Pistons ride big games from big three (Josh Smith, Greg Monroe, Andre Drummond) to tanking victory (actual loss)

Monroe’s offensive energy level was extremely high, and he did everything you’d want from an interior scorer. He frequently put himself in good position before receiving an entry pass. When he caught the ball further out, he worked his way inside with little wasted movement. He hit the glass hard, generating scoring looks that way, too. Add a few nice passes, and this was a really strong offensive game for Monroe. But also kept taking himself out of position defensively, losing track of where the action was headed. At least he defended well on the ball.

39 MIN | 12-24 FG | 1-5 FT | 11 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 4 TO | 28 PTS | -2

Smith overcame his shot selection for efficient scoring output. Defensively, he repeatedly erased the Celtics’ at the rim, showing real skills as a backline defender.

38 MIN | 2-7 FG | 4-5 FT | 3 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 2 BLK | 3 TO | 8 PTS | -2

Singler was mostly quiet, but the defensive issues with him playing shooting guard remain.

38 MIN | 8-13 FG | 2-3 FT | 22 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 18 PTS | -9

Forget versatility. The ability to grab a high percentage of available offensive rebounds and then convert those into points is an important and underrated skill, and Drummond might rank as the NBA’s best at it. As long as he can do that, he’ll remain near star quality overeall. If the rest of his game comes together, watch out.

39 MIN | 5-13 FG | 3-4 FT | 1 REB | 7 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 14 PTS | -3

Jennings isn’t as good as Rondo, and it’s unfair to ask him to be. But watching Rondo (18 assists, 0 turnovers to the Pistons’ 17 assists, 16 turnovers) turn this lemony Boston roster into lemonade, even if the juice is only mediocre, just magnifies the disparity between Jennings and the NBA’s high-end point guards. Also, Jennings must do a better job getting back on defense.

5 MIN | 0-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 0 PTS | -8

Jerebko’s defense makes me sad. It’s not just that he’s too tentative, which he is. But after seeing him play without abandon earlier in his career, I just long for that fearless Jerebko.

22 MIN | 4-9 FG | 10-12 FT | 2 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 18 PTS | 0

Bynum scored 15 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter. For the season, Bynum has scored an incredible 47 percent of his points in the fourth quarter. That period is just, um, a quarter of the game, man.

3 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | -7

So trill.

17 MIN | 1-4 FG | 1-3 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 3 PTS | -7

Stuckey really squandered a chance to pad his scoring average against the Celtics’ replacement-level guards.

The Celtics broke the game open when Jeff Green shot 3s over the Pistons’ zone. Loyer gets points for creativity. More points for losing and improving Detroit’s lottery odds. But Loyer watching a seemingly prepared team go through the motions doesn’t exactly instill confidence in anybody.