Iverson's Move to Detroit

At one time, Allen Iverson vowed that his pairing with Carmelo Anthony on the Denver Nuggets would bring a title to the squad. This came after Iverson spent many controversy-filled seasons in Philadelphia. He had incidents with coaches and teammates, the famous "Practice?" clips on ESPN, an MVP award and then a trip to the Finals where the LA Lakers eventually dismantled his Sixers. Denver seemed like a bit of a saving grace for Iverson as he mellowed out with Melo. AI made the All-Star squad and the team made the playoffs, but heightened expectations didn't translate into a strong playoff presence. Team D was blamed for the team not making a strong push.

Now just a day ago, Iverson has been traded to his third NBA Team, the Detroit Pistons. In exchange for AI, Denver picks up Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb. The questions of who got the best of the deal already start pouring out. Mr. Big Shot Billups would be a welcome addition to most squads, but will he fit in well with Denver and Melo? The same goes for AI, will he work in the style of play the Pistons use? The Pistons are not as much an uptempo run and gun type team as Denver has been. Iverson now plays alongside Rip Hamilton, but he'll most likely be the Pistons lead scorer and go-to-guy. His talents will be welcome but may disrupt Detroit.

Experience is a factor in the NBA, but age can be as well. It might not be the popular analysis, but Denver may have added more at this point than Detroit. Billups provides veteran playoff experience and leadership. He's won the title that Melo wants and can help guide the team in a playoff run. Not to mention he plays D and can knock down the big shots. McDyess helps in the defensive needs as well as rebounding, even though he's up there in age. He'll most likely defer to Melo as lead scorer and set him up with the shots he wants. At the same time, Iverson is on a squad with a few guys left over from that Pistons Championship Squad. Iverson, McDyess and Billups aren't exactly young though, and aging players don't always guarantee a team is going to win it all.

Read the Washington Post article on Iverson's trade

Boston 3 Party Wins 106-102

The Boston Three party was in effect Wednesday night. Boston and Detroit were 9 of 14 from three point land in the first half. Shot of the night was easily KG's fade away high arc three pointer bank shot as the shot clock expired in the 2nd quarter. Ray Allen hit two threes in the first quarter and Pierce did as well to aid the Celtics. Kendrick Perkins had 12 points and 13 rebounds in the first half to really give the Celtics a lift. In the first half Boston out-rebounded the Pistons 28-11. Rajon Rondo had just 4 points but was aggressive and able to find his teammates for several key baskets.

The Pistons defense began to help Detroit work their way back into yet another game against the Celtics. Detroit had it down to a one point game after a huge Lindsay Hunter 3 pointer in the 4th. Several lazy lob passes from the Celtics lead to turnovers or near turnovers. Ray Allen hit yet another 3 pointer with a minute to go, pushing the lead back to 4. Rodney Stuckey hit two key free throws with under 10 seconds to go, narrowing it back to a 1 point Celtics lead. Ray Allen matched those two on the other end. After a near throwaway pass by the Pistons, Stuckey was back to the line where he missed his 1st attempt. Stuckey went for the intentional miss for his second, but hit the free throw accidentally. After two KG free throws, the Celtics had the four point lead and a hard fought win, 106-102.

This series still appears to be headed the full 7 games, because I'd expect it to be an intense Pistons squad that shows up in Detroit for Game 6. Expect the tie up and then a potentially classic game 7 in Boston. Rip Hamilton who's been the scoring spark plug for this Pistons team was the recipient of a poke to his eye and then a hurt arm in the 4th. Ray Allen has finally started to heat up though, which is a great sign for the C's.

* In other NBA news of interest, the NBA league office ruled that there should have been a foul called on Derek Fisher as he hit Brent Barry. Barry was going for a game winning shot at the end of regulation. The non-call allowed for a Lakers victory and Spurs protests.

* Spurs coach Greg Popovich and New Orleans Hornets coach Byron Scott both signed contract extensions on Wednesday, so expect to see both continue on the sidelines in the Wild Wild West.

Hornets Buzzing & Pistons Move Forward!

On Tuesday night the New Orleans Hornets gained payback as they beat the Spurs soundly, 101-79. New Orleans buzzed out after halftime with the Spurs leading, and Chris Paul took over the game. Paul finished with 22 points and 14 assists to lead his team to victory. Forward David West had an impressive 38 points and 14 rebounds in the win, as well as 5 blocks. Perhaps the most impressive of his 2 points came on a layup where he drove by Duncan under the basket and then hit the layup. The Hornets have now outscored San Antonio by a total of 93 points in their 3 wins, while San Antonio has outscored New Orleans by a combined 41 in their two wins.

Despite the victory, the Hornets saw their defensive-minded Center Tyson Chandler leave the game in the 4th with an apparent ankle injury. Chandler was in obvious pain and was helped the bench by his teammates. There was also a brief verbal altercation between referee Joey Crawford and Spurs coach Greg Popovich.

During Popovich's post game press conference one reporter asked why all the contests have been blowouts and Pop replied he had no idea, but if he did he'd prevent them. Popovich also gave credit to great defense from New Orleans during the game. Game 6 on Thursday could see the Hornets move on to the Western Conference Finals to await Utah or Los Angeles.

Also on Tuesday night, the Detroit Pistons, minus their star point guard Chauncey Billups, managed to beat the Magic and move on to the next round. In Game 5 it was Detroit's masked man, Rip Hamilton who scored 31 points in all to lead the way. Tayshaun Prince added a key block on Turkoglu down the stretch while poor FT shooting hampered Orlando who still played Detroit tough this series. When all was said and done Tuesday night, it was an 81-86 Pistons win. Hamilton not only helped his team to the Eastern Conference Finals, but he also broke Isiah Thomas' career playoff scoring record. Isiah's record of 2,261 points was set in 111 games, while Rip broke the record in 110 games. Congrats to Rip and the Pistons who have now reached six straight Eastern Finals!

