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Boston Celtics (16-13) at Detroit Pistons (17-13)
Saturday, December 26, 2015
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #30, Road Game #15
TV: CSNNE, FS Detroit, NBA-LP 754(xfinity), 759(DTV)
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, 105.1 FM
Palace of Auburn Hills



Probable Starters

PG: Isaiah Thomas
SG: Avery Bradley
SF: Jae Crowder
PF: Kelly Olynyk
C: Jared Sullinger

Celtics Reserves
Evan Turner
Jonas Jerebko
Terry Rozier
James Young
Jordan Mickey
Tyler Zeller
David Lee
RJ Hunter

Injuries
Marcus Smart (leg) out
Amir Johnson (plantar fasciitis)  questionable

Head Coach
Brad Stevens




Probable Starters

PG: Reggie Jackson
SG: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
SF: Marcus Morris
PF: Ersan Ilyasova
C:  Andre Drummond

Pistons Reserves
Joel Anthony
Aron Baynes
Steve Blake
Reggie Bullock
Spencer Dinwiddie
Darrun Hilliard
Stanley Johnson
Anthony Tolliver

Injuries
Jodie Meeks (foot)  out
Brandon Jennings (Achilles)  out 

Head Coach
Stan Van Gundy 

Game Notes
The Celtics travel to take on the Detroit Pistions for the second of 4 meetings this season. They will meet for the final 2 games on 1/6 and 2/3 in Boston.   These two teams meet for the second time in 10 days with the Pistons beating the Celtics 119-116 on December 16 in Detroit. 

This game ended the Celtics 10 game back to back on the road win streak. Detroit opened the fourth quarter in that game on a 14-2 run to take a game-high 14-point lead with 7:50 remaining, but the Celtics made a comeback to slice the lead to just one point with 19.3 seconds remaining.  The Pistons put the game away from the free throw line in spite of a 3 pointer from Isaiah Thomas, who finished the game with a game high 38 points. 

 The Celtics are 8-6 on the road, while the Pistons are 10-4 at home.  In that last game, the Celtics were coming off a tough game the night before against the Cavaliers while the Pistons came into the game well rested.   In spite of the Celtics depth, it seemed that they just ran out of gas.  Both teams should be rested for this game. 

Amir Johnson is still questionable for this game with plantar fasciitis in his foot.  Jared Sullinger who missed a game last week started their last on Wednesday and should be available to start this game as well.   Marcus Smart is back on the court doing some basketball drills but still isn't cleared to play.  Kelly Olynyk has started the past 2 games with Amir out and should start this one as well. 

For the Pistions,  they will once again be missing Jodie Meeks who is out with a foot injury and Brandon Jennings who is out with an Achilles injury.  They will have the same starting 5 as they did in the December 16 game between these two teams.  The Celtics are just 1/2 a game behind the Pistons for the 8th spot in the East.  The Pistions lost their last game and are hoping to avoid a 2 game losing streak while the Celtics have won 2 in a row and are looking for their 3rd straight win. 

Key Matchups
vs
Isaiah Thomas vs Reggie Jackson
Jackson is very quick and is always a threat to drive to the basket.  He is averaging 20.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 1.0 steals.  It will be up to the combo of Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley to slow him down on the offensive end. 

vs
Jared Sullinger vs Andre Drummond
Drummond is a beast in the paint on both ends of the court and is averaging 18.0 points, 16.2 rebounds, 1.9 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game.   Last season in the 3 games against the Celtics, he averaged 22.3 point and 16.7 rebounds.  In the first game with the Celtics, Drummond had 16 points and 12 rebounds.  Drummond's weakness seems to be from the line where he is shooting just 37.9%.   Jared will definitely have his hands full trying to slow him down and to rebound against him. 

Honorable Mention
Avery Bradley vs Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
In the first game between these two teams, Caldwell-Pope scored a career high 31 points and he hit 4 clutch free throws down the stretch.   Avery needs to concentrate on defense to keep KCP 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 and push the pace,  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 jumpers. Good things happen when they get into the paint. 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 3rd in the league in rebounding with 47.6 per game. 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 Pistons from scoring more.  They must play defense and get stops especially at the end of the game. No let ups!

Play as a Team - The Celtics have to play as a team and move the ball to find the open man.  They have to defend as a team and rebound as a team.  Hero ball rarely wins games and so they need to have each other's backs and play together.  The Celtics have had 8 games in which a Celtic has scored 27 points or more but 6 of those performances came in losses.  The Celtics are best when they spread the scoring and play as a team. 

Move the Ball - The Celtics must move the ball and find the open man. They struggle to score when the ball stops moving. In the 3 losses before the win over the Wolves, the Celtics had 18,17, and 19 assists. In the win on Monday, they had 34 assists on 46 made baskets in the win on Monday and 25 assists on 36 made baskets on Wednesday.   It's not a coincidence that they win when their assist total is higher.

X-Factors
Revenge Factor - The Celtics have the loss to the Pistons 10 days ago still fresh in their mind.  The fact that this loss ended their streak of back to back wins on the road should give it a little extra sting.  This should give them extra motivation to do whatever it takes to get the win in this game.

Kelly Factor - Kelly Olynyk didn't score in 16 minutes of play in the Celtics loss to the Pistons on 12/16.  He led 6 Celtics in double figures in the win over the Timberwolves and he led 5 players in double figures in the win over Charlotte.  He averages 12.5 points in the Celtics wins but just 6.2 points in the Celtics losses.  As Kelly said, "The bounce is real."

Officiating Factor - The officiating is always an x-factor in every game. Will the refs let them play or will they call every little bit of contact. Will they call it evenly or will they favor one team or the other.  In the first game vs the Pistons, the Celtics took just 24 free throws to 43 for the Pistons and the Pistons got the benefit of quite a few questionable calls.