Boston Finally Gets a Road Win; Pistons lose home court
Kevin Garnett (photo. Gary Land)Good thing Boston finally won a postseason road game; the amount of negative Celtics media coverage was threatening to get within striking distance of the fawning puff pieces. At times Boston looked dominant while beating the Pistons at The Palace last night, at times they looked downright shook, but overall they played well enough to get their confidence back that they can beat any team in any building … Kevin Garnett put up 22 points and 13 boards in a game where the C’s led by 18 at the break and by as much as 24 in the second half, but down the stretch he (and the entire C’s offense) was kind of terrible as the Pistons drew within double-digits in a last-gasp run by slapping on a zone defense. In the last three minutes Garnett threw up one fadeaway that hit nothing but glass, then fired an air-ball on another jumper, but Detroit couldn’t capitalize when they had opportunities. Chauncey Billups committed one crucial turnover and missed a couple of shots that the Pistons needed to go down to have a chance … Billups (6 pts, 4 asts) again wasn’t himself. He played less than 30 minutes and only made one field goal, a three-pointer late in the fourth quarter. Kind of like what’s been going on with Manu Ginobili in the Lakers/Spurs series, if Chauncey even played just OK in Detroit’s two losses, they could be up 3-0 at this point … Ray Allen played a little better, dropping 14 points but only going 1-for-6 beyond the arc. Paul Pierce scored a quiet 11, but the C’s got solid contributions from guys like Kendrick Perkins, James Posey and Sam Cassell, who finally got some PT … In the third quarter Rajon Rondo threw a pass that was so bad, Jeff Van Gundy could only scream, “What was THAT?” while Mark Jackson was speechless … Two standout Rasheed Wallace moments: First, he shined in the Pistons’ intro video where they ran off each of the team’s Eastern Conference Finals appearances, then ‘Sheed is shown sitting in a film room and looks back at the camera saying “We’re baaaaack!” with an evil laugh. Second, there was a play in the second half where Ray Allen drove and got his layup blocked by ‘Sheed, sending Ray crashing to the floor into the baseline seats. You’d think Detroit would have numbers because of this, but Ray somehow got up and beat Rasheed down the floor. ‘Sheed was basically walking … Jason Maxiell deserves props for stuffing KG’s seemingly unblockable turnaround jumper that he uncorks after the shoulder-shimmy. Isn’t Max like 6-4? … Ever since we said during the Orlando series that the Pistons don’t have any notorious floppers, Rip Hamilton has stepped up his flopping to an almost Ginobili-ish level. In the first quarter Rip (26 pts) and KG had their arms tangled, and as soon as KG made the slightest movement with his elbow, Rip dropped like he’d been smacked in the jaw. It was Garnett’s second foul and sent him to the bench for a while … If KG is one of those Pierce/Gilbert Arenas types who will never forgive or forget the teams that passed on him in the Draft or the players taken in front of him, he’s gotta be loving this postseason run. He already vanquished Joe Smith, who was taken #1 in the ’95 Draft, and in this series has a chance to take out both Antonio McDyess (#2) and ‘Sheed (#4). Garnett won’t be able to get Jerry Stackhouse (#3) any time soon in the playoffs, though, unless the Mavs get a lot better in the next couple of years … Rodney Stuckey (17 pts, 4 stls) is this year’s Daniel Gibson, the rookie who no one really talked about in the regular season but is stepping up and looking like a vet in the postseason. Keep in mind that Stuckey is making $1.5 million this season while Brian Scalabrine is “earning” twice as much … Yesterday was Tracy McGrady‘s birthday. He celebrated by doing what he does every year: Watching the later rounds of the NBA playoffs from home … We’re out like the Rockets …
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May 25th, 2008 at 1:55 am
Oscarisalakerfan says:
first yessssss
May 25th, 2008 at 2:03 am
celticsdada says:
Can’t believe Pistons fans booed their own team. Wow. So much for the best fans in the league as rip said the other night. LOL
May 25th, 2008 at 2:05 am
marcus says:
“Yesterday was Tracy McGrady’s birthday. He celebrated by doing what he does every year: Watching the later rounds of the NBA playoffs from home …”
that’s cold… LMAO!!!
