We Thankfully Live In A World Where The Celtics Avoided Becoming The Biggest Laughingstock In The NBA

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Well, that certainly could have been a disaster. There are of course two ways you could look at last night's OT win over the now 28 losses in a row Pistons. For some, it may have been a shock to see a team that hasn't been able to win for 2 months go into the toughest building in the NBA (15-0) and nearly beat the best team in the NBA (24-6). Vegas certainly thought this was going to be a blowout, most fans who don't watch a lot of Celtics basketball probably thought this was going to be a blowout.

Then of course there are Celtics fans. We've seen this movie a million times before, especially when it comes to losing games you shouldn't against the Detroit Pistons. Deep down in our guts, every Celtics fan knew that something like last night was possible. In fact, a game like what we got was pretty much expected. You were crazy to be anything but on high alert heading into this matchup. If there was going to be a team that finally broke the Pistons losing streak, even I can admit it would have been very funny for it to be the Celts given their history.

I think part of it is the fact that we all have PTSD from the 2019-21 years. Did you know the Celts have now won 7 straight against the Pistons, and 8 of their last 9? It sure doesn't feel that way, but that's because we all have mental issues when it comes to this team

Remember that 2022 loss by 1 point right before the trade deadline? Boy was that embarrassing. 

Well when a team has lost 27 in a row, being the one to snap that streak is taking things to another level. Especially with how the Celts have looked to start the season. On some level, it was comforting to know that even with this new mix, even with this new staff, the Celts are still the same old Celts at their core. They absolutely refuse under any circumstance to ever do things the easy way. I swear, nobody puts you through hell quite like the Boston Celtics over the course of 2.5 hours. It's why we love them and hate them all within the span of 4 quarters. They can look dominant one minute and then be down 21 points to the worst team of all time (record-wise) the next. It makes no sense, but then all the sense in the world all at the same time. 

In the end, disaster was avoided. Boy would the internet/TV have been brutal today had the Celts dropped this game. And hey, I'm sure there will be some slander out there by upset fanbases that the team and Jayson Tatum are better than their favorite team and favorite player, but at least now those people are going to be crying about a win. 

Oh, the Celtics had to go to OT against the Pistons??!?!?!

Yeah, and they won. So why exactly am I supposed to give a shit? Do they get less than a full W in their schedule? No? Oh, OK then who gives a shit. I care about stacking wins right now, however they choose to happen. 

The Good

- What I do know is that as long as Kristaps Porzingis is in the lineup, the Celts are going to stack a whole lot more Ws. Every second we can watch this man play basketball is a gift from the Basketball Gods, and the way KP dominated the Pistons was pretty much the same way he's been dominating any opponent he's seen this season

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10/10 no notes performance from KP. None. Not a single one.

35/8 on 13-21 (3-9) including 11 huge points on 4-7 (2-4) in the 4th quarter, this was or latest example of how devastating Porzingis can be to opposing defenses. He's just way too goddamn tall. What exactly are you supposed to do with this?

Brian Babineau. Getty Images.

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Brian Babineau. Getty Images.

He's a cheat code. A real life basketball cheat code. Someone who can score efficiently from all 3 levels, someone who terrorizes switches to the point where he ranks in the 98th percentile in the NBA in post ups, he has the confidence and the skill to let it fly from 30ft in big moments only to hit nothing but net, he protects the rim at an All NBA level, and maybe most importantly he's completely bought into how the Celts want to play/use him. 

When we talk about needle movers on this team, the discussion starts with Porzingis, and that continues to be backed up seemingly every time he suits up. I don't want to sound dramatic or anything, but the KP post up on a switch at the FT line is literally changing my life. There's no defense for it! Even if you have 2 or 3 guys surround him in an attempt to contest the shot, KP just turns around and shoots over them as if they weren't even there. It's incredible to watch.

Not only that, but if you had any concerns over his calf injury, we're currently watching KP sprint up and down the court like a gazelle. He looks healthy, and we're learning that a healthy Porzingis is an unstoppable basketball force on both ends of the floor. 

A game like this showed why this new addition is so important. Guess what? There are going to be nights where the Celts shoot like dogshit from three and Jayson Tatum can't make a jumper to save his life. In those moments, for the Celtics to still find a way to be successful is being able to attack a defense in a different manner. That is now what they have with Porzingis, and it just so happens when he does attack, it's either coming from around the FT line or in the paint where he's WAY FUCKING TALLER than anyone else trying to defend him. When he turns and goes up for this shot (which he does a lot)

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it feels like I'm watching a dad bully his kids in the paint. Any time I see a shot like this, my brain immediately assumes it's going in. Welcome to the element the Boston Celtics have not had on their roster since Kevin Garnett. What happened the first year KG showed up? Interesting. 

- The first 24 minutes of this game was some of the worst basketball I've ever seen Derrick White play. I mean truly awful stuff on both ends of the floor. The Pistons' offense got whatever they wanted at the rim, and then on the other end, there was no real flow to Derrick's offense. He couldn't buy a bucket and when he wasn't missing he was turning it over in ways I didn't even know Derrick White knew how to turn the ball over. I'm still a little surprised any time he makes a mistake, so that first half was a tough watch.

