After watching them lose, I'm convinced the Celtics will win

So Boston’s “Big 3” all score over 20, and they lose anyway-at home, no less. And now I’m going to tell you why we learned a lot more about why the Celtics should win this series than why they won’t.

Ray Allen is at the center of this discussion. Without any substantial contribution from him the Celtics managed to go 9-6 in the playoffs and hold a 1-0 lead in the conference finals. So with his sudden re-emergence, how did the team respond? By losing. At home.

Allen was by no means spectacular last night. But he was hitting jump shots (finally), playing aggressively, and forcing turnovers on defense. In fact, nobody in Boston’s line-up played over their heads, save perhaps Rajon Rondo, who so far in this series has turned in his typical energy-infused performances, now coupled with a higher-than-normal shooting percentage. The Celtics bench contributed nothing to the game, and without the solid play of the Big 3, this would have been a blow out.

Am I getting to the point soon? Maybe. Let’s get to Detroit. The Pistons won this game because they did what they have done famously (and mind-numbingly) for years: they played mistake-free, and hit easy shots when they were there, and hit clutch shots when they needed them. They got better-than-average performances from six players (including rookie Rodney Stuckey, who played like a veteran in his sizeable second half minutes).

Ok, so here’s the point: The Celtics got standard performances from their stars, and lackluster efforts from the rest of the team. The Pistons played almost flawlessly, and got the benefit of the doubt on almost every whistle. It’s hard to imagine the Pistons playing much better than they did last night again in this series. Not impossible, but not probable. What else can you ask for from a team that shot 88% from the line and almost 50% from the field?

It would seem that the team with potential to improve throughout the series would be Boston. Don’t forget that the game they did win was without Allen’s influence. It is hardly out of the question to expect more performances from the Big 3 like they had last night, which, really, is what we expect from these guys night in and night out. And their defense played uncharacteristically average.

The wild card for Boston is that they have three players capable of exploding for huge games. How will Detroit respond if Pierce comes up with a 40+ game? And, hey, maybe Sam Cassell will get off the bench and add some offense.

It’s all speculation, but look for Boston to bounce back from their first home loss in these playoffs, and expect more of the same old from Detroit.