Pistons-Celtics Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Dec 29 2011 6:05PM

The Boston Celtics continue to flounder without Paul Pierce.

The Celtics will be trying to avoid their worst start in 42 years Friday night in their home opener against the Detroit Pistons in a matchup of winless teams.

Boston (0-3) last dropped its first four games in the 1969-70 season. There's no word on a possible return for Pierce, who is out with a bone bruise in his right heel and has barely practiced in preparation for this season.

While Pierce's team-high 18.9 scoring average from last season is sorely missed, the Celtics also have been awful defensively. They let New Orleans shoot 45.6 percent from the field in Wednesday's 97-78 loss, and that's the best figure allowed by Boston this season.

"I just thought we played tired," coach Doc Rivers said. "We looked old tonight."

The 2010-11 Celtics ranked third in defensive field-goal percentage (43.4) and first in scoring defense (91.1). Their marks of 49.6 and 106.0 this season are both among the league's worst.

"Our defense was terrible. Offensively we didn't execute. We looked scattered out there on the floor," guard Ray Allen said Wednesday. "That's just us and how we didn't execute on both ends of the floor and we know better."

Last season, Rivers had assistant Lawrence Frank coach the team on the defensive end. Frank, though, was hired by Detroit (0-2) for his second stint as a head coach after guiding New Jersey from 2004-09.

Frank will return to Boston searching for answers of his own after watching his team allow Cleveland to shoot 57.1 percent in a 105-89 loss Wednesday in the Pistons' home opener.

"The thing that is very disappointing is that we devoted a majority of our time on the defensive end," Frank said. "To have that type of performance was very disappointing. Offensively it is going to be a work in progress, but defensively we are just going to have to continue to build."

The Pistons could provide a tonic for the Celtics' defensive woes. Detroit is shooting 40.4 percent, with top scorer Ben Gordon at 39.4.

The players feel that the lack of time they have had to operate in Frank's system is not a reason for the ineptitude.

"That's no excuse to play bad, no matter the circumstances we still have to go out there and get stops and execute on offense," center Greg Monroe said. "Those things we're not doing consistently right now."

For Boston, point guard Rajon Rondo is averaging team highs of 22.0 points and 10.3 assists, but he's also turning the ball over 5.3 times per game. The Celtics' 18.7 turnovers per game rank among the NBA's most.

Rondo could see some time against a fellow Kentucky product in rookie Brandon Knight, who was a bright spot with 23 points and six assists Wednesday. Knight, who is coming off the bench, was the draft's No. 8 selection.

"He definitely was a good spark for us today," Monroe said. "Hopefully, he can continue to play like that."

The Celtics have won their last four home openers. They have taken 10 of the last 13 meetings with the Pistons, winning three of four last season.

O'Neal leads Celts to 1st win, 96-85 over Pistons

By HOWARD ULMAN
Posted Dec 31 2011 12:45AM

BOSTON (AP) Jermaine O'Neal and Paul Pierce finally showed up and sparked the Boston Celtics to their first win of the season.

And they kept the Detroit Pistons winless with a 96-85 win in their home opener on Friday night.

O'Neal, nearly invisible in the first three games, and Pierce, who missed all of them with a bruised right heel, got the Celtics back in rhythm as they had their starting five intact for the first time.

O'Neal led Boston with 19 points after playing passively in totaling just eight points in the other games.

What was the difference?

"Playing extended minutes," he said. "When you can get a rhythm, you can get a flow and you can get comfortable with what the team is doing. If you look at the first couple of games, I was in and out so fast that it was almost impossible to get any flow to the game."

O'Neal was aggressive throughout, scoring 10 points in the first half, which ended with Boston on top 50-43. Then he scored seven in the third quarter when the Celtics outscored the Pistons 36-21 to take an 86-64 lead.

"He gave us a great lift, played with great energy," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "I thought he was really focused on setting picks and rebounding and doing all the little things."

The closest the Pistons came in the fourth quarter was the 11-point final margin.

Pierce, who had taken part in just one Celtics practice, finished with 12 points. More than that, he brought a fiery attitude and helped the Celtics stay spaced properly on the floor. He drew defensive attention with his shooting ability, opening opportunities for teammates.

"It felt good to finally get out there," Pierce said. "I was expecting to be me and I don't settle for anything less. I worked tremendously hard. I did a lot of things. I did what I could do coming into the game, as much as I could, other than practice. I just stayed focused."

Ray Allen and Brandon Bass added 17 points apiece for Boston. O'Neal, injured much of last season, his first with the Celtics, had seven rebounds, blocked two shots and sank seven of nine shots after making three of 12 in his first three games.

"Defensively and rebounding is how I'm going to judge myself," he said. "That's my role. I've heard people ask me, `Why would you accept it?' But that's what you do on a championship-caliber team."

Greg Monroe had 22 points and nine rebounds, and Austin Daye scored 11 for Detroit, which fell to 0-3.

"We just have to work and be a whole lot more efficient offensively," said Detroit coach Lawrence Frank, a Celtics assistant last season. "The beauty of Boston is everyone does their part. They all chip in. It's never really a guy going for 35. They all kind of do their part. They were coming in with a sense of urgency."

Boston opened an 11-game stretch in which nine are at home.

