Pistons taking a step back?
This was a result that said more about the state of the Pistons than it did about the state of the Celtics. With the league’s best record, and with essentially the same players from a championship team, the road to the Finals runs through Boston again this season.
But the Pistons haven’t looked like a contender for the title belt in two meetings with the Celtics in the last two weeks.
“Defensively, I think we took a step back from training camp,” Pistons coach Michael Curry said after tonight’s loss at TD Banknorth Garden. “The last two weeks or so I haven’t really had practice time. I’m hoping that with practice time we will be able to get on target defensively. This team, they run a lot of random pick and rolls, they got guys that deserve a lot of attention, and they are a little more physical than we are.”
The Celtics have made nearly 48 percent of their field goals in two games against the Pistons this season, while Detroit has been held two 39 percent shooting in the two matchups. And the Celtics have cruised without a single member of the Big Three reaching the 20-point plateau in either meeting.
“We’re still trying to find our identity,” said Pistons guard Richard Hamilton. “Guys are still trying to find their niche, trying to find what we are and what we’re going to be about this season. They played well tonight. They beat us convincingly. Anytime you lose to a team two times by over twenty points, that’s absolutely bananas because we don’t play like that.”
You know something’s different about the Pistons when Rasheed Wallace (13 points tonight) concedes anything to his opponent.
“We are matching up with them the best we can,” said Wallace. “They’ve got some bigger bodies. And when you have that, you’re not worried about fouls as much. You can go [all] out, and hit the guys on the floor, and you don’t care how many fouls you get. It’s part of it.”
Despite crusing to comfortable wins against a historically difficult opponent, Celtics captain Paul Pierce said he isn’t taking anything for granted.
“You have to figure they’re only going to get better as the year goes along with Allen Iverson,” said Pierce.
But the captain did see a change in the Pistons he thinks his team can exploit.
“I think we really match up a lot better with them this year then we did last year, especially with the Chauncey Billups factor,” said Pierce. “Even though Iverson is a great player, we don’t have to worry about their point guard posting us up. They definitely bring a different element with the way they play. I think they’re more of a running team but you have to figure they’re going to be a better team down the road when we see them again.”
The teams meet again on March 1 in Boston, and the situation is likely to be markedly different by then. But right now the Celtics have the Pistons on the mat. And that referee is going to need an awful lot of convincing to stop counting them out.
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