierce and everyone else on this team, Perkins has bought into Rivers’ defensive mission.

“That’s a subject Doc brings up every day,” said Perkins. “That’s our goal for this year. Then the rest will fall into place.

“It’s the personnel we have that allows us to think that way,” he said. “Paul got into great shape for camp, Ray (Allen) got into great shape, we have the addition of Rasheed Wallace, Baby (Glen Davis) got into great shape. Everybody is doing everything they can to get ready. So that’s a good goal for our team.

“Everybody’s focused for the simple fact that time is short and we have a lot of work to do, and so we have to work on stuff. We do believe we can do this.”

Elbow grease, according to Garnett, as always this team’s defensive soul, is most of the battle.

“Defensively we look very good,” he said. “But so does Orlando, so does the Hawks, teams like that. But it’s what you make out of it. Defense is all effort. It’s all grit and grime.”

It’s also about belief -- a quality that appears to be in ample supply on this team of lofty aspirations.

According to Pierce, there’s a simple reason why this team spends so much time talking about a chase for history.

“If that’s something you want to accomplish, then you have to envision it,” said the Celtics captain. “You have to talk about it, and that’s something that we talk about a lot. We feel we can do that with the pieces that we have. We want to have one of the most prestigious teams to ever play the game -- not just for one season.”

Could they be more defensively prestigious, even, than the 2007-08 Celtics?

“I definitely think so,” said Pierce. “I think we’re going to be a better rebounding team, which also helps. You put a great defensive player like Rasheed Wallace down there, who covers so much space and is one of the greatest communicators in the NBA, talking on defense with Kevin, it’s going to be a great year.

“You’re already seeing signs of it in the preseason,” he said. “You see teams coming out scoring 12 or 13 points against us in the first quarter -- that’s something that we want to continue to do in the regular season.”

*********************

Best defensive teams in NBA history
By Herald Staff

OPPONENT’S SHOOTING PERCENTAGE

.402 1998-99 San Antonio Spurs

.403 1998-99 New York Knicks

.409 2003-03 San Antonio Spurs

OPPONENT’S SCORING AVERAGE

83.4 1998-99 Atlanta Hawks

84.0 1998-99 Miami Heat

84.3 2003-04 Detroit Pistons

2003-04 San Antonio Spurs

CONSECUTIVE GAMES UNDER 100 POINTS

36 Detroit Oct. 29, ’03-Jan. 7, ’04

33 New York Nov.11, ’00-Jan. 21, ’01

30 Detroit Feb. 10, ’04-April 13, ’04

[TJastal]

“Rasheed said he thinks this team can break the record they had in Detroit of going seven straight games holding a team under (70) points,” said Paul Pierce. “I was like, ‘That’s kind of tough to do,’ and he said ‘We’ve got that kind of team.’ You definitely believe.”

lol @ Rasheed

What's next, Rasheed? Lemme guess, celtics first team to go a perfect 16-0 in the post season?

[tlongII]

The problem will be that the refs will let them get away with murder at the defensive end. Boston just hacks the hell out of you and then calls it good defense.

[mingus]

i don't know whether they'll be the best defensive team in NBA history, or the team with the most wins in a season, but they'll definitely be the team that talked themseves up the most in NBA history. i guaransheed that.

[TJastal]

By the 10th game of the season, the celtics will have already lost at least 3 games already I'd be willing to bet.

Best defense ever ...

[DeadlyDynasty]

Originally Posted by tlongII

The problem will be that the refs will let them get away with murder at the defensive end. Boston just hacks the hell out of you and then calls it good defense.

OMG we agree on something


Perkins hacks the shit outta everybody, but Boston gets away with more illegal screens than any squad in NBA history. Paul Pierce draws more phantom fouls than anyone else--but good for him, he's just working the refs.

