The Boston Celtics season opener against the Detroit Pistons started with all the nerves and excitement you’d expect, quickly turning into confidence and joy, only to crash into a wall of sheer disappointment. Boston blew a ridiculous 22-point second-half lead, falling 121-113. It’s just one game out of 82, especially after their longest offseason in a decade, so you take it with a grain of salt. But man, before moving on, you HAVE to learn from a collapse like that to avoid repeating mistakes.
The Rebounding Nightmare That Lost The Game
Outside of Tatum’s poor shooting and an offense that just totally stagnated in the second half, the most glaring mistake was letting Detroit absolutely clean them up on the boards. The Pistons outrebounded the Celtics 49 to 39 over the entire game. They didn’t just win the overall battle, they dominated both ends of the glass, grabbing 14 offensive rebounds to Boston’s 12, and 35 defensive rebounds to Boston’s 27. When Joe Mazzulla’s entire philosophy hinges on the possession battle, how do you let that happen? It felt like Detroit consistently had better activity, better positioning, and just wanted it more. They rallied to the paint as a team, sending two or three bodies to box out or grab longer rebounds. That team effort is exactly why they neutralized Boston’s bigs so effectively.
Stars Struggled, Unsung Pistons Shined
Remember last season, when Mitchell Robinson was 13th in the league averaging 8.8 rebounds per game, and Neemias Queta was right there with 8.4? In this opener, those two combined for a measly 7 total rebounds. Robinson had 3, Queta had 4. That’s just not going to cut it, not with their reputation. Robinson himself wasn’t happy, even after tweaking his ankle early and playing through it. He didn’t use the injury as an excuse, shouldering all the blame. “I got my a** kicked on the glass,” he said after the game. “I can’t have no starts like that. It’s cool to get out there and put on that Boston jersey for the first time in a regular-season game, but overall, I still didn’t do what I needed to do. I gotta compete better. I feel like I didn’t compete at a high level that I normally do and I was kind of slow on a lot of th.” Meanwhile, for Boston, Jordan Walsh led the team with 6 boards, followed by Paul George with 5. For Detroit, Jalen Duren picked up 9 rebounds, John Collins had 5, and Paul Reed added 6. And then there’s Ausar Thompson, who isn’t even a big, but led all players on the court with 11 boards! Sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce your way, but this felt like a systematic breakdown. Boston has to tighten up their rebounding, or this season could be a long one.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Celtics Blog.
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