(#4) Pistons - (#1) Celtics Series

As a Lakers fan, I hate both of these teams. However, despite the hate, I at least have respect for the Celtics. It's almost exactly like, how, as a Nebraska Cornhuskers football fan, I want to beat the hell out of the Oklahoma Sooners every time we play them, but should we lose, I at least can say "good game" afterwards. Whereas I just despise anything to do with the Texas Longhorns (and, by extension, every other Texas school, but that's neither here nor there.) Now, I probably would save a Longhorns fan from drowning... but there'd be a slight moment of hesitation before I jumped in the water. Same goes for Pistons fans. (Side note: I just realized that the only team I say "we" about instead of "they" is the Cornhuskers. I don't know if it's because I've lived in Nebraska all my life, or if it's because I actually went to that school, but I don't do it with the Lakers or the Minnesota Twins. And I don't have a hockey team. (Side side note: Growing up in the Midwest miles and miles away from any sort of professional sports team - especially basketball - is strange. There's no home team to root for. Every kid just roots for whoever is good when they're young or they're dad's favorite teams - who were usually good when their dads were young. I did both - was a Suns fan until they traded Barkley, got pissed and swore them off, and started watching Lakers games with my dad. And I realize this should probably be its own article at this point.)) Anyway, my original point was going to be, despite me not liking either team, and hating one way more than the other, I promise I'm going to be impartial with this. If the Pistons win the whole thing, so be it. I can't see it happening, but if it does, so be it. On to the games!


Game 1: Pistons 99 - Celtics 83

Ultimate Pistons
PLAYER	MIN	FGM/FGA	3PM/3PA	FTM/FTA	OREB	REB	AST	BLK	STL	TO	PF	TP
1984-85  Isiah Thomas*	33	6/14	0/0	0/0	1	5	7	1	2	3	2	12
1983-84  Bill Laimbeer*	29	5/10	0/0	0/0	4	11	1	2	0	3	0	10
2005-06  Chauncey Billups*	29	1/6	0/1	2/2	1	3	5	0	0	1	0	4
1992-93  Joe Dumars*	23	5/10	0/1	2/2	1	1	2	0	1	2	2	12
2001-02  Ben Wallace*	22	2/6	0/0	0/0	2	9	1	4	0	0	1	4
1973-74  Bob Lanier	22	5/8	0/0	0/0	1	5	3	1	1	0	2	10
2005-06  Richard Hamilton	19	3/7	0/1	0/0	0	2	1	0	1	2	1	6
1996-97  Grant Hill	19	9/16	0/0	2/2	1	5	5	0	1	1	0	20
1953-54  Larry Foust	18	0/3	0/0	2/2	3	13	1	3	1	0	3	2
1957-58  George Yardley	12	4/7	0/1	4/4	0	3	0	0	1	0	0	12
1970-71  Dave Bing	9	1/4	1/1	2/2	2	2	1	1	0	0	0	5
1959-60  Gene Shue	6	1/3	0/0	0/0	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	2
TOTALS		42/94	1/5	14/14	16	61	28	12	8	12	11	99
Ultimate Celtics
PLAYER	MIN	FGM/FGA	3PM/3PA	FTM/FTA	OREB	REB	AST	BLK	STL	TO	PF	TP
1952-53  Bob Cousy*	40	7/20	1/3	3/5	1	7	14	1	4	0	1	18
1971-72  John Havlicek*	40	6/19	1/3	0/0	1	5	4	2	1	2	2	13
1963-64  Bill Russell*	38	1/8	0/0	0/0	5	13	2	2	1	0	0	2
1984-85  Larry Bird*	37	10/19	0/2	1/1	3	11	4	0	0	5	1	21
1955-56  Bill Sharman	19	2/3	0/1	0/0	0	1	1	1	0	1	2	4
1964-65  Sam Jones*	19	2/10	0/2	2/2	0	0	1	0	1	2	1	6
2001-02  Paul Pierce	16	3/5	2/4	3/6	1	7	0	2	0	1	1	11
1986-87  Kevin McHale	12	2/3	0/0	2/2	0	1	1	0	0	2	2	6
1988-89  Robert Parish	7	1/1	0/0	0/0	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	2
1959-60  Tommy Heinsohn	6	0/2	0/1	0/0	0	1	1	1	0	0	1	0
1972-73  Dave Cowens	3	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
1952-53  Ed Macauley	3	0/1	0/1	0/0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TOTALS		34/91	4/17	11/16	12	48	28	9	7	13	12	83
* - denotes game starter
Player of the Game
Bob Cousy (Ultimate Celtics)

