ECF Game 1 Pistons at Celtics 5/20 8:30 PM ESPN

[FLCeltsFan]

  at 

Detroit Pistons (0-0, 8-3) at Boston Celtics (0-0, 8-6)
Eastern Conference Finals, Game 1
Tuesday, May 20
8:30 PM  ET
ESPN
TD Banknorth Garden 



Probable Starters

PG: Rajon Rondo   PPG 11.1 RPG 4.10 APG 6.6 EFF + 15.64
SG:  Ray Allen  PPG 12.7 RPG 3.40 APG 2.7 EFF + 11.50
SF:  Paul Pierce     PPG 18.7 RPG 4.80 APG 4.1 EFF + 16.50
PF:  Kevin Garnett   PPG 20.3 RPG 9.90 APG 3.5 EFF + 26.00
C:  Kendrick Perkins   PPG 6.3 RPG 5.70 APG 0.6 EFF + 10.29
(playoff statistics)

Off the Bench:
Eddie House,  James Posey, Leon Powe,  Big Baby Davis, Tony Allen,   PJ Brown, Sam Cassell

Injuries
Scott Pollard, ankle, out

Inactive
Brian Scalabrine, Gabe Pruitt




Probable Starters

PG:  Chauncey Billups  PPG 15.8 RPG 3.10 APG 5.7 EFF + 16.33 
SG:  Rip Hamilton  PPG 21.5 RPG 4.80 APG 3.7 EFF + 18.18     
SF:  Tayshaun Prince   PPG 16.0 RPG 6.20 APG 3.4 EFF + 19.00     
PF:  Antonio McDyess    PPG 7.5 RPG 6.50 APG 1.1 EFF + 12.09   
C:  Rasheed Wallace      PPG 13.9 RPG 6.00 APG 1.6 EFF + 14.91 

Off the Bench
Jason Maxiel,  Arron Afflalo, Linsdey Hunter, Jarvis Hayes,  Walter Hermann, Rodney Stuckey,  Theo Ratiliff, Juan Dixon

Injuries
None

Inactive
Amir Johnson, Cheikh Samb

Key Matchups
  vs   
Rajon Rondo vs Chauncey Billups
In the first matchup between these two teams, Billups out played Rondo and the Pistons won by 2 points on free throws by Billups.  In their second meeting in January, Billups still out played Rondo but the Celtic won the game.  In March, in their 3rd and final matchup,  Rondo out played Billups and the Celtics again won.  As in the last 2 series, the point guard matchup is going to be an important one and hopefully Rondo can build on his success in the regular season to play Billups tough on the defensive end and use his speed to get the better of the matchup on the offensive end. 


  vs     
Kevin Garnett vs Antonio McDyess
This  may be the most favorable of the matchups for the Celtics.  McDyess is not one of the Pistons' big scorers and so KG won't have spend as much effort on the defensive end.  KG has a height advantage over McDyess and so should be able to get his shot off over him.

Honorable Mention
Paul Pierce vs Tayshaun Prince
Pierce struggled at times against the defense of LeBron James in the last series but came up big for the Celtics when they needed him in game 7.  It won't get any easier for Pierce in this series as Prince is one of the better defensive players in the league and has played Pierce very well in the past.  Pierce averaged just 15 points against the Pistons in the regular season and Prince will look to play him even tougher in the playoffs.  On the other hand, Prince is not the scorer that LeBron is and so he should have an easier time on the defensive end. 

Keys to the Game
Keep their Composure.  The Pistons have been one of the best defensive teams in the league for years and their defense was the key to their recent championships.  At times the Celtics tend to lose their composure and forget their game plan when they are pressured by teams defensively.   They have to keep their composure and play their game and not let the Pistons' defense get to them. 

Defense   It is certain that the Pistons will be playing tough defense in this game and the Celtics need to match their defensive intensity.  This will be a grind it out series where both teams will have to work for anything they get.  The Celtics need to continue the aggressive defense that got them the best regular season record and that has gotten them to this point.   

Hustle and Aggressiveness The Celtics must come out strong and not let up or the Pistons will take advantage of any weakness they may show.  The team that hustles more for rebounds and loose balls and the team that is more aggressive taking the ball to the hoop and on defense will be the team that wins.  Iin their first 2 series, the team that won the rebounding battle won the game.  Much of rebounding is effort and aggressiveness in going after the rebound and so when they are getting rebounds they are also the more aggressive team.     This may be the hardest for the Celtics to accomplish as the Pistons have been off for a week and are well rested while the Celtics have just finished their second 7 game series in a row and are coming in with just 1 day rest. 

X-Factor
Rest vs Rust, Momentum vs Fatigue
The Pistons are well rested and have been off for a week while the Celtics battled to the end of another 7 game series.   Teams that get too much rest between series can be rusty in the first game back.  The Celtics had to expend a great amount of energy to beat first the Hawks and then the Cavs and very well may come into the series tired.   But, along with the fatigue, the Celtics have momentum coming in to this series. 

[BASSTHUMPER]

the battle will be pierce and prince.

i really wanna see perk go off..i gave reasons why perk didnt perfom weel in vs the cavs but i dont see any reason why he dont get a double double..pts and reb..he should be able to out muscle sheed

fouls are gonna hurt us...billups and hamilton know how to create contact on a shot...last time we fell for much of they tricks..we gotta be careful..

here we go again...

