Cavaliers Owner Dan Gilbert Says Speculating the LeBron James Would Leave Cleveland Is “An Insult To The City”.

Dan Gilbert is living under a large Free Stamp named “denial” in Cleveland these days.

Gilbert is upset that sports writers have assumed that LeBron James will skip town the second his contract in Cleveland is over.

I’m not saying I know LeBron’s every move or anything, but I did read this article over the Summer about how he would like to play in Europe for more money than the NBA allots to each team’s annual salary cap…

Additionally, if trading Richard Jefferson, Jason Kidd and the rest of your team that makes money for an unproven Yi Jilian (the guy does make some sick moves against a folding chair…and not in the WWF way..unfortunately…?) and a 52 year old Keith Van Horn doesn’t scream salary dump/phoning it in for top picks for the next two years, what does?

I can only think of one more move the Nets could make to guarantee that they are one of the worst teams in the NBA over the next two seasons both on the court and chemistry-wise. It involves bringing in Stephon Marbury, paying him the veteran minimum and a busload of college interns for him to fondle.

LeBron James will leave Cleveland.

Unless Cleveland can pack up it’s factories, Drew Carey, The Browns, Indians and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and move it to Manhattan.

The only thing that is an insult to Cleveland is the Indians logo which is quite possibly the most offensive sports logo of all time.

That and Skyline chili. That shit is an insult to chili. And that shit is factorial!

LeBron James “Would Consider A $50 Million A Year Offer To Play In Europe”

This is bad news for the NBA.

According to Chris Broussard, LeBron has already heard several offers from European teams. He likes money a lot. He wants to be a global icon. Awesome.

The article goes on and on about how it is unreasonable that LeBron would be paid $50 million per season overseas due to the exchange rate and lack of salary cap there. Ok.

It also makes some comparison to the amount of money David Beckham is paid to play in the MLS. Right.

The thing is, if LeBron wants to be a global icon, he should start by WINNING AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP OR TWO!!!

Yes, I know he is an absolute beast, I know he accelerates like nobody’s business, I know he is young and has the Universe by the sack, but the thing is, the guy has done essentially nothing in the NBA worth having Global Icon status to this point.

You know who else was young and had the world by the sack and was a standout NBA player for a time? Stephon Marbury. Vince Carter. Chris Webber. Grant Hill. Should I keep going?

I’m not going to say that all of the above had the same amount of potential as LeBron, it wouldn’t even really be a fair comparison as they are different types of players and what not.

Still, shit happens. People come into the league with infinite potential and sometimes get hurt, or get stuck on shitty teams, or get paid so much that they cannot be surrounded by good players, or just generally start believing their own hype overdo things and end up train-wrecks. Shit happens.

The thing is, the NBA cannot afford to pay LeBron $50 million a season. The salary cap will not allow any palyer to be paid that much without being surrounded by maybe 1 other veteran and 10 rookies. That is the way the math would boil down.

And you know who some true American sports global icons are? Michael Jordan. Tiger Woods. Maybe Lance Armstrong.

You know why? Because THEY HAVE WON CHAMPIONSHIPS!

Win 3 or 4 NBA Titles LeBron. You will be a global icon. Don’t worry about it.

Regardless of if his plan is to play in Europe only for 1 or 2 seasons, make bank, come back to the NBA and take a pay cut and then try to win MVP awards and NBA Titles, it still doesn’t make sense. Not for a young athlete in his prime.

If LeBron decided this when he was 31, still had 6 or 7 seasons left in him, had won a couple titles in America, I would say, sure, go for it, awesome, makes sense.

But this is just silly at this point. Speculation or not.

David Stern should be shitting bricks.

Elton Brand To 76ers, Baron Davis Should NOT SIGN With the Clippers.

Well Philadelphia, you certainly have something to look forward to this NBA season.

I would argue that in spite of a few missing pieces, the Sixers were among the top 6 teams in the East (maybe 5th…maybe 6th…) and were a couple years away from being able to hang with some teams in the West.

With the Elton Brand signing, they get bigger and a little tougher. Their defense will get a little better. They will be a better team.

I’m glad to see a good player from the West coming East. Its refreshing.

But the real story here?

The Clippers.

What the hell is going on in Clip land?

This team has officially lost three of its best players from last season (Brand, Maggette, Cassell), now features a bunch of young guys with no direction and SHOULD NOT BE ABLE TO SIGN BARON DAVIS.

