McDyess leads Pistons to Game 4 win to even series

When Antonio Mcdyess has been on the floor this post-season he has played as a man possessed, like a veteran hungry for his first title. His defense and consistency on the offensive end has made him the most valuable player for the Detroit Pistons throughout these playoffs. An unlikely hero had the game of his life in the pivotal, must win, game 4. In a gutsy defensive attack by both teams, McDyess pounded out 21 points, most of which coming on outside jumpers, while grabbing 16 rebounds in a 94-75 victory.

The final tally wasn’t how the game was throughout, on the contrary it was pretty close up until the Pistons pulled away in the final minutes. It was another grueling game for each team with both competitors played relentless defense. Detroit was especially effective, holding Paul Pierce (16 points, 3-14 FG), Kevin Garnett (16 points, 6-16 FG) and Ray Allen (11 points, 2-8 FG) to a combined 11-38 shooting. The majority of their 42 came from the free throw line, making 21-24 combined free throws. The free throw disparity in favor of the Celtics single handedly kept them in the game, outscoring the Pistons by 12. The lack of field goals made by the Celtics doomed their chances, making just 21 in the game, shooting 32% from the floor. It seemed like whenever Boston had the ball they were looking to draw a foul, rather than run a particular play to make a shot. Part of the reason why there were a lot of one-on-one offense displayed by the Celtics was the houding defense by Detroit. The Pistons wouldn’t allow Boston to get into a flow, forcing them to have very limited ball movement, as shown in just the 12 assists that they managed. Many of Boston’s players looked tenative, which has been a reoccuring theme during their road woes. Rajon Rondo wouldn’t take open shots, Garnett passed up shots that he would usually take. With the way the Pistons were playing on defense, the Celtics needed to take every opportunity they had, which they didn’t, forcing them into many empty possessions.

Jason Maxiell, like McDyess, carried the Pistons offense at times. He scored 14 points, including six straight midway through the final period, while making all six of his shots, bringing Detroit some much needed energy in his 20 minutes of work. He had a couple rim-rattling jams to stop Celtics runs, putting his team back in control. Richard Hamilton was also very efficient, scoring 20 points, 10 in the final quarter For some reason, even with the disparity of field goals made by each team (15 more for the Pistons), the Celtics were still within striking distance, to the surprise of the ESPN announcers. Detroit was called for a lot of fouls, 32 to be exact, but they weren’t because of the agressiveness by Boston. They bailed out the Celtics shooters many a time, and they got in the penalty early in quarters allowing Boston to take advantage. The Celtics couldn’t count on free throws the whole game though, and that is how Detroit made the margin as wide as they did.

The Pistons were very solid throughout, shooting 51% for the game. The Celtics stayed in the game longer than they should have, mainly because Detroit was also blanketed the good defense. The difference was the match-ups on defense. Kendrick Perkins, the Celtics center, couldn’t handle Antonio McDyess’s outside game, forcing one of the announcers to say that “he [Perkins] seems like he is stuck in cement in the middle.” A funny and true comment, as McDyess was open for the majority of his shots. Ray Allen, not known as a great defender (he was torched at times in the first round series by Joe Johnson), and it showed yet again as Richard Hamilton ran him ragged all game long. As a matter of fact the Pistons entire team ran the Celtics to pure exhaustion, outplaying them throughout. The 19-point margin was fitting because that is what it felt like, as McDyess said “we left it all on the floor.” They’ll have to do the same in Boston for game 5.