The Eastern Conference’s Best Team: Boston Celtics or Detroit Pistons?March 21 08  The AM Take: All season, the spotlight has been on the Boston Celtics. And all season, the Detroit Pistons have worked the background. Profiles aside, the Celtics and Pistons are the Eastern Conference’s top teams and a playoff clash seems inevitable.
The green-and-white are flanked by Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce. But The Big Three is backed-up by an underrated supporting cast; coach Doc Rivers can call on a bevy of veterans and energetic youngsters.
Motown also has star power. For years, Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, and Rasheed Wallace have carried the Pistons. But unlike the last few seasons, Detroit finally has second-unit chemistry.
Two great teams. Only one can represent the east in the NBA Finals. Who has the best shot at winning the Eastern Conference: Boston or Detroit? Read the post, form an opinion, and hit us off in the comment box below.
The Case for the Celtics …
- It starts and ends with Boston’s trio. Out on the perimeter, Allen and Pierce give opponents fits. Down-low, Garnett sets the tone with his intensity.
- They win by getting stops. Recently, the Celtics went into Texas and beat the Mavericks, Rockets, and Spurs by playing precision defense.
- Last August, fans laughed at who’d line-up next to Allen, Garnett, and Pierce. The joke was three Hall of Fame players plus nine NBDL cast-offs. But GM Danny Ainge has quietly assembled a deep team, finding the right mix of experience and youth.
The Case for the Pistons …
- Detroit’s four All-stars give them an advantage over every NBA team. Billups and Hamilton abuse opposing backcourts, while Prince and Wallace light-up opposing forwards.
- Their post-season experience will help in May and June. Each year, the Pistons push deep in the playoffs, making either the Eastern Conference Finals or advancing through to the championship round.
- Detroit’s bench played a key part in their 2003-04 NBA Title. This year, Coach Flip Saunders can legitimately use eleven or twelve players in a number of situations.
Boston or Detroit? Who is the Eastern Conference’s best team? Get at us in the comment box below with your thoughts. Click here for more of Oly’s NBA Blog and AM Take. (Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zenmama/2321827555/sizes/o/)
Posted by
Noelle
on 03.23.2008 | It’ll be a Beantown Beatdown! . | Posted by
Jake
on 03.22.2008 | Boston, baby! The Celts will win the ECF in 5 games and the Finals in 6. . | Posted by
on 03.22.2008 | Celtics bench is deep too. As deep as Detroit., Cassell, Brown, Posey, House, Powe, Big Baby, Tony allen (for D)... . | Posted by
BiAbi
on 03.22.2008 | Agree with texas triangle !! detroit will beat the C’s after getting its revenge against the sucking cavaliers, period . | Posted by
Miranda
on 03.22.2008 | Okay, I’m gonna say it:I really think Detroit is overrated!I also think their bench is better than their starting 5! Hehe. . | Posted by
on 03.22.2008 | The only people who still think the Pistons stand a chance against the Celtics in a playoff series (where Boston will hold homecourt advantage) are either one-eyed Detroit fans or Celtics bashers (typically Lakers fans). Doubters first said the Celtics couldn’t gel as a team after so many personnel changes in the off-season. They were quickly proved wrong after the Celtics raced out to claim the best record in the NBA after just two weeks of play. Doubters also said that Rondo would fail as a starting point guard. He has proven them wrong by averaging more than 10 points (at 47.5% from the field), 4 rebounds, 5 assists and nearly 2 steals for every 30 minutes played. Doubters also said that the Celtics would suffer if one of the ’Big Three’ went down. Without Garnett, the Celtics went 7-2 and more recently went 6-1 without Ray Allen. Doubters then claimed that Detroit was the best team in the East. After narrowly losing the first contest against the Pistons on last second free throws by Billups, the Celtics easily won the next two games to take the regular season series. Doubters then said the East was so weak that the Celtics couldn’t beat the top teams in the West. The Celtics are now 23-4 against teams from the Western Conference and recently completed a sweep of the ‘Texas Triangle’ when each of those teams were within 1 game of being the ‘best’ in the West. Remember also that Ray Allen sat out two of those games.Now doubters are trying to suggest that the Celtics are not playoff-tested and won’t even make it out of their conference. When banner #17 is hanging in Boston, maybe the armchair experts will finally stop doubting. . | Posted by
Anthony
on 03.21.2008 | Hey "TEXAS TRIANGLE"! are you from texas?? oh! the celts beat three of your teams in their respective homecourts right?? what a shame! and now your talking about the pistons sweeping the celtics??? you such a f**ckin’ crap! totally bullsh*it idea! even just one game the celts can win a game vs the pistons! but i doubt that! the celtics will advance to the finals! but i’m predicting it would be an interesting match-up! . | Posted by
on 03.21.2008 | DEtroit basketball ....... . | Posted by
Texas Triangle
on 03.21.2008 | Detroit will not win the championship but they will sweep Boston, mark my words! . | Posted by
YEAAA BOYYY
on 03.21.2008 | Im Going Either Sixers Or Wizards Real Talk not trying to be funny it will the the iguodala miller show fast breaking left or right or the wizards show the way they been playin i think both those teams can beat detroit or boston but mainly i would pick the sixers . | Posted by
oh no
on 03.21.2008 | Detroit’s bench played a key part in their 2002-03 NBA Title2003-2004 title . | Posted by
tradamerica
on 03.21.2008 | Detroit wins the metrics game at every level except... desire. . | Posted by
on 03.21.2008 | The Heat will be NBA champions!!! . | Posted by
on 03.21.2008 | I gotta ride with the Celtics ... the Pistons are done, they’ll choke or "lose interest" like they do each season .... . | Posted by
Alexa
on 03.21.2008 | Boston will win.Detroit has lost its fire. . | Posted by
on 03.21.2008 | detroit is going to win the NBA championship . |
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Oly Sandor | Daily take on NBA Oly Sandor is an NBA analyst and sports journalist based out of Vancouver, Canada.After years of the free-lance game, Oly Sandor is bringing his unique brand of NBA analysis exclusively to (...) More |
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