Baron Davis should immediately reject ANY and ALL offers from the Clippers. Simple as that. He can sign to a variety of other teams and be in an immeasurably better situation.

LeBron should be making that face right now if Danny Ferry (Cavs GM) DID NOT spend all night talking to Baron Davis and his people trying to hammer out a deal to get the Beard to Cleveland. Last I checked, the Cavs needed a serious point guard (Delonte is good, but not Baron Davis good) and additionally more serious players in general around Lebron. Baron Davis with LeBron James in Cleveland? Scary. Like, I’d be shitting my pants every possession scary.

If Baron Davis does not back out of the contract with the Clippers, he is preparing himself for several years of professional agony. Sure, maybe he can be in some TV shows or movies while he’s in LA (its not like he’ll need to spend much time preparing to play basketball) but he’ll be miserable being sent out in the starting lineup of a COMPLETE non-contender year after year (YES, it IS different than being with GState where they might not have had a great chance of winning it all, but they were consistently a competitive team).

Believe me Baron. I’m from Boston. I’ve seen what it does to people.

ESCAPE FROM LA!!!

Baron Davis Is Going To The Clippers? Why The New York Knicks Are Screwed.

It seems like just yesterday I was writing about how Davis might go to the Clippers and how great it would be if that team actually tried to make some serious plays for free agents.

Oh…It was yesterday.

I guess I’m just glad he didn’t go to the Cavs, which would have been downright scary.

Right now its still a verbal agreement though, so we’ll have to wait and see. Granted, a verbal agreement is usually a pretty solid deal…but stranger things have happened.

Davis just BELONGS in California. The only other place I could see him fitting in would have been New York and we all know that isn’t happening.

While we’re talking about the Knicks, let’s take a look at why they are DOOMED through 2011ish:

1) Stephon Marbury – $19,012,500 through 2010 - To put that in perspective, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are both on $16mil contracts for the next 4 and 3 seasons. Let’s keep in mind that the nearly 20 million a year Starbury makes was paid to him in 07-08 to a) testify against Isiah Thomas, b) demand to be traded to the Celtics c) Skip a bunch of games due to a “personal matter” and d) not play for 3/4 of the season. Coney Island’s finest.

2) Zach Randolph – $13.3 million per year through 2012 – This is an out of shape guy who has had previous issues with everybody. He can score. But he’s not a team player. And he’s definitely not worth more than Rasheed Wallace (who makes $12 mil a year), Chauncey Billups (who makes $10 mil a year) or Richard Hamilton ($10 mil a year) and you know who else he’s not worth more than? LeBron James ($13 mil a year). Yikes.

3) Eddy Curry, Jamal Crawford, Quentin Richardson, Malik Rose – all $7 to $8 mil a year – 3, 4, 3 and 2 years left. Horrific. At these rates, the Knicks might as well just pay David Lee $32 million a year and call it a day. At least they’ll be getting quality minutes for their $32 million…

I’m not saying I’m qualified to be the GM of any professional sports team….I just don’t think I could have done WORSE than the Knicks have the last few years.

But as I said yesterday, I could see Baron Davis fitting in with D’Antoni, being a New York City guy and being happy there…you know…if they weren’t so horribly fucked. Oh well.

I just hope the Clippers aren’t done making moves. If they can get a couple more role-players and re-sign Elton Brand, they might be halfway decent. They probably aren’t getting past the first round of the playoffs, but I think they’ll have a CHANCE to MAKE the playoffs at least if they do re-sign Brand, stay healthy and make a few more good moves.

I wonder what Gilbert Arenas is going to do…I heard he is in talks with Washington for 6 years $127 million. $21 million a year seems high to me, for Agent 0. I’d say $106 million for 6 years would be about right ($17 million a year).

I’m just glad that the NBA off season has become more exciting. You used to hear about possible moves and everythign but nothing would ever happen. Now, anything could happen. Its a great time to be a fan.

Free Agents. Baron Davis. Gilbert Arenas. James Posey. Elton Brand. Corey Maggette. Donkey Kong.

Bombs is right. I do need to write about the free agents on the market right now in the NBA!!!

First off, let me say that I would LOVE. Repeat…LOVE to see Baron Davis on the Celtics. Not that its going to happen (or has any chance of happening at all), but I just want to make it known that he is one of my favorite players in the league.

So lets completely suspend disbelief (ala the movie “Wanted”) and talk about why that would be awesome.

