It Was Great To See The Celtics Get Back To What Makes Them So Good In A Much Needed Win Over The Pistons

Gregory Shamus. Getty Images.

Against the shorthanded Suns, I think most would agree the effort put on by the Boston Celtics was shameful. It was another classic example of the team showing up to work and assuming they were going to win because they were healthy and the Suns weren't, and that because they are this supreme being that the Suns would somehow bow down to them.

That never happens.

Instead, the Celts got their asses kicked. They played with zero energy and effort, to the point where one of the best players on the team called it out after the game. Losses are going to happen, but they should never happen because you play with no energy and effort. That may happen a few times over the course of 82 games, so it's about how you immediate respond. Can you acknowledge your mistake and waste no time correcting it, or would you continue to let that shit build up and watch your record slide.

That's why I thought it was a great thing that the Celts were facing the Pistons last night. The Pistons play hard as shit. They may not win a ton, but they are a great example of a team that if you sleepwalk through your matchup with them, they'll catch you. Sure they may be 14-41, but the Pistons do have wins over the Warriors, Nuggets, Mavs, Heat, and Nets. The point is, they are a young team that plays hard for a full 48, so I thought it was the perfect opponent to play when your previous loss was mostly due to an energy/effort issue. Lord knows the Celts have lost to the Pistons when they've played like assholes, so before another 3 game homestand/big game with PHI up on Wednesday, this was a good opportunity to right the ship and get back to playing the way we know this team can and should play.

After their 3 game skid at the end of January, the Celts have now won 3 of their last 4, while keeping their opponent to under 100 in two of the three. Given they were without both Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown in this latest win, I'd say that's fairly impressive. 

At the end of the day, these are the games you expect the Celts to win so it's not as if anyone is going crazy for beating the Pistons, but it was nice to have a night of relief. It wasn't perfect, but a win is a win is a win last time I checked. 

Let's talk about it.

The Good

- In the blog after the Suns game I talked about how well Derrick White has been playing since basically Christmas. It doesn't get anywhere near the publicity that the play of others on the roster might get, but last night was more of the same for Derrick. As bad as his December slump was, everything outside of that has been awesome

October (6 games): 9.7/3.5/2.7 on 45/43% splits with a 59% TS%

November (16 games): 11.6/2.8/3.6 on 50/45% splits with a 66% TS%

December (14 games): 8.2/3.3/2.9 on 37/23% splits with a 50% TS%

January (15 games): 11.1/3.0/4.1n on 42/37% splits with a 57% TS%

February (3 games): 18.7/7.3/4.3 on 50/42% splits and a 62% TS%

Last night, I would argue he was maybe the best Celtic on the floor in his 37 minutes

It was a little bit of everything in his 23/7/7 on 8-17 (2-4) shooting, and on a night where the team was down 2 starters who carry a heavy amount of the offensive load, White took it upon himself right from the opening tip to be aggressive and be one of the guys who help make up for that missing production. Since Smart went down we're starting to see White call his own number more often and the results have been pretty damn solid.

Since that ORL game, White already has 2 games with at least 17 FGA. Do you know how many times that happened this entire season before Smart's injury? Just once. He's bumped his FGA from 8 a game on the season to 12 since Smart went down, and while that may not seem like a huge jump, you have to remember that there have been times when it felt like Derrick was too passive. He wasn't playing with force on the offense end like he has been over these last 7 games, so when you watch him there's a clear noticeable difference. He's attacking the paint on nearly every tough that isn't a catch & shoot open three, and as a result that's opened up his entire offense. Add in what he gives you defensively and this is probably the best stretch of Derrick's season. The shooting has proven to be real (44/37% on the season) and I thought he did a great job setting the tone early from an energy standpoint.

- Of course, it also helps when Jayson Tatum remembers to play. After his brutal 3-15 showing against the Suns, things didn't exactly start off well for Tatum in the first half of this game (3-13). What he did do was stay engaged defensively, on the glass, and as a playmaker, and then like it usually does, once he saw a three go in we were off and running

By the end of it, Tatum finished with 34/11/6 in his 39 minutes, and it was his 18 points in his 12 3rd quarter minutes that helped the Celts turn a 1 point lead at one point into a 20 point lead. I love when Tatum gets in that zone because you know everything he throws up is going in. It makes the 3-13 starts bearable because you know it only takes one for Tatum. If you allow him to see the ball go in, chances are you're going to be in trouble very quickly.

