The Celtics have played well since losing to Cleveland at home several weeks ago. Boston has won 5 of 6 since be defeated by the Cavs in overtime. The key to the Celtic’s recent winning-streak has been their offense. Boston has scored 123 points or more in 3 of their last 4 games. Still, the Celtic’s defense has been inconsistent this year, even during the team’s recent winning streak. Boston has also benefitted from a weak schedule, The Celtics are 8-3 despite losing to Cleveland twice, the best team Boston has faced so far this season. The Celtic’s offense has looked good, but Boston’s defense hasn’t looked as strong with Udoka no longer the head coach.

Jayson Tatum is having an MVP-caliber season this year, and he leads the team in both scoring and rebounding. Tatum is averaging 31.2 points per game, and 6.9 rebounds per game, so far this season. Marcus Smart leads the team in assists, averaging 7 a game. Jaylen Brown is also having another good season. He’s averaging 25.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.

The Pistons are rebuilding. Detroit came into this season with one of the youngest teams in the league, and Pistons have struggled so far this year, winning just 3 of their first 11 games. Detroit’s biggest problem has been defense. The Pistons haven’t had rim protection or good interior defense most of the year, and Detroit has struggled to defend the perimeter as well. The Piston’s offense has been decent at times, with Cade Cunningham playing better over the last several weeks, but Detroit is still struggling on defense.

The Piston’s leading scorer is Cade Cunningham, who is averaging 19.9 points per game. Cunningham is also leading Detroit in assists, averaging 6 assists per game. Isiah Stewart is leading the Pistons in rebounding. He his averaging 9.9 rebounds per game.

The Celtics have cleaned up all year against weaker teams such as Detroit, and the Pistons haven’t been able to defend all year. The Pistons prefer to play fast, and Boston is a their best in the open court. The Celtics are in good form right now, they’ve been playing very good since their loss on the road to Cleveland, and Tatum is having one of his best seasons so far. Jaden Ivey and Cade Cunningham are still adjusting to playing together, and the Piston’s don’t have a rim protector to cover-up their bad perimeter defense. The Celtics defensive issues also shouldn’t be an issue in this game since Detroit is not a top offensive team.

Both these teams have been inconsistent defensively this season. Boston ranks 21st in tempo, while Detroit ranks 13th in tempo, but the Pistons have also been playing faster recently with Ivey back in the lineup. Both teams prefer to play smaller and faster lineups. Neither team plays a traditional center, with Boston having Horford at the 5 right now with Robert Williams still out, and Detroit playing Isiah Stewart at the 5 for a significant amount of minutes. Boston hasn’t looked the same defensively without Williams, and Detroit has struggled to defend all year. This should be a wide-open and higher scoring game.