May 25th, 2008 at 2:07 am
Nora says:
One of KG airballs happened because he got the ball and had to shoot right away to try to avoid a shot clock violation.
May 25th, 2008 at 2:07 am
celticsdada says:
rondo is a G for playing with one shoe for like a minute. Pistons staff threw his shoes away, he couldn’t even find it. LOL
May 25th, 2008 at 2:08 am
Nora says:
Smack is really vindictive in the playoffs so far. Geesh. LOL
May 25th, 2008 at 2:17 am
daquest?on a.k.a Heavy Artillery says:
what happened to the instan analysis oh and btw doc i wasnt trying 2 diss u man u are retarded and who said i ride ai’s d*ck fck that
May 25th, 2008 at 2:39 am
Big Sia says:
TMAC GOT PEACED
May 25th, 2008 at 2:39 am
Big Sia says:
^ THAT WAS A CHEAP SHOT STILL
May 25th, 2008 at 2:51 am
Three Stacks says:
I’d still trade places with TMac. He can have my house and my job if I can have his. Why bring up the Rockets at this point in the playoffs? They were done two rounds ago, that’s some unnecessary hate. I can’t wait to hear what Gee says about this.
You know, the Smack Gods used to be a lot funnier back in the day. I’m out like hoopstv.com.
May 25th, 2008 at 2:59 am
daquest?on a.k.a Heavy Artillery says:
oh and doc why dont u suck and ride my d*ck fck u………… yoooooooooo i just sawwww desagna diop and devin harriss they are cool dudes
May 25th, 2008 at 2:59 am
kb24! says:
LEave T-Mac alone. Go Lakers! KOBE KOBE KOBE.
May 25th, 2008 at 3:57 am
Beantown, son! says:
wow i went to post this b4 reading any other comments & i also felt this post was written with some “hate in ya blood” for some reason.
not just about the Celts (which u seemed to have made a complete 180 on, from love to hate – aint some of yall from the Bean?) but in general u guys recently seem to have developed a weird eltist attitude, like your nitpicking sometimes.
dont become the hip-hop Billy Packer! haha
May 25th, 2008 at 3:57 am
soopatroopa says:
yes, maxiell blocked KG ONCE…but then the next offensive trip down, KG got him with a great up-fake…that’s a smahhhht f’n player right there…
May 25th, 2008 at 4:05 am
the_don_mega says:
@kb24!….
“LEave T-Mac alone” – LMAO!!!
May 25th, 2008 at 5:03 am
T-Mac says:
Every year when I blow out my candles I wish to see the next round of the playoff. God’s been hatin on me.
May 25th, 2008 at 5:07 am
Coach T-sun says:
Too many mislapes because of their energy tonight,Celtics stole one. Billups needs to be more consistent he needs to play at a high level for these guys to win. The Celtics are not very good in my opinion they are a jump-shooting team i’ve said this before doc rivers is not a good coach offensively he relies on assistant TT’s game plan for defense and KG’s intensity/leadership. you don’t live by jumpers you die by jumpers whoever is more aggressive and attacks the basket is the winner.
May 25th, 2008 at 5:54 am
qq says:
” if Chauncey even played just OK in Detroit’s two losses, they could be up 3-0 at this point …”
Blah-blah…Who cares.
May 25th, 2008 at 6:21 am
YOUNGFED says:
As a proud Piston fan I must say I’m glad they got booed. Detroit is tired of this “I’ll play when I want to attitude.” Also WTF is the deal with Mr. No Shot they need to start Stuckey. Billups and Wallace epitomize this no show attitude the Pistons carry. This Fake Azz swagger they seem to display is old man up and play hard. Flip finally showed some balls and played Stuckey extensively now it’s time for us to see “AJ”.
BTW
Prince and Hamilton are the only starts that really ball hard all the time, maybe Mcdyess the other 2 can kick rocks after this year. 4Realz
May 25th, 2008 at 6:24 am
Stefan says:
KG was huge…as always
http://www.squidoo.com/KG
May 25th, 2008 at 6:49 am
N*gga what, N*gga who says:
Come on dime, stop hating on T-Mac, that was really a cheap shot. You’re better than this Ric Flair move. WOOOOOOOH !
