The Magic may not be an easy team to dislike (there’s not a single villain on the roster), but it seems Darko Milicic and Grant Hill are getting a bit chippy: Darko is unimpressed by the Palace faithful’s attempts at booing, while Hill blames the team’s training staff for derailing his career seven years ago.
What was the mood like in the Pistons’ locker room before the game? Krista Jahnke tells us:
A few moments ago in the locker room, we reporters chatted with some of the players before they went out to warm-up. A slow R.Kelly song played on an iPod plugged into a big speaker.
Chauncey Billups let the song play for about two mintues until he called a veto. Apparenly the song was too slow for his pre-game tastes.
“We’re going to start the game down 15 if we keep this up,” he said as he changed to something more upbeat.
Jahnke also reports that Rip Hamilton is wearing a wrap on his left (non-shooting) wrist as a result of his hard fall in Game 1. Hopefully the change in pre-game music allows Detroit to get off to a hot start to Rip can avoid playing 40-plus minutes — between Carlos Delfino and Flip Murray, the Pistons should be able to afford giving Rip some rest.
The ball just tipped on TV 20 and TNT — leave your thoughts in the comments.
So, the Magic are going to get rough with Hamilton, eh? That’s one way to compete. Now that they showed the replay of his spill in Game 1 again, is anyone else disappointed that Grant Hill showed absolutely no sign of concern after undercutting Rip and watching him fall? I know he’s on the other team, but generally you’d expect a guy to at least feign interest after causing injury.
I love my Detroit Pistons! They are my boys! I actually despise people who badmouth them. They are the only team in the league who sometimes have to play eight men. The “refs” are sometimes openly biased against my guys. I love it when they beat 8 guys on the floor. Do anyone have an email address for Charles Barkley? I hate him. He constantly put my boys down and the only thing he has ever sucessfully done in all of his years is “overeat”! He talks about people and how they look. Do he own a “mirror? I don’t think so. His big oversized head looks like a big brown bowling ball. The only ring he will ever have is a “bathtub ring”! How many teams did he help get to the playoffs? What have he ever done beside kiss-up to the asses of super stars like Tiger, Jordan and Wade!
Am I the only one that gets a kick out of Chris Webber’s super slow-mo drives to the basket?
“What have he ever done beside kiss-up to the asses of super stars like Tiger, Jordan and Wade!”
are you serious? its CHARLES BARKLEY!! i haven’t heard what he has said recently about the pistons (usually take a tv break at half time) but in the past he has always had faith in the pistons. the man usually tells it like it is. And Barkley talks about peoples looks because he is having fun and just teasing the players a bit. A truly fun sportscaster, or would you prefer bill walton?
I take that back, bill walton is fun for another reason: he is ridiculous.
I liken Webber’s ability to make plays in slow motion to that of a kung fu master’s. He moves slowly, so you find yourself moving slowly, and then whappow! Done.
Also worthy of note was Darko’s performance tonight. I hear he’s got a frog that sings …
Is anyone else wondering why Murray isn’t getting more time? Chauncey and Rip are both doing well over 40 minutes a night.
the cwebb low-post moves definitely get me out of my seat. everybody knows what’s coming. dribble to the left. dribble to the right. one fake. two fake. and then whammmmo! .0275 ounces of knee cartilage drop deceptively cruel hangtime on someone’s ass and he converts some granny-style reverse kisser off the glass
Rob G: I hear you about Murray (and Lindsey, too) — my only guess is that Saunders is determined to get this over in four. Considering Miami-Chicago will likely be a long series, Rip and Chauncey should (hopefully) have time to recuperate.
Matt - good call, didn’t think of that. Four or five nights of rest would do the guards good. No need to drag this out like the Bucks series last year.
A sweep would be nice, but as pointed out by TNT and NBA TV, the Pistons have dropped their last 6 game 3s. I hope Thursday is not more of the same. I don’t really see it happening though, the Magic are clearly over matched. In the post game news conference Brian Hill said that Dwight Howard was sick with “nausea and severe stomach pain.” Could explain a lot, but still there is no supporting cast there.
I, for one, really enjoy TNT’s coverage…for the most part. I do not care for Magic in the studio. Also Reggie Miller in any form makes me want to turn the TV off. Marv Albert and Steve Kerr do a good job and it is hard to argue against the Czar of the Telestrater, Mike Fratello. A couple of the clips tonight had me laughing. (Fratello’s press conference, Charles in studio after the Rockets game)
Its hard to worry too much about excessive minutes in the first round. Yeah chauncey and rip have played a lot, but with the ridiculous two games a night schedule we wont be playing again till May, so everyone should be well rested.
Is it too soon to denounce all of the writings about Sheed being out of shape and not able to play like he did in previous seasons?
The only piston that has yet to prove himself to be a deserved champion is Flip. Lets hope that the new bad boys carry him long enough to shine.
Q Dog, the stat thye gave about game 3’s was a little off- they apparently overlooked their win in game 3 of the 2005 Finals, so they’ve really lost 6 of the last 7.
Also, did anyone else notice when Arroyo was shooting free throws one time there was a graphic stating he was a member of the 2004 championship team? Heh, according to my memory he wasn’t. Or basketball-reference.com.
Arroyo was acquired the year Detroit lost to the Spurs. Mike James was the 2004 version of “Arroyo”… a much better version I might add.
Did anyone else notice how Arroyo flops around so much now? I guess he learned how to exaggerate the bumps he gets from Billups. I’m not saying Billups flops, but when he gets a bump he throws his head back like he really got hit hard… Hopefully Detroit uses Orlando’s draft pick to select a guy that will have more value than both Darko and Arroyo within the next 2 years.
Anyone else see clips of the interview with Darko? He said in Serbia people threw bats at him and wanted to kill him? I guess he sucked over there too?
Matt, I love when Webber drives and finishes, especially the slo-mo effect. The defender is like a deer in headlights, terror and indecision building as 84 pirouettes into the paint, ball on a string.
Ernie Johnson and the gang were discussing the Pistons game after it was over and everyone was wondering why Dwight Howard sucked it up big time last night. Ernie explained that before the game, Dwight said he was “nauseous and had intense stomach pains,” to which Kenny Johnson replied, “Oh, he’s got Pistonitis.”
Brilliant.
I just wish Webber could confine the slo-mo routine to the offensive end. Watching Orlando slice through our interior time and again gave ME Pistonitis.
There was a point in the 4th when I thought the starters looked really tired. Then they went on a 7 point tear. It was pretty obvious they had flipped the switch.
There was also a point late in the game when we were up 15 and Lindsey Hunter went in for Chauncey. In no time the lead was down to 8 and Chauncey came back in after a time out.