Final: Celtics 124, Pistons 118 - C's blow 23 point lead but finish strong for third straight win

BOSTON CELTICS at DETROIT PISTONS    

Little Caesars Arena, 7:00 p.m.

Line: Boston -12.5

INJURIES

Boston: Kristaps Porzingis (OUT, ankle), Sam Hauser (OUT, back)

Detroit: Ausar Thompson (OUT, Return to competition reconditioning), Bobi Klintman (OUT, calf)

THINGS I’M LOOKING FOR

1. Focus: We’re all pumped for a Saturday night game against the Pistons, right? Yeah, I’m super psyched about it, too, and I’m sure the guys are as well. So let’s see where their heads are for this one. I’ve already talked about the warning signs of relaxing too much, which is something they mostly avoided last season. I’m curious if they can get back to that. 

2. Piston’s bulletin board motivation: Detroit has latched on to this quote from Jaylen Brown, and for good reason: 

So along the same lines of the Celtics coming out motivated, the Pistons are going to hit Boston with their absolute best shot. So even if the Celtics come out strong, the Pistons could have a little extra juice not only playing the champs, but shutting Brown up.

3. Lineups: Without Hauser, Joe Mazzulla went double-big off the bench and didn’t go to a wing until garbage time. I wonder if that will hold tonight or if that was just a Wizards thing. 

Follow along with my thoughts as the game goes on. They’ll show up below and in the comments section, so hop in and share your opinion as well.