The good news is there are two halves to every basketball game. That's important because 2nd half Derrick? That guy was a monster

First half? 2 points on 1-5 (0-1) with 2 TOs and a -16 in his 13 minutes

Second half? 21 points on 8-10 (2-3) with 0 TOs and a +24 in his 24 minutes

I'm working on a theory when it comes to Derrick White. Not that he should be an All Star or All NBA Defense (again) or anything like that.

I think Derrick White has the clutch gene. 

The bigger the moment gets, the more pressure that builds up, the better he seems to get. Now remember, not every NBA player has the clutch gene. But when your roster has a player who does, it changes everything. It gives you a confidence in these big spots because somehow someway, this guy figures out a way to make shit happen. 

When it comes to Derrick White, the evidence is becoming overwhelming. Of course, the first thing that comes to my mind is what should have been one of the biggest shots/moments in Celtics franchise history

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But, ya know.

Then I look at his execution down the stretch in this game, and I can't help but think Derrick White (Bald Edition) is one of those guys who has the clutch gene flowing through his veins. Just go down the list of how the Celts closed this game. After their massive comeback in the third quarter, the Celts needed to get off to a good start in the fourth. What did we see?

White pullup FGM at 11:35. Then a White layup at 11:05. Then another White layup at 10:44. So right off the bat in this massive quarter, Derrick White is the guy putting everyone on his back to get the Celts off to a good start, building up an 88-84 lead. Then you had the massive block on Jaden Ivey in transition at the 7:13 mark, so now he's making clutch plays on both ends of the floor.

He wasn't done of course, blocking Ivey again in a 103-100 game at the 2:13 mark, which is what sparked the transition Porzingis 3 to put the Celts up 6. Another massive play in a massive moment. I will say his lack of a boxout on Bogdanovic in the final seconds was pretty brutal and not very clutch, but in typical Derrick White fashion, he immediately made up for it.

Now in OT, who is going to step up and carry the Celts over the finish line? OT is basically an entire "clutch time" situation, and wouldn't you know there was Derrick White with 10 points on 3-3 (1-1), and 3-3 from the FT line to seal the win. Clutch. The dagger three off Tatum's post up? A big time shot in a big time moment. That wasn't the first time this season we've seen White make that type of shot in that type of spot, and I'm pretty sure it won't be the last. 

- A lot of people will look at Jayson Tatum's 11-31 (2-11) and say he played poorly in this win. That would be incorrect. He shot poorly, but he played well. 

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Let's start by being honest. This shooting is beyond unacceptable. I wouldn't even say this is all that rare at the moment either, which is the larger issue. Tatum is shooting just 40/30% over his last 9 games, and I think we can all universally agree that is nowhere close to good enough for a player of his shot volume and overall importance.

Now, the difference is if Tatum is still going to find a way to impact the game at a high level, combined with the offensive leaps of guys like Porzingis and White, the Celts are better built to sustain these types of efficiency dips. We're getting the same old pre-Spring Tatum in terms of his shot selection, and every time he does that we see his efficiency take a dive. I really do think if he just lowered his tough shot attempts by 2-3 a game, it would make a world of difference. Whether that's low percentage pullup 3s, or contested midrange, it just feels like right now he's relying too heavily on tough/low percentage looks.

As a catch & shoot guy, I still have zero concerns. On the season Tatum is shooting 42.5% on C&S 3PA. That includes the 29% on C&S he's been at over this 9 game stretch. The fact that the Celts are still winning games despite this brutal shooting is pretty damn encouraging.

I'm also not really going to complain about 31/7/10 with 5 steals. The fact that this is the type of performance that earns Tatum slander just confirms to me he's really made it. Yes, I would like him to shoot the ball better, but let's not act like we've never lived through a Tatum in December before. If his "bad" nights look like this, then I'd say that's not too shabby.

- Coming out of the half down 19 points, in my brain I thought for the Celts to win this game they had to have things under 10 by the start of the fourth. Getting things in single digits and making the Pistons prove they could execute on the road down the stretch was my thinking. What I did not expect to see was the Celts erase that entire deficit in 12 minutes. Based on what Porzingis said, everyone from Joe on down to the players knew the deal

The result was a fairly insane third quarter

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As with any comeback, it starts on the defensive end. You get stops which allows you to score in transition which is what gets the crowd energized and the next thing you know the opposing team starts to get tight. It's not a complicated formula, but you have to execute it. If you can't get stops/force turnovers, nothing else really matters. 

Holding the Pistons to 35/25% and forcing 5 TOs checks those boxes. Next comes the other end. Playing the right way, moving the ball, you essentially have to be flawless to come back from as high as 19 points. You can't waste possessions. So what do we see? 65/50% splits, 8 assists on 13 FGM, and 20 of the 35 points were scored in the paint. Beautiful. 

