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

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.

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.

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.