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Well, the match-up of the season has come and passed and after a disappointing 87-85 loss to the Pistons, Celts fans are left to ponder what we learned in the loss. The easy answer? Nothing we didn’t already know.

Watching Chauncey Billups and Rajon Rondo trade blows like Rocky and Apollo in the first quarter was pure fun. Chauncey hits a jumper, Rondo slashes in the lane for two, Chauncey answers back, Rondo answers back - one of the more enjoyable sights of the season so far. But that same match-up turned Boston fans into a quivering mess in the second half. Why? Chauncey was done with the cat and mouse game. When push came to shove, Chauncey Billups became Chauncey Billups while the young nucleus of Celtics defenders crumbled around him. Rondo couldn’t stay out of foul trouble and his five fouls loomed over him in the second half. Rondo let Billups run free and he burned the Celts en route to 28 points. Rondo didn’t even touch the floor in the game’s final minutes as Doc opted to go with Eddie House and Tony Allen, which only delayed the inevitable.

An embarrassing foul committed by Tony Allen with .1 seconds left was the lasting image of the night. Billups, the marionette, pulled the wool over our eyes and cut the puppet strings. It all seemed like an act and it felt like we’d been had. We’d been tricked into thinking that a 6-foot-1, 67 pound kid could guard one of the game’s savviest, multi-talented threats. Maybe we should have known all along.

Of course, the backlash resulted in a sportsradio frenzy. Everyone from Abington to Yarmouth (we don’t have any Z’s?) called to knock the Celtics off their pedestal. Chants for a veteran point guard could be heard all over the Bay State. If only we had Reggie Miller... Is John Stockton available?

The answer doesn’t lie in knee-jerk reactions. Last week, Rajon Rondo was one of the league most promising young point guards, entering only his second season in the NBA. This week, he can’t hold his mud. 7-of-10 shooting and 7 assists aren’t enough to warrant a premiere time against a tough opponent.

Let’s not be so brash. Rondo has been everything the Celtics have asked for and more. Yes, he still has some filling out to do, but Rondo’s inadequacies against the NBA’s best point guard aren’t to blame for the Celtics loss.

The boys in green shot 4 of 14 from long range, an area that Detroit buried the Celtics in last night. To make matters worse, the Celtics hit a mere 61% of their free throws, missing out on crucial opportunities to point a couple of points on the board. The Pistons excelled in both areas, firing up the jets in the second half to leave the Celtics in the dust.

Sure, you can find blame to place in this game. If you believe Kendrick Perkins, even the team wasn’t exempt from pointing fingers. The scene in the locker room was described as dismal, almost like a funeral. An overreaction? Maybe, but I’ll take a team that plays every game like it’s their last any day of the week. There have been games this year where a surly Kevin Garnett talks to the media after the game, disappointed at what his team could not accomplish in a win. Maybe some of the Belichick stuff is getting around.

The bottom line is last night we witnessed a revival of an old feud. Billups semi-hip check non-call was no Bill Laimbeer fist fight with the hick from French Lick, but it’s the most that basketball fans in Beantown have had to get excited about in 15 years. The Nets/Celtics “rivalry” of 2001 and 2002 was the equivalent of a Pawtucket Red Sox playoff series, it didn’t matter who won, the winners were still losers. Now, five years later, the Eastern Conference is no joke and neither is the renewed rivalry.

Chauncey’s grin was the lasting image of round one. It seems destined for these two teams to meet down the road and if they do expect a series that would do Bird and company proud.

As for what the Celtics learned? They learned they’re still learning. And the Pistons learned that the east just got a lot tougher.