Opponent Scouting: Boston Celtics. (41-17)
Tonight at 7:30pm EST the Detroit Pistons will be on the road in Boston to face the Celtics. The Pistons are on two days of rest after losing to the Raptors while the Celtics are on the second night of a back to back after losing in overtime to the Bucks last night.
The Them:
The Boston Celtics are really good still sporting the best record in basketball (tho the Bucks and Nuggets are right behind them) and they have the 4th best efficiency on both offense and defense. The Pistons do get a bit of a break though as Jaylen Brown is out after busting up his face and I believe that Marcus Smart is still out as well. Both Al Horford and Jayson Tatum missed the game last night but neither has something serious going on as far as I know. Tatum was supposedly just sick and hadn’t missed the previous games so I’m not sure about his status as of writing.
Even if Tatum joins Brown in street clothes, the Celtics have some real guys in the rotation who can step up, as evidenced by the fact that they took the Bucks to overtime. Blake Griffin started and played 24 minutes last night and scored 15 points and dished 6 assists, he’s a shell of what he once was but he still can finish around the rim and pass. Grant Williams is a tough defender and a good shooter, newly acquired Mike Muscala can shoot from a big-man position, Derrick White is a good defender with some off-the-dribble pop, Sam Hauser is an elite shooter. Off the bench, Malcolm Brogdon is a clear example of a guy who is obviously capable of a larger role with the Jays out as an awesome shooter who can still do work inside from either guard position. Payton Pritchard is a good defender, I have no idea what the deal is with Robert Williams who normally starts but came off the bench to play just 13 minutes last night. Maybe they explained it and I missed it.
Obviously the team is a different beast if both Tatum and Brown are out. If Tatum is ready to go then as far as the Pistons are concerned this is a full team. Without both of their top guys they are still a good defensive team and they have guys who can step into the larger roles, those other guys just won’t be as consistent as Brown and Tatum.
Matchups to watch:
James Wiseman: This is obviously going to be the primary point of interest for any Pistons fan. Wiseman is all set to play and based on everything the Pistons have said they want him to play right away. I’m not even that concerned about how well he does and more interested in how they use him. Do they really start him? Is he going to mostly play the 4 or the 5? Does he play more with Duren or Stew? All eyes will be on him.
The general rotation: Tied into the James Wiseman addition but the Pistons also have plenty of minutes to give away with Bey (and Knox) gone. Previously it seems like they just sort of heaped those extra minutes onto Livers and Burks. Now that they have Duren ready I want to see how the wing rotation shakes out.
Celtics vs. Energy: Best players all out, playing on the road against the Bucks, lost in overtime in a hard-fought back-and-forth game. Maybe Tatum comes back tonight and brings fresh legs that mitigate the issue, but wouldn’t be shocked at all if the Celtics either came out slow or ran out of gas later in the game.
Killian Hayes vs. Last grasps: I don’t really know what to say here. Hayes has gone back in the crapper recently and the next couple of weeks are probably his last chance to show he can be anything more than a backup, he may have already missed that chance.