With all the talk about LeBron’s pass at the end of the game, everyone apparently missed the fact he almost KO’ed Chris Webber earlier in the game. Should he be suspended? Because Kobe was twice this season.
The replay looks bad … but I don’t even remember seeing this in the game. The fact no one even talked about this until it showed up on True Hoop today suggests no one the court or the stands really thought this was a big deal. In that respect, it’s kind of like Kirk Hinrich’s nutshot in the last series … although Webber looks like he felt this one more than Murray admitted feeling that one.
In any case, Game 2 tips off in a few minutes — leave your thoughts in the comments.
Who would win in a foot race between Webber and Ilgauskas?
Jason Maxiell just ate some babies!
I would love to hear George Blaha say that.
yo… JMax has officially made a name for himself this playoffs… “umm, Mr. James? I’ll take 2 babies, to go.”
god damn… Max is all over the place.
Hide your babies!
Maxiell! We’re still not playing at our best right now.
I think people outside of Detroit are getting a taste of what the future is going to be like for the Pistons. At least as far as Maxiell is concerned.
Have we played our best yet in the playoffs?
I think game 1 and 2 against Chicago we played pretty good. I am not just talking about the blowout factor, but if was an offensive clinic. As well as a defensive one.
ok ya game 1 and 2 against bulls. It just seems we’ve been hearing/saying alot that the pistons haven’t played their best yet. And nice to see Delfino be aggresive. If that layup dropped that would have been sick.
I would kill to hear Marv Albert say, “Yesss!!! And Jason Maxiell just ate a baby!”
34 pts for the cavs in the second… ouch.
Well the refs decided to show up for Cavis in the end of the 2nd qtr. Also Rip learn how to foul!
The 2nd quarter has inspired me to write a little vignette:
I cradle Varejao’s head in my arms. “Stop flopping!” I yell at him, but he continues to struggle. It’s making it hard to cut a clean line as I run the handsaw back and forth, back and forth across his neck. His blood drips and bounces off the hardwood floors, and his body keeps flopping. “Dammit!” I say. I finally separate the head from the body, stuff his eyes with marbles, and mount his mop top on my wall, right about my autographed “Maxiell Eats Babies” t-shirt.
When are the Pistons going to show up each and every quarter? And not wait until the second half of the 4th quarter?
The Pistons can’t buy a bucket.
Rob G: That was … I don’t know the right word. I just hope the Feds don’t come knocking on my door after reading that.
If the pistons win, this game will be known as Maxey’s coming out party.
Even Marv thought LeBron charged over Rip by doing that thing he does when he puts his head down and dips his shoulder into the chest of the defender. Booooooooo……
Is there a more frustration team to watch than the Pistons?
Everytime Varejoke goes down he looks like someone hit him with a bat.
the janitor……NO there isn’t.
Matt W - Sorry. That’s frustration. I don’t actually own a handsaw. I do seem to own an unhealthy hatred of a particular Cavalier. Sorry, folks. I’ll keep it civil.
I dont know what bothers me more, Varejao’s hair or his flopping. Just watching run up the court angers me. That and Goodens hair. Please someone send them an eletric razor to shave their heads
Watching Varejao play is like watching the clumsy, unco-ordinated fat guy play at the Y. Nobody wants them on their team because he doesn’t REALLY have any skills, and people DEFINITELY don’t want to play against him because he’s so clumsy that you’ll end up getting hurt because of him.
Looks like it will be two ugly wins in a row…which at this point is all that matters. Being up 2-0 will be sweeeet…
And no, I’m confident this post won’t jinx things.
these refs are ridiculous.
This isn’t going good…
Rasheed!
I have learned two things from this game 1) Rip needs to dunk the ball on break aways 2) Varejao needs training wheels.
Wow. Just…..wow.
A win is a win is a win. And it goes without saying if that was Rasheed arguing like Lebron did he probably would have been kicked out.
I’ll take it! love me some Sheed, and a lot of people are going to be talking about Max!
Hmmm odd same score from game 1 79-76.
That was awesome — I can’t believe how similar that was to Game 1, though more exciting.
It was funny how angry Mike Brown was. But he was like 30 feet away and had a bad angle, so SHUT YOUR MOUTH. Pistons won! Thanks to Sheed and a hunger Big Max
Watching it as it happened, I felt like we got away with fouling Lebron at the end but thought “Ha, have a taste of the bullshit officiating we’ve enjoyed all game, Cleveland.” Seeing the replay, though, Rip played good strong defense and the officials made a smart no-call. It would have been ridiculous but fitting for them to call the incidental contact. Ugly game.
Wow that was close. Larry and Sideshow both had good looks at the end. I want the pistons to play for 48 min. every night. Why do they make it so hard on themselves.
Also, has anyone considered that it’s not that Varejao is a flopper but that he’s actually just the least stable person in the world? It might be a serious medical condition, with side effects that include frizzy, girlish locks.
It is very odd how it was the EXACT same score as game 1, but if I have to here “it’s like groundhog’s day” again I am gonna scream. This game was defintely MORE entertaining that game 1 but I think that scares me more. When are the Pistons going to put together 48 mins. of QUALITY basketball? This is really ticking me off. It’s kind of funny that I am saying this and they are up 2 to 0 but it’s just so frustrating. What’s up with Chauncey? What’s up with CWebb? What’s up with ABC taking a 30 sec commercial and turning it into a sitcom?
Surprised no one has said anything yet … but is anyone concerned about Tay’s 1-for-19 start? That’s probably been the difference between this series and the last. (Well, that and Chauncey sleep-walking through the first three quarters of each game …)
I think it’s an interesting statement from Flip that Tay scored 1 point but played the most minutes (41 is it?). I’m also kind of pleased tht we haven’t hit our stride yet. We’re going into game 3 without overconfidence.