May 25th, 2008 at 6:53 am
Mister Sun says:
That bad effort by the pistons makes me wonder:
Will the choke for the 3rd straight conf. finals?
don’t got why they played so bad against miami and cleveland. we’ll see if they get it ´done this time.
you never know with that team
May 25th, 2008 at 7:36 am
the_don_mega says:
u hit it right FED…
stuckey can ball…
what nick do u hav for the cat,FED?
May 25th, 2008 at 7:54 am
GayforRudy says:
Great Captain Lazy Eye (McGrady)insult! Fuck everyone that was “offended” by the out of nowhere comment.
But mostly fuck Boston and all of the bandwagon fans that are posting on the boards now adays… like “Beantown son” & “celtsdada”! Where the fuck have you guys been all season? Fuckin Boston meatheads.
May 25th, 2008 at 7:55 am
GayforRudy says:
Stefan, you have some of Garnett’s man goo on your top lip. You might want to wipe that off before going out in public!
May 25th, 2008 at 8:48 am
YOUNFED says:
Didn’t quite get the last part of your message Mega.
Totally agree with you Gay4rudy. Ban Wagon Cocksuckers in this spot.
May 25th, 2008 at 8:57 am
kobeef says:
“Billups said on Friday he wouldn’t be 100 percent healthy during the rest of the playoffs.” -Detroit News
I think the Pistons are done with Billups injured and they know it which is probably the reason for the half-assed effort. Billips is not the most athletic or skilled player the Pistons have but he pushes them over the top when he is on. It is too bad for the pistons that they made it this far only to fall to injuries.
Lakeshow goes three-and-Oh tonight.
May 25th, 2008 at 9:00 am
YOUNFED says:
What article did you read Billups said he’s good to go then he’s good to go.
May 25th, 2008 at 9:02 am
the_don_mega says:
i mean…Fed, what nickname do u have for stuckey?
May 25th, 2008 at 9:18 am
GO Cavs...but come on James says:
ha ha ha ha tmac
May 25th, 2008 at 9:35 am
Dave says:
“but down the stretch he (and the entire C’s offense) was kind of terrible as the Pistons drew within double-digits in a last-gasp run”
Drew within double digits? Were they down 100 before they made this run?
May 25th, 2008 at 9:38 am
Beantown, son! says:
GAY for RUDY – u know how I know ur gay? ur name is GAY FOR RUDY! haha…I bet u think ur real clever for that play on words.
check Fantasy Doc, check other Smacks, I been here since the jump…besides, just becuz I dont frequently post on this website, that means I havent been a Celts fan? How do the 2 correlate? Sorry, lemme break that down for you, “what does one have to do with the other”? Besides, if u read my earlier post, I really didnt care about what the say about the Celts. If they deserve to get knocked down a few nothces than so be it. My main issue was the tone with which alot of these SMacks have been written.
But I wouldnt expect GAY for RUDY to comprehend all that.
That shit is funny cuz Im on this site evry Goddamn day, haha. Where have I been…GAY for RUDY??? I mean come on dude! Your a homo!
May 25th, 2008 at 9:41 am
Beantown, son! says:
YOUNGFED on the other hand, can BOOOOO his boring-ass, no heart-having DEEEEETROIT Pistons team all the way out of the playoffs…
I give u credit for pointing out what most people have already noticed about your team though.
May 25th, 2008 at 9:56 am
Beantown, son! says:
I been down with the Celtics when they were trotting out dudes like Alaa Abdelnaby, Dino Radja, Chris Herren, the X-man…Bandwagon!??? That shit is ludicrous
as far as bein on here, i be changing my name from time to time, but it pretty much always said Beantown in it, check my resume boy
May 25th, 2008 at 10:13 am
YOUNGFED says:
And the Celtics are exciting how Beatown by shooting a bunch of jumpshots. Also Beantown take your bangwagon ass on. Yall stadium was empty before the lil three came along. We ride or die in the D for our Teams. Hell even the Lions sell out every year and they ain’t won since 1950.
