Celtics at Pistons
The Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons both gave disappointing performances on the front end of a back-to-back and are seeking better showings when they meet Saturday in Detroit. Boston gave a subpar performance in a 104-88 home loss to the Golden State Warriors on Friday while the Pistons were just as woeful while suffering a 104-81 road loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy openly questioned his team's effort after it shot just 31.2 percent from the field and didn't have a single starter score in double digits versus Cleveland. "Their guys all played really, really hard," Van Gundy told reporters of the Cavaliers. "We need to find people that play that hard." Boston point guard Isaiah Thomas was even more succinct as he said his team — and the coaching staff — quit against the Warriors after falling behind by 30. "I guess we gave up — coaching staff as well," Thomas told reporters. "We start subbing. It was bad ... we gave up. We went into panic mode for whatever reason, and that's what happened. So I'm upset with that."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN Northeast (Boston), FSN Detroit
ABOUT THE CELTICS (6-6): While Thomas delivered some stinging comments when expressing his frustrations after Friday's loss, coach Brad Stevens wasn't flinching. Stevens understands that players will be vocal in the heat of the moment and he repeatedly keeps the big picture in mind and doesn't succumb to in-game desires. "I think that it's a long year; everybody knows it's a long year," Stevens said afterward. "We've got 70 games left. ... They realize that there are areas that we need to continue to improve but at the same time we've got a really tough stretch coming up and I think we're going to approach it positively."
ABOUT THE PISTONS (6-7): Van Gundy hinted at lineup changes after the poor showing against Cleveland and one player who he may target is power forward Marcus Morris. The sixth-year pro scored just seven points for the third consecutive contest and he is just 9-of-32 shooting during the stretch. Morris got off to a solid start by averaging 16.4 points over the first eight games but he is averaging just 8.4 points on 32.8 percent shooting over the last five games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The teams split four meetings last season with the largest differential being seven points.
2. Detroit is a dominating 5-0 at home with an average winning margin of 17.4 points.
3. Boston will be without C Al Horford (concussion) for the 10th straight game, while SF Jae Crowder (ankle) likely will miss his ninth consecutive game.