After a much-needed four days off due to the knockout round of the NBA Cup, the Pistons are back to playing.
The Pistons finally play basketball again. I don’t really have any major issues with the NBA Cup, but this weird break they give teams due to the knockout round of the tournament is one of the things I don’t like. It was necessary for the Pistons, who have played a ton of games early on in the season, but it just brings the regular season to a halt right as we get through the slogs of November basketball.
It is also annoying when your team once again has to play the Boston Celtics on the road after they just played them on the road last week on a back-to-back.
I don’t fully understand the scheduling quirks of the NBA and how they schedule the teams that did not make the knockout round of the NBA Cup, but I would assume this matchup has to do with the fact that the Pistons and Celtics were the first two teams to miss out on the knockout round in the East.
Game Vitals
Where: TD Garden in Boston, MA
When: Thursday, December 12 at 7:30 pm EST
Watch: Fan Duel Sports Network Detroit
Odds: Boston (-12.5)
Analysis
There aren’t really a ton of moral victories in the NBA, or at least you shouldn’t have them if you are team trying to have any level of respect in the league. But, the Pistons have played the Celtics tough in their last two matchups. The story of the game was similar in both matchups, as the Celtics shot the lights out in the first half and the Pistons tightened up defensively in the 2nd half and give the Celtics a run for their money.
The Pistons were actually in position to win their first matchup, as they actually led at one point before ultimately faltering down the stretch. The aforementioned matchup last week in Boston was another game that the Pistons would have bowed out at halftime last year with the huge deficit, especially on a back-to back, but they did not and ended up making it a game.
Cade Cunningham has had a double-double in both matchups against the Celtics this season and almost had enough rebounds for a triple-double in both games. Since returning from injury, Cade is playing arguably the best all-around basketball he has played in his career, so hopefully he can continue that tonight.
The injury report for the Pistons is clean with the exception of Bobi Klintman and it is mostly clean for the Celtics, except Jayson Tatum and Sam Hauser are both game time decisions. I would assume Jayson Tatum plays, especially with how well the Pistons have played against the Celtics this season, but Tatum didn’t play in the last matchup and the Celtics were fine.
It is tough to analyze and find a way the Pistons could theoretically win this game since they are outclassed so much by the Celtics, but they have managed to play two close games with them this season, so they will just need to continue to do the same things they have been doing. It will pretty much come down to 3-point luck like it is for any team that plays the Celtics.
The Celtics take and make a lot of threes, but when they have lost this season, their shots have not been falling. It seems like a very surface-level, obvious thing, but the Celtics offense is so heavily predicated on creating open threes, that you pretty much have to hope that they are not making them. The Celtics shoot 51.4 threes per game which is almost 8 (!) more per game than the 2nd place Chicago Bulls at 43.5.
In an NBA where teams are taking and making more threes than ever, what the Celtics are doing is unprecedented. Your only hope for beating them is that they have an off-night.
At some point, the Pistons are going to have to beat teams like the Celtics even with how difficult it is, so maybe this can be one of those nights with fresh legs after a four-day layoff.
Lineups
Detroit Pistons (10-15): Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Tim Hardaway Jr, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren
Boston Celtics (19-5): Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Kristaps Porzingis
Question of the Day
What did you do during the Pistons long layoff?