Celtics masterful switching defense on display in 20-second sequence


Brad Stevens really hates size mismatches. Terry Rozier is the smallest player on the floor for the Celtics, and Brad has found ways to counter defensive switches where Terry gets caught guarding a much bigger opponent - which in this series often means Lebron James.

The brief sequence in the tweet below really puts the Celtics masterful switching defense on display. To no one's surprise, Al Horford directs the entire process.

Cleveland seems to be attempting a screen that that will shed Semi Ojeleye off Lebron James and force Terry Rozier to pick The King up. That part worked as planned for Cleveland.

The rest of their plan did not work so well. Lebron passed to Tristan Thompson who then passed to a teammate near the 3-point line, and Al sagged off Tristan. When the opportunity presented itself, Horford directed Terry to back off Lebron and Al took over the defensive assignment.

Horford was in Lebron's shirt out by the 3-point arc in the corner and forced a long 2-point shot that failed. Boston got the rebound and started their own offensive attack. The entire sequence, seen below, took roughly 20 seconds, but it demonstrates the effectiveness of Boston's switching defense and the team's ability to counter size mismatches. We will see much more of the same tonight at TD Garden.


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Photo via Maddie meyer/Getty Images North America