During the first game, everything was going as everyone thought it would. The Pistons were up by double digits in the third, and than seemed to relax. Rasheed Wallace began talking to former teammate Flip Murray in the stands and the rest of his current teammates expected the young Sixers to lay down. That’s when Philly decided to take control, erase a 15 point deficit and steal the game with a 90-86 win.

The second game saw the Pistons answer the critics with an 105-88 win. The third game saw Philly do exactly what has made Detroit an Eastern Conference threat for the last 5 years. They played stifling defense, never got rattled and made the clutch plays. They stunned the Pistons once again for 95-75 victory.

From that point the Pistons would go on to win the last three games 93-84, 98-81, and 100-77

From the Pistons standpoint, It raised questions about their focus. One of my friends pointed out that the championship Bulls teams used to toy around with inferior teams, but what he forgot is those Bulls teams closed those game. Detroit seems to play a lot better when the odds are stacked against them and when they’re being told negative things. Detroit still is the team to go through in the East, but can stay stay motivated enough to not let games slip away? They have their hands full trying to guard Dwight Howard and Orlando’s perimeter players in round 2.

It’s not so hard to believe if Andre Igoudala would have had a better series than Philly could have pulled off an upset. I also blame the fro-hawk of Samuel Dalembert but he did play well in the series. Andre Miller who’s name was in frequent trade rumors is the point guard of this team and isn’t going anywhere. He is as consistent a player as I’ve seen in the league. Philadelphia has this to build on in the summer and youngsters such as Thaddeus Young, Rodney Carney and Louis Williams will only get better. The franchise is still Igoudala and even though his season is over, he still faces one of the biggest games of the summer.

There would be some intrigue to this story. A one-on-one with DeShawn Stevenson and LeBron James would ensue and give this series the ratings kick it needed. Stevenson had called LeBron overrated and James simply responded by saying, I’m Jay-Z and he’s Soldier Boy. This statement would involved both hip-hop stars coming to the defense of their respected friend. There was soldier boy holding his own press conference with James and then Jay-Z interjected with a diss towards Stevenson. The entertainment value was great but this was probably the most physical series of the first round.

There was the taunting, hard fouls and even something more to ignite the fire.

Gilbert Arenas wouldn’t be much of a factor throughout the series and probably shouldn’t have even tried to play. Wasington is hopeful to resign him and Jamison in the off-season. I’m also happy people got to see what Caron Butlercan do. The Wizards would lose the series in 6 games and losing to the same team three years straight has to either motivate a team going into next season or break their hearts.

For Cleveland, the new pieces-excluding Delonte West- still haven’t found their rhythm yet. Wally Szcerbiak hasn’t been able to buy a bucket and I’m pretty sure there are some Cleveland fans echoing the same thoughts we had about Ben Wallace this season. Cleveland tips off their second round series against the Boston Celtics, who beat the Atlanta Hawks in a 7 game series.

His system is one where everyone on that roster can thrive on, yes including Aaron Gray. With a good draft pick, the Bulls should be right back in the thick of things in the Eastern Conference. There are some concerns with him and the development of some of his current players, mainly Amare Stoudemire. With the right coaching, Amare could be even more unstoppable. I’ll leave it at that.

Now to the playoffs. .

Boston Celtics vs. Atlanta Hawks: Celtics win series 4-3

I, like many other viewers of the game expected a sweep. I felt Joe Johnson would be doubled throughout the series and that would be the difference. Apparently home court played the biggest role. Most of my friends laughed when I brought up Magic city in Atlanta for the reason for the Celtics trouble, but it’s something to take into account. I have no doubts about the Celtics being able to beat teams on the road like most analyst are now because the Hawks has a young team full of athletes and players who can do a variety of things. Didn’t Detroit run into the same problem? What this gives the Hawks is something to build on. Josh Smith is going to get his money this summer, no doubt about that. He played the best basketball of his life while in front of his home town. It also will show that when you talk of superstars, Joe Johnson needs to be mentioned. The Hawks have nothing to hold their heads down about because they played a team of veterans who know how to close out games. the experience will help them greatly going into next season.

Next up for Boston is the Cleveland Cavaliers. They split the season series 2-2 but as we all know by now, that means nothing during the second season.

Personally, I’d prefer D’Antoni.

Discuss among yourselves.

Drew Gooden: It’s really hard for me to discuss Gooden. Coming out of college, I wasn’t sure what his position would be. He could handle the ball ok, but he didn’t have the speed to keep up with the small forwards of the league. He had the ability to run the floor and possessed range on his jumpshot. What I have to remember from him, just off the top of my head, is the BEARD and his not being mentally prepared in the 2007 NBA Finals against the Spurs. Coming to the Bulls gave him new life and he became a priority in the offense. He had 8 double-doubles in 18 games total before having to sit the final 10 games of the season because of an abdominal strain. He finished the 18 games averaging 14 ppg, 9.3 rpg and 1.3 bpg.

