OGT: Pistons at Celtics (12/19/07, ESPN)

[Glenn]

No, I didn't forget about the GSW game this afternoon, but we gots to start talking about this one.

Boston Globe angle:

Again a well-oiled machine
Dumars's Pistons could pose challenge

By Peter May, Globe Staff | December 16, 2007

The Heat are a mess. The Bulls are a mess. The Nets are a mess. Those three, all thought to be legitimate playoff teams, were 18 games under .500 entering last night, with Miami, less than two years removed from an NBA title, holding down the cellar. None would even make the playoffs if the season ended today.

Ah, but then there are the Pistons. We'll always have Auburn Hills.

One quarter into the season, you can scan the Eastern Conference and see one team, really, that poses any threat to the rampaging Celtics. Yup, it's the Pistons, who make their first Boston appearance of the season Wednesday.

Orlando might pose a threat on paper, but how can you take the Magic as seriously as Detroit with a stretch they just went through, i.e. home losses to Atlanta and Indiana and a road loss to Milwaukee?

No, it's Rip, Chauncey, Sheed, and the fellas who have to concern Celtics fans - if any team in the East does. Heading into the weekend, the Pistons had the second-best point differential in the league (well behind the Celtics, though) and still have that enviable mix of youth, experience, and playoff savvy.

Just think of the run they've had (which shows no sign of abating, either). They've won 50 or more games six straight seasons; no other Eastern Conference team currently has as many as three straight 50-win seasons. They've made five straight trips to the conference finals, matching the run of the vaunted Bad Boys teams from 1987-91. In that span, they've twice made it to the Finals, losing in 2005 and winning in 2004. They've done it under three coaches, but the constants remain on the floor (the aforementioned lads, who've been the anchors the last four years along with Tayshaun Prince) and in the front office (the venerable tag team of Joe Dumars and John Hammond).

With 16 wins in the first 23 games the Pistons are on course for another 50-win season and Dumars is pleased with what he sees. He was not so inclined last spring, when he watched the Pistons blow a 2-0 lead in the conference finals and drop four straight to the Cavaliers. He talked afterward of restoring the team's edge, grit, and toughness, traits he had when he played and traits he tries to instill in his players.

"We came back with a very good focus," Dumars said by telephone Friday. "And we've added some youth, depth, and athleticism to the team. I'm pleased with what I've seen over the first 20 games."

While the Pistons can point to early contributions from the likes of Jason Maxiell and Arron Afflalo, and anxiously await the debut of impressive rookie Rodney Stuckey (hand surgery), this is still a team whose success hinges on those names that have become so familiar to us over these last five years. But as with any group that has had prolonged success, it is natural to see some slippage at some point, which Dumars saw last spring in the playoffs.

There is no way the Pistons should have lost to the Cavaliers, let alone lose four straight. But they did. Dumars still can't bring himself to watch a tape of Game 5, when LeBron James went otherworldly. Or Game 6, when Daniel Gibson put on a shooting clinic from Youngstown. It's too painful. And too revealing.

"If you're honest with yourself," he said, "something like that is bound to kick in when you've had the success we've had, five straight trips to the conference finals. That's why it's imperative for me in my job to push the envelope, to push the buttons. We need to keep the main components we have and add to them. We have a great core here."

These Pistons score - they are averaging 99.3 points a game through their first 23. They are among the league leaders in turnovers (fewest committed) and in assist-to-turnover ratio. Only the Celtics allow fewer points a game, so they're also able to make stops. And they're among the league leaders in blocked shots.

The NBA and one of its broadcast arms, ESPN, recognized the attraction of Wednesday's game by moving it to its early game for the night. And, in a real break for both teams and their fans, each team will have had two offdays prior to Wednesday's game. No one will be on the second leg of a back-to-back, which so often happens during the season.

Unfortunately, it will be the first of just three regular-season meetings. But based on what we've seen over the first quarter of the season, we could be in store for a few more in May. The Pistons have played four different teams in the conference finals the last five years. Is Boston going to be No. 5?

"Obviously," Dumars said, "Boston is going to be a force in the East that everyone is going to have to deal with."

[Cross]

pistons in 6

shit my bad thought this was the ecf thread.

[Timone]

I did coke with Len Bias back in the day.

[Zekyl]

Low blow. Or maybe just, blow...

[Big Swami]

Whatever happens, I hope someone has the balls to bump KG around a little. This would have been a great game to use Nazr for the foul.

[Timone]

Low blow. Or maybe just, blow...

bwahahaha

[Tahoe]

Put Brezec on KG and all will be well in Beantown for Motown

[Zekyl]

That's a joke right? Let's hope Sheed feels like playing D the way we know he's capable of in that game. He usually does well against guys like TD and KG.

[Tahoe]

yes, a lil homer enthusiasm. I looked for some white text, I must have forgot it.

[UxKa]

That's a joke right? Let's hope Sheed feels like playing D the way we know he's capable of in that game. He usually does well against guys like TD and KG.

... and drops down on the post for some points.