Flip Saunders and the Pistons are looking to even out the series in Game 4. Leave your pre-game predictions and in-game observations here.
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TONIGHT
flip, do some coaching, and ben hit some free throws,
As many times as the Pistons went down in a series, they almost always found a way to win the series. Blah, blah, blah,…. It’s not happening in this series if they go down 3-1.
Keys to Game 4:
1. No easy points for the Diesel. Put him on the free throw line at least 10 times.
2. Prevent Wade from penetrating the lane. Make him shoot jumpers (sooner or later he’ll start missing).
3. Prince and Sheed must dominate…they create severe mismatches. No jumpshots, just pure post-ups.
I just hope the Boys in Blue don’t attempt to play the same game of cat and mouse that they did with the Cavs. The Heat are a much better team. It has been said many, many times, but tonight is pretty much a “must win.”
While I’m glad that I made it back from vacation just in time for game 4, I wish I had come back to a different story.
Nonetheless, tonight should be a good one.
Here are my keys to winning Game 4.
1. Cut back on the turnovers.
2. We have to get some easy baskets in the lane. Take the ball to hole hard.
3. We have to run we when get a chance. We have wear O’Neal out.
4. We can’t allow O’Neal and Wade to hit 67pt between the two of them.
5. Ball movement!
Tigers back to back losses are a good sign for the Pistons. During the Tigers streak of 15 wins in 16 games the Pistons were 3-5. I think the Pistons reclaim the Motown Mojo tonight.
bigboyindonesia: good thinking
You know we already stole it from the Red Wings earlier
The Pistons team we have come to know and love will win this game tonight and series to move on to the finals. The team that has taken over in the past few weeks will not.
1) More Hunter for defensive stops when Miami makes a run.
2) More Sheed posting up.
3) Tay needs to get back to form!
4) If the game is close at the end, get Ben OUT so he isn’t put on the line!
5) Work the Chauncey/Sheed pick and spot play more.
Go Pistons!!!
I wonder if the hickey Michael Wilbon is leaving on Dwayne Wade’s ass will affect his play tonight?
I see they’re going to let Shaq get away with hooking his defender on the baseline tonight…nice.
I like the pace so far of this game, even though Detroit’s down by 3 (13-10) Wade has been on the floor twice.
Yes. It’s Wilbon and the refs fault that the Pistons came out with zero intensity.
Put a fork in the Pistons, they’re done.
Pistons look disorganized, disinterested, and disillusioned half way through the second quarter.
Doesn’t look good boys.
They just showed the TMobile commercial where Ben is sitting in the locker room talking on his phone during intros. Now we know what the problem is! It’s not the coaching after all!
i hate to say this, but it is over. shaq wants a ring without that idiot kobe hanging on him.
There’s really only one way folks: defensive intensity leading to easy buckets. Our half-court sets are a wreck.
It’s the end of 1 and we already look defeated
Matt.
You may want to find another team on which to base a site.
BOOOOOOO!
Hey, Flip. Do some coaching.
My friends as much as this pains me to say it.
Our Pistons are done.
D-O-N-E.
LA Mike please! The game is far from over. The offense looks really bad thus far. We have to move the ball. Rip needs to start playing. Lets go guys! What the F@#k!
Rip nneds to quit throwing stupid passes when he has open layups.
Jamie- for real! Rip come on.
If we can cut it to 6 we will be fine……
I feel a little better now.
Not that much, just a little.
Howard: You said it and I noticed it too. The Pistons looked disillusioned and defeated at the start of the game.
BUT, we’re only down 6 at the half. Hopefully someone does some motivational speaking in the locker room and these guys get back to playing their style.
1. They’re not fouling Shaq alot.
2. Wade is still making his jumpers.
3. Only Tayshaun is dominating. Where’s Sheed?
At halftime, I put on a headband. Now the Pistons are tied. The headband will remain in place until the end of the game.
Nice foul Chauncy!
Good court awareness!
All right, we have a game. Any reason why all of the Heat fans are wearing white? It creeps me out.
El Dangeroso:
Do you have a wristband you can try now? Need another momentum shift.
No wristband, but I’m adding a second headband.
I put on a headband.
Sheed’s new nickname:
“No-show”
bye bye bye.
i cant believe this….
Anybody still think Lebron is the best player in the league? Not even close. Lebron will never shoot 70% for a playoff series. Hopefully Shaq starts looking his age next year
Ugh. Remember when the Pistons would have one bad quarter in four instead of one good quarter in four?
