Boston Celtics (55-14) at Detroit Pistons (12-57) Game #70 3/22/24

The Celtics begin a 6 game road trip with a stop in Detroit to take on the Pistons. This is the 3rd and final game between these two teams this season. The Celtics won the first game 128-122 in overtime on December 28 in Boston. The Celtics won the second game 119-94 on March 18, also in Boston. The Celtics won the series 4-0 last season. The Celtics are 252-140 overall all time against the Pistons and they are 128-94 all time on the road.

The Celtics remain 1st in the East, 11 games ahead of 2nd place Milwaukee, 12 games ahead of 3rd place Cleveland, 13.5 games ahead of 4th place New York, 14 games ahead of 5th place Orlando, and 16.5 games ahead of 6th place Indiana. They are 23-11 on the road and 8-2 in their last 10 games. They are 36-7 against Eastern Conference teams and have won their last 7 games.

The Pistons are 14th in the East, 1 game ahead of last place Washington. They are 5 games behind 13th place Charlotte, 11 games behind 12th place Toronto, and 19.5 games behind 10th place Atlanta and the final play-in spot. They are 43 games behind 1st place Boston. They are 7-29 on the road and 3-7 in their last 10 games. They are 9-35 against Eastern Conference teams and they have lost their last 4 games.

The Celtics are playing in the first of back to back games. They are 11-1 on the first night of back to back games and 3-1 when both games are on the road, losing only at Golden State. On their current 6 game road trip, only the New Orleans Pelicans have a winning record. The Pistons need to win at least 5 more games this season to avoid setting a franchise worst season record.

The Celtics just finished up 2 games at home, beating these same Pistons and also the Milwaukee Bucks. They are starting on a 6 game road trip through Detroit, Chicago, 2 games in Atlanta, New Orleans and Charlotte. They will return home for 3 games against Oklahoma City, Sacramento, and Portland. Then it’s one game in Milwaukee before finishing the season at home against New York, Charlotte and Washington.

The Pistons just finished a 6 game home stand where they beat Brooklyn, Charlotte and Toronto and lost to Miami twice and Dallas. They then lost to the Celtics on the road and returned home to lose to the Indiana Pacers. This is the second straight home game for them and they will finish the home stand against New Orleans at home. Next they play at New York, Minnesota, and Washington before playing Mamphis at home. They play 6 of their last 7 games on the road.

It’s hard to predict who will play and who will sit in this one. It is the first of back to back games and the Pistons are missing 6 players. However, games against short handed teams have been the Celtics weak spot in the past. As of now, Jrue Holiday is out with a shoulder contusion. Al Horford (toe), Jaylen Brown (ankle), Jayson Tatum (ankle), and Kristaps Porzingis (hamstring) are all questionable.

Sam Hauser (ankle) is probable. I’m guessing that some of the starters will sit out this game and some will sit out Saturday’s game in Chicago. I’m guessing that Payton Pritchard will start at the point in place of Holiday. With Hauser probable to come back, he may start in place of Brown if he is out. Luke Kornet or Al Horford may start if Porzingis or Tatum is out. I’m expecting that one of Porzingis or Horford will miss this game and the other will miss Saturday’s game. I’m also guessing that either Tatum or Brown will miss this game while the other will miss Saturday’s game.

The Pistons are also short handed for this game. Simone Fontecchio (toe), Stanley Umude (ankle) Quentin Grimes (knee), Taj Gibson (hamstring), Isaiah Stewart (hamstring), and Ausar Thompson (illness) are all out for this game. I’m guessing that Evan Fournier starts at small forward and Tosan Evbuomwan will start at power forward for them.

