Celtics take on Pistons in Detroit

Boston Celtics (6-4) at Detroit Pistons (1-9)

Sunday, November 18, 2012
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #11, Road Game #6
TV: CSNNE, FSD, LP 757(C's Feed)/758(Pistons Feed)
Radio: WEEI, 97.1 FM The Ticket
Palace of Auburn Hills

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Team Connections

• Tayshaun Prince and Rajon Rondo both attended the University of Kentucky
• Jeff Green and Greg Monroe attended Georgetown
• Corey Maggette and Chris Wilcox were teammates on the LA Clippers from 2002-06
• Pistons Head Coach Lawrence Frank was an assistant coach with the Celtics during the 2010-11 season
• Pistons assistant coach Roy Rogers was an assistant with the Celtics during the 2010-11 season and played for the Celtics during the 1997-98 season
• Pistons Assistant Coach Dee Brown played for the Celtics from 1990-98 and was drafted by the team with the 19th pick in the 1990 NBA Draft
• Darko Milicic was drafted by the Pistons with the 2nd pick in the 2003 NBA Draft and was a member of the 2004 NBA Championship team
• Milicic played for Detroit from 2003-06.
• Chris Wilcox played for the Pistons from 2009-11.

Game Notes

The Celtics face former Celtics assistant Lawrence Frank and his Pistons for the first of 3 meetings this season. The Pistons won the series 2-1 last season. They have struggled this season and would love to get a win over the Celtics to boost their confidence.

The Celtics are 3-2 on the road while the Pistons are 0-3 at home. They have won just one game against 9 losses, getting a win over the Sixers on the road. The Celtics are playing in the second of back to back games while the had Saturday off.

The Pistons have struggled on offense, scoring just 93 points per game. while the Celtics are averaging 97 ppg. The Pistons aren't much better on the boards than the Celtics, with the Pistons coming 28th with 38.8 rebounds per game and the Celtics coming in last with 37.6 rebounds per game.

Even though the Celtics played on Sunday, it was an afternoon game and so not quite as bad as if it was a night game. Also, since the Celtics were able to get a big lead, only Rondo played more than 30 minutes (32) and KG played only 17. It should be an easy game for the Celtics if they come in focused and ready to take care of business.

Keys to the Game

Defense - It all begins with defense. The Celtics have been winning with defense. When they play lock down defense they are very hard to beat. When they get lax on defense, they struggle all the way around.

Rebound - The Celtics need to be aggressive on the boards. Rebounding is effort and if the Celtics are putting the effort out to grab rebounds then that effort will translate to the other areas of their game. They finally out-rebounded a team in their last game and hopefully that effort continues in this game.

Focus and Aggressiveness - It could be easy for the Celtics to let down their guard in this one. The Pistons are just 1-8 and the Celtics are playing in the second of back to back games. But they need to keep their focus and be aggressive. They have to be aggressive in going to the basket and not settle for jumpers. They have to be aggressive on defense and going for loose balls. They have lost easy games in the past because they play down to their opponents. They need to avoid that here.

X-Factors

Back to Back - The Celtics are playing in the second of back to back games on the road. Hopefully they have the focus and energy to get the win.