The Boston Celtics refocused on offense this year, which ultimately took away from the defensive end of things for the team entirely. If you’ve followed the team all season, then you watched it happen right before your eyes… the defense fell apart or “let go of the rope” as the team says.

Malcolm Brogdon watched this team from afar last season and was impressed with the collective unit running on both ends of the court, holding the No. 1 ranked defense and top offense in the NBA, which landed them in the Finals last season.

After the Celtics lost Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals to Miami, Brogdon— who only played seven minutes— told the media the Celtics steered away from a winning method that they had last season.

“It was the issue. This was a team last year that prided themselves on defense. Defense was their calling card. And then this year, offense was our calling card, and I don’t think you win championships with the better offense than you have defense.”

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla leaned hard into his own coaching philosophies, focusing on 3-point shooting and offensive effort-metrics he finds vital to winning games. As a result, Boston shot 42.6 attempts from behind the arc in the regular season, the second most in the league. 

“We were the best offensive team in the league, for sure. You talk about the ways we can score, our versatility on offense, really one through seven or eight. I thought we had the versatility and the talent defensively, but on any given night, we just let go of the rope and had a lot of breakdowns on that end.”

Brogdon isn’t wrong. The Celtics need to get back to having a strong defensive mindset and balance it with their offense, both of which can be elite if done properly.

The thing with Brogdon saying this is that he’s not the same defensive player he once was and has taken steps back on that end of the court. 

Mazzulla needs to welcome a defensive presence next season for the Celtics to get back to their championship ways. 

Follow us on Twitter @CelticsFiles

Photo Credit: David Butler II, USA TODAY Sports