Parquet plays: Celtics attack interior to fend off Cade Cunningham and young Pistons

Jayson Tatum set the tone early in Boston’s forty first win, bringing bully ball to the Pistons’ entrance door.

En path to their fifth straight win, the Celtics relied closely on inside appears to defeat a Pistons workforce that gave them issues of their first three matchups. From the opening tip, Boston attacked the Pistons’ younger large males, who have been lacking their greatest rim protector in Isaiah Stewart.

Tatum kicked off the inside scoring, ditching the lengthy jumpers to begin and specializing in attacking the paint. Particularly, the Celtics aimed their crosshairs at Marvin Bagley to begin. Bagley was filling in for Stewart within the beginning 5. Detroit was lacking six gamers.

Instantly, Al Horford will get the previous No. 2 general choose within the put up and wastes no time hitting a hook shot.

Minutes later, Jayson Tatum bought the swap he needed from Cade Cunningham to Bagley, and used that signature mix of velocity and smoothness to freeze Bagley.

Within the first quarter, the Celtics didn’t make a single shot exterior of the paint. They scored 32 factors, and the shot chart reveals the place the simplest offense got here.

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Boston’s 10 steals helped them proceed to assault the paint as the sport wore on. Marcus Sensible was the catalyst, recording 5 steals. Sensible additionally shot 6-7 from the free throw line, because the Celtics as a workforce shot 80% on their 30 makes an attempt.

As the sport continued, the Celtics saved going on the Pistons’ large males. On this instance, Tatum places Bagley in a excessive pick-and-roll, then hits him with a shot faux earlier than getting the ball in deep to Robert Williams. Williams, with Jerami Grant on him, converts the straightforward layup.

Tatum opened the sport with inside scoring, however Jaylen Brown’s potential to get inside helped the Celtics within the center quarters. Brown transformed three pictures inside 5 ft to shut out the second, then opened the third with one other layup.

As soon as once more dealing with Bagley in a one-on-one, this time Brown wastes no time placing on the burners and blowing by Bagley.

Boston used the third quarter to take a two-point lead into the fourth quarter, the place it shut down the Pistons for the 11-point win. The Celtics solely took six pictures exterior of the paint within the third quarter, emblematic of the sport plan that was established within the first.

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The Pistons performed very properly, particularly Cunningham. Regardless of Boston capturing 6-32 from deep – a paltry 19% – the Celtics’ inside scoring saved the workforce inside attain, permitting their protection to close down the younger Detroit offense and safe their fifth straight win.

The flexibility to grind out a win with inside scoring will serve Boston properly because the playoffs method and each sport impacts Jap Convention seeding.