The schedulers should be hung for that. Five back-to-back sets and then a four day layoff? How’s that make any sense? Regardless, we are finally back to talking about Piston basketball, and tonight’s tilt with the Heat offers an opportunity to examine a couple of nagging questions, as well as what they mean to the matchup.
I’ve debated vehemently with Matt recently the following question: With only two wins thus far against teams over .500, what do we really know about the Pistons?
Well, we know that they can still bully the short, fat kids of the NBA playground (e.g., Philly, Charlotte, Atlanta, etc.). But can they take it to their peers, the good teams (or, the supposed-to-be-good, as is the case with Miami)? Can they still march into another team’s arena and step on their neck?
With those questions in mind, I contend that tonight’s game against the Heat should be as telling a barometer for Piston fans as any game this season. (And, yes, that includes the last-second road loss to the world-beating Utah Jazz.)
Don’t let the Heat’s 6-8 record or the Pistons’ downplaying of the rivalry
It won’t be easy; the Heat are pumped for this.
”Winning these past couple of games was a pretty good confidence booster because of the way we started out,” forward Udonis Haslem said. ‘People probably say, `Hey, they beat Charlotte, they beat Philly, so what?’ When you get a chance to beat a team like Detroit, you feel a little more confident than just beating Charlotte and Philly.”
And for his part, Pat Riley is getting his guys motivated:
And in the wake of a 20-point loss last week — Miami’s fourth by that margin or more — Riley threatened to cut players despite their guaranteed contracts.
“You show a team like this a lot of respect, and you give them a lot of rope, and sometimes it backfires,” Riley said. “You think that because they’re veterans, they understand certain privileges. Then you’re getting beat by 20 and 30 and 40, and you say, ‘Hey, maybe this isn’t the way to go with it.’
“It has its benefits — don’t wear them out in practice, and save it for the games. But I wasn’t wearing them out in practice, and we weren’t saving anything for the games.”
Finally, since moving to point guard three games ago, Dwyane Wade has averaged over 33 points and 13 assists per (while the team has been over 100 points in each game).
The Pistons’ perimeter defense will be tested; the help defense will be tested; and the defensive rebounding will be tested. This Miami team is not Atlanta.
Hell, even Miami’s verrry casual fan base
So, after a long layoff and amidst a six game win streak, how does Blue respond tonight? Has the recent string of victories simply been a byproduct of a dip in competition? Or have you noticed something in the recent play that portends good things for the future of this team?
Or are you of the opinion that Miami is no more a measuring stick than the Hawks, Bobcats, or Hornets?
Bring your pre-, in-, and postgame comments here.
Pistons-Heat a blossoming rivalry [MLive]
Heat-Pistons still a ‘healthy rivalry’ [Miami Herald]
Champs to chumps? Heat seeking answers [AP, MSNBC]
Rasheed has also stated that this is not a rivalry either… what is going on?
I disagree with the comparison made in earlier posts of the Pistons and the Braves (MLB) being similar. The Pistons have not been to several NBA Finals in a row, they’ve been to 4 in the last 17 years. They haven’t even made the playoffs in all 13 of the other years, unlike the Braves.
You see, in the NBA it’s easy to compare teams like the Pistons to the Braves because it appears they’re always in the playoffs. But to be honest (I hate starting sentences with but), I’m of the opinion that the Pistons appear to always be “there” because 8 teams out of 16(?) make the playoffs in their conference. Whereas during the Braves run, it was between 2 and ultimately 4 (once they split divisions and created wild card.
Detroit never really has gone out and gotten another starter or role player at the trading deadline like the Braves or the Yankees. They did it one year to get ‘Sheed and it put them over the top. The other times it was to clear cap room for Ben Wallace and to get something for Darko.
It’s the same teams in the NBA that are always “there” so it always seems like each team has a claim to be the NBA’s Atlanta Braves. You got your Lakers, 76ers, Cavaliers, Bulls, etc that always appear to be “there” because of the format of the playoffs.
Detroit and Miami is a rivalry dating back to the Grant Hill days when they couldn’t get past them in the playoffs, it’s not just because of 2 years in the EC playoff series. Ever since Miami has tried to “buy” titles by signing guys like Tim Hardaway, an aging Billy Owens, bringing back an old ‘Zo and Gary Payton, they’ve been a rival. They’ve always been right there at the heels of the EC “elite”. Unfortunately the EC elite are all about at the same level, even the ‘04 Pistons. The ‘04 Pistons could have easily folded up to the Nets or Pacers like they had done in the previous years. They just happened to hit a roll when they needed to, and that’s what happened to the Heat last season. The Heat were unstoppable last year because they came together at the right time, even though their regular season record didn’t show cohesiveness.
To me, there are no truly dominating teams in the league anymore since Jordan’s Bulls. There is no team that strikes fear in my eyes as Jordan and Pippen did when they came to town. The players today aren’t groomed to be killers on the court, noone goes for the jugular or the final snap of your neck as they stand over you. The players today are groomed to be pretty boys and to get on Sportscenter, and this goes in every sport too, but mostly NBA. The headbands *cough*, wristbands, high dollar shoes, and image has gotten into these player’s heads. Gone are the days of Bill Russell and dominant Celtics teams, gone are the “Showtime” LA Lakers w/ Magic, gone are the “Bad Boys” and Michael Jordan and the Bulls. There cannot be any more teams like these in the league, it’s a different game than we’re used to.
Har har, Boney. Nicely said.
I agree Boney. But, (i hate starting sentences with but, too) Kobe is a killer.
Pistons win! Had to follow the game by watching the score and play by play on sportsline…that was some tense refreshing at the end. Looking forward to a synopsis by people who actually watched…
I went downstairs to watch it on the big-screen TV in my dorm and someone was watching a movie! Foiled again! But (I LOVE starting sentences with but) I followed online and it was actually worth it this time. Let’s hope this 7-game win streak will continue at least another game or two. We’ve got the Knicks, the Bobcats and the Blazers before Dallas, so we’ll need a nice head of steam.
Defense on Wade was great. If this game was a measuring stick, the Pistons measured up.
And before any naysayers speak up about Shaq’s absence, do you really think Haslem has as good a game with Shaq taking his touches?
Well done, Blue.
go Pistons!
good lord, what was that squealing/screeching noise that occured after every pistons basket? was that a human being? a human female being? any dogs near american airlines arena must’ve chewed off their ears.
i thought rip did as solid a job on wade as you can do (obviously he had help), but i think naysayers re: shaq’s absence will have a point when you look at the way the pistons could focus 90% of their attention on wade. it was like jordan rules. can’t really do that with shaq on the floor.
loved that moment when sheed fouled wade, wade hit the ground (natch) and everyone was screaming for a flagrant foul. pretty funny considering the bit from blakely’s blog today re: sheed’s d-wade impression from practice where sheed takes a lob pass, lays it up, and immediately falls down.
Our zone defense was great. I’m not a fan but I think Flip is right… the new rules favor it.
I’m really impressed with a few things over this winning street:
Mental Focus
Solid D
Great bench play*
*= even by Flip… but I still hate him.
-Tim
Still don’t understand why peoplw hate Flip so much. Matt you need to do a blog on the 10 top reasons to hate Flip. Me personally I like the guy. He must have something because Joe D added him to the piston family. Anyway… I feel bad for D Wade. Old Pat is going to run him down, and he will not have much left come playoff time. He had no legs. 5 of 23 shooting and leaving shot is a sign of that.
great couple of quotes in the detroit news today about dwayne wade’s treatment by nba refs. love the one by gerald wallace: “He gets all the calls, that’s what makes him special.”