The Celtics head to Detroit for their second straight road game, having played in Toronto on Tuesday night. This is the 4th, and final, game between these two teams this season. The Celtics are 3-0 against them so far this season. The Celtics won 106-98 in Detroit on 10/26. They won in Boston 130-120 on 12/4 and, again in Boston, 123-99 on 12/12.
The Celtics won the series 3-0 last season. The Celtics are 254-140 overall all time and they are 129-94 in games played in Detroit. the Celtics are playing on the second night of back to back games, having played in Toronto on Tuesday night. The Celtics are 5-3 in the second of back to back games this season and they are 2-1 when the second game is on the road. They are 2-1 when both the first and second games are on the road.
The Pistons made some moves before the season. They signed Malik Beasley and Tobias Harris as free agents. They signed rookies Ronald Holland II and Bobi Klintman. They acquired Wendell Moore Jr. from Minnesota in exchange for draft considerations. They later waived Moore. They also claimed Paul Reed off waivers. They fired Head Coach Monty Williams and hired JB Bickerstaff as coach. They also parted ways with general manager Troy Weaver. At the trade deadline they added Dennis Schroder in the trade that sent Jimmy Butler to Golden State.
The Celtics are 2nd in the East, 6 games behind the first place Cleveland Cavaliers, who have won their last 8 games. They are now 4.5 games ahead of the 3rd place Knicks after the Celtics beat them on Sunday. The Celtics are 24-6 on the road. They are 9-1 in their last 10 games. They are 31-9 against Eastern Conference teams. The Celtics have won their last 6 games.
The Pistons are among the hottest teams in the league. They are 6th in the East, 16 games behind first place Cleveland, 1 game behind 4th place Indiana and 5th place Milwaukee. They are 3.5 games ahead of 7th place Orlando. The Pistons are 15-13 at home and 8-2 in their last 10 games. They are 22-20 against Eastern Conference teams and they have won 7 straight games.
The Celtics began the final stretch after the All Star break with a 20 point win at Philadelphia before returning home to beat the Knicks by 13. They won by 10 Tuesday night at Toronto and are now playing the second game in as many nights in Detroit. Next after this 2 game road trip, the Celtics then have a 7 game home stand against Cleveland, Denver, Portland, Philadelphia, LA Lakers, Utah, and Oklahoma City. After the 7 home games they will play 8 of the next 9 games on the road, including another trip out West.
On Tuesday night, Al Horford (toe), Jrue Holiday (rest), Kristaps Porzingis (illness) and Luke Kornet (personal) were out for the Toronto game. The mid-day injury report for the Celtics has Luke Kornet out for this game due to personal reasons. Jaylen Brown seemed to tweak his leg in Tuesday’s game and is questionable for this game. Sam Hauser (back) and Kristaps Porzingis (illness) are both questionable for this game. Although, after Tuesday’s game, Joe Mazzulla indicated that he expected Porzingis to play in this one.
For the Pistons, Simone Fontecchio dislocated his right finger in Sunday’s win over Atlanta, He missed Monday’s game and is out for this one. Former Maine Celtic Ron Harper, Jr just signed a Two-Way contract with Detroit and is out for this game due to a thumb injury. Jaden Ivey hasn’t played since Jan. 1 after undergoing surgery to repair a broken left fibula and is out for this game. 2-Way player Tolu Smith is out with an Achilles injury. Dennis Schroder is questionable with ankle soreness.
Probable Celtics Starters
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PG: Jrue HolidaySG: Derrick WhiteSF: Jaylen BrownPF: Jayson Tatum C: Kristaps Porzingis
Celtics ReservesPayton PritchardNeemias QuetaBaylor ScheiermanTorrey CraigXavier Tillman, SrJordan WalshSam Hauser
2 Way PlayersJD DavisonDrew PetersonAnton Watson
Injuries/OutKristaps Porzingis (illness) questionable Luke Kornet (personal) outSam Hauser (back) questionable Jaylen Brown (leg) questionable
Head CoachJoe Mazzulla
Probable Pistons Starters
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PG: Cade CunninghamSG: Tim Hardaway, JrSF: Ausar ThompsonPF: Tobias HarrisC: Jalen Duren
Pistons Reserves Malik BeasleySimone Fontecchio Ron Holland IIBobi KlintmanPaul Reed Marcus SasserDennis SchroderIsaiah StewartLindy Waters III
2-Way Players Daniss Jenkins Ron Harper, JrTolu Smith
Injuries/OutSimone Fontecchio (finger) out Ron Harper, Jr (thumb) out Jaden Ivey (lower leg) out Tolu Smith (Achilles) out Dennis Schroder (ankle) questionable
Head CoachJB Bickerstaff
Key Matchups
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Jrue Holiday
Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
Cade Cunningham
Photo by Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images
Jrue Holiday vs Cade CunninghamCunningham is averaging 25.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 9.5 assists and 1 steal per game. He is shooting 46% from the field and 36.5% from beyond the arc. In the first 3 games against the Celtics, he averaged 22 points, 7.7 rebounds, 10.7 assists and 2 blocks while shooting 44.6% from the field but just 23.8% from beyond the arc. He had 32 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists in the game against the Clippers on Monday. Slowing him down will go a long way toward slowing down the Pistons.
