Motor City comes to the City of Angels

Detroit Pistons (6-2) at Los Angeles Lakers (7-0)

This sure as hell promises to be an interesting game. Forget for a moment that over the past few seasons, LA has struggled against the Pistons, and look at the smaller, more intriguing stories that exist within the game.
Allen Iverson in a Pistons uniform. There’s a match I bet many of us didn’t think we’d see. The ultimate team concept with the ultimate non-team performer. Don’t get me wrong, Iverson’s a great basketballer – one of the best pure scorers ever… but he is a player who needs volume. AI’s never met a shot he didn’t like (Kobe detractors will point to Kobe now), and whilst Allen was a “good soldier” over in Denver, this is a contract year. I’m pretty certain that AI’s not going to maintain the even keel that Joe Dumars insists upon. For this season to succeed in any capacity, AI’s going to have to fit in with Detroit, not the Pistons fitting in around Allen Iverson.

For quite a while, the Pistons have had the ability to contain Kobe. At least slow him down. And up until recent times, beating the Lakers has been all about ‘containing Kobe’. Do that at your peril now – it’s more a case of pick your poison. There are 5 Lakers averaging double figures thus far. Kobe’s more than happy to pick his time, and he can rack up his 24 avg in very short shrift.

The Lakers. 7-0. Not only the record, but the way they’ve played to that tune. Highest scoring average (104.7) in the league. Lowest opponent average (86.7). Yes, only seven games in, and one thing’s for sure: sooner or later, LA will lose.
I just don’t see it being tomorrow. LA by 12.

It’s LA and [insert winner of East, hell… Boston?]

Sheesh…
Cannot wipe the smile off my face.
The Los Angeles Lakers 100 defeated the San Antonio Spurs 92.
The reigning champions. Gone. Dusted.

The Lakers have a week off before they play the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals – the Detroit Pistons or the Boston Celtics. And does anyone think that’s not going the full seven?
Even with Rip Hamilton out, I still think that the Pistons have enough to get it done in game 6 back in the Palace before heading to the Garden for game 7, where they will ultimately lose.

But the Lake-show… lead by Kobe Bryant with 39 points, the Lakers were very, very good. Ample support at crucial times from other Lakers – most notably Pau Gasol who gave 12 points and a massive 19 rebounds.
Down by 17 in the 2nd quarter, the Lakers fought back and were down by a mere 6 going in at halftime. The next half saw a team that just weren’t to be denied, and although the Spurs made a valiant run, it was not to be. The Lakers simply were the better team… not just on the night, but the better team. Period.

Amazing how far they’ve come, from the pre-season where everything looked uncertain, even down to whether Bryant would still be a Laker. Then through the injury to Bynum, and the exciting, energising addition of Pau Gasol. Through it all, the Lakers persevered, then triumphed. To the point they are now, on the brink of the finals against an as yet undecided opponent.

Honestly? The guy who deserves most of the kudos is not Kobe Bryant, but Mitch Kupchak. Much maligned – by pretty much everyone (including this blog) – Kupchak stood his ground, and held onto both Bynum, and Bryant. He got the steal deal done for Pau Gasol. Pretty much every player on the team is there through Kupchak. It’s unbelievable, but as it stands now, the deal he made for Shaq-to-Miami was fantastic – for the Lakers.

But let’s not forget Kobe… who was… well, Kobe. 39 points, dominating a game that needed to be dominated. He was fantastic. 17 points in the final quarter… Simply, fantastic.

Clearly a guy who has to be thanking his lucky stars that none of his wishes came true last summer, because his dearest wish is within sight.

The Spurs are left wondering what could have been… if Manu was healthy… if they traded for someone younger… if just a few more calls went their way (laugh!)…
They’re aging, and with Manu & Tony playing the Olympics, they could be starting next season tired.

So the Lakers rest until next Thursday, where they will play the winner of the Boston/Detroit series. Even tho’ there are question marks over Rip Hamilton (I say he plays), and Billups is still not 100%… I have the Pistons winning tomorrow’s game 6. Then back to Boston for game 7 on June 1st, where Boston will hold court and win the Eastern Conference Finals.

A return to history, bring on the good ol’ days…

Bring on Boston.

