Rohrbach (Thread): The Celtics are saying a lot about reconnecting and rediscovering their defensive identity, but doing that b/w Games 3 and 4 of the ECF is not how that works. These are things you build over the course of an entire season.
The Celtics are saying a lot about reconnecting and rediscovering their defensive identity, but doing that b/w Games 3 and 4 of the ECF is not how that works. These are things you build over the course of an entire season.
— Ben Rohrbach (@brohrbach) May 22, 2023
by RLS012
7 Comments
Follow Up Tweet: [Brogdon said the Celtics have struggled against teams who know who they are. Left unsaid is that the Celtics don’t know who they’re supposed to be. Udoka felt defense was their identity, and Mazzulla has preached the opposite. I think we know who’s right.](https://twitter.com/brohrbach/status/1660739703224651776)
It’s a little strange that Joe has tried so hard to change the team’s identity, or at least hasn’t tried building on what worked.
He was with the team as an assistant under Ime, so he knows what that looked like.
I figured the front office looked internally for Ime’s replacement in part because it would maintain some continuity with that team identity.
Derrick was good during the regular season but they really needed to spend more time getting Rob acclimated back in the starting lineup and get that starting 5 gelling. Maybe next year!!!!
Fwiw they’ve shown dominance on the defensive side of the ball plenty this season so they’re definitely capable.
That 3rd quarter against the 76ers was a defensive masterclass that led to a bunch of easy points in transition.
They can’t be as far off as they’ve looked this series, but this 3-0 deficit looks insurmountable at this point especially with how streaky they play from game to game so I think every fan’s expectations are that we’re not going to see enough of it to matter.
It seems when Stoudamire left the team chemistry went awry.
Everyone keeps forgetting Joe lost a great assistant in March due to Damon taking that NCAA gig.
How does defensive identity help them make all those bricked shots?