The Celtics have dropped three straight games to begin the season for the first time since 2013 after a 119-113 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Sunday. Boston led by as many as 17 points in the first quarter after a red-hot start from Jaylen Brown (41 points) but the visitors surrendered their entire advantage by midway through the third quarter as Detroit used their edge on the boards and at the free throw line to rally for a comfortable win.
Brown led the way for Boston with 41 points while Payton Pritchard added a double-double (21 points, 10 rebounds) but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Pistons size and strength. The hosts piled up 30 second chance points in the win thanks to 18 offensive rebounds and also got to the free throw line 36 times, helping them overcome a 17-point first quarter lead by Boston.
The Pistons led by as many as 15 points in the second half before the Celtics made a run late in the fourth quarter to trim the Pistons’ lead to three points with just under three minutes left. The Pistons responded with three straight second chance buckets on the next three possessions to help put the game away.
Cade Cunningham (25 points) led the way for the Pistons in the win while Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren both added double-doubles in the victory.
Boston (0-3) will look to get their first win of the year on Monday night when they face off against the Pelicans in New Orleans.
Here are four takeaways from the Celtics’ loss on Sunday night:
Hugo Gonzalez gets a surprise start: The 19-year-old made his NBA debut on Friday night in Madison Square Garden and showed enough defensively that Joe Mazzulla elected to start him on Sunday over Sam Hauser. Gonzalez got a tall task out of the gate, being asked to hound Cade Cunningham with heavy ball pressure but the rookie acquitted himself well in that area for the second straight game. Gonzalez piled up two steals and a block in the first half alone while also drawing an offensive foul against Jalen Duren on a moving screen. He isn’t helping in the rebounding department or on offense just yet for Boston but his defensive intensity is translating quite well to the NBA right away. Whether that’s enough to keep him in the starting five remains to be seen, but his defensive ability is certainly taking some of the onus off Derrick White and Jaylen Brown on that end of the floor. Gonzalez was scoreless in his 18 minutes of action, missing both of his shot attempts.
Defensive rebounding remains a huge problem: Two days after getting destroyed on the glass at Madison Square Garden, that trend continued against a Pistons team with real size. Detroit erased a 17-point first half lead by the Celtics in large part with their work on the offensive glass as they grabbed 48 percent of their misses in the first half alone. The Pistons piled up 30 second chance points in the victory on 18 offensive rebounds and repeatedly as Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson had a field day against the Celtics lack of size down low. This will be a recurring issue all year long with this group especially with the team routinely playing one true big in their lineups.
Celtics 3-point shooting isn’t turning around just yet: The Celtics are still taking as many 3-point shots as almost any team in the league (ranked third entering Sunday) but they aren’t connecting like they need to. Boston’s backcourt struggled mightily again against the Pistons, combining to shoot just 7-of-26 from 3-point range as Boston shot 33.3 percent from downtown. Jaylen Brown had his best shooting night of the season but no other starter hit their 3s at an average rate all night. Joe Mazzulla doesn’t have a lot of good options with this roster right now but this team needs to punish opponents from the perimeter more if they stick with smaller lineups.
Jaylen Brown returns to All-Star form: The veteran had a quiet offensive start to the year but erupted against a tough Pistons defense with a season-high 41 points. He mixed in a strong night from the perimeter with good attacks at the basket, drawing 15 free throw attempts to go along with five made 3-point field goals. The Celtics offense has struggled more than expected to begin the year and they may need more aggression from Brown to open up the floor more for his teammates.
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