The Boston Celtics look like they haven’t skipped a beat since winning the NBA Championship. Winning their opening two games and having an average winning margin of 21.5, it’s safe to say that Boston is rolling early.
On the other side, the Pistons have struggled losing both games to start the year falling to the Pacers on Wednesday (115-109) and losing last night to the Cleveland Cavaliers 113-101. This is the Pistons’ second game of a back-to-back.
Last season, the two teams squared off three times with Boston sweeping Detroit 3-0.
Since the last time these two teams played, Detroit made several offseason acquisitions to improve its team. The Pistons held the No. 5 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft where they selected Ron Holland II straight from the G-League Ignite.
Holland had season-ending surgery last year, but in his brief stint (14 games) with the G League Ignite, Holland averaged 20.6 points, 3.2 assists, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.5 steals with 44.3%/24.0%/75.7% shooting splits.
Then in the free agent market, Tobias Harris was signed to a two-year deal. Veteran guard Malik Beasley signed a one-year deal, while the Pistons also claimed Paul Reed off of waivers.
Normally, this game would be “just another game” however, the Pistons may have something to prove against the defending Champions. During Celtics Media Day, Brown stated that when they play teams “like the Pistons”, the Celtics will play through more of the role players like Payton Pritchard.
Boston released its injury report and it’s the same as it was against the Washington Wizards with Sam Hauser (lower back) and Kristaps Porzingis (left posterior tibialis tendon surgery rehabilitation) sidelined in Detroit.
Injury Report for tomorrow at Detroit:
Sam Hauser (low back pain) – OUT
Kristaps Porzingis (left posterior tibialis tendon surgery rehabilitation) – OUT— Boston Celtics (@celtics) October 25, 2024
Last night against the Cavs, Detroit was missing its second round pick, Bobi Klintman and Ausar Thompson. The Pistons have yet to release their injury report ahead of the game tonight.
The player the Celtics need to focus on is former first overall pick in the 2021 Draft, Cade Cunningham.
Cunningham is leading the team in points (30.5) and assists (7) through the opening two games. He’s their dangerman and everything starts with him on the offensive end. Acquiring the likes of Beasley and Harris has helped space the floor for Cunningham to do what he does best, get by his defender with his speed and skill and look to playmake.
Last year, Cunningham played in two games against Boston. In one game he put up 31 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists. In the other, he registered 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists.
Another dangerman for Detroit is Jalen Duren. The Celtics bigs will need to keep Duren off the glass as he’s averaging 10 rebounds a game. 3.5 of his 10 rebounds are offensive so it’s imperative that Boston keeps him off the glass and limit second chance opportunities.
Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum have been the leading rebounders (7.5 rebounds per game each) at the early stage of the season. Having your star players rebound allows for a quick transition into offense and puts less pressure on the likes of Al Horford, Luke Kornet, and Neemias Queta. However, they will need to keep Detroit’s bigs off the glass by boxing out. If Boston can win the rebounding battle, they should handle the Pistons with relative ease.
Jayson Tatum is averaging 31 points, 8 assists, and 7.5 rebounds through six quarters as he hasn’t played in the fourth quarter in any contest so far. Despite an unbelievable shooting night beyond the arc against the Knicks where he knocked down 8-of-11 threes, Tatum came back to life a bit against the Wizards shooting 3-of-11 from deep.
If Boston comes out hot like they did against New York, they can put the game to bed early. However, it’s important for Boston not to lose games like this because they overlook an opponent. As the defending champs, they will always get every team’s best shot. Mix that in with Jaylen Brown’s preseason comments, this game on paper shouldn’t be close but that’s why you play the game.
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