Word on the street is that Chauncey Billups will be a game-time decision. Even if he plays, I think we can count on seeing Juan Dixon and/or Lindsey Hunter active, but at whose expense? Will Jarvis Hayes be wearing a suit on the sidelines? Will Flip Saunders’ Amir-on-Shard experiment be scrapped? Will Walter Herrmann’s brief return to relevance die a quick death?
I honestly have no idea. Make your predictions in the comments, then tune in at 5pm for the game (FSN, ESPN) and leave your thoughts in the comments.
OT: Say goodbye to D’Antoni’s streak of .500+ seasons. Enjoy New York, D’Antoni:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Ah3zlQQU8.3A7CIwx4Xzvie8vLYF?slug=txknickscoach&prov=st&type=lgns
I think the best call is Jarvis just on pure match-ups. I think if Chauncey plays, there’s still a chance one of the Dixon-Hunter duo sits (as long as one is activated in the situation, you have plenty of guards even if Chauncey is limited since Stuckey can play both spots). I would hope that if Flip for some reason decides to go with only one of Dixon-Hunter, he goes with Dixon. Even though Hunter is the better defensive match up, Dixon can fill it up and it’s not like Jameer Nelson caused us to lose Game 3.
I’d bet any amount of money he goes with Hunter. I would see Hayes sitting in this situation, even though I think that is silly for a variety of reasons.
Billups not playing. Hunter AND Dixon activated. Good thing I have plenty of beer in stock. This will be a long night.
kevin s.: It’s certainly a lovely problem to have. If Amir weren’t so built to match with Rashard Lewis from an athletic standpoint, I’d say sit him with no hesitation. Realistically speaking, if Amir had been in during meaningful time in Game 3, I doubt he’d have made a difference on Rashard’s dominance, but since we don’t know for sure, it makes the decision more cloudy. I don’t expect Lewis to kill us today, so perhaps Amir is the smart choice because Jarvis still has the streak shooting potential to be deadly and is an experienced veteran compared to Herrmann and Amir. Also, I think sitting Afflalo (in favor of possibly giving Hayes minutes at SG) would be an interesting proposition, even though Afflalo has played well in this series when called upon. If Chauncey plays today, I think it will be extremely interesting to see which 2 players join Samb in street clothes.
It’s Chauncey, Amir and Samb.
Chauncey is out today according to Ric Bucher.
Love it. Orlando is about to go down 3-1, and after the Pistons win today, the decision makers are going to realize they don’t need to rush Chauncey back to beat Orlando and MAYBE they even leave him out for Game 5 just to be cautious toward the ECF. After that, Chauncey can rest for quite some time. *fingers crossed* If we win today, at least it’ll shut up the tools at ESPN not named Jon Barry.
what, no more trash talk on perkisabenchwarmer.com LawyerBoy?
Boney: They deleted an entire thread when they realized I intellectually owned them in my comment. I may choose to gloat if/when we win the ECF, but I’m pretty much over it in the interim.
No offense to any women that will post here… but I am offended that ESPN is putting Doris Burke on this game. She is horrible… I’m also offended that we’re getting a mid-day Saturday game.
Dan Shulman and Doris Burke are better suited for NCAA Women’s Softball
claiming “intellectual ownership” over those guys is like bragging about using coupons at the Dollar store, I’m glad to see you not bragging about that… those guys are definitely idiots.
More worried about the fact it says Chauncey’s is questionable for Game 5….
Blowing 2-0 leads 2 years in a row?
Prophecy, considering they’re in Round 2 after you had them losing Round 1, I don’t know how many people are listening anymore.
Is anyone watching through Sopcast? Its the 1st time im using it and all I have is diving on my ESPN channel?! anyone help?
Excellent zinger Boney. However, I wouldn’t say they’re idiots, guy who hates Rip Hamilton because of video evidence of a Jordan-esque fist pump. They’re just crazy MFers. Some of their articles, usually the ones NOT about basketball, actually show some level of intelligence and scholarship (not necessarily fluency in writing though). The problem with them is that they’re insane, Tommy Heinsohn-following, blind homers. Another problem this creates is a lot of “foot in their mouth” moments. As proven recently, they don’t take too well to those, deleting threads when this occurs. It takes a lot for me to even temporarily step away from an argument, but that’s enough for me.
