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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

Yes!