POST GAME DETROIT - AWAY

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Rapid Reaction: Pistons 115, C's 111

By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com

Not even a 19-point lead is safe with the 2013-14 Boston Celtics, who were outscored by 14 in the final frame as the Detroit Pistons emerged with a 115-111 triumph on Saturday night at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

THE NITTY GRITTY
Rodney Stuckey scored a game-high 26 points and made the go-ahead free throws in the final minute, while Andre Drummond put up 19 points and 20 rebounds to pace the Pistons. Jerryd Bayless scored a team-high 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting, but missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer in the final seconds as the Pistons escaped after a feverish second-half rally. Six of Boston's nine available players finished in double figures for scoring, including Jeff Green (23 points) and Jared Sullinger (22 points, 10 rebounds). Rookie Phil Pressey, making a spot start at point guard, registered his first career double-double with 12 points and 11 assists. over 36 ½ minutes.

TURNING POINT
The Celtics opened the third quarter by making five 3-pointers over the first 4:20 and twice pushed their lead as high as 19, but that advantage eroded to 10 by the end of the frame and quickly dwindled to single digits early in the fourth quarter. A Jonas Jerebko 3-pointer with 7:12 to play in the game had the Pistons out front 100-99 and capped a 21-5 burst for the hosts. The game seesawed from there, but Bayless' 3-point attempt with about six seconds to play wouldn't fall as the Pistons held on to win.

LOOSE BALLS
The Celtics dressed only nine players and were playing without three starters in Rajon Rondo (rest), Avery Bradley (Achilles), and Kris Humphries (knee). ... Boston shot 45.2 percent beyond the 3-point arc, making 14 of 31 attempts from distance. ... The Pistons outscored Boston 50-32 in the paint and won the battle on the glass 43-37. ... Detroit's biggest lead of the game was five points. ... The Pistons shot 36 free throws compared to Boston's 16. ... Chris Johnson endured maybe his worst game of the season, finishing with zero points and a blank stat line out side of one turnover over 11:32. He was a team-worst minus-16.

WHAT IT MEANS
The Celtics (23-54) lost their eighth straight game and 13th in the last 14 tries. Boston will maintain the fourth-worst record in basketball with five games to play in the season. The Celtics have three days off before visiting the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night. A back-to-back looms after with a visit from the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday before a trip to meet the Cleveland Cavaliers. 
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I escaped and spent the night in Monterey yesterday and missed the game. I'll be back home tonight.

I look forward to reading the comments and post-game thread when I get back.


bob


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As I stated on the Game-on Thread, I've seldom been as proud of the Celtics as I was last night.  Nine players, two of them recent D League refugees.  Missing their all-star PG.  Missing their starting SG.  Missing their most consistent player the only player who had a legitimate chance of challenging the Pistons bigs on defense.  Missing their backup SF.  Second night of a back-to-back (which Detroit had too, but they weren't so depleted).  In a foreign arena.

This was a game in which one's heart soared while one's head couldn't help but register growing concern over what seemed to be the inevitable.  The Celtics played the first and second quarters better than at any time this season.  They led by only three after the first, but they set the tone for the way they were going to play the game.  Phil Pressey pushed and pushed the ball and had six assists at the one-quarter point.  The Pistons’ bigs kept dropping in layups, but not because the Celtics defense sucked (which has often been the case this season).  It was simply that they are huge, especially against a Humphries-less team.  But it seemed as though, each time the behemoths scored, Phil found someone wide open—often for a three-pointer (they were 8 for 12 on threes at the half).

The Celtics were obviously outworking the Pistons from the start, and the parade of possessions on which the Pistons traded two for three had to weigh on the home team.  And weigh it did, as Boston grabbed every 50/50 ball and the Pistons looked as frustrated as a team within three points of its opponent can look after a quarter.

But, as well as the first period went for the Celtics, the second was even better.  Chris Babb dove for (and won) one loose ball that had Brad saying after the game that Babb was “getting every loose ball in sight” (although I recall only that one.  It was the kind of game in which fact could be enlarged by emotion—even in the case of Mr. Metrics.  The Detroit bigs were constantly frustrated by the defensive efforts of Sully, Bass and Olynyk (not a typo), and their effectiveness became limited more rebounding than to scoring.  But, to heighten their frustrations, the Celtics still led in rebounds at both ends when halftime rolled around and the Celtics led 65 (their highest halftime total of the season) to 55.

I recorded my favorite halftime stats on the Game-on Thread as:

• 70% of field goals assisted
• 24-17 in rebounds (11-8 offensive and 13-9 defensive
• 8 for 12 from the arc
• Only 6 turnovers despite playing with pace and swinging the ball relentlessly
 
I didn’t record their field goal percentage after the first half, but it was much, much higher than their .477 at the end of the game.  At one point in the first quarter, they were shooting 70%.
 
