Pistons at Celtics
THE STORY: The Boston Celtics shouldn’t be worried about securing the No. 1 or 2 spot in the Eastern Conference. For now the focus should be just on getting a win when they hook up with the Detroit Pistons on Sunday evening. The Celtics fell to third in the East after blowing a double-digit lead in Atlanta and have dropped four of six and eight of 14. Boston is 3 1/2 games back of Chicago (56-20) and a half-game back of Miami (53-23), although the Celtics are tied in the loss column and hold the tiebreaker over the Heat. A tumultuous season is winding down for the Pistons, who have lost nine straight road games, two straight overall and five of six.
TV: 6 p.m. ET, FSD, CSNE
ABOUT THE PISTONS (26-49): Detroit just wants to get to the end of the season without another blow up. Head coach John Kuester has been feuding with several players, including Rip Hamilton, Charlie Villanueva and Rodney Stuckey. Detroit hung in against Chicago on Friday night before dropping a 101-96 decision and getting officially eliminated from the playoffs. Hamilton scored 30 points and Tayshaun Prince 17.
ABOUT THE CELTICS (52-23): Boston hoped it had gotten its swagger back after coming back at San Antonio on Thursday, but the Celtics got outmuscled in the boards in the second half of the 88-83 loss to the Hawks on Friday. Center Nenad Krstic is out with a knee injury, so the once deep center position now consists of 6-8 Glen Davis and oft-injured Jermaine O’Neal, who just returned from knee surgery for two games after missing 36. On the plus side, there’s a chance Shaquille O’Neal, who has been out since Feb. 1 with an Achilles injury, could be back for this one or next week, however Boston has been speculating about his return since mid-February.
WHO’S HOT/WHO’S NOT: Hamilton, who was pretty much jettisoned for no stated reason by Kuester for six weeks earlier this season, has been the game-high scorer in four of the last eight games Detroit has played. Celtics sharpshooter Ray Allen is averaging 12.7 points on 35.6-percent shooting over his last seven games and has shown frustration over his lack of shots of late. He hasn’t taken more than 11 in his last six games.
KEY STATISTIC: With losses to Memphis and Charlotte just prior to the 2-2 road trip, the Celtics are riding their first two-game home losing streak of the season. Boston last lost three straight at home March 28-April 2 of last season.
SEASON SERIES: Boston has won two of three against Detroit this season. In its lone win, the Pistons shot 56 percent and got 21 points and eight assists from Tracy McGrady in a 104-92 win Dec. 29. Paul Pierce is averaging 25.3 points on 61.4-percent shooting for the Celtics.
KEY INJURIES: DETROIT: C Ben Wallace (knee); G Terrico White (foot). BOSTON: C Shaquille O'Neal (Achilles); F Troy Murphy (ankle); C Nenad Krstic (knee).
LAST WORD: “At this point in the season, we should be playing our best basketball and we're not. I don't know if it's we're looking ahead to the playoffs or what, but we've got to understand that these games are important as far as building, and that's what I'm trying to reiterate." – Pierce