Wednesday night sees the Cavs and Celtics resume at 8PM wit the Jazz and Lakers also resuming Game 5 at 10:30 PM. Both games will be shown on TNT.

The Sixers Surprise

The Philadelphia 76ers were a team that many (self included) hadn't even considered as a team to be part of this season's NBA playoff picture. The Sixers surged when they needed to and captured the 7th spot, with the fate of facing Detroit, a team which many expected to dominate. Philly pulled off a surprise win in Game 1 in Detroit, after some huddle antics by Rasheed Wallace. The Pistons evened things up in Game 2 and headed to Philly for the 3rd game looking to win again. However, Philadelphia had an impressive showing on their homecourt.

In Game 3, Philadelphia held the lead through the 3rd quarter and finished with a 95-75 victory to go up 2 games to 1. Samuel Dalembert had the stat line of the night with 21 points and 16 boards. Andre Miller also added 21. For Detroit, Rip Hamilton led the way with 23, but they lost the services of Antonio McDyess in the 3rd due to a broken nose. So what's really wrong with the Pistons? According to ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, Detroit may have an arrogant mentality thinking they can handle business over the lower seed, and Philadelphia has simply been out-hustling them,

The Sixers are an enigma in that they don't have a ton of playoff experience or all-stars. They have the services of Andre Miller, a veteran point guard, and the All-star caliber player in Andre Iguadola. Dalembert lends somewhat of a defensive presence. One would think Detroit would have the edge in terms of bench and experience here. Flip Saunders also has a lot more coaching experience than Mo Cheeks. So it is very possible in this series that the younger, hungrier Sixers have the chance to pull off the shocker of this year's playoffs and take out one of the tougher teams from the East.

So it's a great time to be a Sixers fan, not only because of the recent victories but also because of the 76 cent a gallon gas sale held in Philadelphia on Friday.

UConn Ballers Make Statements

Several entries ago it was noted here that the University of Connecticut is the college/university with the most players in the NBA. And if you missed NBA action last night, players from the school definitely made their presence known.

- Ray Allen was prominent despite the Celtics' loss to the Pistons. Ray hit a huge 3 in the final 30 seconds or so of the game to tie things up. It was the other Allen, Tony (not from UConn) who cost the C's the game as Billups faked him to draw the foul with 0.2 seconds left. On the opposing side for the Pistons was Rip Hamilton who added 21 points. He and Ray matched up and defended one another during the game, with the commentators noting their alma mater. Read more about the game here.

- Rudy Gay hit a huge three over Tim Duncan with time expiring to win the game for the Memphis Grizzlies. Rudy's been having a huge season and this is further evidence of his talent and potential to become an All-Star. More about Rudy's heroics

- Ben Gordon was the key for the Bulls in their win over the Wizards. Gordon notched 22 points in the win, leading the charging Bulls as they try to move back towards respectability in the East. More about Gordon's efforts

- Caron Butler while on the losing side for the Washington Wizards recorded his second career triple double. His stat line: 29 pts 11 rebonds 10 assists

Of course there were some lesser performances and no shows. Emeka Okafor had just 6 points and 9 rebounds with his Bobcats team beating the Utah Jazz. Kevin Ollie of the Sixers and Donyell Marshall of the Cavs were both DNP's for Wednesday night. Besides that though the University of CT players seem to be representing in the NBA this season.

Pistons & Celtics Battle!

In the past there were many infamous battles between the Celtics and Pistons, playoff and regular season. Laimbeer taking on Bird, knocking McHale and other Celtics to the hardwood. Isiah getting into the Chief, Robert Parish' face. The famous Bird steal and pass to Dennis Johnson as he drove for the layup to win the game. You've heard the play by play call, many times.

Wednesday night featured the 2007 version of this battle, and an early season test for both clubs. It featured a battle of UCONN stars in Rip Hamilton and Ray Allen on opposing teams. Also featured were two big men in KV and Rasheed. Paul Pierce and Chauncey Billups also starred in the 2k version. This would also provide an early test for the Celtics as they battled one of the true NBA contenders in the Pistons.

Both teams came out hot in the first quarter matching baskets. Rajon Rondo was an early surprise star as Hubie Brown noted that he was shocking the Pistons at how easy he could get into the paint and score. Definitely surprising, as the Pistons have been noted as one of the top defensive squads for several years now.

The Pistons and Celtics played at a generally even pace, with no huge leads or runs. The Pistons finally started to climb ahead in the fourth and found themselves up 6 with under 2 minutes left. But after an Eddie House 3, superstar Ray Allen nailed a tying 3 point shot. With the game tied, KG came up with the ball with 5 seconds left, after stripping it from Chauncey Billups' hands on a layup. Paul Pierce missed a quick turn around jumper. Then with just about 2 seconds to go, Billups came up big. The guard gave a great fake to Tony Allen, drawing a 2 shot foul. Billups of course hit both big free throws and the Pistons handed the Celtics their first home loss of the season.

The Celtics still look good, but the Pistons proved why they are a top contender. Solid shooting, a team that's been together for several years now and a great defense. As the Celtics move forward they will continue to gel and acquire that defensive presence. And this was just round 1. The Pistons and Celts will meet twice more prior to any playoff matchups.