The Celtics president had plenty to say about the unique challenges each campaign brings, but dialed in on a concept he credits to an Eastern Conference rival.

So if we’re winning then everybody eats.” The Celtics almost went hungry against the Pistons. Still, after their first close game of the young season, some Boston players sounded excited about encountering some stress. Derrick White said it was good for the Celtics to be challenged. Jayson Tatum said he enjoyed the tests his team passed in Detroit.

The Celtics moved to 3-0 on the young season with a surprisingly tight win on Saturday evening vs the Detroit Pistons, in a game in which Boston led by 20, ultimately went down by as many as six late in the fourth quarter, but ultimately came away with the victory.

He appreciates that his players are open to figuring out different solutions, rather than relying on the same formula all the time. It’s a credit to Pritchard, Hauser and the rest of the Celtics bench that the team consistently plays the same brand of basketball regardless of who’s on the court.

And everybody plays a part in that.” The Boston players might have reacted differently if they had failed to stage a late comeback. Instead, after losing all of a 23-point lead, falling behind in the fourth quarter and going scoreless for more than four minutes after that, the Celtics still eventually pulled out a road victory.

The Celtics also pride themselves on playing to the same level regardless of their opponent. “We want to be consistent,” said Al Horford. “We want to play our style of play. We want to push the pace and defend. We want to pressure. It really, really shouldn’t change depending on who we play. We are who we are.”