It’s weird — you wait all season for the playoffs to start, and when they finally get here, it seems like they snuck up on you. (Or is it just me?) I answered some questions about the series the other day for Brian at the aptly-named Philly blog Depressed Fan, and I should point out if you’re looking for a Philly tinted view of the series, he’s been doing a heck of a job breaking down everything. And like you’d expect from a loyal fan, he doesn’t think this series isn’t quite the lost cause for the Sixers as most people are predicting:
I said I wasn’t going to predict the outcome of this series, but I’ve changed my mind. Everything I’ve read, seen or heard leads me to believe not only is the entire media taking the Sixers lightly, but the Pistons are as well. They expect a sweep. They are going to be in for a dog fight. On paper, they have the advantage. On the court, they have the experience. What they also have is the mileage. The Sixers are a young team who learned how to win playoff-type games, against playoff-caliber teams down the stretch.
Actually, what the 76ers did down the stretch was lose five of their last six, including games against the likes of Atlanta, Charlotte, Indiana and that heartbreaker against Cleveland. But I digress … my main problem is that I’m not sure what he’s reading, because everything I’ve seen has been about how the Pistons are taking the Sixers seriously. Here’s Chauncey Billups on Andre Miller and the rest of 76ers:
“As I’ve said a number of times, he’s the most under-rated point guard in the league,” Billups said. “He doesn’t get (enough) credit for what he does.”[…]
“They’ve been a much different team the second half of the season,” Billups said. “That’s the team we have to focus on, not the first half of the season team. They’re capable of beating us, and we know that.”
Here’s Flip Saunders’ praising their defense:
“The four games we played them, I don’t think any of those games we had a lot of energy,” Saunders said. “… They’re a team that relies on quickness for rebounding. We haven’t given our best effort against them. We’re going to have to play a lot better against them in the playoffs than we did in the regular season.”
I don’t know, maybe Philly’s media is playing up the “no respect”/underdog angle, but the Pistons seem to realize what’s at stake here. In any case, the game just started — leave your thoughts in the comments.
Anyone worried yet?
no
mcdyess better wake up. thad young is a step faster all over the floor. we’re going to have to come with max or amir to counter the energy of young and evans. for a guy who has the most at stake as far as a closing window, dyess sure ain’t playing like it.
max has come to PLAY.
Yeah but Jack clearly its a case of Philly being more younger and athletic and faster in that match up. So even if Dice wanted to, its not like his body can competer with them.
Max on the other hand…
“In comes Rodney Stuckey out of Eastern Michigan.” - Marv Albert
He corrected himself, but I find that too amusing… nothing good comes out of Ypsilanti.
I know some of us harp on Flip, but one thing I really like about him is his emphasis on closing out quarters. It sometimes is a microcosm of the “flip the switch” style - that is, the D starts out a bit slow - but the end of quarters usually go our way.
“He corrected himself, but I find that too amusing… nothing good comes out of Ypsilanti.”
… says the guy living in Ohio. (I kid!)
Zing!
(but lived in Detroit for 16 years… has to count for somethin) :-p
Yeah, I’d say it does.
I missed the first 5 mins of the game, but overall we’re looking pretty good. Aside from all these excess fouls right now I’d say the bench is looking great - especially Rodney and Maxey.
Good thing we have a deeper team this year, cuz we seem a bit foul-happy…
P.S. Are you not there for Hoopsworld during the playoffs?
Good thing we’re a deeper team this year, ‘cuz we’re a bit foul-happy right now…
Sixers think they can hang? “Very funny.”
3333333333333333333333333333333333
Rosco is on fire!
Maxiellllllllllllllllllll!
(and Sheeeeeeeeeeeed!)
Steve: I resigned at the end of the regular season — it was a time commitment thing.
SOOOOOOOOO tired of celtics commercials. i’d rather watch ads featuring hasselhoff and the talking VW. but in my version he’d be sitting on the ground eating hamburgers.
sixers have missed a lot of easy shots.
BTW, if anyone out there can read this but is having trouble posting a comment, drop me a line. (matt@URL …) Not sure if there’s a problem affecting just one regular (say hi to Rob, guys!) or if something is up on my end.
Matt - gotcha, I was just curious.
Sheed’s f’ing on fire right now… I love a Sheed that’s been T’ed up!
Was I seeing things or did ‘Sheed just slap Iggy in the face after one of those blocks?
Steve, apparently you have never smoked Ypsi’s finest export.
