The size of the Pistons can cause a lot of problems for the Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are finally back in action against the Detroit Pistons tonight, and they will be putting their versatility to the test right away. The Celtics get Marcus Smart back, which should enable all the small ball lineups they want to use, but doing that against Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin is a different story.
You can expect the duo of Al Horford and Aron Baynes to be put to the test, but the Celtics know they do not have the front court personnel to really keep up with those two. The Celtics need to make sure that they are forcing the Pistons to adjust, preventing those two bigs from being at their absolute best.
When you look at how the Celtics handle bigs, they know that they can trust Horford to contain any individual. He has gone head to head with some of the most versatile bigs in the league, and has often won those matchups.
He has all the defensive tools to contain Griffin on the inside and the outside, but that could also leave Drummond running wild. The Celtics cannot ask their bigs to stop both of them, but if they can use Smart in order to impose their small ball lineups, the Pistons will have to adjust.
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The biggest challenge of this game will be making sure the Celtics are the ones getting comfortable. If they are responding to Griffin and Drummond, and those bigs are determining the game, then the Celtics will never be at their best, and they will struggle in order to get in rhythm.
If the Celtics are able to impose their small ball lineups, and they prevent Drummond and Griffin from even having the opportunity to blow this game up, the Celtics should have no problem ending this losing streak.
The Pistons have a massive advantage with those bigs, but it is their only advantage. The Celtics will put in all the work to try and make sure the game is determined in some other phase, but it is a lot easier said than done when you are dealing with a front court like this.
The Pistons are looking to go on a great playoff push, and it will be on the backs of those two bigs. There are very few teams in the NBA who can handle that kind of size when they are at their best, but the Pistons still need to figure out how to make things work.
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The Celtics need to prove that they can get back to being the best defense in the league, and part of their success has been forcing teams to adjust to what they are doing. The size of the Pistons can make them one of the more difficult matchups for the Celtics in the East, but taking down this kind of size is something their defense needs to be capable of, and the Pistons are a team they need to beat on a regular basis.