I say this without hyperbole: last night’s game was the most entertaining playoff game Detroit’s played in years. It was competitive throughout, the big names on both teams showed up and it came down to the very end. (And, of course, the Pistons won.)
But of all the things that went right for the Pistons — and there was a lot of things, including the real return of Chauncey Billups, the steady production of Antonio McDyess, the clutch scoring by Rasheed Wallace — what was most exciting was the emergence of Rodney Stuckey.
He was solid in the first half, but for a stretch late in the third and early in the fourth, he put the team on his shoulders and carried them. His line in the box score barely does justice for his impact on the game, but here it is: 13 points (5-8 FG, 3-3 FT) in 17 minutes, with three assists and two steals.
Even the Celtics were impressed. From the Boston Globe’s blog:
“I thought Stuckey really gave us problems tonight,” said Celtics forward Paul Pierce. “I think he was the X-factor tonight in this game.”
Chosen to sit at the interview podium with veteran Rip Hamilton, Stuckey relished the moment. Most of the questions were directed at his teammate, but the young point guard lit up when asked if he was nervous before tonight’s game.
“I’m never scared,” Stuckey said as more of a revelation than a boast. “I’m not nervous. I’ve got Rip, Chaunce, Sheed, Tay and all these guys behind me, and Lindsey Hunter, and they keep me poised and confident every day. Just being around them and them always being poised and confident gives me the extra energy and confidence that I need as a player and as an individual.”
A. Sherrod Blakely of Booth Newspapers has Lindsey Hunter’s post-game reaction:
“He’s so far ahead right now,” Hunter said. “He has that something that as a young guard in this league, you gotta have. I’m not talking about just to make it, but be one of the elite. I think that’s where he’s headed.”
Hunter is right when talking about that “something.” Stuckey does a lot of things well — getting to the rim, drawing contact, protecting the ball — but his biggest strength may be the one that’s most difficult to quantify: he’s extremely confident and unflappable.
A lot of rookies wilt under pressure, especially rookies from small schools who never came within spitting distance of the bright lights of March Madness. But Stuckey has always shown the poise of a veteran, the quiet confidence of someone who expects to do well and isn’t surprised by his success.
And that’s really why this game was so exciting — it wasn’t just about the tying the series, it was also peeking into the future. As DBB reader Rob G said in the comments after the game:
Boston has a big three. So do we. Stuckey wears #3. He’s the man.
The key will be reproducing that performance over the rest of the playoffs, but if you look at what he’s done the last few games, consistency is becoming less and less of an issue for him.
From here the series heads to Detroit. As I’m sure you’ve heard 10,000 times before, the Celtics have yet to win on the road in the playoffs, but to be fair, they’ve yet to fall behind in a series, either. I’m sure it’s weighing on their confidence at least a little, but probably not as much as most people think considering they had the best road record in the regular season.
That said, Detroit took Boston’s best shot and didn’t flinch. As LawyerBoy said in the comments:
Ray Allen 9-16 (5-5 from FT) for 25
Paul Pierce 9-16 (6-6 from FT) for 26
KG 11-19 (2-2 from FT) for 24.That’s the Big 3 combining for 75 on 20-34 (58.8%) shooting … and we still beat them.
If you’re a Celtics fan, you can’t expect the Big Three to play any better, at least not all at the same time. Maybe one of them goes off like Pierce did in Game 7 against the Cavaliers, but it’d come at the expense of someone else. The rest of the Celtics combined to score just 22 points.
We knew Detroit’s depth was an advantage on paper, and on Thursday we saw it in action. The way I see it, it’s only going to get worse for the Celtics, especially with fatigue setting in:
Q. Paul and Kevin said it was kind of a step slow on defense. Was it simply that, or was it something else, as well?
COACH DOC RIVERS: No, there’s nothing wrong. I told you yesterday, the games I was fearful with the fatigue factor was today. I thought the adrenaline of Game 7 would take us through Game 1. Our coaches felt the same way. They made shots off of single doubles that usually we’re able to lock and trail and stay behind, and we were a step or two behind. Not a lot you can do with it. You know, we’re going to rest tomorrow and we’ll be ready for Game 3.
Technically we have a tie series, but it sure feels like Detroit took a commanding lead.