AGH! This is so frustrating. I can’t comment! But if this one gets through, then I CAN. But if it doesn’t… if a tree falls in a woods…
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!
Matt, did you get paid for HoopsWorld?
dudes. like i was saying the other day in the dpoy discussion. all you have to see is tape of the last 45 seconds of this half, for sheed’s sake. f— kevin garnett.
top 5 halves for sheed for the season. and of course it wouldn’t be complete without a tech.
Rasheed Wallace: the greatest player that never was the greatest player because he didn’t want to be, even though he could have been.
Boney: Yes.
shit… pay me and give me a credential for the Pistons? My language is too colorful for HoopsWorld though
where the hell is everyone? THIS IS THE PLAYOFFS!
it is 3am where I live listening but too tired to post
You’re the epitome of dedication!
OT: Still not sure when I’m going to Israel again, maybe this fall.
They’re being blocked by overzealous WordPress filters!
we should figure out a way to get together
Definitely… really I have no idea when I’ll be going back, but judging by the status of work and projects there’s a good chance I’m going back at some point. Tel Aviv/Herzilya/Petach Tikva area.
I hope our boys aren’t mailing in this quarter… we’ll see if Flip can get them to close out this quarter well…
Rasheed with the stick-back!
steve we will figure out how to hook up
not even Matt seems to be interestedin the playoffs… it’s sad
Come on, fellas. Close ‘em out… let Max and Sheed go to work…
Do you know how nerve wracking it is following a close playoff game on the internet?
THEO! Ya see, Theo, you block the shots and ya stay on the floor in this league, ya see, Theo.
Same old Pistons…..smh
Quick Darshan
Apr 20th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Do you know how nerve wracking it is following a close playoff game on the internet?
Yeah I do lol, especially if your watching ESPN Gamecast or a stream that constantly buffers. Your like “What happened next?!!!” *Hits refresh button 20 times*
ratliff is the man
Ugh. This game is giving me indigestion.
I have seen too much Lindsey Hunter today.
Um. did anyone else’s screen go black?
This team really does suck and part of me wants them to just go screw themselves out of the 1st round. How do you blow a 15 point lead? Seriously?
Forget it, this team is gonna lose to Orlando.
Forget em.
Just give the ball to Rasheed, please.
Uggggh we’re acting like the Pistons we all loathe right now.
I’m not feeling too good.
Oh lord, that’s not a good omen, Chauncey.
Mister Missed Shot.
One of the best free-throw shooters in the league, missing FTs in a critical part of the game is NEVER a good sign.
Bwahashagaahahhrgrbrrghhh!
Sheed is the only one who gives a damn.
Pistons= This years Mavericks
Sorry boys its a first round exit.
How did Rasheed’s shot come out? And Evans’ shot fall? Something is wrong.
The fizz is leaving my ginger ale.
We officially don’t deserve to win this game… jesus.
Joe doesn’t look too happy…
Did Rasheed just let a pass go between his legs?
Did Chauncey just miss a layup?
gaaaaaaaaaaaawddddddddddddaaaaaaaaaaaammnnnnnnnnnn.
now WE’RE missing layups.
Prophecy, stfu.
So does Joe D break the core starting lineup in the offseason?
Outscored in the 3rd, 19-25
Outscored in the 4th, 12-21
PLAY SOME FREAKING BASKETBALL ALREADY!
uhoh no headband
do. not. miss. these. free. throws.
Wow. It’s like neither team wants to win.
I’m about to throw up.
But that said, LET’S GO PISTONS!
Steve in OH
Apr 20th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Outscored in the 3rd, 19-25
Outscored in the 4th, 12-21
PLAY SOME FREAKING BASKETBALL ALREADY!
You know in the past, they would struggle for a whole game and you could sorta see it coming. But this started around midway in the 3rd, which makes it even more worrying. I mean there habit of playing down opponents was bad but this was a total collapse.
yay now he can miss 2 more freethrows haha
again: do. not. miss. these. free. throws.
soooo glad he made me eat that comment
If they lose, I vow a tremendous night of drinking until I am blind.
I think I might have to sacrifice a lamb if we lose this game.
Yea it’s like we said, “hey we’re up 15, game over!” without remembering there were 20 minutes still to play.
I swear I cannot stand the up-and-down emotions with following this team sometimes. It’s worse than watching Todd Jones in the 9th!
best play by max today.
Jmax found a new way to eat babies.
