Empty the Bench

There are a lot of concerns within Detroit Pistons Nation about the availability of Chauncey Billups for Game 4 on Saturday. A little under 4 minutes into last night’s Orlando Magic win, the Pistons’ All-Star point guard slipped, did the splits, and left the game for good with a strained hamstring. Early reports on his injury have been sketchy: Billups says it’s still sore and doesn’t know if he’ll play, while Pistons trainer extraordinaire Arnie Kander thinks there’s an excellent chance that Billups will be good to go.

Maybe it’ll help if he gulps down some extra bottles of Tahitian Noni Juice.

This morning one of ETB’s faithful readers accidentally stumbled upon this little promotional nugget and passed it along to us. And now we, in turn, present to you Mr. Chauncey Billups—decked out in a blank jersey and shorts ensemble that strangely resembles a Detroit Pistons uniform—singing the praises of Tahitian Noni Juice.

“I began drinking TAHITIAN NONI Juice and after a few weeks I noticed my endurance levels were higher and my ability to perform late in the fourth quarter had improved. I’m glad I tried it! Now it is a valuable part of my workout regimen.”

Billups is an outstanding free-throw and 3-point shooter, earning himself the nickname “Mr. Big Shot.” His favorite nickname is “Smooth,” which he says “just sounds like Chauncey.” He is a good defender, a solid playmaker, and a feared “clutch player” who often takes and makes the last shot for his team. He is also versatile enough to play shooting guard if the need arises.”

**UPDATE** The good folks at Detroit Bad Boys were on Chauncey’s Noni Juice (boy that sounds dirty) last year—we missed it—and were kind enough to throw us a head’s up on Noni video! Enjoy.

Tags: Chauncey Billups, Detroit Pistons

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As long as the Los Angeles Lakers survive through the 2008 NBA playoffs, Empty the Bench’s West Coast correspondent Christopher Thell will be submitting a local fan’s take on his beloved Lakers postseason trials, tribulations and successes. In this edition a new environment, but the same results: another Lakers win.

I don’t have cable, so in order to watch Lakers home games, which aren’t televised on local TV, I have to venture out from my Hollywood apartment. During the regular season, I simply walk down to a nearby sports bar - the place where I watched Game 2 of the Denver series.

However, my normal place was packed to the gills – standing room only, a sharp departure from regular-season games, the influx of playoff fans palpable, kind of like burgeoning Catholic services on Easter and Christmas. It was so crowded as to make the entire experience unenjoyable, even though the Lakers won.

So, it was with trepidation that I ventured out for Game 2 of the Utah series. The night had the definite possibility of going bad. Not only was I trying out a new place to watch Lakers games, but the Lakers seemed eminently capable of losing Game 2 after playing sloppily in Game 1.

But sometimes, despite your well-founded fears, things work out. And on those nights, you have to be thankful and savor the moment.

Savoring the victory in plush new diggs after the jump…

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Assuming Chauncey Billups is able to return in the next game or two the Detroit Pistons will likely end Orlando’s season in the next three games. Even with this big win the Magic aren’t legit NBA title contenders just yet, but that doesn’t mean this season shouldn’t be considered a success. As a team they’ve gone from a 40-42 record, an eighth seed and a first-round sweep in 2006-07 to a 52-30 record, a Southeast Division title and third seed, and a first-round playoff victory. But perhaps more importantly, this year the Orlando faithful have seen Dwight Howard take a massive leap in his individual development that has put the 22-year-old on track to be one of the most dominant big men in NBA history.

He could be the best center in the NBA right now, and it’s gotten to the point where he can drop 20 points, 12 boards, 6 blocks and 3 steals on the Pistons in a playoff victory and nobody bats an eye. Then again, that’s been an off night for Howard in this postseason. He entered Wednesday’s victory averaging 3.4 blocks, 16.7 total rebounds, and 6.7 offensive rebounds — all easily tops in the playoffs. Offensively, he’s been putting up 21 points an night on 62.6% FGs in the second season.

Filthy.

Dwight Howard Photo Credit: Icon SMI

Howard’s teammate Hedo Turkoglu won the Most Improved Player award, but Hedo’s strong season was enabled by all the attention Dwight has been drawing underneath. And perhaps Howard himself should have been in the conversation for MIP as he improved dramatically in nearly all intangible facets of the game and made a big statistical jump in points, blocks, rebounds and getting to the line while playing more disciplined defense and turning the ball over less. His 14.2 boards per game led the league, making him the youngest player with a rebounding title. He also managed to score 20.7 points a game on just 11.9 shots a game, the fewest field-goal attempts of any of the NBA’s top 45 scorers. That led to a 26.8 Efficiency Rating, just behind Chris Paul and ahead of MVP Kobe Bryant. His 69 double-doubles led the league by a wide margin (Paul was second with 56) and the 2.2 blocks per were also the top five.