Matt W. was wise for banning the IPs, because if they still came around here they’d get to me and I’d still be yapping. Same thing goes if you continue to bring that blind Rip hate.
I used to have the same feeling toward Chauncey because in my pre-DBB days, ALL of my Pistons-watching friends would yap about how great and MVP-worthy the guy was and they were my only Pistons emotional outlet. A friend of mine actually shoved me to the ground in a sober argument that STARTED about Billups (that’s more about him than me, I never touched him). In these situations, I forgot that Chauncey is still a pretty damn good player and he’s not the only one on our team with glaring and annoying deficiencies in his game (that are usually softened by the rest of the squad). That kind of dissing is just bad, trust me. Nothing good comes from it.
wtf, break dancing outside Amway Arena.. and noone is watching. Orlando is f-ing weird
i’m pretty sure svg will have a gameplan to go at stuckey and try to rattle the rookie. we’re going to really see how ready the kid is today. need MUCH better games from the bigs to counter the chauncey loss. if they show up to the party, we got a chance to steal one.
hopefully flip has a game plan. or phil saunders emailed him one.
LawyerBoy, nothing you can say is going to stop me from not liking Richard Hamilton. It’s not blind “hate”, I don’t hate the guy. I’ve said he’s a good player, he’s good at what he does.
McDyess is starting?
Boney
May 10th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Prophecy, considering they’re in Round 2 after you had them losing Round 1, I don’t know how many people are listening anymore.
Most people had them losing in round 1 after the first 3 games. But I if you recall (and you probably didnt but would blame you, not me) I said during that series and in the regular season that Orlando was trouble. With Chauncey out Im worried, but then again I worry when we allow 30 points in a quarter of a regular season game lol.
I just hope Rodney doesnt get rattled, thats the key to this afternoon.
Ooooh, harsh critcism of Prophecy there Boney, a little rough for my taste, but not untrue. Don’t worry Prophecy, in about 15-30 minutes from now, you’ll realize not having Chauncey isn’t a death sentence for us (not because of anything about Chauncey, because of Orlando’s backcourt being awful). Then when we get to go home for a close out Game 5, it should be just fine.
I’m stuck without cable tonight.. If anyone has a game link I would greatly appreciate it.
Prophecy, the key is keeping Rashard under 25 or so. If Stuckey struggles we have the depth to yank him. Jeez, that block on Rip was intense. Kudos, Howard. And Prophecy, there were enough of us here that didn’t bat an eyelash when the Stones went down 2-1 to Philly. You worry about the boys too much for my tastes, but it’s your choice, man.
Dyess is strokin it tonight… I’m starting to really not like Jameer Nelson. I didn’t like it last year when he got owned after saying that he wanted Detroit in the playoffs… now he flops and injures Billups?
BALL DONT LIE
Doris Burke is awful
Tiger woods in the house
Boney, most impartial observers I’ve talked to claim it appeared to be incidental to them. I never even bothered to watch a replay (to painful to watch Chauncey’s legs do that). I’m with you on anti-Nelson sentiments, but not for that necessarily being a dirty play.
Boney: Agreed on the Burke front, but I think Shulman is pretty solid when he gets matched up with someone else for ESPN’s NCAA coverage.
need to get Howard in foul trouble, nice take Rip.
If Rip takes it like that, I’ll get off his case.
Did you see that, Boney? Hamilton just drove off the dribble past Evans got an and-1 out of Howard. Fouls are even right now, good sign.
you know who Orlando reminds me of? the 2007 Toronto Raptors…
SHEED IN THE PAINT!
Boney, he does on occasion. That’s the point. I don’t know how much you need him to do that (it’s not how he’s best utilized if he has an open jumper available). Nice putback by Rasheed. Burke was right on that call being a good sign, but that’s an obvious observation.
solid start… not the best, but not the worst
Boney & LB — what forum/blog are you talking about?
Damn, that was a nice jumper from Nelson. I still love what I’m seeing. Are offense is there, which is usually the struggle as opposed to defense. Down the stretch in a close game, I think we know and love Orlando’s M.O. Around this point last game it was 12-4 Orlando, 18-13 Orlando is absolutely fine with me.
