BSJ Game Report: Celtics 119, Pistons 94 - C's cruise behind White's triple-double, Brown's 31

- Derrick White:  I’ll get to the triple-double in a minute. Right now I just want to comment on his growth overall as a player in Boston and how quickly he’s gone from a somewhat reticent shooter to a guy who lets it fly the millisecond he has an opening. We think of player development successes as someone like Sam Hauser, who has really grown a lot over the course of his career so far. But these little steps from White have made a big difference, and I think it falls under the same umbrella. He was 6-12 from 3 and he launched each one with real confidence. 

- Kristaps Porzingis: He was on a minutes restriction, so Mazzulla chose to use him for a bigger stretch in the second half. That turned into nearly 16 straight minutes of basketball over the third and fourth quarters. 

“Joe talked to me toward the end of the second quarter,” Porzingis explained. “He was like, ‘I’ll just sit you this one so we can play in the second half more in case the game is close or whatever. He wanted to have those minutes for me available. I of course agreed and that was it. So that’s why it was weird like that.”

He didn’t really miss a beat, shooting 50% overall and 5-9 from 3 on his way to a 20-point, eight-rebound night in just over 21 minutes. After the game, he said the extended absence was out of extra caution and that he wanted to come back a couple of games ago. 

- Payton Pritchard: Another impressive night with 23 points and seven assists. 

- The ease of the win: The Celtics were missing Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, Jrue Holiday, and Sam Hauser. They went with some weird lineups and extended minutes for guys who never play. And all they did was win by 25. It took a little while for it finally click and pull away, but they were never in any danger in this game. I know it’s the Pistons, but beating any team like this, under these circumstances, is pretty good. 

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- Nothing . I’m not going to pick on anyone, really. My only note is that I would like Springer to play with a little more control. He was channeling Aaron Nesmith out there sometimes, so I’d like him to just dial it back a little bit without losing the energy he brings. 

HIGHLIGHTS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- Derrick White is the league’s most wholesome star player

First of all, yes, White is a star player. He’s not a superstar, but he’s also not a role player. 

Secondly, the man is just too wholesome for words. 

He picked up his ninth assist of the night with 9:25 on the clock. He had amassed 99% of his triple-double at that point, and it had all come organically. Then White, and everyone, realized where things stood. 

“I was aware, for sure,” Pritchard said. “I think everybody was aware. It was pretty easy to look up there and you see 22-10-9. We were going to try to help him out with that."

And so, after about 39 minutes of NBA basketball where White made all the right plays, the Celtics decided to get away from that in pursuit of that one … last … assist. 

It took three full minutes, and White, who had not turned the ball over once to that point, coughed it up twice while chasing the final dime. 

“It was weird. I didn't like it,” White said of his brief foray into stat-padding. “And I didn't play too good doing it. So I gotta not do that ever again. Hopefully.”

The man chased one little assist and it gave him heartburn. What can be more freakin’ wholesome than that? It’s actually pretty refreshing, and it’s an endearing quality. 

“I think it’s hard not to love him, no?” Porzingis said after the game. “This guy just on and off the court is a unique human and unique player. I can go on and on and give compliments to D-White honestly about who he is. Everybody loves him here and it’s good always to see people like this getting recognition on the floor also. And that’s what he did tonight.”

White finally found Pritchard for a 3-pointer and his 10th assist. White, who played his college ball at Colorado, got his first-ever triple-double thanks to the Oregon product. After the Ducks upset the Buffs in the Pac-12 title game, which cost White a few bucks, he said Pritchard hitting the shot “was the least he could do for me.” 

Just some good ol’ harmless fun for the most wholesome star in the league. 

Next up: The Celtics host the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night