Celtics go cold again, fall to top-seed Pistons: 7 takeaways

The Celtics made a number of pricey errors and missed quite a few pricey photographs en path to a 112-105 loss to Cade Cunningham and the Pistons on Monday, dropping their second straight loss on the heels of their five-game successful streak.

Listed below are the takeaways. 

The Celtics merely missed too many photographs

After Thursday’s abomination in opposition to the Bucks, Celtics followers may need been hoping to see the taking pictures numbers swing again to regular, however after a good begin (5-for-11 within the first quarter), it fell off a cliff once more. 

As a crew, the Celtics completed 10-for-39 (25.6 p.c) and went 1-for-18 from deep within the second and third because the Pistons constructed a four-point benefit going into the fourth. The general taking pictures numbers had been really bailed out a bit by three powerful makes within the fourth—two by Derrick White, one by Jaylen Brown—however the recreation ended with an appropriately disappointing thud: On a make-or-break possession down 5 with 45 seconds left, Payton Pritchard airballed a 3-pointer, and the Pistons held on for the win.

As soon as once more, almost everybody was at fault (aside from Sam Hauser). Brown was 1-for-5. Anfernee Simons missed all 5 of his makes an attempt. Josh Minott and Baylor Scheierman had been each 0-for-2. Payton Pritchard was 2-for 8. White was 5-for-12, which is sweet in a vacuum (41.7 p.c), however he missed some unhealthy ones too. 

The Celtics held on admirably by way of the third quarter, however the Pistons had wrestled management of the sport away by the tip of the interval. You possibly can’t get away with a 1-for-16 stretch from three in opposition to most groups within the NBA, and the margin for error turns into minuscule—and maybe nonexistent—in opposition to a crew as gifted on each ends because the Pistons. 

“This recreation, I believed we executed,” Joe Mazzulla mentioned. “Thought we bought some actually attractiveness. I believed we didn’t make them. […]

“I believed it was a greater course of tonight than it was previously recreation, for positive, I believed they only made some extra performs than we did down the stretch.”

Jaylen Brown missed so many free throws

With out Brown’s offensive brilliance (34 factors, 13-for-25 taking pictures), the Celtics would have been cooked lengthy earlier than Pritchard’s airball, however that has been the case all season. Because the Celtics bricked and bricked their means by way of the center 24 minutes of the sport, Brown’s skill to get wherever he wished saved the Celtics alive. 

Sadly for the Celtics, Brown’s free-throw taking pictures—which has hovered round a career-high 80 p.c all season—crashed on the worst doable time. Brown took benefit of a grabby, reaching Pistons protection and earned 14 journeys to the free-throw line, however he solely made seven of these makes an attempt. That quantity is stark on its face, and the ultimate rating casts it in a fair much less pleasant mild: The Celtics misplaced the sport by seven, and whereas a 14-for-14 night time would have been outstanding for anybody (particularly Brown), an 80 p.c night time would conservatively have given the Celtics three additional factors down the stretch, which might have totally modified the complexion of the sport. 

Brown’s shot-making was as high-level as ever—among the first- and third-quarter buckets he muscled in had been as troublesome as you will note on the NBA stage—however in a season the place we sing his praises seemingly each recreation, it’s price noting when his uncommon missteps are as pricey as Monday.

“Particularly within the fourth quarter, just a few mindset performs,” Brown mentioned. “Foul. Staying down on the shot pretend. Had a turnover within the fourth, after which simply too many missed free throws. Simply mentality-wise, mindset-wise, I wanted to be extra for my crew. I wasn’t tonight.”

Cade Cunningham is a killer

The Pistons have been percolating for some time, and Cunningham is the engine that makes every thing go. 

On Monday, the 24-year-old guard made a season-high six 3-pointers in a 32-point outburst, and his offense down the stretch put the sport to mattress. With lower than two minutes remaining, he scored twice on White—as strong and stalwart a defensive guard as exists within the NBA—and he had White stumbling and off stability on the second. 

Cunningham is almost as gifted as Brown at attending to his spots, and he’s surrounded by high-energy, extremely athletic wings and a pair of bruising bigs that take up a ton of house once they roll off his screens. 