They start hitting those 3s again, its a problem.
-Captain Obvious
*Our offense, yipes that was bad.
the guy at thirdquartercollapse would argue with me on this, but I’ll say it anyway:
Dwight Howard is a one trick pony.
I’m tired of all this kryptonite talk too, btw.
J: perkisabeast.com … apparently there are multiple unnamed bloggers at that site who masquerade under the name “perkisabeast”. They started a flame war here before our first regular season meeting with the Celtics. It all started when they post some ridiculously obscene poem about Kendrick Perkins being stellar and Rasheed being a chump with big gums or something. Things got crazy, Matt banned their IPs, but they never banned ours. Boney and I occasionally posted on their blog after, but I put up a post last week (that was one of my most awesome posts ever) and they took the whole thread down the next day in response.
Nice tentative-jumper brick there Stuckey, pull him Flip! I am kidding of course. If it continues though, I’d like him to see the bench.
seems to me rasheed cannot cover lewis
McDyess looked like Baby Eater there.
Care to comment on that last second-effort by Hamilton, Boney?
Hedo is normally a Piston killer… he is playing like he used to when he was a King
LB? Do you really want to continue to antagonize me? I said my piece, get off my sack.
lol@ people thinking Howard is a one trick pony.
gotta give tay some touches
hunter in
Boney: Uh, Turkoglu is not a Piston killer. In ‘04-’05 he scored 29 against us once. He scored 26 against us once this season. He’s only scored 26 against us once more (’05-’06). Most other games he really only scores in teens or single digits.
Boney, I’m going to lay off now, but you deserve every post you got for the repetitive drivel of weeks past. Remember your post “4-18″? Pot calling the kettle black, man.
Mo Evans got nothing
tay is the fucking man
Tayshaun took back to 04 with that
Holyshit! I got a deja vu all over again with that spectacular block. That was “Prince blocking Miller part 2″
21-27 is a lot better than 16-30.
lol@ Flip shooing the camera.
And the two-foul boogeyman claims Stuckey.
Bleh.
J: To answer your question from earlier, since there’s a break in the action and since for some reason when I originally tried to post this it was “awaiting moderation” …
The website is perkisabeast.com/blog, where apparently there are multiple unnamed bloggers contributing at that site who masquerade under the name “perkisabeast”. They started a flame war here before our first regular season meeting with the Celtics. It all started when they posted some ridiculously obscene poem about Kendrick Perkins being stellar and Rasheed being a chump with big gums or something. Things got crazy, Matt banned their IPs, but they never banned ours. Boney and I occasionally posted on their blog after, but I put up a post last week (that was one of my most awesome posts ever) and they took the whole thread down the next day in response.
I feel like the term “perkisabeast” is blocked on this blog.
Since my previous two attempts to answer J’s question are “awaiting moderation”.
J: Short answer is perkisabeast dot com
Dixon should really replace Hunter stat. Hunter looks ineffective today.
why did the Spurs dump Hedo? oh, because he sucks
why did the Spurs dump Hedo? oh, because he sucks against the Pistons.
There, fixed for ya Boney.
tay got some touches
Ruh?
What the hell is Chauncey wearing? Somewhere, Elton John is looking for a sportcoat.
Hunter knows the offense LB. Dixon runs the offense worse than Stuckey, and I like Stuckey, but he’s not really ready for long stretches at the point in a close game.
I trust Prince running the point, Hunter, then Stuckey. I want Stuckey on the floor, but only because he can create.
Orlando’s offense is similar to their 95 team. Throw it to the big name (Shaq/Howard) and have the shooters ready (3D/Penny/Nick or Jammeer/Lewis/Bogans) and have a slasher just in case (Lewis/Penny)
Thank God for Tay. He’s the only one not intent on settling for jumpers. Sheed looks like he’s gonna have another “mental DNP” today, so far…..
I kinda thought Prince would have a big game here. If he gets to 27, we win.
Mo Evan has less ups than Rip
Dixon doesn’t turn the ball over. Not that Hunter has been turning the ball over, he’s just been ineffective. I’m okay with Hunter staying out there I suppose, because the rest of the squad has started to generate strong offense.