Diablo: I’ll kick a baby if we lose.
I blame myself. I was told the halftime score and immediately thought, “it’s over.”
Tay is not clutch.
I love the fact that the Sixers are even allowing an opportuinty to win and we still blow it.
Chauncey, Rip, Sheed… anyone but Tay for that shot!
What the hell is Sheed doing with the Sixers?
how did sheed miss that shot?
Man.
The sky IS falling.
Sixers in 6….
Well, I just punted a baby. I didn’t want to have to do it, but this schizophrenic Pistons team made me do it.
Off to the bar!
Kicking a baby? It’s very tempting at the moment.
Just so ya know:
http://www.detroitbadboys.com/archives/2008-04-17/pistonssixers-first-round-schedule/#comment-130464
I didn’t expect that.
I guess I’m getting late stream….
wonder what the excuse will be now……the starters didnt play enough at the end of the regular season?
What a beautiful way to start the playoffs, detroit. i still say pistons in 5, though.
WHAT THE F’ING IS GOING ON WITH THE PISTONS? I want Flip Sanders fired. The Pistons got overconfidence again. This is just like the Eastern Conference all over again.
Flip has found a new low… this is absolute bullshit. Up 15, at home and we fuck with the rotations. Hayes played what, 3 minutes? Hamilton, Hunter and Billups in there for a stretch in the 3rd? WTF… so much for getting the bench involved.. Ratliff played what, 7 minutes? I understand Maxey is the best big man on the bench, but Ratliff made a difference in the short time he was there
Outscored in the second half, 35-52.
Yup, that pretty much sums it up.
That and the Chauncey awesomeness. What happened to him looking for revenge after his performance against Cleveland last year?
I don’t even know what to say.
Eastern Conference all over again but in the first round…
Does anyone have a suggestion on which playoff team not named “too good to show up for game one” bandwagon should I jump on?
Lakers, perhaps?
MAJOR CHOKE BY THE PISTONS! PATHETIC EFFORT!
The only thing that will keep me from slitting my wrists even more than I already have is if Atlanta can steal one from Boston.
Hohoho-hold it, Flip haters. Its one game. A playoff game, yes. But just one game. Fire flip? Take it easy. Don’t bring out the gauntlet unless the Pistons exit the playoffs without a trophy.
I’m not a DBB flip bandwagon member, but I’ll defend the guy. Just take it easy…
On the bright side, it was nice to see them dust off Lindsey Hunter for some minutes.
Flip is a fucking idiot. The bench can play and they did held up. The starters are getting tired real fast. I as a viewer can see that. Time for Flip to go. Joe Dumar is going to have a real long talk because like he said “The excuses are gone” I hope he was talking about the players and not the coaching staff.
You know we can sit here and blame Flip all we want. And I agree maybe he should have subbed Max in for Dice earlier but Flip didnt miss those free throws and Flip didnt handle the ball carelessly on the court, nor did he make stupid fouls on the transistion.
I think this team is old, has bruised egos and this is it. I dont even think they can win in the first round, Philly is gonna be too hostile an arena in Games 3 and 4. Im sorry but we are done and even we arent I dont even see how we can beat Orlando let alone Boston.
RIP Detroit Pistons Core.
2002-2008
you know what, I think Flip is the one to blame for this bullshit… if he could just fucking maintain a strategy for 48 minutes and keep a rotation we wouldn’t have fucking problems. fuck you Prophecy_Projectz, take your shit somewhere else
That was a horrible display, I have a string of profanity just waiting to erupt.
Boney: in no way is this Flip’s bad…the team can take full credit for this one, especially our backcourt.
Detroit is getting older, but kiss my ass with that bullshit. The rotation clearly has changed since the regular season. The bench is the reason we had 59 wins yet we play Hayes what, 3 or 4 minutes?
Wow, Prophecy. I can’t wait to force you to eat your words.
Philly a hostile arena? Not to Rasheed and Rip, who rep Philly (and coatesville) as their homes.
Its talk like that which drove me to take a few weeks off DBB– retarded hating on our own team. Calm down, man. Its one game.
Prophecy, when the weather turns ugly will you remain a fan?
I here Larry Brown is available. Flip has officially screwed up this team’s prime title-contending years.
“Prophecy_Projectz” sorry to say but you don’t know what you are talking about. The 76′ers made millions of subs every single minute. Flip and the coaching staff stuck to their guns except it wasn’t fully loaded. The bench is fully loaded. They have been all season long.
