Celtics or Cavs, many on rosters have some history with Saunders

Flip Saunders, the former Timberwolves coach who now has the Pistons in the NBA Eastern Conference finals for a third time, says he will be familiar with some of the personnel regardless whether Detroit faces the Cavaliers or the Celtics in the next round.

The Celtics host the Cavaliers in today's Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Saunders coached Joe Smith and Wally Szczerbiak of the Cavaliers and Kevin Garnett and Sam Cassell of the Celtics while with the Wolves. And he coached Ben Wallace, now with the Cavaliers, when Wallace was with the Pistons.

Szczerbiak made a big three-pointer late to clinch the victory over the Celtics on Friday and is averaging 11.7 points per game in postseason, third on the team. "He's playing good, he's in a good situation playing with [LeBron] James," Saunders said of his former player. "Where he's at, he can spot up and shoot, and I think he's playing pretty good for them right now." Szczerbiak went from the Wolves to Boston to Seattle and then Cleveland.

In describing Smith, who played with three other teams after leaving Minnesota and landing with the Cavs, Saunders said: "Joe's playing really good, too. ... When they won, he's usually been a big key in their wins. Because what happens is, they've got to guard him because he has the ability to face up and shoot the ball a little bit." Smith is averaging 6.7 points and 4.5 rebounds a game in the postseason.

Saunders naturally runs out of adjectives when talking about Garnett, who in the postseason leading the Celtics with 20.8 points, 9.6 rebounds and 37.7 minutes per game. The addition of Cassell, Saunders added, brought some veteran leadership in midseason.

James 'unbelievable' As for Cavs superstar James, Saunders describes him as unbelievable. He scored 32 points in Friday's victory over the Celtics.

"Whether it's his ability to pass the ball and rebound -- and I think probably the part of his game that's the most [underrated] is his defense. I think he's really a good defensive player. I think he's done a great job right now as far as on [Celtics forward] Paul Pierce."

Sizing up finals The Pistons beat the Cavaliers three out of four during the regular season.

Asked for a scouting report on the Celtics, who will play at home and be a big favorite to win today and take on the Pistons, Saunders said: "They beat us two out of three times, but the two times they beat us, we were on a back-to-back situation. They were waiting for us. So we didn't have any preparation time, but I think we match up pretty well. Garnett and Rasheed Wallace match up. We've got Tayshaun Prince, who's playing great, matches up with Pierce. Richard Hamilton matches up with [Ray] Allen. And then we think that our advantage is with Chauncey Billups at the point guard."

Saunders said Billups, who missed the last two playoff games against the Magic, "practiced both the last two days. So, he's about as healthy as he was before he got hurt."

Will the week's rest since they last played help?

Regardless who the Pistons face, personally I give Saunders a big edge in the coaching.

Jottings While the Vikings ownership kept defense end Kenechi Udeze on the payroll for the 2008 season even though he will be inactive because of his leukemia, the Bills didn't do the same for tight end Kevin Everett, who is just learning to walk again after a spine injury. Everett was released in order that he could receive disability benefits. The Wilfs, owners of the Vikings, showed some class in how they handled Udeze's situation.

The Timberwolves have two second-round draft choices in addition to their first-round pick. If it's possible to draft a European player with their own second-round pick, the plan is to have him play another season in Europe unless he is ready to play in the NBA immediately.

St. John's University named Doug Schueller its hockey coach. The 31-year-old Schueller is from is from Inver Grove Heights and went to White Bear Lake High School, playing in the state hockey tournament as a junior in 1994. He was an assistant coach the past two years at Division I Bowling Green, where he played from 1997 to 2001 and was a two-time captain.

Matt Garza, the pitcher the Twins sent to the Rays in the trade for Delmon Young and Jason Bartlett, has a sensational 1.37 ERA in his past three starts. ... Jared Allen's Sports Arena & Grill, a Kansas City bar and restaurant in which the new Vikings defensive end is a partner, has closed after he was traded to the Vikings.

Marty Springstead, an umpire observer for Major League Baseball, said St. Paul's Jeff Nelson, who missed most of last season because of cancer, has made a complete recovery and is working a full major-league umpiring schedule.

Long Beach State athletic director Vic Cegles told the Long Beach Press-Telegram in a story published earlier this month how excited he was about the 49ers' men's basketball team, which went 6-25 last season in its first year under former Gophers coach Dan Monson. "Dan's signed some great recruits and the future is bright for us," Cegles said. "Mark my word, one day the biggest problem I'll face with Dan is how to keep him in Long Beach and not take a job somewhere else."

Shannon Stewart, who spent most of his final season with the Twins in 2006 on the disabled list, is struggling with the Blue Jays, who swept the Twins at home last week. Stewart is only hitting .238 as a left fielder and DH.

Doug Mientkiewicz, who won a Gold Glove playing first base for the Twins in 2001, has been starting at third base on and off for the Pittsburgh Pirates this season. Entering the season, he had played third only one other time in his major-league career: for an inning in a 13-1 Milwaukee blowout of the Twins on June 27, 2003, when he didn't have a ball hit to him. "Fielding and throwing, I feel fine. It's just timing," the 33-year-old Mientkiewicz told MLB.com last month. The Pirates are his fifth major league team since he was traded from the Twins in 2004.

It's unusual for veteran major leaguers to accept demotions to the minors, but that's what former Twins lefthander Mark Redman did earlier this week, waiving his right to refuse a minor-league assignment by Colorado and getting optioned to Class AAA Colorado Springs. Redman, 34, signed a $1 million contract to return to the National League champion Rockies this past offseason but went 2-3 with a 7.86 ERA in seven games, including six starts, before getting demoted. "I signed that agreement so they knew I wouldn't just take their money and walk away," Redman told the Denver Post. "But I told them even then that they didn't need it. I wouldn't have done that because they have such a good thing going here."