Nice Tayshaun block highlights by ESPN. Seems like we all forgot (myself included) about that Iverson swat.
I really dislike Keyon Dooling. I’ve disliked him since I first saw him in 05 with Miami
ARVIS! Or will it be JARVIS today? The way our offense is operating, if he gets touches, I suppose it will be JARVIS.
BULLETHEAD!
No reason for open 3’s when D Howard not in the game
Yep, apparently it’s Jarvis today.
thanks for the answer, LB
Scallibrini?
Who is Marcin Gortat and why have we not knocked him on his Polish ass?
lol, Rasheed, now you’re just a clown.
LMAO@ getting schooled by Gortart
I hate this…
No problem J, I tried twice earlier to describe the reason behind our feud with them but it told me the comments were “awaiting moderation”. Check back later, maybe they’ll have gone through. Who knows.
good luck Pistons & hope y’all enjoy this one — i’m leaving now to go to the Cavs-Celts game (I was in Ann Arbor the last 3 years, and in Cleveland now for a year). Hopefully LeBron will extend that series; it’d suck for us to play a rested Celts squad.
again, they’re shooting over 50%. we play d to win games. that’s who we are. so play some f-ing d, detroit. let’s not try to out=jumpshoot them.
Yeah Sauce, Rasheed’s being a bit adventurous with his offensive choices. Not like that anything new per se, but we’re a lot better off when he focuses on offense.
it’s nice of the Tigers’ offense to take the day off today.. 1 run off who? Darrell Rasner?
I don’t understand why we don’t challenge Howard more defensively. Get him in foul trouble and good things could happen.
Boney: Just checked up on that, sad.
Whew, Bogans has a great voice.
Ah, it’s Arvis again.
nice flop by Rashard
Sheed complains all the time, but that did look like a flop to me.
That was not a foul lol
have a seat Dooling…
Rippy’s getting chippy. Any chance it has a Sheed like positive effect on his game? Well, if that takeaway-and 1 is any indication, yes.
I wonder how many retirement home buses are sitting outside of the Amway Arena waiting for the game to be over? I see a lot of blue hair in the crowd
Best way I can spin it for Stuckey: He’s learning the best playoff lessons all at once! 3 of them, so far.
Sheed hasn’t gotten the ball once on the block. He has a putback, but he has not posted up and taken a patented fadeaway… he’s only taken his patented 3 point bomb
If Jarvis Hayes is gonna play like ass… why not put Amir in instead. At least we’ll get some more rebounds, blocked shots, and defense.
There being sucked into Orlando’s run game..
55% shooting and rising….
Brad
May 10th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
If Jarvis Hayes is gonna play like ass… why not put Amir in instead. At least we’ll get some more rebounds, blocked shots, and defense.
Dwight Howard will probably destroy him, but yeah I guess..
*patented 3-point-clank
it’s like Flip has a microphone in my house… Sheed on the block, too bad he couldn’t fill it up
I’m pretty sure Amir is inactive today
Amir is inactive
lol Rip with the offensive foul tricks, I love it. Best thing so far.
Sheed should be living on the block. For his sake and our sake.
Oh good, we got their two worst rotation players in foul trouble.
Bogans has got to be smarter than that… making former DeMatha grads everywhere cringe with his stupidity
I was also going to mention Rasheed not posting at all. And amidst my slow internet, he finally did and missed it. I’d much rather have him attempting things down there though.
Not bad for a game with no Billups and no Sheed. Wait is Sheed playing today…?
anyone knows where I can watch this one online?
Boney: Even I’ll admit, Rip is normally THIS good. Though his turnovers are usually this bad.
*isn’t THIS good. Whoops.
This is Orlando’s game. The whole flow is uptempo, everytime we are close they hit those 3s.
He’s a product of the system.
Detroit is playing no defense today.
These turnovers are making it look like those Philly games. But finally Sheed puts something in the way he should.
There’s Wallace on the block. Sheed lives.
LB, just admit that Rip is a product of the system. When he was in Washington he was the 2nd coming of Larry Hughes.
Come on Boney, his 2 swipes including the one that led to an and-1 have NOTHING to do with a system. They have to do with Rip getting the job done.
