A while ago, I said that Orlando would need great games from 2 out of 3 to get a win. If Dwight Howard hits his 20 and 14 averages, I’d say that’s a great game. I think his 20, 12 and SIX blocks from Wednesday also qualifies. 18, 6 and 4 out of Hedo is nice, but I wouldn’t call it great.

The X Factor in this whole series is Rashard, as Turkoglu and Howard seem to be known quantities. Howard is going to get his; Turkoglu is going to have a nice game but not a stellar game. If Rashard is kept around 20 (I’d say no more than 22) and my previous Howard and Turkoglu assessments fall into place (feel free to dispute those), then I’d be willing to bet the Pistons win any game of that nature. For me, it’s not Turkoglu, it’s only Lewis. The question becomes: Is Lewis capable of more than one performance in this series like the one he had Wednesday? Many people think that he is. Personally, I suppose I think he’s capable of one more if the series were extended, but not back-to-back, so I rule out tonight. If the Pistons win tonight, most of us (if not all) imagine that we close it out in Game 5. My belief is, forget the PG drama, the only chance the Magic have rests squarely on Lewis’s shoulders. I just don’t think he’s up for 11-15 (5-6 from 3) and 33 again today.

Coming back 2-2 isn’t the end of the world, and hey, maybe I’m wrong and we can win without him, but that’s my prediction.

I think you guys might be getting a little carried away defending your point of view here. I don’t think anyone here believes that Amir is the panacea to all the Pistons problems, however what a few of us here are saying (including myself) is why not give the kid a chance to see what he can do. The fact is we do not have a player that matches up with Lewis quite as well as Amir in terms of stature. I agree that he has not shown the ability to be a lock down defender, however I wonder what the thinking was around the time of the potential Prince v McGrady matchup in the 03 series?

On another not entirely unrelated point, it seems to me that we are entering another era of the Jordan rules here. If you look at the stacked teams of New Orleans, Los Angeles, Boston and to a lesser degree Orlando it seems that a strategy of giving the main players their points and shutting down one or more of the supporting cast will have to be the way forward. Ergo - stop Turkoglu and/or Lewis and the Magic are done regardless of the 20/20 efforts of Howard.

Just my two cents, keep up the great discussion!

This blog is great, great insight from different venues.

I think the main thing in game four is not goin to be the precense of CB, rather it would be controlling tempo, taking care of the ball, and playing aggressice defance to take the crowd out…i think we can manage and play it safe without mr. big shot.

On the other hand some people may say that Amir may be the third coming of Dennis Rodman, Big Ben being the second. On that point only time will tell.

I am not sure how the use of this term applies to Amir.

Derangement Syndrome is a term that is applied to politicians not athletes or assessment of athletes to play well or poorly.

People keep referring to KG making Amir look silly, well KG made the whole Cavs defense look silly in game #1, to say nothing of all the defenders that KG has made look silly throughout is HOF career.

I will leave it at that and let his play, if he gets a chance to play some serous minutes speak for itself and if does then we can all revisit his ability to help us win in the playoffs afterwards.

My only concern is that he has been sitting for over 3 weeks and practice time is not the same as game time, so if Flip does use him fairly, he can’t pull him after 3 minutes because Amir’s game timing is off.

And now for something completely different.

I love how this site lets people have opinions and in many ways encourages alternative views. Its a real credit to Matt W that this is such a friendly and informed place to talk about our shared passion.
I usually don’t comment on forums and the like, but its here that I feel comfortable and able to express myself and that is due also to the FANtastic people that post here. Well done DBB and community, keep it up.

PR: Agreed. And that was basically the point. The phrase wasn’t the “big three” alone, but “Tay, Rip, and Sheed are our ‘big three’ without CB”. In other words, our “big four”. Which was followed by commendations of Max, the bench, and Stucko in particular. So the team as a team was the point. Sorry you didn’t like the term “big three”, it was merely a communicative device.

It sounds like we agree on the substance, if not the linguistics.

Motion carried.

Obviously you risk having the series tied up at 2-2, and if you go up 3-1 the series is done, but the goal this year is at the very minimum a finals appearance, and that will not happen without Billups.

Also, you have to take into account the Celtics-Cavs series which I still feel will go at least 6, so the Pistons are still in good shape looking ahead, in terms of either team having more rest than Detroit.

people started resurrecting that term to refer to the celtics after they got garnett and ray allen, and now trying to describe the pistons. talking about the pistons “big three” and then talking about pistons “well-roundedness” is directly contradictory. its just a real pet peeve of mine.

first off, the pistons have four core starters who’ve been together for four years now.

the great thing about the pistons team is that they don’t rely on any one, two, or three players to carry them. chauncey has won games for them in the past. so has rasheed. tayshaun practically won the entire first round for them. the bench has been responsible for winnings games the pistons might have otherwise lost. they always need rip to get his shot going. but they are a team, in every sense of the word, more than any other team in the association.