Pistons (9-10) at Celtics (10-7) Game #18 11/30/16

[FLCeltsFan]

at
Detroit Pistons (9-10) at Boston Celtics (10-7)
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game [HASH]18, Home Game [HASH]8
TV: NBA-TV, CSNNE, FS Detroit
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, 105.1 FM
TD Garden



Probable Starters

PG: Isaiah Thomas
SG: Avery Bradley
SF: Jae Crowder
PF: Al Horford
C: Amir Johnson

Celtics Reserves
Jaylen Brown
Gerald Green
Demetrius Jackson
Jordan Mickey
Terry Rozier
James Young
Jonas Jerebko
Tyler Zeller
Marcus Smart
Kelly Olynyk

Injuries
None

Head Coach
Brad Stevens




Probable Starters

PG: Ish Smith
SG: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
SF: Tobias Harris
PF: Marcus Morris
C: Andre Drummond

Pistons Reserves
Aron Baynes
Henry Ellenson
Michael Gbinije
Darrun Hilliard
Stanley Johnson
Jon Leuer
Boban Marjanovic
Beno Udrih

Injuries
Reggie Jackson (knee) out
Reggie Bullock (knee) out


Head Coach
Stan VanGundy

Game Notes
The Celtics host the Pistons for the second of 4 games this season. The Celtics played the Pistons in Detroit on November 19 when they became the first team to beat the Pistons in Detroit this season. Al Horford was playing his first game back from the concussion and hit the game winning layup and then blocked the Pistons' final attempt to preserve the win.

The Pistons are 7-2 at home, with one of those two losses at the hands of the Celtics. They are just 2-8 on the road, however. The Celtics are 4-3 at home. The Pistons are 4-6 in their last 10 games while the Celtics are 7-3 in their last 10 games.

The Pistons are playing in back to back games after winning in Charlotte on Tuesday night. The Celtics had Tuesday off. The Pistons are missing Reggie Jackson who is out with a knee injury. They will also miss Reggie Bullock who is also out with a knee injury. Al Horford returned to practice on Tuesday after the birth of his daughter and so the team has no injuries to report.

Key Matchups
vs
Jae Crowder vs Tobias Harris
Harris is leading the Pistons with 16.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists. He scored 19 in their first meeting and he has had some big games in the past and so Jae needs to stick with him on defense to keep him from having another big game at the expense of the Celtics.

vs
Amir Johnson vs Andre Drummond
Drummond is a beast in the paint on both ends of the court and is averaging 14.6 points, 13.4 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game. Last season in the 3 games against the Celtics, he averaged 22.3 points and 16.7 rebounds. In the first meeting between these two teams, Drummond finished with 20 points and 17 rebounds. However, he wasn't in the game at the end when Horford got the game winning put back. VanGundy said that he made a mistake keeping him on the bench at the end, but his free throw shooting becomes a liability in tight games. Amir will definitely have his hands full trying to slow him down and to rebound against him.

Honorable Mention
Al Horford vs Marcus Morris
Morris is averaging 13.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.2 assists. In the first meeting between these two teams, Morris scored a team high 24 points. Al will need to keep him from having another big game.

Keys to the Game
Run, Run, Run - The Celtics have proved that when they run and move the ball up the court quickly, good things happen. When they over dribble and slow the game down, they struggle all the way around. They need to push the ball on every opportunity but also play under control.

Be Aggressive - The Celtics need to be aggressive in going for loose balls, rebounding and defending. They also have to be aggressive in going to the basket and not settle for threes especially if they aren't falling . Good things happen when they get inside. They have to be hungry and play like the team that wants it more. They have to play aggressively for 48 minutes.

Rebound - Rebounding takes effort and desire. The Celtics will need both in order to beat the big front line of the Pistons to the rebounds. The Pistons are first in the league in allowing second chance points, giving up just 11 per game to opponents. The Celtics will have to work extra hard to beat them to the boards.

Defense- The Celtics need to play tough team defense, especially in the paint. It doesn't matter how much they score if they can't stop the other team from scoring more. They must play defense and get stops especially at the end of the game. No let ups!

X-Factors
Fatigue - The Pistons are playing in back to back games and had to travel overnight while the Celtics had Tuesday off and are at home. Fatigue could come into play for the Pistons in this game.

