The issue for the umpteenth time was a poor third quarter and a fourth that wasn't much better. Boston looked frustrated against a zone defense after the break and didn't do much to help itself on the other end, forcing just two turnovers in the second half. There is a complete lack of the interior dominance this team once had, and with guys like Ray Allen and Eddie House struggling from the outside, it doesn't help.
Garnett is expected to return when the C's host Portland on Friday at the TD Garden. We will be following that one for you as Boston attempts to turn around its worst slump in perhaps three seasons.
Fourth quarter, 21.3 seconds, Pistons 90-84: Richard Hamilton's runner just about does in the Celts, although it is still a two-possession game so Boston can make it interesting with a quick 3-pointer.
Fourth quarter, 37.4 seconds, Pistons 88-84: There's a tiny bit of life after Rasheed Wallace hits a 3-pointer, but why did Richard Hamilton get awarded a timeout there without the ball?
Fourth quarter, 55.1 seconds, Pistons 88-81: In need of a stop, the Celtics cannot get it as Charlie Villanueva hits his third 3-pointer and this is looking like another painful loss for Boston.
Fourth quarter, 1:30, Pistons 85-80: The Celtics' 19th turnover is a big one as Kendrick Perkins gives one away down five.
Fourth quarter, 2:09, Pistons 84-80: It's a funny game sometimes. Ray Allen goes 39 minutes without a basket and then gets two straight to cut the Celtics' deficit in half.
Fourth quarter, 2:35, Pistons 84-78: Give Ray Allen some credit for finally getting a field goal and then playing some pretty tough defense on the other end.
Fourth quarter, 3:57, Pistons 82-76: Do you remember when the Celtics last scored? Just to refresh your memory, it was on a 3-pointer by Rasheed Wallace with 9:06 remaining.
Fourth quarter, 5:01, Pistons 80-76: Somehow Eddie House wound up guarding the 6-foot-11 Charlie Villanueva, who had no problems getting a 3-pointer off over House.
Doc Rivers calls timeout to get Rajon Rondo and Rasheed Wallace into the game without another second going off the clock.
Fourth quarter, 5:55, Pistons 77-76: Ray Allen cannot buy a basket. His latest shot from about 10 feet rolls around the rim and out, keeping him limited to just two measly free throws.
Allen, who is 0-of-6 from the floor, has had a few games in his Celtics career in which he has struggled mightily and then emerged to hit a big shot down the stretch.
Fourth quarter, 6:44, Pistons 77-76: Rodney Stuckey scores four straight to give the Pistons the lead back and the Celts have put the bulk of their starters back in for the stretch run.
Fourth quarter, 8:25, Celtics 76-73: In a game featuring three University of Connecticut greats the unlikely star of the trio has been Charlie Villanueva.
In 22 minutes, he has 13 points, three rebounds and a block. Ray Allen and Richard Hamilton, his fellow Huskies, have combined for 10 points on 3-of-13 shooting.
Fourth quarter, 8:50, Celtics 76-71: A basket by Glen Davis reclaims the lead for the Celtics and a 3-pointer by Rasheed Wallace extends it.
It's a 7-0 Celtics run.
Fourth quarter 10:58, Pistons 71-69: That wasn't the kind of defense Rasheed Wallace played when he was in Detroit, was it? Wallace just played matador in allowing Charlie Villanueva soar in for a dunk to start the scoring in the fourth.
End of third quarter, 69-69: A 5-0 run to close the third quarter allows the Celtics to save face a bit and avoid setting a season low for scoring in a quarter.
But the questions that were being asked coming in about why this team can't play well after halftime are only growing in number.
The C's looked lost on offense and slow on defense, and much of that was with the starters on the floor. They held their own and at times dominated the Pistons' starters in the first half.
Third quarter, 2:09, Pistons 69-64: The Celtics do not have a basket in nearly four minutes and can barely even get a shot off of late.
Third quarter, 2:54, Pistons 67-64: Doc Rivers was just shown screaming at his troops to get the ball up floor, likely in part to attack before the Pistons can set things up but also in an effort to see any form of life.
Right now, there is none for the Celtics.
