Don't Downplay Win over Pistons

I've already seen a couple of bloggers attempting to diminish the Celtics victory over the Pistons in Detroit last Saturday. Even former Celtic Chauncey Billups called it just another game, and poked fun at the Celtics for celebrating the win like it was the Super Bowl.

I find this train of thought to be off mark for number of reasons.

But for now, let's focus on one.

Heading in to the game the Pistons were seens as a more complete team. They had the best starting five, and a much better bench. Heck, the pundits said, the Pistons go ten deep! How in the world can the Celtics beat that?

We already know that Boston won the battle of the benches, and quite comfortably I might add.

The flip side of the coin is worth taking a look at, too.

Boston's starters played 46, 32, 28, 28, and 26 minutes. None of them played outstanding. Pierce had 19 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists, but he scored his 19 points on 5-16 shooting. Garnett had 15 points on 4-11 shooting, and snared a mere five rebounds. Ray Allen was 3-8, Rondo was 1-7, and Perk had 9 rebounds and some early field goals.

Despite less than stellar performances from the starters, the Celtics owned the glass by a 50-36 margin, which included 15 offensive rebounds they converted into 27 points. The Celtics also owned the paint, outscoring Pistons 26 to nil in the second half. I repeat, 26-0 in the second half. The Celtics also held the Pistons to 39% from the floor on their home court.

Attempts to downplay the significance of this win are thus bound to fail.

Just a regular season game, you retort?

Imagine if the Cs had lost.

What would that have done to their psyche? The Pistons would have been guaranteed a series win, and with a win in Boston would have swept the regular season series.

Now the Celtics can take pride in the fact that they beat Detroit in Detroit without Boston's starters playing a deciding role. They can also cling to the belief that they let the game in Boston slip from their grasp.

Make no mistake.

The Celtics win over the Pistons was big, regular season or not.

Now take a look at the minutes played by the top six Pistons: 41, 40, 36, 35, 27. Two players in the 40s and two in the mid 30s. This compares to one Celtic starter in the mid-40s, and no other Celtic above 32 minutes. Even the first Piston off the bench, Jason Maxiell, played six more minutes than the first Celtic off the bench.

And this game supposedly didn't mean anything to the Pistons?

Give me a break.