Ummm… Boston?

Err…
Pick a game between Detroit and Boston? Hell, flip a coin.
It’s a best-of-3 series now, and in this situation, you gotta go with the team with home-court advantage.
And that’d be Boston.
I guess I’m tipping the Celtics then.
But tight?
Blowout?
Who the hell knows?
Anyone who tells you that they do know is lying.
Period.

If Boston are going to do anything more, then the big three – including Ray Allen – must step up. Must.
If Detroit are going to get going, then Flip should play Stuckey a little more. And Maxiell. Billups has advantages, but he’s obviously not 100%. He’s not even 75%.
If the Detroit Pistons win this one… forget about it. They will close out in game 6 at home.

Aaagh… would it surprise me for the Pistons to come out and win this? No.
Would it surprise me if the Celtics won this game by 20? No.
How about Boston winning by 3? No surprises there.
Unbelievable.

But picking possible results out of a hat… let’s see… ok, it’s Boston winning by a less-than-7 margin.
And the reasoning behind that is purely feeling. No reason other than a) I have a feeling, and b) Boston were the better team during the season.
That’s all I have, that’s all anyone has… anyone who tells you different is full of it.

It’s not easy, being green

Which Celtics are going to turn up?
The heroes in white?
Or the guys who suck in green?

Hard to tell what has happened to the Celtics this post-season. The regular season juggernaut pretty much ground to a halt on the road and after the loss to the Pistons in Game 2 it looked bad for the Green Machine. Although the game got a little tight in the 4th quarter the reality is that the Cs closed out this game in the 1st quarter and always had it in their keeping. Staring out the game you would have thought the Celtics were playing at home as they showed a decisiveness and ability sadly lacking in road games so far this post-season. Even though I would love to get carried away, proclaim that the beast has been slain, the monkey removed and the Cs on their way to a championship, but there were worrying signs in this game.

1. Rajon Rondo never looked comfortable running the game from the point (5 turnovers, 0 steals) and a number of players seemed to catch his sloppiness, including….
2. Paul Pierce who matched the 5 turnovers. Pierce had a quiet night all round taking just 6 shots for the game.
3. In all, the turnover/steal ratio was 2.5-1 which in most games against the Pistons would be fatal. The Pistons, however, must have gotten lost on the way to the stadium because they looked strangely out of sorts for the most part.
4. Ray Ray hit 5/16 from the field keeping his playoff average at 13.3ppg at just 38.9%.
5. Not a lot off the bench, with the exception of James Posey. Doc basically played with a 7-man rotation with a few minutes thrown at Davis and Cassell. The naysayers have been naysaying all season that the Boston bench isn’t long enough… they might just be right.

Game 4 tips off tonight and I don’t expect the Pistons to be quite so flat this time round. For the Cs to win this game and/or the season here’s what needs to happen.

1. Rondo needs to find his mojo. He has to slow down a step, look after the ball, set the tempo and keep it cool. He has to stop looking like a middle- schooler running with the varsity and get back to where he was in the regular season.
2. As great a season as KG has had, and as great a player as he is, he isn’t Kobe. He isn’t going to get this done by himself, and he needs some of the other guys to step it up a notch. Paul Pierce must be raring to go after a very quiet night by his standards. Look for Pierce to get more looks and get closer to the 20ppg he is averaging throughout the playoffs which KG and the Cs need to see.
3. Take care of the rock dammit!
4. Will the real Ray Allen please stand up! Who do you go to in the final second of a game when you need a basket to win it? Ray Allen because Ray Allen is clutch. Or at least he was….. Ray Ray has to come to play, has to start hitting over 40% and has to be in the high teens, low 20s. If you get a chance have a look at the shot Ray Ray put in with around 4 ticks left in the 4th qtr. He might not be at his best at the moment, but this is an instance of pure shooters ability. The Cs need to see that when it counts.
5. Play the bench Doc, and then the bench has to play.

Both teams now know that they can win on the other team’s floor, but I think we’re going to see the Roger Ramjet (how many of you identified him?) version of the Celtics tonight (rather than the Slimers) and I see them going back to Beantown up 3 – 1.

Game on!

