Paul George’s Boston debut had all the fireworks you could ask for, just not the ending the Celtics wanted.
The veteran forward dropped 38 points, hit seven threes and piled up five steals, but Boston still came out on the wrong side of a 121-113 loss to the Detroit Pistons. George was the clear headliner, yet the Celtics couldn’t get enough consistent help around him to turn his big night into a win.
Detroit answered with a balanced scoring load of its own. Jalen Duren and Cade Cunningham both finished with 22 points, Duncan Robinson added 21, and Javonte Green chipped in 19 off the bench while going 5-8 from deep. Ausar Thompson filled up the box score with 11 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
The Pistons won the glass 49-39 and also got to the line far more often, knocking down 28 free throws. Boston shot 45% from the field and made 17 threes, but the rebounding gap and Detroit’s extra trips to the stripe helped tilt the game.
George was everywhere from the opening tip. He scored 38 points on 12-21 shooting, buried 7 of 12 from beyond the arc and went 7-8 at the line.
He added five rebounds, three assists and those five steals in 31 minutes, finishing with a plus-9 that stood out among Boston’s starters. On a night when the Celtics needed a reliable go-to scorer, he delivered exactly that.
Jayson Tatum’s return to the lineup told a very different story. He finished with 13 points and 11 assists, but his shot never came around: 6-23 from the floor and 0-7 from three.
The playmaking was there, and he kept the turnovers to two, but Boston needed far more scoring efficiency from one of its main stars. His minus-five reflected the rough night.
Derrick White did his part as a secondary creator, putting up 17 points and eight assists on 7-13 shooting. He also hit three threes and grabbed a steal, though four turnovers took some of the shine off his line.
Payton Pritchard matched White with 17 points off the bench, getting to the line often and converting 7-8 free throws. He added four rebounds and didn’t commit a turnover, even if his minus-10 showed Boston’s struggles while he was on the floor.
Boston got useful minutes from a few role players, too. Sam Hauser scored 11 points on 4-7 shooting and knocked down three threes.
Baylor Scheierman was efficient with eight points in 18 minutes, hitting both of his three-point tries. Neemias Queta contributed three points, four rebounds, two assists, a steal and two blocks.
Jordan Walsh didn’t score, but he grabbed six rebounds and added a steal, a block and an assist without turning it over.
Mitchell Robinson finished with four points, three rebounds, two blocks and a steal, though two missed free throws and two turnovers hurt his line. Luka Garza scored two points in eight minutes. Hugo Gonzalez went scoreless in 10 minutes, though he did collect three rebounds.
George gave Boston a debut worth remembering. The rest of the night, though, belonged to Detroit.
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Celtics Already Have A Payton Pritchard Problem They Promised To Fix
After the offseason trade of Jaylen Brown and a contract extension for Payton Pritchard, the Celtics entered the season with a clear expectation that his role would grow. Instead, the opener offered a familiar look. Pritchard came off the bench and was on the floor for 27 minutes, but his place in the offense never really changed in a way that suggested a new level of responsibility.
He still managed to score 17 points, tied for second on the team, but the way he got there looked more like last season than the next step Boston seemed to be promising. With limited involvement in the half-court and only one assist to show for the night, the question is already less about whether Pritchard can produce and more about how the Celtics plan to use him moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
Kendrick Perkins Just Turned Up The Pressure On The Celtics
Boston looked sharp in its first game against Detroit, a reminder that even with offseason changes, the Celtics still project as one of the leagues upper-tier teams. But the early-season vibe around this group has been complicated by the usual Boston standard: good regular-season play is expected, and the conversation always drifts quickly to whether the roster is truly built for June.
Kendrick Perkins added to that pressure with a blunt assessment of where the Celtics stand right now. The former Boston center drew a hard line between being good and being a real title threat, pointing to the roster as part of the concern and putting the spotlight squarely on Jayson Tatum in the process. For a team that has spent years being measured against championship expectations, it is the kind of outside criticism that lingers until the Celtics prove otherwise. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Already Have A Starting Lineup Debate After Opening Loss
The Celtics opened their season with a loss to the Pistons, and it didnt take long for the first lineup question to surface. Boston got useful bench minutes from Baylor Scheierman and Sam Hauser, two forwards who brought some pop to the offense after checking in, which only sharpened the conversation about how the rotation should be shaped going forward.
There is already a case to be made for one of those shooters moving into the starting five to help create more spacing early in games, especially if the Celtics want a cleaner offensive rhythm out of the gate. The tougher part is figuring out who comes out to make room, and that decision will say plenty about how Boston wants to balance defense, energy and shot-making in the games ahead. [Read more 🡒]