It’s exactly what everyone predicted at the beginning of the year: the revamped Celtics against the experienced Pistons. After reading countless predictions (this might be my favorite), it’s time to just play the game.
There’s no shortage of live blogs going on (ahem, here’s mine at FanHouse) but I decided against embedding so as not to discourage the awesome game threads you guys have been pumping out all season long. The lottery is just starting and the game tips in a few minutes, so leave your thoughts in the comments.
…and Chicago gets the #1 draft pick. lucky bastards… they were slated 9th.
Unbelievable…they’ll have a lot of young talent. Bulls take Beasley, Miami takes Rose.
Wow. Bulls are gonna take Beasley. Book it.
On to the game. Let’s do this. LET’S FREAKIN’ DO THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Game time!
I’m hoping the Pistons come out aggressive. It’s a bad sign if we walk the ball up the court and slowly get into our sets…we can’t be making the 1st pass with 13 seconds left on the shot clock. GO STONES!!!
Pre-game replays…
yep, I officially hate Boston.
Matt and I were talking on … could the Bulls off Hinrich and take Rose? I like Beasley better, but I would probably take Rose if I could trade Hinrich. Matt put it ever so politely “Tyrus Thomas is crapping his pants”.
*online
ESPN tryig to say something with this montage? (Lebron Game 5, Steal by Bird)
I think they’ll market Bron Bron even if he’s not actually playing…
Chauncey clearly getting more boos than the running antagonist Sheed? Didn’t the Celtics dump him in half of a season and not the other way around? I can’t believe my ears. Wow, Garnett screaming in the intro, what a shock considering that’s his ridiculous MO.
Here comes the smoke, honestly could they tone it down a bit so the place doesn’t look like a down-river bowling alley after the pre-game pyro??
LB: I can’t see Chicago taking Rose. There isn’t a guarantee that Rose will translate, he could wind up worse than Hinrich. Beasley fills their needs.
Miami will have a great season as well, they’ll surely sign Marion now. If they drafted Beasley, they’d likely let Marion walk or sign/trade.
they’re taking beasley. they needs them some beasley. and I think Hinrich will come out of whatever slump he’s been in.
Wow, is Boston’s intro music is an instrumental of Ayo Technology? Because if so … pathetic. Eminem launched 50 Cent, assholes. And what is this Final Countdown shit? Fuck off Boston.
Why is Pierce doin’ that craps-dice-rollin’ walk? Is he from Marcy Projects, what, son?
Miami with healthy seasons from Rose, Wade, and Marion is back in the playoffs. Earl Barron looked surprisingly passable this season at C. He has nice shooting range for sure.
Rip on Rondo, good job DBBers. Perhaps Flip ain’t so bad after all.
*Nervous*
Hey, at least we’re coming out with energy…
/shoots self
Eh, I’m not surprised at all we’re coming out flat. I didn’t even entertain the possibility of us winning today until most of DBB thought we would.
Ok, the refs seems to be homers already — how was that not out-of-bounds off Pierce? and that “charge”? BS
r u s t
There playing too tight
Damn….
I remind DBBers, rust is not the same as the problems with the “switch”.
Really looking tight. Was that an airball by Rip?
Please put in Max after this timeout.
*Does what Prophecy does best: Worry like a bitch*
Celtics in 4
Clearly, this is Flip’s fault. Bench Dyess, trade Rip, play Amir, etc.
LB - I admire you. you are being the voice of reason. and you have the most on the line tonight, considering that you’ve declared war over at perkisabeast.
As we say here: No worries mate, she’ll be right.
Prophecy, leave that shit elsewhere.
TY Big Shot
CB3
I sure hope KG doesn’t have another rediculous shooting % night.
Rob G: I have nothing on the line tonight, really. I never thought we’d win this game. This team isn’t complacent, it’s just not comfortable resting. It’s not like the D is pathetic or anything, the O is pathetic. That’s rust, not complacency. As for Perk is a Beast … I don’t lose wars against unarmed opponents.
Stones look rusty
Don’t know why Sheed just watched on that layup… seemed to work though… nice D.
Yeah, agree with TBranch, that was odd of Sheed. Don’t know if you can blame THAT ONE on rust. Whatchu doin’ out there, Sheed?
Don’t worry. It’s all just a “spacing issue,” I bet.
HOLY %#$! DYESS!
Nice tip Dyess…looks like we’ve settled into the game
Are they worried about early fouls on the home team? Cause this Boston team has bodies that can take advantage of us… gotta be a bit more aggressive.
Love it when Dyess acts 10 years younger
That put back by McDyess makes me suddenly optimistic again for tonight. He has no ring yet, folks.
They look good. They look good. they’re getting good shots. The shots will fall.
Ray Allen is done. Cooked. Fin.
God damn@ the shot selection Tay!
