The Detroit Pistons started 2021 in an exciting and nerve-wracking way with a 96-93 victory over the Boston Celtics. Detroit led the Celtics by 21 at one point, and they needed almost everything to stop the Celtics.
The Pistons came out of nowhere and punched the Celtics. Detroit was without Blake Griffin (in concussion), but their ball moment, shooting and defense shot early on all cylinders. Detroit forced seven turnovers in the first quarter and chased the Celtics out of pocket five times.
Jerami Grant chased Detroit by 10 points and the group shot 12-out-24 overall in the opening frame as the Pistons were 15 at the end of one.
The second quarter was a 28-28 draw. The Celtics only boiled down to about four minutes in the half, as Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown enforced the action with their excellent play and penetration skills. Marcus Smart did a bit of everything and was the Celtics’ best player in the half. Jeff Teague was also positive for the Celtics, and he scored eight points on four shots and did a solid job, winning some minutes normally after the injured Kemba Walker.
The Celtics beat the Pistons 33-24 in the third quarter and drew within six minutes with 12 minutes of play. Jayson Tatum took over. Jaylen Brown took over. They got any shot they wanted and got a whole bunch of it in the paint. It was a clinic of offensive aggression and excellent one-on-one play.
The assault of the Pistons really got stuck and no one, with the exception of Saddiq Bey and his shooting outside, had much of anything going on.
The Celtics took control of the fourth quarter from the start with a few Tatum tries, but the Pistons did not fall back, sharpening the defense and doing just enough on the back of Derrick Rose and free throws by Bey and Mason Plumlee. Jaylen Brown had a decent look with a few seconds left to level the game, but made no connection.
Detroit was led by Jerami Grant by 24 points, though he needed 24 shots to get it thanks to no refs love on many drives in the paint and an overall fight in the perimeter. Saddiq Bey, meanwhile, scored five of his eight three-pointers and dropped a free-kick from the cup en route to 17 points. Isaiah Stewart added eight points and five rebounds and a lot of energy.
The Celtics were led by Tatum (28 points) and Brown (25).
Detroit is unbeaten in 2021, people.
Here are some additional thoughts on each piston tonight:
STARTERS
Killian Hayes
Hayes had some good series leading up to the secondary break, but otherwise he struggled some on defense and with his jump shot (both dribble and catch-and-shoot). According to my score, he had at least three very decent looks, but he missed some of them badly. I’m glad he did not hesitate to take this look. They will soon be down for him.
Saddiq Bey
Bey got his second start of his career and did not disappoint. Bey defends well enough on the perimeter with good lateral movement and positioning.
In the first half, he had some dubious and extravagant series when he tried to get his man off the dribble, but as many of our fans have already said, you have to LOVE his confidence. He’s 21, but just a rookie.
In the third quarter, Bey scored three tries when the rest of the team was pretty cold.
Josh Jackson
It was not Josh’s best outing, but he did make some impressive plays in the first half that helped Detroit gain their big lead. Josh is so smooth and can get his own chance almost anytime. The most important key that moves forward is shooting choice, ball safety and defensive consistency. Josh has a lot of room to grow and I expect great things from him.
Jerami Grant
Jerami played fantastically in the first half with 18 points on a combination of smooth and powerful drives, plus some rhythm jump shots. The second half was shooting-wise struggling (AND he barely got a call to go his way), but Grant mostly played a solid individual and team defense. Are we all starting to realize that this guy is pretty good?!?
Mason Plumlee
Mason quietly had a monster match within 30 minutes. He is skilled, a good team defender and hit a key free kick in the fourth quarter to put the good guys over with three seconds while the Celtics wait on possession. Five of Plumlee’s 17 rebounds were offensive.
BANK
Delon Wright
A mostly quiet match on both sides for Delon. He made some nice defensive plays and forced his man into tough shots – although on the other hand – if I remember correctly – both his turnover was cruel.
Derrick Rose
Rose scored 11 points in the first half, but a few times had the normal turnover that was out of control, causing us all to scratch our heads powerfully. He pulled up a very tough quick attack, just under the arm of a backlog Tatum. Rose finishes with 17 on just 12 strokes. While Hayes has struggled so far, Rose needs to be excellent for the team to have a chance to win a few games.
Isaiah Stewart
Stewart grabbed six strong plates in nine minutes in the first half and also scored two buckets, with almost a third dancing. He contributed another good nine-minute inning in the second. Isaiah seems to take the backup minutes with everything he has. His physicality is obvious and I’m sure the coaching staff will allow him a longer leash with his overall effort. Beware if he starts jumping and making shots (he has the ability).
Svi Mykhailiuk
Svi scored some difficult tries within 18 minutes (3-out-6 overall). He has not yet found his groove and maybe in this team. His shooting is invaluable and he just has to do other things on a decent track to keep getting minutes.
Sekou Doumbouya
Sekou had some nice looks but did not make any money. His highlight was in the fourth quarter with a turbulent pass at halftime to a rear-end Stewart, who eventually scored a three-point game while Big Stew worked on the free throw.
The Pistons take on the Celtics again Sunday afternoon in Detroit.