Celtics (0-2) at Pistons (1-1) Game #3 11/3

[FLCeltsFan]

  at 
Boston Celtics (0-2) at Detroit Pistons (1-1)
Sunday, November 3, 2013
6:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #3,  Road Game #2
TV:  CSNNE, FS Detroit, NBA-LP 511, 752
Radio:  WBZ, 97.1 The Ticket, WZLX 100.7 FM
Palace of Auburn Hills




 
PG: Avery Bradley
SG: Gerald Wallace
SF: Jeff Green
PF: Brandon Bass
C: Vitor Faverani

Celtics Reserves

Celtics Reserves
MarShon Brooks
Jordan Crawford
Kris Humphries
Kelly Olynyk
Phil Pressey
Jared Sullinger
Courtney Lee

Injuries
Rajon Rondo (ACL)out
Phil Pressey (ankle) day to day
Keith Bogans (thumb) day to day





Probable Starters

PG:  Will Bynum
SG:  Chauncey Billups
SF:  Josh Smith
PF:  Greg Monroe
C:   Andre Drummond

Pistons Reserves
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
Kyle Singler
Jonas Jerebko
Peyton Siva
Tony Mitchell
Luigi Datome
Josh Harrellson
Rodney Stuckey

Injuries
Brandon Jennings (tooth)  day to day
Charlie Villanueva (shoulder)  day to day

Game Notes:
This is the first of 4 meetings with the Pistons this season.  The undersized Celtics will have their work cut out for them against the front line of the Pistons that includes 6'9" Josh Smith, 6'11" Greg Monroe, and 7' Andre Drummond. 

The Pistons are 1-1 on the season.  They opened the season at home with a win over the Wizards and then lost to the Grizzlies on the road.  The Celtics, in the meantime, are still looking for their first win of the season. 

The Celtics have started the same lineup in their first two games and they have started off both games fairly strong.  It may be a good idea to stick with the same starting lineup for awhile to give the team some continuity but Coach Stevens has said that he might change the starters from game to game. 

Vitor Faverani has been a bright spot in the Celtics first two games and, especially against the big front line of the Pistons, he should get the start again.  Beyond that, any of the pieces may be interchangeable.  So, your guess is as good as mine as to who starts. 

Key Matchups
vs
Vitor Faverani vs Andre Drummond
Drummond is averaging 12 points and 12 rebounds so far this season while Faverani is averaging 12.5 points and 10.5 rebounds for the Celtics.  There should be a good battle in the paint between these two big men.

vs
This is the one position where the Celtics have an advantage if Stevens sticks with the same lineup.  6'9" Jeff Green should have an advantage over 6'3" Chauncey Billups in size, speed and athleticism.  Hopefully the good Jeff shows up for this one. 

Keys to the Game
Run, Run, Run - The Celtics showed that when they run and move the ball up the court quickly,  they do some good things.  They can't lapse into walking the ball up, playing half court and depending on iso's for scoring.

Focus and Effort- The Celtics must bring their focus and do the little things that help to win games.  They missed 12 free throws in the loss to the Bucks and that shouldn't happen.  They need to continue to play hard and put out the effort on the boards and on defense as well.   

Move the Ball - The Celtics moved the ball in the first half on Friday but in the second half, the ball movement would stop and players tried to do too much. 

Teamwork - Hopefully the Celtics won't split into factions and point fingers at each other over the 2 losses so far.  They need to pull together and play as a team on both ends of the court.  Chemistry and teamwork are very important and as a young team,  they need to work at building both. 

X-Factors
On the Road, focus, and Officiating
 After losing 2 in a row, the Celtics need to focus on getting a win in this game in hostile territory. The officiating possibly had something to do with the Celtics' young players losing focus against the Bucks when they started falling for Pachulia's flops.  They can't let a couple of bad calls or the hostile atmosphere in the arena take away their focus if they want to stay in this game. 

[VitorSullyandKOFan]

This is a good test for Fav.

[TFX]

Hi guys, i'm a Celtics Fan from Germany (wich is not really easy because the matches are often during the night) but im really interested in this franchise and won't be repelled by a rebuild.
I'm also not really sure if i want them to win or to lose in order to get Wiggins or another perspective player hmmmm. Anyway i hope i can watch the match tomorrow, 12 am 

[Shamrocker]

Hi guys, i'm a Celtics Fan from Germany (wich is not really easy because the matches are often during the night) but im really interested in this franchise and won't be repelled by a rebuild.
I'm also not really sure if i want them to win or to lose in order to get Wiggins or another perspective player hmmmm. Anyway i hope i can watch the match tomorrow, 12 am 

TP!

[Birdman]

Detroit by 15

[SHAQATTACK]

Wiggins .....will be one game closer to being a Celtic

[hwangjini_1]

thanks again for the thread. only question is what time is the game?

tp for the thread and.... gooooooo celtics!

[FLCeltsFan]

thanks again for the thread. only question is what time is the game?

tp for the thread and.... gooooooo celtics!

Sorry.  Game is at 6:00 PM Eastern time.

Don't forget to set your clocks back 1 hour tonight also. 

[Kuberski33]

Does anyone know why the NBA insists on these 6:00 pm start times for Sunday games?

[LatterDayCelticsfan]

I make that to be 2am where I'm at. Anyway, My Bold Prediction is a Green double double

[D.o.s.]

Not going to be able to catch this game... hopefully we improve to .333

[beklog]

Hope to see Pressy on the court we badly needed him

[2short]

you know who else we need to see on the court, keith bogans
hard nosed vet that will do the little things

i personally don't need to see brooks again and crawford is wearing thin

[LarBrd33]

Detroit's not exactly a great team, but they are a bit better than the garbage teams we lost to in Games 1 and 2.  I fully expect us to start getting blown out once we start facing competent teams.  This might be one of them.

Still, it will be a fun ride.  I'm most interested to see Fav go against Drummond tonight.  Drummond is beasting.  That's going to be a great matchup to watch.   I use to think 20-year-old Drummond would be a good prospect to receive in a Rondo trade, but I can't really see the Pistons moving Drummond at this point.  He's the future of that team.  Let's see if Fav can hang with that size.

Beyond that, also interested to see if Sully can get some minutes vs Greg Monroe.  Detroit is big.  Josh Smith vs Jeff Green should be an interesting matchup as well.  I think Green is actually slightly bigger than Josh Smith.  Excited to see those guys throw down.

Should be a fun game.  My objectives are the same here as always.  #1 - Hard fought loss.  #2 - Develop the youngs.  #3 - Stat-padding for the crap contracts (Wallace/Lee/Bass).   

[thirstyboots18]

Nick Gelso, Brian Langford and Sean Bakke will be the hosts tonight of the CB/CLNS Post Game Podcast, with Nick interacting with the CB Chatters in the Chat Room.  Join in the conversation in the Chat Room after the game.  You can also call in to the show at:  (347)215-7771.