By The short-handed proved significantly better than the short-handed Pistons on Monday, claiming a 110-94 victory. Here are the takeaways. 1. The most compelling part of Monday’s game was Derrick White angling for his first career triple-double in the fourth quarter, which was a little odd to watch because White has never been much of a stat-padder. “It was weird,” White said afterward. “I didn’t like it. And I didn’t play too good doing it. So I’ve got to not do that ever again, hopefully.” White — who finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists — was stuck on nine assists deep into the fourth. With the rest of the Celtics’ starters already checked out and resting, White remained in the game. He took a couple of 3-pointers when he could have gone for assists, and he annihilated a layup by Malachi Flynn with a transition chase-down block. But his assist remained elusive. He nearly got one when Jaden Springer attempted to make his first 3-pointer as a member of the Celtics, but Springer missed an open look. He found Oshae Brissett driving to the hoop, but Brissett missed, and the play resulted in a Svi Mykhailiuk 3-pointer. With 6:38 remaining, the Celtics called timeout, and there was a brief moment of drama when it wasn’t clear whether White would return to chase his milestone. But Joe Mazzulla sent White out there with what looked like a set play to earn him the assist. White found Payton Pritchard, who hit a 3-pointer, setting off a prototypically goofy Luke Kornet celebration as the Celtics ran back up the court. “It’s great for him. I’m happy for him,” Mazzulla said. “He’s continuing to grow as a two-way player on both sides of the ball. I don’t know how many blocks he had or steals. But the triple-double is an example of who he is as a player, but it doesn’t show how great he is on both ends of the floor.” White, who looked frustrated with himself in the huddle during the timeout, said Mazzulla gave him an ultimatum “I was really just shaking my head because I turned it over,” White said. “That was two times, and [Mazzulla] was like, ‘You’ve got to have like a minute to get it.’ I went out there and — shout out to Payton for it — I knew Payton and Svi, they’d figure something out and get a good look and knock it down.” 2. Kristaps Porzingis returned to the lineup after five consecutive absences. Mazzulla consistently offered up an ambiguous return timeline over the last week, but Porzingis said the absence was largely precautionary. “It was weird. After the Denver game it was a little sore the next day after the game, so I didn’t even mention it to anybody,” Porzingis said. “It was just some tightness. Then the day of the Phoenix game, I kind of started warming up in the morning and started feeling something, so I said it to the medical staff and of course they were really cautious with it. So we did some imaging and you could see something, but it was mostly out of caution, to be honest. If it was life or death or the playoffs, I would have been completely fine.” Porzingis finished with 20 points and went 5-for-9 from 3-point range in 21 minutes. “He played the minutes that he needed to play,” Mazzulla said. “Came out good, I talked to him after the game, but it didn’t look like he missed too much of a beat on either end of the floor.” 3. After sitting Jaylen Brown, White, and Porzingis against the Wizards on Sunday, the Celtics were able to play those three without Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday, and Al Horford (as well as Sam Hauser, who sprained his ankle on Sunday) and still completely overpower the Pistons. The Celtics’ depth is absurd — which is yet another positive in a season full of them, given all the preseason questions — and their Stay Ready group has proven themselves deserving of their moniker. “The guys play hard, and they work hard, and they are smart, and they take care of their craft,” Mazzulla said. “So the challenge is a little bit easier, because whoever you go with, you know what you’re getting no matter who is in the game. So that makes our
Job much easier, but again it’s a credit to them. “But other than that, it’s really just fun. It’s fun to find different formations, different spacings, different things you can go to get guys the ball where they need to get it. So I think that’s probably the most fun part about it.” 4. We haven’t really mentioned Brown much yet because he was almost too good to be much of a factor in a game like this, but he did score a game-high 31 points in 30 minutes. Appropriately, he did not play in the fourth quarter. 5. Pritchard, meanwhile, scored 23 points and dished out seven assists in 38 minutes — another high-level stat line when he is given starter minutes and usage. Pritchard has now scored double-figures in five of his last six games, and he has recorded seven or more assists in half of those games as well. A reporter noted to Pritchard that Mazzulla believes he’s underrated. “I feel like my responsibility on this team is different every night,” Pritchard said. “I heard Joe talk about it, but it’s mostly energy and that can be offensively, defensively, rebounding. So for me, it’s just creating my game to be well-rounded.” 6. One major difference between this year’s Celtics team and last year’s: Monday’s game (as well as Sunday’s, for that matter) was devoid of drama. This year’s Celtics team does not play down to its competition. When the Pistons show up in Boston without Cade Cunningham, or when the Wizards show up on their own floor in front of a home crowd largely wearing green shirts, the 2023-24 Celtics have taken care of business ruthlessly. “They are self-motivated,” Mazzulla said. “ … I don’t have to do anything to motivate them. They do it on their own.” To quote more legendary one-liners when talking about his 2018 rivalry with Eric Bledsoe: “I already motivated myself, so they were too late.” 7. The Celtics continue their tough schedule this week with their third game in four nights on Wednesday when they face the Bucks. That game will be for the lead in the season series between the two teams (they are 1-1 so far), but the Celtics own a 10-game lead over the Bucks in the Eastern Conference standings. Get
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