CelticsBlog

You'd think that an all-world defensive team with veterans galore wouldn't have problems with stuff that's taught at the high school level, but you'd think wrong.

Too many things have been getting past Celtics - The Boston Globe

"We just worked on a lot of defensive stuff because the dribble penetration is just crushing us, so we just showed film of the last three games,’’ said Rivers, whose team faces the Pistons in Auburn Hills, Mich., tonight. "You don’t have to talk a lot. Guys have the ball square up, and then the guy’s driving. You see the big running over to help and it’s either a foul, it’s a layup, or it’s an offensive rebound. "I don’t think it’s that hard to figure out. We just have to do a better job on it.’’ The fault lies with the guards and the big men. The guards aren’t stopping the dribble penetration or the big men aren’t talking on defense, such as calling out a pick and roll or whether the screen is even coming. The silence on defense is a primary reason why teams are scoring at ease down the stretches of critical games.

I think this team really just lacks focus, which you can translate into mental toughness (see Bulpett's article) or whatever you want to call it. They just need to get it or they won't go far.