Anyone know if P.J. Brown will be in uniform for this game? Also I know that Rondo was expected to be out for a few weeks after the All Star break. Has he returned to the lineup?

I’m giddy!

Oh crap, Banknorth pulled out Phil Collins’s “In the Air Tonight.” They mean BUSINESS.

Oooo, minor subplot — the Pistons didn’t get any sleep last night due to some bad weather and late flights.

Any excuse they can use right now, whatever, I guess.

Okay Flip, how are you going to handle this?

That was a cold-blooded 3 by Pierce. Knocked down Prince, hop-stepped back behind the line, all net. Pistons timeout, 15-3 I think.

“In the Air Tonight” sets a land-speed record for lame.
This “spot the opposition 15 points” crap has to stop.

According to the sideline announcer, PJ Brown is dressed and this is his first game as a Celtic. Doc Rivers was coy on how much he’d play, though.

Perkins just did a little up-and-under move and someone on the Boston bench went BANANAS, jumping around and ninja-kicking.

I feel like Detroit likes to set fire to themselves over the tiniest excuses.

And, wow. Ray Allen just elbowed Rip in the throat.

I guess that should teach Detroit, or something.

Surprise, surprise, a Steve Javie game.

Wow, vicious elbow from Ray Allen to Rip Hamilton. Tommy Heinsohn is justifying it by saying Detriot is chippy on D, jabbing at you and annoying you, so they deserve it. And here comes Maxiell to eat some babies, hopefully.

I didnt know ray allen knew karate

boston fans are rabid

Does anyone in the league travel more often than Kendrick Perkins? I mean, really.

maxxy… no

Yeha, this game sucks. Hell with it. Max missed dunk says it all.

If the Pistons can hold off against this huge emotional surge by the Celtics (and their fans) they’ll be alright.

The Pistons don’t shoot 30% for a game while Boston shoots 63%. No need to throw yourselves overboard yet guys. Let’s see what develops.

Are the announcers seriously calling that a terrible call? Davis stepped out to lay out Prince, that’s an offensive foul if the contact is heavy enough to merit it.

A front line of Big Baby and Kendrick Perkins reminds me of the two big thugs at the Y who don’t REALLY know how to play but usually end up hurting someone severely completely by accident/incompetence.

26% in the first… maybee we’re just a little tired.

Even though we’re down I feel like we looked better in the first, just couldnt hit our shots

Definitely not worth stressing out at this point in my opinion. Boston had 17 points with 7:00 to go in the 1st … we held them to 23 for the quarter. We shot 26% from the floor for the whole quarter. I think this actually bodes well for us for the rest of the game, am I insane?

Everytime I come in here and talk pessimistically about the boys they usually win ( I think Im 4-1 or something with the lone loss being the Orlando last second loss). Hopefully the reverse jinx works.

Having said that I think I just reserve-reserve jinxed em. lol

Anyway, dont think we’ll win this. This aint the Sonics where you can just let the Celtics score on you early and hope to come back.

I do love the fact that we are level headed and don’t go on extreme emotional highs or lows but I need to see some desire from the guys. I mean DAMN fellas.

Every game can’t be filet mignon, but this game’s dog food.

Leon Powe is a young’n. Sheed doesn’t treat young’ns with kid gloves. Haha. Even the Boston announcers were at a loss for words when they saw the replay of that clearly non offensive foul that was called on Billups.

Haha! The announcers were all like, “OFFENSIVE FOUL ON CHAUNCEY BILLUPS! HE HOOKED HIM!” and then they showed the replay, and the Boston guys were like, “Well… um… silence…” because it wasn’t actually a foul. Good times.

Note to Celtics: Don’t put young’ns on Rasheed, it’s insulting and it’s not going to help you defend him. Don’t come to double him, you only embarass yourselves.

It’d be nice if we were shooting better than 33.3% from the line.

Is anyone else shocked to learn that the Pistons have the 2nd fewest points in the paint?
I mean I know its sorta obvious but considering we have Sheed and Maxiell, that really should not happen. In the Playoffs Boston and Cleveland will kill us with counter interior offense this way.

dixey.. nice. interesting he came in so early

Boston has scored all of 8 points in the last 10 minutes. And AMIR SIGHTING!

Juan Dixon? Lil’ Microwave…? Eh? Ehh??

garret ur right… I thought it was a crap call

way to come out swinging, starters. guess flip didn’t listen to me about my post-game speech…

Cool, calm, and don’t look now but the Pistons are only down 2.

sheed isnt havin this crap

Um, Amir has to not reach in there. Let him score if you have to. This is why Amir gets in foul trouble.

The best Rasheed is the Rasheed that realizes the opposing team has no answer for him, defensively.

I like the energy of this second (or is it third?) unit. Dixon, Amir, Hayes, Sheed… They’re playing well. And the full-court press was a nice look too. When you have guys as athletic as our bench is, we’ve got plenty of options.

I cant believe we let this dude Davis body us last time and we’re in danger of him doing it again. The idiot listened to Disney Soundtracks in College, talks like an 8 year old and he looks like a kid with Asthma in the 3rd grade in his player profile picture. I dont know what that all has to do with his ability as a player, but it somehow keeps things in perspective.

Come on Detroit!!!

Anyone else ready to join me, Rob G and Quick Darshan on the Flip bandwagon?