1) Eddie House and Sam Cassell are probably not coming back. I would love to have a 29 year old in his prime point guard (and fearless shooter) to split time with Rajon Rondo.

2) He’s been not so healthy the last several years. If he only played like 25 minutes a game, maybe he’d be healthier?

3) Davis could also play SG in place of Paul Pierce or Ray Allen (however Doc is feeling at the moment) and lead the bench.

4) He has the greatest beard in the NBA since Walt Frazier.

The thing is, Baron Davis just seems to BELONG in Oakland. I don’t know why. It just makes sense.

Here are some teams that could use a great point guard:

1) Cleveland: Imagine a Cavs team with Lebron and Baron Davis? That would be scary…Especially since Delonte West is not guaranteed to return.

2) Houston: Maybe the Rockets want to upgrade at Guard? I feel like adding Baron Davis would be a slight improvement. But doubt this happens.

3) LA Clippers: Imagine if the Clips made off season pushes for various free agents (since their team is essentially non-existent right now)? They could probably use a guy who fits in California. Also doubt this happens.

4) Milwaukee: The Bucks going for Baron would be funny. Because if they had him, Bogut, Michael Redd and Richard Jefferson and a rotating cast of 6′11″ guys, they wouldn’t be terrible. This won’t happen.

Watch, he’ll probably end up with the Knicks or Sonics or Blazers or somewhere strange…if he doesn’t end up back in GState.

JAMES POSEY MUST REMAIN ON THE BOSTON CELTICS.

I don’t care what they need to pay him. EVERY TEAM NEEDS SOMEONE LIKE POSEY!!!

Rumors are that if the C’s don’t re-sign him, he might be enticed by the Cavs.

For the record, Cleveland really MUST make some huge moves this off season if they want to have even a small chance of resigning Lebron in 2010. They NEED to get better players around him. Just not Posey.

Elton Brand rumors were swirling in Boston last Summer.

He’s probably not headed anywhere but back to the Clips…supposedly.

Philly might want him. Philly should also make some interesting plays this off season. They could really turn into a top 12 team if they make some good free agency acquisitions or trades.

Gilbert Arenas could go anywhere. I hope he stays in the East for the sake of the East becoming more competitive.

Actually, I hope EVERY good free agent goes east. Lets level out the playing field here.

Maybe this is where the Sixers make a move? If their ownership wants to win, they’re gonna need to spend some serious money. And as was proven in 07-08, what you do in the off season definitely DOES have a major impact on what you do when the playing starts. Imagine if the Sixers somehow made plays for Brand, Davis and Arenas? That would be insane.

Also, this is why its so shitty that the Knicks have fucked themselves for years, I really do think, if there was any money to spend, that Baron Davis and Gilbert Arenas could both easily end up there and end up fitting in with D’Antoni’s style. They can both run and shoot. A New York team with the two of them, the hated Italian, and less derelicts? I’d say the Boston/New York rivalry would be on in basketball…

Corey Maggette is one of those guys that no one really gets super excited about, but he does average 16 points and 5 rebounds a game and would definitely be a solid addition to any team that could use an extra hand on offense. He’s not going to transform any team from a 30 game winner to a 50 game winner or anything like that. But he might be helpful in Cleveland or Philly or Orlando or Washington. Some team that is actively trying to get better (maybe even Miami or Chicago or Indiana…who knows?).

 

 

The NBA, Where Crazy Trades Happen – Yi Jianlian for Richard Jefferson, Jermaine O’Neal for TJ Ford

So unless you’ve been asleep all morning, you’ve probably heard about this.

Jermaine O’Neal will be sent to the Raptors for TJ Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, the Raptors 1st round pick (#17) and a player to be named later.

The Pacers have FINALLY decided to blow things up (maybe?) and try something new (I hope) because they still have not recovered from the melee at Auburn Hills.

On paper, this looks good for both teams. In theory, If Jeramine O’Neal stays healthy, the Raptors have some serious big (lanky) guys.