Will there be another home game for Miami in this series?
If Ben Wallace thinks someone’s going to give him $12 million + next year…
I don’t even recognize this team in the blue jerseys. Someone issue an Amber Alert for the real Pistons.
It’s possible. Just force a game 6. I believe.
The sound you hear is the Piston’s season crashing to the floor. Oh, and you also might be hearing Joe Dumars trying to figure out how to trade Wallacex2 for Garnett…or anyone that feels the need to show up at the end of the game.
I can’t imagine any team being interested in those two head cases.
Pathetic…Kent Benson could do a better job!
Has there ever been bigger post-season collapses by two teams with the best regular season records?
Lucky for Joe, the ball is in his court with regards to Ben. If this team bows out in the conference finals this year, does Joe really offer up near-max money per year to Ben at the expense of any other free agency flexibility?
If so, does he fire Flip and go for coach #4 in five seasons? At what point is it no longer the coach?
Anyways, let’s hope we can hold off answering any of these for as long as possible.
These past few years have been such great fun and enjoyment to be a Pistons fan. Sadly the days have come to an end. This piston era is officially over. I hope you all enjoyed the ride I know I did.
R.I.P. Pistons
Robbie–
I’m not ready to write the post-script yet. there are three games left in this series, two at that Palace. They only need one road win for a Game 7 at the Palace. With some soul-searching, this can again be the team that made Miami look silly during the regular season.
If not, then I’ll be where you are right now, and hopefully with plenty of beer to drown my sorrows in.
Sheed at 6′11″, who can take it into the paint and deliver but loves to patrol the 3 point line. Sorry Sheed, that’s not what most 6′11″ players do. Look at Dirk, knows how to drive hard into the paint and only triple when it’s needed. Billups was also trying to bring them back with the triple and you’d think he’d have better luck getting 3 points with the basket and the foul.
Biggest problem with the Pistons is that Flip depends on his starters way too much. He doesn’t get his bench into the game as much as other teams like Phoenix and ect. Dyess and Hunter are the only bench players that an flow with the starters. Where’s the hell is Delk and Carlos? Where the hell are they Flip? No one you get no respect from your starters. But I won’t say Flip is all to blaim, he isn’t the one shooting the ball.
I’m just getting so f’n tired of Sheed and his big mouth and pompous attitude. Him and Billups don’t give Miami credit and it don’t take a genius to admit that the Heat is playing good ball. Rip where the hell is he been? Time for a roster change, I honest don’t feel Flip is 100% of the problem. I think Joe D needs to get rip of Sheed or get a coach that has a set of balls to pull his ass into place and then some.
I hate when people take the slippery-slope approach. The season is not over and the team is not dead. Again, I still believe.
Yeah it’s real easy to write off the Pistons after tonight’s performance. But how can we do that after all the reat games they’ve given us.
How many of you were saying the Cavaliers were going to the Eastern Conference Finals?
We’re still in this. As long as there’s one more game to go, the Pistons are still in this. Don’t give up now, especially when that Palace needs to be as loud as possible.
i cant believe this is happening. what is the matter with them. did they not learn from the cavs series??? do they really feel the need to give their fans extreme health issues?
i have not lost hope, well not completly, but i cant even think right now.
mehh
“Yeah it’s real easy to write off the Pistons after tonight’s performance.”
It’s even easier when you factor in their performances over the past 3 weeks.
Ben Wallace hasn’t been playing great, sure, but that was sort of expected as he takes on the task of making Shaq be merely great all by himself.
Look at the box score. Prince, 6-16 shooting (a no-show after the 1st quarter), Rip, 4-15, Sheed’ 5-13. How long can this last? Is it really Miami’s defense???
It can’t be. We have been in an offensive funk since the Cavs series, and there is not way that both the Cavs and the Heat have somehow magically unlocked the mystery to holding the pistons to crappy shooting after a 64 win season.
If we can somehow become ourselves again on offense, I can easily see us winning game 5 and getting some momentum going into game 6.
That seems like a big if though. I’m nervous.
GO PISTONNNNS!
47 Free throws?????? For Miami
Now that’s what I call free-throw shooting practice.
I’m surprised they only won by 10.
No, technically it’s not over yet. But it will be Wednesday, unless Dwy-ane and Shaq start missing shots, which doesn’t seem realistic at this point. I think the D on them has been pretty good the last couple games, but there’s really no way to stop either. Shaq can get in the paint against anyone in the league, and Dyw-ane can score however he wants to from wherever he wants (especially if that means turnaround, fadeaway desperation jumpers. Guaranteed make every time). I think it’s obvious that the Heats are the better team at this point, and our best hope is for Shaq’s various injuries to pop back up for the playoffs next year.
