Just a few weeks ago, we were raving about how Joe Mazzulla’s decision to go small was a master stroke. At the time, the decision solved some of Boston’s defensive issues, especially with the second unit.
However, it looks like Mazzulla has overcorrected.
How that small ball lineup handled bigger, more physical teams was always going to be an interesting test.
Well, against the Detroit Pistons, that rotation got found out.
Queta — who was Boston’s lone big man — played a total of 34.2 minutes on Monday, spread across multiple lineups. When Queta was on the court, the Celtics outscored the Pistons by 5 points.
In the 13.6 minutes with Queta off the court, the Celtics began to suffer, especially defensively. In the non-Queta minutes, the Celtics were outscored by 12 points.
Detroit is one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the NBA, ranking fourth behind the New York Knicks, Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets. Therefore, sticking with just one big in the lineup was a roll of the dice.
With Queta on the floor, Boston’s defensive rebounding was solid. 22 of the team’s 30 defensive boards came with the 7-foot rim-runner anchoring the paint. When he was off the floor, Boston struggled, grabbing just eight defensive rebounds.
Mazzulla didn’t just leave the door unlocked; he took it off the hinges. Detroit didn’t need a key to the paint; they just walked in.
In the nearly 35 minutes Queta was on the floor, the Celtics held the Pistons to 72 points.