The Celtics haven't started a season 0-4 since 1969-70 and were 0-3 for the first time since 2006-07.

"I don't think we played particularly well in those three games, but one thing I know is we know how to play basketball," Allen said. "We like who we have on our team. We knew we had to work harder."

The Celtics' defense had been poor until Friday night, when they held the Pistons to 43 percent shooting. And their offense was on target, as they hit 52 percent of their field-goal attempts and all 19 free throws.

"We lost a little bit of our poise on the offensive end, we were slower to get into stuff, plus they turned it up defensively," Frank said.

Allen opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer and Pierce hit two more in the first four minutes of the period, building the lead to 61-47. Bass ended the quarter with a jumper from the top of the key at the buzzer.

"That quarter has been giving us problems in all three games," Monroe said. "We've got to come out of halftime with more energy."

Detroit made a brief run, outscoring Boston 9-2 to close the gap to 90-76 with 6:24 left in the game. Then Allen hit two free throws, Kevin Garnett sank a jumper and O'Neal connected from the top of the key for the Celtics' last basket. It gave them a 96-76 lead with 3:57 to go.

The Celtics had gone ahead to stay on Allen's 20-footer that made it 17-15 with 4:24 left in the first quarter. They took their biggest lead of the half, 38-26, on two free throws by Pierce with 6:22 remaining.

"He gives us a swagger that was definitely missing the first three games," Celtics guard Keyon Dooling said of Pierce.

Notes: Pistons starting guard Rodney Stuckey made just one of 11 shots and finished with three points and seven assists. ... New Boston Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine watched from a front-row, baseline seat. Patriots wide receivers Deion Branch and Julian Edelman, safety Patrick Chung and running back Stevan Ridley also were in the crowd. ... Celtics backup forward Chris Wilcox missed his second straight game with a bruised left shoulder. Rivers said he could return on Sunday at the Washington Wizards.

Notebook: Celtics 96, Pistons 85

By Brian Robb, for NBA.com
Posted Friday December 30, 2011 11:07PM

THE FACTS: Paul Pierce scored 12 points in his season debut, helping to lead the Boston Celtics to their first victory of the season in a 96-85 win over the Detroit Pistons. Jermaine O'Neal led the Boston scoring with 19 points in the C's home opener as Boston broke the game open with a 36-point third quarter. Greg Monroe led all scorers with 22 points for the winless Pistons who dropped to 0-3 under new head coach Lawrence Frank.

QUOTABLE: "It felt good to be out there with my teammates. I was expecting to be me and I don't settle for anything less."
-- Pierce

THE STAT: Boston shot a tremendous 71.4 percent from the field during their 36-point third quarter. They also dished out 12 assists during the frame, as they built up a 22-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

TURNING POINT: The Celtics came out firing at the start of the second half, as Ray Allen and Pierce drilled back-to-back three-pointers to push Boston's lead into double digits. The C's maintained that comfortable double-digit margin for the entire second half.

QUOTABLE II: "We don't feel sorry for ourselves. This is the deal, we've got to work to get better. It's all about grinding it out, working to get better."
-- Detroit head coach Lawrence Frank

HOT: O'Neal. After a slow start to the season, O'Neal had his best performance in a Celtic uniform over the past two seasons. The big man tallied 19 points and seven rebounds, and also served as a presence on the defensive end with two blocks.

NOT: Rodney Stuckey. The Pistons' starting guard couldn't find his rhythm against an energized Celtics' defense. Stuckey missed 10 of his 11 shots from the field, including all four attempts from beyond the arc.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Detroit's second-year forward Monroe had a standout performance in the loss. The former Georgetown star piled up 22 points and nine rebounds during the setback. He is now averaging 13.3 points and 7.7 rebounds through three games this season.

INSIDE THE ARENA: New Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine and New England Patriots receiver Deion Branch took in the contest from courtside at the TD Garden. Valentine also participated in a dunk trick with the C's mascot Lucky.

ROOKIE WATCH: Brandon Knight played major minutes off the bench for the Pistons, but the lottery pick struggled to find his shot as he made just 3-of-11 field goals on the evening, finishing with 10 points.

NOTABLE: Chris Wilcox missed his second straight game for Boston with a bruised left shoulder. He hopes to play for the C's Sunday against the Wizards. New Celtic free agent signee Mickael Pietrus was taking shots before the game with his teammates. Rivers is hopeful he will be able to suit up in the next 10-14 days. Pierce played 22 minutes in his return to action, but did not play during the fourth quarter. Charlie Villanueva missed the contest for Detroit due to suspension. All 13 players in uniform played for the Celtics. The contest was a homecoming for Frank, who coached under Rivers last season. Boston made all 19 free throws. The Pistons had 17 second chance points.

UP NEXT: For the Pistons, Saturday vs. Pacers, Monday vs. Orlando, Wednesday vs. Chicago. For the Celtics, Sunday @ Washington, Monday vs. Washington, Wednesday vs. New Jersey.

• Pistons: --
• Celtics: Pietrus, Wilcox

• Pistons: --
• Celtics: --

• Lead Changes: 2
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: TD Garden, Boston, MA
• Officials: #24 Mike Callahan, #35 Kane Fitzgerald, #77 Karl Lane
• Attendance: 18624
• Duration: 2:09