I don’t like the way Rip looks tonight. Considering he was 5 for 19 last night and pressing, I would not give him major minutes tonight unless he heats up. If Stucky, Dixon or Afflalo show a nice touch tonight, Rip can get some rest as far as I’m concerned. He looked erratic to me in that first quarter. Sheed just reminds you that he’s the truth when he wants to be man.

Dude, I’ve been on that for a while. But it just earns a flamewar if you admit to it on most boards.

Sheed needs to pull a hip-a-dope on Big Baby. He would TOTALLY fall for it. Maybe even twice.

I tell you what… we win a trophy and im all over flip

Tommy Heinsohn: “This young man [Amir] has NO CLUE how to guard Garnett.” Ooo, them’s fightin’ words.

Rip shot 50% on 4-8 in the first. I grant that he looked erratic, but that’s not too shabby. We need to gather ourselves right now and take better shots. That deep 3 by Sheed was so unnecessary and now we let them open it back up to 9.

Alright Flip, the burst of well-needed energy is done. Time to get the poise of the starters back in now that they’ve had a chance to sit and regroup.

Sheed staying on the 3 point line means one thing:

“Rasheed Wallace doesnt care about big games………or white people”-Kanye West

Garrett: Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Amir basically force Garnett to miss a short turn around jumper on the first possession where he defended him?

Garrett
Mar 5th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Tommy Heinsohn: "This young man [Amir] has NO CLUE how to guard Garnett." Ooo, them’s fightin’ words.

Well it is true, and it is kinda hard to do.

fuck kanye west

What exactly is Tommy Heinsohn proving by continually calling Amir Johnson “young man”? What an ass.

Yeah, I’m just exaggerating on the Amir/Garnett thing. It just sounds funny coming from Heinsohn, but yeah, Garnett is pretty awesome and Amir is, well, Amir.

lol@ Sheed not even trying to stop KG.

He really doesnt care about this game.

Oh snap! I was ready for McDyess/Garnett Round 2! They just got tied up in a jump ball situation but nothing happened. sigh

amir looked good on KG the first possesion. it will take time

Rip just got Ray back for the elbow to the throat with a shot to the man-jewels.

Garrett
Mar 5th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
Yeah, I’m just exaggerating on the Amir/Garnett thing. It just sounds funny coming from Heinsohn, but yeah, Garnett is pretty awesome and Amir is, well, Amir.

It would be the most offense he’d show tonight.

Hey, we might break 30 points by halftime!

That’s straight BS. KG jumped into Dice. He didn’t even freaking move man.

Keegan
Mar 5th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Hey, we might break 30 points by halftime!

Deeeeeetrooooooit Baaaasket…cries

Uhhh … really? That’s a foul on McDyess? Ooooookay. Nice late whistle on that call too.

Does anyone remember the how much we were down by at halftime in the december game? Im just trying to figure something out…

We just seem disinterested. I know we’ll probably come back and win but I don’t like seeing any individual player eat us alive. KG is spanking us right now. 10 straight pts. Sometimes watching the home team is like pulling teeth. You’re happy when its over but the process can be brutle.

P_P: According to Yahoo!, 7 points.

Why cant they just trap Rondo like in the December game?

A Tommy Point for Rajon Rondo!

Nobody has his head in the game like Kendrick Perkins.

Sheed looks like hes playing on one leg and just isn’t interestedin playing defense.

Man, who is that clown over-reacting on the Boston bench? Meaningless game my ass.

Our bench is 1-4 for 3 points. Not that Boston’s bench is doing much better (2-4, 5 points), but we need more (in terms of points) from our bench.

Has anyone seen Tay tonight? Did he miss the flight cause I don’t think the guy wearing 22 has scratched the box score. I aint seeing nothing from Tay tonight. Possibly another one of his infamous disappearing acts???

LawyerBoy: Boston’s bench is leading in flying ninja-kicks and towel-waving.

Anger, meet apathy. Whatever, Pistons.

So who’s going to win biggest cheerleader award this season? Tony “I know Kung-fu” Allen or Primoz “I’m an accessory whore” Brezec.

Garrett: Let’s get them some of those leather jackets we’ve been talking about, except theirs will say something like “Jackasses” or “Jackasses with Tommy Points” or “Jersey Poppers”. Something like that.

I really hope the Cavs and Celts beat each other up in the East Semis, thats all I gotta say lol.

Haha, we’re so bitter and the game isn’t even over yet. I’m actually editing a wedding album right now, so hopefully my rage doesn’t spill over into the spreads. Maybe I’ll subconciously choose angry-looking layouts and photos. Or maybe I can Photoshop Maxiell eating a baby into the background of something.

Brezec is hilarious. Who threatens a mascot?

I think the Pistons are pacing themselves. We’ll get this win and without Rasheed in the second half most likely.

Just relax people. Losing this game could be a blessing in disguise. It’s really not even a good disguise either. Orlando is going to hold onto that 3rd seed, and Boston being the #1 seed is great news for us. Cleveland vs Boston sounds like a great series for a Detroit fan to watch and enjoy. Orlando is the 2nd round matchup we want. So please, if this game actually frustrates you, turn it off, don’t check the post-game hype, and BOOM, everything will feel alright again.

Not to mention, Boston being over-confident against us, mixed with the chip that should be on our shoulders for losing the season series will be the demise of this little flare-up, acne-like excuse of a squad Boston calls their “new look” Celtics.

Really, calm the fuck down. This game is nothing more than something to help pass the time on a boring March evening. This loss will only make beating them in May all the sweeter.

Garrett: If we come back and win, it wouldn’t be the first time a Pistons game could be named “A Tale of Two Halves”. I’m going to reserve judgment for at least a little while longer.