Let’s forget about the fact that O’Neal isn’t from Europe (which seems to be one of the main things Toronto looks for) look at the roster the Raps would have left:

PLAYER	POS	HT	WT	FROM
Andrea Bargnani	C-F	7-0	250	Italy
Maceo Baston	C-F	6-10	230	Michigan
Chris Bosh	F	6-10	230	Georgia Tech
Primoz Brezec	C	7-1	255	Slovenia
Jose Calderon	G	6-3	210	Spain
Carlos Delfino	G	6-6	230	Argentina
Joey Graham	F	6-7	225	Oklahoma State
Kris Humphries	F	6-9	235	Minnesota
Jason Kapono	F	6-8	215	UCLA
Jamario Moon	F	6-8	205	Meridian CC (MS)
Anthony Parker	G-F	6-6	215	Bradley

Throw in a 6′ 11″ Jermaine O’Neal and you have a team with 5 legitimate big men and only a PG under 6′ 6″. That’s a tall, young, athletic and ethnically diverse team.

IF O’Neal stays healthy…

Anyway, the Raptors weren’t that far away from being a really good team in 07-08 and this trade certainly won’t hurt them (because TJ Ford NEEDED to go).

But the one trade that’s just now starting to surface is a Yi Jianlian for Richard Jefferson deal.

Of course this is still a developing deal, but it certainly makes things interesting.

I don’t think Richard Jefferson turns the Bucks into a 50 win team in one season alone. But, he definitely won’t hurt. And they traded away an overvalued foreigner for him.

Plus, it proves the New Jersey ACTUALLY DOES plan to sign LeBron James. It makes the Jason Kidd trade look like it was a prequel in retrospect.

AND NOW, MY VOTE FOR THE TEAM MOST LIKELY TO LOSE 70 GAMES IN 2008-09…THE NEW JERSEY NETS!!!!!

Think about it…This is a team that will fold until the summer of 2010 when they try to get LeBron James. Expect the Nets to be attempting to get the first overall draft pick for the next two seasons. Expect the Nets to build a core of young guys perfect for accommodating a guy who will want to win it all. Expect floppage like you have never seen before.

But the trades are awesome.

Ever since KG came to Boston, the NBA has been a different league.

In previous seasons you might see some second tier or end of contract type moves but now the NBA is trade crazy (especially since the Celtics won it all with their brilliant front office moves).

And its awesome.

Tonight’s draft will almost certainly feature a plethora of trades. Teams will be reborn, while others implode and start over. Who knows where Michael Beasley will end up. Its great. The NBA is turning into baseball. Except with EVEN MORE big name players getting moved via trades.

 

Get Sold On The Celtics

The NBA Finals are 3 days away. Its time to get sold.

I didn’t really look around today but I’m sure if I did I would have found 6,000+ articles selling me on the rivalry. The brilliance. The match up. The Celtics and Lakers. Classic.

Great. Fun. Thanks.

But I doubt many of those articles would have sold me on why the Celtics can win the Finals.

As a side note, I don’t especially need to be sold to. I believe in these Celtics for the same reasons I blogged about on Friday after they dismantled their greatest threat to date.

And yeah, the Lakers have Kobe Bryant. Great.

But one thing the Lakers don’t have is a celebrity fanbas-

Oh…wait.

All of that aside, who would you rather face in the playoffs (completely disregarding which team they are on for the sake of this argument) at this stage in their career, Kobe or LeBron? 

Kobe is Kobe. He won the MVP (finally), he’s iconic, he seems like a jerk, most people don’t really care for him (we’ll see if the forthcoming Spike Lee documentary can change that) and he’s incredibly talented.

But LeBron James is coming off of the best season of his career (statistically anyway – in everything important [assists, rebounds, blocks, Triple Doubles, 50+ point games...etc.] other than Points Per Game which he averaged 1.5 more two years ago when he played 2.5 less minutes a game). 

The thing that scares me most about LeBron is how fast he accelerates and how well he finishes in the paint. I have personally never seen anyone in my life that SEEMS as fast as LeBron is with as soft a touch. He’s almost beyond being defended because of the way he moves and because he gets so many calls, if he wants to win a game, its his to win.

Kobe, yeah, he’s great too. Yes, he shoots better than LeBron, yeah, he’s a better all around player, but for some reason he doesn’t scare me nearly as much.

Now obviously, I’m not completely moronic. I can’t discount the fact that the ‘08 Cavs are (or were…now) clearly very inferior to the ‘08 Lakers. But I’m saying, completely disregarding their current rosters, if you had to pick one player to play against who would it be? 

I think Kobe is the lesser of two evils at this point.

