Missing The Drive

Gut reactions from Pistons-Celtics game one:

The Celtics are going to win this series for two reasons (besides the fact that they're the better team):

1. Drive

No, not the heart that I so lauded no more than 24 hours ago. Both seem to have plenty of that. Drive as in dribble penetration and points in the paint. The Pistons struggle to score near the basket, relying almost solely on jump shots. The Pistons' best dribble penetrator, Rodney Stuckey, showed how invaluable and inexperienced his game is at the same time tonight. Stuckey's attack of the basket drew fouls, jump shots and defenders — but he was the only Piston within a Tayshaun Prince arm length of the paint tonight. The ability of Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and, most importantly, Kevin Garnett to wear the paint dry will pay off in the long haul. The number one rule in basketball: Championships are won in the paint.

2. Frontcourt consistency

There's no amount of money I would wager on Rasheed Wallace turning in a 20-10 game on a given night. Not even Charles Barkley would put down 10 G's on 10 to 1 odds. As hyper-talented as Wallace is, as driven as Antonio McDyess is, as freakishly athletic as Tayshaun Prince is, you can't take any of them to the bank. For the Celts, Paul Pierce offers a reliable crunch-time scoring threat and Kevin Garnett has 80% of Wallace's talent with twice the brains, a near-deadly combination when properly executed.

This isn't to retract the previous post. The Pistons showed some heart in fighting the Celtics to the end.

But in the end, talent always trumps heart.