Final: Detroit Pistons 112, Boston Celtics 111 - Trap game traps Celtics, winning streak snapped

GAME 60
Boston Celtics (34-25, 20-10 home, 6th East) vs. Detroit Pistons (12-45, 4-25 road, 15th East)
TD Garden
7:30 PM - NBCSN Boston

PROBABLY STARTING LINEUPS

Boston: Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Grant Williams, Al Horford

Detroit: Cade Cunningham, Cory Joseph, Jerami Grant, Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

- Marcus Smart (ankle) and Robert Williams (calf) are out tonight. Ime Udoka said he doesn’t think the injuries are anything serious.

“Coming off the back to back, they had to get assessed in the building today,” Udoka said. “But obviously timing was probably the best with the break coming up. And don’t think it’s anything. So obviously tonight they’ll be out, but we have guys that can fill in.”

- Derrick White will start for Marcus Smart. 

“With him coming off the bench in these few games, we haven’t had any letdowns in any way,” Udoka said. “So obviously offensively he can do some of the same things and not miss a beat there. But defensively, same size across the board and he’s been good as far as that too. So just more opportunity for him to get used to playing with the starters. And like I said, it’s good to have him here at this time with this happening to Marcus, but the group in general, Payton coming in and everybody kind of doing it by committee.”

- The Pistons are sixth in the NBA in forced turnovers per game (15.2)

- Boston is favored by 12.5

GOING A LITTLE DEEPER 

Doc Rivers highlighted Boston’s increased ball movement after last night’s demolition of the Sixers. The Celtics have gone from an iso-heavy team to one that is really starting to move it. 

 “It feels pretty noticeable,” Udoka said. “Every game is a new challenge and teams defend differently. … the turnovers are down and the assists are up because we’re getting rid of the ball. But we like it to be a balance of off-ball movement, isolations which they are good at, pick and rolls. So we just have a very mutli-dimensional team that can score a lot of ways especially when we’re playing fast in transition.”

Not all isolations are bad, but the ones Udoka is looking for show up when the team plays up-tempo. 

“The one thing we have emphasized is playing faster and scoring more in the open court. So those are the isolation opportunities we want,” he said. “Early kick aheads when the defense is not set and we can attack from there. And then from there I think in general we still find mismatches at times and guys will take advantage of those.” 

The change in style is something that's been building for a while. The elimination of bad habits is not something that happens overnight. 

“I’ve said they’ve always been receptive to coaching. And the film sessions have helped,” Udoka said. “They're embracing being playmakers and helping everybody else score. And I think it’s pleasing to me and noticeable when we play the other way. And like I said, they’re embracing that part of being playmakers. But at the same time, they get going, they can take advantage of mismatches. And I think they’re doing a good job of balancing that.”

The old style of play drew a snide comment from Joel Embiid last month when he said the Charlotte Hornets were harder to guard than Boston because Boston was an isolation team. It’s a message Udoka wanted to make sure his team didn’t forget. 

“I put that quote up for the guys before the game yesterday, and they saw that,” Udoka said.  “Change has come since that game and I think we just continue to carry that over. And little by little, it would happen. We would do something really well, play a certain way, then take a step back and kind of get away from that. … we had some of those ups and downs during the season and we’re just more consistent with it now. Guys are seeing the benefits of it.”

THREE THINGS TO WATCH FOR

1. No letdown: This is obvious. It’s a back-to-back after a big win over a rival on national TV, the All Star break starts tomorrow, and you’re facing the worst team in the NBA. 

This has letdown written all over it.

“We have to come in tonight focused,” Udoka said. “Put yesterday and tomorrow behind us and not look forward. And continue with the momentum and doing the things we’ve done well. So that’s the message to the guys.”

2. Bench battle: Detroit ranks third in the NBA in bench scoring (38.7 ppg) this season. Boston is already thin as it is and they're down two starters, so that's going to put some guys who don’t usually get a lot of opportunities in a position to play a lot. Will Aaron Nesmith build on a big night? Will Sam Hauser get a bigger shot?

3. Just stay healthy: I just would like to see them come out of this unscathed with a win. 

GAME THREAD

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