Game 2: Pistons 110 - Celtics 101

Ultimate Pistons
PLAYER	MIN	FGM/FGA	3PM/3PA	FTM/FTA	OREB	REB	AST	BLK	STL	TO	PF	TP
1983-84  Bill Laimbeer*	37	5/8	0/0	6/6	3	12	1	1	1	1	2	16
1984-85  Isiah Thomas*	34	8/17	0/1	1/3	2	6	14	0	0	6	1	17
2005-06  Chauncey Billups*	27	3/10	2/4	1/2	0	2	5	0	1	0	1	9
1992-93  Joe Dumars*	25	5/11	0/4	5/5	0	0	1	0	2	0	1	15
2001-02  Ben Wallace*	24	1/2	0/0	0/0	3	10	1	3	2	0	2	2
1996-97  Grant Hill	21	5/9	1/1	0/0	0	4	5	3	2	0	0	11
1973-74  Bob Lanier	20	2/5	0/1	0/0	2	6	3	1	2	2	1	4
2005-06  Richard Hamilton	17	4/7	0/0	2/2	1	2	3	1	0	1	3	10
1970-71  Dave Bing	14	5/11	1/1	0/0	0	0	2	0	0	2	1	11
1957-58  George Yardley	11	4/5	0/0	0/0	2	2	0	0	0	0	1	8
1953-54  Larry Foust	10	3/4	1/1	0/0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	7
TOTALS		45/89	5/13	15/18	13	46	35	9	10	12	13	110
Ultimate Celtics
PLAYER	MIN	FGM/FGA	3PM/3PA	FTM/FTA	OREB	REB	AST	BLK	STL	TO	PF	TP
1963-64  Bill Russell*	42	3/7	0/0	2/2	1	14	5	3	0	3	0	8
1952-53  Bob Cousy*	41	6/17	1/3	4/4	3	5	13	0	4	5	3	17
1971-72  John Havlicek*	36	7/13	1/3	2/2	2	7	6	0	0	1	2	17
1984-85  Larry Bird*	25	5/13	0/3	2/2	2	5	3	2	0	0	5	12
1964-65  Sam Jones*	22	4/7	1/1	0/0	0	1	1	0	0	2	4	9
1955-56  Bill Sharman	21	2/5	1/1	1/2	0	2	4	0	0	1	1	6
1959-60  Tommy Heinsohn	16	5/9	1/1	0/0	2	3	0	1	2	1	0	11
2001-02  Paul Pierce	15	2/6	0/1	3/3	1	3	0	0	1	2	0	7
1986-87  Kevin McHale	12	5/7	0/0	0/0	1	3	1	1	0	1	2	10
1988-89  Robert Parish	6	1/3	0/0	0/0	1	4	1	0	0	0	0	2
1952-53  Ed Macauley	3	1/1	0/0	0/0	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	2
TOTALS		41/88	5/13	14/15	14	48	35	8	7	16	17	101
* - denotes game starter
Player of the Game
Bill Laimbeer (Ultimate Pistons)

