The Detroit Pistons will put their seven-game winning streak on the line against the defending champion Boston Celtics, who are up 3-0 in the season series.

Catch the game tomorrow at 8 AM, Manila time.

AWAY: Boston Celtics (41-16, 23-6 AWAY)

Projected starting five:

  • Jrue Holiday
  • Derrick White
  • Jaylen Brown 
  • Jayson Tatum
  • Kristaps Porzingis

The defending champs are 10-1 over their last 11 games, averaging 116.3 points per game with a +10.9 net rating. They are also on the brink of sweeping the Pistons on their head-to-head matchup for the season – what’s even better is their winning margin kept getting higher every time: 124-118 last October 27th, 130-120 last December 5th, and 123-99 last December 13th. Also, main man Jayson Tatum has only appeared once in those meetings due to injury, so he made his presence felt too as he had 37 big points.

Nevertheless, like the fine-tuned machine that they are, the Celtics are consistently filled with weapons. Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, and Payton Pritchard are all netting 20-plus points per game vs. DET on the season. Heck, even Sam Hauser is basically in there as he scored 20 in his lone outing against them.

But, of course, the Cs can’t sleep on the red-hot Pistons, and defense will once again be a key. It’ll be a team effort, and Jrue Holiday and Derrick White are vital as they’ll be tasked to contain Cade Cunningham’s all-around playmaking.

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HOME: Detroit Pistons (32-26, 15-13 HOME)

Projected starting five:

  • Cade Cunningham
  • Tim Hardaway Jr.
  • Ausar Thompson
  • Tobias Harris
  • Jalen Duren

The scorching Pistons are winners of seven consecutive games, their best in 10 years. They are lighting up opponents with 125.1 PPG with a massive +15.1 net rating in that winning streak. It has brought a ton of momentum, and it’s just what the doctor ordered.

Cade Cunningham will be the focal point as per usual. The All-Star is having a career year and has averaged a double-double in three games facing Boston: 22.7 PPG, 10.7 APG. He’ll be hungry as ever, though he’ll have to do more considering they’ve blanked in all three attempts.

Malik Beasley, Tobias Harris, and Jalen Duren will be helping out the star PG. All are having solid campaigns thus far, but will likewise have to step up a dozen times over. Rookie Ron Holland is in that mix as well as he has 12.7 PPG in just 14.7 minutes of play vs. BOS.

Team defense has improved really well throughout the season, and tomorrow’s another big test. We’ll see how much they’ve learned from those three defeats.

PICKS:

Spread: Celtics (-4)

Over/Under: Over (225)

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