Detroit Pistons return from NBA All-Star break vs. Boston Celtics

The Detroit Pistons play the Boston Celtics at Little Caesar’s Arena after coming back from the All-Star break. It’s a big game for both teams.

The Detroit Pistons follow up the All-Star Break with a match-up against the Boston Celtics.

The last time these two teams met was on December 10 at the new LCA. The Celtics took a 91-81 victory over the Pistons to improve to 23-5 at that point in the season. The Pistons dropped to 14-12 on the season. Not much has changed for the Celtics since then. They’re still one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.

A lot has changed for the Pistons since December. They’ve acquired Blake Griffin, fallen out of the playoff picture, and lost Reggie Jackson to an ankle injury.

Boston is currently the second seed in the eastern conference while the Pistons are a game and a half out of the last playoff spot.

Tonight’s game is meaningful for both teams.

Boston lost three games in a row going into the All-Star break. They’d like to start this final stretch of the season on the right foot.

The Celtics will be without Marcus Smart tonight as well.

Every game is meaningful for the Pistons at this point if they want to compete in the postseason. Detroit will have to take care of Kyrie Irving if they want any shot at winning tonight. Boston goes as he goes. Detroit just needs to be better as whole when it comes to playing defense.

They stumbled into the break after what was a hot stretch after Griffin was acquired. It was mainly because of their lack of defensive awareness.

A heavy emphasis should be placed on spacing the floor and getting the ball in the hands of Griffin and Andre Drummond. They will create a mismatch against Boston’s front-court.

Seeing Stanley Johnson be more aggressive and attacking the rim tonight should be part of the game plan as well. He’s looked more confident and played much better since the Griffin trade.

How much of Luke Kennard will we see tonight? Reggie Bullock has been out day-to-day because of illness so this might give Kennard some extra minutes tonight.

The Detroit Pistons are 19-12 at home this season compared to 9-17 on the road. This doesn’t mean it’s a guaranteed win tonight, especially with one of the league’s best teams coming into town.

Next: What needs to happen for Pistons after All-Star break

Here is the important info for tonight’s game:
Where: Little Caesar’s Arena – Detroit, MI
When: 7:00 p.m. ET – Fox Sports Detroit
Line: Boston (-2)