Yeah, Kevin, it’s not a big accomplishment, but the whole team’s failed so far. Fail has popped up a hell of a lot more lately. I wouldn’t want to be Joe Dumars. For how well this team’s put together, it’s playing absolutely unlike it should.
With no Billups, the entire offense should run through the Sheed/ Howard match-up down low.
Watch us bust them in the mouth in the 3rd quarter.
Ugh@ everything.
Hopefully the 3rd AND 4th.
Someone on Detroit’s roster needs to step up and take a flagrant 1 for the team on one of these fast breaks…
I would prefer the flagrant be on Hedo, but I think if we flagrant Rashard he might take himself out of the game by throwing a punch
orlando is over 70% from 3 point land
This is really Orlando’s game to lose. The whole flow of the game is in their favour so its gonna be tough to even mount a comeback. Lets see what happens…
Come on guys, I know they MIGHT be able to keep up the 56.4% shooting from the field, but the 71.4% from three-point range? You really expect that to continue? Things have a tendency to regress to the mean.
I noticed that when Sheed is not on the floor our offense flows more freely. When he is on the floor we play one-on-one ball and find ourselves down 11 at the half!
Step it up, Rasheed!!!!!
No Juan Dixon thus far is really inexcusable in my view.
If anybody was wondering whose team this is, it’s C-bill’s
Kinda suprised Rodney took that few shots. I could have sworn he was more aggressive in the 1st…
Sheed: -30 +/- in Game 3 (Prince was next highest, -18) … -17 +/- thus far (Stuckey and Hayes tied for next highest, -8) … Perhaps we give Maxiell and Theo a good deal of minutes in the 2nd half?
two more things, i want the ball out of hamilton’s hands. either we let stucky do point or we don’t. and can we bring in someone to guard lewis? either herman or something…
Maxey should’ve started.
ohad: No it’s not. The team is the team. This team still wins when any player struggles be it Chauncey, or Sheed or Rip. It still loses when any player has success. It’s a perfect representation of the whole being greater the sum of its parts.
If “the team is the team” theory is accurate, which I believe it is, than Billups is the most important part of that equation since it is clear he pushes the buttons. The offense looks lost.
yo… forget all this noise. It’s time to throw someone’s ass on the floor in Orlando. Get the crowd booing rather than clapping and counting their social security checks.
This team is tentative, and with the crowd BOOING, they will be more aggressive than if the crowd is shouting DEFENSE
Someone needs to land flat on their back when they think they have a layup… seriously, someone needs to hit the deck
I just think that without one of our big men we have someone to step up. without rip billups can pick up the slack. i don’t know what the hell we’d do without tay and we can definately see some bad ball without billups
We’re not losing because Chauncey is out. We’re losing because we’re not effective at all on defense right now.
Wow, SVG is an excited little troll. Flip doesn’t seem phased.
Because we can’t score consistently, they are beating us down the floor. Howard gts too low, they dump it in and he either scores or kicks it out for a wide open look. Granted they are shootin a ridiculous %.
somebody put herman in please…
We’re not making them work for three point shots. We have to cut those off.
I’m tired of that LeBron/Uncle Rico vitamin water commercial… next time I see it, I pray Brendan Haywood runs out of the jury box and gives him a forearm to the neck
Jesus, what in the hell was that? That’s the alternate definition of a double negative. Lewis is wide open for a 3 and then Sheed gets outfoxed for a rebound. Grrr…
So if Boston beats Cleveland in a sweep or 5 and we struggle with the Magic for say 7 games (if we win this at all). How do you like our chances against Boston with Chauncey’s hammy.
See what I did there?
Way to collapse on the paint boys. How about you stop playing so much god damn help defense? Real cool, guys.
No more J’s!!
nice jugs on the drink girl behind the basket just then
Thank you Dice.
That was an iffy choice from Stuckey, but we’ll start to build momentum if we can disturb their three-point game.
SHEED WITH THE BANK!
Glass!
cbs just credited billups with a rebound??
THROW HIM ON HIS ASS
That was an excellent move by McDyess fouling Howard. Great job by Sheed. They need to lockdown the perimeter.