@Mega
For now Stuckey will be known as “Lil Fifty”
May 25th, 2008 at 10:22 am
kwiatkowski.blox.pl says:
Well. You guys from DimeMagazine are Pistons fans or what? Pistons sucks the other night, and you wrote about everything that was good from them…Guys. C’mon. You’re better than that
May 25th, 2008 at 10:33 am
shhhhhooops says:
I didn’t think the Celtics played that great last night, but wow did the Pistons suck. Rip played well but at the end seemed to force the issue when they got within 9, but since no one else really had it going it made sense that he’d try to get an early mid-range J on some possessions. As for the fans that booed, it’s the conference finals and the Pistons came out with as much energy as a 85 year old, fat paraplegic. If you’re not going to ball hard in the confrence finals, when will you?
Max’s block on KG was nasty. But then KG came down and knew he’d go for the block again and gave him a nice pump fake and drew the foul. Nice play.
Doubt KG has a checklist of dudes that went before him in the draft. He was coming outta HS back before everyone came out then (for awhile). KG wasn’t disrespected by GMs who didn’t think his college game (which he never had) wouldn’t translate in the NBA.
I think Stuckey seems a little more legit than Gibson did last year, but I could be wrong. Both are suprising rooks who hit shots beyond their years.
Liked the zone at the end by Flip. It made Doc have to coach… which he obviously couldn’t.
May 25th, 2008 at 10:58 am
the_don_mega says:
lil fifty… on the spot!!!
BTW,sheed needs to get his head back in this… he even took his headband off…
May 25th, 2008 at 11:02 am
Big Mike says:
What up Dime peeps,
Same ole Pistons again, we play when we wanna. They act as though they’ve won the past 3 ‘chips. Boston will win this series because the “D” will not be interested in the games. Everyone get ready for a Lakers vs Celts reunion. Has anyone seen Sheed in this series? Detriot fan sound off, please!
May 25th, 2008 at 11:19 am
Celticsdada says:
@ Gay4Rudy
Listen fam, we were here sayin fire Ainge, just now everybody is fascinated with paying attention to us now, so now you all notice us, its fu*ked up, but in all seriousness I’d listen to each and every hater on here talk sh*t about bandwagons and d*ckriding as long as the bandwagon rolls to the 17th banner, fu*k the haters, CELTS BABY!!
May 25th, 2008 at 11:28 am
shhhhhooops says:
Boston sports (Soxs, Pats, Cs) has some of the best fans out there… but it also has the most bandwagon fans in recent years.
But you can only get bandwagon fans if your team is legit.
May 25th, 2008 at 11:31 am
shhhhhooops says:
I wish my Knicks had ANY bandwagon fans… but we (mostly Isiah) suck too hard…
May 25th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Teague says:
“if Chauncey even played just OK in Detroit’s two losses, they could be up 3-0 at this point.”
Bah. If Ray Allen played better the C’s would be up 3-0.
May 25th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Oscarisalakerfan says:
lol isiah suck too hard
May 25th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
catdaddywhack says:
has anyone ever seen a game where james posey didn’t kiss the floor?
May 25th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Mister Sun says:
the arena in boston was half empty when they lost?
what about the ones in new orleans and atlanta?
that’s just normal when the team is losing.
that doesn’t mean you’re not rooting for your team…
May 25th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
weezy f says:
that was cold what you said about t mac haha too cold
May 25th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Gareth says:
seriously you need to needle TMAC like that?