Pistons 103, Celtics 97 box score / ESPN.com
What we’ve seen last night at Game 2 was Detroit’s absolute best. Obviously, their best is good enough to beat the best team in the league; at home. The crippling defense that the Pistons slapped the Celtics with was apparent for the entire duration of the game. Even when Detroit wasn’t sinking shots, they were still contesting the ball on the defensive end; which opened up the offensive floor. I honestly expected a shakier game, but Chauncey seems to be back to his Captain’s status - and he proceeded to make Rondo look like a chump. I couldn’t have asked for better, it was an amazing game. Big props to Stuckey, amazing maturity and poise for a rookie player; but DBB- give me a break. He’s showed that he can drive the lane, take care of the ball - but he’s obviously a poor shooter. Every time he took a jump shot, I remember screaming at the TV. “DRIVE THE LANE, GET THE FOUL - YOU CAN’T SHOOT STUCKEY”. Unfortunately, in my drunken rage; I was right. Stuckey cannot shoot a decent 15FT. shot. He needs to stick to driving to the lane and creating offensive opportunities for his team for now.
Just to point it out, I’m not saying Rodney’s a bad player. For a cheap rookie pickup, he’s excellent. I’m just saying he shouldn’t get comfortable with the jump shot, as he’s not yet an effective perimeter shooter. If he sticks to creating opportunities for the offense and handling the ball well, his jump shot will improve over time. I just don’t want to see Stuck at Game 7 taking shots like Rip Hamilton.
The Celtic’s weariness reminds me of the Pistons being wore out by Miami the series before the Spurs Finals of ‘05. We were dog-whipped, and had only 1 day off before game 1. Isn’t it odd there is rest time in the early rounds, but for the Finals, you get like a day between a game 7 and a game 1 of the next round?
Stuck the Pup was pretty impressive last night but I think we have to give Flip Saunders some serious credit for that win. He called two offense plays in the last minute that kept the Celtics on their heels. The first was about with 45 seconds left when he ran simultaneous screen and curls with Rip & Tay that really confused a good defense that HAD to get a stop. The second was the inbounds play that got Chauncey a wide open layup to seal the game.
Flip is always the first to get critizied after a loss (deservedly so sometimes) but I think he should get his due for this win. Maybe he’s learned from his mistakes, maybe his assistants are providing valuable help, or maybe its because its against Doc Rivers… but its been hard to find much fault with Flip’s coaching recently. (and yes, Amir’s time will have to be next year)
When we are aggressive offensively, I don’t think Boston can beat us.
Good point on giving Flip credit — that inbounds play was a work of genius.
And Detroit Dreshaj: as for Stuck, I definitely recall him draining a couple beyond 15ft Js last night, including one from the baseline that ESPN gave the ultra slow-mo treatment.
J, I’m not saying that he’s incapable of shooting perimeter shots completely, I’m saying he’s much more effective when he drives the lane and completes/gets fouled. We have enough perimeter players. That’s all.
I dunno, I’m happy to see Stuck develop & stick a few jumpers. It forces his defenders to play him a little more honestly. If they believe him to be a one-dimensional player whose only attribute is exploding to the rim, they’ll lay off him and seek to deny the drive.
You’re indulging in wishful thinking, pal. You haven’t seen Stuckey enough to conclude that “he’s obviously a poor shooter” (your words, not ours). He’s not a threat from the arc, but his midrange game is just fine - as you’ll soon learn when your guys sag off him to prevent the drive.
I implore you to watch this.
Detroit merely plays a bunch of Boston mercenaries.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=NCcpEvDSPfs
Remember how P.J. Brown came out swinging for the Bulls in their last game in the 07 playoffs?
How about Sam I Am hoisting 16 footers while Elton Brand looked longingly for a pass in ‘06?
This isn’t even close to the Larry Bird era. It feels cheap, like those dime store plastileather mitts back in the day.
Someone needs to make up a list of Chauncey Billups catch phrases and put them on a shirt.
A shirt that simply says, “I gotta be more aggressive,” would pwn.
(maybe a little Pistons logo underneath, too)
+1 to Garrett.
Good aggressive commenting, man.
