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Pistons, Celtics battle in Boston on Monday
By: Sam Chase - StatFox
Published: 1/30/2017  at  10:50:00 AM
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DETROIT PISTONS (21-26)

at BOSTON CELTICS (29-18)

Tip-off: Monday, 8:00 p.m. ET
Line: Celtics -6, Total: 213.5

Can anyone stop Isaiah Thomas? It sure doesn’t seem like it.

Just last week, certain Celtics blogs were openly debating whether it was time to push the panic button on this year’s team. It was Wednesday morning and Boston had lost three straight games, and they seemed doomed to drop yet another that night against Houston on the back end of a back-to-back. But the Celtics took down the Rockets 120-109 (BOS +4), and has now won three straight after wins over Orlando and Milwaukee. After a Toronto loss on Sunday, Boston is second in the Eastern Conference standings at 29-18 (26-19-2 ATS). Before a showdown with Toronto on Wednesday, the Celtics will host the 21-26 Pistons (20-27 ATS) on Monday night. The Pistons are a game and a half out of the Eastern Conference playoff picture, and they looked sharp in beating likely playoff teams Atlanta and Washington last week. In their last two, however, they lost 109-104 to the lowly Kings (SAC +7) and 116-103 to the lowlier (but currently on fire) Heat (MIA +3). Over the last five seasons, road underdogs scoring at least 99 PPG on the year (DET) are 17-55 ATS against teams that have led each of their last two games by at least 10 points at halftime. On the other hand, road underdogs that have allowed at least 105 points in three straight games are 34-4 ATS in the same timeframe against opponents coming off a loss of six points or fewer. Celtics SG Avery Bradley has missed 10 of the last 11 games and will remain out Monday night, while C Al Horford could miss the game, as well.

The Pistons are strong defensively, ranking 11th in the NBA with a defensive efficiency rating of 107.3 points allowed per 100 possessions. Their problems tend to come on the offensive end of the court, where they’re 21st in the league with an efficiency rating of 106.2 points scored per 100 possessions. They play the sixth-slowest pace in the league at 94.3 possessions per 48 minutes. Detroit has five players scoring between 13.5 and 17.5 points per game, and the leading scorer among them is PG Reggie Jackson (17.2 PPG, 5.5 APG). Jackson was recently rumored to be on the trade block, but his performance hasn’t suffered any: After averaging 14.5 PPG in December, he’s putting up 20.3 in January. The centerpiece of this roster is C Andre Drummond (14.3 PPG, 13.6 RPG, 1.6 SPG, 1.2 BPG), who is third in the league in rebounding and first among centers in steals. He had his 25th career 20-rebound game against the Heat. SF Tobias Harris (16.7 PPG, 5.1 RPG) had 16 in that game, and he has scored at least 15 points in nine of the Pistons’ 11 games this month. He has been coming off the bench recently and seems to have benefited from it. SG Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (14.3 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 1.3 SPG) was hot before having to miss five games this month with a shoulder injury, and he’s just now getting back in the swing of things. He has shot 6-of-25 from the floor in the two games since his return. PF Marcus Morris (13.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG) is second on the team in three-point attempts (4.7) and had 25 points and 11 rebounds—and a game-winning tip-in—in the team’s most recent win (WAS).

Contrary to the reputation of Celtics teams from the last couple of years, this year’s Boston squad is great on offense (111.9 OEFF, 5th in NBA) and not so great on defense (109.4 DEFF, 22nd in NBA). They average 96 possessions per 48 minutes, just below the league average of 96.4. The man leading that offense is PG Isaiah Thomas (29.1 PPG, 6.3 APG), who is fifth in the NBA in usage rate (33.8) and second in scoring to only Russell Westbrook. He is one of only two players among the league’s top six scorers that attempt less than 20 shots per game (19.8). He is averaging 32.3 points per game in January and has scored at least 35 points in seven of 13 games this month. Horford (15.5 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 5.1 APG, 1.7 BPG) appears to still be finding his groove on his new team, but he has already established himself as a critical cog in all facets of the team’s game. He is a great passer in the post and a well-rounded defender, although his shortcomings on the boards help contribute to Boston’s third-worst team RPG number of 41.3. SF Jae Crowder (14.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 1.0 SPG) and PG Marcus Smart (9.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 4.6 APG, 1.5 SPG) take on extra importance in the absence of Bradley (17.7 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.3 SPG), as his injury takes away both perimeter scoring and defense, as well as rebounding. PF Kelly Olynyk (8.8 PPG, 4.4 RPG) has been hot lately, having scored 16 and 17 points against Orlando and Milwaukee, respectively. PF Amir Johnson (6.3 PPG, 4.6 RPG) holds down the four spot in the starting lineup and specializes in doing the dirty work.


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