Consistency has been the problem in Gooden’s career but I believe he can flourish in the Bulls offense. He is probably the most effective guy on the roster, playing with his back to the basket. Defenders also have to respect his jumper on the pick and rolls. Gooden can be very useful to this team and I expect him to be around or will his career follow the uncertainty of Chris Gatling?

Cedric Simmons: Like Shannon Brown, Simmons possesses a ton of athleticism and potential. Simmons is still developing and I’m interested in what he could become. It’s hard to analyze a player who only played 87 minutes this season and has only played in 57 games in his two-year career. He’s still only 22 and his highlights have come only in the summer league. If the Bulls have given Tyrus Thomas time to develop, they should at the least give this guy some run in the summer league.

Andres Nocioni:I was upset about the play of a lot of individuals this season, but maybe more-so with Andres Nocioni . He seem to give up the driving to the basket and became strictly a jump shooter. He can knock down the long ball but just because you get the ball behind the arc, doesn’t mean launch the first look you get. He did have a solid year with 13 ppg and 4 rpg. I have no doubt in my mind he can recover. This is arguably one of the toughest guys in the league.

I do have a couple of suggestions for him though. No more forced shots, look for the open man more and try to control the anger.

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JamesOn Curry: While the 51st overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft remained on the 15 man roster throughout the season, his only contributions would come in preseason and with the Iowa Energy of the D-League. In 7 preseason games he averaged 4.0 ppg, 2.1 apg and 1.9 rpg in 17 mpg. The positive I heard from him last was, In 13 D-League games this season, he averaged 20.2 ppg, 5.6 apg, 3.2 rpg and 1.08 spg in 39.7 mpg. He also shot .463 from the floor, including .377 from three-point range, and .719 from the free throw line. It’s a long shot he’ll be with the team next season.

Aaron Gray: The 1st year man from Pittsburgh really impressed me this season. He is one of the most fundamentally sound postmen in the league right now. At 7′0, 270 lbs, he is a very big body who takes up tons of space. He has an effective drop step and he can score on either block of the low post. He is also an effective passer out of the low post, which Eddy Curry couldn’t seem to get right. In 61 games, he averaged 4 ppg an alsod under 3 rpg in 10mpg. He shot 50% from the field and also 56% from the free-throw line. You can argue he wasn’t used enough as he should’ve been. There were times this season when teams would go small and the Bulls would play down to that and not incorporate Gray into lineup to take advantage. Gray needs to work on his conditioning and he will definitely see more playing time next season.

Joakim Noah: Absolutely embodies what the Bulls are about. Energy and hustle. The two time national champion from Florida had question marks about his production at the next level. His jumpshot may never be pretty but if he can ever start knocking it down on a consistent basis, it would truly help his developing post game. He may be the closest thing this organization  has had to Rodman, since Rodman. I’m talking about intensity and hustle. Noah is a problem because he doesn’t get boxed out easily and gets his hands on a ton of loose balls.  He finished the year averaging  6 ppg, 5 rpg in 20 mpg. Noah played in 74 games, starting in 31 of those.

He is a very valuable asset because it’s hard finding player’s who will play with the same energy level for the duration of the game. You can never loose site of the guy because he is always moving. I expect Noah to become more vocal next season because that’s the type of player he is. With the hard work put in this summer, Noah could be averaging a double-double next season.

Demetris Nichols: Nothing much to say about the 1st year man from Syracuse. He was impressive with New York in the Summer leagues. His long range shooting is something the Bulls should look twice at.

When Kobe wants you, you know you’re doing something right. Now he only has to make that jump. Be the one to take the shot, be the one who leads by example, speak up when the team isn’t performing up to the level it’s suppose to be, call the team into huddles during breaks in play and just constantly pushing not only himself to be better but those around him. I expect a lot out of the third year man out of Duke. Coming out of highschool in 2003, he was the #2 player behind LeBron James. How far is he away from the King now?

Is Deng worth $60 million? Based on what he can become, yes. I have no doubt he’ll be back. Will the money give him too much security and impede on what he can become, Stay tuned.

Steve used to cover the NBA for MVN, and now he’s doing the same thing for CelticsBlog.com. Needless to say, he’s a little happier about the 2008 season than we are.

At the beginning of the season, you said the Bulls scare you more than any other team in the Eastern Conference. Obviously, the Bulls don’t scare anyone anymore. So, is there a team in the East that makes you a little nervous? Any team other than the Pistons?