PS -
“No Ginobili” has just been discovered.
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-32-223/Manu-Ginobili-is-One-of-My-Favorite-Players-in-the-World.html
And the unwashed masses don’t get it.
A shirt that simply says “Man” (possibly attached to some fill-in-the-blank lines), would come pretty close to a universal Billups quote. He seems to have picked up some aging hippy vibe growing up in Colorado.
J: Thanks man. You know, I just gotta, you know, stay aggressive. Gotta, you know, play my game.
LanierFan - “Your guys”? Have you taken a look at my name, genius? LOL @ you thinking I’m a Celtics fan for giving Stuck criticism.
Perhaps this change of name will solidify my team spirit.
Oh, and just in case you guys haven’t seen it yet, check out this SLAM note:
http://slamonline.com/online/2008/05/world-meet-rodney-stuckey/
Props to Stuckey, Dyess, Flip, Chauncey, and let’s not forget Rip –high scorer, got Allen back on the bench with that great pump fake, hit that huge running floater near the end (and no, it wasn’t close to a charge). Heck, props to pretty much everyone who played last night.
But let’s be careful. Either team could have won that game. Same for game 1, until late in the 4th. I expect the two games in Detroit to be like that too. I don’t think Boston is going to fold on the road just because of their record in the playoffs so far. They had the best road record in the NBA. Yes, losing to the Hawks was odd. But just like Ray Allen seemed to snap out of his funk in the second half last night, Boston could snap out of its road funk. Frankly, Boston arguably would have won its last road game (#6 against the Cavs), but for two bad calls down the stretch (missing a goal-tending and a charge on Pierce which really was a LeBron block). Also, if Allen can play well for a whole game (or two), as opposed to a half, that will obviously help the Celtics.
On the other hand, Boston does have some concerns. The problem on the road is often that lesser/role/bench players don’t do as well, and last night’s game shows that Boston needs more than big games from each of the big three to win. Flip has made some interesting changes to his rotation (lots of minutes for Stuckey, three guards when Prince is resting instead of playing Hayes, more minutes for Ratliff and less for Maxiell) which seemed to work last night; meanwhile, Doc Rivers is having less success with House (so should Sam C. play?) and his cast of bigs-not-named-KG.
And Boston’s stars are under pressure: KG and Pierce made some terrific, difficult shots last night. When they scored, I didn’t yell “where’s the defense?!?!?!” at my TV last night, I muttered, “damn, nice shot.” Props to them for making ‘em, but if Boston needs to have their Big three make lots of shots with our guys hanging on ‘em, I like our chances.
Bottom line: I expect more close, hard-fought games, and I’m not assuming either team is going to win all its games at home. But I would rather have a 5-game series with home court advantage, as we do now, than a 7-game series without it.
Finally, speaking of words certain individuals use in post-game interviews, Doc Rivers says “hell” a lot. Unrelated point: Rasheed, NO MORE TECHNICALS.
Daggg did Billups ever show up. Congrats to y’all. I feared that Pistons would take us in 6, but had hope because of CB’s injury. One glimmer or hope is that Ray Allen finally pushed his personal problems aside and balled. KEY offensive rebounds and KEY dagger shots kept Cs from winning this game despite Detroit ignoring Rondo and Perkins. If Ray could give Cs 16ppg, I like this to go to 7 - but unfortunately Cs will have to rely on Sam Cassell to carry the bench since ours stunk up the place.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH LET ME HEAR ITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!
haha
it took more then billups, wallace, rip, to beat the C’s
(like dyees, stuckey, prince)…as long as the C’s bench steps up its gonna be alright
I’ve been saying until my face is blue that we can afford to let the big 2.4 go off. They key is to prevent Boobie Rondo from going 7-9 and Perkins from grabbing 15 rebounds.
Also, the No Ginobli T-shirt was mentioned in Yahoo.com’s Ball Don’t Lie live blog of last night’s game, brought to you by J.E. Skeets and Kelly Dwyer.