THROW ONE OF THESE MICKEY MOUSE CHUMPS ON THEIR ASS
could a rushed, glasser have gotten Sheed back into this thing?
And, Orlando calls TO to wipe the blood from its collective mouth.
nice run. we can take advantage of mcdyess in the post over turkoglu
Boney: Is it possible that with all the flagrant fouls that have been tossed around during the playoffs, that they may be weary of accidentally drawing one?
If they aren’t weary, then yes, someone should get knocked on their ass, preferably by McDyess because when he’s angry, he’s really intimidating.
LB, this team (Orlando) has not been hammered once since they’ve played Detroit. Someone needs to at least get a forearm club to the wrists on a shot in the paint, or something. Detroit plays physical, and wins physical. This is not physical at all… shooting lollipop 3s all game? Nothing in the paint?
Literally, put some stank on one of those Mickey Mouse chumps
I would prefer bringing in Herrmann to be the goon
ENOUGH TALKING TO CHAUNCEY
uh oh, Maxiell is getting ready to raid the nursery.
Boney: While I don’t completely disagree, I think the key has been securing the perimeter. Can Flip put Dixon in for Stuckey? For the love of god, let Tay run the offense, I don’t care, but get Dixon in there because he scores and Hunter doesn’t.
BALL DONT LIE
not complaining about stuckey but he’s not taking advantage of his opportunity
OLD MAN RIVER FOR 3
Well, thank you for proving me wrong (momentarily), Lindsey.
HAMILTON SHOWING THE ATHLETICISM!
Rashard Lewis has one 3 this quarter, no other buckets. Once we locked him down on the perimeter he’s been completely lost on offense.
15-0 run. where the hell did that come from?
Very funny, Boney.
Thats whats up
Who ARE these Pistons, and where did the fail-ridden bunch of the 2nd quarter go to?
I don’t want to see the Failstons back out there for the 4th, either . . .
I love how Hamilton proved to me that you CAN in fact slide a piece of paper under his feet when he jumps. Nice dunk, even though there’s no authority.
Rip is every bit the MVP in this game that Tayshaun is. Both have played superbly. Both have played solid defense and managed to be efficient on the offensive end while most other Pistons struggle.
Props so far to Antonio. I can’t stand him, but he’s showing up Rasheed, which makes Rasheed more dubious.
doing it with D
And the movement toward the mean begins.
LB and Sauce, NOW is the time for a flagrant. The crowd is quiet, the Magic are trying to get back in the game.
Time to put a bitch slap on Jameer or Rashard. Dwight’s too big of a puss to do anything about a flagrant, so to do it to him wouldn’t do anything except piss off the other Mouseketeers
Boney, like I said earlier, you sound the way I did towards Chauncey a few years back. You won’t even cleanly give it up to the guy when he earns it. Just not productive or remotely accurate, man.
look at this shit… noone cares about Disney…
Hamilton is fine with me, as long as the team is winning.
Nelson is killing us. Got keep him out of the lane.
Sauce: Sheed is ULTRA dubious right now. That bank was awesome, but I doubt he planned it. The season is FAR from over, but if Sheed continues these performances, I’ll finally support us trading him in the offseason for a good deal. Uh, Lindsey? Really?
OLD MAN RIVER AGAIN! SHOWING THE RANGE!
LOCKING the arc. I love it. I don’t care if it gets us in foul trouble, do it.
I vote for the flagrant on Jameer. We owe him one anyway.
there it is…
Boney: Good one w/old man river. Rip ain’t always the reason when we lose though. The team is the reason we lose. This isn’t New Orleans; this isn’t the Lakers. This not a team with a superstar who the team can’t win without. Tenacious Lindsey. Not a flagrant foul there Boney, but some deflating tenacity no less.
SHEED!
Nice shot by Rasheed on the turnaround.
Lindsey’s my hero!
nice flop by Rip… I love it
I want the flagrant to come in the game-clinching quarter when the thing’s pretty much decided, otherwise, I’ll settle for some “And we didn’t have Chauncey for 2 games” smackaround.
