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Detroit Pistons (25-50) at Boston Celtics (38-36)
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #75, Road Game #37
TV: CSNNE, FSD, LP 755(DET)/756(BOS)
Radio: WEEI, 97.1 FM The Ticket
TD Garden Probable Starters PGSGSFPFCAvery Bradley.... Paul Pierce.... Jeff Green.....Brandon Bass.... Chris Wilcox
Celtics ReservesJordan Crawford
Terrence Williams
DJ White
Shavlik Randolph
Courtney Lee
Jason Terry
InjuredRajon Rondo (knee) out
Jared Sullinger (back) out
Kevin Garnett (foot/ankle) out
Red ClawsFab Melo
Probable Starters PG
SG
SF
PF
C
Jose Calderon...... Brandon Knight...Kyle Singler....Greg Monroe ..... Andre Drummond
Pistons Bench Rodney Stuckey
Corey Maggette
Jonas Jerebko
Khris Middleton
Charlie Villanueva
Kim English
Viacheslav Kravtsov
Injuries Jason Maxiell (eye) out
Will Bynum (hand) day to day
Key Matchups vs
Brandon Bass vs Greg Monroe
Greg Monroe is averaging 15.9 points and 9.6 rebounds this season, but in the two games vs the Celtics, he has averaged 17.5 points and 12 rebounds. Just think of what Pekovic did to the Celtics in their last game and you'll realize why it will be important for Bass to keep Monroe out of the paint.
vs
Chris Wilcox vs Andre Drummond
Drummond is averaging 7.4 points and 7.5 rebounds this season and has been playing well. But as with Monroe, he seemed to play even better against the Celtics and scored 16 points in his last game against the C's.
Honorable MentionJose Calderon vs Avery Bradley
This is the first time the Celtics will face Calderon on the Pistons. He is averaging 11.4 points and 7.1 assists for the year. Hopefully Avery has busted his slump and will be able to hit his shots as well as slowing down Calderon from getting the Pistons into their sets quickly.
Game NotesThe Celtics face former Celtics assistant Lawrence Frank and his Pistons for the 3rd and final time this season. Before getting excited that this will be an easy game against the 25 win Pistons, remember that they have already beaten the Celtics twice this season. The Pistons won the first game between them 103-83 and the second game 103-88 and so the Celtics should be looking to avenge those losses along with trying to get on track and find their rhythm going into the playoffs.
The Celtics have played pretty well at home this season with a 25-11 record at the Garden. The Pistons are just 10-27 on the road. Both teams have been struggling with the Pistons going 2-8 in their last 10 games and the Celtics going 3-7 in their last 10. The Celtics have lost 2 in a row while the Pistons are looking to win their second straight after beating the Raptors on Monday. Detroit has won their last 4 games against the Celtics.
The Celtics are still in the 7th spot in the East but they have dropped to just 1.5 games in front of the Bucks, who own the tie breaker should the two teams end up tied. The Celtics are 3 games behind Chicago in the 6th spot and 3.5 games behind Atlanta in the 5th spot. So, pretty much the Celtics are playing to stay in the 7th spot and not drop back into 8th. The Pistons are playing for ping pong balls, but as with every team, it seems that they would rather beat the Celtics than get a better draft spot.
It will seem strange not seeing Paul Pierce against Tayshaun Prince, who was traded at the deadline to the Grizzlies after 11 seasons in Detroit. The Pistons are one of the teams that the Celtics should beat but they are also a team that they shouldn't take for granted as can be seen by their blow out losses in the first two games between these two teams.
Keys to the Game Defense - It all begins with defense. When they play lock down defense they are very hard to beat. When they get lax on defense, they struggle all the way around. Without KG, the Celtics have struggled on defense and they have to find a way to get back to playing Celtics defense again.
Rebound - The Celtics need to be aggressive on the boards. Rebounding is effort and if the Celtics are putting the effort out to grab rebounds then that effort will translate to the other areas of their game. Every Celtic needs to crash the boards. It has to be a team effort.
Focus and Aggressiveness - It could be easy for the Celtics to let down their guard in this one. But they need to keep their focus and be aggressive. They have to be aggressive in going to the basket and not settle for jumpers. They have to be aggressive on defense and going for loose balls. They have to focus on every player playing his role in the team game.
X-Factors Home Again and Final Stretch
The Celtics are back home again where they have played well this season. They have to let the crowd pump them up to get a win against a team they haven't been able to beat yet this season. They also have to get very serious about finding their rhythm and identity as a team during this final stretch going into the playoffs.