Seconds after Rivers yelled, Rasheed Wallace had the ball poked away from him as if he wanted it to happen.
We can look a bit deeper into this but this has to be one of the worst offensive games of Ray Allen's career.
Third quarter, 4:20, Pistons 65-64: You may have noticed that the Pistons are playing a zone defense. I'm not exactly sure, but I believe the first time this was put to good use against the Celtics was when Atlanta employed such a strategy in shutting down Boston in the second half Jan. 11.
For whatever reason, the Green does not have the answers against it.
Third quarter, 5:16, 62-62: Detroit will get a chance for its first lead of the game when Rodney Stuckey goes to the line after the timeout.
The Celtics are 2-of-7 in this quarter and Richard Hamilton is beginning to do what he does, running his defender ragged before finding a spot to bury something.
Deja vu anyone?
Third quarter, 6:19, Celtics 60-56: When do these second-half bugaboos become a mental thing for the Celtics?
It's happening again here at the Palace as Detroit is within four.
In case you've missed the past few games, here are some numbers to tell the tale.
During Boston's 1-3 stretch, it has been outscored 215-165 in the second half, an average of more than 12 points.
Third quarter, 8:11, Celtics 58-52: Rodney Stuckey is called for his fourth foul, a big whistle for Detroit. He remains in the game for now.
Third quarter, 9:00, Celtics 58-50: It took a boatload of possessions before either team scored here in the third, but Richard Hamilton finally scoops in a layup for Detroit.
Rajon Rondo then takes seconds to respond.
Third quarter, 10:50, Celtics 56-48: We are underway in the third quarter and the watch is on to see if the C's have any mustard after the break here.
Halftime, Celtics 56-48: An ugly stretch for the Pistons to close the half is saved by a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Austin Daye.
Thus ends a first half that was hard to figure.
Boston has forced 13 turnovers, is outshooting Detroit by roughly 15 percentage points and has been to the line five more times, yet still only leads by eight.
Then again, the Pistons could wonder how it's possible they are trailing by that many after outrebounding the C's 21-13 and grabbing nine offensive boards.
Through it all, you get the sense that this one could go the way many others have of late for Boston. Second halves have been difficult to watch if you are a Celtics fan, and the Pistons are right there at the break, despite being so banged up.
Second quarter, 1:30, Celtics 50-42: Ray Allen gets to the line for his first two free throws of the night, about the only sure thing the C's have there. After Allen makes them both they are 11-of-16, which isn't as bad as it seems.
Second quarter, 2:47, Celtics 47-40: Rajon Rondo just added a gem to his expanding highlight reel.
He first tipped a Detroit pass, then tracked the ball down just before it went out. After turning up court, Rondo fired a lefty underhand pass to Rasheed Wallace for a layup.
Second quarter, 4:56, Celtics 43-35: It may not matter much with the way some of his teammates are playing, but Ray Allen is off to a poor start and seems to be on an every other game streak right now.
He had eight points and zero assists in a loss to Chicago last week, followed by 21 points against Dallas on Monday. Thus far against Detroit he is scoreless with two turnovers in 11 minutes.
Second quarter, 6:02, Celtics 43-31: Rajon Rondo has six baskets and five have been layups. There are no defenders on Detroit who have a chance against him tonight.
Rondo and Paul Pierce have combined for 29 points and just one turnover.
Second quarter, 7:15, Celtics 39-29: Tony Allen bricks a pair from the line. The sun will come up tomorrow. These are the certainties in life.
Boston is now 6-of-10 from the line.
Second quarter, 8:52, Celtics 37-27: Charlie Villanueva and Rodney Stuckey have combined for 17 points for the Pistons. Not one other player has more than two points for Detroit, which has 10 turnovers and is shooting nearly 20 percentage points worse than Boston.
Yet the Pistons are within shouting distance in large part due to dominance on the boards, an area of concern heading in. Detroit already has seven offensive rebounds.
Second quarter, 11:35, Celtics 30-23: Bill Walker has made a very early appearance for the Celtics. These may be his first meaningful minutes of the season.
End of first quarter, Celtics 30-21: Paul Pierce has now passed Bob Lanier on the NBA career scoring list and did so at the line, a rare happening of late for the Celtics.
