was this hawk named flip murray on the pistons last year?

Nothing frustrates me more about the NBA than veteran coaches wasting minutes on players who have peaked as basketball players rather than letting youth prevail. Two years into his career, I’m still not sure if Afflalo is an NBA player but I’ll never find out unless somebody decides to play him consistently. Counter to that is Rodney Stuckey playing way too much and being anointed the title of "next" on the Pistons despite being unable to put together ten good games in a row.

Sidenote: This year’s Juan Dixon was Kwame Brown. I have nothing against Kwame but he is what he is, you have to play the young guys.
   but curry was a rookie coach. and amir wasn’t good enough to recieve minutes. he made mistakes and this year, mistakes were not tolerated and that is why curry played kwame.

and that is that, so amir sat.

I remember thinking things were working out just right until Detroit lost at home against Boston in the ECF. The bench had been better during the year; Boston had struggled more than I could have hoped in the first two rounds — including a curious inability to win a single game on the road. Detroit had gotten the matchup with Orlando we wanted, and heck, we beat them without Chauncey. Then, we win a game in Boston. Everything was working out perfectly.

But it wasn’t. Flip was playing the bench less and less as the playoffs went on. Yeah, I saw the Hawks last night and I wondered where THAT Flip Murray was in the playoffs last year (also, Mo Evans has been a useful piece for them; combine that with Woodson coaching and you kind of have a second-string Pistons reunion out there). Also, Jarvis Hayes, who had been useful in spurts during the regular season was cold in the early playoffs, and Flip didn’t play him.

But Detroit lost 3 of the last 4 playoff games, and the collapse at home in the fourth quarter of game 6 was especially galling, since I lots of folks were assuming that the series was going to go to a game seven. I guess this year makes “competitive playoff losses” look good by comparison, but it was still galling.

Re Perkins: yes, he’s immensely unlikable. But he was better last year in the playoffs and this year than Maxiell or Johnson.

Anyway, last year was the year when Joe D. and pretty much everyone else decided that It Just Can’t Go On Anymore. Between Detroit’s performance and Chauncey’s out in Denver, Pistons fans couldn’t be blamed for wondering what if . . . but given the playoff performances of ‘Sheed and ’Tay, I don’t think Detroit would have gotten past the Cavs this year anyway.

For the record, I have never tried to pick up a woman with an Eddie House joke. I always use my “Craig Monroe never got a fair chance with the Tigers” line with the ladies. Women love passionate arguments about baseball statistics.

I agree with almost everything, except this:

The media (and I’d say even the fans) had given up on the core based on historical fails in the previous conference finals and people nationally were enamored with the newly constructed Boston Celtics fantasy team.

Two points.

1) Our sell-out streak was still going last season, right? It only ended this year after we started losing, if I’m not mistaken.

What evidence do you have that the fans had given up? We were there all season…

Anecdotally, my friends gave me a great bachelor party — the highlight of which was surprise tickets to ’Stons vs. Celtics, game 3, ECF. I have never been in a louder building my entire life — at least until we went down 10-0 to start the game. The fans were there. And we believed.

There was not only optimism about the next ten years but there was new excitement, new potential and new blood with the younger players who may not immediately carry the Pistons to a championship but would certainly keep them competitive and fresh.

I totally agree. And I was even impressed with MCIAFI last summer, the preseason, and the first two games of the season.

It is good to know that Perkins’ performance against us wasn’t a complete fluke. He’s been huge for Boston in big games this year as well.

This was not a bad season all things considered. Although there was complacency in certain spots, I think they were who we thought they were. Sheed played a little better compared to the previous season and the Detroit actually had a good and decent bench. Gotta credit Flip this year, compared to the previous 2 seasons, he did the best managing the bench and he really wanted to get through to the players.

Aside from the Philly series and not showing up in Game 3 of the ECFs they seemed to be playing well but by then they had built up to much of a complacent perception…plus Boston just wanted it more.

