THE Celtics going from the team with the worst record in the league to the team with the second-worst record as they host the Detroit Pistons. This is the 2nd of 3 matches between these two teams this season. The Celtics won the first game 128-122 in overtime on December 28. They will meet again in Detroit on March 22. The Celtics won the series 4-0 last season.
These two teams are playing in the second night of back-to-back games. The Celtics won 130-104 in Washington on Sunday while the Pistons lost 104-101 at home to the Miami Heat. The Celtics are 9-2 on the second night of back-to-back games and 5-0 when Game 2 is at home. The Pistons are 3-7 on the second night of back-to-back games. The Celtics are 251-140 overall against the Pistons and they are 123-46 at home.
The Celtics remain 1st in the East, 9.5 games ahead of 2nd place Milwaukee, 11 games ahead of 3rd place Cleveland, 13 games ahead of 4th place New York, 14 games ahead of 5th place Orlando and 15.5 games ahead of 6th place Indiana. They are 30-3 at home and 8-2 in their last 10 games. They are 34-7 against Eastern Conference teams and have won their last 5 games.
The Pistons are 14th in the East, 1.5 games ahead of last-place Washington. They are 4.5 games behind 13th place Charlotte, 11 games behind 12th place Toronto and 17.5 games behind 10th place Atlanta and the last play-in spot. They are 5-27 on the road and 4-6 in their last 10 games. They are 9-33 against Eastern Conference teams and have lost their last 2 games.
After a 3-2 road trip, the Celtics played a home game against the Suns, then hit the road for a game in Washington before returning home to face Detroit. They will face Milwaukee at home, then go 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 a game at Milwaukee before finishing the season at home against New York, Charlotte and Washington.
The Pistons are coming off a 6 game homestand where they beat Brooklyn, Charlotte and Toronto and lost twice to Miami and Dallas. After this away game, they will face Indiana, Boston and New Orleans at home. They then play New York, Minnesota and Washington before playing Mamphis at home. They will play 6 of their last 7 games on the road.
It is difficult to predict who will play and who will participate in this one. Al Horford has gone to rest. Jrue Holiday is out with a shoulder injury. Kristaps Porzingis has missed 5 straight games with a hamstring strain and was upgraded to probable for this game. Derrick White and Jaylen Brown missed Sunday’s game and I assume they will both return for this game. However, Brown is listed as questionable due to ankle soreness.
Tatum is also listed as suspect with an ankle impingement. Sam Hauser left Sunday’s game with an ankle injury and will be out for this game. My guess is Derrick White will move to point guard with Jrue out and Oshae Brissett will start at shooting guard. However, Payton Pritchard could get the start as White remains at shooting guard. These decisions will be made closer to game time.
For the Pistons, Quentin Grimes was limited to three appearances in March due to right knee soreness and is out for this game. Ausar Thompson has missed 4 straight games due to illness and is also out for this game. Cade Cunningham was questionable for Sunday’s game due to knee soreness, but he ended up playing and is once again questionable for this game. Simone Fontecchio is doubtful with a toe injury. I don’t know who would start if one or both were eliminated.
Celtics likely starters
PG: Derrick White
SG: Oshae Brissett
SF: Jaylen Brown
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Kristaps Porzingis
Celtics reserves
Luc Kornet
Svi Mykhailiuk
Payton Pritchard
Jordan Walsh
Xavier Tillman
Jaden Springer
2-way players
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Neemias Queta
Injuries/Exclusions
Jrue Holiday (shoulder) out
Kristaps Porzingis (hamstring) likely
Jaylen Brown (ankle) questionable
Sam Hauser (ankle) out
Al Horford (rest) absent
Jayson Tatum (ankle) questionable
The head coach
Joe Mazzulla
PG: Cade Cunningham
SG: Jaden Ivey
SF: Simone Fontecchio
PF: Isaiah Stewart
C: Jalen Duren
Piston reserves
Troy Brown, Jr.
Malachi Flynn
Evan Fournier
Taj Gibson
Marcus Sasser
Stanley Umude
James Wiseman
Two-way players
Boyfriend Boeheim
Jared Rhoden
Tosan Evbuomwan
Injuries/Exclusions
Ausar Thompson (illness) absent
Quentin Grimes (knee) out
Simone Fontecchio (toe) questionable
Cade Cunningham (knee) questionable
The head coach
Monty Williams
Key matches
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Jrue Vacations
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Cade Cunningham
Photo by Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images
Jrue Holiday 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 field. bow. The Celtics need to defend him better in this game.
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Derrick White
Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
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Jaden Ivey
Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images
Derrick White vs. Jaden Ivey
Ivey averages 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 game against the Celtics, Ivey finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 block while shooting 53.3% from the field and 60% from beyond the arc. As with Cunningham, the Celtics need to do a better job defending him in this game.
Honorable mention
Kristaps Porzingis vs. Jalen Duren
Duren averages 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 shooting 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. ground. The Celtics need to defend him better in this game and also keep him off the boards.
Game keys
Defense – Defense will always be the key to winning every game. The Celtics are 2nd in the league with a defensive rating of 110.4 while the Pistons are 27th with a defensive rating of 118.5. The Pistons are 22nd in the league, averaging 112.1 points per game. They have a defensive rating of 111.5 for March (7) and they are coming off a game in which they lost by just 4 points to the Heat. It took the Celtics overtime to beat them at home in their first meeting. The Celtics need to approach this game with the mindset that they need to play solid defense and not underestimate the Pistons, who have a lot of young and hungry players.
Bounce – Rebounding is important to give the Celtics extra possessions and to limit their opponents’ possessions. The Celtics average 46.9 rebounds per game (2nd) while the Pistons average 44 rebounds (12th). Over their last 5 games, the Pistons have 78 more rebounds than their opponents. In their first meeting, the Pistons dominated the Celtics 57-43 and the Celtics need to do better in this game. Rebounding takes effort and the Celtics need to put in extra effort to beat the Pistons in rebounding. When they show extra effort on the boards, it often shows in other areas of the game as well.
Be aggressive -The Celtics can’t come into the game expecting an easy game and being able to relax 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, taking the ball to the basket, diving to recover loose balls, rebounding and playing as a team. If they allow the Pistons to outplay them, they might 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 game – Both teams play on the second night of back-to-back games. the Pistons game went all the way to the end while the Celtics game was basically over by halftime. Both teams will count on their reserves to get through this match. The Celtics could be shorthanded, which would put even more pressure on the reserves to perform well.
X factors
Back home – The Celtics are back at home and they must be ready to protect their home court. Young teams often struggle on the road and we hope the Garden will be loud and can distract the young Pistons team who also has to deal with the distractions of travel. The Celtics will likely be shorthanded, so every player needs to step up their game, even against the team at the bottom of the East. Too often we’ve seen the Celtics relax, give up, and lose to teams they absolutely should beat.
Officer – Officer is always an X factor. Each crew calls the game differently. Some call it tight and call every contact while others allow more physical play. Some favor the home team while others call both teams a tie. The Celtics need to adapt to how the refs call the game and not let non-calls and bad calls affect their focus on the game.
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