No secret to anyone who’s spent any time here that sometime-commenter/writer Rob is a big fan of the Boston Celtics. This piece was his offering on Boston…

Flyin’ in the face of logic

The game’s just beginning, and Boston’s in the Palace at Auburn Hills.
In the ‘Ray of Hope’ piece, I stated that I thought there was reason for Boston fans to expect better on the road… even tho’ the Palace might just be the hardest place to win left in this season.
And I ‘feel’ that maybe Detroit might disrespect Boston a lil’ tonight.
Ray Allen will have a good game tonight, and the C’s to take it to the Pistons, and win by 7 or less.

You can get game info and talk at AOL Fanhouse’s Live Blog of game 3.

Ray of hope?

Ouch.
Detroit came into the Garden, and put up a resolute game that saw them running out winners 103-97.

But you know what? I think that the Boston Celtics have a lot to be happy about.
Okay, okay… pipe down! Stop laughing – yes, Boston have a reason to still hold their chins high, despite choking this one down.

Boston… remember Boston? Not the team that’s struggled on the road against Atlanta and Cleveland (ok, honestly? They have flat-out sucked anywhere outside of Massachusetts), but the Celtics team that played to a grand total of 66 wins this season. The same team that was the best team on the road in the NBA this season.

The Boston Celtics have been pretty damn good all season – you have to figure the road woes were the anomaly. If Ray Allen has comes back from the dead a la (oh, dare I say it) Jesus-resurrected, then I’d rate them a pretty good chance to win in the Palace…

Detroit were always going to come to play in game 2.
They have a nasty habit of taking nights off, and literally need a slap in the face to wake up. Game one was a nasty backhander, and consider the Pistons out of bed. But despite the finishing score-line, something happened that can give Boston a glimmer of hope, despite having their backs literally to the wall.
Ray Allen stopped doing a pretty passable impersonation of Claude Rains.

In the series versus Atlanta, Ray Allen was fading.
He had 18 points (on 6-from-14 shooting), 15 (6-13), 12 (5-14), 21 (8-14), 19 (6-14), 20 (8-19)… and in game seven started to disappear – 7 points off 3-12 shooting.

Against Cleveland Allen vanished. Games of ZERO (0-4), 16 points (4-10), 10 (4-12), 15 (4-10), 11 (4-11), 9 (3-9), and 4 (1-6)…
This was not what Boston paid for – and certainly not what they got during the regular season.

No matter… Boston had too many pieces to be overcome by either Atlanta or Cleveland, despite Ray Allen’s shooting woes. Game one against Detroit? More of the same: a woeful 9 points off 3 from 10 shooting.

But in game 2, Ray-ray came back after having a pretty average start: and ended up with 25 points off 9-16 shooting – easily his best game of the playoffs.

Boston need Ray Allen to be all he can be. In a three-way interview with Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, they were asked “Who takes the final shot in a close game?”. Allen answered “Whoever’s open.”, but both Pierce and Garnett said “Ray.”… and Ray is clutch.
Garnett isn’t, despite being a Hall of Fame player.
Pierce is becoming so.
But Ray is.
And Boston need Ray to be. Because Doc Rivers couldn’t coach this team to fight their way out of a wet paper bag.

It’s not a given, but if I were a Boston fan, I wouldn’t be feeling as gutted about the game 2 loss as I could be.
Because Ray’s back.
And Boston can now win in Motor-city…
Yes… win in green uniforms.

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

Bawston?

Not a lot of time to go into depth on this one… lots of stuff on (if I get time, I’ll edit & elucidate).
But if there was ever going to be a game that the Pistons could steal, it’d be this one. Woken up, they tend to respond well…
However, this year smells of… destiny.
Boston wins.

Update: Ball Don’t Lie are hosting a Live Blog of Pistons/Celtics deux… never participated in one of their live-blogs… so gonna try it out for size. Your hosts will be Matt Moore, Kelly Dwyer & J.E. Skeets…

And over at AOL Fanhouse too – Live Blog Pistons/Celtics

There Can Only Be One – Garnett/Billups remix

All about respect…

Good Guys vs Bad Guys

And so it begins…

May 20th, the Detroit Pistons will travel to Boston to take on the Boston Celtics. Detroit comes in rested, and well-versed in the struggles that Boston’s had to get to these Eastern Conference Finals. Detroit will be hoping to leave Boston after games 1 and 2 at the very least tied at 1 game-a-piece.
Rasheed, Chauncey, Rip, Tayshaun & co. have all been here before… or so close to the same roster that it hardly makes a difference. If any squad knows what it’s all about, this one’s it.

