As Flip Saunders has said numerous times during the playoffs:
“One play can change a game, one game can change a series.”
Ladies and gentleman, I’m proud to present “the play:”
From the top:
From the front:
The reverse angle:
From the baseline:
The Pistons were winning well before this stuff (which resulted in a jump ball that Ben promptly won), but it was certainly symbolic of Detroit’s effort in the elimination game.And to those that thought it was a foul — what if it was? Shaq would have missed both free throws and turned the ball over just the same.
When asked about it after the game, Ben Wallace was humble . . .
“It’s a tough task to go down there and try to fight with Shaq for 48 minutes. I don’t know how much of that was skill or determination, but we all get lucky sometimes.”
. . . Pat Riley was impressed . . .
“It was a hell of a play.”
. . . and Shaq was condescending:
“That was a foul, young lady,” Shaquille O’Neal said to a female reporter. “You know it was a foul. Don’t ask dumb questions.”
On the other end of the court, my favorite moment of the game (if not the entire playoffs) was easily Tayshaun Prince’s baseline drive and dunk on Alonzo Mourning. Zo took offense after Tay hung from the rim for an extra second, and the smile that Tay flashed Zo after he got to the ground was all I needed to know that tonight was Detroit’s night. Unlike some of the previous games, the Pistons kept going to Tay the entire game, allowing him to finish with 29 points on 11-17 shooting.
Prince was the only Detroit starter to have a consistent stroke the entire game, as Rasheed Wallace (3-11, seven points), Rip Hamilton (7-21, 16 points) and Chauncey Billups (3-12, 17 points) all struggled from the field. That’s not to say that they didn’t contribute, though, as Rip turned in a team-high 10 boards while Chauncey directed the team with 10 assists and only turnover, not to mention shooting 11-11 from the free-throw line. Ben’s monster stuff on Shaq was one of his three blocks for the night to go with two steals, seven boards and eight points.
Antonio McDyess came up huge, going 5-5 from the field, and even drained his only two free throw attempts when the desperate Heat intentionally fouled him with Ben on the bench late in the game. Even though McDyess played just 19 minutes, his +/- was a +14 for the game.
Once again, Detroit dusted off its trademark defense at just the right time, holding Miami to just 13 points in the fourth quarter — six from Shaq and seven from Dwyane Wade. Of course, Miami made things easy by going 1-8 from the line in the final quarter, but there’s no denying that Detroit found a way to prevent anyone else from contributing.
Wade finished with 23 points, three boards, three blocks, four assists and five turnovers. Shaq finished with 19 points, six boards, three blocks, five turnovers and one highlight that will be played on a continuous loop on ESPN until Game 6 tips off Friday night — $32 million a year just doesn’t buy as much as it used to, does it?
The Heat went a pitiful 6-20 from the line, and when asked about it during the post-game presser, Wade turned in one of the most ridiculous statements ever made:
“I can’t control the free throw line. I don’t know. We did what we always do on offense, got the shots that we wanted — missed some, hit some. Went to the free throw line, we missed some. We can’t control that part of the game.”
Actually, Dwyane, the free throw line is one of the only times that you have complete control over the game. It wasn’t chance that Chauncey drained all 11 of his freebie attempts, it was the result of hundreds of hours of practice over the years, not to mention a good deal of ice water running through his veins. Wade had just three free-throw attempts on Wednesday after averaging nearly 12 attempts in the first four games, including 19 on Monday. Perhaps he never had a chance to get into a rhythm, or perhaps he just had a case of the yips when he missed both shots after one fateful trip in the fourth quarter.
In hindsight, perhaps the entire Miami Heat team had a case of the yips Wednesday evening. For long stretches they played like a team that didn’t completely expect to finish the series in Detroit — Wade admitted as much after the game, saying the Heat “did what they had to do,” a strange statement following a 13-point loss but a clear indication that his team only really expected to win one game in Detroit in the first place.