One of our gusrds is going to have to take over this game a bit or we aren’t gonna have a chance. I like Billups in the second half.

And there’s some good news … a night after hanging 21 and 7 on the Bulls, Darko has 10 (on 5-6 shooting) and 3 on the Nets midway through the 2nd quarter.

LawyerBoy: True enough. I’m sticking with it ‘til the end, that’s for sure. And I’m still pulling for Lil’ Microwave as a nickname for Dixon. He looks like someone’s little brother out there. “C’mon, man! Pass me the rock! C’MON!”

Let the Darko thing go. When will we all stop expecting him to do anything more than suck and block a couple shots?

The highlight of his career so far is a driving dunk on Desagna Diop in a summer league game. Not saying much.

U2S: Darko is (seriously) lighting up the Nets in the first half. The guy has always had some seriously scary offensive skills, but he’s just never been able to put it together (and probably never will).But he was highly scrutinized in his tenure as a Piston, and I feel bad for him to an extent. Also, since he is a former Piston, I hope the guy does well.

this game reminds me of a 2004 matchup between the Pacers and Pistons… Pacers always played good D, but let it sneak away in the 2nd half on the way to a Detroit 75 – Pacers 68 loss… haha, how I miss those days

Tommy never thinks Boston loses… just like Billups never thinks Detroit loses… we hate Heinsohn, but love Billups!

Sheed needs a tech tonight

OT: Jason Richardson is sitting on 40 points early in the 4th against GS. Man, he can score.

LawyerBoy: Argh. I traded Richardson away in my fantasy league earlier this year for some scrubs and a Mr. Pib. Damn.

Rondo is going right at Chauncey all game.

Well, that’s 4 for McDyess. Should see plenty of Maxiell and/or Amir this quarter.

whoa, first pierce walks, then he lays out of bounds, then he gets time? is tim donaghy refing?

Know what we need? Walter Herrmann.

Well, Rip got the same courtesy at least.

Ha, we got one back with Rip tripping and calling timeout.

Two consecutive time outs due solely to guys just falling down. Nice.

Where 43-55 in the 3rd quarter happens.

I second the Hermann call.

Um … you can’t leave Garnett that wide open. You also can’t give Chauncey that much space. We appear to be treading water so far in the 3rd, but we’re drawing fouls, at least.

Here comes Chauncey!

My complete and utter hatred of Tommy Heinsohn aside, Kevin Garnett is freaking awesome and the Celtics are great. They really move the ball well. This isn’t three great players…it’s a great basketball team.

Chauncey: 6-7 from the line
Rest of the Pistons: 2-7

Ugh.

Hermann will frustrate KG into a tech

For some reason Tommy thinks it’s easier to blow by Hamilton than Billups…I wonder if he’s aware that Rip is actually faster than Billups?

extremely tough call on rondo there

i love it.. my internet is lagging the feed from channelsurfing.net

Boney: Mine too. Only thing more annoying than Tommy Heinsohn is a stuttering, repeating Tommy Heinsohn.

when house comes back in, this game will be over for BOS

Absolutely great play by Rondo there. He didn’t so much outrun Rip on pure speed as to lull him into think he was bringing it up slowly and then he just blew by him.

WHOA! Rajon Rondo just ate Maxiell’s baby!!!

wow now a tough one on the ripper…this is a pretty poorly officiated game…not saying it favors us or them, but it’s just been bad

We need that momentum changer soon. Big dunk, block, something……Terrible call on Rip.

According to Heinsohn, the refs let Maxiell get away with the foul on Rondo’s dunk by letting Rondo shoot a free throw.

Aside from KG, Rondo has been their best player tonight.

Garrett: They were talking about a flagrant, and they had a case. I’m not saying the refs made the wrong call, but a case could be made that he fouled him excessively. Heinsohn is now taking back his “best officiated game of the season” comment. I don’t quite know what he was thinking when he said it earlier in the quarter.

“WAY TO GO EDDIE” – i hope tommy has a heart attack

With a little more control/experience Rondo could be Tony Parker-esque. Too many circus shots for now, though.

Tayshaun: 0-5, 1 point. That is BAD.

LawyerBoy: I thought it was a good hard foul, but nothing malicious or intentional. When a little guy goes to the rim and gets hit by a big guy, it’ll probably end up looking a lot like that.

Herrmann for Tayshaun? Let him play, coach! Let him play!

I still think my favorite call was when mcdyess stood his ground on kg, and ref whose call it was allows the contact. once ref whose call it was not sees the shot miss, he calls foul. nicely done.

Someone needs to work on a “Free Walter” shirt.

yeah chaunce

Rondo is Parker-esque and, although I can’t stand him, Davis is a little Corliss-ish.

A Mahorn-style hip-a-dope would so work on Big Baby.

Chauncey, I love you. I’m sorry for ever bad mouthing you in even the slightest way. You are the man, Chauncey. Way to stop treading water with about 1 minute left in the 3rd, boys. I like our chances.

Don’t look now but it’s a 4-point ball game.

Make that 2 points. Boo yah.

Garrett man, you are lagging a bit there, buddy.

turns out boston is better with garnett on the floor…he should play rest of the way…

big baby is really outplaying our young guys. with the three games we’ve played against them as a sample, i don’t think any young guys on our side or theirs are even close to him in terms of impact.

also, is this a tough matchup for amir? seems like every one of their bigs is either Kevin Garnett or a big brawny, stocky guy. only guy i feel good about him guarding is leon powe…i hope that’s not the case b/c i love me some amir.

