Pistons Improving

In the first half of Wednesday night's "epic" (as much as any December NBA game can be "epic) battle between the 20-2 Bostont Celtics and the Detroit Pistons, it was pretty clear that this was the same Pistons team that we've seen in the playoffs the past couple of years. It was an ugly half marked with bad defense leading to lots of uncontested shots and open driving lanes, too many jumpshots, and overall poor execution. The Pistons were playing hard, but it looked like they didn't have enough talent to contain the explosive Celtics nor the desire to shut them down defensively.

I don't know what happened at halftime, but a different Pistons team showed up for the second half. They played with intensity and desire, and they brought their defense. The Pistons disrupted the Celtics offensive flow. Chauncey Billups really got into a flow, and he brought his team with him. Rasheed Wallace stepped up and made some huge plays. Give the Celtics credit though, they didn't give up and tied the game on some monster 3's by House and Allen. It was very exciting, right to the finish!

In the end, it was the cagey veteran, Billups, who remembered the advice from teammate Tayshaun Prince as they left the huddle to draw the foul on the pump fake. Two free throws later from Mr. Big Shot, and the Pistons had their biggest road win of the season! Excellent!

As an additional footnote on the Celtics game, the Memphis game last night was important. In years past, after a big game like the one on Wednesday night, the Pistons would typically come out against a subpar team like the Grizzlies and lay an egg. I give the Pistons credit for not just stepping up to beat Boston - they are expected to compete for the east, so they should give Boston a battle - but for maintaining enough intensity to beat a subpar team in their next game rather than letting down.

Nice job on both games!