NBA Playoffs Rundown

Boston 88 Detroit 79: The Boston Celtics moved to 9-0 at home in the Playoffs after taking care of the Detroit Pistons last night. Boston pretty much controlled this game from the start as they jumped out to an early 8-0 lead and even though Detroit came back to take the lead at one point, the Celtics responded quickly and took control for good in the 3rd quarter.

Detroit did not come out in this game as the team with the most energy as I had said they needed to do. They did not get outrebounded by the Celtics as they matched Boston on the boards with both teams pulling down 37 rebounds. However, they did not have the energy that Boston had and it really hurt them. It's possible after such a long layoff that they could not match the adrenaline the Celtics still had from the Game 7 victory over the Cavs.

Chauncey Billups was also extremely ineffective in this game and you have to wonder if he is completely healthy yet. Billups finished with 9 points on only 3 of 6 shooting. None of the Pistons played particularly well in this game offensively, except for Antonio McDyess, who finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds. I still think that the Pistons lack of a guy on offense who is going to step up and take control of the game is going to hurt them in this series against such a defensive minded team like the Celtics.

For Boston, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce led the way on offense. Garnett had a monster night with 26 points on 11 of 17 shooting, he also pulled down 9 rebounds and dished out 4 assists. Pierce finished with 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. Garnett and Pierce hit some big shots in the 4th quarter and Rajon Rondo pitched in scoring 7 of his 11 points in the 4th, which included a big three-pointer with under 2 minutes left.

As I said before, I thought the Celtics energy in this game was really good, especially since they just finished up their series with Cleveland. I thought it was possible they would come out flat but instead it looks like the adrenaline from the game carried over into Game 1 for this series. I thought Kendrick Perkins helped set the tone energy wise in this game and he really played good defense all night. Perkins finished his night with 5 points and 10 rebounds.

I'm looking forward to Game 2 to see how the Pistons respond to this loss. It will be interesting to see what adjustments they make and also what their energy level will be. I expect Game 2 to be much more intense than Game 1 because I think Detroit would love to steal one in Boston. I also would like to see how effective Billups will be because if he is not effective then I'm not sure Detroit has any chance to win this series.