Tight games were hard to come by for Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics for much of last season after putting together one of the more dominant regular seasons in franchise history. That trend continued prior to Saturday night where Jayson Tatum hadn’t even been forced to play a minute of the first quarter in Boston’s first two blowout wins.
The tide turned quickly on Saturday night in Detroit where a feisty Pistons squad fought back from a 22-point deficit and dominated much of the second half. The Pistons held a 112-106 lead with five minutes remaining in the game but the Celtics rallied for a 18-6 run to secure a 3-0 start to the year with a 124-118 win.
There were a lot of heroes for Boston down the stretch in this one. Jrue Holiday hits a pair of clutch 3s to erase the Pistons lead. Jayson Tatum’s shotmaking late helped to give Boston the lead back. Derrick White had a clutch block on Cade Cunningham in the final two minutes while Jaylen Brown secured multiple key defensive rebounds against bigger Pistons players in the last minute of regulation.
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Still, one of the more interesting developments down the stretch of the victory was Joe Mazzulla’s strategy in the closing seconds of regulation. Boston held a 121-118 lead with 17 seconds left in the game after Derrick White made a pair of free throws.
At this point, Mazzulla had a decision to make. There’s no debate about whether fouling up three is the right decision in close games in the closing seconds. However, 17 seconds left on the clock makes the choice a little more murkier since that’s a far longer stretch to gamble with the free throw game. Some coaches prefer to play straight up defense with that much time left.
Mazzulla quickly opted against that choice though and the Celtics executed his strategy of fouling perfectly thanks to a couple of key factors.
1. The Pistons had no timeouts left
This was easy to overlook in real time but was a crucial benefit for Boston in the moment. It’s one thing to foul when a team has the ability to draw up a play and inbound past halfcourt. The Pistons had no such luxury, making them needing to go full court with no guidance on any remaining possession. Mazzulla knew this, likely making the choice to foul much easier despite the time left on the clock.
2. The Celtics had a savvy veteran to execute the plan
The Celtics knew they were going to foul but Holiday was coy with his decision as Cade Cunningham brought the ball up the floor. He let five seconds roll off the clock and once Cunningham got past half court, he made his move, colliding with Cunningham. The official didn’t initially make the foul call but Holiday stared him down after the contact, making his intentions known. The official relented, sending Cunningham to the line with 11.1 seconds left on the clock,
Cunningham missed the second free throw (unclear if this was on purpose) and Brown secured a tough board against Isaiah Stewart. The All-Star made two free throws after being fouled and secured the victory for Boston.
In the big picture, it was one minor sequence on a night in October most will forget about a few days from now. However, the strategy and execution here shows just how well the Celtics are in sync to begin the year. Boston struggled in clutch time situations during last year’s regular season but those concerns faded considerably during the playoffs.
On Saturday night that trend continued as Mazzulla pushed the right buttons late and had the right guys in place to help the visitors stay undefeated and atop the Eastern Conference.
