At Boston Dec. 19th, 7:30 PM TV 20 Detroit, ESPN Is this a preview of the EC Finals? It very well could be. "The Big Three" are well known for their offensive prowess, however, Boston is leading the NBA in points allowed (87) and opponents FG% (41%). Ray Allen is expected back to play in this game.
Sheed and or Rip will most likely both get T-d up in this one. I expect two or more of our starters to go to the bench early in the first quarter with two fouls, especially if we get ahead by any decent amount. This is a nationally televised game in Boston. Take the normal NBA home court advantage and add 5 + points to the Celtics for the games location and media venue.
sadly i agree with you, but... i also see this as a game that we should show up to play the whole 48 and if they keep there heads from the bogus calls we all know that will show up I think we have a chance. Even better.... somehow wouldn't it be cool after a big man gets in trouble that a certain player makes his national splash.... Ok probably won't happen but should would be a great game for AJ to make a huge impression.
Yes we have a chance because we have talent and experience and our guys will be up for this one. We will also be well rested. I think it would be interesting to see AJ go up against KG, though as much as I like AJ, I think KG might take him to school at this point in AJ's career, but one never knows until after the ball gets tossed up.
My biggest worry is that Pistons have 2 days off. They usually don't play well after breaks like this.
The Celts are now the best defensive team. At least the numbers say so. I know they are known for their "Big Three", but I think the true leader of this team is KG. We need to get him out of the game either literally by putting him in foul trouble or by exhausting him making him play lot of defence. This will be Rasheed’s main task and I think J max can have part of this. I am not worried about the other two if we managed to deal with KG
Again a well-oiled machine - The Boston Globe It seems that pistons is not only team, who has problem how to share minutes, that "boston globe" article mentions that spurs had to trade beno udrih (shining in sactown now) b/c there wasn't sufficient minutes for beno.
The Celtics are on a 9 game winning streak. Stern and the media would love to keep it going and going. From a financial perspective it is great for the league to have the Celtics on top again. Go Pistons
I completely get that you're no Celtic fan, but do you honestly think it's that close? That there's a "one never knows" involved?
Tay was downplaying it in the interview after the GS game. He said that it isn't a statement game, they are just going to try to have fun. Not a bad attitude, but a statement would be nice too. I'm curious to see if Boston's league leading defense will affect us, or if we have one too many mismatches for them. Sheed and Dyess need to get KG out of the paint.
This is a game where starting Dyess can pay really big dividends. KG is marginally better than Sheed, but Dyess is miles ahead of Perkins. I worry about Tay, Tay plays has been playing really soft as of late when he has to guard a premiere player. When Tay plays like the cowardly lion, Billups and Hamilton make it a point to try and carry more of the load, which for us is never a good thing.
If Tay can neutralize Paul P. and get 7 pts it's a big win for us. 4 or less and he's off his rocker.
Max will be the key in this game, along with Afflalo and Jarvis. This is the game where Hayes comes out of his slump, Afflalo provides the defense and hustle he usually does; we win this one going away. Doc Rivers will have no answer for Max. In other words, if our bench produces, the Pistons win!!!!!!!
Ray Allen has an ankle injury and is supposed to be back for this but it looks like they are runshing him back so who knows how effective he will be. He played on for about 2 weeks prior with noticable effects.
We have been to the ECF 5 years in a row. Ray Allen is having a pretty mediocre year. The Celtics have only played one game west of Cleveland so far and that was in Chicago, which they won. We have a more balanced starting five and a better bench. Rondo is playing very well for them and they do have a couple of real legitimate 3 point threats coming off the bench. Baby Shaq is coming on nicely and probably playing better at this time then most people thought he would. They have a better team then I thought they would because they have some guys other than the big 3 who contribute night in and night out. Having said that the key to them is KG. There is no doubt about that. Our chance of beating them I believe lies in Sheeds ability to if not neutralize KG at least to reduce his performance enough. If Uncle Sheed can defend KG and cause him to have a sub par performance against us then yes I believe that we can beat them, though with the NBA and the media wanting them to be in the Finals, because it would bring tens of millions if not hundreds of millions of extra funds to the NBA over the next 5 years or so it will be tough for us to keep them out of the Finals unless one of their big 3 is out for the playoffs against us and even more so if it looks like he wouldn't return if they made it to the Finals, thereby diminishing their marketing value for the NBA.
