Other than a major injury to one of their top players, it's tough to picture a much worse start to 2021 than the one experienced by the Celtics (3-3 overall, 1-2 away) tonight as they fell 96-93 to the previously winless Pistons (1-4 overall, 1-2 home) at Little Caesars Arena. Side topic: who knew a crappy pizza chain from the 90s had enough money to buy a professional sports arena? On the other hand, it's Detroit. The Pistons' best player power forward Blake Griffin was out with a concussion (and the fact that he's any NBA team's top star in 2021 is mind-blowing) so the Detroit starting five and bench were littered with a bunch of nobodies, has-beens, never-weres and never-will bes. Boston must have underestimated Detroit since they decided to skip the first quarter as they were outscored 27-12 in the opening 12 minutes. The C's fought their way back from a 21-point deficit (35-14) early in the second quarter but they predictably unraveled at the end, getting outscored 8-0 in the final 4:14 as they bricked shot after shot (0-for-11 from the field in that woeful span).
It's one thing to lose to the Nets (3-3) or the Pacers (4-1)-two quality teams in the Eastern Conference who will be in the playoffs this season-but the Pistons are clearly tanking to get the highest lottery pick imaginable in the 2021 NBA Draft. They must not have gotten that memo in time for tonight's game though since power forward Jerami Grant had a team-high 24 points (including a dunk on poor Daniel Theis) while rookie shooting guard Saddiq Bey added 17 points, seven rebounds and two steals, center Mason Plumlee had 17 rebounds which is absurd, small forward/noted bust Josh Jackson notched 11 points and even the ghost of Derrick Rose (17 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals) was at his 2021 best in 24 minutes off the bench.
The Celtics are nearly unbeatable when power forward Jayson Tatum (game-high 28 points, 6 rebounds) and shooting guard Jaylen Brown (25 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks) each score 25+ points in the same contest but this bucked that trend since the rest of their teammates combined for only 40 points. Tatum and Brown aren't immune from criticism though since both missed what would have been tying three-pointers late in the fourth quarter. Point guard Marcus Smart (13 points, 9 assists, 3 steals) missed a pair of three-pointers of his own and a runner during that icy stretch for Boston. Six guys played off Boston's bench but only point guard Jeff Teague (12 points, 2 steals) and power forward Grant Williams (8 points, 5 rebounds) managed to score a single point from that group. Detroit's terrible bench outscored them 36-20 which makes me want to cry.
Last time I checked, this still only counts as one game but it's about more than that: every team has down nights in the NBA but the truly elite clubs almost never perform like this against an opponent that should be way below them. The C's came in 3-2 so I don't know how they could have been so full of themselves but it feels like the only explanation for that New Year's hangover in the first quarter. Without such a mess of a start, they would have rolled (as Vegas expected them to since they were favored by 8 points coming into the game which is a huge line for a road team) to an easy win. Both teams scored 28 points in the second quarter then Boston outscored Detroit 33-24 in the third quarter and 20-17 in the fourth quarter but it wasn't enough. The Pistons hit three more three-pointers (11-8), six more free throws (13-7) and they grabbed three more rebounds (48-45) including six more offensive boards (13-7) than the Celtics.
Just like last week when they lost their first game in Indiana, had a day to stew on it then recovered with a victory in the rematch, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens better hope that the same formula applies this time as well. Getting swept by the Pistons and falling back under .500 would be very depressing. Only five people might watch it live but just so you know, the Celts play again at Detroit on Sunday afternoon (3, NBC Sports Boston) right smack dab in the middle of the final day of the 2020 NFL regular season. Patriots (6-9) vs. Jets (2-13) is unwatchable so hopefully you have NFL Red Zone, that is no doubt your best sporting option on Sunday afternoon.
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