I was going to title this "Random Thoughts about tonight's game", until I saw NiqueDodson took my title. Damn! Anyway, I decided to jot down some of my thoughts as the Celtics and Pistons played their game tonight. Here are some of my insights:
Pregame: Loved the intro for Detroit, where Rasheed Wallace went "We're baaaaaaack!". Good stuff.
1st Quarter:
10:00 mark: Kevin Garnett's fai####ating early scores. Good sign there.
7:54 mark: (Kendrick) Perkins just got a cheap foul. He can't afford those fouls.
7:00 mark: Garnett has two fouls. Bad break.
5:55 mark: Billups has two fouls. It might be (Rodney) Stuckey time.
4:10 mark: It's foulfest on the C's: Allen now has two.
3:49 mark: Paul Pierce needs to stop passing and take command here.
3:14 mark: Why the hell is Jeff Van Gundy talking about baseball?!?
2:54 mark: Sam Cassell looks terrible.
2:19 mark: (Doc) Rivers and (Mark) Jackson just echoed me about Pierce. I'm a genius (lol)!
1:09 mark: Now Van Gundy is talking about MMA! Wtf?!?!
:31 mark: Not another Rasheed no-chance three!!!
2nd Quarter:
9:53 mark: Thank good heavens! Garnett and Allen are back. Pierce stunk!
8:17 mark: Garnett has missed twice. On second thought...
7:35 mark: Now Van Gundy is talking about his teeth! What's next, soccer!
5:42 mark: Is it any wonder that Lindsey Hunter only plays occasionally? He can't score!
5:30 mark: The big 3 have only 10 of the C's 35 points. Outrageous!
:54 mark: Just returned from a bathroom break, and it's now an 18 point lead. What happened?
:40 mark: Billups has three fouls. Oh no!
3rd Quarter:
12:00 mark: Pistons need to step up now!
8:18 mark: I think the Pistons want Ray Allen to shoot more.
6:43 mark: The (Indiana Jones) commercial said game 7; the graphic said game 5. Get your facts straight, ABC!
4:17 mark: Perkins looks great tonight!
2:29 mark: Jackson says the fans should boo (the Pistons). Bravo!
:55 mark: How bad is this game getting?
4th Quarter:
11:33 mark: Is (Richard) Hamilton playing like Billups? He's drawn 100 fouls in the last two minutes!
7:45 mark: The trap is really hurting Boston.
6:53 mark: Another terrible three by Rasheed!
5:31 mark: The Celtics should try to run more and break the trap.
4:28 mark: Stuckey is playing great!
3:38 mark: (Tayshaun) Prince committed a foul. Haven't heard his name all night.
2:17 mark: Now the Celtics are missing FTs.
2:16 mark: Now how, exactly, did Doc Rivers finish 2nd in Coach of the Year voting?
2:00 mark: The Pistons are trying so hard to mount a comeback.
End of game: Too late: Celtics win 94-80.
So, what can we take away from this game? That the dreaded complacent Pistons have once again reared their ugly heads. They dug such a deep hole, they couldn't recover. However, if the trap works like it did at times tonight, they will be in better shape Monday. But Billups is obviously still hurt, and it showed as Stuckey got more time in the 4th. If Billups can't play better, the Pistons are in serious trouble.
As for the C's, while a long awaited road win is good, they still had problems; they showed some complacency in the 4th, couldn't handle the trap, and Allen reverted to his struggles again (although that might be a good omen; the C's have lost every playoff game where Allen has over 20 points). And they have no backup for Rondo; Cassell just looks old, and Eddie House can't handle the trap. So, game 4 will be critical for the Pistons; though they are arrogant about their abilities, they probably won't recover if they fall behind 3-1. We'll just have to wait and see.
Why the hell is Jeff Van Gundy talking about baseball?!?
Now Van Gundy is talking about MMA! Wtf?!?!
Now Van Gundy is talking about his teeth! What's next, soccer! LOLOLOL
You missed the part about when Van Gundy was talking about how he loves a push offense. LOL When has Van Gundy pushed an offense? A Van Gundy offense is like pushing a giant sea turtle with a stick.
LOL you must have been in the bathroom.
Last edited by NiqueDodson on May 24th at 10:31 PM.
Although the trap worked at times for Detroit, it also backfired on them in the fourth when they kept doing it while they were only down 11-13 with just under 10 minutes left.
The trap eventually got Detroit tired and had them scrambling on defense and gave the C's open passing lanes and open shot attempts. As a result, Pierce and Allen made a couple of timely threes in the middle of the 4th period to stretch the lead back out to 15-16.
What Saunders should have done was use the trap intermittently instead of every time on the defensive end. For example, use the trap right after the Pistons score and while Boston is inbounding the ball. Do a full court trap and then once Boston breaks it, play your conventional tough defense.
Because by the time Boston gets into their set, there's only 8-10 seconds left in the shot clock and will be forced to rush their shot. And if they miss, Detroit gets the board and can now slowly chip into the deficit. At the same time, by playing regular defense your players are in excellent rebounding position.
But as a result of the trap, Detroit's scrambling players are out of position and that's why Boston kept getting offensive boards late in the game.
The trap ended up hurting Saunders, and his dumb strategy just cost his team homecourt advantage.
Little things like that is what separates your average coach from a world championship coach.
Good points, Dizzle. And Boston should have time to adjust, which means that Detroit needs to show up and play all 48 minutes; as I said, if they had not been down so big, they wouldn't have to resort to gimmick defenses. Flip needs to coach game 4 like his very life depends on it (and his coaching life certainly depends on this series; if they lose this year, it will be hard to bring him back).
The trap may work on Monday, who knows. I think it'll depend more on whether Detroit comes out with more energy and if the Celts relax after the victory.
The trap worked to some extent for the Pistons in the 4th because Boston was not trying to run a normal offense. They were trying to milk the clock and thow up a shot at the buzzer getting themselves in trouble a few times trying to hang onto the ball until the 24 second clock was about to expire. They were not trying to take advantage of Detroit being out of position.
We'll have to wait and see what happens on Monday, but I don't expect to see the trap from Detroit unless the Celts have another big lead
I am David Downs, and I'm a sports nut who loves basketball and football and am open to good discussion about any sports subject. I am a Detroit sports fan, but I not a homer. Expect frequent vents on subjects that irritate me, and also expect the utmost respect for anybody's opinion, even if they disagree with me. Because, after all, that's what these blogs are all about, aren't they?