So let’s root for Stack to get that ring now…
I’m a Heat fan, and i seriously don’t think it’s bad coaching or Ben missing free throws that’s the Pistons’ problem, seeing as they were “perfect” before they played Miami. The Heat are just playing good basketball, and it don’t lie. So “it is what it is, it do what it do.”
Yep, this year is slowly fading out. Something broke after Sheed gauranteed victory and the team couldn’t back him up. Rasheed’s head has been a mess (I mean more than usual) and the whole team is not mentally sharp.
Sure, Wade has been awesome but it took Dale Davis to finally put him on his ass. Wade either pays for going to the hole so hard or he destroys you. Hard fouls can be given if you’re going after the ball - that seems to be forgotten. The Wallaces are going to stay in foul trouble anyway, might as well Cato and Davis’ too if it means doing some enforcing. Shaq could be put on the line more, too. Lindsey could have attacked the ball in Shaq’s hands when he was finishing his coast to coast with a simple layup at the end of the first half - Lindsey just ran past him - ho hum. Mentally, Detoit is just not prepared to do whatever it takes to win. This is very apparent when they cry about EVERY FUCKING CALL. But they’ve been doing that forever. It’s just more pathetic when they’re getting their ass beat in every aspect of the game. Really, they are coming off as major pussies in this series.
I’m pretty sure everybody will be back next year. Detroit is one of the best teams in the NBA and that is not something even the great Joe Dumars can throw together on a whim. It takes a substantial amount of luck to have a team like this. But it pains me to think we fans will be at the mercy of Rasheed’s emotional volatility while this version of the Pistons tries to squeeze out every last bit of success. Half of the Blazer faithful are laughing their asses off right now.
Hey it could be worse, we could have drafted Dwyane Wade instead of the great Darko Milicic. D’oh!
What blows my mind about this team is just how lazy they have gotten. They dont want to work the ball around on offense, and on defense they have done a poor job of sticking with their marks. Plus flip goes with a zone for most of the fourth and it just gets abused. They may not be technically eliminated, but i’m sure they all have tee times booked for the 1st of June.
Ian, when does Joe Dumars have to take some accountability?
He assembled this team, he hired this coach.
“seeing as they were “perfect” before they played Miami.”
They played Cleveland in the previous series. It went to seven games.
“I’m pretty sure everybody will be back next year.”
I disagree. The current Pistons depend on their chemistry to be successful. They’ve lost it, and I’m not sure they can get it back.
“Ian, when does Joe Dumars have to take some accountability?”
Yes!
Lance, a Miami Heat fan, doesn’t think there was some home court generosity from the officials. Gee, what a shock!
I tuned in to watch a basketball game, and ended up wathcing a bunch of players standing around while various Miami players took free throw practice.
Yeah, that’s really going to drive the ratings up.
Some of those fouls aren’t even called in high school.
Incidentally, I’m from Louisiana and don’t have a dog in this fight.
It’s not over yet. If we can win Game 5, we have a real shot in this thing.
My one fear before this series started was if the Pistons remained in their funk and the Heat just steamrolled them in 4 or 5 games. It’s close to happening. But if we can just win game 5 at home, if we can turn the momentum…I think we’ll take the series. It all depends on Game 5.
About Joe D taking credit— He will. He ALWAYS has before.
I give him credit for getting us back in the mix, a SHIP, to the Finals again, a record setting regular season, 4 starters that make the AST, and for having me on the freaking internet after 1 am talking hoop at the END OF MAY. He’s a freaking PIMP, ok?
We still have a chance. If we lose, he will take care of business. He’s the best GM we’ve ever had based on his short tenure. He’s better than 95% of the GM’s in the game.
Something will have to change, however. Flip is going to have to agree to play the bench, or he will be gone. But, I am guessing, if we lose, that a starter or two is moved. Joe loves hunger. These guys seem to have lost the hunger after the all-star recognition. my thoughts, anyhow. I hope they pull it out, and we all have a serious gut check moment to remember. I hate to think about breaking up this team.
Good night, all.
Listening to Leonard Cohen at the moment… perfect for the mood.
I still believe in this team. I still love this team. This is still the team that threw down the best regular season record in Detroit history.
That said, there seems to be an extreme lack of hunger in the Piston locker room.