I just remembered TripleOT saying that the Celt’s bench was better than the Piston’s bench. Ummmm… nope. Last night Stuck was better than the whole Celt’s bench combined. No Celtic reserve strikes fear into the Stones. But you can bet the Celts don’t love it when they see Stuck coming in. Now if only Max would show up…
I want us to take BOTH of these homers. The thought of going back to Boston up 3-1 makes me just plain giddy.
my how quickly that no basketball playing hack (Chris Sheridan) changed his tune after last night’s win.
what a douche
My favorite comment is when they say ‘if you don’t include Stuckey, Detroit’s bench only did (fill-in-the-blank).
My question is does this mean, Stuckey is not a bench player and we are allowed to start six guys in the starting lineup? If so, we could be tough to stop. In all seriousness, people keep commenting on Stuckey’s play in the playoffs, but the fact that he has done it on the road is a very overlooked point.
Amazing game last night. When I can realize it even through the intensity of the game, I know it’s a good one. Put me in the overhyped category for the Celtics road woes. I find it more shocking than anything else. My hope is that The Palace is going to be off the hinges ‘04 style on Saturday and Monday and wills the DP’s to victory.
If that fails (or even if it doesn’t) we just need to continue to show good offensive spacing and swing the ball. Those were the two things lacking in Game 1 that were night and day in Game 2, along with the defensive intensity.
GET THOSE BELTS BACK!
Was it just me or did Maxiell get the night off? It’s too bad Flip couldn’t find more minutes for him in the rotation last night but I’ll take the victory.
You’re just a garden
We are a Palace
and last night
we plucked one of your precious flowers
It just beme but I am starting to think that the people who cover these games say things just to say them to make people watch the game. Did anyone hear them say on ESPN Boston let this game get away? What game were they watching? I understand they are paid to talk but most of them sound really silly at times. Even Jeff Van Gundy hates Pistons. Yes he is a little better than the rest of these fools but he does not like us. He just had to rip on our coaching staff for saying Stuckey was somewhat like Wade.Maybe it has something to do with the fact we put his brother out of the playoffs. I am sick of hearing about Boston has not won on the road during these playoffs. I am sick of hearing about Boston being wore down from playing two 7 game series. I am sick of hearing about the so called big 3. People none of this matters. what matters is the Piston must stay focus and play hard and smart and we will get our 4th ring. I want it most for Dice. He has been playing so hard. He seems to be a very nice dude who does it the right way. Plus it would be nice for him to get it this after losing the woman who helped him become the man he is.
I love Van Gundy, but he is clearly agitated with how his brother was knocked out by the DP’s. You could certainly sense that in his late-game comment during an inbounds play about how the Rip trip by Dooling cost the Magic a game in the previous round.
But maybe we’re making some progress on the announcing front. Mike Breen gave his first ever ‘BANG!’ last night for a Piston three, although it should be noted it was in the first half and had all the excitement of the bang Breen’s gun would make if he had to shoot his own dog.
Perhaps even more entertaining was Mark Jackson commenting in the 4th quarter, ‘how could you not love the Pistons?’ I honestly don’t know Mark, ask yourself, your broadcasting partners, your bosses or the NBA League office. I’m sure they all have lengthy answers to that question although I confess to not having the slighest of clues as to what those responses would consist of.
And how great is this portion of the Yahoo Sports Dan Wetzel column this morning…..
It is one thing to say it, but will their jumpers stand up to what undoubtedly will be a wild Palace of Auburn Hills crowd? Detroit always has been a brutally tough place to play, the fans combining not just noise and energy but a sense of old-school ferocity not often found in today’s luxury box NBA.
When Indiana’s Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson famously went into the stands to fight someone who chucked a beer at them back in the fall of 2004, some fans not only fought back, others even charged the court to join in. Hopelessly undersized guys actually were squaring off with NBA behemoths. It may have been stupid and crazy, but that’s the point.
You’re just not getting that everywhere.
If the Pistons are focused – and playing the spoiler against an establishment team such as the Celtics seems to have their full attention – this is no place to try to end a losing streak.
The way the Pistons played yesterday seems to be overlooked by many people, that´s for sure. Can anyone honestly say Boston defended badly? They gave a good effort overall. They had some lapses, sure, but I thought they were the kind of lapses the Celtics won´t solve easily. Inexperience, for starters. Plus, Flip´s offensive playbook really is impossible to defend well 100% of the time. As long as the Pistons stick to it, Boston won´t be able to dictate the pace of the game.
