"Boston has better offensive balance, is superior on the boards and has more size inside" - Sportsline

[kevin <bostonceltics17nojunkmailplease@yahoo.com>]

http://sportsline.com/b/page/pressbox/0,1328,5316920,00.html
New attitude drives Celts to Game 2 victory  
 May 9, 2002
By Dan Wetzel
SportsLine.com Senior Writer
   
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The game plan had already been set and pounded home. Jim O'Brien
and his staff had designed the system on how to stop Detroit's pick-and-roll, how to deny
the passing lanes, how to force bad shots and control the inevitable rebounds. 

So that wasn't the excuse for what the Celtics let the Pistons do to them -- namely shoot
50.7 percent and score 96 points -- in Sunday's Game 1 Detroit victory. 

   
Jerry Stackhouse finishes 7-for-22 from the field against a tenacious Celtics defense.(AP)

The problem was effort and concentration and simple "want to." As in want to make this
defensive stand, want to win this game, want to advance to the next round. 

"It's Celtics basketball," guard Kenny Anderson said. "It's Celtics basketball and we
didn't play it." 

They did Wednesday when the Celtics returned to Motown with the same game plan but a new
(or old) attitude. The result was holding the Pistons to a meager 32.9 percent from the
floor (just 26.8 percent in the tone-setting first half), grabbing 18 more rebounds than
Detroit and walking away with a 85-77 series-evening victory that wasn't as close as the
score, making a statement in the process. 

"We watched the film (of Game 1) and we were just soft," said Anderson, whose tight
perimeter defense was inspiring. "We were giving the dribble drive up every time. Everyone
said, 'listen, that's not us. If we are going to go down, then let's go down fighting.
Let's gut this thing out and let's see if they can gut it out with us.' Not too many teams
have done that this year." 

Count Detroit as the latest victim, which is quite a statement about Boston's level of
effort. The Pistons are supposed to be a blue-collar team that fought their way to a
surprise season, too. On Wednesday they were outhustled and outmuscled by a team that
simply wanted it more. 

The Celtics, who looked hungover (emotionally and/or otherwise), in Game 1, blitzed,
bullied and then buried the Pistons in front of a sellout crowd that barely had a reason
to get fired up. 

"I felt they had greater energy," said Detroit coach Rick Carlisle. 

While a balanced offense -- five double-figure scorers (the result of a Pistons defense
that allowed lane penetration all night) -- will make the television highlight shows, this
game was won on the defensive end. And that means it was won with Celtic Pride, the old
gut-check emotion that is as responsible for 16 NBA championships as Cousy, Russell and
Bird. 

Sunday the Celtics didn't have it. Wednesday they dominated the game. 

"A lot of it is pride," said Paul Pierce, who led Boston scorers with 22. "If you lose you
want to come right back out there and play. We wanted to play this game yesterday. That's
just how it has been all year with this team." 

Boston put on a hard hat and a determined face Wednesday and it was a beautiful thing. The
Palace was rocking at the tip but not for long. Five Celtics got after Detroit like guard
dogs, going eyeball to eyeball on the perimeter, switching and jamming the pick-and-roll,
denying the interior passes. 

The Pistons were stuck chucking them up from deep, usually with the shot clock dwindling
and always with an outstretched hand in their face. The game opened with Cliff Robinson
missing an 11-footer. Then Jerry Stackhouse bricked an 18-footer. Then Chucky Atkins
missed from 17 and on and on. 

Detroit started the game a frustrating 1-for-7. Boston led 15-5 before anyone knew what
happened. The Celtics never let their feet off the pedal and never relinquished the lead.
The Pistons made a third-quarter run, cutting a 15-point lead to a single basket, but
Boston gutted out the final four minutes of the quarter and brought the lead back to
eight. 

"I said to them at the timeout, 16 minutes left and we are up two. We are in good shape,"
said O'Brien. 

Boston buckled down again and won going away. 

"Those four minutes were decisive," said the coach. 

This game might be also. In winning their first playoff road game in a decade, the Celtics
showed that when they come to play they have some clear advantages over Detroit. Boston
has better offensive balance, is superior on the boards and has more size inside. 

And while Detroit is spending time jamming the perimeter to force the 3-point happy
Celtics to try something else, Boston is improvising quite well. Boston attempted just 18
3s in Game 2, down from their 24 per-game playoff average. That's because they spent most
of the night driving into the paint for easy baskets. 

"It's fine with me," said Pierce. "We aren't even trying to shoot that many (3s). I can't
understand why they are taking away a lower-percentage shot to give us a higher-percentage
shot. It's not like they have a Dikembe Mutombo in there, so driving is fine with me." 

Which means Detroit needs to come up with a new game plan as this series shifts back to
Boston for a huge weekend in front of what should be a fired-up FleetCenter crowd. Boston
is at full confidence level right now -- Antoine Walker's late game trash talking session
in Robinson's face is proof of that. 

The Celtics believe they saw the Pistons at their best Sunday and think if they play like
they should -- like in Game 2 -- then this is a team they can handle. This, they believe,
is their series to lose. 

But they'll have to bring it like they did Wednesday, holding Detroit to 19 fewer points
and forcing 19 more missed shots. 

"In the first game we just didn't follow the game plan," said forward Eric Williams, who
delivered 18 points and eight rebounds. "We left them open. But we worked hard. We went
back home and broke the tape down. We got back to doing the things we know how to do and
that's playing half-court defense." 

And playing Celtics basketball full of Celtic Pride. A simple formula that has served this
franchise for a long, long time. 

"This is what we wanted," said Anderson. "This is what we are capable of. This is what got
us here." 

And what will get them there -- to a Game 3 victory, to the Eastern Conference finals, to
the NBA Finals, to wherever. It's all about want to. 


 



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