[DeadlyDynasty]

Originally Posted by duncan228

Defense won’t rest
Celtics want to be best ever
By Mark Murphy
Boston Herald Sports Reporter

Most NBA teams set modest goals. They plan to perhaps get out of the lottery or improve on last year’s win total, maybe target the playoffs. They might take aim on a divisional title.

And then there’s the handful that expect to win it all. The Celtics are back to believing that anything short of another ring will be a letdown. But they also have a secondary goal that is a little wild, a little out of the box.

“We want to be the best defensive team in history,” Kendrick Perkins said.

As evidenced by his deadpan, Perkins has no doubt that this goal is realistic.

On one level this is simply coach Doc Rivers’ latest motivational ploy, like that empty banner on the practice facility wall in Waltham and the power of Umbuntu.

The 2003-04 editions of the Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs are two of the best ever at stopping people. Each held opponents to 84.3 scoring average - a number that is third-best in NBA history. That Spurs team also limited opponents to .409 percent shooting - also third-best all-time. No team has ever held opponents under .402 percent for a season.

That Pistons squad set an NBA record by holding opponents under 100 points for 36 straight games. A month later they came back with a 30-game streak that ranks third-best in league history. That same team set a league record by holding five straight opponents under 70 points, a feat it accomplished 11 times overall.

The 2008-09 Celtics, as tight a defensive unit as you’ll find, held opponents to a league-leading .419 field goal percentage and a 90.3 scoring average. They were second, behind the Pistons, in the latter category.

The Celtics’ addition this season of Rasheed Wallace -- a pivotal member of the 2003-04 Pistons -- gives them a backup post defender of starting quality. Marquis Daniels, like James Posey two years ago, is a wiry athlete who can defend all three wing positions.

With more combinations than ever available to him, Rivers can combat a wide range of matchup challenges.

The actual goal is a nice carrot.

“I don’t mind them thinking like that,” he said. “I didn’t really make a big thing of it. I just said, ‘Guys, you have to have your goals set high.’ (Being from Chicago), I used the ’85 Bears as my example. I asked them, when you hear about the ’85 Bears, what do you think of, and they said, ‘The best defense in history.’

“It’s good if they take this seriously. I wanted them to take me seriously.”

Rivers isn’t the only one talking on a high level. Wallace, shortly after joining the team, raised the bar with his prediction that the Celtics could match or break the NBA’s single season win mark of 72.

Nor did Wallace stop there.

“Rasheed said he thinks this team can break the record they had in Detroit of going seven straight games holding a team under (70) points,” said Paul Pierce. “I was like, ‘That’s kind of tough to do,’ and he said ‘We’ve got that kind of team.’ You definitely believe.”

Can the Celtics hold opponents for an entire season to 40 percent shooting and a low 80s scoring average?

“I think so,” said Perkins, who will obviously have a lot to do with making that result possible.

But like Pierce and everyone else on this team, Perkins has bought into Rivers’ defensive mission.

“That’s a subject Doc brings up every day,” said Perkins. “That’s our goal for this year. Then the rest will fall into place.

“It’s the personnel we have that allows us to think that way,” he said. “Paul got into great shape for camp, Ray (Allen) got into great shape, we have the addition of Rasheed Wallace, Baby (Glen Davis) got into great shape. Everybody is doing everything they can to get ready. So that’s a good goal for our team.

“Everybody’s focused for the simple fact that time is short and we have a lot of work to do, and so we have to work on stuff. We do believe we can do this.”

Elbow grease, according to Garnett, as always this team’s defensive soul, is most of the battle.

“Defensively we look very good,” he said. “But so does Orlando, so does the Hawks, teams like that. But it’s what you make out of it. Defense is all effort. It’s all grit and grime.”

It’s also about belief -- a quality that appears to be in ample supply on this team of lofty aspirations.

According to Pierce, there’s a simple reason why this team spends so much time talking about a chase for history.

“If that’s something you want to accomplish, then you have to envision it,” said the Celtics captain. “You have to talk about it, and that’s something that we talk about a lot. We feel we can do that with the pieces that we have. We want to have one of the most prestigious teams to ever play the game -- not just for one season.”

