A beginning 5 shakeup and a giant sport from Jaylen Brown couldn’t ship the Celtics their first victory of the season.
With rookie Hugo Gonzalez getting the beginning nod over Sam Hauser, Boston constructed a commanding lead within the opening 10 minutes however couldn’t maintain it in a 119-113 loss to the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Enviornment.
The defeat dropped the Celtics to 0-3. It’s the primary time they’ve opened a season with three consecutive losses since 2013.
Brown, who was listed as questionable with a hamstring damage, led all scorers with 40 factors on 12-of-25 capturing, going 5-for-9 from 3-point vary and 12-for-15 from the foul line in his most efficient outing of the younger season. Payton Pritchard chipped in 21 factors, a team-high 10 rebounds and 4 assists.
As was the case in Friday evening’s loss to the New York Knicks, defensive rebounding was a major problem for Boston. Detroit racked up 18 offensive boards (together with a complete of 12 by Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson) and 30 second-chance factors, and used that dominance on the glass to stonewall a late-game comeback try.
The Celtics will shut out their three-game street journey Monday evening in New Orleans, the place they’ll face the Pelicans in Boston’s first back-to-back of the season.
The 19-year-old Gonzalez, who impressed Friday in his NBA debut, turned the second-youngest participant ever to start out a sport for the Celtics (solely Jayson Tatum was youthful). His job, head coach Joe Mazzulla stated after the Knicks sport, is to “defend on the highest of ranges,” and he was instantly impactful there in opposition to Detroit.
Drawing the project of guarding All-Star level guard Cade Cunningham, it took Gonzalez simply 46 seconds to file his first block of the sport, then one other 40 seconds to notch his first steal. A minute later, he drew an offensive foul by working via a Duren display, then picked off an errant Duren go for his second steal.
With their teenager setting the tone defensively, the Celtics smothered the Pistons’ offense within the opening minutes, racing out to a 14-2 lead. They led by as many as 17 within the first quarter, getting 10 factors from Brown and 10 extra from Payton Pritchard to energy that early surge.
The Pistons closed the primary quarter on a 10-2 run, nevertheless, then continued to chip away at Boston’s lead within the second. They erased it earlier than halftime, with Duncan Robinson’s 3-pointer making it 59-58 Detroit with 43.7 seconds remaining within the first half.
What brought on the Celtics’ cushion to evaporate so shortly? Two issues which have hindered them in all three video games this season: shaky 3-point capturing and poor defensive rebounding. Boston shot 4-for-14 from three within the second quarter and surrendered 5 offensive boards within the body, resulting in 10 second-chance factors for Detroit.
The Celtics entered Sunday ranked second-to-last within the NBA in 3-point capturing proportion and defensive rebounding proportion. They’ll seemingly battle on the defensive glass all season given their personnel — the injured Jayson Tatum was their prime rebounder a 12 months in the past, and their revamped frontcourt lacks each dimension and top-end expertise — however their roster nonetheless options a number of completed 3-point shooters, most notably Pritchard, Derrick White and newcomer Anfernee Simons.
The issue: All three have been chilly to start out the season. Pritchard, White and Simons are a mixed 19-for-75 (25.3%) via three video games. They had been 7-for-27 on Sunday, together with one other uncharacteristically erratic effort from White (3-for-11), who set the Celtics’ single-season franchise file for made threes final season.
Gonzalez’s effectiveness additionally waned after his sturdy begin. He was a team-worst minus-11 within the second quarter and was phased out of the rotation after halftime. Although the feisty wing has potential as a high-energy disruptor, the truth that he’s already beginning at this level in his profession says extra in regards to the state of Boston’s roster than it does about his personal abilities.
Fouls turned a serious difficulty for the Celtics within the third quarter, throughout which they despatched Detroit gamers to the free-throw line 16 instances. The Celtics stated in coaching camp that they’d be extra keen to foul this season with a view to create extra turnovers, however many of those whistles had been the results of poor paint protection, not unsuccessful gambles. Duren, the Pistons’ beginning heart, drew 5 fouls within the quarter, together with three capturing fouls.
Down 94-81 getting into the fourth, the Celtics obtained a spark from Josh Minott, who was a wholesome DNP in opposition to the Knicks two nights earlier. The athletic wing picked Cunningham’s pocket and drew a foul in transition. Then, he hit a nook three, swiped one other steal and scored layups on back-to-back possessions, together with an and-one end.
Minott’s flurry helped the Celtics trim their deficit to single digits. Pritchard’s driving layup made it a one-possession sport with 3:21 to play. However Boston’s defensive rebounding deficiencies thwarted its comeback bid.
After Pritchard’s bucket reduce it to 109-106, the Pistons proceeded to seize one other 5 offensive rebounds and rating 4 second-chance baskets on the rim.
Different observations:
— Celtics large man Luka Garza returned after lacking Friday’s sport with a concussion. He was considered one of Mazzulla’s first subs, checking in for Neemias Queta halfway via the primary quarter. Garza logged 12 minutes and was a minus-12, ending with as many fouls (4) as factors and rebounds mixed (4).
— Ahead Xavier Tillman and wing Jordan Walsh had been DNP-CDs within the loss. It’s been a forgettable begin to the season for Walsh, who’s performed simply two complete minutes throughout three video games.
— White was T’d up for arguing a third-quarter foul name. It was simply the second technical foul of the mild-mannered guard’s NBA profession.
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