Game 11 Preview: Celtics at Pistons

If this was 2008, this game would be on ABC or ESPN. Instead, this is just another road game for the Boston Celtics against the Detroit Pistons.

The Pistons were the ones standing in the Celtics way of a championship in the first season of the Kevin Garnett era. Now, they're just another team on the schedule at the beginning of the season.

The Pistons took the risk that the Celtics have taken the last few seasons of keeping their aging core together. It did not turn out well for the Pistons, as after the 2007-2008 campaign, they fell off the mark and have never regained that prominent status they attained for so many years earlier in the decade. They held on to Richard Hamilton and the Wallace's (Rasheed and Ben) in an effort to make another run. However, the exact opposite happened -- something that the Celtics have been lucky in a sense that that hasn't happened to them as well.

Nonetheless, the Pistons (1-9) will host the Celtics (6-4) at 7:30 p.m. tonight. Here's a preview:

Projected lineups:

Celtics:
Rajon Rondo
Jason Terry
Paul Pierce
Brandon Bass
Kevin Garnett

Pistons:
Brandon Knight
Kyle Singler
Tayshaun Prince
Jason Maxiell
Greg Monroe

Key to the game:

1. Don't look past this game: After cruising to an 18-point win yesterday afternoon, the Celtics should be feeling pretty good about themselves. However, this is the NBA, and anything can happen on any given night. Look at last year: in the one of the final games before the All-Star break, the Celtics got embarrassed at the Palace of Auburn Hills 96-81. The Celtics were only a game over .500 going into that game while the Pistons were 12 games under .500. That was a completely different situation, but it goes to prove that anyone can beat anyone on any given night. This is the fifth game in seven nights for the Celtics, and they get two days off before Wednesday night's matchup with the Spurs. My point? Don't look ahead and stay focused at the task at hand.

This is the only key to the game. The Celtics are the superior team in all facets of the game, and honestly, this game should not be close. Doc has done a terrific job of limiting minutes, so tired legs should not come into play. This is all mental tonight for the Celtics. If they can stay mentally locked in for 48 minutes -- or however long it takes to build a strong lead for good -- then they should have no problem getting to 7-4.