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Game Preview: Pistons at Celtics
 |
vs. |  |
|---|---|---|
| 20-2 | Record | 17-7 |
| 100.7 | PPG | 99.7 |
| 86.5 | PPGA | 91.2 |
| 47.9 | FG% | 46.8 |
| 41.3 | Opp. FG% | 43.6 |
| 41.8 | Rebounds | 41.7 |
| 22.9 | Assists | 23.5 |
| 14.3 | Turnovers | 11.3 |
| 9.4 | Steals | 6.5 |
| 4.4 | Blocks | 5.7 |
| 0-0 | Season Series | 0-0 |
Now Playing:
- Celtics Documentary
- Dancers at Foxwoods
- Shamrock Shootout
- Media Day
| Point Guard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Rajon Rondo |
Chauncey Billups | ||
| Shooting Guard | |||
Ray Allen |
Richard Hamilton | ||
| Small Forward | |||
Paul Pierce |
Tayshaun Prince | ||
| Power Forward | |||
Kevin Garnett |
Antonio McDyess | ||
| Center | |||
Kendrick Perkins |
Rasheed Wallace | ||
| Sixth Man | |||
James Posey |
Jason Maxiell | ||
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
TD Banknorth Garden, 7:00 PM
TV: Comcast Sports Net
RADIO: WEEI 850 AM
In one of the most eagerly anticipated matchups of the young NBA season, the 17-7 Detroit Pistons, perennial power of the Eastern Conference, pay a visit to the Garden to meet the 20-2 Celtics.
Ray Allen will be back in the lineup, Paul Pierce is the Player of the Week, the building is sold out and it's the biggest game at the Garden since Opening Night. The Celtics have won nine straight games and all 12 home games and they're looking to keep those streaks in tact against perhaps the most battle-tested team in the conference.
It's being billed as a playoff preview in Detroit, and while the Pistons clearly know what it takes to get to the promised land (they won the NBA Championship in 2005), the Celtics are quick to note that their own early season success, regardless of how impressive it has been, doesn't mean anything yet.
According to Celtics Coach Doc Rivers, the Pistons are the standard by which others in the conference must be judged.
"They are the team, and Miami too, because they are the last two teams [from the East] to win titles. Detroit has been through every situation that you can think of," Rivers said. "They've been in Game 7s where they've lost, they've been in championship games, they've lost some heartbreakers, they've been in Eastern Conference Finals Game 7s, every imaginable situation, they've been in. We haven't. We've been in nothing."
The Pistons have been to the last five Eastern Conference Finals and aren't ready to vacate the throne as the dominant power in the conference. In fact, the Pistons have pretty much held serve in the East since getting knocked off by the 2002 Celtics that made their improbable run to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Chauncey Billups told the Detroit Free Press that's looking forward to tonight's battle.
"That's the best team in the NBA right now," Billups said of the Celtics. "It's been a long time since we've been able to say that going against an Eastern Conference team."
On the flip side, the Pistons are probably the Celtics' first true test, and with that in mind, Kevin Garnett appears to be especially dialed in for tonight's game. When he talked to reporters after Tuesday's practice, his answers were brief and direct, and aside from talking about Billups, his former teammate and good friend, he expounded little upon the matchup, noting that every night is a test in the NBA.
"This is one of the better teams in the league so I'm looking forward to the game," Garnett said.
When asked what makes the Pistons so successful, Garnett responded, "Their defense, the fact that they've played together for a long time, the fact that they are a unit and they have multiple weapons."
Everyone knows about the Celtics top three weapons, but they continue to win games on the defensive end, leading the league in points allowed (86.5 PPG), defensive field goal percentage (.413) and rebounding differential (+4).
