10 takeaways from the Celtics’ battle with the Pistons’ physicality

#1 – Kristaps Porzingis’ defensive positioning

The Detroit Pistons didn’t want to make it easy for the Celtics to keep Porzingis close to the rim, for obvious reasons: (insert video)

Therefore, the Pistons directly involved him in actions by asking his defensive matchup to set screens. Because of that, the Latvian big man was dragged out of the paint. In the play below, for example, they used a zoom action (off-ball screen and a handoff) to involve KP:

They also used movement to trick the Celtics. On a pick-and-roll, for example, when Porzingis had to step out into the driving lane to help, Ausar Thompson cut behind him:

The Celtics will need a second rim protector on the floor or better off-ball switching to keep Porzingis at the rim because more teams will start exploiting this if it continues to work.

#2 – Jayson Tatum scoring from the Spain action

When Queta and Pritchard were both on the court, the Celtics spammed the same action repeatedly. In this action, they combined Queta’s rim-running skills, Pritchard’s movement shooting threat, and Tatum’s playmaking to generate offensive synergy.

If the defense switches, Tatum can attack a mismatch one-on-one once Pritchard pops behind the three-point line to give him space. If the defense doesn’t switch and gets caught behind, Jayson Tatum can pull up from three.

Some defenses get caught giving too much space to Jayson Tatum, which he uses to drive. To sum up, this play can give the Celtics various advantages.

If the defense decides to send more pressure on the ball, Tatum can also find Pritchard for three or Queta rolling to the rim.

A very smart action to spam to get the offense going with the bench.

#3 – No rim pressure

The Celtics weren’t able to drive and get to the paint as much as they usually do. They had to deal with a very long and tough Detroit Pistons defense. Ausar Thompson led the way, making life hard for Jayson Tatum anytime he had the ball.

Per CleaningTheGlass.com, the Celtics only took eight shots at the rim last night — a very low volume of layups. The Pistons don’t have a typical rim protector, but they make access to the rim so difficult that it doesn’t matter.

#4 – Losing the possession battle

As one of the most efficient teams in the NBA, offensive and defensive rebounding is key to beating the Celtics — and the Pistons fought hard to win this battle. While the Celtics grab offensive rebounds on only 13% of missed shots, the Pistons got a board on 33% of their misses.

They brought energy and sent multiple players to the offensive boards to overwhelm a tired Celtics team. Following offensive rebounds, the Pistons exploited their advantages and made the Celtics pay for their heavy legs.

5- Taking care of the ball

The Celtics are usually the best team at taking care of the ball, but the intensity the Pistons brought last night disrupted their offense. They lost the ball on 18.5% of their possession, a critical numbers, and far behind the season average (11.9%).

On drives and post-up passing lanes, the Pistons were able to put their hands in the right places and stole the ball repeatedly.

This level of aggression caused another Celtics breakdown in transition defense. Overall, the Pistons scored 24 points from lose balls.

#6 – Porzingis post-ups difficulties

Against the Pistons, there weren’t many easy small targets, and Porzingis’ post-ups weren’t as effective as usual. The Latvian big man struggled a lot against Harris in these situations.

Plus, the Celtics didn’t do a great job managing spacing, and sometimes Porzingis was trapped in tough positions where he couldn’t take advantage of the post-up due to a lack of spacing.

Overall, this season, teams seem less scared of Porzingis’ post-ups. The Celtics might need to adjust how they use him offensively in these situations.

#7 – Jrue struggles against Cade

I was surprised to see Holiday match up with Cunningham on defense. Cade’s speed and size seemed better suited for Jayson Tatum to guard. Jrue has performed well this season against big men but appears to struggle more against quicker guards.

I think Jrue Holiday’s recent struggles might force the coaching staff to adjust how they use him on both sides of the floor.

#8 – The Thompson brothers are amazing

Watching Ausar and Amen Thompson play against the Celtics has been incredible. The twins’ body control and agility are outstanding. Last night, Ausar Thompson’s screen navigation left me speechless.

#9 – Lack of offensive juice from the stay-ready group

With Luke Kornet and Jaylen Brown out, the Celtics’ stay-ready group was expected to step up—but they didn’t. None of them scored a bucket before garbage time despite playing real game minutes.

Even Sam Hauser couldn’t keep up with Malik Beasley shooting surge — the Celtics sharp shooter only made one field goad and weren’t able to take advantage of Jayson Tatum on-ball gravity.

This isn’t problematic but serves as a great reminder that a team needs to be fully healthy to perform at its best. The Celtics are deep, but will need their 9 core players once the Playoffs will start.

These last two games were also a great reminder of Luke Kornet key role in the rotation. With Luke out, Celtics struggle to protect the rim, the pick-and-roll action weren’t as efficient as usual and as mentioned, the Celtics lost the rebounding battle — which rarely happens with Kornet on the court.

#10 – The real tests are ahead

The Celtics have built good momentum collectively, but tougher challenges are ahead. In the next two weeks, they will face the Thunder, the Cavaliers, the Nuggets, and the Lakers. Ready or not, here they come.