Time for Rip to assert himself now.

like i was saying, great matchup for amir

AMIR HAS BEEN FREED!!!!

What does Heinsohn have to say about 2 consecutive SWATS!?

Wow. I was literally just about to turn off the game and work on some contracts I brought home from the office. Stay tuned boys. Stan tuned. Chauncey can’t win this damn thing alone. Tay & Rip haven’t done a darn thing tonight man. Ok, its the battle of the last 12 mins. Can Max & Amir save us 2 games in a row??? Has Afflalo lost his spot in the rotation or is this just a quick fix to get Juan familiar with things? If Dixon shows some touch and we know Chauncey will get dusted off for the playoffs, I wonder how much Afflalo and Stuckey will play in playoffs. Seems like teams have figured Stuckey out.

LawyerBoy: I thought I was lagging, but it must be worse than I thought. Stupid Canadian internets.

Great foul by Juan Dixon on Perkins. I like Dixon. I’m all for Dixon over Stuckey and/or Afflalo if need be.

Good thing Rondo only drops 1 of 5 circus shots. Maybe.

god damnit… lost my channelsurfing connection

You mean Lil’ Microwave?

Okay, okay. I’ll stop.

Might see some Hermann after all. 5 on Sheed, 4 on Dice.

excellent series of plays by kg…shit

let them play, zebras. let them play. let this be the game that everyone thinks it could be — not the game that you want to officiate.

let it be a real game, not game 5 of the miami-dallas series.

and i don’t care who gets the benefit, I just don’t want to see a frustratingly bizarre officiating job that hangs the ball on every third possession.

let them play.

and we’re tied. in the fourth.

which means it’s time to call sixteen fouls on Sheed.

perk with a cool 17 boards in 25 mins, come on guys

If Tay or Rip shows up in this last 8 mins and KG stops playing like Superman, we can pull this out. I need something from the bench. They haven’t been scoring tonight. Hayes hasn’t made a shot. Hell, I only saw him try one.

Why do I see this game coming down to a shot by Chaucey, in which he does that spastic move that he only does when he is trying to draw a foul and completely gives up on the actual shot itself? I love him but that drives me nuts. C’mon Stones!

Damn, Stuckey, you athletic son.

Wow, Garnett just pwned Amir. You’ll learn, young fella. You’ll learn.

Good, Tony Allen you’re like a damn cheerleader.

You deserve a T.

haha, kung fu just got fit with a tech

Thank you Tony Allen. I would bet he was the one throwin the angry ninja kicks earlier.

Tony Allen with Richard Hamilton Signature Series technical foul.

*with a
I must have been really excited.
Does anyone notice that Amir plays better when he HAS a couple of fouls?

Respect the tramp ball!

If Heinsohn calls Amir “young man” one more time, I will find out where he lives, enter his home, and slap him across the face when he walks in the door.

just a ridiculous call on billups — that’s incidental contact if ever there was incidental contact

Where officiating taking over big games happens.

Thanks for not letting the players decide the game, Javie. Again.

oh christ — is Rondo going to get himself a Sideshow Bob wig now?

LawyerBoy: Lol

Wear off-balance, ill-timed, half-turned-to-the-basket three attempts happen.

Yikes Rasheed.

Tommy Heinsohn: “No jump shots Ray.” Sage advice to the best jump shooter in the NBA.

*Wear? That’s it, I’m outta here…

okay Flip. Just t up. You might as well.

Is the crowd chanting “Boston” when the Celts are shooting freethrows? I’d think it was “bullshit” but the calls are going their way, so that can’t be it…

Sheed!!!!!

game set choke

I thought they were chanting the player’s name, perhaps? WALL-ACE and then, CHAUN-CEY? No?

There’s still a lot of time left, but it feels like there’s only 30 seconds left.

b23- okay Flip. Just t up. You might as well.

No, he’ll just fiddle with his collar real, REAL hard.

Not going to blame the refs.
Not going to blame the refs.
Not going to blame the refs.

True winners always find a way to win, right?

Right?

And, all things considered, this one probably goes to Boston regardless. But not a 7-game series.

maybe he’ll squat down and do that pose where it looks like he’s thinking about something too.

This had a bad feel from tip-off.

Keegan — how true, how true.

Eh. NBA — where the team that makes its shots wins.

I’ll hold to that one. I’ll sleep better.

And if I wake up with a surprise box score, so much the better.

Well, time to put some Rondo cards on EBay, I guess…

Natasha Bedingfield is one of America’s hottest acts? Good commercial TD Banknorth Garden, cuz she’s from England, jackasses. Perhaps I’m nitpicking, but that just strikes me as stupid, and they’re kicking our asses so I need to get my aggression out somehow.

I hope Chauncey remembers this game in the play-offs because Rondo has outplayed him tonight.

Rondo just Billups’ed Billups with his little up-and-under to draw the foul.

b23: The problem is that the calls generally don’t get any better for Detroit once the playoffs start…

Can the Pistons drive to the rim, please?

It’s jersey poppin’ time…

I really don’t like all of Kevin Garnett’s theatrics.

Also, I don’t think we can blame the officials…if anything, we needed all those Chauncey ft’s to stay in this. The refs didn’t make us shoot 37% or get outrebounded by 10.

LawyerBoy: There was information in those Natasha Bedingfield commercials? I hadn’t noticed….

