Diesel Fuels a Boston Comeback

The reason I stressed the importance of putting the Pistons down early is because they feed off of momentum, especially when they're motivated to beat a superior team like the Celtics. Since the C's played casually and without energy for the first three quarters of the game, Detroit kept the game close and actually had an 8 point lead in the fourth quarter. Luckily the Celtics are resilient, and finally showed signs of life in the fourth, sparked by Shaq's hustle on his way to Boston's only double-double in the game. Paul Pierce had a relatively quiet 22 points, but he and Rondo kept the Celtics in it while a 15-27 Pistons' team played hard and appeared to be the better team on the floor for much of the game. However, Shaq's offensive rebounding and dives for loose balls turned the game around in the fourth, as the Celtics had their best quarter with 28 points and Ray Allen made a very clutch long jump shot after a timeout to put the game away after shooting just 1-7 from the field prior to the shot. Had the Celtics just played harder from the start, they would not have had to rely on a fourth quarter comeback and 38 year old Shaq diving to the floor and putting his health on the line in order to beat this mediocre Pistons' team. Perhaps the only guy playing with any energy last night aside from Shaq was his backup, rookie Semih Erden.

Erden may have dropped a pass or two that would have led to easy buckets, but he did manage to pull in four big rebounds and score 6 points on 3-4 shooting in just 17 minutes played. Also, his one miss was a bounding hook shot in which two Pistons were hanging off of him, but the refs refused to call a foul on the play. There is no denying that even though there may be better athletes in the NBA, very few of them have the energy, basketball IQ, and ability to control the paint that Erden does. He loves to contest every shot he can get his hands near, which results in a lot of opposing misses, and Erden boxes out his man, gets rebounds, and throws quick outlet passes to his guards which lead to fast breaks against defenses that are caught off guard. In his 17 minutes, Erden not only managed to score some points and pull down some boards, but also got a block, an assist, and a team high plus/minus rating of +9. The Turkish rookie does all the little things right, and I still love seeing him get opportunities to get on the court.

Give some credit to the Pistons. Even though the Celtics were lacking the energy that typically gets them wins, Rodney Stuckey and Greg Monroe were making some big shots for them, and were truly the difference makers for their team. Tracy McGrady also had a consistent presence on the court with 7 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 steals, but shot just 2-9 from the field. His missed jumpers opened the door for the Celtics' comeback, and had he shot better like he did when they faced off in Detroit three weeks ago, the Pistons probably would have won this game. Detroit played some tight defense in order to hold Boston's high powered offense to just 86 points, and were doing a lot of switching on defense in order to keep Ray Allen from having any open jump shots. Luckily for the Celtics, the Pistons continued to keep their leader and sharp shooter Rip Hamilton benched for this game, even though the Carmelo Anthony trade has allegedly fallen through, which means that Hamilton has missed five consecutive games for no genuine reason. Pistons' coach John Kuester could sure use a lesson from Doc Rivers about the importance of team chemistry.

Out For Revenge

When the Celtics and Pistons faced off in Detroit three weeks ago, Kevin Garnett left the game with a calf injury and the Pistons went on to win against a deflated Celtics' team. The Pistons tend to play some of their best basketball against the Celtics, as last time around former NBA star Tracy McGrady was making clutch jumpers like the Tracy McGrady of old, and point guard Rodney Stuckey was running the offense for them very effectively. Also, big man Charlie Villanueva, who had that "cancer patient" dispute with KG earlier this season, loves to knock down long jumpers, so the Celtics need to make sure they get off to a fast start and put the Pistons down big early on in the game. This Detroit team is struggling right now, despite coming off a win against the slumping Dallas Mavericks on Monday, and has a miserable 4-17 record on the road while the Celtics have a 19-3 record at home and are looking for their fourth consecutive win. Garnett will be out to seek revenge for the injury that the Pistons gave him which caused him to miss nine games, and look for him to energize the Celtics, help Boston put up a lot of points in the first half, and lead a defense that needs to clamp down early on the inconsistent Detroit offense. They are capable of playing the playoff worthy basketball that Detroit used to always play, but lack consistency and leadership, and will implode if Boston can put them down big early on.

Boston should have no major issues in running their offense effectively tonight, as Rondo, Shaq, and the Big Three should all have ample opportunity to score against a Detroit defense that can be easily be penetrated and broken down to the point where they essentially stop contesting shots. Part of the reason for this is that longtime Detroit scorer Rip Hamilton has been getting benched every game recently while the Pistons prepare to trade him as part of the three team deal that would supposedly send Carmelo Anthony to the Nets. Hamilton and his teammates have expressed great frustration with their coach over this matter. Also, Detroit is not as athletic as they used to be, and typically don't get the huge blocks and clutch steals that were associated with Pistons' defense during their reign as the beasts of the Eastern Conference. Boston should be able to penetrate them with relative ease on offense, while clamping down and sucking the life out of them on defense. If you can get a lead on the Pistons early, then McGrady, Stuckey, and Villanueva won't make the big shots that keep Detroit in the game like they did three weeks ago when the Celtics lost Garnett, and then played sloppy basketball for the rest of the game. Boston should have a very well rounded attack on offense, and expect a ton of open threes from Ray Allen and a bunch of strong drives to the hoop from Paul Pierce. Also, the Celtics need to limit the impact that rookie center Greg Monroe makes on the game for the Pistons.

The Pistons only recently moved Monroe into their starting lineup, and the athletic rookie big man has proved he can be a huge difference maker with his size, athleticism, defense, and rebounding. Having KG back will be huge for the Celtics on the boards, but Monroe is great at hunting down offensive rebounds and finishing the play with an easy bucket. The Pistons are still relatively easy to stop, especially when they're on the road, and clamping down on them early should get Boston the win tonight. Also, no matter how effective Monroe proves to be on offense, Shaq and Garnett should have no problem getting underneath him for easy buckets and trips to the foul line when he's on defense, as this athletic rookie will not be able to stop the very big and very strong all star pair of big men in Boston's starting lineup.