Celtics vs. Pistons 3rd quarter

[Snoopy the Celtics Beagle]

3rd quarter:

Things started badly right away as Prince blew by his man and  got a 
easy shot to give the Pistons their first lead of the game just 12 
seconds into the start of the second half.  Telfair tried and failed 
to answer, and this time, the Pistons were the ones clustered under 
the hoop for the rebound.  Prince missed his next shot, but was left 
wide open to take it in the first place.  Perkins and Pierce played a 
two man game next trip up, and once more, there wasn't enough 
movement without the ball, allowing the Piston defense to collapse 
in. Perk made the shot anyway, but had to dribble far too long before 
getting his shot off.

Billups missed his first free throw after getting fouled driving to 
the hoop, but managed to rattle the second home.  Cousy noted that 
Telfair simply wasn't guarding Billups at all.   Pierce launched a 
deep two from just inside the elbow of the arc to put Boston ahead 
once more.  But Hamilton drove down the middle and tossed it in for 
two of his own.  Pierce fired back with a shot from the free throw 
line that "clunged" through the hoop.  Wallace, getting hotter now, 
successfully launched a three.

Even now, both teams seemed content to move the ball with the dribble 
rather than the pass, both in coming up the floor, and once they were 
on the offensive end.  This played right in to Detroit's hands, as 
their defense worked a lot better against a halfcourt offense.  It 
could be terrible for Boston, as Detroit had plenty of time to work 
for the open man.  Telfair, on the other end, had to launch a shot 
clock two after the offensive set broke down.  It went in, but 
highlighted the problems the C's were having, using too much clock to 
set the offense up in the first place.

The Pistons exploited the halfcourt game again,with Hamilton blowing 
past Wally, who picked up a "T" with his overly demonstrative 
complaint, before remembering the zero tolerance.  After looking at 
the play again, Wally did, in fact,commit the foul; and he made 
things worse by the silly technical he picked up.  Billups shot the 
technical free throw, which went in, then Hamilton went to the line 
for his free throws, which also went in.

Boston walked the ball up, then Pierce lost it on a turnover, which 
the Pistons converted into another two points.  The Celtics called 
timeout, perhaps so they might be reminded they need to RUN, since 
they're supposedly an athletic team.  Detroit had gotten themselves a 
58-54 lead with 8:21 to go in the quarter.

When time came back in, the Celtics made a one and done effort, which 
Detroit blocked, then took the ball back up to score again.  Boston 
recovered on the next possession, and Wally made it count. But 
Detroit looked stronger with every possession, as if they were 
draining the Celtics' energy.  Mohammed's face klonked Perkins on the 
back of the head, creating a foul, and probably making Mohammed count 
teeth to make sure they hadn't been knocked out.  Perk had to go to 
the bench, looked like there was some blood, so Al Jefferson came in 
to replace him.

The Celtics ran down the shot clock before getting off a shot from 
Jefferson.  The C's were just taking WAY too long to set up the 
offense, and Detroit was making it tough to get a shot off.  the 
Pistons like the halfcourt game and Mohammed made his next shot look 
easy--which it was, having faked the defender out of his feet.

On the next possession, Hamilton simply took the ball away from 
Wally, and Wally had to hustle to take the charge before the Pistons 
got another easy two.  This created the first Piston's turnover of 
the game, with 6;10 to go in the third quarter and Detroit now ahead, 
62-56.  For some reason, the Celtics are making the same mistake with 
Wally that they make with Pierce, giving him the ball too far away 
from the hoop to do any good.  At least Pierce can move and create a 
shot for himself, but Wally's simply not going to put the ball on the 
floor without something going wrong.  There's no help coming on those 
plays and Wally's looking very lonely way out there.

After the teams traded missed outside shots, Rasheed launched a three 
from the top of the key that went in smoothly.  This led to a Celtics 
timeout with 5:11 left in the quarter and the Pistons now leading it, 
65-56.  When time came back in, Pierce dribbled into the teeth of the 
defense, and drew the foul, but it was before the shot.  Perkins sat 
for Jefferson, then Wally took the inbounds pass for a quick basket 
and drew the foul to boot.  That's the kind of thing they need to do 
with Wally--quick passes near the hoop.  Telfair then sat for Rondo 
as Wally went to the line, but the shot bounced out over the 
rim.  Wally seemed to be pushing the mall, more than shooting it.

McDyess went up for a dunk, but Jefferson put a quick stop to that, 
sending the ball flying back.  This left the Pistons with 4 seconds 
on the shot clock, as they tried to inbound the ball again.  Rondo 
knocked it out again, leaving 2 seconds on the shot clock.  Sadly, 
history repeated itself as Rondo was called for the foul with one 
second on the shot clock, sending Billups to the line.  Doc looked 
torn between calling Rondo an idiot and reassuring him that it was 
just Billups showing his experience against the rookie.  Meanwhile 
Chauncey made his free throws as both broadcasters and fans grumbled 
that the Celtics former management had let Billups go after only 51 
games with the Celtics.

Wally helped the cause by making a three, but Billups set up McDyess 
perfectly for two points and a trip to the line. Justice prevailed as 
the free throw missed; and after another miss from the floor, the C's 
took the ball and roared back up but turned it over in one of their 
few transition opportunities in this game.  Gomes sat in favor of 
Olowokandi, as four Celtics started collided with each other for a 
defensive rebound, nearly losing the ball out of bounds, and once 
more allowing the Piston defense all night to set up.  Even Cousy 
commented, "If the guy has the same color uniform, it usually 
indicates he's on your side."  This is basketball 101, and it's 
really annoying to see the Celtics keep doing this.

As Pierce knocked down a shot, we learned the Perkins was in the 
locker room with trainer Ed Lacerte, with 3:11 left in the third 
quarter and the Pistons still ahead, 69-63.  Meanwhile, the Pistons 
put on a passing clinic and you just KNEW they were going to score 
off it.  At the other end, the Celtics were still holding onto the 
ball too much and Detroit prevented a basket, taking possession once 
more but committing a rare turnover, which led to a Celtics 2 on 1 
break.  Rondo kept the ball however, then blew the shot.  Wally, 
running hard with him, couldn't get the ball against 2 Detroit 
defenders, and Billups made the outlet pass, where the only reason 
Prince didn't convert an easy two was his momentum carried him out of bounds.

Delonte West returned to the game, and Kendrick Perkins returned to 
the bench, with reports that he had three stitches in the back of his 
head after the earlier collision, but was ready to play.  Meanwhile, 
Al Jefferson made another offensive rebound, and scored another two 
points for the Good Guys.  The Celtics turned up the defensive 
pressure, only to be foiled when Billups finally drew a foul going to 
the hoop after Detroit missed several shots.

As Billups made his free throws, Mike Gorman, Tommy Heinsohn and Bob 
Cousy all praised Olowokandi for his efforts thus far.  Pierce got 
two back at the other end, and the Celtics finally got a stop, with 
Delonte leading the break--but Delonte made the same mistake Rondo 
made previously, not letting the play develop, instead taking it to 
the hoop himself.  But this time, Pierce snagged the ball on the side 
then launched a three that went up and straight down through the hoop.

Detroit took the ball and Billups held for the last shot of the 
quarter, a three that didn't go.  The third quarter ended with the 
Pistons in the lead, 73-70, but the Celtics carried the momentum into 
the break.

Next...the 4th quarter!

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