Anyway, they sustained their momentum during the first half of the first quarter.  I pride myself on having a lot of intuition about the game’s flows and rhythms.  And, as they achieved their second 19-point lead after a sequence that I called the “best ball movement of the year” ended in yet another Bayless three, I got this clammy feeling that this was going too well and too easily.  I detested myself as I posted, “The Pistons will obviously make a serious run.  C'mon, Celts, fight back.”  I posted that at exactly 9:05 pm.  At that point, the Pistons took a timeout; and, by 9:09 pm, the lead was down to 14, and I posted, “Here comes the Detroit run.”

What I had not expected, though was that the run was not fueled primarily by the Detroit bigs.  It was fueled by Roger Stuckey, who finished with 26 points—the great majority in the second half.  It was becoming obvious that Boston’s guards were fighting exhaustion, and offensively there were really only two of them.  No points were contributed during the game by either Babb (0-4 in 14 minutes) or Johnson (0-2 in 12 minutes).  It was lucky for Johnson wasn’t playing for a second 10-day contract in this game.

By the way, Joel Anthony did get to play three forgettable minutes, not taking a shot.  So, in this game, when offense rather than defense was obviously going to win the game, only six Celtics made measurable contributions to the offense; and all six of them—the starters Bass, Green, Sully, Bayless and Pressey plus Olynyk—were in double figures.

By the end of the third quarter, the Pistons had cut the lead back to 10—so they had played the third quarter to a 30-30 draw; and Boston’s momentum had been halted as the Pistons mounted momentum of their own.  By the way, I’m sure I’m safe in assuming that this was the first game this season in which the Celtics had three straight quarters of 30+ points right out of the box.

The fatigue factor slowly became more apparent and the reach-in fouls mounted.  One tipoff that the Celtics are tiring is that they increase their volume of three-point attempts.  And, after hitting 8 of 12 during the first half, they wound up scoring on 6 of 19 in the second half.  Some would criticize them for not driving more often in the second half; but I believe they lacked the energy to do so as the game wore on—especially with the Detroit sequoias guarding the basket.

Brad did his best to substitute freely, even giving some guys just a couple of minutes’ rest before throwing them back in.  But, about five minutes into the fourth quarter, the Pistons got their first lead.  The Celtics had every reason to accept the inevitable, but they kept fighting, trading the lead with the Pistons on numerous occasions until Bayless had a three go one-third of the way down and pop out again.  That three would have given the Celts a one-point lead with scant seconds to go.  (One-third is no exaggeration either.)  But it was not to be, and some freebies resulted in a final Pistons margin of 115-111.

But Pride, last night, thy name was Celtic.  Their work ethic in seeking the win was amazing.  They set season highs (based on my observations) in spacing the floor (truly a thing of beauty), both swinging and reversing the ball, and constantly moving on offense (once or twice, they even ran a weave).  They were completely overmatched physically on defense (the Pistons shot 36 free throws—all well-earned to 16 for the Celtics), but they were the winners in terms of grit.  It was ironic that Detroit won the game by going small.  Brad credited Jerebco as having made the pivotal plays, including a dagger three near the end.

This game underscores the value of a team’s focusing only on winning and true fans’ obligations to send the team all the positive kinetic energy they (the fans) can muster.  Who knows what far-reaching effects may eventuate from the lessons learned in this one.  Among others:

            • The value of thwarting the opponent’s defense by using pace to keep that defense from being set (R. Rondo take note)

            • The knowledge that energetic, tight team defense can reduce the effects of physical superiority among the opponent
           

            • The fact that spacing, ball movement, and player motion aren’t just chalk talk; they can lead to easier, more open shots

            • The fact that playing hard until you’re about to drop, even until the bitter end, is the only way to end the game being truly proud of yourself and your team—win or lose
 
It wasn’t difficult to watch last night and envision:
 
           • Jared Sullinger, competing against Redwoods and sometimes winning one-on-three rebounding wars, becoming a great PF complement to a rugged intimidating center
 
          • Kelly Olynyk using brains and effort to become at least a serviceable defender
 
          • Jerryd Bayless becoming a dynamic sixth-man combo guard
 
         • Phil Pressey becoming a spot and backup point guard, excelling in creating momentum for his team
 
         • Brandon Bass continuing to amp up his toughness, capitalizing on his already existing offensive steadiness by improving his handle and post-up abilities, and being able to to
         do at least a reasonable job of defending at a wide range of positions

 
        • Jeff Green becoming a force at backup three and, just possibly, without the starting pressures he how faces, ultimately emerging as an offensive leader
 
I’m not a fan of the three-point shot.  But I am a fan of having as many arrows as possible in your quiver in moments of need; and last night’s game was a moment in time when the outside game was definitely needed.

I'm proud of the fact that I could invest my time and energy in rooting, rooting, rooting for the Celtics to win a game that may have been meaningless to many but was a thrilling exhibition of potential in my eyes.  And I'm proud of the fact that I'll be rooting just as hard for the Celtics when they draft in June, by which time the order of the draft will be a fact rather than a fantasy.  It's beyond nonsense to postulate that the two affirmations of love of the Celtics must necessarily be antithetical to one another.

Go Celtics!  Now and forever!

Sam