Probable Celtics Starters

PG: Payton PritchardSG: Derrick White

SF: Jaylen BrownPF: Jayson Tatum

C: Kristaps Porzingis

Celtics Reserves
Oshae Brissett
Luke Kornet
Svi Mykhailiuk
Jordan Walsh
Xavier Tillman
Jaden Springer

2 Way Players
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Neemias Queta

Injuries/Out
Kristaps Porzingis (hamstring) questionable
Jaylen Brown (ankle) questionable
Sam Hauser (ankle) probable
Al Horford (toe) questionable
Jrue Holiday (shoulder) out
Jayson Tatum (ankle) questionable

Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla

Probable Pistons Starters

PG: Cade Cunningham
SG: Jaden Ivey
SF: Evan Fournier
PF: Tosan Evbuomwan
C: Jalen Duren

Pistons Reserves
Troy Brown, Jr
Malachi Flynn
Marcus Sasser
James Wiseman

Two Way Players
Buddy Boeheim
Jared Rhoden
Tosan Evbuomwan

Injuries/Out
Ausar Thompson (illness) out
Quentin Grimes (knee) out
Taj Gibson (hamstring) out
Stanley Umude (ankle) out
Simone Fontecchio (toe) out
Isaiah Stewart (hamstring) out

Head Coach
Monty Williams

Key Matchups

Payton Pritchard vs Cade Cunningham
Cunningham is averaging 22.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game. He is shooting 45% from the field and 35% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, Cunningham finished with 31 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks while shooting 54.5% from the field and 66.7% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to defend him better in this game.

Derrick White vs Jaden Ivey
Ivey is averaging 15.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. He is shooting 43.4% from the field and 32.9% from beyond the arc. In the first games against the Celtics, Ivey averaged 21.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1 block while shooting 52.9% from the field and 44.4% from beyond the arc. As with Cunningham, the Celtics need to do a better job of defending him in this game.

Honorable Mention
Celtics Center vs Jalen Duren
Duren is averaging 14.1 points, 12.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. He is shooting 63.7% from the field and is not a threat to shoot from 3. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 15 points, 14 rebounds and 2 assists while shooting 83.3% from the field. I’m not sure who will start at center for the Celtics but whoever starts needs to defend Duran and also keep him off the boards.

Keys to the Game
Defense - Defense will always be key to winning every game. The Celtics are 2nd in the league with a 110.4 defensive rating while the Pistons are 27th with a defensive rating of 118.5. The Pistons are 24th in the league, averaging 111.6 points per game. It took overtime for the Celtics to beat them at home in their first meeting at home. 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.

Rebound - Rebounding is important to give the Celtics extra possessions and to limit possessions for their opponents. The Celtics are averaging 46.8 rebounds per game (2nd) while the Pistons are averaging 44 rebounds (11th). In their first meeting, the Pistons out-rebounded the Celtics 57-43 and the Celtics have to do better in this game. 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.

Be Aggressive - The Celtics can’t come into the game expecting an easy game and to be able to take it easy on both ends of the court because the Pistons are at the bottom of the league. They have to come in and be aggressive on defense, on taking the ball to the basket, on diving for loose balls, on rebounding and on playing as a team. If they allow the Pistons to play harder than them they may just be surprised with a loss. They can’t underestimate the Pistons and have to play hard and give it their all for 48 minutes.

Reserve Play - Both teams are playing shorthanded. Both teams will be depending on their reserves to get through this game. Even if all Celtics on the injury report are out, they still have some very good players to fill in, while the Pistons are depending on 2 way players and 10 day contract players to fill out their bench. However, the Pistons players are going to be very hungry and will be looking to maybe stick with the team and so the Celtics need to be ready for them.

X-Factors
Trap Game on the Road - The Celtics tend to underestimate shorthanded and losing teams and they need to stay away from making that mistake in this game. The Celtics have already beaten last place Pistons twice but if they come into the game expecting to just run over them without giving any effort, they may end up losing this one. They can’t underestimate a team, even if they are tanking. The Celtics are also on the road and have to overcome the distractions that come with travel and playing in a hostile arena.

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 no calls and bad calls to affect their focus on playing the game.

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