There it is. Should LeBron James have kept the ball or passed it? The replay clearly shows he had a step on Tayshaun Prince, and there’s little doubt in my mind that he could have tied it up with a thunderous dunk. He didn’t. He passed the buck — I mean, “ball” — to a teammate. And now he has two days to think about how he’s far closer to Vince Carter than his idol, Warren Buffet Michael Jordan.
Of course, when I first saw the play in real time, the question about what James should have done never came to me — I was too busy gasping at how wide (!) freaking (!) open (!) Donyell Marshall was. Only after Marshall’s shot hit iron and Sasha Pavolic fouled Chauncey Billups to put the game on ice did I exhale, at which point I realized just how close this game could have been to overtime.
Did LeBron make the right choice? My FanHouse colleague Brett Edwards says no. I say … I don’t know. I don’t doubt James could have tied it up, but for how long? The Pistons would have still had the ball with at least four seconds left with no chance to lose and every chance to end it. The Cavs had clearly lost their steam earlier in the quarter and the team couldn’t have been feeling optimistic about overtime. Marshall, on the other hand, hit six three-pointers in his last game and was as wide open as you get in this league.
That said, can you think of another legitimate superstar (sorry, Vince) who would have passed the ball? Would Kobe? Not likely. Would Wade? No chance. Hell, if Steve Nash, the best passer in the league today, had a step on his defender, I’m guessing even he would have taken the bucket.
But honestly, is this the question James should be answering right now? Shouldn’t he instead be explaining why he finished with just 10 points? Why he attempted just two field goals in the first quarter and three in the fourth? How he was so passive with the ball all night long that he didn’t finish with a single free throw?
Those are things I’m sure Cleveland’s media will get around to asking between now and the next game in three days. As for us Pistons fans, we have some worries of our own … namely, why is it that the Cavs seems to have Chauncey’s number? They got him in the playoffs last year, and they had him so flustered this year he turned the ball over seven times. He only attempted six shots of his own, but fortunately scored 10 of his 13 in the fourth to help Detroit take the lead for good.
Tayshaun Prince also struggled by going 1-11 from the field, but he picked up the slack from Chauncey by also dishing nine assists. But the biggest gold stars belong to Rasheed Wallace (15 points, 12 boards, seven blocks) and Rip Hamilton (24 points on 11-21 shooting, seven assists). Rip’s offense was the only thing that kept Detroit in the game in the first half, and Rasheed’s defense helped stop potential rallies in their tracks.
One thing the box score simply can’t tell you was how important Jason Maxiell was to this game. Though he was only credited with one rebound and one block, his energy off the bench was vital, especially with Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Anderson Varejao producing for Cleveland and Antonio McDyess and Chris Webber struggling with their shot and foul trouble, respectively.
In fact, Flip Saunders deserves a big tip of the cap for keeping Maxiell in the game to close out the fourth — Maxiell’s first crunch time minutes in weeks, if not months. Hopefully it’s a sign of things to come. The Pistons need someone — anyone — to stay active in the paint and prevent Ilgauskas from feasting on all of those easy tip-ins.
All in all, this was a ridiculously ugly game, living down to the worst expectations of those who would deem the NBA playoffs already over. But you know what? Aesthetics don’t count for jack — a win is a win is a win, especially this far into the playoffs. As the Pistons learned against the Bulls, there’s no bonus points for blowing out your opponent. LeBron should bounce back in Game 2, but so should Chauncey and Tay and McDyess. I’d argue that more went wrong for Detroit than the Cavs in this game … and yet Detroit still won.
Pistons 79, Cavs 76 box score [ESPN]
GameFlow [PopcornMachine.net]
DBB Preview: Everyone said this would be a physical series …
Maybe I wasn’t watching closely enough, but I thought Dale Davis was doing well in his early substitution for Weber. He had 5 points in 5 minutes, and I would think his size would help against Ilgauskus. It really was nice to see Maxiel getting clutch minutes, though.
Even though Tay went 1 for 9, I think he had an excellent game keeping Baby Bron to just 10 points!
What was up with TNT not showing any replays last night? I was curious to see if LBJ block on Tay was clean but they never showed a replay. Come on TNT leave your back up crew at home for game 2.
I think the pass was the right move and probably what they were looking for. The shot was off with plenty of time to get a putback. They probably should have had Z in as well to crash the boards.
And much as I love Sheed, he needs to get that late-game, brain flatulence checked. He should have been locked on Marshall like DeWayne Wade on an endorsement deal.
Is there pressure from the NBA for broadcasters not to show controversial calls or are these folks just amateurs? They never show the replays I want to see.
Yes, I’m definitely more concerned about the rest of the game than the last play. I thought everyone had agreed that “dribble around on the perimter while the shot clock rolls down” wasn’t a viable offense for LeBron.
Hopefully Rasheed doesn’t leave his man _again_ like he did this time with Donywell Marshall. We know that boat won’t float against the Spurs or most other shooters given that amount of space and time to release. I’ll take it though. A win is a win is a win. 1 down, 7 more to go.
Last night was like sleeping with a fat chick. Sure, ya do it…but you don’t tell anyone about it.
Coming out of the timeout I was yelling to watch out for Marshall. As soon as BronBron passed to a wide open Donyell I couldn’t help but to have a 2005 Big Shot Bob flashback; w/ Rasheed scrambling to get back to the shooter. A bullet was dodged this night w/ Bron (in my mind) making the right decision. An exciting, breath-taking game indeed, but I doubt the rest of the series will be this close. DP in 5. Go Pistons!