Michael —

Right — but hopefully our shooting gets better. From the line. In the paint. From the arc. Anywhere a Piston lets the ball out of his hands, basically.

Why does Perkins always look like someone pissed in his Corn Flakes?

Fellas I pray I’m wrong but if we play Boston in the playoffs, we’re toast. Based on one lil game? No, based on the fact like they play us like some Bookie has their families held hostage and demanded a win. We play against them as if we’re going home to our Bentley’s and million dollar mansion win or lose, so who freaking cares. I’m not talking about lack of emotion. I’m talking about lack of hustle. Emotion doesn’t mean shit. I like our poise. But our body language tonight does not say we want this bad. Boston’s definitely did.

This wasn’t the refs fault. The Pistons played like garbage and we all know it.

Let the jersey-popping commence.

Would have been nice if the Pistons could make a shot in the 4th quarter.

This game was over in the 1st quarter. Boston just screwed around a little too much during the 2nd and 3rd.

Professionals rise up. Detroit didn’t do that.

Man, that’s frustrating. Hopefully all the talk about the Pistons dno’t hate the Celtics like the Cavs has now changed. Get pissed, Stones. Play aggressively, like they just hit on your girl while you were getting some more drinks.

The PTI guys agreed today that the Celtics needed this more than we did (I agree, though it would’ve been so sweet to beat them tonight). And it showed in the way the teams played. We will have to wait for our revenge, but it will be sweet and we will get it. Can’t blame this one on the refs. Both teams got hosed by the refs (us more than them, but blaming on the refs is weak). We simply didn’t bring our A game.

Boston won’t get past the Lebrons. By the way he dropped fifty with damn near a triple double tonight. M-V-P.

E-Double: You’re overreacting. This game isn’t a playoff game for us, only them. They NEEDED to know they could take 2 of 3 from us this regular season. We already know we can take 4 of 7 in May. And we will, we will.

this boston team is terrifying, i hate to say it. they’re much, much better than the miami and cleveland teams we lost to the last couple years. and now they get a backup point who doesn’t suck and has experience? granted you can say perk played out of his mind tonight. but how many games will you hold ray allen to 3 points on 1-9? also a relatively quiet game for pierce, and we got destroyed.

would have to say after three games, they look better than us.

i just don’t think they played all that perfect of a game…and they kicked our ass. you can say we had a chance to win, but you can’t just ignore the huge run they went on at the end of the game and say “if you just imagine that in the last 3 minutes of the game we had outplayed them instead of them completely drilling us…”

Not the refs’ fault in terms of total free throws, absolutely not.

Certainly, some calls affected momentum, but, no, this one falls square on cold shooting, shit happening, cold shooting, and, um, cold shooting.

And an inability to deal with cold shooting.

Other than to continue to shoot cold.

But we’re not toast in a series. I’m holding on to that. That the team won’t let it go again. That the team won’t collapse again. That the team won’t shrug its shoulders and say, “Well, we just didn’t execute, but we will tomorrow / next week / next year,” but will find a way, whether through the coach or through the lineup, to turn things around when a game falls apart around them, and win.

Damn good thing for the box score that Chauncey was deadly from the line…

Oh well. Good luck to Boston when they see LeBron in the playoffs. LOL.

I’ll take the 2 seed and an Orlando match-up in round 2 over Cleveland and the 1 but still. Just another game when we bring a knife to a gun fight.

all i’m hearing on the c’s postgame (i live in boston) is how rondo outplayed billups and had a coming of age tonight. he shot 6-16 and had an ast/to ratio of 1. control yourselves boston media, this was all about perk and kg.

b23: don’t get the wrong idea. I agree that the Pistons would have a better than even chance to win a best-of-seven against the Celtics.

So frustrating. Hope to see them in the playoffs, unless we play stupid and find a way to lose to Cleveland.

I love the effort by the Pistons down the stretch, great way to finish a game…….

Michael — I’m with you. The no toast part was in response to E-double’s post.

I like the “professionals rise up. We didn’t” comment.

Forty: Rondo did control that game and he did outplay Chauncey. You can’t just look at the boxscore. He drew fouls, played good D, was aggressive on offense and penetrated all night.

I’d rather have the 2nd seed, then maybe we’ll get off this “entitlement crap”.

UTEP, he attempted 6 ft’s. Billups attempted 15. So I’ll quarrel with your “drew fouls” point. Agreed on the good D. Agree that his penetration helped — but you pay for that with 5 TO’s…penetration cuts both ways, you’re either out of control or it’s a good play.

I think you are going by which team won, not which player played better. There was a stretch in the third where this game would have been over had Billups not completely taken over.

Last point — I was never making the point that Billups destroyed Rondo (though I do think he probably outplayed him — his 62% true shooting pct. and 7:2 ast/to ratio is pretty helpful). I was more making the point that Perkins and KG were the story here tonight, not Rondo – which seems much more obvious. Would you rather have Perk’s 20 boards/KG’s monster night or Rondo’s inefficient PG play (sorry, 6-16, 67% from stripe, ast/to ratio of 1 isn’t good — box scores don’t tell the whole story, but they tell a lot of it)?