Game 3: Celtics 105 - Pistons 115

Ultimate Celtics PLAYER MIN FGM/FGA 3PM/3PA FTM/FTA OREB REB AST BLK STL TO PF TP 1971-72  John Havlicek* 41 5/16 1/2 4/6 2 4 3 0 0 1 2 15 1964-65  Sam Jones* 32 5/12 1/2 4/6 0 3 3 0 2 4 0 15 1963-64  Bill Russell* 26 2/5 0/0 0/0 4 9 4 3 0 3 3 4 1955-56  Bill Sharman 23 5/12 1/4 0/0 0 2 4 0 0 0 2 11 1952-53  Bob Cousy* 23 3/8 0/0 1/4 0 1 4 2 0 1 4 7 1959-60  Tommy Heinsohn 18 4/6 0/0 0/0 0 4 2 0 0 3 0 8 1984-85  Larry Bird* 18 5/9 0/0 0/0 0 4 3 0 1 1 5 10 1986-87  Kevin McHale 17 3/3 0/0 3/3 2 6 1 0 0 0 1 9 2001-02  Paul Pierce 15 6/8 3/3 3/3 1 4 0 0 0 1 1 18 1988-89  Robert Parish 15 2/3 0/0 0/0 2 5 0 1 0 0 0 4 1972-73  Dave Cowens 9 0/0 0/0 1/2 1 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 1952-53  Ed Macauley 4 1/3 1/1 0/0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 TOTALS 41/85 7/12 16/24 12 46 26 7 3 14 18 105 Ultimate Pistons PLAYER MIN FGM/FGA 3PM/3PA FTM/FTA OREB REB AST BLK STL TO PF TP 1983-84  Bill Laimbeer* 31 5/9 0/0 4/4 5 9 1 1 1 2 1 14 1984-85  Isiah Thomas* 31 5/8 0/0 5/6 0 4 11 0 2 0 4 15 2001-02  Ben Wallace* 27 2/4 0/0 2/2 1 14 1 6 3 0 0 6 2005-06  Chauncey Billups* 24 3/6 2/2 6/8 0 1 3 0 0 1 0 14 2005-06  Richard Hamilton 20 8/14 1/1 0/1 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 17 1973-74  Bob Lanier 20 3/7 0/0 0/0 1 2 2 4 0 0 0 6 1992-93  Joe Dumars* 20 4/7 1/2 4/4 0 0 3 0 1 2 0 13 1996-97  Grant Hill 18 4/10 0/0 0/0 0 5 0 0 2 2 3 8 1970-71  Dave Bing 17 1/5 0/0 0/0 0 1 4 0 1 0 2 2 1953-54  Larry Foust 13 2/5 1/1 2/2 1 4 1 0 0 1 3 7 1957-58  George Yardley 13 4/8 0/0 1/2 0 3 1 0 0 0 2 9 1959-60  Gene Shue 6 2/2 0/0 0/0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 4 TOTALS 43/85 5/6 24/29 8 45 29 11 10 8 17 115 * - denotes game starter Player of the Game Isiah Thomas (Ultimate Pistons)