Q, I’m not usually a finger pointer of Flip. I blame the players plenty. But when the fucking rotation changes like night and day compared to what was successful just a WEEK ago, that’s a problem of the coach. Flip went to his bread and butter, Sheed on the block, Chauncey trying to out dribble everyone, etc… no Stuckey, no Afflalo to stifle Iggy a bit, no Hayes from the corner for 3… all we see is horrible shooting by Rip and poor ball movement.
Lotta reasons we lost this, but Flip sitting Prince when he was scoring was the start of it.
-Slaughters a lamb and covers himself in lamb’s blood-
ok, so who is ready for game 2?
If Detroit doesn’t come out and win by more than 10 next game, then I will admit this team is through. Larry Brown is sitting at home chuckling at Flip’s poor coaching
I’m so fucking mad that game 2 is on NBA tv where I can’t watch except to listen to it on NBA.com .
Amir didn’t see the floor, Stuckey only played 13 minutes, Afflalo didn’t play. We can blame Flip for this shit. The Zoo Crew is a part of the rhythm for this team. It’s something that they’ve obviously come to need. So, where were they? Pathetic game.
Well, the reaction here is basically what I expected. Excuse me while I pass on jumping into this massive sea of panic. We played about as poorly as possible in the second half. We threw plenty of bad passes, missed several layups, Chauncey’s missed free throws, and just about everything else that happened.
I think we stuck with the bench a little too long there in the 3rd, but I’m not going to complain about that. Trial by fire for the backups should start now, they’re not going to learn from the bench. That whole effort was piss poor, but I’ll gladly have this happening to us against the Sixers, who absolutely are not going to beat us, than have it happen against the Magic or Celtics. Remember, after 7 games of last year’s playoffs everybody through we were cruising for a 2nd title. There’s still a long way to go. Everybody should take a deep breath and have a beer and come back on Wednesday.
Pistons better be winning more than 10 points AND the bench better be playing more than 5 minutes each.
I’m going to be saying this to myself from now till game 2.
“Flip is a freaking idiot.”
*everybody thought we were cruising for a 2nd title.
Stupid typo.
Don’t worry about it “Other Matt”. I thought that same thing too before this first game started today. Looks like alot of people on this board and are a Pistons fan is going to have “the case of the Monday”.
Dudes…its one game. In case you forgot, or still have NCAA tourney memories fresh in your heads, its a best of 7 — not winner moves on, loser goes home. Lots of things went wrong for us this game, and lots of things went right for Philly and we still only lost by 4. In case you forgot, the Pistons do this every year. They pretty much always blow one of the first two games in a series and they never sweep.
Everyone slowly step away from the ledge….
Don’t worry people… Wednesday. A few adjustments.. we’ll be alright.
I wonder if the Atlanta Hawk has heard the Pistons’ loss right now while they are playing the Celtics because “hope” is a very powerful weapon.
The Pistons shot 40% and had a dozen turnovers. That’s why they lost - not the coach. Make two more shots in 48 minutes or turn the ball over two fewer times and it’s a victory. I’d like to see a few more minutes from the bench just so you don’t look up and say ‘Whoa…Tay’s gassed, he’s played 40 minutes’ but that’s a minor point. You get outscored 27-16 in the 4th Quarter at home — it’s on the players for being flat.
The best team always wins. Detroit just has to be the best team 4 of the next 6 games and they’ll be fine.
No Amir no Aaron
No Win
We have had Amir now for three years. Flip has yet to put him in a playoff game.
How much longer will Joe D. let Flip continue to make this stupid decision?
Affalo goes from starting when Rip is out to sitting on the bench and instead Flip plays a useless and old Lindsey Hunter.
A pathetic coaching job by someone who should be close to being fired.
I think if we don’t get to the conference finals this year Flip could very be gone before next fall.
If it ain’t rough, it ain’t right.
mike: “useless and old hunter”? did you watch the game? did you see the second quarter?
Other Matt is exactly right. This is probably the best thing to happen to the Pistons. Think about it.
The number 1 thing that Detroit has to do is overcome last year’s weaknesses. One of the major ones was the “coasting.” They had an easy time against two teams with very little Playoff experience, and they went easy on LeBron. Or at least, they didn’t take it to the Cavs as much as they should have.
This loss is a great example of how they will have to change some things up, how the Playoffs are harder, and how they’ll have to come back fighting on Wednesday.
Game 2 should be awesome.