The Pistons hit a number of large photographs—Celtics killer Caris Levert saved the Pistons afloat when Cunningham went to the bench, and former Celtics guard Javonte Inexperienced hit a pair of massive zone-busting 3-pointers (in addition to one of many higher dunks you’ll ever see over White), however Cunningham appears like a celebrity hitting the very starting of his prime as his crew surges into a brand new period.

“He’s elite,” White mentioned. “He’s actually good at basketball, and his dimension and he shot it properly at the moment too. I feel each recreation goes to be troublesome attempting to gradual him down and clearly he made some large performs on the stretch.”

Derrick White saved the Celtics alive (however turned it over)

Much like Brown, White had a giant recreation—31 factors, 10-for-18 taking pictures—however he had 4 pricey turnovers, all working within the pick-and-roll because the ball-handler. The Pistons’ physicality forces groups to show the ball over, and the Celtics solely completed with 13, however the 4 every by Brown and White had been pricey. 

Nonetheless, like Brown, White saved the Celtics afloat within the fourth when the sport threatened to get away with a number of large photographs. He scored 14 of his factors within the fourth on 5-for-9 taking pictures and hit three 3-pointers at a time when the Celtics wanted threes like a drowning man wants a life raft. 

“He’s simply assured,” Payton Pritchard mentioned. “He’s been there so many instances, so it’s nothing new to him. He’s a ball participant.”

Sam Hauser sprained his ankle

Hauser has had a tough week: After going 0-for-10 in Milwaukee, he sprained his ankle within the first half of Monday’s recreation. Including insult to (literal) harm, Hauser was unable to get off the ground for a few possessions and was compelled to hobble up and down the ground till the Celtics lastly managed to get a sub within the recreation. 

The Celtics’ wings didn’t contribute a lot. Hugo González really appeared like a rookie in opposition to the Pistons, whereas Josh Minott tossed up a pair of doomed 3-pointers and did little else offensively. Jordan Walsh picked off a pair of eye-catching steals, however he was in foul hassle early on an evening once they wanted large minutes from him in opposition to Cunningham (though Mazzulla famous that almost all of Cunningham’s offense was out of the pick-and-roll, quite than attacking a matchup, which is why he felt comfy with Anfernee Simons enjoying down the stretch as an alternative of Walsh).

The Pistons’ bench outscored the Celtics in whole 47-14.

“It’s important to make them to ensure that the bench factors to rely,” Mazzulla mentioned. “So we’ve bought to make the open appears. Like I mentioned, I believed we bought some actually attractiveness. I believed the method of it was good. We simply didn’t make a few of them.”

The Celtics had been good in isolation (as ordinary)

Thanks in no small half to Brown, the Celtics are one of many NBA’s higher groups at scoring in isolation (eightieth percentile), and so they had been strong in opposition to the Pistons on Monday—1.5 factors per possession in single-coverage isolation, in response to Synergy Sports activities. Brown and Anfernee Simons (9 factors, 3-for-9 taking pictures) had been each capable of assault and get into the paint particularly—Brown attacked Pistons ahead Duncan Robinson with specific enthusiasm, whereas Simons put in three extremely contested photographs at and across the rim after blowing by his defender.

Iso offense requires a selected, extremely gifted personnel offensively, however the Celtics are fortunate sufficient to make use of a number of gamers who can profit from it—particularly Brown, who averages 1.01 factors per possession in iso conditions (83rd percentile league-wide), even with the large quantity of utilization he has taken on this season.

Towards an aggressive protection, having the ability to rating in isolation is a present. If the Celtics had paired it with higher 3-point taking pictures, they very properly may need overwhelmed the Pistons for a second time in as many months.

What’s subsequent

In case you loved this transient return to Celtics basketball after three days off, don’t get too excited: You’ll have to attend till Friday to see them once more once they face the Warmth at TD Backyard. That begins a flurry of video games after this sleepy stretch: On Saturday they return to Toronto to tackle the Raptors earlier than returning to TD Backyard to tackle the Pacers for his or her third recreation in 4 nights.