May 25th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
marcus the great says:
i don’t know none of yall so i don’t care if you a bandwagoner or not but i know my manager at work is. never even heard him talk about bball but all of a sudden its celtics baby. and that’s with all the boston teams over the last couple years. celts, pats, sox, boston college lol. it was ridiculous
May 25th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
marcus the great says:
i don’t know none of yall so i don’t care if you a bandwagoner or not but i know my manager at work is. never even heard him talk about bball but all of a sudden its celtics baby. and that’s with all the boston teams over the last couple years. celts, pats, sox, boston college lol. it was pretty ridiculous
May 25th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
doc says:
Fuck the Celtics and Detroit.Daquest u cant come with anything better than that homo shit.How u gonna tell another man ride ya hammer and suck it and feel like u came back with something good.Where u from San Fran.And dont get mad because I call a spade a spade.When they had the question who are the top 10 picks if everybody was in the draft and u had AI 1rst that showed the groupie love u had for the man right there.Ima leave u alone though because I aint with that homo shit.Fed u mad about that loss to coming at Big Shot and Jay Streets finest.The next win they’ll be ya homies again.I want yall to beat Boston because they got a fraud ass team with some fraud ass stars.And the big guy from my hood play for yall.So do your thing.
May 25th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
doc says:
One more thing I just thought about the homo.Dam dogI wasnt even up on the board u must’ve been thinking about me all night and u still had that faggot ass line.Thats terrible.Take that heavy artillery and kill yaself.
May 25th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
QQ says:
Hey Dime, what happened to the T-Mac love? Hahaha, lovin’ it.
Kevin Garnett is a beast, and whoever compares him Sheed must get a reality check( it’s free, folks). Tired of that damn notion that IF only Sheed would focus he can be one of the best ballers in the L.
DAMN IT! That’s the point! He’s not one of the best because he can’t get his mind to focus on baketball and winning. Don’t compare that douche to the greats. (cough, SI)
Even out-of-work homie Gerald Green (sorry brother, gotta do this)would be one of the top players IF he would only focus. Yall know the rest of the story.
May 25th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
GayforRudy says:
beantown, eat shit.
You are very clever yourself. You MUST be right I must be a “fag” cock sucker since it says “gay” in my name. I’m going to assume that the “boy” at the end of your post was a racist slur since MOST people that are Boston fans are meathead, bandwagon, frat boy fucking, dumbass, man chowda lovers.
Fuck Yourself
May 25th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Three Stacks says:
Damn, there’s a lotta hate on today’s comment section.
May 25th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Celticsdada says:
Keep hating dude , last time i heard Rudy is at HOME playing viedeo game
May 25th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Austin Burton says:
On a serious note, T-Mac just turned 29 yesterday and people talk about him like he’s in his twilight years.
May 25th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
HKP says:
Dime Mag:”Kind of like what’s been going on with Manu Ginobili in the Lakers/Spurs series, if Chauncey even played just OK in Detroit’s two losses, they could be up 3-0 at this point.”
Dang. Some serious hatred spewing forth. If Rondo played just okay in game 2, Boston would be 3-0. If my aunt had a dick, she’d be my uncle. Enough with the pointless IFs. Plus, the Manu comparison is so ridiculous. When the Spurs get housed by 30 points, it means it would take more than Manu playing “just okay” for the Spurs to win. Bringing up that comparison just makes your argument look weaker.
Also, it wasn’t the zone specifically that messed up the celtics late in the game. It was the half court trap, off of a zone set, that exposed some weakness in Boston. Don’t think they’ll be able to do it that successfully in the future. Most likely the Celts will have worked on it on the day off. One of the TV commentators was saying that Detroit should think about trapping for a larger part of Game 4. But that would require the Pistons to play with energy for the whole game (gasp!). Also, the trap doesn’t work as well when the team is ready for it and isn’t trying to bleed the clock. That’s why traps are mostly used as a changeup on the pro level, not as a base defense.
May 25th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
nick says:
that line about tmac was cold.
May 25th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
K Dizzle - Get that quarter out yo' ass cuz you played yourself says:
who’s t-mac? lol
May 25th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
SAS Sizzle says:
i gotta go home and change the water in bucknasty’s mama’s dish…hatehatehatehate
May 25th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
hotdog says:
“Yesterday was Tracy McGrady’s birthday. He celebrated by doing what he does every year: Watching the later rounds of the NBA playoffs from home …â€
2nd the motion, cold indeed dime.
May 26th, 2008 at 7:40 am
iceman anaba says:
..There was a KG dunk off a feed by ‘Jesus’ on a fast break that brought back memories of ‘wince’ carter over fredrick weiss at the olympics (it did bring back memories to van gundy at least)