Full Court Press: 3/26/05 Celtics vs. Pistons

By Jon Duke
Pistons 105 - Celtics 99 (OT)

Let’s be clear about one thing… Detroit is an evil, evil place.

Ever since Game 4 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals, when one William Laimbeer felt it necessary to “horse collar” Larry Bird, any love I had for Detroit Rock City vanished into thin air. Not only were Laimbeer’s “Bad Boys” a truly classless bunch, but also they prematurely ended the run of legendary 1980’s Celtics the following season. A defeat that I still have difficulty getting over some seventeen years later.

Fast forward to March 26, 2005. The Boston Celtics have emerged from a nearly thirteen year slumber to once again become “relevant” in the city of Boston and across the New England, while their opponents are the defending NBA champion Detroit Pistons. The names and faces have changed numerous times over the past seventeen years, but the hostility between these two storied franchises remains. This hostility has not reached the levels of the those playoff series in 1987 and ‘88, but the handful of technical fouls handed out this evening are a sign that each team passionately wants to defeat the other. This isn’t Grizzlies - Cavaliers, its Celtics - Pistons.

Unfortunately for the Celtics, they were not as fortunate in the Palace at Auburn Hills as they had been at the Boston Sports Media.com Center. A tight ball game, from the opening tap to the final buzzer, the Celtics and Pistons battled for 48 minutes to a tie and needed an extra five minutes to decide a victor. Tonight the title belt went to the home team, as it had when these two met in Boston, but as with the last meeting, both squads could feel good about the effort given.

Prior to the game, word out of Detroit led one to believe that neither Gary Payton or Rip Hamilton would play due to injury, but both started and had an impact on the outcome. Payton gutted out 39 minutes with 8 points and 6 assists, and displayed some excellent defense that forced his opponent into difficult shots. Hamilton somehow stayed on the court for 49 minutes without any noticeable after effects of the sprained ankle that had held him out of the Pistons last two games, both defeats. Rip finished with 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists, including the basket that put Detroit ahead for good with 48 seconds remaining in the overtime.

All of Detroit’s starters continued to rack up heavy minutes as the NBA season winds down, which leads one to wonder how much the Pistons will have left in their tank as the playoffs roll along. The Detroit starting 5 averaged 46 minutes this evening, and with an incredibly thin bench (No, Darko Millicic isn’t walking on that court) the onus of winning ball games falls entirely on their shoulders. No doubt Hamilton’s absence the last two games played a huge role in Detroit’s three game losing streak, but his fellow starters more than did their part to lead the Pistons to victory. Early in the ball game, Rasheed Wallace was unstoppable (4/5 from the field to begin the game) and his hot hand continued throughout the evening. Wallace piled up 31 points, with none bigger than his 3 pointer in the final minute of overtime that pushed the Detroit lead to four. But, no matter who Doc Rivers threw at Wallace, whether it was Raef LaFrentz or Antoine Walker or Mark Blount, there wasn’t anyone who could slow down ‘Sheed.

The Celtics were much improved over their effort against the Bulls on Friday night, but still struggled with their offensive execution down the stretch. Were it not for the nearly heroic efforts of Paul Pierce in the 4th quarter and overtime, the Celtics might have ended this evening’s contest in a similar fashion as Friday. Pierce finished with 32 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists; with a number of Pierce’s baskets being of the “clutch” variety. However, the Celtics offense relied solely on Pierce and focused far too much on running isolation plays for Employee #34. Obviously Pierce was successful, and a coach should always follow the hot hand. The error in Doc Rivers’s ways is that has yet to adequately move the ball around amongst the troika of Celtics who can “get it done” when baskets become difficult in the latter stages of a ball game.

Tonight, going to Pierce, time after time, worked even though he was matched up with Tayshaun Prince. Many, view prince including Rivers, as one of the top defenders in the league, but nevertheless Doc goes to this match up again and again. Much of the time, it worked, but the Celtics did not come away with the win. Proof, at least in my mind, that the Boston Celtics cannot advance deep into the playoffs unless Rivers becomes comfortable with using all of his options down the stretch of a ball game. Ricky Davis was, at times, lighting up Rip Hamilton, and Davis has shown the ability to hit a number of big shots over the past year. Celtics fans can only hope that Rivers’s reluctance to utilize more options in the latter stages of the game is only temporary until Antoine is better integrated into the offense… or so we hope.

In other news, there was a Kendrick Perkins sighting, and for this “humble scribe” it has been far too long. Not only was Perk beast-like on the glass, but also showed on numerous occasions some toughness, a quality the C’s have lacked over the past 4 games. Perkins, in limited minutes, was able to bang with Wallace boys and didn’t back down in the least. Mark Blount and Raef LaFrentz had solid games tonight, and each played a role in keeping the Detroit big men off of the offensive glass. But, for as well as Blount and LaFrentz played, “toughness” has never been significant portion of their game. At times, the Celtics have needed an infusion of “toughness” in the paint and if nothing else, Perkins brings that each and every night. The only question with Perkins is how many minutes he can accumulate before fouling out or being pulled by Rivers for “rookie mistakes”.

The only downside to playing Perkins more minutes is that it comes at the detriment of Al Jefferson. But, Jefferson has struggled recently and his has not outweighed his weaknesses on the defensive end inside scoring and rebounding. Rivers has to hope that either Perkins or Jefferson can play effective backup minutes in relief of Walker, but if both falter, the Celtics will be in a very difficult situation come playoff time. But that is always the risk a team takes when relying upon young players to play consistent roles on a playoff team. Sure they will gain experience and should be much improved the next time the Celtics are in the playoff hunt, but the Antoine Walker trade proved that the future is now… and tomorrow.

By nature “the kids” are inconsistent, but the ceiling is high with each and every one of them. If Doc Rivers can find a way to win games with the veteran personnel on hand (and utilize them even in the final minutes), while providing the younger players with opportunities to produce, as Perkins did, then the future will get brighter and brighter.

Maybe there is some symbolism in this being the Marie Antoinette Celtics. Maybe they can “have their cake and eat it too”?