It's Settled

Boston finished off the LeBrons tonight in a hard fought game 7. Personally I was glad that Boston won. Why? I'll tell you.

1. No LeBron
What more can I say. The guy is a force of nature and he gets calls. Now, when I say he gets calls I mean that LeBron may put you in the Walls of Jaricho while you go in for a lay-up and YOU will get called for charging. Or, LeBron may slap the ball from your hands and then hold your jersey as you try to recover it all the while winking slyly at the refs who shrug and wink back with impish grins and "thumbs ups". I know, I'm exaggerating...a little. But if you asked me, "Hey, would you rather play LeBron and have homecourt in the Conference Finals, or would you rather play Boston whose mainstays have never been this deep in playoffs as a unit?" I'll take the Celts everytime, thanks. Let's not even get into the bad memories from last year that would haunt my dreams. "Zzzz...No Lebron, no, not another and-1 layup...zzzzz."

2. Experience
I already touched on this but it has been made more apparent that the Celtics really haven't got alot of deep playoff experience from their starters, at least when compared to Detroit. I'm not ready to give Boston the "backs against the wall" moniker that has followed the Pistons for years, but doesn't it seem that Boston only wins when it really has to? Like in Game 7's against the Atlanta Hawks? I think experience, as a whole, is a bit overrated (see Rodney Stuckey). But just a bit.

3. Fatigue
Boston vs. Cleveland was a brutal, physical, emotional, defensive grind. LeBron and Co. took alot out of a Celtics team that had already endured a long series with Atlanta. The Pistons took care of business vs. Orlando and are fresh. If Detroit is aggressive coming into game one they could steal homecourt from Boston.


4. Matchups
I'll try to be as objective as possible here:

Point Guard: Billups vs. Rondo
Advantage: Billups
Chauncey wins this battle by virtue of his size, strength and experience. Rondo, however has the speed advantage and finishes well so Chauncey will have to be on his a-game defensively. To me this is the most exploitable mismatch on the floor for Detroit.

Shooting Guard: Hamilton vs. Allen
Advantage: Hamilton
This matchup was close before the playoffs started and Ray Allen was replaced by a well disguised Mateen Cleaves. Hamilton was such a force vs. Orlando when Billups went out that if he can carry some of that energy over to this series this matchup may overtake Billups/Rondo for the "Most Exploitable" award. Allen's defense has been porous and if his shooting woes continue we may see alot more of Eddie House being posted up by Rip Hamilton.

Small Forward: Prince vs. Pierce
Advantage: Even
Now, you might say, "Come on MW, you are clearly showing bias by calling this matchup even. Didn't Pierce carry the Celtics in Game 7 going toe-to-toe with LBJ?" And I would have to concede the point that Pierce was magnificent vs. LeBron but that we also have to take into account Prince's performances (both offensively and defensively) in these playoffs. AI-Neutralized, Hedo-See "The Block II". The aforementioned are the go-to perimeter players on their repective teams and Prince came up big against them both all the while shooting nearly 60% from the field and sharing ball handling duties. This is where not playing Cleveland really helps Detroit because Prince matches up with Pierce much better than with LeBron. Prince is taller than Pierce and Pierce, though he is a great player, is not nearly as physical as LeBron. This is going to be the key matchup of the series and if Prince can truly keep the advantage even then the Pistons will go to the Finals.

Power Forward: Wallace vs. Garnett
Advantage: Even
Even? There I go again, huh? As with Prince vs. Pierce this matchup is going to be key. Size wise they are nearly even with Wallace being a bit heavier and Garnett maybe a tad taller, but pretty even. I like this matchup, again, for Wallace's experience vs. Garnett's energy. They are both great scorers and great defenders (Rasheed is really underrated)and are mobile big men with range on their jumper. This will be a real battle and one I am looking forward to.

Center: McDyess vs. Perkins
Advantge: McDyess
Experience, mobility, outside shooting, and perhaps most of all, drive give 'Dyess the advantage in this matchup. Perkins is taller and heavier ( 6'10" 264 vs. 6'9" 245)and could cause problems in the post for the smaller McDyess. But if the Orlando Game 5 McDyess shows up and begins nailing jumpers and ripping away rebounds Perkins will quickly find his way to the bench with foul trouble.

The Bench: Detroit vs. Boston
Advantage: Detroit
I have to go Detroit on this one. I had the benches as even, but the more I thought about it, the more I think back on the preceding series I have to go with DP. The Celtics reserves are no slouches. Powe is nice, Big Baby has given DP trouble in the past, House is instant "O", Brown is a cagey vet, and Posey has alot of experience vs. the Pistons in a playoff atmosphere. But the Pistons counter with a deep bench of their own. Maxiell is a beast, Stuckey would start for the Celtics, and the list goes on. One thing that I noticed about Detroit during the Orlando series is that they wear you down. You might get on a roll and make some shots but Detroit just keeps pushing, keeps coming at you, patiently, keeps throwing fresh guys at you, guys who can play( Stuckey), althletic guys (Walter, Max, Theo,) stoppers( Lindsey, Aaron) scorers(Jarvis and Juan). They play physical, they create matchup problems and more often than not their energy changes the face of the game in the Piston's favor.

There you go, there's my matchups. Of course what really matters to these teams is drive, focus, energy and will. Who is driven to win? Whos is more focused on the goal each game? Who brings the most energy? Who will impose their will on the series?

It's gonna be fun.