I do like how Allen, Garnett, and Pierce played tonight. Though it wasn't enough because of how their benched played. Also RODNEY STUCKEY tore it up.
Exactly, If Rondo plays like he tonight then they have no hope, Eddie House doesn't have the ball skills to take on guys like Rip or Chauncey. Can't really rely on Sam Cassel because when he is in the game its shoot first and he is worst on defense than Ray Allen.
Yeah Afflalo is impressive to me. I guess he just hasn't cracked the bench rotation yet. They believe he can be the next Rip and I believe so too.
All I have to say is WAY TO GO DETROIT BABY!!!! Now the Celtics must win at least one on the road to win this series. Way to Detroit! Lets Go Pistons baby!
Boston has better players, Detroit has a better team. The Celtics lack of depth might come back to haunt them now. They absolutely HAVE to win a game in Detroit to stay in this now.
If you havn't noticed, I'm new here. Signed up about a week ago. Secondly, I'm a Knicks fan.. not too much pumping of the chest or playoff talk for me. Just love to see Boston sports teams lose.
Boston lacks a true Floor general. Rondo isn't ready for the playoffs he makes to many stupid mistakes. So many times he is wide open and passes it or he drives all the way though the lane only to kick it out. How many times did Boston run the whole 24 seconds and make a stupid choice?
Too many. He's outclassed badly. This series is why Cassell was brought in IMO. Rivers needs to have him in to counter Billups strength.
The problem with Cassel is when he came off the bench he was a shoot first guy. He would force shots and create his own shots. Now I think he would be better than House if you put him in early in the 3rd or 4th.
Let's not get carried away. I've yet to hear anyone compare Afflalo to Rip Hamilton. The only thing they have in common is that they play guard for the Pistons. Afflalo doesn't have half the jump shot that Hamilton does. If you want to compare him to a player on the Pistons, a larger version of Lindsey Hunter is probably closer to the truth: Afflalo will be a defensive specialist in the pros. Well, Boston won game 1 in large part because Rondo played Billups to a draw. Maybe even outplayed him. They lost game 2 in part because he stunk up the joint. So yeah, there's more than a little truth to what you say. Man, I love that kid. Stuckey was absolutely awesome, and the experience he got in the Orlando series is proving valuable. He's not the least bit afraid to take it right to the hoop or take a big shot. And yes, if you'd said that Boston's New Big Three would be clicking, and they were at home, I would have all but handed the game to Boston. But Detroit's backcourt was absolutely awesome, and Antonio McDyess continues to provide some quality offense. As for hailing Allen as being back on his game...let's wait and see. He certainly helped his cause and his failing confidence, but one game does not a hot streak make. If I were Doc Rivers, I would chain Cassel to the bench at this point. Rondo's very up and down, but he's still better than Cassel, and more to the point, by pulling Rondo in favor of Cassel, it kills Rondo's confidence. One other thing: in game 1, Detroit was giving Rondo the open jumpers, and he was making them. Last night, they didn't give him those "dare" shots (as in, "I dare you to take that 3 pointer"). Generally, Detroit's defense was much more aggressive than in game 1. That was also a big difference. Yes, the Big Three played well, but they're always going to get points even against a good defense. Pierce and Garnett both made several tough fallaway shots against A+ defense (Garnett got away with a pushoff on one, but that's besides the point). That's life. But Detroit's good enough that the Celtics can't beat them just by getting a good performance from Allen, Garnett and Pierce. Someone else has to score, and last night, no one else did.
Oh, and I should add that I've ripped Flip Saunders before, but he gets a gold star for his work last night. Saunders did a first rate job of coaching; his timeouts were well timed, his bench rotation made sense and kept guys in the flow, he got his players to play aggressive, belligerent defense, and he made some sweet play calls at the right time. The inbounds play where Billups got an open layup was a thing of beauty.
30 point blowout. I think the Spurs were still reeling from game 1. It will be interesting to see how they respond in San Antonio. Their faces on the bench infer that they look defeated, but who knows. I thought that the Luke Walton three at the end wasn't needed. They were up by 27 with less than 10 seconds to go. I know he was up against the shot clock, but it seemed excessive. I wouldn't be surprised if some Spurs players took exception with him chucking that up.
I thought it wasn't needed but it's not like the Spurs needed any other points for motivation. I know they're going to come out strong in San Antonio but it will be up to the Lakers to respond in kind. It's not like we're the Hornets. We're got the veterans who've been to these situations before.
Dont put too much stock into the first two games. The Hornets blew them out the first two games and we saw what happened there. The game is going to completely different in S.A.
True, I expect more of a battle but San Antonio looks tired to me. Pop doesn't do well against Phil in the playoffs and he seems to no want ot break that trend in this series either. The worst part for the Spurs? L.A. just got tougher defensively. Trevor Ariza is back and I expect him to get more minutes with each passing game. Manu is gonna have fits if they pair up.
Big game tonight. I'm actually in Boston for the weekend visiting a friend and we're heading to a bar up in Cambridge, MA which is right across the river from Boston so I'm sure its going to be an interesting night. If the Pistons win this game, and Monday's game, this series is OVER. Lets Go Pistons!
Saunders > Rivers. I'm not a huge Saunders fan either but I'd hire him before Rivers without hesitation.
Well there was alot of non calls in the game. They let each team get away with quite a bit. The Agressor though got away with more.
Hamilton is losing alot of respect from me. First the Elbow, then the horrendous Jersey pull, now that hold on KG that got him his second foul. WE got a Bruce Bowen in the making.
God Boston ****ing blows. Doc Rivers is the worst coach I have ever seen. They played like they were up by 100 going into the 4th! their not even rushing bringing up the floor. Their not being agressive like they were in the 2nd and 3rd. Props to Detriot for not quiting and being so damn agressive. If they played like this the whole game Boston would be down 15-20.
If Detriot was agressive on KG like they were in the 4th No way Boston would have had such a huge lead.
Finally a win on the road and it comes when they needed it most after losing at home. They were to complacent in the 4th which allowed Detroit to get within 10 which should have never happened.