Dice FTW
Relax, boys and girls. Don’t freak out in the first 5 minutes of quarter one. The Stones just quited your discontent.
6 pts 5 boards, nice 8 min’s of work by Dyess mcFacemask
Okay… little rusty to start… Nice play since the timeout. Glad Dyess came to play. Just crazy how a guy like Ray Allen can be in such a huge huge slump. He needs to break open the piggy bank and find a really good shrink.
slow start.. but I hope we win
Those tights look bad, plain bad.
Come on Maxey… bring the pain
Good shot Tay
Did JVG say Flip brought Minnesota to near Championship level?
quite the innecessary rim hang by Allen.
Un
Goaltending!
There pushing the ball on us, they gotta do something
Well… Rip sort of contested Garnetts shot there.
PJ!
Bad foul by dice.
God Dammitt! Why just give all those points?
anybody see a foul by Dyess there?
ball don’t lie
Max!
Max drops it!
Prophecy: Flip did take them to six games against that HOF Lakers team that we punked. It’s close enough.
good pass by dyess
Max has a jumper. respect.
I’m really happy at 17-22 at the end of the 1st Q. We didn’t shoot well to start the game and now we’re shooting better. The defense is pretty solid minus a couple mistakes. I can’t believe what I’m reading, but Antonio had eight points and SEVEN boards in that quarter according to Yahoo!
Lucky to be down 5…we’re leaving Ray Allen open way too much for my comfort…
I didn’t see a foul by McDyess. That aside, the reffing hasn’t been too bad.
Down 8-0 to start at Boston. It could be worse than down 5 after a quarter. Celtics seem to be slapping a lot of balls loose on the dribble… hard to do that a whole lot while committing zero fouls.
LawyerBoy
May 20th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
Prophecy: Flip did take them to six games against that HOF Lakers team that we punked. It’s close enough
They only made it out the first round once though. I mean Im not saying thats all Flips fault but Van Gundy made it sound like there were an establish championship potential team and they only had one really elite season.
Ugh, Perkins had eight boards. But of course, Perkins never scores, and when he does (not yet tonight) it’s on layups and dunks, not jumpers like our bigs, sucka.
Happy with that Q all things considered
I’m with LB, happy with 17-22. I don’t even have the Pistons winning this one, so I’m pleased. Dice is on fire. If the rest of the team shows up, we’ll be in good shape.
we’re going to hit 500 comments, aren’t we?
36% v 47%
3 to’s vs. 0 to’s
0 pts rip + Sheed
could be a lot worse after 1
Just for fun, I checked out Kendrick Perkins’ NBA.com Hot Spots for the regular season and playoffs this season. Absolutely hilarious to see him only attempt 24 shots all regular season beyond 3-5 feet of the basket.
Dyess double double by 5:00min mark - let’s go boss
Stuckey needs to attack House…no way he can stop him.
Stucko!!!!!!!!
house = to’s
Rip (the guy some want to trade) is playing great D
The Celtics did their homework on Prince. Tay has been dribbling sideways toward the free throw line a lot, recently, then making a move down the lane. C’s have shut that down.
attack that sh#t flip
Jason, I’m surprised the Chauncey one-second steal wasn’t called a TO on Boston and then another one on Detroit.
I remember someone posting yesterday that Hunter on House would get us turnovers… nice read.
Flip LOVES his bench. In the words of Ric Flair in New Orleans last night … Whoooooo!!!
Stuck is the man. I loved that little jumpy.
i’m going with sportsline for the box…
what jersey?!?
2 much Boston bench going on here
Rip is overplaying on D a little. Nice effort though.
We got some bulldogs in this quarter.
The Boston crowd sounds scared.
Fouls so far are 5-2 and Boston has 3 team fouls in the 2nd quarter in 3 minutes.
When KG is out take it in! And defend for god sake!
Two steals for Hunter already. Dude is a great defensive player… He hits clutch mid-game 3’s too. Well, as much as midgame baskets can be clutch.
someone wake sheed up.
If anything, this is not an out-of-sorts, “complacent” Pistons team on any account except maybe Rasheed. Every single other guy has come out to play. I see good things ahead this series.
two badly blown defensive rotations by maxiell so far (when he left allen open which led to the and 1 by pj and the posey dunk)
I’m feeling good. The Pistons haven’t really showed up yet, and we’re all the way in this thing.
I hope Max is taking jumpers now so that he can attack the rim after this timeout.
ya, ever since Philly woke us up, everyone seems focused.
I don’t think I would call that a 100% healthy start by Chauncey.