Could they be more defensively prestigious, even, than the 2007-08 Celtics?

“I definitely think so,” said Pierce. “I think we’re going to be a better rebounding team, which also helps. You put a great defensive player like Rasheed Wallace down there, who covers so much space and is one of the greatest communicators in the NBA, talking on defense with Kevin, it’s going to be a great year.

“You’re already seeing signs of it in the preseason,” he said. “You see teams coming out scoring 12 or 13 points against us in the first quarter -- that’s something that we want to continue to do in the regular season.”

*********************

Best defensive teams in NBA history
By Herald Staff

OPPONENT’S SHOOTING PERCENTAGE

.402 1998-99 San Antonio Spurs

.403 1998-99 New York Knicks

.409 2003-03 San Antonio Spurs

OPPONENT’S SCORING AVERAGE

83.4 1998-99 Atlanta Hawks

84.0 1998-99 Miami Heat

84.3 2003-04 Detroit Pistons

2003-04 San Antonio Spurs

CONSECUTIVE GAMES UNDER 100 POINTS

36 Detroit Oct. 29, ’03-Jan. 7, ’04

33 New York Nov.11, ’00-Jan. 21, ’01

30 Detroit Feb. 10, ’04-April 13, ’04

I forgot how dominant the Pistons were on defense that year

[FromWayDowntown]

Originally Posted by DeadlyDynasty

I forgot how dominant the Pistons were on defense that year

And, yet, their PPG against was matched by the Spurs of that year and the Spurs' FG% against was better, too.

Not trying to be a homer -- I think I'm mostly just suggesting that the fawning over the defensive prowess of the 2007-08 Celtics was misplaced; that some pundits declared them to be, in essence, the most dominant defensive team in recent history was basically ridiculous. Statistically, that Celtics team wasn't as dominant defensively as the 03-04 Pistons, the 03-04 Spurs (or the 98-99 Spurs or the 99-00 Spurs or the 00-01 Spurs), or the 99-00 Lakers, to name a few.

[DUNCANownsKOBE]

Originally Posted by DeadlyDynasty

Perkins hacks the shit outta everybody, but Boston gets away with more illegal screens than any squad in NBA history. Paul Pierce draws more phantom fouls than anyone else--but good for him, he's just working the refs.

Agreed about the illegal screens. Every contender has something they always get away with, and the illegal screens Perkins, Davis, and Garnett set that result in Ray Allen getting wide open never get called. Guarding Ray Allen is one of the most underrated hard jobs in the NBA, especially after Garnett's injury, getting double screened by two fatasses on every play.

[Dunc n Dave]

Ageed on the illegal screens. They also get away with reaching in and slapping arms on a drive A LOT. Both times the Spurs have played in Boston there were multiple no calls against Pierce and Rondo getting all arm and no foul.

The problem is they do it so many times in a game (moving screens and reaching in), that the refs stop calling it for fear of fouling them all out. So then they just get away with everything but the obvious ones.

Adding Rasheed to that lineup will only allow them to do it more, since sending a guy like Perkins or KG to the bench with fouls won't hurt the C's with Rasheed coming in for them.

[AussieFanKurt]

Boston, becoming the greatest defence team ever. I think Griffin playing today is more likely

[poop]

the way the call the game now, we will never see those defensive numbers again. lots of new rules established over the last half decade of so, capped off by newly legalized travelling, have been to PREVENT teams like the spurs and old pistons from being successful.
they want teams like the phoenix buns, lebron running from the 3-point line to the basket and dunking without having to dribble, etc...
the days of the defensive juggernauts have been ended by the league.

[Bob Lanier]

Originally Posted by tlongII

The problem will be that the refs will let them get away with murder at the defensive end. Boston just hacks the hell out of you and then calls it good defense.

That is good defense.

[AussieFanKurt]

Theres a softish call on Pierce at 1:48 left in 2nd