There was a lot to unpack from the Celtics' opening-night collapse against the Pistons, but I keep coming back to the fact that they were beaten soundly on the glass. Winning the margins and the possession battle was what we’ve heard about all offseason, and with the adjustments to the scheme and the changes in personnel, this group was supposed to rebound as well as anyone in the league.
But at least in game one, that wasn’t the case at all, as Boston was outrebounded by Detroit, 59-45, including 14-12 on the offensive glass. That’s not a recipe for success for this team at all, and we saw the result: a blown 22-point lead and an 8-point loss.
Robinson and Queta were MIA on the glass
Obviously, rebounding isn’t all about the big men, but they play a massive role. Neemias Queta was one of the breakout stars of last season, proving he’s more than capable of being an NBA starter. On top of that, the Celtics went out and added Mitchell Robinson, one of the most coveted free agents on the market and one of the best rebounders in all of basketball.
Neemy was a plus starter last season, while Robinson was more of a bench energy guy for the Knicks, but Joe Mazzulla chose to flip those roles, having Mitch start at center. The result? Both played pretty poorly, and there were certainly no signs of the massive rebounding edge we had hoped for.
In 18 minutes, Robinson had just 3 rebounds and only 1 offensive board. Queta played 22 minutes in relief and secured 4 rebounds, with 1 being offensive. Luka Garza also got involved, playing 8 minutes and pulling down only 2 rebounds, both offensive.
Celtics' bigs got bullied by Duren and the Pistons
So, if you’re doing the math, in 48 minutes of center play, the Celtics got 9 rebounds: 5 defensive and 4 offensive. And that’s not going to cut it. Not by a long shot. And for his part, at least Robinson seems well aware, a message he relayed to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.
“I got my a** kicked on the glass. I can’t have no starts like that... I gotta compete better. I feel like I didn’t compete at a high level that I normally do, and I was kind of slow on a lot of things.”
In his defense, Robinson rolled his ankle very early in the game, but he stayed in and seemed to be moving fine, confirming he was okay after the game. I can appreciate him taking ownership of the poor play, but he - along with Queta and Garza - needs to go out there and prove it on the court.
I have no doubt that these guys will figure it out, and I still expect the Celtics to be an elite rebounding team on both ends, led by their centers, but this was certainly concerning. Jordan Walsh led Boston with 6 rebounds, Paul George was second with 5, and nobody else had more than 4. That’s completely unacceptable and isn’t going to lead to a lot of wins.
For context, Jalen Duren, the Pistons’ starting center, had 9 boards; his backup, Paul Reed, had 6, and Ausar Thompson led the team with 11. The Celtics just got beat up and bullied across the board by a team that was more physical and aggressive. It’s a long season, and that will happen, but this needs to change in a major way.
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