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Boston Celtics (38-9) at Detroit Pistons (25-19)
Friday, January 30
7:00 PM ET
Game #48, Road Game #23
TV: ESPN, FS Detroit HD, CSN HD
Palace at Auburn HillsProbable Starting Matchups Point Guard Rajon Rondo vs Rodney Stuckey
Shooting Guard Ray Allen vs Allen Iverson
Small Forward Paul Pierce vs Tayshaun Prince
Power Forward Kevin Garnett vs Amir Johnson
Center Kendrick Perkins vs Rasheed Wallace
Reserves Tony Allen
Glen Davis
JR Giddens
Eddie House
Leon Powe
Gabe Pruitt
Brian Scalabrine
Patrick O'Bryant
Bill Walker
Sam Cassell
Injuries:Brian Scalabrine (concussion) out
Reserves Rip Hamilton
Kwame Brown
Will Bynum
Walter Herrmann
Jason Maxiell
Arron Afflalo
Alex Acker
Walter Sharpe
InjuriesRip Hamilton (groin) game time decision
Key Matchups vs
Rajon Rondo vs Rodney Stuckey
The Pistons have had a lot of problems and questions but one thing is for sure, they see Rodney Stuckey as their point guard of the future. They traded Chauncey Billups and now they have moved Allen Iverson to shooting guard so that Stuckey is their starting PG. Rondo needs to be aggressive and control the tempo of this game from start to finish.
vs
Ray Allen vs Allen Iverson
Allen Iverson isn't known for his defense and with the way Ray Allen has been shooting the ball, RA could have a very good night against AI.
Honorable MentionPaul Pierce vs Tayshaun Prince
Prince has given Pierce problems in the past because of his length. Pierce has been content to let his co-stars take center stage in recent games but he has always taken the matchup with Prince personally and so we may see a big night from Pierce in this one.
Game Notes:The Pistons have been in turmoil recently and are just 3-7 in their last 10 games. They have shaken up their lineup, moving Rip Hamilton to the bench. Rodney Stuckey had moved into the starting lineup which shifted Allen Iverson to the shooting guard position.
The Pistons are 13-9 at home while the Celtics are 15-7 on the road. The Celtics hold a 2-0 lead in the series so far this season beating the Pistons both in Detroit and in the Garden already. The Celtics have beaten the Pistons with defense as they held them to an average of 78 points per game in their first two meetings.
In spite of their struggles, the Pistons have defeated 5 of the 6 division leaders already this season. The Celtics are the only division leader that they haven't gotten past and they would very much love to beat the Celtics in this one.
X-Factor Road vs HomeThe Celtics are one of the toughest home teams in the league, but they have shown to be vulnerable on the road, leaving their defense and team play at home. They have shown that they can dominate on the road but they have also shown that they can be beaten on the road. Let's hope that the team that beat the Magic on the road shows up instead of the one that lost to the Lakers on the road.