His surrounding cast is stronger (obviously) and (as I’ve read in every article so far) Phil will most likely make Doc look like a fool (all though I’m not sure what PHIL could do at this point that Doc hasn’t already one-upped him on in the ‘making Doc look like a fool’ contest…maybe Phil will pants him at a timeout or something?) and the Lakers have more team experience I guess (all though this crew of Lakers looks nothing like the 2004 Lakers did…the last time they were in the Finals [and lost]…Kobe and Derek Fisher…that’s it).

But I still can’t foresee anything short of a fantastic match up.

I think the Celtics are MORE READY for Kobe (they had practice against LeBron, the crazy 8 headed Detroit machine and Joe Johnson who they let LOOK like he is an top tier elite player) than The Lakers are for the Celtics.

 

In The NBA Finals.

The Celtics did something special tonight. 

Yes, they beat the Pistons in 6 games (twice on the road!), yes, they are headed to the NBA Finals for the first time in over 20 years, yes, they are playing against the LA Lakers, yes, they went from being in the basement of the NBA to going to the finals in one season and yes, it will be the first finals appearance for most of the team (including Paul Pierce, KG and Ray Allen). 

All great.

But the best thing they did on May 30th was prove that they can still grow and that there is still time.

The entire playoffs have made journalists and sports fans all over the world wonder “what is wrong with the Celtics” and yes, they technically never trailed in any series, but it took them 7 games to euthanize an athletic but overachieving Atlanta Hawks team, another 7 games to finish off the Cleveland Lebron’s (in a series a lot of Boston assumed would be the end) and now, against their greatest opposition of the playoffs they manage to win not one but two games on the road, clinch the series on the road and come from behind a 10 point deficit? 

If you would have told me the Boston Celtics could have beaten the Pistons in six games, twice on the road and come from behind to clinch on the road anytime after game six of the Atlanta series, I would have told you you were crazy.

Coming into the playoffs I had nothing but the utmost confidence in this Celtics team. They had role players, they had veterans they had guys who could step up on any given night and for he most part Doc Rivers kept it simple and keeping it simple carried them through a 66 win season.

But something happened around game 3 in round 1…

The Celtics got the fear.

The “win or go home” fear that they had not played against all season. The “win or go home” fear that Pierce, Ray and KG had never experienced together before (and Rondo had NEVER experienced). The “win or go home” fear that seemed to make something so perfect in the regular season seem like an aberration or a mirage.

Suddenly guys were turning the ball over for no good reason or looking to constantly make an extra pass rather than taking a shot. The defense looked weak. The bench wasn’t performing to their potential. Doc started making bizarre substitutions, Ray Allen got ice cold, Sam Cassell rolled over and died and every game felt like 9 hours (as opposed to the 4 hours they actually are).

Atlanta was a struggle where the Celtics played horribly on the road for 3 games. in game 2 they gave up big leads and when the crowd got into it Ray Allen got that look of mortification that means a team is going to lose unless someone steps up big time…and there were no takers.

Cleveland continued the pattern of making the Celts look piss poor on the road by forcing mistakes, playing defense and making people afraid. Until game 6 in Cleveland.

I knew game 6 was a turning point as I was watching it. The Celtics got the lead early int he game and they played with intensity and didn’t seem to give up. They didn’t decide to lose, they decided to play until the final buzzer.

In the end,t hey lost, there was a horrible horrible horrible foul called against Paul Pierce that essentially blew the game for them, but I was confident in a game 7 victory in that series because it was the first time all playoffs that a team pushed hard against the Celtics and they fought back.

I even texted my buddy Sean a famous line from “White Men Can’t Jump” after the game; “Sometimes when you win, you actually lose and sometimes when you lose you actually win and sometimes when you win or lose you actually tie and sometimes when you tie you actually win or lose”. 

It was true of that game. The Celtics lost game 6 in Cleveland, but the unity was getting stronger. The team looked ready to fight. Like Lebron’s amazing play had awoken them from the late season doldrums.

Against Detroit, they lost a tough one at home. I was in the fourth row that night miserable as hell and trying to figure out some way that they could pull out the series against the Pistons. All though a lot of the Celtics fans had left early or were clearing out by the time the game ended, I stayed behind and watched them walk off. KG looked like someone had just broken his heart. And I heard someone yell “Its OK Kevin, you’ll kill them in Detroit”. 

As much as I tried to sell myself on that, I had trouble. Saturday night rolled around and I had convinced myself the Celtics could make it a close game if they came out with intensity. And did they ever.

