Final: Celtics 119, Pistons 94 - Derrick White, Jaylen Brown's power easy win

BOSTON CELTICS vs DETROIT PISTONS

7:30 p.m. - NBCS Boston

Line: Boston -15.5

INJURIES

Boston: Sam Hauser (OUT, ankle), Al Horford (OUT, toe), Jrue Holiday (OUT, shoulder), JD Davison (OUT, illness), Jaylen Brown (QUESTIONABLE AVAILABLE, ankle), Jayson Tatum (QUESTIONABLE OUT, ankle), Kristaps Porzingis (PROBABLE AVAILABLE, hamstring)

Detroit: Ausar Thompson (OUT, illness), Quentin Grimes (OUT, knee), Cade Cunningham (QUESTIONABLE, knee), Simone Fontecchio (QUESTIONABLE, toe)

LAST TIME

Celtics 128, Pistons 122 (OT) - December 28

The Celtics started out slow and the Pistons, behind 10 from Cunningham, started hot to build an 11-point lead. Boston closed on a 10-2 run to end the first down three. They lost the second quarter by 16 behind perhaps their most comically terrible 12 minutes of basketball. That changed in the third quarter when Boston started attacking, going 10-12 from 2 while also shooting 3-7 from 3 to erase the entire halftime deficit. They went back and forth after that, with Alec Burks hitting some shots and Porzingis answering, but Tatum missed a good look and it went to overtime. The Porzingis/Derrick White combo took over from there.

THINGS I’M LOOKING FOR

1. Mindset: As much as I don’t expect the Celtics to give in to the bad habit of playing down to opponents anymore, it doesn’t mean that they don’t from time to time. And with the Bucks coming to town Wednesday and the potential for the Pistons to lose Cunningham for the game, the possibility of a letdown or trap game exist. 

2: Experimentation: This is a great time to try some new things ahead of the playoffs under the guise of “we were shorthanded so we just played who we had available.” 

When asked last night what meaningful things can be taken from the remaining schedule, Tatum said “I think just seeing how different lineups work well with each other. … I think it's an opportunity for us to try some things, try some different lineups, different rotations, and see what we maybe can do in the playoffs.”

3: Anything interesting … at all: I suppose we all want to see Boston win another first quarter by 20 and cruise from there. And I also wouldn’t mind that because I can get my postgame work done a little quicker, but maybe something fun and interesting can happen within that? Last night we had Sam Hauser going off trying to get a record. Maybe tonight Luke Kornet can drop 50 or something? Anything? 

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.