Chris Broussard likens Celtics to '04 Pistons highlighting Jayson Tatum playing Chauncey Billups' role for Boston

NBA analyst Chris Broussard has compared the Boston Celtics to the 2004 Detroit Pistons team that won the title against the LA Lakers. The Celts took care of Game 1 on their home floor against the Dallas Mavericks and walked away with a 107-89 win. This happened despite a passive offensive outing from their best player, Jayson Tatum.

Tatum had 16 points and 11 rebounds in Game 1 and shot 6-16 from the field. The All-Star forward took a backseat offensively as he wasn't getting his shots to fall last night. Fortunately, Kristaps Porzingis, who returned from injury, was there to help and had 20 points off the bench.

Tatum also allowed his frontcourt partner, Jaylen Brown, to take care of business on the offensive side. Brown had 22 points, six rebounds and three steals.

NBA analyst Chris Broussard complimented what the team did in Game 1. He analyzed the team's performance and compared them to the Detroit Pistons from 2004. Broussard highlighted Tatum taking on the role of Chauncey Billups and approaching the series with his team rather than doing everything himself.

"THey're looking more like Detroit, '04," Broussard said. "Chauncey Billups was a blue chip high school and college guy, was the third pick in the draft. Rasheed [Wallace] was, I think, the fourth pick in the draft. These are highly touted guys.

"Maybe that's what this Boston team is and maybe Tatum, possibly their best player, is more of just a team rather than one guys kinda leading a group of really good players."

Broussard explained that Tatum isn't relying on scoring the ball more, especially since he's struggling to make shots. Instead, he is contributing in every way he can and is allowing his teammates to take the spotlight in their postseason run.

---

2008 Celtics champion talks about the difference for the team this year

Aside from the obvious roster changes in adding Jrue Holiday and Porzingis, the entire Celtics squad has played differently this year. A member of the franchise's 2008 title team, Leon Powe, shared that the team's ability to gather and re-group whenever they're struggling has played a significant role in their success.

"Yeah, it's unlike the last Finals. You noticed they wasn't good at doing that," Powe said. "This Finals right now, this Game 1, they seen the momentum shift a little bit, called timeout, they paused, they settled down."

The Mavs tried to mount a comeback in the third quarter. However, Boston didn't allow the momentum to be on Dallas' side and executed their gameplan. The team focused on shutting down the offense of their opponent, which eventually led to a win.