The most scary thing about these gaudy stats is just how much better this young man can get.

How Dwight Howard can conquer the world after the jump…

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It took over five years, but the tenth time was finally the charm for the Orlando Magic.

After dropping nine straight playoff games to the Detroit Pistons dating back to April of 2003, the Magic finally got a win in besting Detroit 111-86 in front of their home fans in Game 3. Dwight Howard got it done on both ends (20 points, 12 boards, 6 blocks), Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu combined for 8 triples, and as a team held the Pistons to just 40% shooting.

It all added up to be the Pistons’ biggest loss of the postseason thus far. And, still, I can’t say that I’m especially impressed by the Orlando Magic or their 25-point victory.

As I mentioned in the Pistons-Magic playoff preview, Orlando lives and dies by the longball. During the regular season they averaged more attempts per game (25.3) than anyone in the league save for the Golden State Warriors—and they made a lot of ‘em too, sinking their triple tries as a team at a 38% clip and 9.8 makes/per. Clearly they’re one of the NBA’s most capable squads from behind the arc. The three-point shot is a very real weapon for them and one they should capitalize on as much as possible.

Orlando Magic Mascot Photo Credit: Icon SMI

A team built so heavily around the three-pointer, however, will usually not go far in the postseason; the same will be true this year for these Orlando Magic.

Tonight, those shots were falling: the Magic went 11-24 on their triples, the second straight game in this series they’ve hit that number of makes. Lewis was especially deadly in going 5-6 on his attempts. Great. Fantastic. It’s still not going to be enough.

More on the Magic’s futile quest to eliminate the Pistons after the jump…

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We hope you’re as excited about this incredible development as we are.

Through the wonderous magic of something called “the Net,” the National Basketball Association is now available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, on their very own Internet website called NBA.com. That’s right, the days of only checking up on boxscores and breaking news through your local paper are over! On the new NBA.com, you can have “full access to all 29 teams and their players” and even enter a “live chat session with an NBA player or coach.” How cool is that?!

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What a weird night at the Garden.

LeBron James scored the first basket of the series for either team on a layup… then didn’t register another field goal until midway through the fourth quarter. And as the final buzzer sounded in the Boston Celtics’ ugly 76-72 win over the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers, James walked off the court having committed five times as many turnovers (10) compared to how many shots he made (2-18 FG). Still, his team just about stole Game 1.

For the Celtics, 39-year-old veteran Sam “Big Brass Balls” Cassell scored just as many points in the second half (13) as Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kendrick Perkins, and Leon Powe scored combined for the game. That includes a big, fat goose egg from Ray Allen, a probable future Hall of Famer and a guy who has a career-scoring average of 21.1 points/per over his 11-year career. And, still, the Celtics hung on to the win.

LeBron James, Paul Pierce, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas Photo Credit: Icon SMI

The list of absurdities and oddities goes on:

- James Posey and Sam Cassell combined for half of the game’s total three-pointers made, including the Cavaliers, with 4.

- Pierce and Allen shot a combined 2-18 from the field. 2-18!

- Cleveland’s Anderson Varejao hauled down a grand total of 1 rebound in 11 minutes of action—that 1 board is a season low, by far.

- Normally when you hear the words “quadruple double” and “LeBron James” in the same sentence, it’s a very, very good thing for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Well, here’s a sentence that’s the exception to the rule: LeBron James nearly recorded a dubious quadruple-double in Game 1 against the Boston Celtics: 12 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, and 10 turnovers. And not to rub it in again… but we can’t forget he made just 2 of 18 shots.

- The Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics shot a combined 36% FG and 25% from beyond the arc.

We knew these defensive-minded teams were going to make it difficult for their opponent to score in bunches, but tonight was just ridiculous. The words “ugly,” “bruising,” and “at times unwatchable” come to mind.

That doesn’t mean we won’t be watching Game 2. And 3. And 4. And so on. Doesn’t this just feel like a six- or seven-game series?

So… yeah. What a weird game. And it just might get weirder. As my ETB compadre Andrew pointed out in a text just now, however, we will go on record as guaranteeing one thing: Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and LeBron James will never combine for just 4 FGs in one game ever again. Ever.

Tags: LeBron James, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Sam Cassell, Boston Celtics

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Now Hedo Turkoglu is finding out.

Now Turkoglu is faced with overcoming the long, lanky guy known around Detroit as the Palace Prince. And that’s not been such an easy task in playoffs past and now playoffs present.