A couple of lambs later, I REALLY am ready for game 2, seriously.
Now that I have moment to calm down and watched a little “Family Guy” on FOX. I gotta agree with Matt. The Pistons needed this loss. Time to wake up and smell the 76′ers. Forget the fall. If the Pistons failed to make it to the Conference Finals then they will do it Detroit’s style by bringing him out to the back door and stick shove him in the trash.
Hunter made one shot.
When he is the court our offense stops.
I saw the game.
Hunter stinks and should retire
Nice guy and would love to see him in the front office but not on the court.
Ratliff is no better. Old and terrible, with Dyess a close third.
All the facts for the year, numbers, games won and loss says that Amir is our second best big man.
At least let him get out and use up his fouls. Philly is the worse foul shooting team in the league.
No Amir, no Aaron and no win.
Dyess, Hunter and Ratliff. All old and terrible.
I have to agree with all the coaching bashing unfortunately, poor decisions on who is one the floor. Philly’s young legs is what won them the game, they out hustled us down the stretch, no one can argue that, and when you have a group of very young and hungry guys like Philly, the best remedy is to combat that with our own fresh set of legs, with amir and afflalo. Lindsay is not the pit bull he used to be, he is just an old dog, and old dogs will not learn new tricks.
And yes it is panic mode, because based on this effort what can we expect down the road but more of the same ol bullshit where a win should be just given to us, it dont work like that.
I think Max and Amir thrive when both are on the floor at the same time. But anyway, this is really disappointing. There should be a sense of urgency from opening tip off to the last whistle. I saw very little. Hope is all we got, hope that our boys can shake this of and go out and play a different game come Wednesday?
Speaking of Wednesday, anyone want some tickets, sec 107b, row hhh, s 17 and 18, 13 rows from front court, 300 bucks?
OK, you’re right, guys. We did need this. Now everybody will shape up. Hopefully.
I’ll agree with/jump on the “we needed this” bandwagon.
But that doesn’t piss me off any less, either. There’s no excuse for the way we played that second half. There’s also no reason I won’t be 150% okay with it if we use it as motivation the rest of the playoffs.
mike– did you notice that in the second quarter, philly missed 18 field goals? hunter was a HUGE part of that. he’s a defensive specialist. that’s why we put him in games, not for scoring. hunter was a huge reason why we didn’t take a double digit loss tonight.
afflalo and amir, whom i both love dearly, are not playoff tested and both have serious weaknesses. its ignorant to say that we’ll lose if they’re not on the floor.
we didn’t need a loss on the first night of the playoffs, when all the other “favorites” have won. All the home court teams won Game 1 and what does Detroit do? Give up the 15 point lead, and lose in pathetic fashion at the end.
Again, poor rotations by Flip, poor ball movement when the starters were in the game, and poor coaching. The best lineup tonight was Sheed, Max, Prince, Stuck, and Hunter. Defense from all 5 positions, ball pressure from all 5 positions, and decent offense.
We are playing right into the hands of the 6ers if we think our front line of Ratliff, Sheed, Maxey and Dice are the answer. This is a young and frail front line for the 6ers, Amir, Maxey, Sheed and Dice get the run.
Pathetic coaching by Flip tonight… absolutely embarrassing. Detroit has now lost 5 straight playoff games, and been completely outplayed in 7 straight. Maxey, Amir and Sheed are the answers in the front court.
Celtics, meanwhile, taking care of business, as championship contenders do in the first round.
The Pistons are now a coin-flip to get out of the first round.
that’s it… SOMEONE PUT UP A PICTURE OF THE TITANIC!
Mike P.
You clearly agree with Flip.
He is the coach today who has led us to two early exits from the playoffs and I am sure a third this year unless he wakes up and puts Amir and Aaron in the playoff rotation.
How much playoff experience did 19 year old T. Young have before tonight? We want experience why not activate Cowens, Porter and Joe D. himself. We would get lots of experience.
We had a good second quarter, but not because of Hunter but in spite of of him. Maxiell had something like 10 points and 9 rebounds in about 8 minutes in the second quarter. As his minutes climbed over 20 his weight got the best of him and he slowed down late in the game when we needed him most.
Amir makes everyone else on the court better. That is just what happens. Hunter makes everyone else on the court worse. That is just what happens. Hunter was a lousy draft pick when we drafted him and he is lousy this time around.
He did help us in 2004 but that was Brown knew his many limitations and understood how and when to use him.