In the playoffs, hustle matters more than anything. If you have five men hustling, they can defeat any foe. Remember the plays the Bad Boys used to make… bodies flying into the crowd, every loose ball contested, hard-nosed basketball.
These Pistons just aren’t hustling. How else could a Sideshow Bob-lookin’ guy with a last name no one can pronounce dominate the paint? Anderson Varejao? Are you kidding me? Outworking Ben, Sheed and Dyess? I saw it with my own two eyes.
Now when we face a center with actual skill and a bigger frame, we’re getting punked all over the lot. The Ben Wallace I know would go hard to the hole, not hide in fear of a foul.
Reputation does nothing for you in the playoffs. It’s all about hustle. Let’s go to work or go home. Do or die.
A little perspective, please.
First, this series isn’t over yet. If there’s ever been a team you don’t count out, it’s these Pistons. In spite of Wade playing nearly flawlessly through most of the series, Detroit has held Miami to just over 91 points. And given some of the shots Wade has hit, that’s pretty remarkable. You can’t blame Flip’s defensive strategy when Wade hits circus shots.
The culprit has been Detroit’s offense. Chauncey is in a difficult position because nobody is hitting shots. In Game 3, he hit back-to-back threes to bring Detroit back to within a point, and then went back to distributing the ball. We had many open looks, as we did tonight down the stretch, but everybody went AWOL. That forces Chauncey to try and create off the dribble.
I’m not at all sure Detroit is going to find their rhythm again. The Cavs demonstrated a fatal flaw in Detroit’s game plan, which is that they don’t have much of an inside game, so you can extend your defense and take away their biggest strength, which is their perimeter shooting. However, they normally have a decent midrange game - McDyess, Hamilton, and Sheed can all hit the midrange jumper. But they haven’t been hitting them.
I’m pretty sure a much bigger part of the problem than anyone seems to be acknowledging is that both Sheed and Rip suffered ankle injuries. For Rip, being able to cut very hard and fast is the key to his game, and a big part of Detroit’s midrange game. That has only been there off and on, and I think he’s just been sucking it up and not saying anything about it. It’s quite possible Sheed is having similar problems, where he just isn’t quite getting enough lift on his jumper.
Even if Detroit goes down, I think it is pretty harsh to say it is Flip or Sheed or that they aren’t hustling. That’s ridiculous. Wade. Shaq. Riley. Ninety-one points per game. It takes tremendous effort to hold a team with such potent offensive weapons to only 91 points per game. Furthermore, we are in the conference finals, for pete’s sake. For the fourth consecutive year. There isn’t another team out there that can say that. Sure, it would have been great if we could have won a second title in three years - and maybe we still can. But as it is this team has already proven that is an elite team, and will be so for years to come.
Other things to consider … Flip is only in his first season, and his bench hasn’t exactly been spectacular. He had limited time to figure out how to use Delk and Hunter. Delfino has been inconsistent and he and Evans lack big time playoff experience. So in some ways you could argue that it is something of a transition year. Also, I think maybe this team has been reluctant to accept that you have to develop an inside game, particularly Rasheed. But now they are having it shoved down their throats - not by Flip, who they probably would have resented had he tried - but much more convincingly by the Miami heat.
This team is going to be solid for years. Dumars has done an amazing job. Flip may have struggled, but I have yet to hear a single specific criticism that is obviously true. Their defense has been outstanding. They are getting plenty of good looks. They are simply missing too many shots. As a coach, your job is to put your team in a situation where they can win. Flip’s done that, as far as I can tell. They led in this game late in 3rd, and were within 1 point in 4th of game three. They simply didn’t hit their shots down the stretch, and Miami did. Considering that two of their four primary scorers are playing with bum ankles, that’s not really surprising.
It’s hardly time to blow this team up, fire the coach, or any thing nearly that drastic.
Suck ass Detroit dumbass … you gonna get beat by the Heat!
The Desert Fox! Cleverest man on the planet!
You been published, man? You’ve got a gift. Share it with the world.
Anyways… the Pistons need urgency. This will either wake them the heck up, or they’re just too tired/satisfied to do anything about it.
Dan- I am with you. Yes I hate that we are not playing Detroit Basketball. I think in the long run this will make us a better team and Flip a better coach. I am not giving up on our boys. Look for the Pistons to get better in the off-season. We really need a low post player. Sheed is hurt and I really think that made more of a impact on this series than his is saying. The CAVs series really hurt us. I would like to see Flip put Tay on Wade for a few mins. I have been wrong but O’Neal looks great. What can you do? Lets go Pistons!
