Jaden Ivey (center) was part of a Pistons bench attack on Monday for which Jaylen Brown and the Celtics had no answer.
Jaden Ivey (center) was part of a Pistons bench attack on Monday for which Jaylen Brown and the Celtics had no answer.Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
What is apparent from the first three Pistons-Celtics matchups is that this would make an intriguing playoff series.
If the Celtics take anything away from their 112-105 loss at TD Garden on Monday, it should be that this is how quality teams are going to play them — with handsy defense, hard screens, and punishing contests at the rim.
The Pistons sought to be the tougher team and in the end they were, forcing six turnovers in the final period and using their array of defenders to blitz Jaylen Brown and Payton Pritchard. While the Celtics may have dramatically altered their roster the past several months, they haven’t budged from their 3-point philosophy. The Pistons made sure to challenge every attempt, running shooters off the line and forcing them into contested twos.
It’s a blueprint for beating the Celtics. Turn the game into a mud-slinging match, force players to attack the rim and face the consequences of a hard foul, and challenge a team that’s been known for finesse.
The Celtics responded with physicality of their own, playing tough and challenging every possession. They fell short because they couldn’t consistently make shots or contain the lethal Cade Cunningham.
“I thought we met the challenge physicality wise,” Brown said. “We rebounded, protected the paint, all those good things that were good signs we’re bringing the physicality.”
Brown senses teams are being more physical now that the Celtics have proven to be a quality team. The Bucks preceded the Pistons by pushing around the Celtics, imposing their will and forcing a rugged style that requires a strong response. The Celtics allowed frustration due to missed shots to affect their psyche in that loss.
This time, they played more poised for the most part, but there were occasions where they pressed down the stretch and committed careless turnovers. Brown and Derrick White each lost their dribbles. The Celtics committed a shot-clock violation. They weren’t crisp when they desperately needed to be.
“It seems like that,” Brown said when asked if opposing teams are being more physical, “but I’m all for that. You could definitely see that was on their [game plan], foul hard. I’ve just got to protect myself from injury and step up and knock down the free throw and get back on D.
“We need to meet the physicality and that’s what we did tonight. I think my team did enough. I’ve got to be better down the stretch. We’ve got to be better down the stretch.”
The glaring difference between the Celtics and some Eastern Conference competitors is consistent bench scoring, and the Pistons reserves pounded their counterparts 47-14. Other than Anfernee Simons, the Boston bench lacks quality scorers.
Sam Hauser, who left Monday with a sprained left ankle, is shooting a career-low 34.2 percent from the 3-point line and has attempted four free throws in 552 minutes He doesn’t get many easy points.
Simons is a pure scorer, but he needs help. Most of the bench players that Joe Mazzulla relies on are defensive minded, meaning scoring is a bonus. Other than Simons, the Celtics reserves were just 2 for 8 from the field Monday for 5 points.
A reliable scorer is perhaps another item to add to the Celtics gift list by the trade deadline. There are going to be nights when Brown, White, and Pritchard aren’t all getting shots to fall. Against the Pistons, Pritchard scored 10 in the opening quarter and 2 in the final three periods.
White scored 31 on 10-for-18 shooting while Brown tallied 32, but those three were the lone double-digit scorers for the Celtics. Jordan Walsh, in the lineup because of his defense, had a foul-prone night and attempted just three shots.
Josh Minott and Baylor Scheierman can’t be relied upon for high-scoring games because it’s something they’ve not done in their young careers. While the Pistons countered with Caris LeVert, Jaden Ivey, and even former Celtic Javonte Green off the bench (combined 31 points), the Celtics were relegated to relying on their starters and they didn’t have enough in the end.
Monday should serve as a valuable lesson in what the Celtics need to improve over the next several months. They have to find more offensive sources, especially when the 3-pointer is not falling. Boston is a combined 24 for 88 from the 3-point line the past two games — both losses. Another reliable big man and another bench scorer could help those issues.
At least the Celtics know the blueprint is beginning to shift. They hung with the No. 1 team in the East for nearly 48 minutes. They withstood their toughness, even those Isaiah Stewart elbows, and they had a chance to win on a night when shots weren’t falling. But what the past two games especially have shown is the Celtics have an energetic, hard-playing, but flawed roster that could use upgrades.
The good news? They remain tied for fourth in the East, and there’s plenty of time to make adjustments to their personnel and how they counter teams obviously trying to bully them into submission.
Old habits are dying hard. Making more shots is what will help the Celtics avoid another playoff disappointment, like the one they had in New York last spring.
Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at gary.washburn@globe.com. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.