*sips 12oz*

[crownsy]

A 12 oz bass? pacing yourself in anticipation of tommorow? 

kidding aside, it is imperitive that we win the 1st quarter tommrow, from an energy standpoint. This pistons team is going to come out on all cylinders, they know it will be tough to get one in boston, and game 1, with us coming off a war in game 7 and them having been resting a week, is thier chance to not only steal a game, but set the tone for the series.

we cannot come out flat and dig ourselves a hole. I trust pierce and KG won't let this happen. energy must, must, MUST be high tommrow. i can't stress that enough.

[angryguy77]

I think that the emotion from the last series is going to help us and not hurt us. We should be fired up and not tired from this, and that should = a team that is going to come out with intensity that won't be matched by detroit. And I also believe that detroit will have an over confidence issue. The pistons may be more rested, but that is not always a good thing. Last game was just what we needed as in PP getting a good game under his belt and restoring confidence in the team. The key to this series is going to be ray. As long as KG and PP do there thing and Ray contributes at least 15, we won't have a problem with detroit.

[Bahku]

I think that the emotion from the last series is going to help us and not hurt us. We should be fired up and not tired from this, and that should = a team that is going to come out with intensity that won't be matched by detroit. And I also believe that detroit will have an over confidence issue. The pistons may be more rested, but that is not always a good thing. Last game was just what we needed as in PP getting a good game under his belt and restoring confidence in the team. The key to this series is going to be ray. As long as KG and PP do there thing and Ray contributes at least 15, we won't have a problem with detroit.

Good points, AG (TP) ... I truly feel that it's game two that we need to be more concerned with, but not until the time comes, obviously. If there's going to be a "let-down", that's where I'd expect it to come. I actually think we may do well in Detroit, and that these guys are now far more focused on winning an away game, and may take home court for granted.

[angryguy77]

Thanks for the tp. I feel very good about them getting the monkey off their back as far as road victories go. Aside from the stats, game plans and everything else that goes into winning a game, there is the intangible they are due for a road win at some point. I would be nervous if I were Detroit becuase we only need to get one game there and with the way we are playing at home, the series would be over.

[crownsy]

I think that the emotion from the last series is going to help us and not hurt us. We should be fired up and not tired from this, and that should = a team that is going to come out with intensity that won't be matched by detroit. And I also believe that detroit will have an over confidence issue. The pistons may be more rested, but that is not always a good thing. Last game was just what we needed as in PP getting a good game under his belt and restoring confidence in the team. The key to this series is going to be ray. As long as KG and PP do there thing and Ray contributes at least 15, we won't have a problem with detroit.

agreed, and thats what i expect to happen, i hope that pierce and KG will not let this team glide into the game, and the crowd should help prevent that.

That being said though, this team does have a madding habit of, at times, playing flat. (see last nights 3rd quarter first 5 minutes) now, they also have a remarkable recovery rate off the same down periods, but i just really, really want to see them set the tone from the tip tommrow night, and not pull a game 2 from the cavs series, where it took us a quarter to wake up.

The cavs let us back into that game, a team like detoit will not.

[fairweatherfan]

I actually feel good about this series and have since our first regular season game against the Pistons.  We tend to struggle when teams push the ball against us (Atlanta) or when we cannot push the ball against them (Cleveland). 

Detroit does not generally push the ball well, they are opportunistic about fast breaks but they seem to prefer to out-execute their opponents in the half-court, which is where our defense thrives.  Our offense is typically fed by our defense, which is why we've had a lot of lopsided runs in both directions this playoffs - when we are getting stops it becomes much easier to score, when they score a few possessions in a row our offense tends to sputter.  We won't get a lot of fast break opportunities against Detroit, but we should get enough stops in the half-court to get our offensive flow together.  Or so I'm hoping...

[wdleehi]

Here is hoping the lazy, full of themselves Pistons show up for game one. 

[RebusRankin]

I hope the lazy, overconfident Pistons show up for games 1-4.

[clover]

Yeah, you think Paul was glad to see LeBron go; I'm sure Perk is just as glad to be moving on to Rasheed.

[Las Vegas Asian]

Tonight's Officials:
                   
                        Home W/L Record  Celtics Home W/L Record
Joe Crawford            35-20                           3-1
Greg Willard              36-25                           2-0
Mark Wunderlich      45-25                           0-0

[Edgar]

Tonight's Officials:
                   
                        Home W/L Record  Celtics Home W/L Record
Joe Crawford            35-20                           3-1
Greg Willard              36-25                           2-0
Mark Wunderlich      45-25                           0-0

nice stat las vegas
hope Cs win tonight



see u all in chat room

ESPN talking nice about cs again
KG entering the garden looked cool and relaxed
have to love that
just not too relax please

[BigAlTheFuture]

Yeah, you think Paul was glad to see LeBron go; I'm sure Perk is just as glad to be moving on to Rasheed.

It's not like it's gonna change anything that Rasheed is now on Perk. He had trouble scoring the whole playoffs.

[Mr October]

Lets Go Celtics!!!!!

Lets Go Celtics!!!!!

Lets Go Celtics!!!!!

I'd love to see Detroit come out overconfident. It isn't out of the question that Boston could snatch this series, 4-1. Boston is so due for a road win.