Pistons (2-28) at Celtics (23-6) Game #30 12/28/23

[Roy H.]

A win is a win..all players are professionals no matter what record is..and after a rough western road trip this is expected

It shouldn't be the expectation.  It's great that they came back and won, but Joe shouldn't be normalizing that behavior.

It’s always Joe’s fault somehow.

For what it’s worth, I went back looking for old road trips that were similar to the last one.  In 2018-2019, they had the same four game trip (Warriors, Kings, and then two games in LA) and they came back and won a tight one against Sacramento, losing the first quarter by 13.  Found the end of that game thread, and it’s generally more positive than this one.

Well, Joe is the primary guy normalizing it right now, and who is saying he was impressed by the game, etc.  Fans can react however they want about the game; I find it odder when the coach treats it as something that should be expected.

As for 2019...  As I recall, Sacramento was a mediocre team, rather than on track to be the worst team (by record) in NBA history.  Sacramento wasn't in the midst of a 27 game losing streak.  And, based upon what you said, it sounds like the slump was just during the first quarter, rather than the entire first half (and really, the 4th quarter as well) last night.

I just can't see last night as a success.  The Pistons had 6 more turnovers than us, and missed 7-out-of-19 FTs.  We should have cruised to victory, but instead won because of one good quarter and OT.

[Vermont Green]

Related to this game, but not about the Celtics, the Pistons aren’t getting to 29 losses.  I’ve been watching their games on League Pass the last week to see them set records, and they are definitely playing far better than they were at the beginning of the month.  They’re winning their next game.

Bold prediction but I agree with the premise.  I thought they looked pretty good, not at all like a 2-28 team.  Cunningham looks legit and they have Stewart and Duren as solid bigs.  They appear to me to be headed in the right direction and I definitely see them winning plenty of games as the season goes on.

[Roy H.]

Related to this game, but not about the Celtics, the Pistons aren’t getting to 29 losses.  I’ve been watching their games on League Pass the last week to see them set records, and they are definitely playing far better than they were at the beginning of the month.  They’re winning their next game.

Bold prediction but I agree with the premise.  I thought they looked pretty good, not at all like a 2-28 team.  Cunningham looks legit and they have Stewart and Duren as solid bigs.  They appear to me to be headed in the right direction and I definitely see them winning plenty of games as the season goes on.

Honestly, I thought they looked like a terrible team.  A ton of missed FTs, a ton of turnovers, a ton of missed 3PTs.  They played hard, but they also played quite poorly.

That said, playing a bad Toronto team coming off a back-to-back, at home, is as good of a chance at a win as any.

[Phantom255x]

We play the Raptors tonight, and then the Raptors play the Pistons tomorrow on the 2nd of a B2B.

Maybe Raptors fans are now sweating 

[footey]

Related to this game, but not about the Celtics, the Pistons aren’t getting to 29 losses.  I’ve been watching their games on League Pass the last week to see them set records, and they are definitely playing far better than they were at the beginning of the month.  They’re winning their next game.

Bold prediction but I agree with the premise.  I thought they looked pretty good, not at all like a 2-28 team.  Cunningham looks legit and they have Stewart and Duren as solid bigs.  They appear to me to be headed in the right direction and I definitely see them winning plenty of games as the season goes on.

Honestly, I thought they looked like a terrible team.  A ton of missed FTs, a ton of turnovers, a ton of missed 3PTs.  They played hard, but they also played quite poorly.

That said, playing a bad Toronto team coming off a back-to-back, at home, is as good of a chance at a win as any.

They are a bad defensive team. But to come away from last night’s game that they were “terrible” seems overly harsh. They played with great effort and actually showed poise in some key moments. I actually saw the nucleus of a decent team. Just lacking another vet or two to better organize their play. I have more hope for them than the Wizards at least (faint praise, I know). Cade, Duran, Ivey and Auser can ball.

[Phantom255x]

I have no clue how Killian Hayes is still on that team. He absolutely blows.

It's weird. DET has a lot of the pieces (Cunningham, Stewart, Ivey, Duren) and Bogdanovic has been solid for them. But somehow it just hasn't translated at all. Just doesn't seem to fit.

They definitely aren't a 2-29 team but it is what it is. Monty Williams though being the highest paid HC (or 2nd highest, idk Popovich's number) and having these results is astonishing.

[Who]

Related to this game, but not about the Celtics, the Pistons aren’t getting to 29 losses.  I’ve been watching their games on League Pass the last week to see them set records, and they are definitely playing far better than they were at the beginning of the month.  They’re winning their next game.

Bold prediction but I agree with the premise.  I thought they looked pretty good, not at all like a 2-28 team.  Cunningham looks legit and they have Stewart and Duren as solid bigs.  They appear to me to be headed in the right direction and I definitely see them winning plenty of games as the season goes on.

I thought their starting lineup was interesting.

They had terrible spacing with Ausar Thompson (non-shooter) and Isaiah Stewart (low volume shooter) with Bogdanovic (plus shooter) and Knox (okay volume shooter).

Their offense looked a lot better with the change. It gave Cunningham and Ivey more space to operate. They were much worse earlier in the season with their old starting lineup.

[Redz]

I know it can’t happen, but every time Bogdanovic touched the ball I found myself wishing he was on our team for a championship run.  We really lucked out that he missed some open shots down the stretch. 

[Vermont Green]

Related to this game, but not about the Celtics, the Pistons aren’t getting to 29 losses.  I’ve been watching their games on League Pass the last week to see them set records, and they are definitely playing far better than they were at the beginning of the month.  They’re winning their next game.

Good call!