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In terms of most professional sports, coaches & players tend to defer to the "it's just another game" mantra, and there's already been some of that for tonight's tilt between the 44-16 Pistons and the 46-12 Celtics. But it's actually been refreshing to hear a few quotes where players actually delve into this being a big game, like Kevin Garnett ("People are expecting that to be the Eastern Conference finals matchup ... It should be a fun game.") and Chauncy Billups ("With the East being where it is right now, those games are kind of fun in between. You get real good basketball, teams that are elite status that go at it, and it could go either way. I love it. I love it. You always get excited."). Granted, neither comment is bulletin board material for either team, but it shows that the teams are going to fired up and that they understand the importance of the game. There's still 20-some-odd games left for each team, so it isn't going to make or break either's chances at securing home court advantage, but whoever wins will have quite the advantage.

If the Celtics win tonight, they'll go to 47-12 and drop the Pistons to 44-17. That's a 4 game lead with 5 less losses, and with a 2-1 season series advantage, the Celtics would own the tie-breaker. With 23 games to go, the Celtics magic number would be 18 for home-court advantage in the playoffs. This game is HUGE for them.

If the Pistons win tonight, they'll improve to 45-16 & drop the Celtics to 46-13. They'd still be trailing by 2 games, but they'd now own the tie-breaker with the Celtics and would have a huge pyschological edge by beating them twice in the Garden. Also they'd maintain their momentum (winners of 15 of their last 18) and could probably make a run at the top seed in the East. This game is HUGE for them too.

No predictions on the final score, just one prediction - you're going to see a very intense, closely played, low-scoring game tonight. This is appointment TV if you're a hoops fan. Get to your TV by 7:29.