Amen to you all, Other Matt, Tim, CK, QD. Thank you for being here.
Mike, Boney, HB, Slappy, you’re being absolutely absurd, and Prophecy_Projectz you’re taking insane to a whole ‘nother level. Go root for the Celtics, because I for one don’t want you and your absurd prognostications anywhere near this place. And this goes for anyone I missed in pointing out.
Do you guys remember the ‘03-’04 Pistons? You know, the ones that won an NBA title? Remember those cats? Do you remember what happened to them, at home, in the first round? They dropped a close Game 2 to the Milwaukee Bucks after Rasheed fumbled the pass out of bounds that could’ve resulted in a potential game tying/winning shot from the corner. Did the Bucks have any business being in the same gym as the Stones that season? No. What did the Stones do after that disappointing Game 2? They took three straight from the Bucks to close them out in 5. No one called the Pistons “overconfident” that season. And if you think those Bucks were more deserving of a win over us than the (admittedly low on talent but high on heart) Sixers, check out this box score and look at who got burn for the Bucks that night:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore;_ylt=AusaBvfqsVF2qrN9B6W4X0SLvLYF?gid=2004042108
Damon Jones, Brevin Knight, Brian Skinner and a 36 year-old Toni Kukoc beat us? Really? That can’t be much better than what the Sixers bring to the table. And yet, tonight we’re overconfident instead of just guilty of blowing it in the second half. Back in ‘03-’04, we just slipped up, today, we’re finished, not a championship team and whatever other nonsense. Please, just stop posting right now, because your shit is so fucking tired ESPN is now officially interested in hiring you to work with Stephen A. Smith. Stop flip-flopping on the motherfucking series after 1 game, young Bill Waltons of DBB. Have some fucking faith, GD. We’re still the much more talented 2 seed, and they’re still the sub .500 7 seed. You’re going to abandon ship already? Okay, retards, I anxiously await a mea culpa from each of you when we put this one to sleep in a week and a half.
You hate Flip unconditionally, so you blame him, even though today’s mess is HARDLY his fault if at all. If Boney’s glass is half full, the half is filled with bitterness. Flip can’t win in the eyes of his detractors no matter what he does. Flip yanked the veteran McDyess and left twenty-five year old, three-year pro, Maxiell in there during crunch time. Does that sound like the Flip we know and (except for me) complain about? No, it’s EXACTLY the kind of adjustable thinking people here are STILL criticizing him for not having, like when Mike brought it up re: Amir (retarded concept because Amir is a three-year pro, extremely unseasoned, and oh yeah, TWENTY). Maxiell earned his time and Flip gave it to him. It paid as many dividends as it could (Maxiell wasn’t realistically going to win or lose the game for us, but he came damn close by drawing acharge in the final minute). The decision to go with Maxiell was not very Flip like to even a staunch supporter like myself, but yet people will STILL crucify him and fail to give him credit for making the right call. The play for Rasheed made sense too. Rasheed just laid an egg. Apparently, the laying of the egg, that’s also Flip’s fault.
If you want a nice, neatly packaged, goat of the game (if there truly has to be just one, which I think there is not), look at Chauncey. He missed three free throws in the fourth quarter and then there’s the astonishingly poor decision he made on our second to last offensive possession. There’s your generally absent most of the game, but very visible (for all the wrong reasons) late in the game, goat.
Why don’t you reserve judgment until we’ve seen more from this team? Otherwise, you just sound like a bunch of ESPN schmucks judging the Pistons based on their 2nd half egg laying and ignoring the fact that they DOMINATED the Sixers in the first half while playing essentially AVERAGE ball by their standards.
Mike (with no last name initial),
Are you smoking crack? I agree with your request for Amir, but everything else I feel you’re completely wrong. You couldn’t be wronger, and when I start making up words you KNOW you’re wrong.
I can see not putting Afflalo in the game because his offense and Hunter’s offense cancel each other out. Hunter is a great on the ball defender who, if not for a couple of flops, would’ve had 2-3 steals tonight.
Maxiell’s weight did not get the best of him tonight. What got the best of him was the sudden shift to playing him 30 minutes when, if he’s going to play 30 minutes, why not fucking start him?
Ratliff got 6 minutes, had a block and nice putback on the offensive end. Why only 6 minutes? Because Sheed had the hot hand in the 1st half and he deserved 40 minutes? Hayes got 5 minutes, why? Prince played 40 for what reason? 5 of 13 from the field? I’d trust Hayes to hit that open jumper at the end of the game before I trust Prince. Not saying Prince shouldn’t be in there at crunch time but, you don’t run plays for your 4th option on offense when your 4th option isn’t hitting jumpers all night.
