Celtics completely manipulated Pistons and it broke them at worst moment

The Boston Celtics completely outplayed the Detroit Pistons in the final few minutes of their game on Wednesday night, and it helped them take down the best team in the Eastern Conference. Despite Detroit’s top-five defense, Boston still managed to manipulate them, getting almost every single matchup they wanted in the clutch.

Jaylen Brown and Derrick White completely dominated the Pistons’ lineups, picking them apart and squeaking out a three-point win. A first-half contribution from Baylor Scheierman and some surprise minutes from rookie Amari Williams help lift the Celtics up, but Brown and White’s heroics finished the job in the final frame.

And they did it by relentlessly picking on the Pistons’ weak links.

How did Celtics beat the Pistons?

JB Bickerstaff was put in a pickle on Wednesday night. On one hand, he needed to defend Brown and White. On the other hand, he needed to score, as the game was neck-and-neck.

So, what choice does he make? Does he keep guys like Ausar Thompson and Isaiah Stewart on the floor to help the defense? Or does he go with guys like Duncan Robinson and Caris LeVert? Well, for most of the fourth, Robinson and LeVert got the call.

That’s where the Celtics smelled blood in the water.

Every single time they had an opportunity, Brown and White received screens to put Robinson and LeVert in the action.

In the middle of the fourth, Brown screened for White, and the Pistons switched. Tobias Harris started guarding White, and Robinson switched onto Brown. From there, Brown ran into chest action with Jordan Walsh, who was being guarded by LeVert.

Once White made the pass to Brown, who came off of Walsh’s flare screen, Robinson and LeVert were the only two Pistons involved in the action. From there, Brown made LeVert look like barbecue chicken.

Time and time again, Boston prioritized getting Brown or White on Robinson or LeVert. And when Robinson wasn’t on the floor, they still found a way to get matchups they liked.

Instead of allowing Jalen Duren to guard the rim, roaming around the baseline to play help defense, the Celtics brought him out to the perimeter at one point late in the fourth.

Detroit switched, Duren ended up on Brown, and once the Celtics star managed to get past him, there was no one left to protect the basket.

Almost every basket the Celtics scored down the stretch against the Pistons was a direct result of them picking on whatever weak link they could find on the defensive end.

And the result was one of their best wins of the season.