10 takeaways from the Celtics’ defensive breakdown against the Pacers

#1 - Indiana aggressive from the jump

The Indiana Pacers learned their lessons from the previous game and went at the rim this time. On December 27th, Indiana had only 15 attempts at the rim and generated only 9 shooting fouls. Last night, they generated 14 shooting fouls and 27 shots at the rim.

While the Pacers turned on the aggression, the Boston Celtics reverted to bad habits. They weren’t driving much, didn’t generate many rim attempts, and only made 12 free throws. In a game where the shooting went cold, they paid the price for their lack of aggression and let the other team set the tempo and play in their own pace.

We also noticed that the Celtics didn’t run their offense as fast as…