With the L.A. Lakers appearing nearly ready to reach the NBA Finals, it might behoove the Boston Celtics or Detroit Pistons to end their Eastern Conference Final as soon as possible or risk being too beat up to give
the Lakers much of a challenge.
Game 5 of the East finals is Wednesday night in Boston, with the Celtics opening as 5.5-point betting favorites (over/under: 173) on WagerWeb.com.
Surprisingly, one player the Celtics may have to focus on defensive is Antonio McDyess. The veteran forward scored 21 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in the Game 4 win. McDyess is averaging 14.5 points and 10.8
rebounds in the series and has been playing good defense on Kevin Garnett, who was held to a series-low 16 points in Game 4.
"Dice has been our best player in the postseason, and we're all feeding off his energy," Chauncey Billups said. "You see how hard he is working, and you can't help but play hard."
Actually, McDyess hasn't been the only Detroit frontcourt player giving Boston trouble: Jason Maxiell scored 14 points in just 20 minutes of playing time Monday.
"I think Game 5's going to be tougher, but I think it will be tougher for both teams," Detroit's Flip Saunders said. "You've got a three-game series. As the series progresses and the end becomes inevitable for somebody ... there's more pressure on both teams. We have pressure in that we've got to win in there, and they've got pressure knowing that they're a team that won 66 games during the season. We both have the same marching orders -- a championship."
The Celtics shot just 32 percent from the floor on Monday night, with Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen sinking just 11 of 38 shots. Interestingly, Detroit and Boston combined for only three 3-pointers, the fewest in any NBA playoff game in eight years, since Phoenix (three) and San Antonio (zero) combined for three on May 2, 2000.Despite a bad Game 4 for Boston's Big 3, the C's do know they do not have to win in Detroit again to eliminate the Pistons. They have only one home playoff loss - of course that came in Game 2 of this series.
"They never panic, especially Ray, Paul and KG. They're always poised," center Kendrick Perkins said. "They never talk negative, even after the loss they stayed positive. It was like, 'Don't even worry about it. We aren't losing any more games at home."
Boston's role players slowed down in Game 4 after contributing 47 points in Game 3; that group scored 32 points while shooting 10-for-28 from the field on Monday.
In addition, fatigue could become more of a factor as the series continues, Saunders said.
"The first thing with fatigue, it starts wearing on you emotionally," he said. "First thing you start seeing is a change in how teams play a little bit. I thought we looked fatigued in Game 3 at times for some reason, and (Monday) night their shot selection was a little more frivolous than what it was in the other games. That happens with fatigue, and it happens with pressure."
That's the reason Saunders gave his team Tuesday off.
Betting trends: Pistons are 8-1 ATS in their last 9 games as an underdog of 5.0-10.5. . Pistons are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games following a S.U. win. . Celtics are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 home games vs. a team with a winning road record. . Celtics are 1-7 ATS in their last 8 playoff games as a favorite of 5.0-10.5. . Under is 5-1 in Pistons' last 6 overall. . Under is 7-1 in Celtics' last 8 vs. a team with a winning S.U. record. . Under is 7-1 in the last 8 meetings.
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