Charlie Villanueva is no stranger to conflict.

I guess he got bored of his beef with KG and moved on to Ryan Hollis. Last night during Pistons-Cavs, Villanueva set a pick on Hollis and, if you watch the video below, you will see that he swiped at Hollis' "man region..." for lack of a better term. Then they get tangled up, broken up and eventually ejected. After he realizes he's getting ejected, Villanueva stormed full speed at Hollis again and had to be restrained by Rodney Stuckey. He was escorted to the Pistons locker room and it was at this point that he allegedly threatened to kill Hollis, (allegedly) stating, "I will kill that dude. I don't give a f*ck." He then tried to exit and go in to the Cavs locker room, but he was stopped by police.

I don't know what Hollis did to so royally piss him off, but seeing as it was one of the last games of a crappy season for Detroit (they're 29-52), I'm pretty sure he should calm down. I like to be fair, so let's remember that we don't know what Hollis did to make him so mad and we don't know if he actually threatened to kill him, but still. Calm down. And charging at him again only after you find out you've been ejected from the game? Wamp, wamp. False show of bravery, he already knew he'd be escorted off the court. It's just about time for him to go and sit on the beach somewhere for summer, so he can properly enjoy that 35 million dollar contract he signed with Detroit.

Recap: The Celtics show up in the last 3 minutes to beat Detroit.

Photo jacked from Chris Forsberg's twitter page. A perfect depiction of the C's effort through 3 and 1/2 quarters.


Better late than never, because this was a pretty important win. With Miami on a 4 game slide, the Celtics really can't afford to be losing any silly games.

The C's fooled me a little bit in the beginning of the 1st- I thought maybe they came to play. They looked sharp defensively (rotated people on T-Mac, so Detroit didn't know who to send to the box) and Paul started 4 for 5 from the field. Well, everything went down hill from there. Greg Monroe started cleaning up in the paint, getting easy lay ups and cashing in on second chance points. Detroit shot 50 percent from the field for the quarter, and the Celtics exerted less and less as the quarter wore on.

The second quarter was more of the same. It started off with a stupid offensive call on Marquis, so the ball went back to Detroit. Back on the defensive end, Marquis turned his ankle and left the game. He didn't return, so hopefully he'll be okay and it's not a lingering injury. Von Wafer (ugh) came in off the bench and provided a spark, beating Austin Daye off the dribble, getting fouled, and completing the 3 point play. Detroit turned the ball over twice in the first five minutes of the second quarter, with the Celtics second unit on the floor. The second quarter also featured some major Tommy points c/o the Big Shamrock. Big BIG up's to Shaq- with 2 minutes left in the 2nd quarter, he dove for a loose ball (got helped up by teammates), made it down the floor and laid the ball in. You go Shaqtus.

The third quarter wamped the MOST. Everyone looked sluggish and uninterested. Paul Pierce picked up two fouls in the first minute. It sucked. Semih came in and gave the team a little bit of a spark, but the Pistons went in to the fourth up 3 and it wasn't looking so good for the Green guys.

And then came the 4th quarter. With the Celtics down 3 with 10:15 left in the 4th, Nate Robinson hit a 3 to tie things up. The Pistons came right back and scored, going back up 2. Nate Robinson attempted another 3, missed, but was bailed out by Big Baby, who tipped it in and tied things up again. Charlie Villanueva had a pretty unspectacular night, but with 9:12 remaining, he buried a 3 and put Detroit up by that amount. A little bit later on in the 4th, Armageddon struck and Ray Allen missed 2 free throws. Oy. It's always so unsettling when that happens. Nate generated an offensive foul with 8:18 remaining in the 4th, and it was a battle from that point on. Shaq had a big fourth quarter- 7 of his 12 points came in the final frame, and he played a big part in keeping the Celtics in the game. With 25 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter and the score tied at 82, Ray Allen connected on a long 2, giving the Celtics the lead for good (the shot was originally called a 3, but upon review, his foot was clearly on the line. Ray was 0-4 from downtown tonight, so he remains 28 3 pointers away from breaking Reggie Miller's record).

