AUBURN HILLS – Last year, the Nets’ Richard Jefferson started a bit of a firestorm when an old quote that had him claiming the Pistons were “overrated” was dredged up, taken out of context and then plastered from one end of the galaxy to the next.
And last year, after a season of starting, Jefferson went into the playoff series with Detroit holding a decided edge over Tayshaun Prince, whose coming out had been staged in only the preceding series.
Yup, lots has changed in a year.
Jefferson is careful to say only the right things – although he did joke about how much these two teams “hate” each other, and this year, Prince is far more of a proven commodity.
And while Jefferson’s play has improved to the point that he is now an Olympian, the small forward get-together was a very – if not the – key matchup in the Nets-Pistons Eastern semifinals that began here last night.
“Tayshaun is a talented player. He always has been. He’s just been given more and more of an opportunity the last year or so, so he’s going to get his shots,” Jefferson said before the Nets went through their final court preparation yesterday morning.
“He’s probably a head taller than me, and … add his wingspan, and he’s probably like 7-4.”
Said new Celtic coach Doc Rivers: “That really could be the swing matchup in the series.”
Prince emerged into a double-figure (10.3) scorer for the Pistons in his second season and forged a terrific 17.4-point, 7.6-rebound first round series against the Bucks.
“Tayshaun is a totally different player than he was the last time we played. He’s got a full body of work behind him,” said Net coach Lawrence Frank.
Prince is listed at 6-9, but his gangly, 757-like arms make him seem much longer. That type of length can trouble the 6-7 Jefferson – trouble, not dominate.
“I don’t think it’s to the point where you can really talk about it on that level,” Jefferson said. “[Milwaukee’s] Desmond Mason is a very talented guy and Tayshaun did a great job against Mason. In the last series, he went against an athletic slasher, so he’s kind of gotten into his groove defensively. So hopefully we’ll try to change some things up.”
Offensively, Prince lives off the drive and kick passes he gets from Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton. Prince thrives in the corner, and is especially lethal whenever opponents send help at the guards or at Detroit’s inside offensive presence.
“That’s the key thing,” Jefferson said. “You have a responsibility to help your teammates out. And it’s not about me versus Tayshaun. There are going to be times where he gets open looks from the corner because you’re helping out with other people, and vice versa. There’s going to be times where guys are helping out with me and their guys are going to get open shots. It’s just a matter of trying to help each other out, trying to limit your help and their penetration.”
And despite his numbers this regular season and the playoffs, Prince has not enjoyed the same type of success against the Nets. He scored just 5.3 points a game both this season and in last year’s Eastern Finals against the Nets in a pair of no-show cameos. Good Jefferson defense?
“Nah, it’s just us as a team trying to play solid defense,” Jefferson – who lit up Detroit for a series high 21.5 points this season – explained.
“The coaches always get on my for my defense, and I will admit I make errors on the floor. But I like to feel that I’m a solid defensive player. That’s just the way I feel. I feel that I’m solid. I’m not the best, not the worst. I’m solid.”
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Jason Kidd finished eighth in the MVP balloting, won by T’Wolves’ Kevin Garnett. Kidd received five fourth-place votes and two fifth-places.