And you should check out Ian Thomsen´s article on
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/ian_thomsen/
05/23/weekly.countdown/index.html.
Very interesting observations by Flip and JoeD. The first part was especially interesting to me, seeing how one of the biggest knocks on Flip was that he didn´t know how to motivate his players.
sauce, more shocking than the big 3 growing up hating the celtics was that dork from ‘time’ not having a clue about ‘do the right thing.’ you’re dressed like you work at a video store, pleated pants. act the part!
Dg.But, that Ian Thomsen article was a great read. Thanks.
Jesse, you´re welcome. I think everytime I read JoeD´s insights, my respect for him grows exponentially. The surprise was being given a look into Flip´s progress as a coach.
Actually Van Gundy and Flip are close friends (and was very vocal about how he got shafted by Minnesota).
And, Toledo Joe, Boston fans were bitching about the officiating in Game 6 because of the charging call (which was really just a double flop). But EVERY OTHER BAD CALL went Boston’s way in that game. That goaltending was not called because the shot had no chance of going in. PLUS, RAY ALLEN WASN’T EVEN FOULED ON THAT PLAY. HE USED HIS OFF ARM LIKE HE ALWAYS DOES.
But, Boston Fans and the media have made it looked like the refs hosed them in that game. Ridiculous.
just finished watching the game. here’s my thoughts.
1) didn’t notice that dyess was without his mask until the end of the 1st. change of luck or mended face?
2) Stucky got dissed by van gundy (i think it was him) for being called baby wade. i’m glad he lived up to it and i’m hoping to see him grow into a stucky rather than a wade.
3) Stucky my main man has no fear. how does he jump so high with such a big pair hanging between his legs?
3) One of the most entertaining games i’ve seen in a long long while
4) we came into their house and outhustled them by far…
5) we had so many players step up while boston had KG and pierce take more and more tough shots which fell down for them…This is what TEAM means. there’s no I in team and there’s definately no 3 in it either!
6) @tim - i haven’t had time to read any comments yet but i’m guessing you mouth is finally shut
From sauce’s link to the ginobili shirt:
bmorekid5252 (9 hours ago) i dont get it.
bmorekid5252 (8 hours ago) ohhh..taking a dive…that is THE dumbest thing ive ever seen….
Dude you took an hour to figure it out - no wonder you’re a ginobili fan (i know it coulda been less but my way is funnier)
No kidding, Ohad. I think half of them are just being defensive, since the Spurs aren’t exactly media darlings, either. They have Tim Duncan and can’t get good press. Something’s wrong about that, always has been.
oooh, i remembered another thing. In that article about nail polish with glen davis. did you look at the pictures?
guy looks like he’s suffering from an extra chromosome or something. Now i feel bad for all the perkinsisamongoloid.com shots i took when it’s obvious he not the biggest one there.
ok, now it’s all out of my system. hadn’t been to the site for a couple of days so as to see the rerun without knowing the score…
QD: I think most of us realize that Celtics fans in general (Bob Day & BleedGreen617 and I’m sure many more respectfully excluded) are uninformed, loudmouth, indignant douchebags. Their crying is so incessant and over-the-top I think Laughton can actually hear it in Australia. They may not all be bandwagoners, but even most longtime fans certainly fail the basketball knowledge litmus test. All playoffs long I’ve been hearing Boston fans hyping Rondo and Perkins. It’s almost like the Celtics faithful are building Hall of Fame busts for these two already. Are you kidding me?
Kendrick Perkins would not make the Pistons active roster this season, if he would make the fifteen man roster at all. Perkins wouldn’t make it this year, not next year, not ever. Perkins is the textbook definition of a completely mediocre player. DatabaseBasketball.com says his career production is (on a scale of 1000) 983 “points” similar to Darko Milicic. Matt knows I’m a huge Darko apologist, but damn, that’s some (deservedly) harsh criticism of Perkins. At least Darko (sometimes) starts for Memphis whereas Kendrick Perkins is the starting center for a team with (doubtful) championship aspirations. That’s what makes it such a hilarious joke. If Danny Ainge were anything like his EotY award should suggest, he’d draft a 5 at all costs with the 30th pick this year or do something about it through trades or free agency.
