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Game tips at 7:30pm EST.
Boston Celtics: 20-19 (7-11 away)
Detroit Pistons: 14-25 (10-11 home)
If you go back 11 games, the Pistons have won seven, so that's pretty good. But narrow the scope a little bit and you'll see they've lost two straight, three of their last four and haven't won at home in over two weeks. That's not very good.
The Pistons may as well have been no shows in London. There were plenty of pretty Instagram pics from the team and I guess it was pretty cool they were selected to play over there, although the game was during the work day over here, but save for a nice third quarter that may have teased otherwise, the game was never really in doubt. Now, all the team has to show for it is a losing streak and some jet lag.
A stat that is disconcerting is the Pistons' inability to hit free throws. In London, they missed 11, half of their attempts; eight in blowing a double-digit lead against the Jazz; and six in the OT loss against the Bobcats. In their last five games, the Pistons are a poor 61.1-percent on freebies.
Their troubles at the line can be reasonably explained by their lack of confidence from watching the ball go through the hole at their regular rate from elsewhere on the floor. The Pistons are a 37-percent shooting team from beyond the arc this year, but over the last five games have shot just a little over 30-percent from three-point range and can't seem to buy a bucket at times when simply making a basket here and there would suffice in preventing the big let down or falling behind double digits. Imagine that.
If the Pistons want to have any late-season chance of making the playoffs, they'll need to continue their recent string of success against the Celtics, who have a 6-game hold on the No. 8 spot over Detroit. The Pistons have won their last three against the Celtics at The Palace, and they haven't been particularly close (15.7 average margin of victory).
Overall, the C's have lost two straight, but have won two in a row on the road.
Question of the Game
Will the Pistons turn their game around after getting their biological clocks turned around in London?