[pjdoug]

The Celtics get after it defensively. Minnesota grades really well in the metrics and usually looks the part (but they have had a favorable slate to do it against). You can see five guys on a string if you ever catch either of them on. Wolves are actually playing at a historical adjusted defensive pace right now-- Gobert and Towns are 7'0+, McDaniels is 6'9, and Edwards is a 6'4 athletic freak, so they can make it a long night with all that length funneling everything to the rim. 

Heat usually scheme well and have line-ups that can give the opposition fits. Milwaukee also has a lot of size, length, and athleticism that can shut you down for stretches... they've been horrible so far this season but are starting to play better. Clippers have some good individual defenders like Kawhi and Westbrook to make up for Harden.

A lot of it is just going to be match-up dependent too though.

Most people see the high scores in NBA games and forget that there's an extra two minutes per quarter (on top of their 24 second clock). With the differential in talent levels, that can mean many more points regardless of how well someone defends.

They need to get after it a lot more. They shouldn't be losing  games with the offense they have.

If the "getting after it" was a reference to the Celtics, they are 64-18 and are the runaway favorites to win the title in Vegas (but I'd concede that this is partly due to their conference). For comparison, the '16 Warriors were 72-9 and the '96 Bulls were 72-10.

Playoffs are always a different animal, but Boston is top 5 in the league in both advanced offensive and defensive ratings.

I wouldn't confuse them with the 2004 Pistons, but they defend well enough to win a title with the road they'll have.

I've been a Celtics fan since I was a little kid. They rarely hold a team under 100 points. That's the type of defense being played in the NBA today. Didn't this year's All-Star game have almost 400 points scored in it?