Richard Hamilton, who hyperextended his right elbow
near the end of Game 5, will play tonight.
Hamilton took part in the morning shootaround with a
protective sleeve on his elbow.
"This is now or never," he said. "I talked to my dad
and he said, 'Man, just spit on it. You're all right.'
We're at war right now. You ain't go no choice to sit
down or anything like that. I feel all right. I feel
good enough to go out and play."
Other items: Rasheed Wallace, who was fined $25,000 by
the league for derogatory comments about the
officials, showed up late for the shootaround. He
pulled in approximately 15 minutes after it was
supposed to start.
Look for more ball pressure by the Pistons tonight,
especially when they go to their bench. Doc Rivers has
virtually abandoned his backup point guards, so Rajon
Rondo won't get much rest.
I'll give the Pistons a 95 percent chance of winning
tonight. I just don't think Boston will have a
closeout mentality here after winning two Game 7s at
home in the first two rounds. Plus, the Celtics played
about as well as they could - crushing the Pistons on
the boards, Garnett scoring 33, Ray Allen busting out
of his slump in a big way - and they had to hold on
for dear life to win Game 5. I can't see them
duplicating that performance here.