The Celtics and Pistons were the clear-cut top two teams in the East this year, so there is no surprise that they’re vying for a spot in the NBA Finals. What is surprising is the way these teams enter this series.

Boston was unexpectedly pushed to Game seven in each of the first two rounds, and is 0-6 on the road in the postseason. Now, it will have to continue the emotional roller coaster coming off a short layoff. Detroit had it easier and defeated Orlando in five games in the second round, but was actually down 2-1 in round one against the seventh-seeded 76ers. The Pistons will now have to shake off some rust coming into this series on a week layoff.

Here are five things to look out for in this series.

Boston’s Road Struggles
It is inexplicable how poorly the Celtics, who had the best road record of any team in the regular season, have played on the road this postseason. At home they’ve outscored opponents by an average of 16.6 points, while on the road they have been outscored by 9.5 points. The Pistons are a playoff-tested, tough team at home, and no victory will come easy for Boston on the road. As much as Boston doesn’t need to mathematically win a game on the road to advance, it will probably have to if it wants to make a push for the finals.

Experience
Detroit is clearly the more experienced team. This team seems like it has been together forever, and since the 2002-03 season, the Pistons have reached at least the Eastern Conference Finals every season. Detroit even won a NBA Championship in 2003-04. On the other hand, the Celtics have very little playoff experience aside from Sam Cassell and P.J. Brown, who aren’t even primary contributors. Boston is actually led by its Big Three - three perennial All-Stars brought together to take the next step, something they haven’t been able to do individually. If they can get to the finals, they will take a big step in getting the monkey off their backs.

Chauncey Billups’ Hamstring
Nobody is happier than Chauncey Billups that Boston was pushed to a Game seven. This allowed him a few extra days rest that may be crucial as he tries to come back from a hamstring injury. After getting injured in the first five minutes of Game three of the second round, he didn’t play in the rest of the series. Billups had success against the Celtics in the regular season, and was averaging 15.8 points and 5.7 assists in the playoffs. Point guard play will be pivotal in this series as the experienced Billups matches up against the inexperienced Rajan Rondo. If Billups is healthy, he has the obvious advantage.

Team Defense
This match up features the league’s top two defenses. Statistically, they were the best two defensive units in the regular season, and in the playoffs it has been no different. The Celtics have limited opponents to 86 points per game on 40 percent shooting, while Detroit has allowed only 87 points per game on 44 percent shooting. Detroit is coming into the series with fresher legs, but the team that continues to bring defensive intensity and is able to shut down their opponents big guns will likely win this series.

Ray Allen
Where has Ray Allen been in the playoffs? The third member of the Big Three has not been living up to his billing. Allen averaged 17.4 points in the regular season, but has only averaged 12.7 points in the playoffs. Even worse, against the Cavaliers, the veteran shooting guard posted only 9.3 points a game. Boston needs to get him on track to give it another solid scoring option against Detroit’s stingy defense. Allen’s job will be made more difficult as he will probably be forced to guard and chase Richard Hamilton through countless screens for more than 40 minutes a game.

Prediction
This series will likely resemble the games between these two teams during the year. Boston won the regular season series 2-1. All three games were tight and physical, and I expect nothing less the entire series. Boston all of a sudden seems vulnerable, and Detroit is fresh and more experienced. Boston’s road futility will come back to haunt them, and the Pistons will take this series in seven games.

Other Thoughts…

Detroit Bad Boys discuss if fatigue will be a factor.

CelticsNews.com previews the Eastern Conference Finals.

Pregame.com says it will be a very close series.

NBAObsessed.com says the Pistons are the favorites.

Emptythebench.com says this is the series we have been waiting for.