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BOSTON — The Celtics did not hold much back in their showdown with the East-leading Pistons on Monday night.
With plenty of rest before and after the matchup (three days) due to the NBA Cup, Joe Mazzulla treated this matchup like a playoff game with his rotation. Jaylen Brown played a season-high 41 minutes and Derrick White was not far behind with 38. Mazzulla opened the fourth quarter with his entire starting five in the game, briefly resting Jaylen Brown three minutes into the frame as Brown played 21 minutes in the second half.
The Celtics brought everything they could to the table with its healthy roster, although an ankle injury to Sam Hauser loomed large as the swingman played just four minutes before sitting out the remainder of the loss.
However, the matchup was a reminder of the best the Eastern Conference has to offer Boston right now as trade season begins. Boston fell to 1-2 on the season against the Pistons with the 112-105 defeat but there was a consensus that this game resembled a playoff contest.
A rugged Pistons squad brought the physicality for the matchup against the 15-11 Celtics but Joe Mazzulla believed his group was up for the challenge.
“I thought we answered the call,” Mazzulla said. “I think they’re one of the bigger, more physical teams in the league. I think we’re right there. Obviously there’s four or five possessions, some of the live ball turnovers, but I liked our mental toughness. I liked our physical toughness throughout the game. I think what we can learn from this one is continuing to maintain those things, and then just have our execution on both ends of the floor. So I thought we met that call tonight.”
There were some learning moments for younger members of the Celtics roster. Josh Minott and Hugo Gonzalez were benched in the fourth quarter after turnovers that came in part from Detroit’s physicality. Those issues were a reminder of how young this team really is beyond the starting five, which undoubtedly will weigh into Brad Stevens’ decision on whether to invest more into this group for the present.
Mazzulla preached a positive message though for this team amid those bumps in the road.
“Josh is, as we talked about before, he’s learning to play different positions,” Mazzulla said of sitting Minott late. “He’s not necessarily a five-man, but he’s going to be matched up with different guys. But games like this, I thought tonight had a playoff-type feel to it, and games like this call for another level of physicality that we have to be able to get to. So it’s just teaching moments there, and I think more times throughout the game, we’ve met that challenge, and we have to continue to do so.”
Ultimately, it was Boston’s shooting that proved to be the difference as the Celtics hit just 25.6 percent of their 3-point attempts including just 5-of-28 after the first quarter.
“Some of the shots are wide open and we missed them,” Derrick White said. “That’s basketball. Obviously they’re a really good team and playing well this year. Their physicality and pressure kind of makes those happen sometimes, but, sometimes it just is the game.”
With two straight losses, Boston is showing some of their first turmoil of the past month but Stevens also got a reminder Monday night of just how unpredictable youth can be in a physical matchup. Boston’s bench mustered just 14 points in the loss combined with veteran Anfernee Simons getting the nod over 21-year-old Jordan Walsh for much of the fourth quarter with the starters in place of Walsh.
Ultimately, this team will need help beyond Jayson Tatum to hold its own against the Pistons and other top squads in the East. Monday’s loss was a signal that this team isn’t that far off from putting up a real fight when both teams are locked in.
“I thought we battled,” Payton Pritchard said. “I thought it was like a playoff game. It was a good game in general, so something you learn from and grow and keep getting better.”