Celtics vs. Pistons 1st quarter

[Snoopy the Celtics Beagle]

Game 02, Friday, Nov 01, 7:30pm: Celtics vs. Detroit Pistons

The Celtics came into this game after the supreme embarrassment of 
being beaten in their home opener two days before, after a moving 
tribute to the recently deceased Red Auerbach, to whom the Celtics 
dedicated this season.  After practice the next day, the Celtics were 
all required to shoot 100 free throws in the gym, in hopes of 
avoiding the misery at the line that contributed to the loss.

Detroit was also coming off an opening night loss, and was looking to 
prove they really could win without Ben Wallace, their premiere 
rebounder.  So the question was, would the Celtics find their offense 
first, or would Detroit find their defense first?  The game would be 
tough no matter what happened.

The Detroit starters were introduced:  Chauncey Billups, Richard 
Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, and Nazr Mohammed, under 
Coach Flip Saunders.

Then came the Celtics lineup, but first, they had to show off the new 
jumbotron scoreboard. This was, unfortunately, followed by the 
"Celtic Dance team" (whom I refer to as the "Moosiers" after the 
"bovine hoofer" comment someone made), making their debut, fulfilling 
my worst expectations about what they would be doing--making this 
look like a college basketball game instead of an NBA game.  After 
they bounced their way across court in a manner that reflected no 
kind of "dancing" I'd ever seen outside a few really bad movies, they 
lined up to flash their wares as player introductions were made.  The 
Celtics starters, when they were finally introduced, were: Paul 
Pierce, Sebastian Telfair, Wally Szczerbiak, Ryan Gomes, and Kendrick Perkins.

1st quarter:

The tipoff was won by the Celtics, who promptly dribbled the ball up 
the court as the Detroit defense had all day to set up.  The C's did 
pass the ball better, but still weren't moving well without the 
ball.  Ryan Gomes did get a decent look at an 18-foot jump shot that 
bounced out and into the hands of the Detroit defense.  Hamilton 
brought the ball up as the Celtics barely beat him dribbling the ball 
up to their basket.  It was obvious the C's had been instructed to 
tighten their defense, as they blanketed the strong side of the 
court, Billups took--and missed--a shot nearly identical to the one 
Gomes had taken and missed at the other end, and the Celtics took the 
ball up, showing patience as they worked the ball into Perkins, who 
made sure the ball went in with a nice hook shot as the Detroit 
defense totally failed to react to him under the basket.  Mike 
Gorman, a recent guest on CSL's webcast, pointed out that the Celtics 
had gotten their first lead of the season one minute into the second game.

The Pistons were unable to convert at the other end, and Pierce took 
down the rebound.  Prince fouled him, and tested the ref's patience 
in the new era of zero tolerance for the Stanislavsky method on the 
court.  So far, the C's defense was better, and the offense was--for 
the moment--holding up.  Now, the Good Guys would face their first 
test at the free throw line as Paul Pierce walked to the line.  The 
first shot bounced off the rim, the backboard, and the rim again, 
before finally dropping through the net.  The second one looked more 
like a proper free throw, whispering through the net as the relieved 
Pierce ran back on defense with the rest of the team.

Prince was still complaining as the Pistons went up, and I was 
surprised he wasn't hit with a "T", given the really short fuses the 
refs had previously shown this week for such demonstrative 
behavior.  Rasheed was able to put it up over Gomes, despite good 
defense by the young Forward, drawing the foul in the process, and 
going to the line for two.  Justice prevailed as he missed both free 
throws.  Wally went up pretty quickly from the corner on the ensuing 
possession, and the shot just didn't look good to me. He was open, 
but he just didn't extend well, I thought.  Detroit couldn't 
capitalize as Pierce took down another defensive rebound, immediately 
getting the ball to Telfair, who got a good look that didn't go in 
from beneath the free throw line.  Hamilton blew an easy shot, but so 
did Pierce, despite taking it right to the hoop, the ball bounced out 
of the net.  Wally got his offense in gear after yet another Piston 
miss--and they had a wide open look, too as the C's defense broke 
down completely on the play.