A lot of Miami fans were calling Game 5 the “most important game in franchise history.” Well, they should consider themselves lucky, because they’re now assured the chance to watch another “most important game in franchise history,” this time on their home court. But as Cleveland fans can tell them, you don’t really want to witness too many of those “most important” games in a row, because sooner or later they have a way of turning into a “most disappointing game.”
For the Pistons, Friday is yet another one-and-done game, in which, by the way, they’ve gone 11-2 over the past four playoffs. And while the Heat technically still hold a one-game lead, they better play on Friday’ like it’s an elimination game, or else they’ll find out just how useless a Game 7 fallback plan is when it’s played at the Palace in the midst of a two-game losing streak.
Pistons 91, Heat 78 box score [ESPN]
Game Flow [PopcornMachine.net]
re the block being a foul: of all the non-calls that night, i think that was probably the one the refs should have let go. with all of zo and shaq’s pushing off that was let go, the refs were almost obligated to let a little contact on an otherwise clean (and most excellent) block of one of the leagues most dominant big man slide.
Right on, Tedwick.
You can’t complain about fouls in a game where people are practically being hacked apart. I was amazed at the contact the officials were letting go. If they do that FOR BOTH TEAMS on Friday, it could be one of the best games ever.
I expected the shift in calls and large disparity in free throws in this one. The Heat got alot more in Game 4. Your second picture of the stuff on Shaq clearly shows Ben using Shaq as leverage to hold himself in the air. It was a great block but at the same time not 100% clean. It def made me jump out of my chair thats for sure. Game 6 will be war.
Awesome play, awesome block.
And that footnote made me crack up.
I felt the same way about Tay’s altercation with Zo. As soon as he dropped down, flashed that smile, and Ben and Sheed rolled in, I said, “This is exactly what we need!” Something to get the blood flowing.
ESPN called Ben and Sheed “peace makers.” We all know it was the posse rolling in to defend!
Tay’s dunk, Ben’s block, Tay’s 3, Wade’s bricks from the stripe—- aaaaaaaaah, this is Piston basketball at it’s best. —- one at a time.
What a come back series-not game! The “block” was just as Riley put it. As an aside, if the sequence is watched in slow motion from the other end of the court(ref can’t do that),one would notice that O’Neal was progresing to the rim, Wallace was in near perfect position ..but going toward O’Neal. As the sequence progressed the forearm and upper arm of Wallace first rested on the arm of O’Neal. Wallace’s cocked wrist did little to stop this action. Summary: Beautiful attempted block and hidden foul, obviously the highlight of the game and your great site. Adrian
I posted this in the Game 5 thread before I realized that a new post had been made regarding this play.
The foul occured before Wallace made contact with the ball. His hand made a clean swipe at the ball, so it was a jump ball in that regard, but before Wallace got his hands on the ball, he jumped in the air and made excessive contact with Shaq’s right side.
The play was similar to when a shooter pump-fakes to draw the defender in the air, and then absorbs the contact that the defender creates when he lands on the shooter.
That’s a foul.
Nice pictures, gives us nice looks from several angles at an obvious foul.
Yes, the refs let contact slide on both sides. Still, I wouldn’t hold up an obvious officiating mistake as a banner play if I were a Pistons fan.
But that’s just me.
Shaq’s comment post game was classic. I love when the Pistons beat him. Fear in the eyes of Miami Heat players. 3 straight elimination game victories for the Pistons… Can Miami knock the Pistons off? So far, the answer is No. Tomorrow they get another shot in Miami. I like our chances, Piston fans. WHOO WHOO!
“…before Wallace got his hands on the ball, he jumped in the air and made excessive contact with Shaq’s right side.”
–>
Before Shaq dunked, he made excessive contact with (insert opponent name here)’s back to facilitate a clear-out.
2. If it was a foul, (and it was) u would have never writen this post.
As the most cynical poster here, I now have hope for the series, and here’s why:
If the Pistons had won last night via hot shooting, I’d still be worried.
