ECF Game 1 Celtics vs Pistons Tues May 20 8:30PM tv :ESPN Well, here it is. Series starts in Boston. More to follow
This is a game Pistons can win. They have to be ready and play hard and try to speed up the tempo a bit. Boston did look tired and Pistons will be well rested coming off that 5-gamer against Magic.
Normally, I woulda said Celtics in 7, but the first two series Boston has played have been less than stellar. They, like the Pistons, have some old dudes in the starting lineup. I wonder if fatigue will be a factor. I hope Billups is back to 100 percent because he will need to abuse Rondo, if Doc plays a lot of Rondo, which might not be a good idea for the C's. With any series, I want to see the Pistons get out and run. Their half-court offense plays right into the C's defensive mindset.
Ok, guys all this run and gun stuff is going overboard if you ask me. The Pistons need to play like what got them here, run when the opputunity presents itself. If the Celtics are as tired as we think/hope they are, they will produce about 15 +turns in game 1. Detroit needs to turn those into about 14-20 points. Nice crisp ball movement on offense will also create easy scoring oppurtunities, making the C`s move on defense, thus making them exhausted by the 2nd half!
Nobody is talking about run and gun, as it is not really Pistons game. But they do have to make some opportunities bringing the tempo up here and there and tiring out Boston team.
Exactly. Celts will be fatigued. Why let them set up in half-court D the entire game? Celts will probably miss plenty of shots. Play a 94-foot game instead of a 25-foot game once in a while.
How long has it been since the Pistons were considered the underdogs? This series is going to kick ass.
The key to beating the Celts is to match their energy early. They want to put you away in the 1st or the 3rd. If you match their energy, they tend to wilt. My biggest concern with our team this year is that Sheed and Dice are 33 and to some extent Billips 31. We are on the older edge. But we are younger than the Celts at key positions. Tay and Rip are in their young prime. Stuckey and Maxiel are live bodies. We are more athletic than they are. They needed a big contribution from 38 year old Brown. The key to me is matching their energy. Then our youth, depth and athleticism should take hold. This looks like the Lakers 2004 series. Stay with them, Stay with them and good things should happen... On strategy, we have to get out on Garnett. Sheed has been slow to go out and cover but you have to do that and make him work. He then will tire in the 4th. No Le Bron thank goodness. We have to make a conceted effort on Garnett. No easy looks.
I am so excited to see the Pistons play this series. They've known all year that this was THE series to win and play, and I think we'll be seeing everyone's A game.
They should be tired and we should be refreshed. Perfect recipe for an early steal on the road. Have to win at least one of them.
So i read that Dyess is starting which was expected from Flip and stupid . . . which also means he will finish games. I look forward to our pick and roll defense.
On the other hand lp, Antonio pulls KG out of the paint and keeps him from roaming on the perimeter defensively as well. Both of these things KG does as well as any big in the league, so you would like to have a shooter in there to keep him honest. I didn't like McDyess starting in the first two rounds, and I wouldn't like him starting against Cleveland, but for this series I think it is a solid call.
I don't neccessarily have a problem with the starting thing, just the fact that he's a starter makes it mandatory that he has to be in at crunch time. I really want to see Max finishing games just for the sole purpose of him (besides Amir) being our best option on that play they run with PP. And i also want to see Sheed on KG when it counts. Garnett is a choker, but i don't trust Dyess' one-on-one defense at all. The advantage that Dyess does have is he's been a beast of a rebounder, but is that the product of ORL playing a two SF's or ? . . .
before POs I predicted that: C's - 1.round 4-0, 2. 4-1, 3. 4-2 and for pistons 1. 4-1, 2. 4-2, 3. OK, I predicted a loss for them but at the same time I secretly hoped that maybe somehow...with some luck... Well, C's game has downgraded so pistons in six now. And, please, no Amir in this series: KG eates him alive. IIRC, against of amir KG scored more than 10 pts in 10 or minutes, and those were easy bunnies for KG. Against of sheed-dice KG has to work hard atleast. Maxi's time depends totally how much energy he has, he is not more than 20 min per game player.
Wonder if Flip will use AA to spot Tay a breather and use him to guard Pierce. He is not going to stop Pierce, just slow him down a bit. Though if Pierce gets hot like yesterday, there is no way to check him. He was hittin everything.
I think this is a good move, anakin. They need to make Pierce work, that's for sure. AA is a guy that can make that happen. Flip needs to play the guy. I worry that Flip, given that this is the ECF, will rely more on the starters and vets, rather than putting the best team out there.
I've been waiting for this one too. It will be great if we can steal one in Boston and put all of the pressure on the Celts.
Ever notice that Tay starts a lot of sentences with the word "obviously" From boston.com Said Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince, "Obviously, by them having a great regular season, everybody expected them to be there. I think people expected us to be in the Eastern Conference finals just because of what we've done in previous years. I guess this is what everybody wanted."
