Observations from Celtics/Pistons

The Boston Celtics kept it pushing despite Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday being sidelined.

Game notes & observations

• Boston’s double-big lineup limited the Piston’s interior scoring. Jalen Duren, Jaden Ivery and Beef Stew were all kept quiet.

• The above clip shows the value of having two interchangeable bigs defend the paint. Al Horford gets beaten off the dribble, and Kritaps Porzingis steps up to defend a potential shot but gets taken out by the step-through; Horford is there to clean up with the block.

  • 33.8% of the Celtics points came from within the paint, marginally better than Detroit’s 31.7%. Boston’s rim protection — 7 blocks as a team and countless deterred scoring opportunities — helped make life tough for the Pistons whenever they got paint touches.

  • The Celtics contested 25 2-point shots, 13 of them came from the bigs in the rotation. Porzignis had 5, Kornet had 6 and Horford had 2.

  • Each of the Celtics bigs recorded a boxout — which I’m sure is tracked poorly by NBA Stats — KP had 2, Kornet and Horford had one a piece.

• How long until we have a serious conversation over Derrick White’s value to the Celtics and where he ranks among the most important players on the roster? He ended the night against the Pistons with 14 points, 11 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks.

  • He also led the team in shot contests (12). He had 8 while defending twos and 4 while defending 3s. He also led the team in deflections with 5 — which we all know I value highly.

  • White consistently finds different ways to showcase his value. Now, I’m not saying White is more important to the roster than Tatum, Brown or Porzignis…But what I am saying is that he may be just as important as those three. I’m not sure there’s much of a counterargument, either.