Last weekend in Detroit, the “Bad Boys” were back, flaunting a victory in their opponent’s face, even trash-talking with opposing fans.
And the Pistons weren’t pleased.
It was the Boston Celtics, in fact, who were cocky and snarky after their road victory against the Pistons.
They were “popping” their name on their jersey front, celebrating wildly, with the most emblematic moment reported by . Boston’s “Big Game” James Posey — seriously, it’s in his bio — sarcastically gave his regards to the nearby downtrodden Detroit fans, screaming, “Thanks for coming!” “Big Game” James had scored just three points in the big game.
After the game, Detroit’s Chauncey Billups told the media, “When we won, it was just another game for us. They kind of played it like it was the Super Bowl. It’s just a regular game, man, with two good teams playing.”
Said Detroit’s Amir Johnson: “They’re acting like they won the title.”
So it seems, the Celtics-Pistons rivalry, bustling during the 1980s, has been resuscitated. And what’s not to love? Two teams with enough banners to blanket Rhode Island are playing postseason basketball in January.
“Any time you have two basketball cities going head-to-head, and they have rich basketball tradition, it’s great for the game,” said injured Denver guard Chucky Atkins, who has played for Boston and Detroit.
And, for the first time in arguably a decade, the Eastern Conference can claim the two best teams in basketball. The East, which has trotted out recent conference champions such as Indiana, New Jersey and Cleveland, now has two thoroughbreds.
Entering this weekend, Boston and Detroit were the only teams in the NBA with single-digit losses. They’ve played twice — Detroit winning in Boston, Boston winning in Detroit. They play once more in the regular season — March 5 in Boston — and it’s hard to believe they won’t play at least four more times in the summer.
“The thing about Detroit that separates them from Boston right now is, they’ve been through wars together,” Atkins said. “When it gets tough, they know they can rely on each other. Boston might have a good record, but they haven’t really been in any wars with anyone yet. So that could be the story toward the end of the year.”
On Thursday, Nuggets assistant coach Adrian Dantley hopped into the DeLorean and went back to the future, comparing the possible 2008 Boston-Detroit playoffs with the Boston-Detroit playoffs of the 1980s.
“That was the first time I was ever knocked out,” the former Piston said, “diving for a loose ball.”
Back then, when Boston had its first “Big 3” and the only thing Isiah Thomas could botch was an inbound pass, the two teams spewed hatred in five playoff series during 1985-91. During the 1987 conference finals, for instance, Detroit “Bad Boy” Bill Laimbeer was ejected once and Boston’s Robert Parish and Larry Bird were as well — each for fighting Laimbeer in different games.
Now, the two teams could meet in the conference finals again.
“I can see that being a good series,” Dantley said. “And that rivalry happening again.”
TiVo time.
March 5 is the night of the next Boston-Detroit game, and it’s also the night Phoenix comes to Denver. On Monday, the Suns defeated Denver 137-115, and the Nuggets felt the Suns were running up the score, shooting 3-pointers late into the fourth quarter. Denver star Allen Iverson screamed an expletive at the Suns while he was leaving the court, while reminding the Suns the teams will meet again.
Can’t drink, can dunk.
Remember when the Lakers refused to trade Andrew Bynum and you were like — who’s Andrew Bynum? Well, the 20-year-old high school product averages 12.9 points and 10.0 rebounds entering this weekend, and he has been more aggressive this season, embracing the banging that comes with playing the low post in the Western Conference.
On Wednesday, he played just 28 minutes in a blowout against New Orleans, scoring 17 points with nine rebounds and three blocked shots while playing against talented young center Tyson Chandler.
Chicago shake-up.
The Bulls were 9-17 when they named their interim coach — Jim Boylan. He promptly moved guard Ben Gordon, the team’s top scorer, into a sixth-man role, in which Gordon used to flourish. They enter the weekend winning four of seven under Boylan.
