The Detroit Pistons will try to make history tonight by winning their 14th straight game against a depleted Boston Celtics, which means this is a classic trap game.
Detroit lost focus at the end of their last win over Indiana, nearly blowing the game in the final minutes, but they pulled out the win. Cade Cunningham wasn’t happy with the way his team closed out and he let them know about it, so hopefully tonight they will play with an edge all night.
But it’s a Wednesday evening game on the road with a weird start time and the Pistons have a huge home game against Orlando on Friday, so it would be easy to overlook the Celtics, but that would be a mistake.
Detroit dominated Boston on the boards in their first meeting, which allowed them to eke out a six-point win, and they’ll have a chance to do it again tonight with Boston missing their secret weapon.
Detroit Pistons injuries vs. Celtics: Neemias Queta ruled out tonight
Neemias Queta is not a name many fans know, but he’s secretly been huge for Boston, as they are a competent NBA team with him in the game and fall apart when he’s out.
Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports broke down what Queta has meant to the Celtics so far this season:
“Queta owns the best net rating on the team, with the Celtics outscoring opponents by 16.8 points per 100 possessions in his 396 minutes of court time. Perhaps more noteworthy: Boston has been outscored by 6.3 points per 100 possessions in Queta's 372 minutes off the court. He’s the only player on Boston's roster in the negative for off-court net rating.
Which, stated more simply, suggests the Celtics play their best basketball with Queta on the court, and their worst basketball without him...The team’s rebounding percentages plummet without Queta, while Boston's defensive rating spikes by 20.3 points per 100 possessions when he’s not on the floor.”
All of this is good news for the Pistons, who dominate the paint on both ends, feast on offensive rebounds and love to score in the paint. Detroit leads the NBA in points in the paint per game and is tied for 7th in offensive rebounds per game, so Jalen Duren, Isaiah Stewart, Tobias Harris and Ausar Thompson will be hunting offensive boards tonight.
Detroit racked up 19 offensive rebounds against the Celtics in the first meeting, which offset Boston’s advantage from the 3-point line.
Even with an advantage in the paint, the Pistons can’t look past Boston to Orlando or this streak will end tonight. But after their late collapse vs. Indiana, we should see a sharp and focused Pistons team ready to make history for Detroit.