Matchups

Going into the season, people would say that Detroit’s team chemistry would be far better than Boston’s. But after beginning with Ubuntu and now with two Game 7’s under their belt, I think the nation’s fans will be surprised how well the Celtics match-up as a team against the Pistons.
Also one final matchup: Doc vs Flip. What do you guys think? I think Doc showed some testicular fortitude with his changing rotations – but if they had lost Game 7 we would surely be lambasting some of his calls. But Flip is not one of the all-time great coaches. Under-coaching might be his best asset on a team with such a strong, veteran core.

i have a confession, I own a Sheed Jailblazers Jersey… mostly cuz it was at tj max for 3 fitty.

I think steinalive has it right. I made the mistake of saying at the beginning of the Cleveland series that I thought it would be an easier series than the Hawks’ was, and I still believe it should have been. Fact is that the C’s have trouble with the dynamic, slashing-type players the Hawks are made up of and of which LeBron is the theoretical prototype; the Pistons have no one that compares. I think this series may be easier than a lot of folks expect and I think the C’s finally win on the road.

Boy, the Kool-Aid tastes good this morning.

detroit is a tough matchup because;1. they have played together a long time and are not recenly patched together like the cavs, 2. they are not a 1 man iso team like the cavs-any player can get hot, 3. maybe not as big or as great defensively as the cavs, they know how to play d, and tayshawn can concentrate on pp.4. their coach is not great but a step up from woodson and brown, 5. they finally have subs who have legs and can rest their first team. kevin g. has to have the big series,both on d and o. he has to keep rasheed down low and needs to float on top to cover sheed’s 3 pointers.

I think the C’s will have to go to PJ for this series he matches well against Wallace and is quicker then Perk. KG covers Wallace and McDyess. Powe and Baby are good matches for McDyess and Maxiel. Tony Allen will play in this series to slow up Billups and Hamilton. They will have to run lots of picks for Paul against Prince to get him open. Ray will have to make Hamilton play intense D to slow him up a little. 7 Game series OT win for the Celtics.

PP-Prince matchup—Prince defended PP well when Ben Wallace had his back. PP can score on Prince at will now because no one has Prince’s back. Detroit has no real inside game offensively or defensively. A problem will be Rasheed taking KG away from the basket.

rip vs ray allen is the biggest worry. Forget about game 2 , if rip is 10 against ray allen by the half, rivers has to put in tony allen.

Ray allen is no defensive specialist. He has to do what he does best which is score. If he aint good for that, at least we can neutralize Rip using tony allen

I agree with the point about House v. Hunter. Hunter is just a great defender and would dominate House so much so that he wouldn’t be able to bring the ball up the court. Either we will see Cassell again (which is fine by me, at least we have the option) or someone else will have to bring the ball up when house and Hunter are in the game.

Good points on the whole Jeff, but I think your hate of Sheed crossed the line. You may not like his temper and his non-stop chatter on the court, but he is not even close to being considered a dirty player like Rambis or Laimbeer. You may find his personality grating, but if you watch him, besides his mouth, he plays a pretty clean game.

Neutralize RiP? Not realistic there are games when he doesn’t hit his shots, but a defender neutralizing Rip is rare, and I don’t think TA is that defender.