Bill Simmons was among many who felt let down by the Celtics’ season opener. The team blew a 22-point lead against the Pistons, losing 121-113 after Detroit reeled off a 23-0 run in the fourth quarter. On his podcast, Simmons expressed his disappointment, saying, ‘I was bummed because it could have been the perfect start. Paul George looked awesome, but Jayson Tatum was terrible. He took good shots, but they weren’t going in. Then in the fourth, he panicked and started pressing.’ Tatum finished with just 13 points on 6-for-23 shooting, and he only went to the free-throw line once. Simmons pointed out that with Jaylen Brown now traded to the Sixers, the pressure is on Tatum to carry the team. ‘There’s no proven next guy who can show up in a game like Detroit for 25 to 30 points,’ he noted. Brown helped the Sixers beat the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, highlighting what Boston lost. Simmons also criticized the coaching, saying Joe Mazzulla rotated players like it was a hockey game, and mentioned poor contributions from youngsters like Hugo Gonzalez. Despite the ugly loss, Simmons expects Tatum to shoot better moving forward, but it’s a concerning start to the post-Brown era.