Anyone else find it funny that Chauncey and McDyess were both nominated for the Joe Dumars award, two players who were traded by Dumars earlier this year? I know the reasons behind the trade, but you do wonder, why’d Joe D have to move the guys with the most character? (Even if Dice did return, I think his departure now is inevitable).

Chauncey won the award, by the way. Cheers to him!

since dumars says that curry reminds him of himself, maybe he could have traded curry too! but he plans to keep him. oh well.

Only thing missing is Jameer Nelson’s little leg hook on Billups. Flip’s rotations certainly hurt, but my “What if?” hinges more on Billups not being 100% than anything else.

Good call, Greg.

Also, I like this Max block on KG, too, but mostly because KG tries to be tough afterwards until Max has something to say to him. Then he slinks away, in true KG style.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-OZkyyT5mM

That 11-0 start for Boston in game 3 at our place was the series. It completely changed the momentum of the series after we won game 2 in Boston. I always wonder what would have happened if we could have had a better start in that game.

That 11-0 start for Boston in game 3 at our place was the series. It completely changed the momentum of the series after we won game 2 in Boston. I always wonder what would have happened if we could have had a better start in that game.

I witnessed it in person. The crowd never recovered… but man was the excitement fun while it lasted.

And to repeat myself, right up until that 11-0 start (and game 3 loss), things had worked out at least as well as any reasonable Pistons fan could have hoped.

Of course we didn’t have Flip Murray coming off the bench and scoring over 20 points in any game that series either (like he did last night). Remember how folks here used to mock old “fourth quarter slaughter”?

i can’t remember when flip let flip go? when was that? i remember feeling genuinely bad for him. but he landed on his feet for sure.

You’ve got some great points here. I agree with you for the most part. Cool vid, that was a sick block, Garnett was clueless!

this bulls boston game 6 is playing out just like pistons boston game 6 last year. big baby is as good as kg right now. and to my mind doc rivers is a damn good coach. the celts are seriously mentally tough. the cleveland boston series is going to be interesting when it happens. the cavs have their ducks in a row but the celts are serious champs. and the cavs are going to have to pry the trophy out of their gnarly hands.

then again maybe i am wrong.

That’s the best shot Chicago could get with 4.4 seconds left?

Still, it’s been quite a competitive series.

This game is ridiculous.

And now double OT. Go Bulls.

The Bulls PA system is playing Pantera.

Specifically, this classic track:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj2xSwOY0xs

Whoa, the Bulls dusted off Lindsay Hunter for a defensive possession.

OH. MY. GOD. This is the best game I’ve watched all year!

Good lord. If the Bulls lose, they are going to be kicking themselves.

Not just a great game, but a great series.

This is just one amazing play after another.

Wow.

I’m looking forward to game 7.

If they put the Chicago-Boston series out on DVD I would buy it.

Lindsey Hunter is still the designated Eddie House terrorizer. The nightmares continue (except after ridiculous Big Baby picks).

And an under-talked about part of 07-08 was the evolution of Doc Rivers as a coach in that Pistons series. He didn’t have a consistent rotation all season off the bench (sound familiar) and then suddenly figured it out in that series. He used Powe, Big Baby and Posey masterfully. Flip never successfully found a combo to counter Doc’s KG/Ray/Rondo/Pierce/Posey lineup.

So, I get to see Flip Murray, Mo Evans, Lindsey Hunter, and Chauncey all carry on. Memo has been eliminated. Any other ex-Pistons still alive in the playoffs?

Mikki Moore!

Oh yeah!

Epic.

I thought that maybe Doc would play Mikki after both Perkins and Big Baby fouled out, but no!

Whoa, the Bulls dusted off Lindsay Hunter for a defensive possession.

And he was quickly put on his @$$ by a good screen. Lindsey is so far beyond washed-up it’s almost funny at this point.

Lindsay is a shell of his former self, but I thought that was a moving screen by Big Baby. Then again, I also thought Pierce traveled before one of his big-time shots, so I might be biased.

The screen was questionable at the most to my eye. There are screens like that every game during the NBA that don’t get called (unless your names is Jason Maxiel), so I didn’t have a problem with it.