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Detroit Pistons (0-1, 8-4) at Boston Celtics (1-0, 9-6)
Eastern Conference Finals Game 2
Thursday, May 22
8:30 PM ET
TV:ESPN
TD Banknorth Garden Probable Starting Matchups PG Rondo vs Billups
SG Allen vs Hamilton
SF Pierce vs Prince
PF Garnett vs McDyess
C Perkins vs Wallace
Off the Bench: Eddie House, James Posey, Leon Powe, Big Baby Davis, Tony Allen, PJ Brown, Sam Cassell
Injuries Scott Pollard, ankle, out
InactiveBrian Scalabrine, Gabe Pruitt
Off the Bench Jason Maxiel, Arron Afflalo, Linsdey Hunter, Jarvis Hayes, Rodney Stuckey, Theo Ratiliff, Juan Dixon, Amir Johnson,
InjuriesNone
InactiveJuan Dixon, Cheikh Samb, Walter Hermann
Key Matchups vs
Rajon Rondo vs Chauncey Billups
Rondo won the first round between these two point guards. He clearly out played him on both ends of the floor. Billups was a step slow the entire game and it appears as though his hamstring may be bothering him more than he originally let on. This will remain to be a kep to this series as Rondo needs to set the pace of the game and continue to push the ball and set up the Celtics offense. He did a great job in the first game and will need to continue to do so in this game.
vs
Paul Pierce vs Tayshaun Prince
Pierce picked up right where he left off in game 7 to be aggressive on both ends of the court in this game. He drove to the basket, hit assorted jumpers and was aggressive on defense. Prince didn't seem to have an answer for him. Pierce will need to continue to be be the go to guy and be aggressive for the Celtics to succeed.
Honorable Mention Ray Allen vs Rip Hamilton
Ray is still struggling with his shot, but he did so many other good things for the Celtics in game 1. He drove to the hoop, took charges, and played excellent defense. The Celtics tried getting Ray going early but he just can't find his shot. Ray is a scorer, though and one of these games his shots will start to fall, and it can't come too soon. In the meantime, his aggressiveness on defense and his other contributions are helping the team.
Keys to the GameDon't Let Up The Pistons did not play well in the last game. The Celtics can't get a false sense of accomplishment and expect them to play as poorly in this game. The Pistons have a way of turning it on when they need to and I have a feeling we will see them playing a lot better in this game. The Celtics need to come out strong in this game again and play hard for 48 minutes. Don't give the Pistons an inch.
Defense and Rebounding The Celtics defense in game 1 was superb and it set the tone for the Celtics entire game. Turnovers by the Pistons became easy shots for the Celtics. They need to be just as aggressive defensively in this game and play solid team defense, not allowing any easy baskets. The Celtics also need to crash the boards. The team that wins the rebounding battle wins the game. Perk came out early grabbing every rebound and we will need that again for the Celtics to get off to a good start.
Ball Movement The Celtics moved the ball very well in game one and were able to get inside and to find the open man. The Celtics had 27 assists on 36 field goals and they will need to continue to move the ball as they did in game 1. When they have good ball movement, they are hard to beat. When the ball stops moving, they struggle.
X-FactorHome Court Advantage The Celtics have won all 9 of their home games so far in the Playoffs. Hopefully the home court advantage will hold true in this one as well.