Should the Cs lose Wednesday and take the 3 seed?

[the_Bird]

Without tanking, I'd prefer playing Orlando over Detroit. Rip Hamilton gives Ray Allen major fits.

Yeah, but what about AI trying to defend Rondo?

The worry about Orlando is Howard; Perk plays him as well as anyone in the League, but what happens if Perk lands in foul trouble?  I'm not confident in any of our other bigs to slow him down.  I don't think we should have trouble beating either team, but I'll take my chances with Detroit first.

[Lucky17]

Who's to say we don't get the 3 and Detroit the 7, and they go on to beat the Magic and we face off with them in the 2nd round?

The point is, when you are defending champs you can't be afraid of any team.  That is the one mental edge we should have on every other team in the league.

I would expect the playoffs to unfold exactly that way: Detroit would beat Orlando in the 1st, and we would face them in the 2nd round. I would also expect us to beat Detroit in a 7 game series.

My point is not that we should be afraid of Detroit. It's that it's to our advantage that Detroit faces Orlando or Cleveland in the 1st round, because Detroit can win either of those matchups (yes, even against Cleveland).

I dont think detroit without billups has a shot in hell of beating clevland.

orlando they could easily suprise and beat though.

Detroit is in Orlando's head, in a bad way. I'd expect the Magic to crumble under the pressure of a playoff series against the Pistons.

Provided they are at full strength and healthy, I do think Detroit has a puncher's chance of beating the Cavs in a series. The Pistons have the better frontcourt rotation, both offensively and defensively. It would come down to Prince's ability to manage LeBron's impact on the game and, relatedly, whose backcourt plays better.

[bruinsandceltics]

Who's to say we don't get the 3 and Detroit the 7, and they go on to beat the Magic and we face off with them in the 2nd round?

The point is, when you are defending champs you can't be afraid of any team.  That is the one mental edge we should have on every other team in the league.

I would expect the playoffs to unfold exactly that way: Detroit would beat Orlando in the 1st, and we would face them in the 2nd round. I would also expect us to beat Detroit in a 7 game series.

My point is not that we should be afraid of Detroit. It's that it's to our advantage that Detroit faces Orlando or Cleveland in the 1st round, because Detroit can win either of those matchups (yes, even against Cleveland).

I dont think detroit without billups has a shot in hell of beating clevland.

orlando they could easily suprise and beat though.

Detroit is in Orlando's head, in a bad way. I'd expect the Magic to crumble under the pressure of a playoff series against the Pistons.

Provided they are at full strength and healthy, I do think Detroit has a puncher's chance of beating the Cavs in a series. The Pistons have the better frontcourt rotation, both offensively and defensively. It would come down to Prince's ability to manage LeBron's impact on the game and, relatedly, whose backcourt plays better.

Detroit doesn't have a better backcourt or frontcourt than Cleveland. If they did they wouldn't be in 7th and Cleveland wouldn't be in 1st.

[bruinsandceltics]

Either way, I don't care who we play in the first round. We are the  best team in the league when healthy. We can beat anybody and I'd much rather beat the best then back into the finals.

[Lucky17]

3) Philly is a better team than Detroit, especially without Brand.  There's at least a realistic shot that Philly will overtake Miami for the #5 seed, meaning that we'd be stuck playing D. Wade in the first round if we ended up at #3.

Philly's sched during the last two weeks of the season is tough, including 5 of their last 7 games on the road. I don't think they can beat Miami for the #5 seed, unless the Heat keep Wade benched for extended minutes.

But more to the point, the Sixers are a pretty inconsistent ballclub, and pretty thin to boot. I don't see how they'll win a playoff series, regardless of whomever they draw in the 1st round.

[Lucky17]

Detroit doesn't have a better backcourt or frontcourt than Cleveland. If they did they wouldn't be in 7th and Cleveland wouldn't be in 1st.

Pistons start Sheed and McDyess. Cleveland has Z and then either the offensively inept Wallace, the slightly less offensively challenged Varejao, or Joe Smith. Maxiell can match Varejao's activity and rebounding.

And it's not about who had the better regular season. All that matters is the head-to-head matchup in a best-of-seven series.

[illantari]

On a vaguely related note, it would make me really happy to see the last three seeds get shaken up a bit.  For instance, I would like to see Chicago move into the 7 seed so we can get them in the first round.  Detroit can magically slip to 8 and give the Cavs a fight in the first (don't really think Chi or Philly would give them much resistance) and Philly can go run with the Magic.  Probably won't happen, but it's a nice fantasy to have.

[Celtics17]

Ha ha ha ha. What we really should do is bench the starting 5 and rest them until the end of the season thereby dropping us down to the 8th seed. From there we could just eliminate Cleveland right away that way we don't have to worry about them so long.