- Really solid showings from Holiday and Horford as well, both with their fair share of big moments down the stretch. Al with his 3s, Holiday with his defense and then the AND1s by taking it to the rim with purpose. Nothing really forced from either guy, each filling their role in the exact way the team needed at any given moment. 

The Porzingis/Tatum/White's might get most of the shine, but I thought both Holiday and Horford were just as crucial to this win in their own way. For this team to reach their ceiling, that means you have to thrive in whatever your role might be in that specific game. Last night, they were connective pieces that were presented with big opportunities late in this game. They both delivered.

- This is now back to back wins when the Celts shoot under 33% from deep. Just pencil that down because that might be the biggest development of this entire season.

The Bad

- Everything about having to be in a close game with the goddamn Pistons. It's annoying that heading into this game every Celtic fan was sort of convinced a performance like this was going to happen, and then it actually happened. What happened to just being able to get jokes off on the internet? That doesn't mean you go out and actually do that very thing. Even without Jaylen Brown, what are we doing here? Would it have been so hard to show up, step on some throats, and take the 4th quarter off given the fact that the Celts have a B2B today?

This isn't to discredit the Pistons, they whooped that ass over the first 24 minutes. Make no mistake, that was a full on ass kicking on both ends of the floor. What's annoying is that it was the exact start all of us had been fearing for days leading into last night. 

Very unserious behavior and I can say with certainty that the brand of basketball we saw in the first 24 minutes of this game leads to a 20+ loss to any team that isn't on a 28 game losing streak. Lazy passes, settling offensively, no flow or movement, zero defense, I mean that was as gross a brand of basketball as we've seen the Celts play this entire month.

- A big part of how this roster is constructed is that the bench shooters need make their open 3s. With a 2-10 performance from Pritchard and Hauser, that didn't exactly happen. 

With Hauser, the return home didn't really snap him out of his funk. We're now at just 17.4% from deep over his last 5 games for him. A brutal 4-23 which is by far his longest slump of the season. The only thing you can do is keep shooting with confidence because the tides will turn back, but man has he been going through it.

With Pritchard, things aren't nearly as bad, with him coming in at 45.5% from deep over his last 5. The reason that might feel a little off is because he's just 3-12 (25%) over his last 2 games.

- I mean listen, we have to put Tatum's 11-31 (2-11) somewhere. Do I love this shot chart?

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Eh, it's hard to say by this graphic because it all comes down to what those attempts looked like. I certainly don't love all those misses at the rim, and I would imagine nearly half of those 3PA were ones that most people would consider not the best look.

- If Kornet is healthy, I'm not really sure why he was out of the rotation. I get wanting to reward Queta for his effort and his rebounding, but the defense is still very very far away. I thought him getting 19 minutes and Kornet a DNP-CD was interesting, mostly because I didn't think Queta was all that good. 

Perhaps this was all because of the B2B tonight and Luke having to play heavy minutes, I'm just curious why Kornet has seemed to fall out of Joe's rotation entirely if he's healthy given he wasn't all that bad in his 3rd big role, especially in a game where Queta isn't doing much outside of fouling.

- Call me crazy, but being up 6 with under 2 minutes to play needs to be a win in regulation. A bad AND1 foul on Jaden Ivey attacking the rim backed up with leaving a corner shooter for a game tying 3PM. A 6-0 Pistons run in the final 30 seconds. Had Cade Cunningham hit his buzzer beating 3, the Celtics lose a game they had a 6 point lead with under 2 minutes to go.

That is unacceptable. 

I don't know if there was a lack of mental focus or what, but remember, this is the same team that blew the 7 point lead with 3 minutes to go against GS, and here they are blowing a 6 point lead with under 2 to play. They really need to figure out these end of game lapses after they work so hard to establish that lead. Stop immediately giving it back.

The Ugly

- Horrendous stuff on the glass in this game. When you're playing a bad team, there are certain things you can do to give them life and help them play with confidence. Those would be turning the ball over and allowing 2nd chance points. If you take those things away from the Pistons, they aren't good enough to hang around. If you fuck around and get careless and lazy, that is exactly how you get uspet.

So what did we see? The Pistons had 17 points off turnovers, 19 OREB and 31 2nd chance points. In the 4th quarter alone, the Pistons finished with 8 OREB and 13 2nd chance points. It's how they nearly came back and won the game. The fact that even with 2 big lineups on the floor the Celts STILL couldn't rebound the basketball is very pathetic. Frankly, it's losing basketball. At these huge moments of the game, in no world should the Pistons be quicker and more aggressive to the ball. It's winning time, and that means clean defensive possessions. Allowing OREB after OREB which all seemed to lead to 3PM is not a sustainable way to play down the stretch of a game. 

We know this because it's how they've lost pretty much every game during the playoffs. All those series that went longer than they should? Look at why. Offensive rebounds and 2nd chance points.

The good news is the Celts avoided disaster and the train keeps on rolling. 24-6 and a rather impressive 15-0 at home, we now turn the page to the Raptors and a chance to make this 5 wins in a row. Another team that will be aggressive on the offensive glass, let's see how the Celts respond now that they'll once again be shorthanded.