Thoughts from Wizards and Pistons
A back-to-back win by an undermanned Celtics team against overmatched conference strugglers.
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Celtics beat Wizards 130-104
🚑 Injury report: Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick White
⭐ Payton Pritchard had himself a night. He ended the game with a double-double in points (14) and assists (13). He also had 5 boards and 1 steal. His assist tally was a career-high. Outside of the box score, Pritchard’s aggression on the ball and willingness to attack the paint put pressure on the Wizards’ lackluster defense, opening things up elsewhere on the court.
If you watched today’s debut episode of Mind The Game with JJ Redick and LeBron James, you will know this action is called a thumb angle. I’m going to be honest here: Outside of “Thumb Out,” which is a ball screen into a get action, I have always used PnR, Angle PnR, and Side PnR when describing these plays. I won’t change that, but I just wanted to share how excited I am about this new podcast series. I digress.
Anyway, the above clip is a great example of how Pritchard’s playmaking has improved. The Celtics go to an empty corner side PnR (Thumb Angle); Pritchard jukes his dribble a few times and drags the action out, allowing KOrnet to roll toward the rim with very little resistance. The possession ends in an easy lob. With actions like that, it’s no wonder Pritchard racked up the assists.
⭐Sam Hauser almost broke Marcus Smart’s franchise record for made 3s in a game. He would have succeeded if it wasn’t for an ankle injury in the third quarter. He ended the game with 10 made 3s and a career-high 30 points. What I liked the most about his performance was that we saw a solid blend of stationary shooting and movement shooting. I’m quickly becoming a big believer that there aren’t many better shooting specialists in the NBA.
⭐Jayson Tatum had to embrace a more scoring role in the absence of Brown and Porzingis. He didn’t let the additional scoring burden affect his ability to operate as a ball-handler or high-level help defender. Tatum has been awesome all season long. Still, seeing him lean into his offensive game a little more was nice. He will undoubtedly have games during the postseason where he has to tap into that primary offensive mentality.
🗑️Neemias Queta played 8 minutes against the Wizards. His lack of impact was disappointing. Considering he’s fallen further down the rotation since the addition of Xavier Tillman, you would hope that he was fired up to prove he deserves the 15th and final roster spot. Of course, his size and rim-running were impactful, but he certainly didn’t have the commanding presence you would have hoped for.
My take: The Celtics secured a win against a Pistons team that is better than their record. Detroit plays a physical brand of basketball and never takes their foot off the gas. Even though multiple members of the starting unit were absent from the lineup, it still felt like this game could be a potential trap game. The Celtics came out with the right mentality; other guys stepped up, and they secured a win to help extend their cushion at the top of the East. What’s not to love?
My take: The Wizards were without Kyle Kuzma and Deni Advija. If they had been at full strength, they may have had a shot at beating a short-handed Celtics team. They weren’t, and they didn’t. It’s been a forgettable season in Washington, but seeing Jordan Poole figure things out as a starter would have been encouraging — even if his long-term role in the league continues to project as a bench contributor.
Celtics beat Pistons 119-94
🚑 Injury report: Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, JD Davison and Sam Hauser.
⭐A first career triple-double for White undoubtedly stole the headlines. After a strong season, he deserved to add the feat to his resume. Honestly, it's shocking it hasn’t happened more frequently, considering the impact and importance he’s had to the Celtics roster this season.
White also played some solid defense. He guarded 21 shot attempts, holding his man to 42.9% shooting from the field and 28.6% from the perimeter. Factor in his 3 deflections and his blocked shot, and it’s clear that White provided a complete performance as he stepped into a bigger role due to Holiday’s absence from the rotation.
⭐Kristaps Porzingis returned from a five-game injury absence. His presence on the perimeter made a major impact for the Celtics, even when he was operating in double-big lineups next to Luke Kornet. Considering he’d missed a stretch of games, Porzingis showed no signs of rust and quickly got into the box score. Of course, the Pistons' lackluster defense likely contributed to his success. Still, this felt like the perfect game to ramp him back up ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks.