Again… bullshit rotations, rotations of guys that have not seen significant run during the regular season. Who the fuck’s idea is it to put Stuckey and Hunter on the floor at the same time? When did that backcourt combination enter Flip’s mind? When he was eating his Kentucky Fried Chicken during pre-game warmups? When Stuckey and Hunter are on the floor, even I can coach the defense on that… “Everyone clog the lane, they have no perimeter shooters on the floor”
Just to clarify, I am *not* saying that this loss is a good thing. What I am saying is that it is definitely not time to panic. If the prevailing attitude around here is “it should be smooth sailing straight on through”, then I don’t know what to tell you guys. We are not going to lose a 7 game series to Philadelphia. There are going to be struggles in this post-season. I’d prefer that we get punched in the mouth straight out of the gate, that way by the time we have blood in our mouth against Boston, we’re a little used to the taste.
Holy hell, last season we were annihilating a Chicago Bulls team that a lot of people picked to make the finals. Then we got punched square in the face and never really recovered. There is a lot of basketball left to be played. Come everyone and let’s talk a walk down memory lane:
2004 East Quarters: Lose triple OT heart-breaker to NJ in game 5 at home to go down 3-2 in the series. That game is followed up with a tough performance at NJ and a blow out at home in Game 7 (which was a lot of fun).
2005 East Finals: Lose game 5 at Miami by double digits to go down 3-2 in series. We come back to blow them out at home in Game 6, and then hang on and win Game 7 on the road with a tough performance.
2005 NBA Finals: Get absolutely blown out in games 1 and 2 in San Antonio. Come back and get a nice win in Game 3, followed by what I remember to be “the perfect game” in Game 4 where we had something ridiculous like only 3 TOs. Ben Wallace turned in an all-time performance and the conversation turned from “Spurs sweep” to “how in the world can the Pistons possibly lose”. Then there was the Robert Horry game, then we win Game 6 on the road and are right-freaking-there at the end of Game 7 and came up a little short.
You all have some seriously short memories. This team has been through some serious stuff and you’re all panicking about losing one game? This is crazy! Come back in off the ledge.
Mike, shut up, please. You apparently didn’t see the part where Maxiell had not only the quick thinking, but the quick feet to draw a charge with about :45 left even though you claim “his weight got the best of him and he slowed down”. And re: Afflalo and Amir, MP is 100% right. They are inconsistent as hell with not enough in-game (let alone playoff) experience. Thaddeus Young has been getting (at least) 20 minutes of burn a night for the Sixers in every game for the past 3 months. Afflalo and Amir usually rack up DNPs. You’re comparing apples and hamburgers. You, like many other Flip haters, see what you want to see, not what is actually there. It makes it really easy to lay the blame on our “underachieving” coach, than on our much beloved core (minus Sheed’s nearly flawless showing tonight).
Get off Amir’s nuts already, Mike. There’s a reason the kid went 53rd and not 5th, and it’s because he wasn’t (and to some extent still isn’t) game ready. Inconsistent flashes of brilliance displayed in the regular season does not a playoff star make. If Amir had been trusted with Maxiell’s minutes, he’d have fouled out before he got the chance to play all 30 of ‘em.
And oh yeah Mike, try not to forget this little nugget … Lindsey: 2 NBA Championship Rings; Amir and everyone on this squad minus the core 4: 0 rings.
LawyerBoy, you know, you’re my boy 9 posts out of 10. My glass isn’t half full of bitterness. I don’t give a shit about 2003-2004, you can take your comparisons of 2003-2004 to Chauncey and Rip because those are the guys that care about that anymore. Noone in the league gives a shit anymore about the 2004 championship run. Tim Donaghy was a ref in that game for fuck’s sake, of COURSE the Pistons were going to blow that one. That and the fact that the ultimate adjuster, Larry Brown, was our head coach.
Tonight was about poor recognition of strength on the floor, ie, poor rotations. What is the god damn point of resting your starters and getting “the kids” primed for a playoff run when Sheed and Tay have to play 40 minutes against a 7 seed? What is the point of keeping Dice and Ratliff on the floor when we’ve put Amir in the game when the other team hasn’t had another big body PF in the game during the regular season?
