The Detroit Pistons will travel to TD Garden to square off against the Boston Celtics. The game gets underway at 6:00 pm ET on Sunday, Mar. 22 and will air on FSN-DET and CSN-NE.
The Celtics lost to the Spurs 101-89 on Friday. Jae Crowder put together a strong game for the Celtics, contributing 14 points, six rebounds, and two steals. The Pistons, meanwhile, are coming off a 94-83 loss to the 76ers on Wednesday. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had a good shooting night, leading the game with 20 points.
Points at the line might be difficult to come by for the Celtics in this contest. They are 30th in the league in free throw attempt rate (22.7), while Detroit is among the league’s least foul-prone teams (allowing a free throw attempt rate of just 24.5, fifth in the NBA).
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Celtics won the first game 109-102. Andre Drummond played a big role with 27 points and 14 rebounds.
Oddsmakers have deemed this game an even matchup and the Over/Under (O/U) is unavailable at the moment. The Celtics enter the game with records of 30-38 Straight Up (SU) and 40-28 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 7-3 ATS over their last 10 games. Boston has the fourth-most assists in the NBA, averaging 24.4 per game.
Across the court, Detroit has a SU record of 24-44 and an ATS record of 32-36. In Eastern Conference games, Detroit has gone 15-23 SU and 16-22 ATS. Detroit is the best offensive rebounding teams in the NBA. The Pistons average a league-leading 13.1 offensive rebounds per game.
Boston beat Detroit in their most recent meeting this season, but the Pistons still lead the head-to-head record over the last 10, 7-3 SU. Additionally, with a 7-3 record, the Pistons have the advantage ATS. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers, Detroit held the edge in all three of these categories twice in the last 10 meetings. Boston never did so in those games.
Predictions: SU Winner – DET, ATS Winner – DET
Notes
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Boston’s last 7 games.
Boston is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston’s last 5 games at home.
Boston is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Boston’s last 5 games when playing Detroit.
Boston is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games when playing Detroit.
Boston is 3-7 ATS in its last 10 games when playing Detroit.
Boston is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games when playing at home against Detroit.
Boston ranks 14th in points per game with 100.8, while Detroit ranks 15th in points allowed with an average of 99.7 given up.
Boston ranks 16th in points per home game with 101.7 points, while Detroit ranks seventh in points allowed on the road with 98.0.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Boston Celtics are a stellar 24-5. In games where they fail to hit triple digits, the Detroit Pistons have a subpar record of 8-32.
At 6-33, the Boston Celtics have an underachieving record when their opponents score at least 100 points. The Detroit Pistons are 16-12 when they put up triple digits.
The Celtics have an offensive rating of 101.2 (ranked 20th). The Pistons rank 19th for their defensive rating of 103.5.
Boston averages 99.6 possessions per game, scoring 1.012 points on each possession. While Detroit averages fewer possessions per game with 96.4, the team scores more points per possession with 1.014.
The Boston Celtics average an effective field goal percentage of 48.7% this season. The Detroit Pistons have an underachieving record of 10-34 when opponents have an EFF% of 48.7% or greater.
On average, the Boston Celtics make 24.4 assists per game and the Detroit Pistons make 21.1. Boston is ranked fourth, while Detroit is ranked 19th.
The Boston Celtics average 3.7 blocks per game for a rank of 30th. The Detroit Pistons rank higher (20th), earning 4.5 blocks each contest.
Boston is ranked 11th in offensive rebounding. Detroit ranks 17th in defensive rebounds.
The Boston Celtics average 8.0 steals per game. When giving up 8 or more steals, the Detroit Pistons have a poor record (11-23) this season.
