The match-up everyone has been waiting for is now here. The two teams with the best records square off against each other for a chance to become legends.
The Detroit Pistons have made the last six Eastern Conference Finals, and have more experience, while the Boston Celtics have star power.
The Celtics had the best road record during the regular season going 31-10 but have yet to win a road game in the playoffs. Is it the lack of experience in the playoffs, is it immaturity, or can they not handle the pressure?
The first two teams the Celtics played were not that good. While the Hawks are a very talented team on the rise, they are immature and extremely young. The Celtics fell apart in Atlanta, and while Cleveland is a solid team, they had no business going seven games with the Celtics.
Even though the Celtics look scared and disinterested on the road ,they are energized and mentally tough at home, looking like a true contender. The Celtics could win the title without winning a road game, but that is not the way you want to win a championship.
The Detroit Pistons are a very confusing team at times as well. They were off to a horrible start against the Philadelphia 76ers and had to go on a huge run to keep from going into a 3-1 hole.
They look like a team full of rookies at times, and other times they look like the team that won the championship only a few years ago. They have great experience and have a great starting lineup.
Although they do not have any superstars that can take over a game, they work well as a unit and are more balanced than any team in the league.
The problem I have with them is their head coach Flip Saunders. Ever since Larry Brown left the Pistons they have improved in the regular season but have fallen apart in the playoffs.
They should have won last year against the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals, and were basically beat by one man (LeBron). They were up 2-0 and had the series in their grasp and found a way to blow it.
I don't know how they can beat this Celtic team if they could not beat the Cleveland Cavaliers of last year. The one good thing about the Pistons is that their bench has greatly improved from last year.
Jason Maxiell is really starting to come alive, and the additions of Rodney Stuckey and Theo Ratliff make this team much tougher. Stuckey showed great decision-making and maturity in the series against the Magic when Billups went down with an injury.
If the Celtics are going to win this series they need to know when to play the right players at the right times. In the last two series, Doc Rivers has made some very questionable lineups decisions, mainly on the road.
They need to make sure Rajon Rondo gets 35 minutes of playing time and make sure Rivers assures Rondo that he is sticking with him. The last two series when Rondo would struggle, Rivers would pull him out and put Sam Cassell in, which really did not work.
When Sam Cassell is the PG, the team's style completely changes. They go from a very quick team that has a good mixture of transition basketball and half court basketball, to just half court basketball.
This makes them very one dimensional and much harder for all the players around the PG. Rondo's amazing speed and quickness and his ability to penetrate causes multiple defenders to account for him and often leaves a Celtic player open.
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