Remember in the 1980’s when Wendy’s used to ask, where’s the beef? Celtics fans are now asking, where’s the D? Since the calendar flipped to 2016, the Celtics defense has gotten worse. Earlier this season, Boston was ranked in the top ten in defense. Lately however, they’ve looked anything like a top ten defense. The Celtics have given up an average of 108 points per game in their last seven games. That’s awful!

Despite their recent struggles, the Celtics have actually played pretty good team defense under Brad Stevens but you wouldn’t know it this season. One of the reasons the Celtics have struggled defensively is Stevens has changed the team’s style of play offensively. The Celtics have tried to be more of a half court team. The change in philosophy is impacting the defense, especially in transition. The Celtics give up way too many points in transition. It doesn’t help that they haven’t been a good rebounding team in years.

While I get defense is slowly becoming a lost art in the NBA, you can still play it. The Celtics need to find a way to commit to a more team oriented defensive approach. They can’t play one on one D and not communicate. Team defense in basketball is like a chain. The links need to stay intact. If they don’t, the chain breaks. Right now, the Celtics defensive chain is broken and it needs to be put back together while there is time left in the season.