Well, that sucked. There's definitely a legitimate way to see the glass half-full, but losing makes it easier to see said glass half-empty. The Boston Celtics lost a nail-biter to the Detroit Pistons in frustrating and embarrassing fashion, seeing as they were up 22 and a 23-0 run by MoTown put them back in the game.
But what was quite telling was the fact that Detroit won this game more or less using Joe Mazzulla's philosophy. At its core, the Pistons came back because they were hitting their threes (sidenote: Javonte Green shooting like Steph swung this one), but they were also getting a fair amount of offensive rebounds (14) and forcing turnovers (Boston coughed it up 14 times).
In other words, they won because they fought fire with fire against Boston, hence proving that they are very much the team the Celtics should measure themselves up to. It shows that what the Celtics are doing is actually a pretty smart philosophy, which is why some of their toughest competition in the East, like the Pistons, are following that same blueprint.
It should make for quite the rivalry
Seeing two Eastern Conference powerhouses go at it, more or less utilizing the exact same strategy, should make for quite an interesting dynamic. As much as it sucks that the Celtics lost, they simultaneously did so while also proving that what they're trying to do works.
It would not have been as frustrating had they not gone up by 22 only to blow it. At the same time, Green hitting five threes made the difference in this game. If he shoots at his normal percentage, it's likely Boston would have won this game. His hot shooting should not convince Boston that the way they covered him or the Pistons during that stretch was wrong.
We also must consider that, as amazing as Paul George's Celtics debut was - it was All-Star-like, so to speak - he's not going to go off like that every night. That's when other players are going to have to step up. Jayson Tatum is definitely capable of a better performance, and knowing his history, he will do better.
But that won't make the Pistons any easier as a matchup. Boston did a fantastic job shutting down Cade Cunningham, but there's no telling if they will have that same success next time, and again, Detroit won in spite of that. For now, Boston is mixing and matching, but it's cool to see that one of their storied rivalries might just be renewed this season.
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