Yet, recall that you almost loss both game one and two where LeBron had little overall output. I find it funny that you think the Pistons are a team and the Cavs are just a bunch of 3 teamers working with the second coming of Michael J. So here is a short education on the Cavs. Since you being a fair weather fan probably only seen them play 7 times at best. Z the big man is the fifth best center in the entire league. Look at the stats, and he is the best free throw shooter in the playoffs…scrub or integral part of a team (All-Star one year as well) I could go into each player and give you reasons for their above average abilities but it would definitely bore you and this post will be long.

To simply say it is the LeBRons would be the mistake that the Pistons would be making. Does LeBron tend to take over in the 4th quarter…YEs but he needs all all his supporting cast to get to that stage of the game in the first place.

nuff said-

Good luck to you guys tonight…although i think it is over for ya!!

Anytime we get a cushion, we no longer run an offense. They double Rip off that curl, so even if you don’t go to Rip on that play it opens the floor.

Have you ever seen an NBA team after 2 timeouts late in Regulation, not run a play?

I understand a lack of execution, but, when they were up by 2 w/ 50 seconds or so, (This is the play to win the game, IMO) They walk the ball up the court and stand and wait until there is 12 seconds on the shot clock. Essentially, wasting 1/2 the shot clock, on the biggest possession of the season. What do they do? No cutting, just give the ball to Sheed w/ about 5 seconds on the clock and hope. The result a turnover.

Then, with 9 seconds left and Lebron going off (you don’t want OT) we call a timeout to have everyone stand and watch Chauncey dribble the ball and then take an off balance 3 pointer.

Again no motion away from the ball, no penetration, no ball movement. Just a joke. 18 assists in 58 minutes. Normally, Detroit isn’t even in a game with that lack of ball movement.

Forget how bad of a defensive team they havce become under Saunders, their offensive execution in big moments is putrid. They had some great one on one moments the other night that gave them a shot, but, they ran no offense for any prolonged period of time.

It’s not the special kind of hell in watching Michael Jordan and his dominant team take Detroit to the grave in 4 straight games. It’s not the special kind of hell in watching Larry Bird steal an inbound pass and ruin yet another Pistons run on a final mistake. It’s not the special kind of hell that involves Detroit coming up short against Magic’s Lakers while still on the edge of their destiny. It’s not the special kind of hell in watching the Pierce and Walker Celtics slop together a deplorable quality of series with Jerry Stackhouse’s Pistons. It’s not the special kind of hell that involves the Pistons wearing teal and Rick Sund marketing Grant Hill like he’s a possible ‘next’ Michael Jordan.

It’s watching years of solid team play from San Antonio, Dallas, Detroit, Phoenix, and other would-be clubs all get pushed aside in favor of one player’s great performance.

I watched it earlier when everyone was willing to get on the love train that appeared to be the Golden State Warriors, seemingly because nobody really likes Mark Cuban, in comparison.

It’s clear to me now . . . I’m watching a league in which the commissioner markets the sport with every wrong idea.

What team does LeBron have of comparable quality, in comparison to Jordan’s Bulls from the 1990s? Am I supposed to give accolades to a Cavs club that’s destroyed Detroit by a mere handful of points in their 3 wins? All the while, Pistons players are helping them to these wins with a handful of key mental errors that don’t befit their individual quality? Where’s that fourth Cavs win? How about a couple of rings on LeBron’s fingers? What is this team’s name, the LeBrons, or the Cavaliers?

When the Heat beat the Pistons in last year’s conference series, I was content to actually root for the Heat because I felt Miami had a solid collection of role players around Wade and Shaq. It’s funny, but I am hardly swayed to care about LeBron past a couple highlight reels on YouTube. It involves wading past too many shot clocks run down to final seconds on trying to find the right LeBron isolation drive mismatch.

LeBron’s a great player . . . but nobody can sell me on the quality of the Cavaliers. Why should I care for a Cavs team with the easiest street to the Finals that I’ve ever witnessed in some time? San Antonio appears to be Cleveland’s first test. First test . . . in the Finals? That’s not funny . . . it’s horrible quality.