If/when we start capitalizing on Boston getting in the penalty this quarter, the tide should turn. We only need to draw two more fouls and we have 8:28 to accomplish this task and exploit the advantage. I hope the Pistons hone in on it. Certainly a lineup of Rip and Stuckey is built for it. I’m not trying to rile Boney in any way and I respect his right to disagree, but Rip really has seemed to get to the rim a lot these playoffs. It’s going to pay dividends this quarter if we stick to it. Chauncey getting less minutes than any other starter thus far is a wise and welcome strategy in my book (not because of his play, but the hamstring of course).
true 50% v 34%…still hanging despite shooting like crap
I think w could defend better and really WE should be the agressors on offense considering the rest we got…
Flip was yelling like a madman there…
that’s it Stuck
And 1! That’s 4 team fouls w/7:52 left in the quarter. Not so smart, Celtics.
Wow.. I don’t think I’ve ever seen quite that type of play for Stuckey. Nice. Nicer if he made the and1.
only 2nd missed FT of the playoff though
Yeah. TO. THEO!
Chickens done.
Dice has 10 and if past history is anything to go by then that should be a win right?
Thanks to whomever it was that brought up the stats all those threads ago. Seriously, games done.
Celtic fans are right on the edge of starting their 5 minute “Bullsit” chant. Always good for kiddies.
penalty = word up
I mean, excuse me for saying this (call it blasphemy if you wish), but the Pistons look great right now considering the Celtics missteps all playoffs and their foul trouble currently!
sheed = awake
god bless
ROSCOE! TURN THAT CORNER!
Sheed with the KG scream… love it.
I like Theo’s decision there to not challenge Pierce, Pierce had the advantage, save the foul. Sheed awakens.
Pierce just threw the ball to one of the jersey-poppin’ fans…
Free chillie bitch!
SHEED! I love that little spaz hanging from the rim too!
Did I call that or what?
2 on Garnett in just over a minute. You called it TBranch. Watch Boston unwind.
free chillie…BullSH#t chant…loving it more than I should
Thanks LB. Wasn’t five minutes… next foul maybe.
It’s good to see ya Sheed…stay around for a while.
Sheed slaps a little ref bootie… gotta love that.
Sheed: “Chauncey, what are you wearing?”
CB: “I’m going to wear some black tights.”
Sheed: “Wow! Those look sexy. You mind if I wear some, too?”
CB: “Well, I dunno. I figured it would be my thing this year.”
Sheed: “Aw, come on!”
Sheed’s expression was priceless there. And the butt-pat was a nice touch. Literally.
howa bouta that sheed jam
oh so sweet, sweeter than raspberry jam.
Boston is in deep trouble…. KG with 2 and Boston over the limit, still 6:00 remain.
Good job of Sheed restraining himself. That’s only our 2nd team foul this quarter, I believe. The boys are making me so proud right now. They’re doing everything right. The shots weren’t fall at first, but they’re out-finessing the Celtics, and that’s why the Pistons are the far superior team in the series, because they’re capable of doing so.
Gotta figure those are some sort of compression pants (tights) for the hammy.
I highly doubt we’ll see 3 fouls on garnett, but I’d take it to everyone else with a college degree on the floor
Wonder how many of Allens 600 shots he took in practice went in?
I’m grinning ear to ear already. Is it too early for that?
Garnett not draining all jumpers is a blessing.
he was too far out on that one … fouls evening up - F U refs
That wasn’t a travel on the “oops. better not pass it” play? Wondered how long it would take to see some Red Sox footage.
to the rim…good plan stuck
Stuckey is FEARLESS. got hit on the elbow pretty hard before the clean block.
here come the BS whisltes
I like the physicality from Ratliff on Paul Pierce. If you expect to beat us Paul, it’s going to hurt. Flip has already given NINE guys five minutes.
Generous call for Stuckey. That’s karma, Perk sympathizers.
BALL DONT LIE
Detroit is playing strong, confident, focused basketball… I like what I see.
And again. The ball does not fib.
that was beauty Tay
Nice audio job ESPN…that was a quality “Ball Don’t Lie”
Tay.. cool as a cucumber. That was awesome. Chauncey is doing a lot of tripping and stumbling. Nice to get the ball to a team mate there.
god bless you Tay…lookin good
Tay backs down Pierce. Was LBJ doing that? I don’t think he was… and Tay is 50 lbs lighter than Bron.
Uh-oh, Tayshaun has 9 in the first half on 5-9 shooting. So much for TripleOT’s genius powers of prediction. What a true prophet.
perkins looks like a perturbed turkey or chicken.
keep the composure….push the led to 6 before the break
why are dice and sheed passing up open shots?
Pistons have best FT defense in league, if there is such a thing.
dont’ look now, but the stones haven’t had a turn this quarter. nice work fellas
41% from the field and 86% from the line with 2-4 from three-point land sprinkled in. The Boys in Blue are making my day.