I’d rather lose this game by 4 and give Amir some run against Thad Young and Reggie Evans than I would play Ratliff for only 6 minutes and then yank him out after he plays good in those 6 minutes. If we’re going to fuck with the rotation like that, then put Amir in for 6 minutes.
Other Matt… the key thing about those other “situations” was that Larry Brown was the coach.
Flip and Rick Carlisle are one in the same… the only difference is Carlisle is a defensive coach and Flip is offensive. They both cannot adjust to the way the game is being played. They stick with their gameplan until the end, win or lose.
I stand by my statement earlier… outplayed in the last 7 playoff games, and I’ve seen the same downtrodden flashes of poor coaching in all 7 games.
We all clamor for the bench to see run in the playoffs yet now the biggest screamers for the bench are supporting Flip and his tight rotation? I call bullshit
I’m actually kind of with Boney on that one. I didn’t really understand the rotations tonight. I kept trying to figure out why on Earth we played Lindsay and Stuckey together and all I could come up with is that Lindsay is supposed to be like a “player-coach”, so maybe they were doing a little hand-holding with Stuckey. Which, to be honest, is some weak as hell reasoning. But then the unit on the floor led by the 2 of them pushed the lead out to like 12. So I just figured the coaches saw something we could exploit. Our problem was that when the starters came back in after the reserves extended that lead, they let Philly right back in the f-ing game. I made a mental note to myself that not putting them away would probably cause some discomfort at the end of the game, but I didn’t think they’d f-ing win the thing.
I’m fine with Stuckey and Hunter on the floor together IF they get a lot of steals or force turnovers. But when they’re both on the floor and Stuckey isn’t taking the ball to the rack, then we’re playing tentative.
Boney: You sounded like serious sour grapes earlier in the thread, sorry if I came harsh. Tim Donaghy? Do you remember Rasheed launching the ball up into the stratosphere? Donaghy didn’t fudge that call.
In tonight’s affair, Flip left Maxiell in instead of riding old, tired ass McDyess. Does Flip get nothing for that? We’d have lost by a lot more than 4 if he’d stuck with McDyess (which sounds a lot like old guard, mad hated Flip to me). And if I get what you’re saying right, you want Flip to keep Theo in there over Maxiell and/or Sheed? Was I not watching the game where those two were absolutely brilliant (minus Sheed missing the late game glasser)? I have nothing against your desire to want more Theo since he came with it on D or even to SEE Amir, but save that for when Sheed is off in the clouds or Max is struggling, because he and Max were the best players on EITHER squad tonight and you CAN’T yank them for Theo. As nicely as Theo played, he didn’t bring what Max and Sheed brought to the court tonight, so his job was to spell, and that’s it.
Prince and Rip were mediocre at best and Chauncey played a dismal fourth quarter where leading the team seemed like the last thing he was doing. I wouldn’t worry about our legs. All of this will straighten itself out when we mow through Philly and then Orlando in round 2. The only thing we have to worry about is Boston.
I don’t know, maybe the Flip basher’s are right. Maybe the starters have tuned him out. One of the things I noticed was in one of the quarters (3rd, maybe, I forget), we were in the bonus after about 8 minutes and then started jacking up jump shots and got pretty poor ball movement. Then coming back out of a TV timeout Flip said “we were in the bonus with 8 minutes to go in the quarter and then started living on perimeter shots, we lost our aggressiveness, I told the guys to take it to the rim but we just didn’t.”
Sometimes I think they should move one of the core-4 to send a message, but realistically who are they going to unload? Chauncey is locked up to a very reasonable contract and you just don’t find PG’s of his caliber, so he’s not expendable. Then you’ve got Rasheed who is the proverbial straw that stirs the drink. This team is arguably built around him. Then you have Tayshaun whom Joe D loves and thinks could fill his shoes some day. He’s also locked up to a reasonable long-term deal. Then there’s Rip. There aren’t a lot of guys who have his skill set, and he fills a definite need on the team. So who can we really unload? I guess the answer is Flip. I know sometimes we all pine for LB, but is it really that easy to forget his flirting with freaking Cleveland of all places when we were in the NBA Finals!? That was unforgivable to me.
look, the sixers play 48 minutes. we don’t. we’re playing a team that came back against boston on the road down 11 in the 4th. they came back against chicago down 18 in the 4th. bottom line it: either we’re going to have to force ourselves to play a full 48 like we should be anyway and become a stronger contender after this series, or we’re going to get beat and