Detroit Pistons at Boston Celtics 12/20/19: Starting Lineups, Matchup Preview, Daily Fantasy
Contents
Detroit Pistons at Boston Celtics Preview
In their first of their three-game regular-season series, the Boston Celtics will host the Detroit Pistons tonight. Boston has won five of the last six matchups entering tonight’s game and the Pistons could be without some key players to stop that skid.
While the Milwaukee Bucks are easily the best team in the Eastern Conference this season, the Boston Celtics have been right there. They won their last game and are second place in the conference with an 18-7 record. The Celtics have won seven of their last 10 games and are an excellent 10-1 at home at TD Garden.
The Pistons have lost two consecutive games. They are 10th in the East with an 11-17 record. Detroit is 5-5 in their last ten and are 4-9 on the road.
TV Schedule
Date: 12/20/19
Time: 7:30 PM ET
Arena: TD Garden, Boston, MA
Channel: FSD, NBCSB
Injuries
Pistons: Blake Griffin, Luke Kennard (D), Christian Wood, Reggie Jackson (O)
Celtics: Brad Wanamaker (P), Gordon Hayward, Robert Willimas, Marcus Smart (O)
Detroit Pistons Starting Lineup
PG: Bruce Brown
SG: Svi Mykhailiuk
SF: Tony Snell
PF: Markieff Morris
C: Andre Drummond
Pistons Analysis
The Detroit Pistons followed up a surprising 115-107 win over the Houston Rockets with two blowout losses to the Washington Wizards, 133-119 and the Toronto Raptors, 112-99.
Just when the Pistons were starting to get a clean bill of health with Andre Drummond returning to join Blake Griffin in the frontcourt, Griffin appears to be doubtful for tonight’s game along with fellow starter Christian Wood.
“Blake is not a hundred percent with the knee soreness,” coach Dwane Casey said on Wednesday. “I don’t have a crystal ball to say if he’s going to be back 100 percent. That’s what we’re shooting for by resting him and giving him days off. We need him.”
In the loss to the Raptors, the Pistons allowed 40 second-half points and outscored them in the third quarter to coast to the win.
Drummond had 22 points and 18 rebounds, Derrick Rose finished with 16 and Griffin had 15 points in 32 minutes.
Pistons Quick Links: Pistons Starting Lineup, Pistons Roster, Pistons Depth Chart, Pistons Injuries, Pistons News, Pistons Schedule
Boston Celtics Starting Lineup
PG: Kemba Walker
SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Semi Ojeleye
C: Daniel Theis
Celtics Analysis
The Boston Celtics bounced back from their two-game losing streak to the Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers by squeaking out a win over the Dallas Mavericks 109-103 on Wednesday night.
“We played well enough to win but not as good as we need to in order to be a really good team,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “We had moments late where we strung together some stops, but we have to be much more committed to being better on that end of the floor.”
The Celtics had just three players score in double figures, but they were able to hold off the Mavericks in the second half to secure the win.
Kemba Walker came up big as he was matched up against Jalen Brunson. He finished with 32 points and five rebounds. Jaylen Brown had 26 points and nine rebounds, and Jayson Tatum had 24 points and eight rebounds.
Semi Ojeleye and Daniel Theis have been starting, but they aren’t receiving heavy minutes. They managed only a combined five points on Wednesday. Stevens is balancing the minutes out with Enes Kanter and Grant Williams off the bench.
Celtics Quick Links: Celtics Starting Lineup, Celtics Roster, Celtics Depth Chart, Celtics Injuries, Celtics News, Celtics Schedule
Key Player Matchups
Andre Drummond vs. Daniel Theis
It’s hard to find many key matchups in this game, especially with the Pistons missing several key players. Drummond lines up against Theis tonight and he should be dominant in that matchup. He is averaging 17.8 points, 16.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. I would expect Brad Stevens to substitute Enes Kanter in early as he tries to put another physical center in to battle Drummond in the post.
Daily Fantasy
Andre Drummond and Jayson Tatum are standout players in tonight’s matchup. Drummond is available for $9.6k on FanDuel and he has a projection of 44 points. Tatum has a salary of $7.5k and a projection of 43.9 points.
Jaylen Brown is surprisingly in the range as a value player with a salary of just $6.9k. For that price tag, he has an excellent projection of 39.7 fantasy points.
Bet on Matchup
If you’re in Pennsylvania, you can bet on this matchup. Sports betting is legal in PA. Our top-rated online sportsbook bonus offers can be found in our articles: Fanduel Sportsbook promo code, DraftKings Sportsbook promo code & Pointsbet promo code.
