Paul George’s heat check three with 8:32 to play in the third quarter of Tuesday’s season opener marked his third straight triple. More importantly, it gave the Celtics a commanding 72-50 lead over the Pistons in what was shaping up to be a tone-setting victory.
Then… then it got worse.
Detroit closed the game on a 71-41 run. Duncan Robinson exploded for 21 points, with 15 coming in the fourth to help the Pistons cement the largest comeback
in Opening Day history (at least since the NBA’s play-by-play era began in 1997).
The Celtics will head back to Boston with absolutely nothing to show for their trip to Little Caesars Arena except for a big fat disappointing loss.
Ironically, they’ve started the 2026-27 campaign the same way that they ended last year’s — with a monumental collapse. Boston’s unwillingness to finish of their commanding 3-1 lead over the 76ers last spring gave the front office the green light (from a general public perspective) to make serious changes.
They obliged and made it #DifferentHere.
As I write this, Jaylen Brown is warming up for his Sixers debut at Madison Square Garden ahead of Knicks Banner Night (Imagine reading that sentance a year ago). Boston moved on from Brown in favor of George, who was not remotely the problem today. He finished with 38 points, five rebounds, five steals, and made seven threes in the process.
Yet, the way the Celtics fumbled this game away was reminscent of collapses of years past.
(Yes, I saw the stat.)
Regardless, if the lead eclipsed the 20-point mark is largely irrelevant. Boston led by 12 points early in the fourth quarter of this one. Much like Game 5 against Philadelphia last spring, or Games 1 and 2 against the Knicks in 2025, they failed to do enough to ultimately secure a win.
Detroit got out in transition and created clean looks from deep. Not a single Celtic could do anything to stop the bleeding. There was no calming presence on the floor for Boston — an alarming lack there of really.
Jayson Tatum, who the team fully committed to as their guy this summer, did not give them enough to get across the finish line in this game. He was 1-10 from the field in the second half and didn’t grab a single rebound after the break. This was a game where the Celtics needed all of the rebounding help they could get.
It’d be unfair to pretend like Tatum didn’t do anything well. He managed to get himself in plenty of great positions to score, at least earlier in the game. He just didn’t take advantage.
The good looks stopped in the fourth. Tatum took just five shots, and none of them were “oh, I can’t believe that didn’t go in” shots. It was more of a “why didn’t he do something different?” type of looks. If the Celtics are going to continue to be a staple towards the top of the Eastern Conference, they’re going to need Tatum to level up his consistentcy towards the end of games.
He’s put together undeniable performances throughout his career. Game 6 in Milwaukee in 2022. Game 6 in Philadelphia a year later. Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals. Even Game 3 against the Sixers in the spring featured a tremendous fourth-quarter showing.
Yet, it doesn’t traditionally feel like he’ll will the team to a win when things aren’t going their way late in games. Without Brown to lean on (not to pretend like he wasn’t out there when the aforementioned collpases happened), Boston needs Tatum to become a more reliable closer.
Tuesday was a reminder that he’s not quite there. Whether Jayson Tatum wanted it this way or not, the spotlight is soley on him. Time to shine.