Call me a copout artist if you must, but I’m refusing to do anything that might endanger this team with the sports karma lords: Every team scares me. We learned last year in Dallas and Golden State that, as tends to be the case with sports, anyone can beat anyone in these games. Yes, I believe that if the Celtics are prepared and focused, they can and will beat all comers. But if they aren’t, all bets are off. This team needs to focus through the Atlanta series and then go from there.

That said, the Pistons are still the Pistons, and both the Wiz and Cavs make me a bit nervous – the Wiz because they have played the Celts very well this year (3-1) and the Cavs because of that gigantic swingman of theirs. LeSomethingorother.

Everyone knew the additions of KG and Allen would make the Celtics better, but did you think they would be this good? Is there a specific moment when you realized that this team could do something special?

I’m a fan – as in fanatic – so I’m always expecting the world from the teams I root for, even when it isn’t justified. That said, when asked for an objective guess early in the season, I projected 50-55 wins for this team. With 66 in the regular season, they have certainly cleared that benchmark by just a tad (you’ll hear no complaints here). Of course, the true expectations are for the playoffs, and how they stack up to those remains to be seen.

Knew they would be special once Eddie House signed. Any situation in which Eddie involves himself (I’m a huge booster) is good enough for me. The immediate pre-season bonding between the three stars with each other and the rest of the team didn’t hurt either. These guys really seem to love each other.

Even the most casual basketball fan knows about KG, Allen and Pierce. But, in my opinion, only the Lakers can argue that they have more depth than the Celtics. Tell me a little bit about the rest of the team’s contributors.

Rajon Rondo, James Posey and Leon Powe are the three most deserving of some love here. Rondo has come a long way from the question mark that he was at the outset of the season. He has become much more confident, both in his jump shot and in his ability to use his quickness to wreak havoc both in driving the lane and on the defensive end.

The undersized Powe is a points and boards machine – check out his per 40 stats: 22 points and 11 boards per 40 minutes of play. He makes power moves and doesn’t back down from anyone on the boards.

Posey has been the consummate sixth man all season. Adds some instant offense with his three-point shooting, is quicker than he looks, defends three positions and does it well, has a bit of a mean streak, loves his teammates and seems to be the sort who would do anything for them. His long pre-game hugs for each starter have become the stuff of legend in Boston, and rightfully so.

I’ve watched my fair share of Celtics game this season. It seems to me the rest of the team will do anything in there power not to let KG down. He’s the leader, and he’s changed the culture of the Celtics. Give me an argument for Garnett for MVP.

I get really annoyed by the folks who suggest that Garnett is ‘merely the best player on the best team.’ Here’s a novel idea: Perhaps sometimes, just every now and then, the best team is the best team because of the impact its best player has on it. That’s certainly the case with Garnett. He has been the force most directly responsible for turning this team into a top-notch defensive unit (and thus title contender). He has made all those around him (particularly Paul Pierce) immeasurably better, and he has been one of the league’s best leaders and most intense players all season. His presence was also largely responsible for five veteran signings: House, Posey, Scot Pollard, Sam Cassell and P.J. Brown. This guy completely turned over the basketball culture in Boston this season, and it doesn’t hurt that he averaged nearly 19 points and 9 boards per game doing it.

You cover the NBA for CelticsBlog and know what’s going on throughout the league, not just the Celtics. Any suggestions for the Bulls in their search for a new head coach?

Somebody not named “Rick,” “Carlisle,” “Isiah,” or “Thomas.” Carlisle because the last thing your team needs is another taskmaster coach – this group had more than its fill of that when Skiles was in town. Thomas because he’s just an unmitigated disaster. So there’s two you don’t need. While you ponder those, I’ll spend some time thinking about someone I do like for your team…

Couldn’t agree more about those two. And here’s a link to Steve’s page on CelticsBlog.com.

Ben Gordon is instant offense off the bench. He can put up starters numbers but as his early season struggles as a starter showed, he is better accustomed to coming off the bench. One thing that always has frustrated me with Gordon was his lack of getting to the free-throw line more. I’ve watched him dribble his way into traps, try to toy with defenders, resulting in rushed shots and wasted possessions. The guy has handles, but he could use these to get to the line more as he is the quickest guy on the team with the ball in his hands. With this athleticism he could easily get to the line 8-9 times per game. In 72 games this season, he only had 9 games where he shot more than 8.

Gordon is a restricted free-agent and can still sign a one year offer and become unrestricted next summer, as no teams will have the money he is asking for this summer. I expect Gordon to be back next season and to have a great season, statistically speaking.