The Pistons finally got themselves on the scoreboard with 8:48 left 
in the first quarter, off a Billups feed to Mohammed.  Wally 
responded at the other end with a baseline jumper.  But Billups was 
finding his teammates, and Mohammed scored again, from just under the 
hoop.  Pierce got in the paint, rebounding his shot after Mohammed 
blocked it and went back up to put the ball back in for two 
more.  After Billups missed a jumper, Telfair went to the hoop 
(missing a wide-open Gomes) to go for two more.  Timeout was called 
with 7:19 to go in the quarter and the Celtics leading it, 12-4.

During that timeout, there was a new promotion added for the Garden, 
where you can get your group a chance to play for five minutes on the 
Parquet floor, with PA introductions and a DVD of the game. Sounded 
like a good deal to ME!

Following the timeout, the Celtics tightened their defense, as 
Detroit was determined to make up for missing bunny shots 
earlier.  The C's offense looked a bit disjointed on the trip up,and 
got nothing out of it.  The Celtics defense was MUCH better than the 
previous game, to my great relief.  Mohammed provided two more at the 
free throw line after drawing a foul.  The Celtics next offensive 
trip was a mess as the Pistons came away with the ball after a bad 
pass by Perkins, who compounded the matter by managing to trip over a 
Piston player, committing his second foul.  Perk sat for Al 
Jefferson, and the Pistons and Celtics traded baskets.  It was nice 
to see Pierce passing out of the triple team to an open Telfair, who 
nailed the shot.  The Celtics played tight defense, but the refs blew 
it when the shot clock was wrongly restarted, and then a foul was 
called on Prince's shot.  I looked at the play again, and there's no 
question the shot clock would have sounded before the Pistons got a 
shot off originally.  It was a dumb foul by Telfair, but the refs and 
the timekeeper blew it first.  Telfair sat in favor of Rajon Rondo as 
the Pistons went 2-2 at the line, closing in on the Celtics lead.

Gomes was able to hit a shot clock jumper at the other end as the 
Pistons defense got tighter, forcing the Celtics to move the ball 
around the perimeter.  After a couple of possessions, Delonte West 
came in for Wally.  I have little other than my observations to 
support it, but I'd swear Wally's hurting when he tries to 
shoot.  What pleased me was that so far, the Celtics had consistently 
looked inside before trying the outside jumpers.  Both teams were 
playing halfcourt ball, and at this juncture, the Pistons were 
slightly more successful as they closed in on the Celtics.   Billups 
went back to the line for two more points.  I still get annoyed when 
I realize we traded him away ages ago.  Al Jefferson was still 
playing in close to the hoop and was rewarded with a trip of his own 
to the line, where he sent both shots through the net.

Billups responded with a deep two, after which the Celtics continued 
to try to work the ball inside to Jefferson--perhaps the Celtics were 
reading some of the online comments following the last game.--but the 
Pistons were beginning to defend Al seriously.  Both teams had played 
mostly halfcourt and I was surprised to see how effective the Celtics 
offense was in that set, though I'd rather see a few more fast 
breaks.  timeout was called with 1:49 to go and the Celtics leading it, 21-18.

The timeout featured another appearance by the Moosiers, dashing my 
hopes that someone had herded them on a plane to Los Angeles. and 
barred the Garden doors behind them.

After the timeout, the Pistons, courtesy of Hamilton, added two more 
points, once more closing in on the Celtics lead.  Olowokandi had 
come into the game, looking to cement the newfound reputation he'd 
established in preseason.  Rondo accepted the gift of the Pistons 
playing off him with a 10 foot jumper.  Pierce then sat for a rest as 
Tony Allen entered the game.  Delonte earned a trip to the line where 
he continued the Celtics perfection at the line in the first 
quarter.  A bit of sloppy play in the final minute and a blown fast 
break opportunity--one of the few--kept the Celtics from extending 
the lead as the quarter ended with the Celtics ahead, 25-24.

Next...the second quarter!

Snoopy the Celtics Beagle
Please visit the <http://www.celticsbeagle.net/>Celtics Beagle Website