Game 4 of the series was kind of confusing. It was the type of home game most teams usually have in the playoffs where they get up early, discourage the away team, get the crowd into it and destroy them. Except even in game 4, the Celtics had chances to steal it that just didn’t pan out. They got down, the crowd was in it, the Pistons were working hard and Mike Breen was ready to give McNugget the Eastern Conference trophy. Yet, the Celtics still fought back to a degree. They didn’t win…but they didn’t just roll over and die like they did int heir first 5 games on the road in the playoffs.

Game 5 the Celtics held on and won. Sure,t hey could have played better, yes, the Pistons defense disrupted their flow and lead to some awful looks and even worse turnovers. But Ray Allen was back, arm sock and all, and the Celtics stuck it out.

Tonight I had a feeling. I knew they could put the Pistons away. Even when they were down 10, I said to Kyley “they still have one great run left and Paul Pierce will explode”. Hell, I predicted it on the blog earlier in the day.

The Celtics fought back from behind, on the road, with KG in foul trouble. No, it wasn’t perfect (ahem, Rondo…PLEASE JUST TAKE A SHOT ON THE FASTBREAK!!! WHAT WAS SHEED GONNA DO? FOUL YOU AND GET FOULED OUT?!?!?!), but they found a way to win.

They are growing in the Playoffs.

The Lakers may be tough but the Celtics are still growing.

And I don’t think a week off and some time to prepare will do them any harm.

Eastern Conference Finals: Game 1

May 22nd, 2008

There are not a lot of bad things I can say about the Celtics in game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. They scored and played more aggressive offensively (44 points in the paint!) than they have since game 7 against the Hawks. Sure they had some bad turnovers but most of their problems were self-inflicted.

Aside from the fact that the Pistons of the 00’s just seem to be destined for the playoffs every season, the day i knew that the 2008 ECF would be Detroit vs. Boston was December 19th 2007. It was their first meeting of the season, the Garden had an absolutely stunning playoff-like atmosphere, and the teams matched up better than a lot of Detroit fans thought would.

A lot has been made of the Celts lack of a road win through 2 rounds of the playoffs. I think the Celtics are going to smother the criticism this round.

The Celtics won 2 of 3 against Detroit in convincing fashion this season. They beat them at the Palace and the one game they lost was lost by a bad clutch decision by Paul Pierce (12 seconds left and he takes a contested shot with a tie score? WHY?!?!?) and a bad foul by a bench player (Tony Allen! TONY ALLEN!?!?!)

The NBA is all about match ups. The Hawks were probably one of the most spry and athletic teams in the playoffs. The Cavs are BIG (Zydrunas, Varajao, Joe Smith, Ben Wallace and a 6′ 8″ Lebron) and have the most explosive player in the NBA. Neither of these is a particularly favorable match upfor the Celtics because bothteams forced a lot of turnovers, both teams blocked shots and neither team really let them get into an offensive rhythm when it mattered.

How are the Pistons different? Well for starters, they aren’t spry, they only have two guys 6′10″ and up (one of them named Theo Ratliff) and they are a jump shot team.

How does this work in the Celtics favor? Well, they can probably get more penetration (see Paul pierce weaving through Billups, Hamilton, Waxler, Allen, Collins…etc.) and take more high percentage shots because Detroit isn’t overwhelmingly fast, they aren’t overwhelmingly big and they play the type of team defense that works great against mostteams. It is safe to say though, that the Pistons have yet to play a team with the amount of weapons the Celts have at their disposal.

Hamilton was relying almost exclusively on jump shots on Tuesday night. Its like a gift to Ray Allen. He might as well have said “Ray, I’m gonna let you get out of your slump and if that doesn’t work I’ll remain stationary whenever I get a pass and just take jump shots you can contest all night”.

The fact that the Pistons lost by 9 (12 if you take out the uncontested buzzer beating 3 at the end) and not 25 is due only to the fact that they shot really well from mid range. If they do not insist on driving more, they will have a game where they shoot at a lower percentage from mid range and get absolutely toasted (see Boston in game 4 against Cleveland).

Even though the Pistons have been here before, they just don’t seem to scare anyone the way Lebron does.

Its like The Celtics were forced to spend the last 7 games hanging out with Charles Manson. You don’t know what he’s capable of. The guy is insane. He could kill you 100 different ways. ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN! And now they are hanging out with OJ Simpson. Sure, he’s intimidating. He might lop your head off or rob you at gunpoint, but after surviving two weeks with Manson you have to like your odds of getting away alive. 

That is why the Celtics will take one on the road this series.