Boston… has there ever been such a short-odds favourite that’s struggled so mightily to get to the Eastern Conference? Talk about a difficult endeavor…
And without a doubt – Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen & Paul Pierce realise that they have a window of limited opportunity. Each one of them are on the downside of their better years, and it weighs heavily on each of them that they’ve never won a title. And they There’s no jewelery for these excellent players… at least, not yet.

So, can Detroit steal the opener? Can they get it done against Boston – a team that looked nigh on invulnerable during the regular season, but has looked like Superman with a kryptonite necklace when in green uniforms… ?
No. Not game one. Maybe game two – and we can re-appraise that one post the first – but in game 1 the Celtics are at home, and riding a wave of adrenalin.
First blow, Celtics.

…

And how ’bout them Spurs?
Sigh…
Even tho’ the Spurs were my pick, I was hoping for the Hornets (a. more entertaining, b. better match-up for the Lakers!). I guess I should feel vindicated with picking the Spurs to win in 7, but I don’t. I feel cheated. The good news is that New Orleans will be around for years to come.
I wonder how many people will be in favour of a Celtics/LA final? It’s the more entertaining option.
Another Detroit/San Antonio finals? Ecch… I just vomited in my mouth. Just a lil’.

It’s funny that as a Laker-fan, there’ll be quite a few people cheering for LA against San Antonio…
Afterall, this time, LA’s the good guys.

No Road Warriors

Sooner or later, someone’s going to lose a home game… surely there’s a team (besides Detroit) that can win on the road.
For my money, I like LA in game 6 at Utah… and San Antonio in game 7 in New Orleans. Boston goes the distance.

Why?
A very good question. Nothing we’ve seen between San Antonio & New Orleans would indicate any reversal of fortune. And LA/Utah’s been very even.

With regards to the Spurs, I’m not sure I have anything beyond a gut-feeling… I could offer sound reasoning: they have won when they’ve needed to, and the Spurs are simply The Spurs, and historically have been able to win big games. Or that Gregg Popovich is one of only 2 or 3 truly great coaches in the NBA today… but any offered thought process would be to deny the truth: that it’s a visceral reaction.
And it’s not any more difficult than that – nothing can explain the massive turn-arounds thus far this series – home advantage does not equate to a 50 point differential from one court to another.

The Lakers are a different story.
I’m not sure why there’s the huge song-&-dance over Utah’s win in both games 3 and 4. Both were LA’s for the taking, and I’d even go so far as to say that (like game 5 for the Jazz) the Lakers lost them, rather than the Jazz won them.
Yes, the physicality that the Jazz bring to the court is a huge reason why they’ve been so successful over the years… but it’s also one of the main reasons that they won’t win a championship until they develop a little more finesse.
Kobe’s back was good enough to guide the Lakers to a victory in game 5, and the opportunity to get a little more rest prior to the Western Conference Finals will certainly help. In both game 3 & 4, Lakers not named Bryant were far more passive than I’ve seen them at any point this season. Game 5 saw those same Lakers win the game. Game 6 will be the same, and the main reason why the Lakers win their first on the road this series.
Or maybe it’s just bias.

Cleveland are excused – there is an obvious gap between them & Boston – when Boston’s at home.

Boston… talk about an enigma. At least with the Spurs/Hornets they were close in performance/results all year. Nothing can explain the difficulties that the Celtics are experiencing in opponent’s houses. Quite simply, it’s in their heads. But unless they figure it out, it’s a huge flaw in that team.

Why is this happening? Why are teams – good teams – struggling to win on the road?
The answer is that every team still in the competition is flawed. Every team has a hang-up that an opponent can at least attempt to exploit.
Who will win it all? The team that best exploits their opponent’s flaws whilst covering their own. Obvious?
Perhaps.
But only once has any team’s managed to do it for an away game thus far in the Conference semi-finals.
Whether anyone can remains to be seen.