Boston Celtics Get First Win in Paul Pierce's Return

The Boston Celtics finally got their first win of the season in the home opener last night, beating the Detroit Pistons 96-85 (although they built more than a twenty point lead before pulling the starters).

It was also Paul Pierce's first game of the season, and while he only scored twelve points, he looked very good. The team flowed much better with him on the court and he even dished out five assists.

It truly was a good team win for the Celtics because no one player really dominated and no player even scored more than 20 points. As a team they played good defense and were very efficient offensively, shooting 52 percent for the field, 44 percent from three, and an incredible 19-19 from the free throw line.

Perhaps the most defining play of the whole game was when Garnett received an outlet pass from Rondo, and instead of going up over two defenders, threw a behind the back pass to Pierce in the corner for a tough three. Pierce hit it to extend the Celtics lead to 14 points.

The Celtics played unselfish basketball, hit shots, and played good defense last night—and that has been a winning formula for this team ever since Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen were acquired in 2007.

The Big Four accounted for less than half of the team's points and the Celtics were still able to win. That is the mark of a real team. The two biggest offensive producers, as a matter of fact, were big-men Brandon Bass (17 points) and Jermaine O'Neal (19 points).

For Bass, his scoring was not a surprise because he has played very well since joining the Celtics. Glen Davis, whom Bass was traded for, was a similar player, but it seems that Bass is much more consistent. And so far in this young season, it seems that the Celtics made a very good trade.

O'Neal's production was an even more welcomed sign though because it seemed that his offensive game was gone, considering he only managed to score eight points in the first three games combined. But he proved last night that this was not the case. He scored in a variety of ways and led the team in scoring.

If the Celtics can continue to get the offensive production from Bass and if O'Neal can even show half of the offensive ability he showed last night, winning games will become much easier. Because last night, winning seemed easy. Now it is important that the Celtics continue to win because they are still only 1-3 and with Pierce now back and and an easy next few games, there is no more excuse for them not to start winning again.