* The season has now started. Paywall posts will return to normal in the coming days. However, today’s analysis post is free for everyone. Enjoy! *
Ok, that was a brutal way to start the season.
Giving up a 23-0 run in the fourth after the Detroit Pistons rallied in the third exposed frailties that Joe Mazzulla and the coaching staff will need to address.
The good news is, this was game one. The Boston Celtics have 81 more to go to get things right. I’m not going to be concerned after one game, especially one where Jayson Tatum was 6-of-23 on 26.1% shooting.
Things will get better.
Everywhere you look today, there’ll be coverage of what went wrong. How the defense broke down. How the Pistons got hot from deep. How the Celtics’ offense went from a smooth purr to a metal-on-metal screech.
I’m not going that way.
Not today.
Instead, I want to focus on one aspect of Boston’s offense that worked, and worked well. An aspect that could become a staple for this team, and that generated success until the Celtics suddenly forgot how to penetrate and force defensive rotations.