LMAO at all of these so-called “Pistons fans” that are fretting about about playing the Celtics in May. Take the loss in stride. The Pistons played yesterday, had their flight messed up due to weather so had to play the back end of a back-to-back on little to no sleep. Boston, on the other hand, had a couple days off to get really pumped up and came out much more energized but still showed many signs of weakness. Really, let this loss just slide right off your backs fans, you should’ve completely expected the result we got tonight. Look at the silver lining, there’s a lot of it. Wouldn’t you rather have Boston playing us as the favorite with the pressure to win mostly on them? Wouldn’t you like to see the Pistons avoid a 2nd round matchup with the Cavs this year in the playoffs? Doesn’t LeBron driving Doc Rivers mad sound like great entertainment to any of you?

Well, I for one am almost geeked that we lost. Yep, that’s right, geeked. Call it blasphemy, but this loss does have upside. Now for all of that “Pistons fans” on here crying and moaning like little bitches, knock it off and get yourselves’ together, revenge in New York is coming up Friday and I’m pumped for that game. THE EAST GOES THROUGH THE KNICKS BABY!

I’ve been a Saunders supporter for the past 3 years, but tonight for some reason, I couldn’t shake the feeling that if we had Bill Laimbeer on the sidelines rather than Flip, we would have out-hustled Boston and won. Flip Saunders is a good coach, but he’s more of a finesse coach — more suited for Denver or Toronto. He just doesn’t fit the Detroit mold. Bill Laimbeer would be a perfect fit. It never sunk in until tonight. I don’t know why.

If the Pistons simply allow Perkins and Rondo to do as they please, it will be a clean sweep in the playoffs. They again played Allen-Pierce-Garnett like they were LeBron-Kobe-Duncan. Just play D. The big three can drop 20 points each. If you are defending the other players legit, you’ll still hold them to less than 80.

Forty: I am more than capable of understanding statistics on my own. In my opinion, Rondo outplayed Chauncey throughout the game. Take away that third qtr. and Billups has 5 points (and by the way, Billups shot 33 percent tonight, not 62, which in turn does not help).

Now I know that sounds stupid but it’s a metaphor to the game itself. You can’t just show for one quarter and expect to win a game/match-up. Kg is KG and was going to get his regardless but I think both Perkins and Kg were beneficiaries of Rondo’s aggressiveness tonight. He set the tone and had timely plays all night. His impact was very similiar to the ones that everyone, including myself, praises Amir for.

UTEP, hardly trying to insinuate you don’t understand stats. Sorry if it came across that way or if you felt I was attacking you. I just enjoy a good debate about my ’Stones.

You are correct that Chauncey was 4-12 from the floor and shot 33% fg pct. True shooting percentage is a different stat — it incorporates threes and free throws (you need to adjust for the extra point you get from a three, and you want to somehow adjust for how the guy shoots from the line). It’s a Hollinger stat — and 62% TS is a very, very good number. It’s one of the main reasons Chauncey is a top 10 player in Hollinger’s PER ratings (along with his very high assist rate and low TO rate).

Also “take away that quarter” is exactly what a stats geek such as myself hates. It’s all part of the sample. Take away the 50 times per year that A-Rod hits a home run and he’s average. Take away Chauncey’s 3Q performance and the game is completely out of reach. You really have to consider the entire package.

I agree that all players have interactions that go beyond stats, to your “Perk and KG benefited from Rondo’s aggressiveness” point. But I think it’s a little silly to say a PG explains why Perkins had 20 boards.

And as for your point about Amir, stat guys love him. There was recently an article by the wagesofwins guys about how Amir might be the best big on our team. And Hollinger has him in the top 50 in the NBA by his PER ranking. I point this out, only because you seem to be conceding that Rondo was poor statistically, yet brought some intangible factor to the game — and then infer Amir does the same. I’m just making the point that Amir’s contribution has been eminently quantifiable this season.

So y’all are really going to fight amongst each other over this soon to be a distant memory of a game? Shit sounds like the DNP. I suppose all of you that are filling your pants with urine are the same ones that were worried we’d lose against Chicago last year because they took 3 out of 4 from us in the regular season. Detroit is a playoff team, so wait for the playoffs before you start offering all of your post-game/mid-life crisis, amatuer analysis.

forgive me for playing catch-up, as i rarely can bring myself to watch games when we lose (especially when heinsohn and that other chowderhead whose name doesn’t really matter are commentating on league pass), but i’m forcing myself to watch this to figure out what went wrong this time. so when my comments seems 4 hours late, forgive me.

just got to the part where ray allen elbowed rip in the throat. it took tommy point and mayor mcuseless 10 minutes to figure a way to rationalize why it would be ok for allen to blatantly elbow a defender in the gullet. high comedy.

they should take those two down to nantucket, bury them up to their brains in sand (i.e. their asses) and let them commentate on hermit crab battles and the progression of the tides. what a couple of slack-jawed chowds.

p.s. nice boxing glove graphics, fox sports bahstan. did local public access lend those to you for the whole night?

you know, i was kind of feeling more threatened by the celt’s signing cassell, but it might actually be a good thing. less minutes dealing with rondo who neither chauncey or rip can handle off the dribble would be a good thing. i’d like to see how afflalo handles him.

i would have to say sheed’s sprained ankle might have been a factor in the outcome of this game.

after reading like 200 posts and then getting ready to add my 2 cents, along came CALM DOWN who said exactly what I wanted to say. One game where boston had several days to rest and plan their strategy against us.

The book on Detroit is to come out hard and fast get a big lead and make them play catch up AND get under their skin so they lose focus.

That is what Boston did for a lot of reasons and that is what we need to work on.

We also need to get Walter Herrmann to play more. All of a sudden Dixon gets minutes — why not Hermann.

