The Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics have had some highly-entertaining battles down through the years. While they aren’t necessarily bitter rivals, these two teams have duked it out for Eastern Conference supremacy many times in the past.

Detroit and Boston are both a long way away from the top of the Eastern Conference this year, but they are both right in the middle of a major season of change. These are two proud franchises looking to work their way back to the top. Both of them have had plenty of ups and downs already this season.

These two teams enter with identical 12-14 records. As these teams look to climb closer to the .500 mark, which one of them will come out on top in this one?

Pistons at Celtics Betting Story Lines

There’s a lot in common between the Pistons and Celtics this season. Both teams had some major offseason changes that started with new head coaches. Brad Stevens was a bit of a surprise hire for the Celtics, and he has looked very comfortable in his first 26 games in the NBA. Maurice Cheeks took over the top spot for the Pistons before the season started.

Boston had been pretty competitive the last few years, but Danny Ainge and the rest of the front office saw that the team was getting too old and decided to rebuild. Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce were moved to Brooklyn in a major offseason trade. Most expected the Celtics to be one of the worst teams in the East, but that hasn’t been the case thus far. Boston has a ton of salary cap space and a bunch of draft picks in the coming seasons, so this Celtics team will likely be very good again in a couple years.

Detroit hasn’t been competitive the last few years, and the Pistons front office set out to change that this past offseason. Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings were brought in to energize this team and the fan base. While the Pistons haven’t exactly been great so far this year, there have been some signs that better days are on the horizon.

Detroit lost a heart breaker on Sunday at home against Portland. The Pistons led by 13 in the fourth quarter only to lose on a buzzer-beater in overtime by Damian Lillard. Conventional wisdom was that the Pistons were going to go to Indiana on Monday and get blasted by the Pacers. Things didn’t go according to script. Detroit went to Indiana and gave the Pacers their first home loss of the season. Detroit’s resilience after a really tough loss has to give Pistons fans plenty of hope.

Rajon Rondo is still out of the lineup for the Celtics. Many experts believed that without Rondo the Celtics were doomed to a horrible record. While they are just 12-14, the Celtics are actually sitting in first place in the ridiculously bad NBA Atlantic Division. How have the Celtics been so much more competitive than expected? Boston’s defense has been very good this year. The Celtics have defended the three-point line better than any other team in the NBA.

Jared Sullinger has been very good in his second season in the NBA, and Jeff Green has been a consistent contributor as well. The Celtics don’t have any real stars on their roster, but they do have a lot of depth, and that has shown up in a lot of close games early in the year.

Pistons at Celtics NBA Betting Odds and Key Trends

The oddsmakers can’t figure out which team to make the favorite in this one. According to odds from Bookmaker, the line for this one is set at “pick’em”. The posted total is set at 194.5 points. Detroit is 5-1 ATS in their last six road games. The Pistons are 8-1 ATS in their last nine against the NBA Atlantic Division. The Celtics are 5-1 ATS in their last six home games. Detroit is a perfect 6-0 ATS in the last six meetings between these two teams.

Free NBA Picks: Pistons at Celtics Betting Predictions

The Pistons are coming off a great win at Indiana, but Boston has been tough to beat at home of late. The Celtics have won four of their last five games at home, with their only loss coming to the Clippers. The Pistons are improved, but they aren’t even close to the same kind of team as the Clippers. Detroit has had a ton of breakdowns on defense all year, while defense is the strength of the Celtics. At pick’em, I’ll back the team with the better defense at home. Look for the Celtics to win a close game here.

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