The Celtics took sole possession of the East’s 2-seed last night due to the Raptors’ razor’s-edge loss to the oft-hapless Orlando Magic. Keeping it would require beating a wildly uneven Detroit Pistons team–before this Wednesday’s pivotal showdown with Toronto. Frustrating defense by Boston made the contest much closer than it should’ve been…but Isaiah gonna Isaiah, and he kept his team in the top echelon of the East.
THE GAME FLOW
The Pistons’ primary attributes–size and rebounding–have been hard for the Celtics all season. Detroit took advantage, getting and maintaining a slim lead through most of Q1. There’s simply no one on this team who can contest Andre Drummond at the rim, so if the Celtics let him get there, he’ll almost always score. Combine that with Brad Stevens starting the all-firepower/questionable D lineup of Isaiah, Jaylen Brown, Jae Crowder, Jonas Jerebko and Al Horford, and…you’ve got trouble brewing. Four turnovers in a quarter is suboptimal, y’know?
But Detroit looked lost on their own defensive assignments. And the Celtics’ one immutable advantage–depth; the Pistons bench isn’t “short” but rather “fucking Lilliputian”–had the greatest chance to be decisive. Indeed, in Q2, Boston’s floor-spreading bench contingent of Kelly Olynyk, Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier allowed for movement that Detroit couldn’t easily counter, due to their limited substitution and switching options. (With about three minutes to go before the half, the Boston bench had scored 22 of their 45 points.) No individual player truly caught fire, but the team basketball was on point, even tightening on the defensive end after a difficult early stretch and ending 24 minutes of ball with a 54-46 lead.
Neither squad came into the 3rd with particular urgency–both scoring only six points in the frame’s first four minutes. But Stevens wasn’t panicking, knowing he simply had more available moves than his counterpart Stan Van Gundy. Detroit shot hideously from deep–3 of 27 all told, with 16 straight misses at one point–and mediocre overall at 40 percent. Only Drummond eating with impunity at the bucket kept them in the game. On the Cs’ side, Isaiah Thomas put his usual work in but Crowder’s sharpshooting, another well-rounded Horford performance–highlighted by two vicious dunks in the first half–and Smart’s all-over defense and playmaking truly sealed the deal. (We’ll get to that quarterback pass to Crowder later on.)
At the start of Isaiah Time, the Celtics held an 11-point lead, which got cut to 5 and then evaporated due to the immovability of Drummond and the inexplicable midrange-chucking being called Ish Smith. (TNT commentator Kevin Harlan’s weird fixation on Smith’s buckets was undeniably entertaining, to be fair.) While I.T. scored dependably, he made two clumsy fouls–both on 3-point attempts by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the second one a bit questionable, and the Pistons suddenly remembered how to shoot, hitting about 80 percent in the 4th.
And yet: Isaiah Time couldn’t be denied. He had 17 after 3 quarters…and ended the night with 41. Some almost-clutch work by Tobias Harris and KCP kept it close, but Boston skated away with the game, 113-109.
This game, frankly, should not have been close. The Sacramento goddamn Kings wiped the floor with Detroit. Letting Andre do his thing at the rim is one thing–a team, like a man, has got to know their limitations. But there’s no excuse for allowing all of these midrange shots and not contesting them enough that they become efficient. Tobias Harris shouldn’t ever look like DeMar DeRozan.
Whatever I’ve criticized about the Celtics performance here, the clip below showcases, in 11 seconds, everything they did right–the fluid, communicative team basketball that allows for D to turn into a bucket.
Amir with the block, Marcus with the pinpoint pass and Jae with the finish! https://t.co/QB00jDk9Yr
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 31, 2017
It seems like Detroit has exerted just enough pressure to ruin the possession–but Amir Johnson and Smart hold their men back, Horford shakes enough space for himself to make the clean pass, and the King in the Fourth does the rest.
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 31, 2017
THE GRID
Isaiah Thomas: Well now. 41 points, 0 boards, 8 assists, and 2 steals. (Also 3 turnovers and a -11 due to his defensive miscues. Nobody’s perfect.)
Al Horford: While he caused 3 more of Boston’s 9 turnovers, Al made up for it with efficiency from all sides–13 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 blocks.
Jae Crowder: Jae’s shooting and hustle ended up being a significant factor in this win, with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 0 assists and a steal.
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