Boston Celtics throttle Pistons: 3 takeaways from destruction of Detroit

Three takeaways from the Boston Celtics 114-93 thumping of the Detroit Pistons Friday night behind the young dynamic duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

What a night at TD Garden as the Boston Celtics soared past the Detroit Pistons 114-93 in front of a crowd hungry for some Tacko time and holiday cheer.

Without Gordon Hayward and Marcus Smart, the Celtics didn’t disappoint as the young duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 52 points in the victory.

While the Pistons were also undermanned as Blake Griffin sat out the game, the Celtics would’ve still won this game running away even if Detroit was fully healthy.

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The home team just proved to be the quicker team, the deeper team and a more complete team than the Pistons.  That showed with the play of both Tatum and Brown, but also the quiet night offensively of Kemba Walker.

While the outstanding point guard wasn’t scoring, he was setting his teammates up with 11 assists.  The Celtics also got some great rebounding from Enes Kanter (18 rebounds) and Daniel Theis (6 rebounds) who combined for 24 total rebounds in the game.

Overall, it was a total team effort on both ends of the court that really had the game sealed late in the third quarter as Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum were able to sit for the fourth quarter.

Speaking of that fourth quarter, Boston Celtics fans who chanted “Tacko” midway through the third got a Christmas gift when Tacko Fall got into the game.  The 7-foot-6 big man gave the crowd some excitement with a nice block shot and a couple baskets offensively.  He finished the game with 5 points and 2 rebounds in five minutes played.

Not taking away from the Tacko Fall moment, here are three takeaways from the team’s victory over the Pistons.

Grant Williams has himself a night

It was an overall great night for Boston Celtics rookies in the team’s 114-93 blowout win over the Detroit Pistons.

Top pick Romeo Langford scored his first points in a Celtics’ uniform, Javonte Green continued to fly high all over the court and Tacko Fall got the crowd roaring with some garbage time minutes.

But, the performance of the night amongst the rookies went to Grant Williams who showed what he can do on offense by knocking down threes, showing off some mid-range offense and even rattled the rim on this play:

In a career night, the Tennessee product scored 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting, including 2-for-3 behind the stripe along with 3 rebounds.  On a night when the Celtics were shorthanded without Marcus Smart and Gordon Hayward, the production out of Williams was a nice surprised, showing off how deep this team is and also showcasing just why the Boston Celtics took the versatile forward in the late first round.

"“Before I was just being a ball mover and screener and focusing on the other things,” Williams said following the game, via MassLive.com.  “But (Kemba) said just play the right way and typically you won’t make the wrong read or wrong play.  And I just kind of took the word from him and kept going from there.”"

As a rookie, Grant Williams is going to have some learning periods on both sides of the court.  What is impressive about him is that he keeps his head up, embraces the learning and does other things on the court to help the team win when his shots are not falling.

Friday night’s performance is also a confidence boost for a player who may have more of a role considering the injury bug the team has caught as they approach the midway part of the season.

Enes Kanter is a rebounding machine

Forget Detroit Pistons big man Andre Drummond, the Boston Celtics got some outstanding front court play from the combination of Daniel Theis and Enes Kanter.

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While Theis blocked four shots and provided some offense with 8 points, Kanter really came in and dominated the boards, thus neutralizing the effect of Drummond.

In the past few seasons, Celtics fans have seen the Pistons center dominate on the glass even when the team had Aron Baynes and Al Horford.

On Friday night, it was a different story as Kanter pulled down 18 rebounds, including 5 offensive rebounds, which really took Andre Drummond out of the game.

"“They did a great job of boxing out, of taking two guys and taking Andre out,” Pistons head coach Dwane Casey admitted following the game, via Yahoo Sports!  “They are a well-rounded roster and there are a lot of bigs that are very physical, and they did a good job of keeping us off the boards.”"

It’s funny Casey should complement the Boston Celtics bigs as that is the one area that many NBA insiders and fans feel need an upgrade.  To go on a deep run in the playoffs, they certainly need another front court presence, but in the regular season, the combination of Daniel Theis and Enes Kanter, along with Robert Williams when he returns is serviceable.

In out-rebounding the Pistons 51-36, the presence of Kanter is making an impact on the boards even with his flaws defensively.  As of now, that’s more than good enough.

The Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown show

No Gordon Hayward, no Marcus Smart and Kemba Walker only scoring 2 points in the game and the Boston Celtics still run away from the Detroit Pistons?

That’s because young dynamic duo Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown put the team on their shoulders and took off Friday night at TD Garden.

Both players came out on fire and finished the game with 26 points apiece.  On a night when Kemba was quiet, it was great to see this combination really take turns commanding the offense.

And how about Jaylen Brown, who scored or assisted on 10 straight points during a third quarter stretch that really put the game away.  He also provided this moment right before halftime that gave long time NBA fans a little nostalgia in remembering a playoff sequence by the great Reggie Miller.

Check this out:

In all, the Jayson Tatum/Jaylen Brown duo showcased their rise to stardom is for real and a major reason why this Boston Celtics team has a chance to really go on a deep playoff run.

Not only do they pump one another up, they do a great job feeding off one another during games, thus, making Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge once again look like a genius for not parting with either of the two in trade rumors.

The scary part of the rise of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown is that they are still very young and can only get better as they continue to transform into All-Stars for the Boston Celtics.