The Boston Celtics (26-15) and Detroit Pistons (30-10) will face off in the NBA tonight. Tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m. ET from Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The game will broadcast live on NBC and Peacock.
The Pistons are 3.5-point favorites over the Celtics on the spread (Pistons -3.5), with the over/under set at 224.5 total points. Detroit is a -150 favorites to win outright on the moneyline, while Boston is +125 to pull off the upset.
Let's get into my Celtics vs. Pistons predictions and NBA picks for Monday, January 19.
Celtics vs Pistons Prediction, Picks
- Celtics vs Pistons pick: Jaylen Brown Over 24.5 Points / Jalen Duren Over 9.5 Rebounds / Derrick White Over 2.5 Steals + Blocks (+260)
My Pistons vs. Celtics best bet is a same game parlay combining three player props for a payout of +260, but make sure to find the best odds by checking our live NBA odds page.
Celtics vs Pistons Odds
| Celtics Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+3.5 -115 | 224.5 -110o / -110u | +125 |
| Pistons Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-3.5 -105 | 224.5 -110o / -110u | -150 |
Celtics vs Pistons NBA Preview
With apologies to my fellow New Yorkers, but this could very well be our Eastern Conference Finals preview.
The Pistons and the Celtics reign as the top two teams in the conference right now, especially with the Knicks sitting at 25-17 and just 2-8 over their last 10 games.
The Pistons are 30-10 and have also won five of their last six games entering tonight.
Detroit leads the season series with Boston so far, having won 119-113 at home in the third game of the season, then losing 117-114 in Massachusetts — snapping a 13-game losing streak the day before Thanksgiving — before responding with a 112-105 road win on December 15.
This will be the final regular-season meeting between these two teams until the playoffs, if at all.
The Celtics, down in the season series, remain within striking distance in the standings at 4.5 games back of Detroit, sitting at 26-15 on the year.
Boston is 2-1 on its current road trip, losing to the Pacers but bouncing back with wins over the Heat and Hawks late last week.
Boston is 21-8 since its 5-7 start and has won 10 of its last 14 games.
As for injuries, it’s still not Jayson Tatum time yet (Achilles), and he could have some company on the inactive list.
Payton Pritchard (ankle), Josh Minott (ankle) and Chris Boucher (back) are all questionable.
The Pistons have a clean injury report as of Monday morning. Monitor that ahead of tip-off, because in today’s NBA, that’s damn near too good to be true.
Celtics vs Pistons Prediction, Betting Analysis
We’ll go with a three-leg parlay here, because I’m iffy on a lot of the board in terms of straight-up props.
That said, there are several floor plays I’m at least partially interested in as parlay legs, especially for anyone sitting on a boost or a no-risk token.
Jaylen Brown 25+ Points
This comes with some juice, and he’s scored 33 or more in every game of this series.
In theory, you could even push this to 30, but lately Brown has gone under 30 in six of his last nine games, and the Pistons are healthy.
The safer floor feels right here.
Jalen Duren 10+ Rebounds
Over 10.5 is +100 at BetMGM, but you’re probably not finding a clean 9.5 unless you’re using an alt or milestone market. Duren missed two weeks before returning for two games heading into tonight.
He grabbed 18 boards against the Suns, then just eight against the Pacers last game, though he was limited to 23 minutes in a blowout win.
His worst rebounding game of the season came in Boston last month, when he finished with three in 29 minutes, but he had 16 and 18 in the other two matchups earlier this year.
Derrick White Over 2.5 Steals + Blocks
White has posted 7, 4 and 2 stocks in three games against the Pistons this season.
He’s cleared this in 21 of 41 games overall, but more importantly, he’s hit in nine of his last 12 coming into this matchup.
All three props combined in a parlay gives us a potential payout of +260 on bet365.
Celtics vs Pistons Parlay Picks
- Jaylen Brown Over 24.5 Points
- Jalen Duren Over 9.5 Rebounds
- Derrick White Over 2.5 Steals + Blocks
Parlay Payout: +260