Game 4: Celtics 124 - Pistons 112

Ultimate Celtics
PLAYER	MIN	FGM/FGA	3PM/3PA	FTM/FTA	OREB	REB	AST	BLK	STL	TO	PF	TP
1984-85  Larry Bird*	41	11/17	1/1	4/5	1	12	3	0	1	2	3	27
1971-72  John Havlicek*	40	10/21	1/2	2/3	4	8	10	0	1	2	1	23
1952-53  Bob Cousy*	36	8/12	2/2	2/2	1	3	9	0	3	2	1	20
1963-64  Bill Russell*	35	3/5	0/0	1/4	2	17	4	4	1	2	5	7
1964-65  Sam Jones*	27	6/11	0/0	3/3	0	2	3	1	0	0	1	15
1955-56  Bill Sharman	19	4/8	1/1	0/0	1	1	2	0	1	0	1	9
1986-87  Kevin McHale	16	2/4	0/0	3/3	1	4	0	1	0	1	1	7
2001-02  Paul Pierce	12	3/6	1/2	3/3	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	10
1988-89  Robert Parish	7	1/3	0/0	2/3	0	2	1	1	0	1	1	4
1972-73  Dave Cowens	7	0/1	0/0	2/2	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	2
TOTALS		48/88	6/8	22/28	12	51	34	8	7	10	14	124
Ultimate Pistons
PLAYER	MIN	FGM/FGA	3PM/3PA	FTM/FTA	OREB	REB	AST	BLK	STL	TO	PF	TP
1984-85  Isiah Thomas*	29	4/8	1/2	0/0	1	3	5	0	0	2	4	9
2005-06  Chauncey Billups*	28	5/14	3/6	2/2	1	1	8	0	1	0	1	15
1983-84  Bill Laimbeer*	26	5/9	0/0	1/2	4	11	1	2	0	0	5	11
2001-02  Ben Wallace*	25	3/4	0/0	1/2	2	4	1	3	2	1	4	7
1996-97  Grant Hill	25	6/17	0/0	2/2	1	5	4	0	1	1	1	14
1992-93  Joe Dumars*	23	5/13	1/3	2/2	0	0	2	0	1	1	0	13
1973-74  Bob Lanier	19	5/7	0/1	0/1	0	9	2	1	0	3	1	10
2005-06  Richard Hamilton	18	4/8	0/1	2/2	1	1	3	0	0	1	1	10
1953-54  Larry Foust	16	1/2	0/0	2/4	3	7	1	1	1	1	1	4
1970-71  Dave Bing	15	2/4	1/1	1/2	0	0	4	0	1	1	1	6
1957-58  George Yardley	11	3/4	0/0	0/0	1	3	1	0	0	0	2	6
1959-60  Gene Shue	6	2/3	0/1	3/3	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	7
TOTALS		45/93	6/15	16/22	14	45	32	7	8	11	21	112
* - denotes game starter
Player of the Game
Larry Bird (Ultimate Celtics)

Game 5: Pistons 105 - Celtics 108

Ultimate Pistons
PLAYER	MIN	FGM/FGA	3PM/3PA	FTM/FTA	OREB	REB	AST	BLK	STL	TO	PF	TP
1984-85  Isiah Thomas*	39	6/12	0/2	3/4	1	2	10	0	4	2	4	15
2005-06  Chauncey Billups*	27	5/13	0/2	2/2	0	1	8	0	0	2	0	12
2001-02  Ben Wallace*	26	2/4	0/0	2/5	0	13	1	5	0	0	2	6
1983-84  Bill Laimbeer*	26	4/9	0/0	0/0	2	10	0	0	1	2	2	8
1992-93  Joe Dumars*	25	4/11	0/2	0/0	2	3	2	0	0	2	3	8
1996-97  Grant Hill	22	3/7	0/0	2/2	1	5	5	1	0	0	0	8
1973-74  Bob Lanier	19	3/8	0/1	3/4	3	7	1	0	1	1	2	9
2005-06  Richard Hamilton	15	3/5	1/1	0/0	0	2	1	0	1	1	3	7
1957-58  George Yardley	15	5/9	0/0	1/1	1	4	1	0	3	1	2	11
1970-71  Dave Bing	14	4/6	0/1	5/5	1	2	2	0	0	1	1	13
1953-54  Larry Foust	13	3/6	0/0	2/4	1	3	0	2	0	0	1	8
TOTALS		42/90	1/9	20/27	12	52	31	8	10	12	20	105
Ultimate Celtics
PLAYER	MIN	FGM/FGA	3PM/3PA	FTM/FTA	OREB	REB	AST	BLK	STL	TO	PF	TP
1963-64  Bill Russell*	42	4/11	0/0	1/3	5	19	4	2	2	2	1	9
1952-53  Bob Cousy*	40	7/20	3/7	6/7	0	4	13	2	2	1	1	23
1971-72  John Havlicek*	36	4/9	0/1	1/2	1	5	6	1	0	3	4	9
1964-65  Sam Jones*	27	5/9	2/3	0/0	1	4	2	0	2	0	0	12
1984-85  Larry Bird*	21	4/8	1/1	3/4	0	4	2	0	1	2	4	12
1955-56  Bill Sharman	16	6/9	0/2	2/4	0	2	2	0	0	1	2	14
1986-87  Kevin McHale	14	4/7	0/0	3/3	5	5	1	1	0	0	1	11
1959-60  Tommy Heinsohn	14	4/8	0/0	0/0	2	3	1	0	0	2	2	8
2001-02  Paul Pierce	13	2/7	1/2	0/0	0	0	1	1	0	2	1	5
1952-53  Ed Macauley	10	1/4	0/1	1/1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3
1988-89  Robert Parish	6	1/1	0/0	0/1	0	5	0	1	0	0	0	2
TOTALS		42/93	7/17	17/25	14	51	32	8	7	13	16	108
* - denotes game starter
Player of the Game
Bob Cousy (Ultimate Celtics)

