Post Game - Celtics at Detroit Pistons - Saturday, October 26 (W)

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401704655

Weird but necessary game.  DET wanted to play.  They were tired of looking at/hearing about the writing on the wall for the rest of their season and played like it.  While we started out well and as expected, DET kept punching.  Great lesson for us that wound up not costing us.  Huge steady punches of defense at the end won this game for us.  Plain and simple.  Any given Sunday, any night...Playing against their peers.    

I saw only the 2nd half but saw we were up by 20 in the 2nd quarter.  But here is what I saw and surmised.

1.  We don't realize this yet, but it is nice to have our defense to fall back on.  This will become glaringly apparent come playoff time as once again, new guard challenges our old guard maxim that defense wins championships, not more scoring.  DAL will learn this the hard way as they added Klay and may not even get out of the first round this time.  Charles is right on this.  6th, 7th, 8th place finish for them.  Read 'em and weep, DAL.  

2.  We got bullied and punched back.  This is what you want to see.  If this team has grit.  Check.  

3.  I may say this after every game, but Derrick White is RIDICULOUS!!  And I mean that in the most gratuitous, loving way.  He's everywhere.  Johnnie on the spot, whatever you want to call him, he's it.  Hope his ankle is OK.  If he is ever out of the line up for any extended amount of time and we start losing, there's your sole reason why.  Let's hope we never have to see that.  

4.  Joe shortened the bench to almost playoff rotation.  Guess he had to because we didn't hold the lead.  

5.  DET shot better than us, (49% vs. 42%) but we made * more 3's (22-14) and at a better clip, 56%-35%.  Yet another way not to lose.  You remove losing from the equation and you have nothing but winning.  Hmmm.  3-0 so far.  Joe is brilliant.  

6.  This is what the league is going to give us every night.  We're defending champions.  Act like it.  And they did.  A little adversity never hurts anyone.  I should know better.  I need to quit panicking at times.  My bad.  

7.  Everybody and shoot 3's now.  That secret is out.  It's just can you do it for 4 quarters.  We can.  

8.  We need the fly swatter back if for nothing more than 28-56 points in the paint.  That will flip/reverse when he comes back.  In the meantime, Kornet, Al Queta and Tillman better step the eff up.  They better be EXTREMELY embarrassed with that performance.  At damn near 61, I could have scored in the lane in that game.

9.  I'd hate to be MIL right now rolling into Monday.  That's all I'm sayin'.  They are coming in off a B2B vs. BKN and we should be pissed after Saturday's showing.  Or at least Joe will be.  I'm on it, dboss.  Topping off the gas tank of the steamroller for another run Monday.  It needs a name...    

db

Joe must have loved this game.  It had all the things he wants.  We looked good, we executed, we went up 23 points with 5 1/2 minutes left in the 2nd.  We also lost our composure, gave up half that 23 point lead to only be up 11 points at the half.  We went up 16 early in the 3rd but couldn't hold it and, by the end of the 3rd, was only up by a single point.  Adversity, Joe lives for it like we live for oxygen.  We were down 6 with 3:50 left.  Jrue with a couple of big 3s.  Jaylen with some big rebounds.  


A great example of how stats don't necessarily tell the tale:  Jaylen with 24 on 6-24, 3-9 from 3, but 10 rebounds and 5 assists with only 2 turnovers but his rebounds in clutch time were HUGE.

And what a block at the rim by DWhite on Cunningham with :50 left and the score 116-114 Boston!

Only 10 turnovers. We're still doing much better than last year in that department.





Bob


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All of us have been contemplating how the Celtics would handle adversity.

Remember last season when the Pistons embarked on an extended losing streak and we did not want the Celtics to break that streak by losing to them. We won that game.

Well last night the Celtics won their 10th straight against the Pistons.

I browse through the box score during the game.  D White had just 4 points at halftime and Jrue was scoreless.  With the game on the line they put their stamp on this win.

Jaylen Brown struggled shooting the ball however his defense with the game on the line was first class.  He finished with 10 rebounds and 5 assists and 9/10 from the charity strip.  He knocked down all of his free throws with the game on the line.  

AH had a really good game while scoring 17 points and shooting 5/8 from deep.

Overall the Celtics continue to put forth a deluge of 3 point shooting and finished at 22/48 or 46%.  

I do have a few questions about this game.  Did anyone noticed that CJ only played 8 guys?  That is a playoff rotation.  When AH sat they played Tillman and Kornet.

Kornet was horrible in 19 minutes with ZERO points and 4 boards and 2 brain fart turnovers.  Tillman was not much better in 18 minutes of playing time.  He scored 3 points with 3 rebounds and 2 steals.  Our rotation bigs were not particularly effective in defending the paint and rebounding the basketball.  Detroit with s a huge PITP advantage 56-28 and they won the rebounding battle by 7.

I do not like the pattern that seems to happen over and over again where a guy plays really well or not so well one night and gets a DNP the next game.  (Queta 12 pts and 7 rebounds vs Washington)  Also PP had a strong first half last night but we had no other guard/wings guys who played.  With Sam Hauser out for a second game, there must be a next man up protocol.

Do not get me wrong, as I am very happy going 3-0.  I just think the rotations were whack.

JB, Jrue, and DW were CLUTCH in the clutch. So happy to see them pull this game out. I wrote 19-1 to start, Glad the 1 was not last night.