Final: Pistons 112, Celtics 105 - Cunningham drops 32 to beat mistake-prone C's

BOSTON CELTICS (15-10) vs DETROIT PISTONS (20-5)

Regular season game 26

TD Garden, 7 p.m. - NBCS Boston, Peacock

SCHEDULE ADVANTAGE: Boston. The Celtics have had an extra day off.  

Detroit is on a three-game winning streak. 

INJURIES

Boston: Jayson Tatum (OUT-Achilles) 

Detroit: None

OFFICIALS

Nick Buchert (#3)    Eric Dalen (#37)    Jenna Reneau (#93)

THINGS I’M LOOKING FOR

1. Small lineup: It has been effective for Boston, and it worked well in stretches against the Pistons last month. Detroit is a big, physical team, and going small forces them to try to keep up with quicker guys defensively. It’s a double-edged sword, because the smaller guys have to guard bigger players, but the Celtics will take that because that often means post-ups from guys who would be taking the ball out of Cade Cunningham’s hands. 

2. Making shots: Winning means making 3-pointers. It’s just that simple. They were terrible at it in the second half in Milwaukee and things fell apart on them. Sam Hauser has to get on track and find a stretch of hot shooting to get his percentages back up. 

3. Anfernee Simons: The unofficial opening of trade season has people throwing Simons’ name around in every Celtics trade proposal. It has to be impossible for him to miss, which is the same thing I want to say about him on the floor as he puts this stuff behind him. It won’t be easy, and I think his uncertain future in Boston plays a role in his inconsistent play. This is a huge challenge for him. 

4. Pistons revenge: That win over Detroit last month was amazing. The Pistons hit a little turbulence after that game, losing three out of five games including that one, so they might have a little extra motivation to come in and lay the hammer down. 

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.