3 takeaways from the Boston Celtics 114-103 win vs. the Detroit Pistons

Ann Arbor News

Five Boston Celtics scored in double figures on Friday night as the C’s earned their fifth-straight win with a 114-103 victory over the Detroit Pistons. Here are some takeaways from the game.

1. No three-point offense

The most glaring weakness with this team reared its head again on Friday, as the Celtics shot a putrid 6-for-32 (18.8 percent) from three-point land. Jayson Tatum (2-for-9), Al Horford (0-for-4), and Jaylen Brown (1-for-8) were the biggest culprits, combining to shoot 3-for-21. Fortunately, it did not hurt them too much in this game, as Tatum scored at least 30 points for the fifth-straight game.

2. Ball movement and assists

The Celtics have continued to share the basketball at an efficient rate. On Friday night, they racked up 23 assists on 42 made field goals, led by Tatum with six. Marcus Smart had five and Brown had four. Boston’s ball movement has become an effective weapon and it’s an important statistic for measuring how far this team has come since their shaky start. It also keeps everyone engaged and ready to work on the other end of the court.

3. How high can the C’s climb?

The win gave the Celtics 41 wins on the year, which is the third-most in the Eastern Conference at the time of writing this. It puts them in a virtual tie for the fourth spot with the Chicago Bulls (40-26) and just a half-game behind the Philadelphia 76ers (40-25).

The fact that Boston has played 68 games and the Sixers and Bulls have played 65 and 66, respectively, puts pressure on both of those teams to win. Any losses would allow the Celtics to jump one, or both of them in the standings, grabbing home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. With the way Boston has been playing at home, the TD Garden crowd could push this team to victory in a playoff series.

The Celtics will be back in action on Sunday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. when they host Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.