Celtics-Pistons notes: Drummond a monster vs. C's

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BEVERLY HILLS, Mich. – The return of Greg Monroe will certainly impact the Boston Celtics’ play around the rim.

But it’s Detroit’s other monster in the middle – Andre Drummond – who seems to be at his best when facing the Celtics.

Drummond has averaged 22.5 points and 18 rebounds in the two games against Boston this season.

His dominance isn’t limited to just this season.

Drummond has grabbed at least 12 rebounds in each of his last six games against Boston. The last player who has been that dominant in consecutive games against Boston was Shaquille O’Neal who snatched a dozen boards against the Celtics on six consecutive occasions (2001-2004). The last player to do it more than that was Dennis Rodman who had 10 consecutive games with at least 12 rebounds against Boston (1991-1994).   

“The biggest issue with Drummond is he’s physically overpowering when he’s near, inside that arc, inside the charge circle and really inside the paint,” said Celtics head coach Brad Stevens. “So you can’t let him get there. If you let him get there, you’re toast.”

Here are some other newsy nuggets leading into tonight’s game courtesy of the good folks at the Elias Sports Bureau.

- Each of the two games this season between Boston and Detroit went to overtime, with Boston winning the first matchup 109-102 on Dec. 3, and the Pistons exacting revenge with a 105-97 victory on March 22. It was just the fourth time in history these two played back-to-back overtime games.

- The Celtics have won four straight on the road, a trend they hope to continue tonight. But in doing so, they’ll have to snap a six-game road losing streak to the Pistons which is their longest current road losing streak against any team in the NBA.

- During Boston's current four-game road winning streak, the Celtics have outscored their opponents by 9.5 points per game in the second quarter.

- The Celtics are 5-2 in games decided by one-point this season. The seven games played and the five, one-point wins are both tops in the NBA.

- Between Boston and Phoenix, Isaiah Thomas has 25 games (15 in Phoenix, 10 in Boston) of scoring 20 or more points off the bench – tops in the NBA ahead of sixth man studs Jamal Crawford (21) of the Los Angeles Clippers and Toronto’s Lou Williams (19).

- Detroit’s Greg Monroe is averaging 16.0 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. He is one of just seven players averaging at least 16 points and 10 rebounds per game this season. The others include LaMarcus Aldridge, DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis, Nikola Vucevic, Pau Gasol and Zach Randolph.

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