If Tay can just match Pierce I think its a good trade off. Each have 9 points and Pierce has one more Reb. Just fine.
shit jinxed it
I like how Prince is staying in front of the screens. Keeping Pierce from getting open looks.
i guess you can live with KG shooting out that far…but don’t like stuck jacking the 3…nice timeout lets get 2 for 1 here
Gotta score before the half.
Classic Chauncey. That almost brought a tear to my eye. Three Celtics starters (and Eddie House) have 2 fouls, not daunting for the Celtics, but they may begin to play tight as the second half progresses.
Chauncey hasn’t played a game in what? 12 days? He might take a while to get back in the groove.
Hmmm… teams might like to think twice about going to the rim in the final seconds against Prince.
I’ll take it.
A well-played half. and on the road. I likes it.
Okay, so we spotted them eight and it’s now 40-41? I’m pleased as Punch.
Would have liked to have the lead going into the half….They gotta be more aggressive
Dyess seems to stop shooting once he gets into double digits a lot.
Is it just me?
We also gave em a 6-0 run towards the end of the 2nd too LB which pissed me off more than the slow start for some reason
Chad Ford already has up a mock draft after the lottery tonight. He has Detroit taking CDR from Memphis. I would be happy with him. A swingman who can break down the defense and give Tay some rest.
Once again, most pleased with that.
Keep it close, then burn some toast!
This is our brand of basketball. If I’m Boston (and I’m as mentally thin as they are), the seeds are starting to be planted for a crack up. I think if we can take this one, we may only need 5.
yep would have like to see them finish it strong, but considering Boston is shooting 50+%, you gotta like the fact that we’re only down 1 point
TBranch
May 20th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
Dyess seems to stop shooting once he gets into double digits a lot.
Is it just me?
Well we have scoring options, so I guess it depends on who has the reason shot rather than who’s hot sometimes..
I’m far too lazy to go back and analyze the data, but I wonder if there is a specific quarter when fatique sets in for teams that haven’t had rest… I’d assume the 3rd quarter, since there is a psychological push in the 4th. Maybe that will set in for Boston tonight. Who knows, I wish I had the time and the knowledge to analyze that…
Good game so far. I’ll take 4 minutes of rust after that layoff.
lol at we may only need 5 LB
that’s some confidence!
So we still have to slow down KG. how to do that?
I love how we’re defending their PGs and Pierce. And I also like our bench play.
Jim: CDR is a Detroit native. Now I remember us taking Mateen a few years back, but I’m not saying this is anyway similar. I’m just sayin’ … I remember JOE taking Mateen a few years back
Forty: Boston sucks, bad. Wilbon just slammed Boston for shooting 51%, holding us to 39% and only leading by 1. He’s right, they’re blowing this game.
i don’t think CDR is falling to us. that would be a fantastic pick.
did stuart just say tushawn instead of tayshaun?
LawyerBoy: We’re all good…Joe D only makes mistakes on draft picks 2 through 14.
Okay… at the half it’s 184 comments at DBB and 91 at CelticsBlog. We have a nice lead but you guys gotta know they are gonna come out strong in the second half. Just weather the storm and remember to keep those posts relevant. I think we can pull this thing out.
LawyerBoy
May 20th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
Forty: Boston sucks, bad. Wilbon just slammed Boston for shooting 51%, holding us to 39% and only leading by 1. He’s right, they’re blowing this game.
lol
TBranch - comments are a game of runs. We know that the Celtics blog will get theirs, but we have to make them work on the defensive end.
Flip - “Take it to them in the first 5 min’s”
true dat flipster…
true dat
Detroit 50.6 — 1st half eFG% — 50.6 Boston
There’s more to basketball then FG%. It’s not an accident that Detroit gets to the line. If Boston fouled less, Detroit would have easier shots.
sigh
Some favorite posts from CelticsBlog…
“Reffing is beyond belief. 15-3 fta. Only reason Detroit is up. Call it even and the C’s are up by 10.
Billups walks, no call, Tayshun a 3.”
————
“powe pimpin…do ya thang pimpin..
now powe…you gonna be in motown soon…so ya game and pimp hand must be strong playa…much work to do in motown….now get in yo purple caddy powe and ride to detroit bumpin that supa fly 8 track…..curtis mayfield..let em know u on yo way..!”
————
“house weakness that i also knew of has been exposed….
no handles…”
Know thyselves Celtics.
————
“Pistons are over-matched. They’re clawing their way through the game so far just like the three regular season games. Celtics are clearly more talented and capable.”
————
More later.
would love to see rip come alive
too easy
I’m really surprised we haven’t seen Rhondo try to go around Billups yet.
Anybody else just *hate* these announcers? Van Gundy is terrible. And WTF was up with them rambling on about baseball near the end of the first half? They said they loved baseball lingo — well, announce a fuckin baseball game then! We’ve got Game 1 of the ECF goin’ on!