Before Boston made a series of free throws at the end of the quarter they had gone 42-of-76 (55.2 percent) over a span of three-plus games.
Of course, Pierce did a bit of everything in that session. He finished the first with 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting, making both of his 3-point tries.
There were so many times before this current Celtics team was put together that Pierce just took games over, but he is less prone to do so of late. It might be time to see something like that again with the current unit searching for some kind of identity.
First quarter, 2:08, Celtics 22-17: Somehow, despite committing eight turnovers and some great early shooting by the Celtics, the Pistons are within five points after a quick 4-0 burst.
Rajon Rondo missed the C's first two free throws of the game. They have been miserable from the line of late. I'll get the full numbers in a bit.
First quarter, 3:53, Celtics 20-13: Jonas Jerepko looks a bit overmatched against Paul Pierce out there, which cannot be classified as any kind of surprise.
Jerepko has seen Pierce torch him for 10 points already and is scoreless with a pair of fouls.
First quarter, 5:01, Celtics 17-11: Paul Pierce is aggressive early with seven points on 3-of-4 shooting and is closing in on moving up the NBA all-time scoring list. He now needs seven points to pass Hall of Famer Bob Lanier and move into 41st.
Pierce's fast start is part of an 8-of-12 beginning for Boston.
First quarter, 7:30, Celtics 13-7: A bad sequence for ex-Piston Rasheed Wallace, as he flubs a handoff to Rajon Rondo, which results in a turnover and a three-point play for Rodney Stuckey.
Stuckey has all of Detroit's points.
First quarter, 9:45, Celtics 4-0: Kendrick Perkins with two blocks on one possession. He is still sporting a bandage under his right eye, something he put on at halftime on Monday.
Perkins is being defended by Chris Wilcox, who is lacking size in that matchup.
First quarter, 11:55, 0-0: We are underway here at the Palace, where the C's have had some success of late and are playing a nicked up Pistons bunch. Rasheed Wallace was just given a nice ovation when introduced.
Detroit ranks among the worst in the league in several offensive categories, but has one feature to its game that could bite the Celts in the you-know-what. The Pistons currently lead the NBA in offensive rebounds per game at 13.5. That has been an area of concern for Boston throughout the season, but especially during this stretch in which it has missed all of its big men.
Ben Wallace, of course, leads the way for Detroit in that category but keep an eye on Jonas Jerepko and Jason Maxiell, who can both do some damage on the offensive glass.
7:05 p.m.: It looks as though the Pistons will be shorthanded once again when things get going in just about 30 minutes.
According to several reports, Ben Gordon, Tayshaun Prince and Will Bynum will each miss the contest with a variety of ailments.
Boston starts the same bunch from Monday's loss to Dallas, going with Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Rasheed Wallace and Kendrick Perkins.
The makeshift Pistons toss out Rodney Stuckey, Richard Hamilton, rookie Jonas Jerebko, Chris Wilcox and Ben Wallace. Hamilton missed Monday's loss to New York with a stomach bug.
On paper this has the makings of a mismatch, but the C's have had a ton of uneven performances of late.
12:44 p.m.: The road has been a bit of a sanctuary this season for the Celtics. That's why their trip to Detroit could not have come at a better time.
Having lost three straight at home and seven of 11 games overall, Boston takes on the struggling Pistons tonight in Rasheed Wallace's return to Detroit.
Wallace played five-plus seasons with the Pistons and won a title with them in 2004 before signing with Boston this offseason. He returned from a foot injury Monday against Dallas, and the C's are also close to getting Kevin Garnett back after he practiced Tuesday.
Garnett, who will miss his 10th straight game Wednesday, is eyeing a return Friday when Boston hosts Portland.
Until then the current unit has to make something work for a full 48 minutes after a series of second-half collapses. The latest came Monday when the Green blew a 12-point third-quarter lead in a 99-90 loss to Dallas.
Detroit had won three in a row following a 13-game losing streak before falling in New York on Monday 99-91.
The Celts have won three straight in the Palace of Auburn Hills and five of the last six meetings overall. Tip for this one is set for 7:30 p.m.
