May 26th, 2008 – Dr. Browntorious
Lately when I watch NBA playoff games I can’t help but think that no matter what the 2008 season is destined to finish with a throwback to one of the greatest and most consistent rivalries in the history of the NBA. The Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Wait a second, not so fast…
There are two pretty darn good teams that may have something to say about it. The Detroit Pistons and the San Antonio Spurs. As good as the Celtics and Lakers have been for a good chunk of the history of the NBA, the Pistons and Spurs have been equally as dominant in their own right over the last decade. The Spurs have won 3 of the last 5 NBA Championships, and the Pistons have had an unbelievable run of playing in 7 straight Conference Finals which include a finals appearance and an NBA Championship.
In the Eastern Conference Detroit and Boston is a bit of a toss up as to which team is better defensively. They are both unbelievable tight. You can tell just by watching the players’ faces, it literally pains them when the opposition scores a hoop. In the Western Conference, San Antonio is clearly the better defensive team and has arguably one of the best team defenses the NBA has seen in a decade or more. They’ll need it though, because the Lakers are definitely the most potent offensive threat left in the 2008 playoffs. That said, the Lakers are not just a team that is looking to out score their opponent, as they have a decent team defense with a lot of long, athletic players. Oh yeah, and Kobe isn’t too shabby as an on or off the ball defender.
After the Celtics got their first road win of the season in Detroit at the Palace of Auburn Hills on Saturday night, I had a feeling the Pistons would come out hot tonight. And after they jumped out to a 10-0 lead on the Celtics, I realized that was an easy call as these Pistons are too proud to get run over two straight games in their house. Some people may criticize the Pistons for being overconfident to a fault. I disagree, I think you need as much confidence as you can get, and as much swagger as you can summon to beat a team with the type of players the Celtics have. The Celtics had a phenomenal regular season, but I think too many teams got star struck or intimidated by Boston’s “Big Three” and gave up mentally before the game even started.
You really need to believe you are the better team, to actually “be” the better team. And trust me; the Pistons always think they are the better team!
A few quick observations about tonight’s game:
• What surprised me the most about Game 4 tonight was the Celtics grit. It seemed the whole game like the Pistons were blowing out the Celtics by at least 20 points. They had momentum, key stops, good shots, ball movement, and energy. However, every time I looked up the Celtics were grinding away and keeping it close. With 4:30 left it was only a 5 point lead for the Pistons. No matter how bad the Celtics play they are never completely “out of the game.”
• Ray Allen did bounce back in Game 2 of this series, however he shot poorly in the Celtics win on Saturday, and tonight he was terrible as well. He even missed two clutch free throws with less than two minutes to play in the game. This is particularly alarming given Allen is normally one of the best and most consistent free throw shooters in the league.
• The Detroit Pistons get a fair amount of production from their young players. Flip Saunders certainly gets a lot more productivity out of his young blood then Larry Brown ever would have. Jason Maxiell and Rodney Stuckey were excellent tonight, with Maxiell arguably the most productive Piston in the game tonight.
• Rip Hamilton is ugly to watch and has longer fingernails than most girls, but damn he’s quick off the ball. Even a player in as great a physical shape as Ray Allen had a tough time keeping up with him defensively.
• Rondo and Cassell are both playing extremely weak this series. If one of them doesn’t step up and put a couple of good games together, the Pistons might win this series.
• James Posey is a guy I’d love to play with. He does pretty much everything from drawing charges, to bombing long range, to dropping sweet dimes, to even acting as an on and off the court cheerleader. The guy is the ultimate teammate. Probably an underrated part of the Miami championship run in 2006.
• Remember when McDyess was the most explosive player in the NBA? I barely recall anymore either, but the type of player he has transformed into is probably twice as valuable to the Pistons. McDyess has really developed a great all-around game, and is definitely the first real success story of the players robbed of their athleticism by micro fracture knee surgery.
• Chauncey Billups has never made anyone question his nickname of “Mr. Big Shot” The guy flat out hits shots in the clutch, game after game on the biggest stage. He seemingly never takes a bad shot. Great shot selection, great leader, and “King of Clutch.”
Detroit 94, Boston 75.
Series tied 2-2.
Back to the Garden for probably the most important game of the season for either team. For some it will be the most important game of their careers. Who is going to step up?
