The Suns lost Joe Johnson's 57 percent 3-point shooting when he suffered an eye injury in Game 2. Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

Throughout Larry Brown's mercurial era with the Detroit Pistons, the best of times often lead to unexpected troubles. That's why the Pistons' 33-18 lead in the first quarter of Game 2 Wednesday was an impending disaster. No sooner did Detroit begin to imagine it was halfway toward a sweep -- a natural reaction, given its 96-81 Game 1 rout -- than did the Indiana Pacers slingshot to a 92-83 win to even the series heading into Game 3 tonight at Indy.

It goes to show that the deeper teams venture into the playoffs, the less relevant the regular season becomes. For the bulk of 82 games the Pacers were deprived of talent because of suspension or injury, but that's largely yesterday's news. Of course, Ron Artest isn't coming back anytime soon, but Jermaine O'Neal looks stronger, Jeff Foster is back in shape (as evidenced by his 14-point, 20-rebound performance) and point guard Jamaal Tinsley looks more dynamic than ever.

A similar tide may have turned in the West, where the Phoenix Suns -- who thrived during the regular season without major injury -- must now make do without versatile Joe Johnson, who suffered a fractured bone near his left eye in Game 2. If Dirk Nowitzki and Jerry Stackhouse can control tempo by getting to the foul line, the Mavericks could seize a 2-1 series lead and put pressure on the Suns.

Marriage counseling in Beantown

Boston fans have spent the past week complaining about the Celtics' first-round meltdown against Indiana, but overall, the Celtics accomplished a rare trifecta: winning more games than last year (a nine-game increase), installing a new on-court philosophy (up-tempo), and overhauling the roster (with five rookies or sophomores). Reading between the lines of GM Danny Ainge's "State of the Celtics" press conference Thursday, it appears that the next phase is to invest more power in 43-year-old Doc Rivers, who despite six years on the bench in Orlando and Boston, remains one of the NBA's youngest head coaches. "Doc is a leader, a tireless worker," said Ainge. "He knows he's not the best coach in the league, but he watches the great coaches and wants to become a great coach."

Having given too much freedom to Tracy McGrady when both were in Orlando (resulting in a disaster for all parties), Rivers acted in Paul Pierce's best interests by occasionally benching the Celtics' star while forcing him to adapt to the running game. Pierce's critics depict him as a selfish, one-dimensional scorer, and Pierce fueled those notions by getting tossed out of Game 6 at Indiana and then behaving like a rookie while leaving the court and at the press conference afterward. It was a surprising mental breakdown by a veteran who genuinely cares about upholding and reviving the long-lost Celtics tradition.