One LeBron highlight game does not make up for an entire garbage dump of a season. From the moment this season tipped off with that ugly synthetic ball, I knew this year was going to be less than acceptable.

i won’t happily give props (afterall, that was a KILLER loss), but i’ll give props to lebron. he just wanted it more than the pistons and subsequently, he just took it. you have to be in awe of someone with that ability. and it’s a bummer to look at your own team and see a complete void of that type of talent. especially now that we’ll be talking “max” contracts pretty soon with chauncey. i think last night we saw only one guy on the floor who deserves every penny of that max contract.

i’ve looked at one article today regarding last night’s game (as that was all i could stand), and the one quote from any piston is the quote that they’ve said for every series every year since they won the championship: “we’ve been here before.” yawn. it’s time to move on from that persona. we’re on the downward slope with this squad. it’s sad to say, but it’s true. we’re on the verge of becoming the new jersey nets.

here’s the reality:
-whiffing on the no. 2 pick will eventually come back to haunt you.
-without the miracle of chris webber getting bought out of his contract and signing with the pistons only because he’s a detroit kid, this team would have been exposed long ago. but he was a end-of-season bandaid and it started peeling off in the playoffs. and once he’s overpaid by some other sucker team, we’re going to have a big hole in our rapidly aging core.
-flip saunders is not the guy. he does not game plan. he is terrible at in-game adjustments. and he does not have this team’s confidence. and let’s face facts, the detroit pistons are not meant to be a fluid offensive juggernaut. they’re meant to be a hold-you-to-80 points, suffocating, grind-it-out defensive-minded team. they use to do exactly what the cavs have done to them in this series: disrupt offensive flow. i’m sure flip is a nice guy. loves his kids. loves the golden gophers. but he’s simply not the guy. this team had its greatest success with larry brown. they need a guy who is going to scream and yell and demand everyone’s respect from day 1. not a nice guy. not a guy that lets them refuse to sub in when asked. not a guy who lets his guys stand at the scorers table in the middle of a timeout. with both van gundys on the market, i don’t know how you don’t explore making a change.

this is a big offseason for dumars. he’s rested on his laurels as badly as his arrogant squad. resigning amir to me is more important than resigning chauncey. MORE minutes for maxiell. MORE minutes for delfino. got to make a splash in this draft. gotta plan for the future and not just reward the past.

and saving this for last, because no one is saying it, probably because he’s been blessed with a one-of-a-kind talent in lebron james and i could win 40 games with lebron james: mike brown has game-planned and coached his ass off. this is the series he’s been waiting for all season and it shows. though he still looks like mr. potato head.

I’m with Matt C. on this one. The Pistons need to lose this series in order to summon some massive organizational changes.
—

I highly doubt that’s what Matt or many Pistons fans want. Wanting your team to lose so as to get a better shot in the lottery is one thing. Hoping they blow Game 6 of a conference final to hasten “organizational changes”? Now that’s absurd. Don’t you think the front office is already aware things need to be shaken up to stay on top?

Sure we’re all pissed. Yes, this team is supposed to win tight games like these. Yes, this team should not be beaten by one dude. But this series is not over. This doom and gloom talk is such BS. I mean, hell, after 5 years with this team, what do you expect?

Anyway, the Pistons woes are mainly offensive…in both senses of the word. (Although I thought they played TERRIBLE defense down the stretch of Game 5.) Absolutely nobody is playing with any consistency on that end of the floor. Billups is hitting outside shots but not mixing it up with effective dribble penetration. Rip gets out of control off the dribble and is missing chippies. Prince is forcing it. (That was a great wraparound dunk though.) Webber hasn’t made a mid-ranger since early last series. And for all of those that want Sheed to stay on the block, back off a bit. Sheed’s 3’s (especially clutch ones) are part of our game. Of course we need him on the post but we also need him to spread the defense. I can’t remember the last time he hit a momentum-changing 3.

But is it out of the question to think that they will bust out of this funk? Do you really think James is gonna pull that shit off again? Maybe on both accounts. I don’t know. But I highly doubt the Cavs are gonna run us out of the gym. And I’d still take the Pistons in a tight game against them every time.