It was also pretty noticeable that Tatum made sure he set the example from an energy standpoint, even at a time when his shot wasn't falling. That is NOT what happened against the Suns, and shit like this will always start at the top. When the best player is engaged and is playing hard, the rest of the roster will follow. On a shorthanded night like this, it was imperative that Tatum show up with the right energy/effort at the very least, so it was good to see him do just that.

I also live by a rule that if you do something on a basketball court that puts you in a sentence with Larry Bird, it's a very big deal. Wre can now add this to Jayson Tatum's resume

- I sneaky loved the move from Joe where he didn't tell Sam Hauser he was starting until right before the game. Why allow for the chance that Hauser might get in his own head about his first career start? Especially a guy that might already be in his own head a little bit due to his shooting struggles?

It obviously worked, because what we saw in this game was November Hauser

15/6 on 5-10 (5-9) shooting, it was such a nice reminder of what this offense looks like when it has elite spacing and their shooters are actually knocking down their clean looks. There were a few things I noticed about Hauser in this game that we really didn't see during his struggles that I think we should put a pin in when it comes to making sure he truly snaps out of his funk

If you remember early in the season, Hauser thrived as a spot up shooter. It was a pretty simple formula, the ball handler would drive into the teeth of the defense, draw help, and then find Hauser in the corner or on the wing where he didn't even think about hesitating, he just let it fly. The results spoke for themselves. Then as the year went on, we saw Hauser take way more shots coming off screens where maybe his feet weren't always set. In this game, it was that same simple formula. Almost all of Hauser's 3s came off penetration, where his feet were already set and he just had to catch and let it fly.

All of his 9 3PA were via "catch & shoot", and 3 of his 5 3PM came from the corner. On the season, Hauser is shooting 41.2% on catch & shoot 3PA, and from the corners, he's shooting 39.3%. If you want Hauser to snap out of his funk give him catch & shoot looks from the corner. The Celts did, and the results speak for themselves. 

- It's also pretty easy to tell when the Celts are playing the right way simply be looking at their assist totals. During their bad losses, we saw them unable to top 19 assists. They go back to back iso habits, guys take poor shots, everyone panics and tries to stop runs themselves rather than loving and trusting their teammates, it stinks. Against the Pistons, the Celts were back up to 25 for the game. Four players had at least 3, two starters had at least 6, so it should surprise no one that the Celts finished with 47/43% splits and 16 3PM. That's Mazzulla Ball folks.

Move the ball (25 assists), let it fly from deep (37 3PA and 16 3PM), play defense (99 points) and take care of the ball (11 TOs). That's Mazzulla Ball. Whatever we witnessed against the Suns was far from it.

- Watching Robert Williams play basketball is such a blessing. He's someone who I never have to question in terms of energy and effort, Rob cares. Rob brings it every second he's on the floor, no matter what may have happened to his knee. It's everything you want from a core player, and once again Rob delivered

I don't care how old you are, or what era of Celtics basketball you grew up with, you have never seen a Celtic do what Rob pulled off last night. That's pretty crazy when you think about it. Usually, that stuff is reserved for Tatum and Brown, and here comes Rob just doing cool shit on a nightly basis. 

This was a game you expect Rob to dominate in terms of impact given who the Pistons have in the frontcourt, and right away it was everything we love about Rob. Huge blocks, lobs, protecting the glass, offensive rebounds, moving the ball, energy, and effort, it was all great. Honestly, on a night to night basis I feel like Rob is one of the few players who you can never be mad at. He shows up and he plays hard every single night. It's what makes watching him so much fun.

- On a night when no other bench pieces really showed up, that was not the case for Malcolm Brogdon. He was another guy that was going to have to step up with Smart/Brown out, and after what I thought was a pretty shitty showing against the Suns, this time around was much more in line with what I expect

Brogdon was efficient at 5-10 (4-6) in his 25 minutes, but it also felt like he was much better at balancing the line between scorer/facilitator. He was 3rd on the team with 4 assists and it was nice to see him get back to finding that chemistry with Hauser, and I also liked that his minutes were relatively low at 25. I didn't expect that given who was missing, but I'll take any opportunity I can get where the Celts don't also have to overextend Brogdon's minutes. 