And while Rondo is surely a nice player, his jumper is less consistent than any other guard in the NBA. He plays very good defense and he is super quick and good at creating open looks for his teammates, but the Pistons gave him about 3 feet of cushion near the top of the key every time he had the ball last night and he didn’t make the Pistons pay for it. If he can’t make them pay with jumpers, the Pistons minimize the damage done by his speed. Not being able to make us pay for that is not the mark of a great NBA guard.
And now they still feel confident taking an 0-6 road playoff record into The Palace? The Q is Palace-Lite. If they can’t win in The Q, they’re going to need a lot more than they brought in that series to take one in The Palace. Perhaps Garnett can harness his insanity and turn it into energized focus which he can then share with all his teammates. That MUST be what most of these Celtics fans are counting on. Must be.
QD: I’m certainly not defending Boston fans, and while I think they did get two big calls against them down the stretch, my big point was that Boston played pretty well in their last road playoff game — well enough to win if a couple of calls down the stretch had gone the other way. It’s not that I think it’s some Big Cosmic Injustice that they lost, it’s more that I don’t think Detroit should count on Boston playing poorly on the road, because at least in their last road outing, they played pretty well.
Having said that, I sure do want Detroit to win 2 at home. And I think they can. But they better be ready to play hard and not count on Boston performing at its losing-three-in-Atlanta level.
Hey, I asked this last night but I think it was glossed over during the excitement of the game.
How long do you think this Celtics team can stay dominant? If Ray Allen is really declining (which I think is doubtful) that makes Boston’s window even smaller than people initially thought.
If someone would have asked me in 2004 how long I gave the Pistons, I would have said 3 or 4 years. But now I think the team, as currently constructed, can definitely give it one more year at full strength, and should be able to stay competitive for another 2 or 3.
Garrett: When the C’s realize that all the money tied up in KG, Paul, and Ray affords them no space, they have to be perfect on mid-levels and shrewd on trades that don’t involve former Celtics giving them a green-light-special . . . well, my final answer is EFF YOU, BOSTON.
LB, the Q is Palace-lite? LOL…I thought the entire Cavs organization were trying to be Pistons-lite.
V: Is the Q not part of the Cavs organization? Q.E.D. As for the Q, “Deeeee-troit turn-overrrrrrr” is as good a case as one can make for imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Toledo Joe, I wasn’t reacting so much to your particular post as I was the hundreds of references to the “questionable” officiating in that game.
I think Boney logged on expecting to be mocked for his Rip-hatred.
Garrett, your question regarding the Celtics window prompted me to check out all the team payrolls: http://hoopshype.com/salaries.htm
Dumars has done an amazing job of putting together a competitive and deep team with one of the smaller payrolls. Only New Orleans and Orlando even close.
There are certain teams whose “window” has closed (if it was even open), Dallas and Phoenex, in particular.
In the West, San Antonio is slightly passed their peak, but still have a few years left. LA, Portland, New Orleans and Utah are the ones that will be battling for a while.
In the East, it’s Detroit and Boston with a couple question mark teams (Cleveland, Orlando, Chicago, and Miami).
Detroit’s window is open as long as they have Rasheed and then it’s dependent on the young big men proving they can play at an all-star level.
Boston will be good for a few years. But, it remains to be seen whether they will be Dallas/Phoenix-good, Detroit/Miami-good, or San Antonio-good.
Miami lost to Detroit when they first got Shaq. Then, they made some clever moves to get the proper role players around Shaq and Wade. So, if Boston doesn’t win it this year, they can assess what they need to get over the hump and make moves accordingly. They don’t seem to have anyone with trade value so they’ll have to do it with a judicious mid-level signing. And a couple smart picks like getting a contributor like Big Baby in the second round.
Of all the teams mentioned above, the Lakers look to have the brightest future considering they are in the Western Conference Finals without Bynum and Trevor Ariza adding to their already formidable depth.
QD: I thought Boney was referencing how stupid Boston’s into is. Maybe I missed that.
*intro
As long as that clown Rivers is clipboarding them, they’ll be no good. I hope they keep Doc, sign him to a lifetime contract for more money than any coach has ever been promised.