There are plenty of reasons to be both happy and upset after last night's game. Obviously, we hate to lose. And that pump fake… ugh… that will probably stick with Tony Allen for a long time.
But we can also look at the game this way: Chauncey Billups probably did more harm than good to the Pistons, because he taught the Celtics some valuable lessons. Lessons learned in December can be applied in June… and if the Celtics are really any good… that's what's going to happen here.
The up-fake… the veteran moves that got Rajon Rondo in foul trouble… the jumping and trapping that exposed some ball handling weaknesses off the bench…. it's all going into the memory bank. Next time, Rondo doesn't make the same mistakes. Next time, Tony Allen stays on the floor. Next time, we might have someone else on the roster coming in to handle the back-up PG duties.
So don't be too upset about last night's loss… we're just as good as Detroit. But I'll tell you this… this is a bad time to be a Chicago Bull. The Celtics lost on national TV… and have an opportunity to go back out on ESPN again and redeem themselves. And they won't redeem themselves by just winning. They will do so by blowing Chicago out. They're going to send a message… it's going to start with a 10-0 run… and it will end with Leon Powe playing most of the 4th quarter.
Herald: C's win streak goes up in smoke | Ray of hope in return | Billups welcomes rivalry | This was only a test | Cowens feels a new love | Globe: Foul ending | Shaughnessy: Let's do this again real soon | Pistons announce their intentions | Allen braced for return | Enterprise: C's, Pistons renew rivarly | T&G: Cowens isn't awed | Fizzle costs C's | Slam: Chauncy is clutch | MLive.com: Prince's observation helps Billups seal win | Det. Free Press: Billups gets good karma for telling KG to come to C's | Yahoo!: C's bring out best in Pistons | AOL: Pistons put upstart C's in their place | CBS: Pistons teach C's a lesson about Eastern Dominance | Mourning's career might be over
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