Home Game - The Celtics are at home and should get a boost from the home crowd. Also, the Pistons for some reason have struggled on the road this season, winning just one game out of 9 away from home. The Celtics need to take advantage of the friendly atmosphere and exploit the Pistons' struggles on the road.

Officiating - Officiating is always an X-Factor. Every crew calls the game a little differently. Some let them play and some call every little touch foul. The Celtics definitely do better when the refs let them play. Hopefully the refs will call the game fairly and let them play in this one. They may even get a little home cooking, but probably not.

[jmost]

As we approach the quarter-season mark, I hope we can keep everyone healthy and available for a good stretch of games now, so we can develop some kind of rhythm and consistency. It's been hard to determine exactly what we have here so far.

[DERRENMATTS]

Nov 30, 2016 16:47:45 GMT -5 jmost said:

As we approach the quarter-season mark, I hope we can keep everyone healthy and available for a good stretch of games now, so we can develop some kind of rhythm and consistency. It's been hard to determine exactly what we have here so far.

Yup, I still don't feel like I know this team.

Actually, watching our second unit, I get the feeling that they also don't know who they are yet.

I think Amir is not playing up to his ability, making our starting 5 somewhat incomplete.

[FLCeltsFan]

I agree Derren. Jonas has been a nice surprise lately. He's shooting something like 80% But I think you are right, they haven't been all together to get a set rotation or to know each other's tendencies.

Hopefully they do stay healthy for awhile and we can start to see some consistency.

[eja117]

Might just be me but I'm concerned the team seems soft to me

[jmost]

It seems to me that we don't play with a sense of urgency much of the time. We fall behind and then ratchet up the intensity, but sometimes it's too late. The great Celtics teams of the 80's could hang around within striking distance and then turn it on with 8 minutes to go, but this team isn't talented enough to get away with that.

[DERRENMATTS]

Bingo, you guys articulated my thoughts exactly.

We don't play with the toughness we did last year, and we are often coasting IMO.

Maybe it's by design. Maybe playing rough, tough, the grind it out style was too taxing on the players' body?

I don't know, just trying to logically figure out why the difference in our style of play.

[mev17]

Nov 30, 2016 22:02:09 GMT -5 jmost said:

It seems to me that we don't play with a sense of urgency much of the time. We fall behind and then ratchet up the intensity, but sometimes it's too late. The great Celtics teams of the 80's could hang around within striking distance and then turn it on with 8 minutes to go, but this team isn't talented enough to get away with that.

Agreed; seems like they have this issue both within a game and with the season as a whole. This reminds me a lot of last season where they spent half the year at .500 before they decided they better ramp things up for the playoffs. They don't seem to see the early season as being as critical as the second half, which to me is a big mistake.

I am blown away that Horford had only 5 shot attempts all game. I'm wondering if the label "too unselfish" applies to him.

[afceltic]

Nov 30, 2016 23:15:27 GMT -5 mev17 said:

Nov 30, 2016 22:02:09 GMT -5 jmost said:

It seems to me that we don't play with a sense of urgency much of the time. We fall behind and then ratchet up the intensity, but sometimes it's too late. The great Celtics teams of the 80's could hang around within striking distance and then turn it on with 8 minutes to go, but this team isn't talented enough to get away with that.

Agreed; seems like they have this issue both within a game and with the season as a whole. This reminds me a lot of last season where they spent half the year at .500 before they decided they better ramp things up for the playoffs. They don't seem to see the early season as being as critical as the second half, which to me is a big mistake.

I am blown away that Horford had only 5 shot attempts all game. I'm wondering if the label "too unselfish" applies to him.

I like Horford as a player, but it is looking like Danny greatly overpaid for a guy who isn't a star. Al is a great teammate and team player as he affects the game is several ways, but a 27M max player needs to take over games and win some games for you. I hope it is still the adjusting period for him due to his concussion but he needs to get more aggressive when it counts to earn that max contract.

[FLCeltsFan]

They have played tough for stretches but then they play soft for stretches. I don't know if it's a mindset or what but they aren't putting that one for all effort out like they did last season. I don't think it's not having Sully and Evan. I also don't think it's the addition of Horford. I think it's a mindset and hopefully they get it back.