[youcanthandlethetruth113]

Never, NEVER throw a game. Its just bad karma.

Yup. I totally agree. And if we're trying to throw a reg season game in an effort to avoid the Pistons then we're in trouble. We killed the Pistons in the Conference finals last year. I was at the Palace for our first playoff road win and it was SPECTACULAR. It was such a sha-lack-ing and that was when they had their former Fianls MVP B-B-B-Billups with them. Now they have Iverson who has ruined team chemistry and team defense. I say bring on the Pistons! Not only because I'm not scared of them, but because I could drive 4 hours and catch the game rather cheap lol.

[wdleehi]

Just play to win the game and be healthy for the playoffs.

[TatteredOnMySleeve]

The question may have been worded wrong, but it's still legitimate.

Personally, I see no reason to jeopardize the health of Garnett (or any of our other key players) to win in Orlando tomorrow night. If we lose, so be it.

Not playing Detroit in the first round means either Cleveland or Orlando has to. And rumors of the Pistons demise are *greatly* exaggerated. I defy any team to play without 3 all-star caliber players and remain above .500. They will be the toughest team to match up against in the first round, because of their talent, experience, physicality, and depth.

Whoever draws Detroit the first round had better be ready for war.

How has Detroits demise been exaggerated? i disagree with that..there demise has been coming year after year, and pretty much hit a boiling point last year when we beat them, and they lost in the ecf for like the 4th straight year...then they traded billups and have gone further down the drain. we actually matchup with detroit very well, and basically own them..we've won in detroit 5 times in the last 2 seasons. that team doesnt have enough focus , drive, or athletisicm to win a 7 game series against this celtics team.. just wouldnt happen
The pistons could beat orlando(they own them), so thats be the only logical reasoning in avoiding them, other then that  I think most of their guys are probably looking forward to vacation

[twinbree]

Everyone is going to be fired up to play the champs in the playoffs anyway so it probably doesn’t really matter who they play. All they need to be is healthy and focused.
My fervent (and delusional) hope is that the teams fighting for the 5th-8th spots remember how gracious the Celtics have been compared to the other top teams. Let me see they’ve lost to the Heat, Pistons, Bulls, Bobcats, Bucks, Knicks, and Pacers. How better to say thanks for giving us one in the W column for the playoff push than rolling over and helping the Cs cruise to the next round? 

[Lucky17]

The question may have been worded wrong, but it's still legitimate.

Personally, I see no reason to jeopardize the health of Garnett (or any of our other key players) to win in Orlando tomorrow night. If we lose, so be it.

Not playing Detroit in the first round means either Cleveland or Orlando has to. And rumors of the Pistons demise are *greatly* exaggerated. I defy any team to play without 3 all-star caliber players and remain above .500. They will be the toughest team to match up against in the first round, because of their talent, experience, physicality, and depth.

Whoever draws Detroit the first round had better be ready for war.

How has Detroits demise been exaggerated? i disagree with that..there demise has been coming year after year, and pretty much hit a boiling point last year when we beat them, and they lost in the ecf for like the 4th straight year...then they traded billups and have gone further down the drain. we actually matchup with detroit very well, and basically own them..we've won in detroit 5 times in the last 2 seasons. that team doesnt have enough focus , drive, or athletisicm to win a 7 game series against this celtics team.. just wouldnt happen
The pistons could beat orlando(they own them), so thats be the only logical reasoning in avoiding them, other then that  I think most of their guys are probably looking forward to vacation

Firstly, the phrase is an allusion to an apocryphal Mark Twain quote.

Secondly, you make my point: this is the same core team, minus Billups, that has made it to the ECF for the past several years running. They know playoff basketball. If they are healthy, and Iverson accepts his 6th man role, the Pistons will again be a tough out.

I'm not sure where people are getting the idea that I think Detroit beats us in the 1st round. I want to avoid playing them so they have the opportunity to knock off Cleveland or Orlando. I've said this repeatedly, and will again:

I want to avoid playing the Pistons in the first round so that Cleveland or Orlando has to.

[twentythree9]

NO.

But the more appropriate question is, coming down the wire, if by resting key players and losing games we could become the third seed and force a match-up between Orlando with Detroit, would you do it?

There are certain match-ups that just don't work well for certain teams, and Detroit has been Orlando's kryptonite!  Arugment being, you let those two beat each other up before (assuming Boston advances) you play either team.

[dark_lord]

dont throw games, its bad karma.  not to mention the seedings are up for grabs and nothing is set in stone at this point, accept for maybe the cavs having the 1st seed