The Boston Celtics are one of the NBA's best defensive teams, and among the reasons for that success is their abundance of quality perimeter defenders.
One of them got a special shoutout from an elite scorer Tuesday morning.
Mavericks superstar point guard Luka Doncic revealed his top-three perimeter defenders before Game 1 of Dallas' Western Conference semifinals series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Included in that ranking was Celtics point guard Jrue Holiday.
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Holiday is a tremendous defensive player. He has the instincts, smarts, athleticism, physicality and versatility to defend multiple positions at a high level.
Add in his leadership qualities and championship experience from the 2021 Milwaukee Bucks, and you have a very valuable player who has given the Celtics a little more tenacity on both ends of the court this season.
Holiday isn't the only high-quality perimeter defender on the Celtics roster, though.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown also have made great strides defensively since entering the NBA. But the best of the bunch might be Derrick White, who ranked second among all guards in blocked shots during the regular season and has a strong chance to make one of the All-Defensive teams for the second straight year.
Game 1 of Celtics-Cavs at TD Garden is set for 7 p.m. ET with coverage starting at 6 p.m. on NBC Sports Boston's Celtics Pregame Live.
