Three things from Celtics-Pistons

The Boston Celtics beat the Detroit Pistons on Friday night. The final score was 127-102. This game did not matter.

Joe Mazzulla said as much after the Celtics’ win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday. With Giannis Antetokounmpo out for Milwaukee and the Celtics missing Jrue Holiday and Sam Hauser, there was little to learn.

“Nothing. Can’t take anything from the game,” Mazzulla said.

It’s not even April yet, and the Celtics have a chance to clinch the conference this weekend. If they win on Saturday and the Bucks lose, they will have locked up the one seed in the East. In March.

None of the games from now until the playoffs matter for Boston. They can learn things about their players, they can test out coverages, and they can generate a rhythm. But wins and losses are now meaningless other than for the historical place of Boston’s record.

Because of that, game-watching has become less about the general storylines and more about niche subplots — the niches in the nothing.

Photo by Chris Schwegler/NBAE via Getty Images

1. Svi Mykhailiuk’s defensive progression

With Hauser sidelined for a few games, Svi Mykhailiuk earned some extra run. When Hauser returned to the lineup against Detroit, Mykhailiuk remained in the rotation.

Confidence has never been a problem with Mykhailiuk. His shooting stroke has always been top-notch, too. Defensively, however, the question marks persist.

It’s still not great, but his activity has been rampant in Boston’s two games against the Pistons this week.

In Monday’s game, Mykhailiuk was a pest off the ball. Here, he stopped a James Wiseman dunk by staying in the lane to disrupt the pick-n-roll rather than following his man.

He’s been very aware, keeping his head on a swivel and helping whenever necessary.

That said, Mykhailiuk’s off-ball pressure is akin to the freedom Jrue Holiday gets when he’s on the floor. The big difference is that Mykhailiuk often isn’t quick enough to recover from his gambles.

Jared Rhoden gets a wide-open triple here because Mykhailiuk tried to pressure the ball at the top of the key. He could have gotten back in time, but his feet couldn’t keep up with his mind.

He’s also had some trouble getting on the same page with his teammates.

Payton Pritchard switched on this play, but Mykhailiuk followed his man around the screen. By the time he was sprinting back to pick up his new assignment, he was running into a screen, and Marcus Sasser got an easy jumper.

Mykhailiuk did show off some solid post defense against Cade Cunningham, however.

His initial bump was good, but not jumping with Cunningham could have led to an easy bucket. Timing is the next step in his defensive progress.

Mykhailiuk is a work in progress on that end of the floor, and it’s unclear if the Celtics will keep him around long enough to finish the job. But his energy has been high, which is a great first step.

2. Jaylen Brown’s vision

Last year, Jaylen Brown’s season ended when he was forced to be the Celtics’ number-one option. He had a career-high eight turnovers in Game 7 against the Miami Heat.

This year, Brown’s court vision has reached a new peak. It’s not Mt. Everest quite yet, but it’s K2 at the very least.

Friday’s game against the Pistons may garner some attention, as Brown had zero assists on a night when Boston was missing Jayson Tatum. But assists only count if his teammates make the shot.

Simple passes like this dish to Sam Hauser are obvious.

But this cross-court pass to find Pritchard on the opposite side of the floor was exceptional. Someone in the video can even be heard saying, “Great pass.”

And this pass to Derrick White in the same corner is even more impressive. Brown weaves his way through a crowd of red and black, and as he’s about to make his move, he fakes out Chimeze Metu and finds White.

The next step for Brown is to ensure that all of his passes hit his teammates in the chest, but his vision was superb on Friday. Box scores never tell the whole story.

3. Payton Pritchard’s stop-and-start

For the past few games, Pritchard has been one of the best players on the floor for the Celtics. He’s playing with a confidence that rivals the game’s biggest stars.

One of his best attributes is how quickly he can shift speeds. On Friday night, the Pistons fell victim to this time and time again.

Here’s Pritchard running the pick-n-roll with Luke Kornet. As soon as he gets Metu on him, it’s a wrap. Pritchard hesitates for half a second as if he’s about to pull the ball back, and then he jolts forward.

Once Metu is on his back, Pritchard uses his positioning to flick the ball up and in for an easy layup.

This one is far more subtle. Pritchard doesn’t hit Jaden Ivey with the herky-jerky motion that got Metu. Instead, he starts his drive at one speed and then kicks things into high gear. He smoked the layup, but the move was still successful.

Another subtle one, Pritchard begins the play with a hesitation above the wing. Troy Brown Jr. bites on the pump-fake, as Pritchard is a lethal threat from beyond the arc, and he’s toast from there.

Pritchard hits a little stutter step midway through his drive, but he just uses his speed once Brown Jr. is off balance, and the layup is easy money.

Celtics-Pistons means nothing. It was just another tick in the win column for Boston. But finding niches in the nothing is the only way to get through the final stage of the season.

Source link