My only nega

*ignore last fragments

Kevin S, you’re totally right…let KG, Pierce, and Allen do their thing and play solid D on the rest of the C’s and we’d be in a lot better shape. Too bad both you and I could coach that team better than Flip

Also, I’d much rather face a beaten down Boston/Cleveland in the ECF than have seen a win tonight…as much as I hate the Kung-fu jersey poppin’ bowelston celtics

Two words: schedule loss. Pistons never going to get outscored 11-1 to end the game in the playoffs. Next!

As langlois said – nice to win in march — better in June. Stay positive people – the Pistons are a great team. DICE, Sheed and maybe even Billips know that this may be the last opportunity for a SHIP and come crunch time they will get the job done.

You could argue that the trio at Boston feel the same way — but the difference is that our TRIO has been there before.

Does anyone else hate how when we settle into games in the first quarter, the other team runs up and down the floor and scores at will? Its like we’re warming up while the other team is playing. Maybe the road trip, Seattle game, and playing away had more to do with the lead feet than anything else, but I’m not enjoying this at all.

And for once, I’d like Flip, or CB, or Joe to say “We have to get better! We have to do SOMETHING to get better. Maybe its starting Maxiell, maybe its starting Amir… but we have to change something.” Instead we get the ol’ “Detroit’s got the best starting 5 in basketball” line. Well, maybe we don’t… and maybe we won’t admit that ’til after we lose in the ECFs. THAT is my biggest fear with this team.

Brad – when the “best starting 5” play like they can – think the Phoenix game" we really have nothing to worry about. The problem is finding a way to use the bench to (1) keep the “5” fresh and rested and (2) to pick up the slack and/or keep things at least even

I really “hate” that whenever the Pistons lose lots of people want changes and think the sky is falling

Keep the faith and for what it is worth – getting our ’ship will all come down to whether our coaching staff can make the adjustments needed — “on the fly” during the playoffs

Hopefully they can

Hi everyone. I just wanted to stop by a do a little catchup reading on DBB and thank Matt for his Q&A with Jeff on CelticsBlog. We always enjoy and appreciate his knowledge and thought. Sorry about the loss but I would have to agree with what some of the others here have said that most likely a certain amount of fatigue was a factor in Detroit’s play last night. I didn’t actually get to see the game but rather listened to it through the NBA Audio League Pass. My early and very strong impression was that your men were just not quite themselves and that feeling stayed with me all game.

I hated that for the Pistons because I know this game meant something to them but I think if the situation for the two teams had been reversed we would have likely seen a reverse outcome. I know how important it is to the Celtics for them to try to be able to maintain routine and rhythm. I’m sure it is the same for the Pistons. A hard back to back and a screwed up late flight schedule is about all it would take to throw a team off their game some. Considering that I think Piston play last evening was quite respectable and I certainly wouldn’t expect it to be the norm when playoff time comes.

So here’s a toast to all of you great Detroit fans and this fine website. I know you all are probably getting about as giddy as I am about the coming playoff series. Well, maybe not quite as giddy. I’ve been waiting a LONG time for this one! :-) When the ECF does come I say, may the best team win and whoever it turns out to be, let’s all pray they go on to take the WC to school…and spank ’em hard. Other analogies are invited. Take care.

man. this one hurts, at least a bit. they just fell apart during crunch time. for 5 minutes, they turned into the whining bunch that went out in 6 last year. they got sloppy, they got frustrated.

however, the biggest reason why they would fall apart at the end is being tired. back to backs and all-night travel will do that. plus, this solidifies our second seed. orlando’s 4 games ahead of cleveland, 5 games behind us. we can only hope that seeding holds and avoid either the celtics or the cavs. so there is a bright side.

March 17. Mark your calenders, pistons fans. Orlando v. Cleveland. Orlando’s got a lot of home games coming home so they’re a good bet to hold off Cleveland provided they win at least one of their two meetings before the end of the year.

I wonder what everybody is gonna say when we lose to Boston in the ECFs. I truly believe we will. If the refs hadn’t bailed us out in the first quarter it could have been REAL ugly.

I think Joe D, CB, and Flip have a false sense of superiority and that spills over into the fan base. I hate to be doom and gloom, but that’s what I see.

This is a reality check… our front court has been on the decline since we won the championship. I think we’ve just gotten to point where age has finally caught up with McDyess and maybe Sheed. Every non-Pistons fan says Detroit is old, and I’ve always shrugged it off and said “They don’t play old. They look fine to me.” This was the first time they looked old to me. McDyess and Sheed had 2 days off then played less than 25 minutes against Seattle. Then came out and let Boston run the bleep out of us in the first quarter.

Unless something changes, I think we’ll lose in the ECFs. Man, this sucks. I hate admitting this. Take care guys.

Brad – step back from the ledge and take a deep breath

Please, please, please do not judge the Pistons based on one game. There are a lot of reasons why Dice and Wallace may have looked old a tired but up until yesterday you could not say it or even back it up statistically.

The Rattler should be able to provide some really good defensive minutes, plus we have Amir and Maxiell to help out Dice and Rasheed

If we focus hard in the first and second rounds and don’t screw around and take care of business — meaning no more than 5 games each series — then we will be just fine

Remind me who has the second best record and has played rookies and has developed a long bench???

The bench isn’t what’s gonna prevent us from winning… its the starters. There is no ledge, I’m pointing out what I see. McDyess is looking old… and Rasheed too.

