BOSTON - When the Celtics and Pistons tap off in tonight's Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals, the nostalgia mavens will be out in force.

These two franchises squared off in legendary series with similar stakes in both 1987 and '88. Those were the days of Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars, Dennis Johnson and Danny Ainge. The memories of the Celtics-Pistons classic series of '87, immortalized forever by the late, great Johnny Most's call of Game Five's biggest play ("Bird has it, goes underneath to DJ!") will never be forgotten. Neither will the Pistons' revenge the next season, taking the series in six games to unofficially end the Larry Bird Era.

Now Adrian Dantley and Vinny Johnson are replaced by Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton. Kevin McHale and Robert Parish have been replaced by Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. Over the next two weeks, a new cast of characters will write their own script.

The modern-day Pistons have done an awful lot of winning. This is their sixth straight trip to the Eastern finals. They've lost three times, were beaten by San Antonio in the 2005 Finals and won the 2004 championship in a five-game shocker over the Lakers. The Pistons haven't played in a week, after easy wins over Philadelphia and Orlando, and will be ready to flash a defense that has limited foes to 87.8 points in 11 playoff games.

This is the second conference-finals appearance for Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. If they hope to qualify for a first-ever trip to the promised land, they'll all need to play well at the same time. That hasn't happened very often through 14 playoff games, but the Pistons are not the youthful Hawks or the One-Man (LeBron) James Gang Cavaliers.

Here are the lineups and playoff statistics:

POINT GUARD

Rajon Rondo (6-1, 171, 11.1 pts, 6.6 ast) vs. Chauncey Billups (6-3, 205, 15.8 pts, 5.7 ast). The common conjecture at the point is that the vet Billups has it all over Rondo. While there clearly is an advantage, watch for the Celtics to try to isolate Rondo and his quickness against Billups and his balky hamstring. Billups says he's 100 percent, but we'll see how he looks after a few Rondo crossover moves.

Billups is the consummate pro, a tough guy who takes the biggest shots. Rondo, Sam Cassell and Eddie House must keep him from the breakout (20 point-10 assist) games he's capable of.

SHOOTING GUARD

Ray Allen (6-5, 205, 12.7 pts, 38 precent FG) vs. Richard Hamilton (6-7, 193, 21.5 pts, 3.7 ast). Allen can't be as bad as he looked vs. Cleveland, when he shot 32 percent from the floor and appeared to lose his confidence. The Cavs did a great job of limiting Allen's open looks, but his jumper wasn't falling even when he had plenty of room.

Allen hosted Hamilton on his recruiting trip to Connecticut, and no one in Storrs ever imagined that the skinny kid from Coatesville, Pa., would ever be this good. Hamilton puts up points in bunches, and can go for 30 if he's not closely watched.

SMALL FORWARD

Paul Pierce (6-7, 235, 18.7 pts, 4.8 reb) vs. Tayshaun Prince (6-9, 215, 16 pts, 6.2 reb). Fans lucky enough to hold a ticket to Garden games should just watch these two play each other for minutes at a time. It'll be worth your time. Prince is one of the elite 1-on-1 defenders in the sport. Pierce can pour home points. Prince has developed into a dangerous scorer, as well, and Pierce can't leave him very often to help out on Billups or Hamilton.

BIG FORWARD

Kevin Garnett (6-11, 253, 20.3 pts, 9.9 reb) vs. Antonio McDyess (6-9, 245, 7.5 pts, 6.5 reb). Boston's Big Ticket needs to not only keep up his production but elevate it to take pressure off Pierce and the struggling Allen. McDyess and Jason Maxiell will try to body up KG, but his assortment of spin moves and 15-foot jumpers can be deadly. He's shooting 51 percent from the field.

CENTER

Kendrick Perkins (6-10, 280, 6.3 pts, 5.7 reb) vs. Rasheed Wallace (6-11, 230, 13.9 pts, 6 reb). Wallace's loud-mouth act is a reporter's delight, even if it'll wear thin over the course of a series. He's a potent offensive player who can shoot threes and rebound in traffic. Perkins, who is in perpetual foul trouble, is regarded as a tough defender-rebounder. We'll find out for sure in this series.

BENCH

Doc Rivers has juggled his reserves to deal with different matchups in this postseason. James Posey (6-8, 217, 6.3 pts, 3.9 reb) is the only constant, and his defense on Prince and/or Hamilton will be needed. It's not clear if Rivers will play Eddie House (6-1, 175, 1.3 pts) or Sam Cassell (6-3, 193, 5.7 pts, 1.5 ast) to back up Rondo. The guess here is Cassell to deal with the crafty Billups. Inside, the Celts will use P.J. Brown (6-11, 239, 2.4 pts, 1.9 reb), Leon Powe (6-8, 240, 5.5 pts, 2.9 reb) and Glen Davis (6-9, 288, 2.3 ppg) to varying degrees on different nights.

The Pistons have three key reserves in Jason Maxiell (6-7, 260, 5.4 pts, 5.3 reb), Rodney Stuckey (6-5, 205, 7.3 pts, 3.7 reb) and Lindsay Hunter (6-2, 195, 2.8 pts, 1.0 ast). Maxiell is a strong rebounder, but whether he can deal with Garnett at all is a big question mark. Stuckey replaced Billups in the Magic series and looked very good. He's not a shooter but gets to the rim with his quickness.

PREDICTION

The series boils down to whether the Pistons can win a game in Boston. If not, the Celtics win. Protecting home court tonight and Thursday could be the weary Celtics' biggest challenge. The Celts have shown no ability to win on the road in the playoffs, and that task will be severe at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Pistons in six.