Extra rest for weary far from tired topic Celtics' extra rest far from a tired topic - The Boston Globe
ATLANTA - Starters for the Celtics and Pistons believe there was good and bad in being able to rest late in the regular season because of their teams' stellar records.
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Chauncey Billups said Thursday that he and his fellow Detroit starters "lost our rhythm" during the homestretch of the regular season. The second-seeded Pistons needed six games to eliminate the seventh-seeded 76ers in the first round of the playoffs.
"The last three weeks of the season, [the Sixers] were playing playoff basketball," said Billups. "They were trying to get in [the playoffs] and fight for position. On the other hand, the last three weeks, our starters were playing the first [quarter] and the first half of the third [quarter], so we kind of shut it down for the last three weeks, trying to stay healthy. In doing that, we lost our rhythm. Once we finally did get it back, we didn't look back. We pretty much took over the series."