Game 6: Celtics 109 - Pistons 113

Ultimate Celtics
PLAYER	MIN	FGM/FGA	3PM/3PA	FTM/FTA	OREB	REB	AST	BLK	STL	TO	PF	TP
1984-85  Larry Bird*	42	13/24	1/2	1/2	2	8	5	1	1	3	3	28
1963-64  Bill Russell*	42	3/7	0/0	1/2	6	16	3	2	1	0	4	7
1971-72  John Havlicek*	39	11/17	1/2	5/7	2	7	7	1	2	2	1	28
1952-53  Bob Cousy*	36	3/12	0/3	3/4	1	6	11	0	2	3	3	9
1955-56  Bill Sharman	22	1/6	0/1	4/4	0	1	2	0	0	1	2	6
1964-65  Sam Jones*	20	3/7	0/0	2/2	0	1	2	0	1	0	3	8
2001-02  Paul Pierce	19	6/10	1/1	0/0	0	5	1	1	0	1	3	13
1986-87  Kevin McHale	13	3/5	0/0	2/2	2	3	0	0	0	1	0	8
1988-89  Robert Parish	6	1/1	0/0	0/0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	2
1959-60  Tommy Heinsohn	2	0/1	0/0	0/0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TOTALS		44/90	3/9	18/23	13	48	31	5	7	12	19	109
Ultimate Pistons
PLAYER	MIN	FGM/FGA	3PM/3PA	FTM/FTA	OREB	REB	AST	BLK	STL	TO	PF	TP
1984-85  Isiah Thomas*	36	6/13	0/0	5/6	0	3	5	0	2	3	2	17
1983-84  Bill Laimbeer*	30	4/8	0/0	0/0	4	10	1	0	0	1	4	8
2005-06  Chauncey Billups*	27	7/12	3/5	8/8	0	4	4	0	0	2	3	25
1996-97  Grant Hill	26	8/14	1/2	4/4	0	6	6	1	0	1	4	21
2001-02  Ben Wallace*	23	1/5	0/0	0/0	2	6	2	3	3	1	2	2
1992-93  Joe Dumars*	22	3/7	0/1	2/2	1	2	6	0	1	2	1	8
1973-74  Bob Lanier	21	2/4	0/0	0/0	1	4	3	1	0	2	1	4
2005-06  Richard Hamilton	19	6/8	0/0	1/1	1	3	3	0	1	1	0	13
1970-71  Dave Bing	14	3/6	1/1	0/1	0	2	0	0	0	0	1	7
1953-54  Larry Foust	13	2/7	0/1	1/1	1	4	2	3	0	0	1	5
1957-58  George Yardley	11	1/3	0/0	1/3	0	0	1	0	1	1	0	3
TOTALS		43/87	5/10	22/26	10	44	33	8	8	14	19	113
* - denotes game starter
Player of the Game
Chauncey Billups (Ultimate Pistons)

Unexpected. I was sure we were destined for a Lakers-Celtics Finals. That's somewhat disappointing. Although a Pistons-Bulls conference finals holds some appeal, and then a Bulls-Lakers finals would be cool. But, we have to get there first. Bulls-Wizards matchup is next.