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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Celtics Wire

How Jrue Holiday locking down bigs changes the Celtics’ defense

The Boston Celtics have taken a unique approach to their defense this season, with Jrue Holiday and the rest of the guards and wings taking turns focusing on guarding big men. Holiday, a 6-foot-5 guard, has been assigned to defend players like Julius Randle, Joel Embiid, and Karl-Anthony Towns. This defensive strategy has proved successful in some cases, with Holiday and Co. causing turnovers and disrupting the offensive flow of opposing bigs.

In a recent game against the New York Knicks, Jaylen Brown took on the assignment of guarding Randle, and did an excellent job, limiting Randle’s effectiveness and forcing turnovers. The Celtics capitalized on Randle’s struggles, and his poor decision-making and forced shots hurt the team. Holiday’s defense against Towns was also noteworthy, with Towns shooting just 3-of-6 while guarded by Holiday.

The Celtics’ defensive scheme seems to be effective in disrupting the offensive game of opposing centers so far this season.

The hosts of the CLNS Media “How Bout Them Celtics!” podcast took a closer look on a recent podcast; check it out above!

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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