I am nervous that the pistons are finished. And I don’t mean the obvious, now down 3-1 the series is over. I mean with the franchise. Big Ben is gone. The new high powered agent has bought him a one way ticket to moneyville out of Detroit. Which leaves Joe D with the need to fill that position with another star. He will most likely trade two stars for someone like Garnett and the post-teal pistons we’ve grown to love are on their way out. Goodbye championships for a long long time, and welcome back Detroit typical sport franchises. This hurts me just as much as it hurts you to read this, but it has been fun and thanks for the championship in ‘04… the last for another decade.
Hey, you know what’s rough?
Watching this:
Sheed shooting left-handed 3’s in warmups
Ben not making a single jump shot (FT’s not included)
Rip missing easy shots
Dice losing offensive saavy
Billups taking ill-advised shots
Flip/Joe not stopping all the mouthing
An offense reduced to 1 working play and iso’s
Not being able to step up in the 4th
Bitching after every f%#ing call
bricks, bricks and more bricks
But the roughest has to be seeing this team disintegrate before my very eyes.
And that shit ain’t right.
Having said that, I really think we win at the Palace. Down 3-2 in a series…hmm, where have I seen that before? The Pistons have handled Shaq and Wade before. Can those two really continue to go 70% from the floor? It may not look good, but if you’re really a fan of this club, you STILL think they’re gonna pull it out . To everyone going to the Palace for Game 5: MIAMI CAN’T HEAR YOU!!!
Go Pistons
I was at the game last night, and in my opinion, There’s no question that Rasheed Wallace is hurt. That being said, Miami is jelling at the right time. Walker has accepted his role, and even more amazing ,actually playing defence(not something he did a lot of in Boston)
Miami’s front line (shaq, Walker, and Haslem have FAR outplayed Detroit’s front line. Bring in Posey and Alonzo Mourning(remember him? A far superior shot blocker than O’Neal?)
That’s why Wade is able to drive to the hoop at will. .the front line can’t rotate to double team him.. Besides, the truth is he is amazing. He’s good for at least three or four oohs and ahhs every game… He might not be Michael Jordan, but he’s the guy I want with the ball in his hand when it counts.
I wouldn’t count on there being a game 6……….
I’m surprised that Greg Anthony was partially correct in his statement “there’s something wrong in that locker room…” when referring to the Pistons during the Cleveland series. I think the success has gone to their head. Basketball is a very selfish sport, if you fill up the basket you get all the glory, if you only rebound and defend you’re basically an afterthought. I don’t know when the Pistons team unity got away from them, but it’s clear that it’s long gone, gone for the summer…I don’t know what it’s going to take heal the wounds that have been created with the recent losses from the Cavs and Heat.
I don’t necessarily think it’s all Flip’s fault, but I do think that with his lack of playoff experience and the poor adjustments they’ve made to stop any of the “superstars” in the last 2 series that this failure in the playoffs can be attributed to his failures to step up and coach this team. Yes, they’re all-stars…yes, they’ve been there before, but as the leader of the team, as the brains working the sideline sometimes you need to actually coach. Yes, they won more games than LB ever did…when you really think about it though, how many games did LB win on his own…from his own coaching ability? This team is not playing the same way that got them to the Finals the last 2 seasons…yes, they were high flying and scoring and doing everything exciting during the regular season, but they’re not doing that when it matters most.
We need a defensive minded coach back in the fold. Get the Minnesota boys out of here, and please…PLEASE do not trade or try to go after Kevin Garnett. We need a defensive coach, a coach that will sit a player on his ass if he’s not getting the job done (Sheed).
Screw the acrobatics…screw the one handed flips off the glass shots…I want to see more fouls like Dale Davis had on D. Wade last night…that’s BAD BOYS BASKETBALL…Noone is afraid of our defense anymore. When a guy goes up in your lane you hammer him…you make him work for his points. You don’t let him just glide to the rim and hang on it after he dunks on you.
I’m tired of all the debating on who’s right or wrong in Motown…just fucking man up and play basketball. You’ve been doing it all your lives, you’re PAID to PLAY a game.
If any team can come back it is these men. GO PISTONS!!!!
Rasheed Wallace injured? ANOTHER excuse to blame poor performances. Suck it up … play basketball or face some off-season sole searching later in the evening. You play basketball and you MIGHT just beat Miami. Don’t and out you go. Can’t say it soon enough.