Good News and Bad News

The bad news is that we lost. We went 6-9 for the month of January The good news is that we only lost to the defending champs by 8 points. We played a tough game and finally showed up defensively. The even worse news is that we have to take positives out of losing games because it happens so often now.

We actually gave the Celtics a game. Their last 7 wins have all come by double digits, so I guess that is sort of a small victory for us, right? I expected the game to have more points, but the gap between the teams was as I expected. The Celtics don't blow us away. They lull us into thinking that we are close enough to come back at any time and we never do. They never stop defending, never. Marc Jackson pointed out that when the game finished, the Pistons were attempting just to score before the horn, even though it didn't matter at all. The Celtics shut them down. Not many teams do that.

The Celtics didn't do anything exceptional on the offensive end. We actually played pretty solid defense and held them to 45% shooting. The Boston 3 Party combined for 56 points, which is about average for them. Rondo had 12 assists, but we managed to keep Kendrick Perkins in check. He was getting so frustrated that he headlocked Maxiell and threw him down, so he was ejected. We stuck to one of my keys to success, not shooting more than 10 3-pointers. We shot 8, but only made 1. Overall, we shot only 40% from the floor. The Celtics defense just squeezed the life out of us.

Other things of note:

• The Celtics were able to score on us because of excellent ball movement. They had 25 assists, and were seemingly always able to find someone for an open jumper
• Iverson and Stuckey each had 19 points, but they combined for only 5 assists
• Tayshaun had a bad night, going 1-7 for 4 points. Paul Pierces defense is underrated
• Rip was instant offense off the bench. He had 14 points
• McDyess had 14 rebounds
• AI passed Charles Barkley for 16th on the all-time scoring list'
• In case you haven't heard, the Celtics have now won 10 in a row

Game 45 Preview

PG: Hey, Rajon Rondo has been putting up pretty decent numbers. However, his jump shot is still ugly. Some people are calling him an All-Star snub. No way. Stuckey isn't as good at distributing, but he is the superior scorer

Advantage: Draw

SG: I wouldn't count on us holding Ray Allen under 10 points. No one has done that this year. However, it is not every night that he has to defend someone as quick as The Answer. This should be interesting

Advantage: Draw

SF: Most people either love or hate Paul Pierce. I don't really fall in either category. I think he is very good, but I don't think he is a Top 10 player like he thinks he is. Prince will be all over him tonight

Advantage: Draw

PF: Regardless of whether he is at PF or C, Sheed will be on Garnett and vice versa. Sheed was hot against the Wolves, but tonight is the man Al Jefferson got traded for. Garnett could go off tonight.

Advantage: Celtics

C: I have a feeling we will see Kwame in the starting lineup. He weighs 60 pounds more than Amir, but still gives up 10 pounds to Kendrick Perkins. Perkins is kinda streaky. He is either devastating or non-existent. We will see tonight

Advantage: Celtics

Overall: The Celtics just methodically wear you down. I went to Game 6 against them last year. We never really seemed down that far, but we never got close. They are a defensive machine. But all the Pistons have heard lately is that things are falling apart. Even Yahoo Sports thinks so. The Pistons are angry and ready for a battle. Meanwhile, the Celtics have been coasting. They are going down tonight. I think we beat them by 8 in a surprisingly high scoring game.