Grid View
Payton Pritchard
Photo By Winslow Townson/Getty Images
Malik Beasley
Photo by Chris Schwegler/NBAE via Getty Images
Payton Pritchard vs Malik BeasleyThis is a matchup of 6th Man of the Year candidates. Beasley is averaging 16.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game. He is shooting 44% from the field and 42.3% from beyond the arc. In the last game against the Celtics he went 2-4 and that moved him into 100th on the all time 3 points made list. In the 3 games against the Celtics he averaged 15 points and 3.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists while shooting 45.5% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need their own 6th man sharpshooter to have a good game on both ends of the court.
Honorable MentionJayson Tatum vs Tobias Harris Harris is averaging 13.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.3 assists. He is shooting 37% from the field and 33% from beyond the arc. In 3 games against the Celtics, he averaged 14.7 points, 7.3 rebounds 2.7 assists and 1 steal per game while shooting 40.5% from the field and 41.2% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to do a better job of defending him on the perimeter.
Keys to the Game Defense – Defense will always be key to winning every game. The Celtics are 5th in the league with a 109.6 defensive rating while the Pistons are 12th with a defensive rating of 112.4. The Pistons are 12th in the league, averaging 114.4 points per game. The Celtics have to come into this game with the mindset that they need to play tough defense and not underestimate the Pistons, who have a lot of young and hungry players and who are playing as well as any team in the league.
Rebound – Rebounding is important to give the Celtics extra possessions and to limit possessions for their opponents. The Celtics and Pistons are both averaging 45.3 rebounds per game (8th). In their first meeting, the Pistons out-rebounded the Celtics 44-37. In the second game the Celtics out rebounded the Pistons 43-34 and in the third game, the Celtics out rebounded the Pistons 52-43. The Celtics have to once again crash the boards and out-rebound the Pistons. Rebounding takes effort and the Celtics need to give extra effort to beat the Pistons to rebounds. When they show extra effort on the boards, it often shows up in other areas of the game as well.
3 Point Shooting – The Celtics are first in the league with 48.3 threes attempted per game and first with 17.8 makes per game. They are 9th, shooting 36.9% from three while the Pistons are 13th shooting 36.3% on threes. When the Celtics shoot 3’s in the flow of the game they are usually very good. But when they try to force it, they often go cold. They need to not force 3’s and continue to move the ball and take the best shot. Also, if the 3’s aren’t falling in this game they need to abandon that strategy and take the ball inside. The Celtics also need to defend the perimeter as too often they allow teams to shoot above their averages from beyond the arc.
Move the Ball – The Celtics play best when the ball is moving and players move to get open to find the best shots. When the ball sticks, the offense is stagnant and the Celtics struggle to score. They need to make good passes and keep the ball moving rather than lapsing into hero ball. The Pistons are 9th with 18.9 points off turnovers per game and so along with moving the ball, they also need to make careful passes and not turn it over.
X-Factors Back to Back on the Road – TThe Celtics are on the road and have to overcome the distractions that come with travel and playing in a hostile arena. They are also playing on the second night of back to back games, having played in Toronto on Tuesday. Hopefully they will have Porzingis, Horford and Holiday available for this one since all 3 sat out Tuesday’s game which would help some with the fatigue of playing back to back.
Officiating – Officiating is always an x-factor. Every crew calls the game differently. Some call it tight and call every bit of contact while others allow more physical play. Some favor the home team while others call both sides evenly. The Celtics have to adjust to the way the refs are calling the game and not allow the no calls and bad calls to affect their focus on playing the game.
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