Boston's switch-everything defense is finally cracking

BOSTON — For two years the answer was to switch, absorb the mismatch and trust the length. Lately the mismatch is winning.

Over the last ten games Boston has allowed 1.09 points per possession against switch-inducing ball screens, a bottom-eight mark. The season-long figure is 0.94.

The problem is not effort. It is the second action. Teams are re-screening within two seconds, and the Celtics have been late to pre-switch on the back side.

"We know the fix," one assistant said. "The fix is a communication thing, and communication is the first thing that goes in March."