With his Pistons now taking a 2-0 lead back to Orlando for Game 3 tomorrow night, Tayshaun Prince has quietly asserted himself yet again in the postseason—like he has more often than not during his career—by locking down whomever he defends 90% of the time while also playing at or near the top of his game on offense, too. By harassing Turkoglu into bad, rushed shots—like the head-scratching triple he clanged off the backboard last night with less than a minute to play and his Magic down by two—and by making Turk work on defense after he’s already been frustrated at the other end.

Tayshaun Prince Photo Credit: Icon SMI

After helping limit Philadelphia’s Andre Iguodala to just 33% shooting from the field in Round 1, Prince is clearly having a similar affect in Round 2. Through the series’ first two games, Turkoglu, who was recently named the NBA’s Most Improved Player, is averaging 15 points, 5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 47% FG, and 5 turnovers. Those first four stats are all actually hovering right around his regular-season averages (except for points, which is about 4 less), but the key stat is the 5 turnovers, a full 2 more than the 3/per he averaged this season.

Though the 6-10 Turkish-born forward is still contributing, he’s looked all kinds of out of sorts so far. He’s bobbling the ball and losing it out of bounds, forcing passes into the post when there’s not much there, and working hard for most every single shot. And just as importantly, he’s yet to elevate his game, something the Magic need him to do for them to have a chance.

That’s what Tayshaun Prince does.

Meanwhile, Prince’s offensive efficiency from Round 1 is carrying over. After another solid night from the field on Monday (8-13 for 61.5%), he’s now averaging 60% FG and 15 points/per for the entire playoffs. When his team has endured an extended drought of made baskets, more often than not they’ve turned to Prince for help ending it. And like most gifted scorers, Prince is so successful because he can put the ball in the hoop in a variety of ways: backing his man down into the post and finishing with a sweet pivot and hook shot, taking his man off the dribble and driving to the hole, and sinking midrange jumpers as well as three-point shots.

All of this and he still gets very little fanfare because of the bigger, more vocal personalities that surround him on the Detroit Pistons. On most nights, however, the quiet, unassuming Tayshaun Prince is doing all the little things that help his team win playoff games. That’s what he does.

Boston Celtics: 66-16, 1st seed
Cleveland Cavaliers: 45-37, 4th seed
Head-to-Head: Split the regular-season series 2-2

Prelude

Basketball is a team game. Good teams (usually) win out over teams largely centered around one or two superstars. But while it will take a solid overall team effort from the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers for either one to advance to the Conference Finals, this one may come down to which one’s superstar(s) dominate the others.

LeBron James has shown time and time again early in his career that he will not (and at times simply can not) be deterred by physical intimidation in the playoffs. We saw him respond in a big way last year against the Detroit Pistons, and we saw him dominate in Round 1 despite an onslaught of hard fouls, cheap shots, and post-game trash talk from the Washington Wizards. There aren’t many qualities that James and Detroit’s Rasheed Wallace have in common with their respective games, but there is one: nothing gets them going more than an opponent who gets in their face or tries to push them around. If Boston thinks they’re going to partly contain James by getting into his head and roughing him up, they’re wrong.

And of course nobody in the NBA runs his mouth or gets pumped up to the point of being scary as much as Kevin Garnett, this year’s Defensive Player of the Year and the heart and soul of the Boston Celtics. His team may have stumbled through their first round bout with the Atlanta Hawks, but KG stood tall in averaging 21 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2 steals, and 1.4 blocks over those seven games. That impressive steals number includes 6 of ‘em in Game 4. He’ll likely be pitted against the slipping Ben Wallace for most of this series, a matchup that could bring the best out of Big Ben but more likely will be a serious advantage for KG.

Even if former defensive superstar Wallace and his teammates do succeed in bottling up Garnett, they still have two more All-Stars to worry about. And those two could be in for an even bigger series than KG.

Their numbers weren’t so hot against the Hawks, but Ray Allen and Paul Pierce are too good to both chip in a second consecutive so-so series. Allen, especially, should explode against the inferior players (Devin Brown, Daniel Gibson, Damon Jones, etc.) that Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown has at his disposal to throw at the sharp-shooting Celtic. The 11-year vet put a hurtin’ on the Cavs during the regular season, averaging 23.8 points (including 3 triples/per) on 51% shooting, 5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.5 steals. Cleveland can’t let that keep happening.

This should be an entertaining series and one that its eventual victor will have won in part for playing better overall team basketball. This series’ combined Big Four certainly aren’t the whole story or the only story—we have more on the supporting casts below. But the spotlight will shine brightest on LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen, four All-Stars capable of putting their team on their back and almost single-handedly turning the tide of the entire series. Let’s see who actually does it.

ETB breaks down the Celtics-Cavaliers series and rolls out our predictions after the jump…

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