The Bad

- As I've said before, Al Horford really cannot do much wrong in my eyes. Whatever he is giving me at this age is fine by me, and we all know he's coasting against the shitty teams so he can be locked in and fresh for the big matchups. That's what this game was for me when it comes to Al. I know he was coasting and I also don't really give a shit. 

His 1-6 (1-4) shooting wasn't great, and honestly, his shot has been a little broken for a while now. Since Smart went down, Al is shooting just 29/33% in those 6 games which is pretty fucking terrible. You'll remember he was awesome in that Warriors win, but since then it's been pretty gross. We're at the point now where about 95% of Horford's FGA are 3PA, and right now that shit is flat out not dropping. My guess is that probably has a lot to do with the Celts 3-3 record over those 6 games, and if it were anyone else I'd be much more upset about it, but it's Al. I know I can trust him when it matters most so who really cares how he's shooting in a random early February game.

Doesn't mean I can lie and say his shot has been good though. It's been brutal.

- Because these are the Boston Celtics and they enjoy stressing us the fuck out, it wasn't at all surprising that we saw their 23 point lead get down to 7 points. If you're still trusting Celtics 20 point leads, that sounds like a you problem. Read a book for me one time. Shit like the Nets win are the exception not the rule. This team gets up by 20, don't you dare exhale. You really should know that by now so if that upset you last night I dunno what to tell you.

For me, it was more frustration than surprise. Why make things harder on yourself? Everyone is so bent out of shape about resting Tatum, you know what helps? Not having to put him back in the game for the final 8 minutes of the 4th quarter because everyone else can't hold onto a 20 point lead.

Up 18 heading into the 4th, it was a 10-3 Pistons start before you knew it. This wasn't even a situation where Joe didn't take timeouts to stop the runs. He did! Even after that happened the non-Tatum group still couldn't figure their shit out so Joe had no choice but to go back to Tatum. That's the stuff that annoys me. He did enough to build the lead, fucking hold onto it. 

- When the bench scores 21 points and 16 come from one guy, that is what I would call bad.

- Didn't love how the Celts weren't really able to keep Jalen Duren off the offensive glass. I think sometimes when Rob is facing a super athletic center he too often tries to outjump them as opposed to just being a normal person and boxing out. I'd say against most centers Rob will be able to outjump them, but these high energy young bigs are the ones I think Rob needs to put his ass on first. Too many times we see him lose tip rebounds to those type of active bigs, and Duren (5 OREB) was everywhere last night.

- What the hell is up with the Celts making Killian Hayes look like an All Star? The guy had 17 points in his last like month of basketball, yet both times he plays the Celts he goes nuts. No offense but the kid can't shoot for shit, even if this is a breakout year for him, and yet he gets whatever he wants when facing this defense. I know there was no Smart or Jaylen, but that was far too much Killian Hayes for my liking. Guy averages 9 a game and had like 15 the first time they played and 17 last night. It can't be that hard to shut down Killian Hayes.

The Ugly

- 2 points in 2 games for Grant is simply not going to cut it. He's too important to the team to continue to no show like he has recently and to finish with 2 points and 3 rebounds in 20 minutes while going 1-4 was pretty terrible. I'm all for standing up for Grant and talking about his value and why he's an important piece, but that also requires him to ya know….actually do shit.

I can't defend cardio minutes. If you aren't going to score, you aren't going to rebound, and your defense is going to kind of stink, I'm not sure what you want me to spinzone. I know there's a good player who is valuable to what the Celtics do, I just haven't seen it in a long time.

Since that TOR win where Grant carried the Hospital Celtics, he's averaging 5.3/3.9/0.7 on 35/35% splits in 26 minutes a night. That is no way to earn yourself the money you want this summer Grant. Please be better.

So now we turn the page to tomorrow night and the Sixers. This will be the first time these teams have played since opening night, and the Celts now have an opportunity to take a 2-0 head to head lead and build their lead to 4 games if they are able to handle their business. Philly has been playing well, Embiid has been at an MVP level, and you know they'll be motivated to close the gap. The Celts need to start taking care of these home games after dropping the Knicks and Suns games, and beating the Sixers is a great way to get back on track. 

Love and Trust.