DETROIT – For most of the first half Saturday night, Jaylen Brown seemed predictable.
Last month, in a daytime interview with NBC Sports Boston, he used the Pistons as an example of an inferior opponent Boston can beat when attacking through its bench players. The night they played the Pistons, Brown said, the Celtics could play through Peyton Pritchard and let him score 30 points or play through Sam Hauser and let him hit 10 3-pointers.
Jaylen Brown:
“The night we played, no disrespect to them, but the Detroit Pistons, who have struggled for the last year or two, we played through Payton, we let him score 30. We played through Sam, we let him score 10 threes this evening. “We are still going to win the game.” pic.twitter.com/t1Cgu6lgdI
– Oh no he didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) September 24, 2024
When back pain prevented Hauser from playing in Boston’s 124-118 victory, Pritchard opened the first half as if he could do exactly what Brown said. In his first eight minutes, Pritchard scored 16 points and hit four 3-pointers. Even one of his misses, a 27-footer with four seconds left on the shot clock, underscored his growing confidence. But he would calm down before finishing with 19 points in 19 minutes. The Celtics were down midway through the game before pulling themselves together in the final four minutes. After all, Brown will not be an oracle.
However, his comments about the Celtics’ different approaches to certain games had a deeper meaning. While the statement drew attention in part because it publicly criticized the Pistons, it only mentioned Detroit as an example of a team that has struggled recently. With a combined 31 wins over the past two seasons, the Pistons have certainly matched that mark, even if they have improved greatly this season under new head coach JB Bickerstaff. Brown didn’t want to downplay the Pistons, but he’s part of the reason the Celtics spread the wealth among different players on certain nights.
“I think that’s the power of a great team,” Brown said Saturday. “You can feel it as the game goes on, how we play, if we’re clicking on all cylinders or if we’re struggling, if we’re missing shots or if we’re a little slow. So we’ll see.” how the game is going (against Detroit), but always trying to get our guys going and get after Payton, who’s not playing (and) a little hurt, but always trying to get the guys to take some plays because that makes them best, always. I want to think about it. Can you help the people around you grow? “Those things aren’t measured by statistics, but that’s what I’ve been doing as I’ve grown in my career.”
During eight seasons in the NBA, Brown said he learned how leaders and successful teams work. You want your colleagues to feel empowered.
“It’s not just about you,” Brown said. “That’s why we have to continue evolving. The essence of a team is to bring everyone together for a common goal. So you need everyone to be who they are and do what they do at different times of the year. And I agree with that. I’m fine.”
Despite what Brown said about the games against the Pistons, Joe Mazzulla said the Celtics don’t attack through different players depending on their opponent. He said those decisions depend on other factors, such as in-game lineups, on-field collisions “and just an idea of what we can use from that point on.” He often emphasizes that his team believes success can be different every night. He appreciates that his players are open to finding different paths, rather than relying on the same formula all the time.
It’s a credit to Pritchard, Hauser and the rest of the Celtics bench that the team consistently plays the same type of basketball no matter where they are on the court. When the second unit enters the game, or when Pritchard and Hauser have to play a larger role, there is rarely an explosion.
“I really don’t think anything is going to change,” Pritchard said. “I just think we played the same way and maybe controlled the ball a little more, but that doesn’t mean we’re playing differently. The same rhythm, the same style, the same movement of the ball, everything. The same . so it doesn’t really matter.”
The Celtics also pride themselves on playing at the same level regardless of their opponent.
“We want to be consistent,” Al Horford said. “We want to play our style of game. We want to accelerate the pace and defend. We want to press. It really shouldn’t change depending on who we’re playing. “That’s who we are.”
Pritchard doesn’t always get the chance to showcase his talents, but he occasionally remembers that he can do more if the team requires it. In the 13 games he played at least 30 minutes last season, he averaged 21.0 points and 6.4 assists per game. He doesn’t come close to those stats most nights, but he knows the Celtics need him to bring out his aggression at times. This could occur when they are missing the second section of their back, are bruised, or are simply tired.
“There are certain nights where they need me to be Payton and be aggressive and all that,” Pritchard said. “And I take full advantage of that. I go out and do something. But then there are certain nights where I need to space the field and be a floor guy, a hustler, whatever that role is. It gives me that. No “It doesn’t mean he’s less of a player. And we are on a very talented team, the most important thing in the NBA is to win, so if we win, everyone will eat.”
The Celtics were almost starving against the Pistons. However, after their first close game of the young season, some Boston players were excited to face the stress. Derrick White said it was good that the Celtics were selected. Jayson Tatum said he enjoyed the testing his team did in Detroit.
“It was just fun to be a part of,” Tatum said. “Being funny when it’s not good, it’s a little ugly and it doesn’t move us and we understand it. And everyone has their part in it.”
Boston’s players might have reacted differently if they hadn’t been able to pull off a late comeback. Instead, after blowing an entire 23-point lead, falling behind in the fourth quarter and going scoreless for more than four minutes. afterThe Celtics finally got a road victory. Mazzulla believed the Pistons were the more physical team on both ends of the floor in the second half, but the Celtics found a way to come back from a six-point deficit in the final four minutes. Tatum, who played his fourth consecutive minutes of the season after winning convincingly in each of his team’s first two games, scored eight points in the final 2:13 of the game.
He was still convinced that the Nipples were no longer the same as always.
“They added some vets,” Tatum said. “They have Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway, Tobias Harris, some guys who have had success in this league and deep playoff runs with young talent. Detroit lost all of those games in a row last year, but that was because they were young. Not because they didn’t have talent. They have a lot of talented guys that compete, play hard and are physical. So no matter what your record is, we understand it’s going to be tough to get there (Saturday night). They are going to play you hard. “They have a lot of young guys last year and they have JB as their coach, I can’t wait to see what they do this year.”