⭐Luke Kornet may not have impacted the stat sheet, but his movement and screening ability opened up many different things for the Celtics.
Look at how Kornet’s screening and cutting opened up the above play to generate an open 3 for Porzingis. It’s the type of selfless play that coaches love, but it often goes under the radar when watching the game in real-time. Kornet found ways to be an effective role-player throughout the game and deserves his shoutout.
⭐I couldn’t leave JB off this list. He was solid. He embraced physicality, defended at a high level, and continued to thrive as Boston's primary scoring option. His embrace of his interior and mid-range game has given Mazzulla’s team another dimension. I’m sure we will take a look back at his season at some point but now is not the time.
🗑️Svi Mykhailiuk had a tough night. Shooters are often rhythm players, so we can’t hold much against him. However, the eagerness to get his shots off and the lack of poise in his overall play starkly contrasted what we’ve become used to from this year’s Celtics team. I do not doubt that he could be an impactful floor spacer in a pinch, but I highly doubt we will see much of him once the playoffs are underway.
🗑️Oshae Brissett needs to start converting his scoring opportunities. He does a great job in providing energy on both sides of the floor, yet he continually finds ways to blow his offense opportunities. I get that putting points on the board isn’t his role. Still, if he wants to be a viable momentum changer in the playoffs, he needs to figure out how to finish around the rim; otherwise, I would expect he’s a one-and-done with the Celtics.
And just to back up this claim, here are Brissett’s numbers at each shot location and his percentile compared to other players in his position this season.
Rim: 60% (18th percentile)
Mid-range: 31% (17th percentile)
Three: 26% (5th percentile)
Again, scoring isn’t his remit, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be finishing his gimmies around the cup.
Another good win without multiple members of the rotation. The Celtics keep finding ways to win and operating with a next-man-up mentality. The execution of their set plays was crisp, their defensive rotations were tight, and they commanded the glass against a team with multiple explosive players in their rotation. I doubt we see much of Svi or Jaden Springer when games matter, but in contests like this, it’s good to get them some run and let them develop under some brighter lights — especially Springer, I like what he’s shown since being acquired at the trade deadline.
My take: Sitting Cade Cunningham was probably smart after his howler against the Miami Heat. He may have genuinely been carrying an injury, but my gut tells me otherwise. Still, Jaden Ivey is a menace and is going to be very good for a very long time in this league. I love watching him play. I was, however, shocked that Isaiah Stewart didn’t make more of an impact on offense; he’s the type of physical presence that has given Porzingis and Kornet issues in the past.
The reaction
As they do after every game, my Green With Envy cohosts, Will Weir and Greg Maneikis, went live to give their thoughts and reactions after the Pistons game. You can watch the full episode below.
Here come the Bucks
The Celtics will face the Milwaukee Bucks tomorrow. I’ll have lots of coverage heading into the game. As I’m classing it as a big match-up, I’ll be releasing my deep-dive scouting report (which will be for paid subscribers) and will be joined by The Gyro Step Podcast’s Ti Windisch and my homie Will Weir (hopefully) to preview the game in podcast version.
Then, Will and Greg will have you with a live post-game reaction. I’ll be back on Thursday morning with my 10 takeaways for CelticsBlog, and a review (similar to the ones above, but likely with more film review and stats) to break down what we saw, learned, and what can be carried over into a potential series.
If you’re wondering what the scouting reports look like, here is one I did earlier.
Some housekeeping
I’m really enjoying using the Substack app to create conversations with the subscribers. If you haven’t already, please consider downloading it and joining the discourse. Also, feel free to start your conversations there. I want to build a community, and seeing that coming to life is fun.
Also, my apologies for the two-day absence. I’m still figuring out how I want this newsletter to look, to work and what makes sense. I’ve concluded that Sunday’s will be a “no post” day. I also like the idea of every Monday being a mailbag that’s open to everyone. From there, everything else is in flux.
That’s it for today! Leave a comment and let me know what you think of the new layout. Enjoy what’s left of your Tuesday. I'll catch you tomorrow with the scouting report for the Bucks!