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Detroit Pistons (20-5) at Boston Celtics (15-10)
Monday, December 15, 2025
7:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #26, Home Game #13
TV: Peacock 
Radio: 95.5 Sports Hub,  97.1 FM,  Sirius XM
TD Garden


Probable Celtics Starters
PG SG SFPF C
PG:  Derrick White
SG:  Payton Pritchard
SF:  Jaylen Brown
PF:  Jordan Walsh
C:   Neemias Queta

Celtics Reserves
Anfernee Simons
Josh Minott
Xavier Tillman
Sam Hauser
Hugo Gonzalez
Baylon Scheierman
Chris Boucher
Amari Williams

2-Way Players
Ron Harper, Jr
Max Shulga
Amari Williams

Injuries/Out
Jayson Tatum (Achilles) out
Chris Boucher (illness)  questionable

Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla 

Probable Pistons Starters
PG SG SF PF C
PG: Cade Cunningham
SG: Duncan Robinson
SF: Ausar Thompson
PF: Tobias Harris
C:  Jalen Duren

Pistons Reserves
Javonte Green
Ron Holland II
Chaz Lanier
Paul Reed
Marcus Sasser
Tolu Smith
Isaiah Stewart
Jaden Ivey
Caris LeVert
Bobi Klintman

Two Way Players
Daniss Jenkins
Colby Jones
Tolu Smith

Injuries/Out
Isaac Jones (knee) questionable

Head Coach
JB Bickerstaff

Game Notes
The Celtics host the Detroit Pistons for the 3rd of 4 games between them this season.  The Pistons won the first game 119-113 in Detroit on October 26. The Celtics won the second game 117-114 in Boston on November 26.  They will meet for a 4th and final time in Detroit on January 19.  This game was added to the schedule after the Celtics failed to make the NBA Cup tournament. 

The Celtics won the series 3-1 last season, winning the 2 games in Boston and one of the games in Detroit.  They are 257-142 overall all time against the Pistons and they are 125-47 all time in games played in Boston.  They have won their last 8 games at home against the Pistons.  The Celtics win on November 26 ended the Pistons' 13 game win streak. 

The Celtics are 3rd in the East, 3 games behind 2nd place New York and 5 games behind first place Detroit. They are half a game ahead of 4th place Orlando and 5th place Toronto. They are 1 game ahead of 6th place Miami, 7th place Philadelphia, 8th place Cleveland and 9th place Atlanta. The Celtics are 8-4 at home. They are 11-7 against Eastern Conference opponents and 7-3 in their last 10 games. They are coming off a loss in their last game.

The Pistons are first in the East, 2 games ahead of 2nd place New York and 5 games ahead of 3rd place Boston.  They are 5.5 games ahead of 4th place Orlando and 5th place Toronto They are 6 games ahead of 6th place Miami, 7th place Philadelphia, 8th place Cleveland and 9th place Atlanta.   They are 8-3 on the road and 15-5 against Eastern Conference opponents.   They are 7-3 in their last 10 games and have won their last 3 games.

After this game at home against the Detroit Pistons, the Celtics will then play host Miami, play at Toronto, host Indiana and then head out on a 5 game road trip through Indiana, Portland, Utah, Sacramento and the LA Clippers. Next they have a 4 game home stand where they host Chicago, Denver, Toronto, and San Antonio before a 4 game road trip through Indiana, Miami, Atlanta and the final game at Detroit. 

After this game against the Celtics,  the Pistons will play at Dallas, home vs Charlotte and then they go on a 5 game road trip through Portland, Sacramento, Utah, and the LA Clippers and Lakers.  They return home to play Miami and then play Cleveland on the road before a 6 game home stand where they host New York, Chicago, the LA Clippers, Phoenix, Indiana, and Boston. 

Jayson Tatum remains out for the Celtics as he continues to rehab from the torn Achilles from last year's playoffs.  Chris Boucher is on the injury report with a non-covid illness.  His status will be a game time decision.   For the Pistons, only Isaac Jones is on the report.  He is questionable with a knee injury and will be a game time decision. 

Key Matchups
vs
Derrick White vs Cade Cunninghom
Cunningham is averaging 26.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 9.1 assists, and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 45.4% from the field and 30.7% from beyond the arc.  In the first 2 games against the Celtics, he averaged 33.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists while shooting 45.5% from the field and 42.9% from beyond the arc. The Celtics must defend him well both in the paint and on the perimeter and they need to expect him to pass to the open man since he is averaging 9.1 assists per game. 

vs
Neemias Queta vs Jalen Duren
Duren is averaging 18.6 points, 11.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 block per game while shooting 65.2% from the field with no 3 pointers.  In the first 2 games against Boston, he averaged 18 points, 17 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block.  The Celtics need to box him out to keep him off the boards and keep him out of the paint. 

Honorable Mention
Jordan Walsh vs Tobias Harris
Harris is averaging 14.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.3 assists while shooting 45.3% from the field and 38.2% from beyond the arc.  He always seems to play well against the Celtics and in the first 2 games against the Celtics, he averaged 15 points, 6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1 block while shooting 50% from the field and 25% from beyond the arc.

Keys to the Game
Defense - As always, defense is the key to winning this, and every, game.  The Celtics have been up and down with their defensive effort.  They are 18th with a defensive rating of 115.0.  The Pistons, on the other hand, are 3rd with a defensive rating of 111.1.  The Celtics must make defense a priority and match the Pistons' effort on defense if they hope to win this game. The Celtics have to especially defend the paint as the Pistons are #1 with 57.7 points in the paint per game. 

Rebound -  As with defense,  rebounding will always be a key to winning.  The Celtics have to crash the boards as a team and go after every rebound.  The Celtics are 18th in the league with 43.6 rebounds per game.  The Pistons are 3rd, averaging 46.5 rebounds per game.  The Celtics are 10-4 when out-rebounding opponents and 5-6 when being out-rebounded by opponents.  Every Celtic has to crash the boards and they must work harder to grab rebounds than the Pistons. 

Move the Ball Carefully -  The Celtics need to move the ball to get the best shots, but they have to be careful with the ball and avoid turnovers.  They need to make careful passes and also focus on their ball handling so as not to turn the ball over.  They are best in the league with just 11.3 turnovers per game.  However, they tend to lose focus and at times turn the ball over way too much.  The Pistons are 2nd in the league with 21.8 points off turnovers per game and they will make the Celtics pay if they get sloppy. 

Effort and Focus for 48 Minutes- The Celtics have to play with extra effort overall for all 4 quarters. In most of their losses and even in their wins,  they have allowed their opponents to play with more energy than them for periods of time during the game. They play well for stretches but let up and allow their opponents to surge ahead. The Celtics also must stay focused on taking and making good shots.  They can't lose focus and go cold like they did against the Bucks. 

X-Factors
Home Game and Revenge - The Celtics are at home and they need come out ready to protect home court.  The Pistons have the distractions of travel and playing in front of a hostile crowd but they have played well on the road so far this season.      The Pistons will be motivated to avenge the loss that ended their 13 game win streak and the Celtics need to be ready for an extra effort from the Pistons because of it. 

Officiating - Officiating is always an x-factor.  Every crew calls the game differently.  Some call it tight and call every bit of contact while others allow more physical play.  Some favor the home team while others call both sides evenly.  The refs haven't been especially kind to the Celtics so far this season.  The Celtics have to adjust to the way the refs are calling the game and not allow the no calls and bad calls to affect their focus on playing the game.