![\"Boston](\"https:\/\/cdn.vox-cdn.com\/thumbor\/3i8l55ABy1opiQIiXRawE9kxVe4=\/0x0:3558x2372\/1310x873\/cdn.vox-cdn.com\/uploads\/chorus_image\/image\/72755591\/1719486263.0.jpg\")
After years of switching, the Celtics\u2019 defense should be headlined by a lethal drop this year.<\/p>\n
In five of the last six seasons, the Boston Celtics<\/a> have finished the season with a top-10 defensive rating, with the one exception being the injury-plagued, COVID-affected 2020-21 season, when they landed 13th.<\/p>\n During that time, switchability was the foundation of their defensive success. From Al Horford to Grant Williams to Marcus Smart and more, they\u2019ve had guys who can play their defensive role to perfection and guard multiple positions.<\/p>\n Heading into the 2023-24 season, they still have guys like that on the roster. But with the addition of Kristaps Porzingis, drop defense could become a staple.<\/p>\n Boston played in a drop at times during the 2023 postseason, as Robert Williams was coming off the bench, and Horford has become less switchable later in his career, and it was met with middling success. Trae Young and James Harden made them pay, nailing easy floaters or simply finding open guys on the perimeter or in the dunker spot.<\/p>\n Adding Porzingis into the mix gives Boston a whole new look on the interior.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been most impressed with [his defense]… He\u2019s doing a good job of talking to us, protecting the basket, and really staying active,\u201d Al Horford said after Boston\u2019s practice on Friday<\/a>.<\/p>\n