But last night they won on effort, and D. If that same effort is there Friday, and Rip figures out that you can’t go to the hole against Shaq/Alonzo, I like our chances.
Chauncey is onto something. He pump fakes from the perimeter, the defender goes for the fake, and Chauncey drives right past him. Finding himself alone in the lane, he then has two choices: 1) Pull up for the short jumper, or, 2) Wait for the defense to converge on him, and then dump off to Ben or Antonio. I’d like to see Rip do this as well.
“Still, I wouldn’t hold up an obvious officiating mistake as a banner play if I were a Pistons fan.”
Even if a foul had been called, the play still has much symbolic value. Shaq was embarassed — he looked silly — and I take pleasure in knowing that he will have to watch that play in highlight clips for years to come.
Whoa–LA Mike is drinking the Kool Aid?
We might be onto something here…
Whoooo-Hooo!
DJ Canoli: Clearly Shaq commits fouls that aren’t called. This is not about that. You can’t use the argument “Well, it makes up for all the no-calls that Shaq gets over the years,” because that’s not how officiating works. You’re supposed to make each call independent of the last.
LA Mike: Yes, the play has symbolic value, but again, that is irrelevant from an officiating perspective.
That foul, which there wasn’t one, would never ever ervor orvair ever ever be called in a billion years of NBA basketball. If you’re expecting to get whistles on such plays, then you’d also be expecting enough calls to get you to the line 47 times or something crazy like that.
Oh, wait…
Don’t all these Heat fans have to concentrate on which white tee they have to wear on Friday? I’d focus on that, fellas, instead of worrying about a call from the last game that shouldn’t have been called, will never be called, and shouldn’t have been called.
Just for the record:
8:27 Ben Wallace blocks Shaquille O’Neal’s pussy layup attempt (NO FOUL) 51-55
8:27 Jumpball: Shaquille O’Neal vs. Ben Wallace (Rasheed Wallace gains possession) 51-55
Verbatim from ESPN. Sorry. Can’t argue with the official record.
re it being a “banner play”: it reminds me of the “bush push” from the nd-usc game. yeah, it was a clear penalty, but it was pretty much the defining moment of bush’s heisman season. more than anything, it showed that bush was that proverbial “winner”. and you know what, it was a good play. same with ben. it was a great basketball play, and it shows that the pistons have what it takes.
and Blurrz: officials make calls that depend on previous calls. actually i prefer it that way. if a ref screws up a call, they might make a “make up” call. and if they’re calling a game one way, e.g. letting contact slide like last night, i hope they make the calls the same way as the previous ones. if they’re letting shaq push off (which they most certainly did), they should certainly allow that hand check that ben used. especially when he’s putting out enough effort to block shaq.
Question- Does the three second rule apply for shaq too or just the rest of the league?
@ La Mike: It’ll get played on Pistons highlight reels. Everybody else will forget about it after Miami wins the series tomorrow night, as I believe they will. Well, I’ll concede it may get played in the overall Playoffs ‘06 highlight reel.
@ Beebe: The three second rule is a joke, both ends of the floor. Watch virtually any posession and they’ll be an offensive player who’s in the lane for at least five seconds and a defensive player who’s there even more. They call it once every dozen violations just for show.
Here’s what bothers me about the fact that Piston haters are posting on here. First off, as a defensive player, Ben Wallace is allowed to be in his spot on the floor. He was in position and jumped straight up to defend a shot on the goal. His hand was firmly planted on the ball and the weight and force behind the stuff caused Shaq to fall back down and onto the ground. Shaq jumped in to Ben, much like Shaq has initiated most of the contact all series. Ben has a right to his spot on the floor, whether it be on his feet, or straight up in the air.
Get your facts straight folks. Much like when D Wade pump fakes and then jumps into his man to draw a foul and they don’t call it. That’s why…had the jumpshooter taken a “natural” shot instead of lunging into the chest of the defender to draw contact.
Detroit will win tonight, Miami needed to close it out on Wednesday. It’s going to 7 games folks…let’s go to work!