Winning in sports means having to consistently do the hard things it takes to win the little details. Even if they make it look easy, the work is always hard.
That's especially true for the Celtics, and especially in a blowout like this. Sure, the Celtics were expected to win this game, but beating a professional basketball team by 30 is tough, despite what it might seem like from the outside. There's some luck involved, like a Pistons team that generally shoots 36.7% from 3 not even managing a 19% shooting night. Or like Payton Pritchard and Derrick White combining to double up the Pistons from deep on 52% shooting.
But it also takes a lot of skill and effort. The Celtics don’t run a ton of plays. Instead, they have sets that start players moving in certain directions and then they have to make reads off what the defense does. For it to go right, everyone has to have the same understanding of what the defense is doing, at the same time, and make the same decisions.
And for that to work, everyone has to want the same thing. That, more than anything, is the hardest part.
“It starts with just the guys that we have in the locker room,” Joe Mazzulla said. “I think it's important to know that we do have egos. We just put them in the right place. It's not that we shouldn't have them. We should have them as long as they're put in the right place. So I think it's with the character of guys, and I think they have a trust and an understanding of what can lead to long-term success. And I think you have to commit to that every day, and I think the guys work to commit to that.”
This is what you might normally hear referred to as “culture.”
Contrary to what you might have heard, culture exists outside of South Beach. Mazzulla and the Celtics have committed to that culture largely thanks to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Both have fully bought into the selflessness necessary for the team to succeed.
It reminds me of Kevin Garnett’s full embrace of Doc Rivers. With KG essentially acting as Doc’s enforcer, the rest of the rank-and-file had no choice but to fall in line. Tatum and Brown have done the same with Mazzulla, sacrificing some of their individual glory to make sure the team is getting what it needs.
Brown showed that when he faced the Pistons without Tatum for the second time in a week. His passing against them last week was incredible and this one might have been better. And impressively, he didn’t once try to take over the scoring. His 10-point third quarter came naturally over 12 minutes. He didn’t try to hunt his own shots or pad his stats so he could keep his averages up. He gave the game and the team what it needed.
He wasn’t alone.
Payton Pritchard could be this season’s Sixth Man of the Year. He was feeling it, but he still led the team with 10 assists.
“At the end of the day, we try to hang our (hats) on playing the right basketball,” Pritchard said. “No matter who is in, we make the right reads regardless. It's not like JT's not playing, like, 'Oh, I'm gonna make more shots tonight.' That should never be the case. I'm always hunting to take the right shot, make the right passes. Then when he comes up, we should continue to always play like that."
The Celtics are a machine with interchangeable parts. With Tatum and Sam Hauser out, Mazzulla went with Al Horford in the starting lineup. That opened up a role for Luke Kornet, who cashed in on the opportunity. But when he had a chance to finish off a sweet feed from Kristaps Porzingis, he made the right read and found White wide open in the corner. Drew Peterson got back into the rotation and, even though he’s a shooter, he put the ball on the floor and made the right reads to attack closeouts, which led to free throws and assists.
“They don't miss a beat because of their preparation, their attention to detail,” Mazzulla said. “And when guys are out, you can take advantage of different guys' versatilities. … it's their preparation and professionalism, and the willingness to just do their job regardless of what's going on.”
This is Celtics culture. They don’t need to write on their chests because they’ve already taken it to heart. They don’t need to print a manifesto on the floor because its origins are already hanging from the rafters. They know what needs to be done and they are all willing to do it.
“I think Joe is right. We all have egos. We're all really confident people,” Pritchard said. “I don't think we'd be in the position we are today without a little bit of that. And you got to have that, but it's understanding that at times you got to do what's best for the team. And that's a selflessness that our guys have and should continue. Obviously it contributes to winning. (It’s a) good group of guys.”