I will say the one saving grace from all this is if we win it all, Flip will more or less have to start at least one of the young guys next year and that will release him from all the criticism I throw his way. If we lose in the ECFs, then Flip will most likely be replaced. Worst case scenario is that we lose AND retain Flip. Even then, I don’t think even Flip could justify sticking with 2 34 year olds over Maxiell or Johnson.

I think a good coach could win it all with Detroit, but I don’t think Flip is a good coach. I see us losing in the ECF because of our overconfidence in our veterans who, to me, have stepped over a critical line in their career. When it starts to go, it goes fast. Look at Shaq.

As a Celtic fan and blogger, I thought it would be interesting to read the other team’s fans take on the big game last night. I got a lot of insightful commentary, along with some of the usual blog-crap.

I find it humorous that some Pistons fans are staking their playoff chances on avoiding the Cavs in the second round. Can the Pistons be the champs if they can’t knock off a team which is on a 47 win pace right now? Does LeBron James scare you that much?

My feeling is that the Celtics are truly the best team in the NBA this season, and will be able to knock out whichever team is in their way in the playoffs.

If the Pistons and Cs meet in the playoffs, I see the Cs closing them out in six games at the most. Detroit can’t score against the Cs, except at the FT line. For the three games, Detroit is shooting a gristly 39%. If the Celtics play “clean” defense and stay away from the penalty, the Pistons really have no shot.

The Pistons were a great “ensemble” team when they won the title, but you can not replace a defensive POY anchor like Big Ben with a 7th man type big like Dice and expect to be the same team. The Pistons have stagnated, and their bench of unproven young bigs and brickshooting littles aren’t going to bail them out this season. They have no inside game at all, no athletic slashers in their starting line up, and no uber-star, in a season where every other contender has between one and three.

Once the Cs integrate Sam Cassell into their team, they’re going to be even more unbeatable. He will be able to run the second unit in a very controlled, Chauncey-like style, and will be able to close out wins if Rondo isn’t up to it.

Brad, Sheed looked tired? Sheed looked tired? Are you serious? The guy was going basket-for-basket with Garnett and was holding his own (as much as he could against a dominant Garnett) on the defensive end. You’re right Brad, you are all doom and gloom, and whether we win in the ECFs depends on what happens every year … what Pistons team shows up. Kelly Dwyer is not wrong when he says,

“… it [Pistons roster] has enough to topple the C’s in an Eastern Conference final, and bash whatever opponent the Western Conference spits out on Detroit’s way toward a second title in five years. That’s not hyperbole, and that’s not a guess. That’s the truth.”

We can cripple the Celtics even at their best, period. Will we? I think so, but last night was the first time this season that I felt unsure. This year is starting to feel like last yearand the year before. But, the Pistons will thrash a team by 25 in the next couple of weeks (the Knicks on Friday?) and then we’ll call them the greatest thing since sliced bread all over again. The point is, if these guys “turn it on” during the playoffs, peace out Boston. No need to worry about that, as Dwyer said, it’s fact.

we’ve seen the pistons crush a bunch of teams of note this season. i refuse to believe they’re “over the hill”. our starters are nowhere close to crossing the shaq line. further, the reliance and overconfidence we’ve had in our starters the past years is on a quick decline. last night for a good 4 or 5 minutes into the 4th, we had mostly bench guys in. mind you, they didn’t fare all that well, but they’re young and they’ll learn.

the fact remains: the pistons can take any team in the league. most teams even on an off-night. they still switch it on and off at times, and it remains to be seen whether that happens in the playoffs. but there isn’t a team that they won’t sweep if they’re on in the playoffs.

Ok, I didn’t even look at Sheed’s stats, but Lawyerboy, even your optimism can’t defend these stats:

36 Minutes, 10-24 shooting(.417), 4 rebounds, 0-3 FTs, 5 PFs.

I mean to say he was going shot for shot with Garnett[41 min, 13-22 shooting(.590), 6 rebounds, 5-6 FTs, 4 PFs] is crazy.

Dyess wasn’t much better with 2-7 shooting and 6 rebounds in 31 minutes.

BTW, Perkins had 20… yes, thats 20 rebounds.

After looking at the numbers maybe I wasn’t critical enough in my assessment, but I’ll stick to what I was saying: Sheed and McDyess looked old.

Triple OT, it’s not so much that the Pistons can’t beat the Cavs, it’s that that series will take a toll and whoever faces them will be at a big disadvantage in the ECF.

And yes, Lebron does scare me that much. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen someone single-handedly win a game like he did in last year’s playoffs.

The C’s will have a hard time with the Cavs if they have to face them. The C’s play great team defense without a truly great perimter defender. This matches up with a team like Detroit that thrives on motion (motion that can be stopped by lots of playoff grabbing). The Cavs rely on the brilliance of Lebron getting to the hoop and drawing triple teams. The C’s have no one that can stay in front of him. Boston’s defensive guru will have some tricks up his sleeves, but not enough to keep it from being a long grinding series.

Triple OT: Thanks for stopping by and leaving your thoughts. As for this:

“I find it humorous that some Pistons fans are staking their playoff chances on avoiding the Cavs in the second round. Can the Pistons be the champs if they can’t knock off a team which is on a 47 win pace right now? Does LeBron James scare you that much?”

The ENTIRE NBA should be afraid of LeBron. Including your Celtics. He’s just that good. As for Pistons fans hoping to play one team or another, it doesn’t really matter to me as a fan — I just want to watch some great playoff basketball, and I’m confident the Pistons can beat who ever we get in a 7-game series.