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| Antonio McDyess scored 14 points and pulled down 11 rebounds on Tuesday night, but it wasn't enough to stop Boston from taking a 88-79 victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
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Our View: The Pistons are 3-3 on the road in the playoffs. Richard Hamilton, Detroit's leading scorer in the playoffs, had just three points in the first half and finished with 15.
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| Chauncey Billups, who missed most of the last three games of Detroit's Eastern Conference semifinal against Orlando because of a strained right hamstring, had nine points and two assists. |
Our View: The Pistons point guard went almost 40 minutes between baskets, just one of the reasons that Detroit seemed ill timed for most of the game.
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| Kendrick Perkins had 10 rebounds to help Boston to an 88-79 victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
The Celtics rode that advantage to seven-game series victories over Atlanta and Cleveland and held serve in the opener against Detroit. |
Our View: Rajon Rondo added 11 points and seven assists for Boston, which earned home court through the playoffs with a league-best 66-16 regular season record.
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| Paul Pierce scored 22 points Tuesday night to help Boston to an 88-79 victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, the Celtics' 15th straight home win. |
Our View: Pierce continues to be the team leader, and the go-to point guard when the team needs a lift.
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| Kevin Garnett had 26 points and nine rebounds to lead Boston to an 88-79 victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, the Celtics' 15th straight home win. |
Our View: The Celts victory was impressive. After taking the first two series of the Eastern Conference to seven games, most believed Boston wouldn't have the steam to play at a high level in tonight's game.
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| The Chicago Bulls win the first pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. The Miami Heat will pick second, followed by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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Our View: The Bulls vaulted from the No. 9 spot, where they had just a 1.7 percent chance of landing the top choice.
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| Chauncey Billups, who injured his hamstring in the Round 2 series against the Atlanta Hawks, told the Detroit News he's not 100 percent.
For the past four days, he's said that his leg was 100 percent. But every time he said it, there was an impish grin on his face. |
Our View: On Monday, before the team left for Boston, he met with reporters, said everything was fine. Then, before shoot-around Tuesday morning, Billups' nose quit growing. The hamstring injury that he sustained in Game 3 in Orlando may never be completely healed the rest of the playoffs.
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| According to NJ.com, the Nets have made some cursory inquiries with Phoenix (about Boris Diaw and Leandro Barboso), more substantive discussions with Toronto (about Andrea Bargnani), and there has been some dialogue with Denver about Carmelo Anthony.
Though one Nets official claims that "other conversations have a much better chance of fruition," the Anthony scenario is the most interesting -- and hazardous. |
Our View: Anthony, the Nuggets 6-8 forward is one of the league's elite scorers, and on the outs in Denver. And Nets GM Kiki Vandeweghe, is the ex-Nugget executive is the individual who drafted Anthony.
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| Trade speculation between the Nuggets and Nets continues regarding Carmelo Anthony, according to the NY Post. |
Our View: The Nets are expected to be active this summer, and hold the 10th overall pick in the draft. If they don't trade up higher in the draft, they could deal their 10th pick to the Nuggets for Anthony. The Nuggets previously mentioned that Anthony is available for the right price. The Nets and Nuggets discussed various parameters of a deal, which would not occur until after June 30 when the full $14.4 million on Anthony's 2008-09 contract kicks in. Richard Jefferson and Marcus Williams for Marcus Camby and Anthony was one speculated proposal between the two teams.
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| Jannero Pargo scored 18 points off the bench in Tuesday's 91-82 loss to the Spurs in Game 7. He played just under 26 minutes, and also contributed four boards, one assist, and two steals. |
Our View: That was his highest scoring output of the series with San Antonio.
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| Tony Parker chipped in 17 points in Monday's 91-82 win over the Hornets in Game 7. He also notched five assists, two boards, one steal, and one block. |
Our View: Parker averaged 19.4 points through the series with New Orleans. He should remain a solid contributor as the Spurs challenge the Lakers next.
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