We also learned that Jermaine O'Neal is not going to be having surgery. He is going to spend the next 4 weeks rehabbing and getting his conditioning up. Danny Ainge says that there will be no restrictions on JO upon his return. It's a pretty sad situation. I don't expect to get too much more from JO this year. Perk will be coming back soon, and Delonte West soon after that. It's likely that, even if JO is physically able to contribute on a consistent basis, he'd find himself on the outs of the rotation. Sad.

Girls talk sports: looking ahead to Celtics-Pistons

The Pistons are right smack in the middle of the Melo-drama. Rip Hamilton has been benched for the past 3 games, which, in my opinion is completely disrespectful and unnecesary. He's been with the Pistons for the past 8 years and has been a staple of the franchise for every one of those 8 seasons. For people my age, I think Richard Hamilton is synonymous with the Pistons, especially now that most of the other noteable members of the championship teams (Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace) have gone on their own ways. Rip is just an all around tough, solid player. For his career, he's averaged 17 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. There's no way that benching him isn't causing tension on a team that's already not flowing chemistry wise. I'm sure that Tyshaun Prince and Ben Wallace don't look kindly on it. To bench him for a trade that's not even iminent is just rude... And that will be the end of my tirade defending Richard Hamilton. 

Despite all of this drama, the Pistons come in to the Garden the winners of their last three games, blowing Dallas out 103-89 in their last outing. Who's been playing well for Detroit? A couple of people. Tyshaun Prince has scored more than 20 points in 2 of the 3 games. Rodney Stuckey and Tracy McGrady have also had solid games (McGrady dropped 22 against Toronto, the first of the 3 game win streak. Maybe he was trying to show his former team that he's still got it...). The Pistons also have three guys in Charlie Villanueva (booooo), Will Bynum and Ben Gordon who can come off the bench and  score in the double digits. 

How can the Celtics beat the Pistons? 

The last time the Celtics and Pistons played, on December 29, Rondo wasn't playing and KG injured his calf. They will both be on the floor tonight, which gives Boston an advantage because we've just been reminded of how well they can perform with their core healthy and active. Look for KG to be even more hyped than usual (if that's possible), because of his ongoing drama-rama beef with Charlie Villanueva. Since he hurt himself last time against the Pistons and couldn't play, tonight will be his chance to take it on to the court and show people who's boss. 

This a game where the Celtics can win the battle of the boards. The Pistons don't rebound particularly well. They pull down an average of 38 boards a game, good for 29th in the league. Ben Wallace is the teams leading rebounder (6 RPG), but he's sidelined with an ankle injury. If the Celtics are active, there's no reason why they can't dominate in the paint, score easy baskets, and cash in on second chance points. 

Defensively, without the veteran presence of Richard Hamilton, Detroit won't be too interested in playing home. Rip is the reason why Ray Allen started wearing an arm band. He let his nails grow out, and after the Celtics played the Pistons, Ray's arms would be all scratched up. And no, I'm not going to launch in to another thing about Rip. Just an anecdote this time. 

A quick preview of potential match ups:

Rodney Stuckey and Rajon Rondo. It's a tough match up for Rondo because Stuckey is bigger and stronger, but Rondo is quicker and more disciplined than him. Stuckey's mindset is score first, pass second, so as long as Rondo can keep him out of the paint, he should have the advantage in the match up. 

Since the Pistons have been sitting Richard Hamilton, Tracy McGrady will more than likely be matching up with Ray Allen. There is no way that McGrady can stay with Ray. He will have no interest in battling through picks and chasing after Ray. It just won't happen. The problem could be on the other end of the floor, because McGrady has a good 3 or 4 inches on Ray. 

