A night after taking the floor as 7-point underdogs in Philadelphia and walking away with a three-point win, the Celtics are back home as 6.5-point favorites against the Pistons. Boston played without Kyrie Irving last night and he remains questionable for tonight. The Celtics are 2-1 SU and 1-2 ATS vs Detroit this season and the total for tonight’s contest opened at 211.5.
- The Celtics are 6-2 ATS in their last eight games as the favorite.
- Detroit is 6-1 ATS in its last seven games when playing on the road against Boston.
- The Celtics are 22-8 SU and 18-12 ATS on home court.
Pistons vs Celtics Game Center
Supporting Cast Stepped Up
Celtics supporters will love that Gordon Hayward, Al Horford and Jayson Tatum stepped up in the absence of Kyrie Irving and got the job done last night. Philadelphia had just rolled the Lakers after beating the Nuggets and some pundits were thinking the Sixers could now be the team to beat in the East.
In fact, the Celtics are 7-1 SU in their last eight games without Kyrie Irving, including wins over Brooklyn, Charlotte, Dallas and Minnesota. However, the Sixers are undoubtedly the best team that Boston has gotten past without its superstar.
Irving is listed as questionable for tonight’s game, so we could see Terry Rozier get another start tonight. He had five points, five assists and four rebounds in 31 minutes in Philly.
Don’t Get Too Excited By Detroit’s Recent Run
Detroit is 4-0 SU and ATS in its last four games, but two of those wins came against the lowly New York Knicks and another was over the Washington Wizards. Tonight marks Detroit’s biggest test since January 29 when they lost 115-105 as 7-point home dogs vs Milwaukee.
The Pistons have had a tough time scoring on the road this season and their 104.2 points per game as the visitor ranks 27th in the NBA. Conversely, Boston is one of the top home teams in the league, scoring 115.6 points per game on the parquet at TD Garden.
The Pistons have the No. 29 field-goal percentage and No. 25 three-point percentage in the league, marks that likely won’t improve tonight in Boston as the Celts bring the league’s No. 2 shooting defense and No. 4 three-point defense.
My Pick For Tonight
With or without Kyrie in the Boston lineup tonight, I’m taking OVER 211.5. I think the Celtics win this game but on a back-to-back with the spread as high as it is, I’m going to err on the side of the total.
February has been the highest-scoring month of the season for the Celtics at both ends of the floor. Boston is scoring 117 points per game while allowing 114.2 points per game.
Meanwhile, Detroit is also having its highest-scoring month of the season at 115.2 points per game on its best shooting month of the season at 41.2 percent.
Two of the three games this season have gone OVER the total while the last four meetings between these teams in Boston have gone OVER as well. Additionally, the Celtics are 19-11 O/U this season on home court.
