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Detroit Pistons (26-49) at Boston Celtics (52-23)
Sunday, April 3
6:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #76 – Home Game #38
TV: CSNNE, FSD, NBA-LP 751/752
Radio: WEEI, WWJ
TD GardenProbable Starters PGSGSFPFCRajon Rondo.... Ray Allen.... Paul Pierce.....Kevin Garnett.... Glen Davis
Celtics ReservesJeff Green
Delonte West
Sasha Pavlovic
Carlos Arroyo
Von Wafer
Jermaine O'Neal
Avery Bradley
Injuries Troy Murphy (ankle) questionable
Nenad Krstic (knee) day to day
Shaquille O'Neal (Achilles) possible but I doubt it
Probable Starters PG
SG
SF
PF
C
Will Bynum..Rip Hamilton..Tayshaun Prince..Chris Wilcox..Greg Monroe
Pistons Reserves Rodney Stuckey
Austin Daye
Jason Maxiell
Charlie Villanueva
Ben Gordon
DaJuan Summers
InjuriesBen Wallace (knee) questionable
Tracy McGracy (legs) questionable
Jonas Jerebko (Achilles) out
Terrico White (foot) out
Team Connections:Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, Richard Hamilton and Ray Allen all attended the University of Connecticut
Tayshaun Prince and Rajon Rondo both attended the University of Kentucky
Chris Wilcox and Ray Allen were teammates in Seattle from 2005-07
Delonte West and Chris Wilcox were teammates in Seattle during the 2007-08 season
Delonte West and Ben Wallace were teammates in Cleveland at the end of the 2007-08 season and all of the 2008-09 season
Will Bynum signed with the Celtics in August 2005 and it was while celebrating this signing that tony Allen was involved in the shooting in Chicago. Bynum was cut before the season began however.
Pistons Head Coach John Keuster was an assistant coach with the Celtics from 1995-97
Tracy McGrady and Von Wafer were teammates in Houston during the 2008-09 season
Tracy McGrady played for Doc Rivers in Orlando from 2000-04
Game Notes This is the 4th and final meeting between these two teams. The Celtics lead the series 2-1 with the loss coming in Detroit in December. Both teams have been struggling with the Celtics losers of 4 of their last 6 games and the Pistons losers of 7 of their last 10 games. The Pistons have lost 9 in a row on the road and the Celtics would like to make that streak continue.
The Celtics are coming off a loss to the Hawks at the end of their 4 game road trip. The Pistons are coming off a surprisingly close 96-101 loss to the Bulls. The loss to the Hawks dropped the Celtics in to the 3rd spot in the East, 3 games behind Chicago for the top seed and half a game behind Miami for the second seed. The Pistons are out of the playoffs and are playing for ping pong balls but have still been playing hard as evidenced by their effort against the bulls.
The Celtics shouldn't take this team for granted because they can be dangerous if you leave the door open for them. They commit the fewest turnovers in the league with 12.8 a game. Their bench is also 4th in the league in bench points at 39.1 points per game which isn't a surprise with Stuckey, Gordon, Villanueva and Maxiell coming off the bench.
The Celtics are still short handed up front as Krstic is expected to miss several games with the bone bruise to his knee. Jermaine O'Neal is back but is limited as he gets his rhythm and conditioning back. There have been rumors of Shaq possibly returning in this game but I'll believe it when I see it. There haven't been any reports on Murphy recently. Maybe with the way he has played, they are trying to forget about him.
The Celtics are 5-5 in their last 10 games and lost their last game. The Pistons are 3-7 in their last 10 games and have lost 2 in a row. But, as well as the Bulls have been playing, the Pistons stayed right with them in their last loss. The Celtics are 29-8 at home while the Pistons are 7-30 on the road and have lost 9 in a row away from home. If the Celtics come out focused and play team ball, they should be able to get an win. But if they underestimate this team and lose their focus, the Pistons could pull it out.
Key Matchups vs
Rajon Rondo vs Will Bynum
The Pistons have been starting Bynum and bringing Stuckey off the bench. This matchup is key mostly for what Rondo means to the Celtics. When Rondo is on, the Celtics play well. When Rondo is off, so are the Celtics. Hopefully Rondo's return to all star level play continues in this game.
vs
Paul Pierce vs Tayshaun Prince
Pierce and Prince have been battling for many years. Over the years their teams have taken different paths with the Celtics going from the bottom of the league to being a contender and the Pistons going from being champs to now falling to the bottom of the league. Regardless of their team's position, this is always a fun matchup to watch. Pierce has averaged 25.3 ppg over the 3 games vs the Pistons.
Honorable MentionRay Allen vs Rip Hamilton
Both Ray and Rip spend most of the game running off of screens and it's always fun watching these two chase each other all over the court. The Celtics haven't been as good at setting screens to get Ray open in recent games as with Baby playing center he'd rather shoot the ball than set a pick. I think the Celtics miss Perk's screens more than anything and it has affected Ray's game more than anyone else. The Celtics need to get back to ball movement and getting more shots for Ray.
Keys to the GameDefense - The Celtics must continue to make defense their number one priority. The Celtics play defense in spurts and it hasn't worked out well for them. In every game recently they have allowed an open lane to the basket for at least part of the game. They have to get their defensive intensity back and shutdown the highway to the basket.
Rebound - The Celtics make games harder for themselves by allowing their opponents to beat them on the boards. Rebounding takes effort and desire and when the Celtics put out both on the boards, it translates to all the other areas of their game also. They need to be aggressive in going after rebounds.
Be Aggressive - The Celtics have to be the more aggressive team. They have to take the ball to the basket and not settle for outside shots. They also must be aggressive in going for loose balls and hustle plays. The more aggressive team also usually gets the benefit of the calls.
Ball Movement - In recent games, the Celtics ball movement has been non existent in portions of the game, especially down the stretch when they go long stretches without scoring. When the ball movement stops, Ray doesn't get shots and that definitely hurts the team offense. The Celtics must move the ball and find the open man. If Baby shoots every time he gets the ball, Doc needs to sit him until he understands the concept of ball movement and team ball.
X-Factors Home Court and Focus
The Celtics are back at home after a 4 game road trip with mixed results. They need to feed off of the home crowd to get a win in this one. The Celtics level of focus will also be a factor. Will they come into this game focused on getting the win, or will they once again play like they have forgotten how to play as a team?