In the press conference Mike Brown looked like he was going to punch someone or start crying tears of anger…
… don’t expect the refs to bail you out at the end of a game. These are the playoffs.
Tay’s working hard, and he just seems to lack a bit of spring in his shots. Maybe if they get Rip, Los, and Max to guard LeBron a bit, they can free up Tay for a little better offense.
Mike Brown was actually quite classy in the press conference. He didn’t really complain about the call.
Tayshaun definitely needs to get it going. His poor offensive play is the main reason these two games have been close. Of course chasing Lebron around the court may have a lot to do with it.
YYYYYEEEEESSSSSSSSSS SSSSSSIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!! Two down, two to GO!
Does anyone miss more put-backs/dunks than McDyess? You could make a five-minute highlight reel of his dunks going off the back of the rim. He’s hustling his ass off out there, but he has the worst hands I’ve ever seen.
If Weber had 1/10 of Maxiell’s finishing abilities, he would have had 25 points tonight. And when did he forget how to shoot free throws?
Best pass this post-seaon: Webber’s tonight. Worst pass: Sheed trying to force it into a driving Billups at the end of the game. What was he thinking? Chauncey hasn’t hit a layup this post-season — he gets happy feet under the basket, and usually ends up turning it over.
Chauncy should be embarassed. The half-assed passes he was throwing would have got a JV’er benched. Why isn’t he posting up Hughes?
And why the fuck did they keep forcing the ball to Sheed at the end?
I’ve never felt so frustrated watching a game.
I have never used the refs as an excuse, or talked about bad officiating as anything other than human error, but tonight’s game was the worst officiating I have ever seen. And it was not only shooting fouls.
I counted at least five fouls or calls that were blatantly wrong, and that went against the Cavs. I even counted a few that went against the Pistons which were blatantly wrong. But they did not cancel out; the calls were much more detrimental to the Cavs.
On one call they said that LeBron stepped out of bounds, but he clearly did not. The official who made the call was literally no more than a foot from LeBron, so what could he possibly have been looking at?
And that McDyess “block” of LeBron late in the 4th? He got no ball whatsoever–it was all arm!
Unbelievable, as Mike Brown said. Did it cost them the game? No. Their passive play in the third quarter cost them the game. But the officiating was atrocious tonight, and it really hurt the Cavs’ confidence.
I had to post this somewhere and get it off my chest. I have never been this angry about officiating. Thanks, and goodnight.
There were several bad calls, but I would describe it as having been “loosely” officiated, rather than “poorly” officiated.
You can bring up as many examples as you like about calls that went Detroit’s way, but I can match each with a situation where a Piston was “stripped” of the ball. That blocking call on Rip? Don’t turn this into a who-got-screwed-worse pissing contest.
I still can’t believe Sheed didn’t called on the AV play. The refs basically set precedence by making that a no-call.
I hate Lindsay Hunter so much. When he comes into the game my friends laugh, because they know I’m about to go fucking mental. He handles the ball like he’s allergic to it. I dread when he hits his first shot == because I know it will take him three or four misses before he figures the first was a fluke. He’s a worse finisher than McDyess, and the offense goes into frame-by-frame mode when he’s running it. He continually forces bad passes from poor angles. I respect his history with the team, and he’s had some GREAT games, but seriously, enoughs enough.
I cannot believe we won this one. Listened to the first half on the radio, then refused to watch the game until 8 minutes left in the fourth quarter. I was so mad. Maxiell dipped some babies in ketchup and chowed down, though. Good for him.
Am I the only one who thought the goaltending on McDyess in the fourth wasn’t really? Also, seemed the referees were paying more attention to the cheerleaders than the game. Question: Why don’t they fire the old guys and bring in some fresh eyes? If I have to see Dick Bavetta whistle a blocking foul on one of my guys from the wrong end of the court one more time, I’m gonna scream. I’ve really had enough.
> And why the fuck did they keep forcing the ball to Sheed at the end?
It is called exploiting a mismatch, dr. basketball genius.
Note end result: Det 2, Cle 0.
I’m a Pistons fan, and the calls were not one-sided, but if the NBA doesn’t standardize its officiating soon, fans are going to lose interest. For example, explain the rule that allows Rip to be called for a block when he stands still, and gets knocked down by an offensive player.
As for the “AV play”, he flopped. Get TiVo. Its educational.
varejo goes flying. you would have thought sheed punched him. it’s no longer flopping. it’s good old fashioned, soccer-style “taking a dive”.
I watched the game on DVR/delayed, so I was gripping up until a few minutes ago. Some random thoughts:
1) Tay may be having a poor shooting couple of games, but who the hell cares? His D on LBJ is winning this series for us.
2) I had a random thought while watching: is LBJ really that good? I mean one-on-one, against Tay? Who do you take? Media hype and Piston homer-ism aside, really!?
3) Sheed is simply willing the boys in blue to win.
4) J-Max is proving to be a nice, nice player. It seems this might be his coming out game. I had League Pass, so I suppose I saw 98% of all the Piston games this year, but I think this might be the first time on national TV that he has really brought it.
5) With age, I have to expect up and down games. I wish we could rely on Lindsey a little more. I still think he is a great on the ball defender, but sometimes I scratch my head on some of his offensive choices.
6) We need to be more disciplined if we are going to beat San Antonio. Yes, they’ll win, despite Charles Barkley picking the Jazz.
I’m off to Mexico in the morning for a friend’s wedding. Game 3 will also be on DVR delay. Hope you all have a great memorial day weekend!!
Q
PS: can anyone host a fun dude, fond of drinks and the Pistons, come finals time? Not saying I can make the trip to D-Town, but I’d like to!!