Tayshaun Prince and Paul Pierce. I like this matchup. These two have played against each other for years and it's always a good battle. Prince is long and quick, so Paul will need to take him in to the paint and out muscle him. Defensively, Prince can get it going from the perimeter, so Paul will have to stay home on him. 

Greg Monroe and Shaq. To be completely honest, I don't know too much about Chris Wilcox. He's in his first year out of Georgetown, and he's been thrust in to the starting line up as a result of an injury to Ben Wallace. He's coming off a 16 point, 9 rebound and 4 steal performance against the Mavericks. He's 6'11 and 250. The Celtics should go to Shaq early and often. No, he's not as fast as he once was, but he's strong and experienced, and there's a good chance he can take the young Wilcox to school. 

Chris Wilcox and KG. Wilcox has been plagued by a steady stream of injuries- he injured his back last season, his hamstring in the preseason, and his groin at the beginning of the regular season. He is momentarily healthy, and made his first start of the season against the Raptors on January 14. This is another case where the experienced player (KG) should have the upper hand. I'd bet that the Pistons are going to go to their bench to look for help against KG... That would come in the form of Villanueva. It might could get chippy out there.  

News around the NBA

Adrian Wojnarowski tweets that there have been new developments made in the ongoing drama-fest between Carmelo Anthony and the Nets. 'Melo is looking for instant gratification: after 7 years in Denver and 0 rings, he wants to move to a new team, be surrounded by veteran talent and have a legitimate chance of winning the whole thing right away. It's no secret that 'Melo really wants to end up on the Knicks. It's also no secret that Denver isn't interested in making a deal with New York. Melo's agent is now pushing for  Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton to be the complementary pieces that convince him to take the plunge and sign the 3 year/64 million dollar deal with the Nets. The proposed deal between Denver and NJ is as follows: the Nuggets would send 'Melo and Billups to NJ and NJ would send Devin Harris, Derrick Favors and multiple first round picks to Denver. Acquiring Richard Hamilton would obviously bring a third team, the Pistons, in to the picture, and that always makes things more complicated. NJ offered Troy Murphy and Johan Petro to Detroit in exchange for Rip and a future first round pick, and this offer was promptly rejected. Apparently the Pistons are looking to rid of Rip, due to the 25 million dollars left on his contract and his dip in productivity, but they're not looking to part with the future first round draft pick.

Personally, I'm not sure how realistic this all sounds. 'Melo wants to go to New York to be with Amare Stoudemire. Why would he look at a team made up of himself, Rip, Billups and Brook Lopez and think it's comparable to a team made up of himself, Stoudemire, Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler and a promising young talent in Landry Fields? Rip and Billups aren't the same players that they were during those Detroit wonder years, circa 2004. And even if 'Melo is banking on Chris Paul joining him in 2012, what other pieces does New Jersey have to offer that would make it a more complete and competitive team than what the Knicks have to offer? Nada! Maybe I'm wrong, and 'Melo will look at it differently than me, but all of this just seems to indicate that the silly drama and posturing is going to continue on as the deadline of February 24 draws closer and closer.

Also- I think that 'Melo is acting reaaaallly wack. To me, it's his job to show up and play as hard as he can for the Denver Nuggets, because that's what team he's on right now. Instead, he's just kind of going through the motions of playing, and he's walking around a good 5-10 pounds over weight. Maybe it's just my view from the starry eyed perspective as a fan- but if I liked the Nuggets, I'd be none too pleased. Don't get me wrong- I'm a Syracuse fan, I love Melo. I just think he should be more thoughtful- or at least tactful- after 7 years on the same team.

In other news, the Timberwolves offered Jonny Flynn to Houston in exchange for Aaron Brooks. Houston said no thanks. Shocking, really! Except not at all. Why the Wolves would think the Rockets would be interested in that is beyond me... And again. Don't get me wrong. Go Orange, I like Flynn too... But come on now! My dad calls him Jonny No-D-Flynn. Clever.