I wanted to see Sheed throw that one down, with authority.
flipidy flop flop rip.
nice sell though
You know, Rip does that pretty well. I’m not saying anyone (*cough* Boney *cough*) has failed to give him credit for it, but Rip is probably the best one on our team at drawing charges since Ben left, maybe Maxiell or Hunter (though he never plays enough), I suppose. Stuckey seems good at it too.
Sheed being aggressive! Bout time.
Glad to see Sheed decided to play a little in this quarter.
Sauce is on the flagrant bandwagon. I want yet another team and their fan base to be bitching about how Detroit is physical
Not happy about that three, but I’ll take it. I just hope this can continue into the 4th unlike last game.
Damn those 3’s though!!!! lol
As they dribble up, i’m saying: don’t give up a three, don’t give up a three, don’t give up a three, and they get a three…
Pistons fought back into it, now here they are again, a quarter away from effectively ending this series, let’s see if they can finish
Am I the only one who thought Rip was selling it but it was a legitimate offensive foul? I must be in the minority, oh well. Tie game going into the fourth, I gotta think that’s in our favor. Magic from 3 in the first half: 6-8. Magic from 3 in the 3rd: 2-7.
Apparently we’ve made the defensive adjustments and they’ve paid off. Sprinkle in a few buckets on the offensive end, and the Magic aren’t just wiping the blood from their mouth, but sucking wind from some hard body shots. Hopefully we deliver the knockout blow in the 4th. Uch, that description was so cliché.
Toss the coin. Either they make the three or they don’t.
Actually, Boney, I want Lindsey to lay a good one on Jameer during that late-quarter deal that I was talking about . . . if anyone put up a straw man to beat himself into the conversation, it was Jameer. A solid takedown of that guy would take him right the hell back out of it, with the stuffin-beat Strawston dragging behind.
Jameer was tired of people calling his team ’soft.’ Well, beat a top contender with authority, then people won’t be giving you the one-hand-clap for knocking off terminally-ill Toronto.
dogg: I thought that Orlando ran a near perfect play to get Evans open for a fraction of a second, he put it up in a tight spot and he nailed it. Obviously I wasn’t happy to see it go down, but I’m not going to get particularly discouraged when that happens. DIXON!!!!
Man if that Mickey Mouse team starts hitting those 3’s in the 4th, I will literally break my table after all that work. Also if Nelson starts slashing on us.
Thanks Tay, way to blow a great assist for Dixon.
Sheed raises from the ashes of dubiousness. Ticky-tack foul, no big deal.
So Dixon was activated. Play AA though!
didn’t D-ho double dribble?
i didn’t see any reach ins…
hahhaa… I LOVE IT!
You guys are starting to follow the path of righteousness! Mickey mouse team, people wanting a flagrant…
nice you guys, nice!
Some serious Dixon love in here.
c’mon boys, let’s do this. Let’s shed some damn baggage and do this.
Rasheed can’t disappear when he’s the top player out there . . . not when Chauncey’s out . . . someone has to get through to him, a family member, a religious figure, someone, anyone, that when people need him, he isn’t there . . . and nobody can wait 3 quarters for him to focus and get it going.
Prophecy: We’ve kind of locked them down from three-point range and made it really hard to score from there. If we keep playing defense like this, I can’t fault the Pistons if Orlando finds a (miraculous) way to sink the 3s. Obviously, if the defense stays, I doubt that Orlando will sink the 3s. Also, Sheed has been impressive in shutting Howard down.
LB I also thought the charge was legit with marginal acting. I don’t really understand the absence of Afflalo in this game. It just seems weird that Dixon would get the nod to play with Lindsay after no playoff minuts.
I really like how Doris Burke does color commentary on basketball games. She like Bill Raftery — enthusiastic about basketball.
Sauce, I never said it was going to be easy, but the Pistons shouldn’t lose to Orlando just because they don’t have Chauncey out there. Sheed starting to pile up the fouls, but he seems to be being selective enough with them.
We are damn lucky that the steals got into Dwight Howard’s head. Antonio sitting there with arms extended is not defense . . . that’s a guy waiting to get on a poster.
Greg: Um, because Dixon is awesome, duh!!! Nothing against Afflalo in particular, but Dixon is a wily, talented veteran and I’m a fan of that. Rip back in for the final 9:15, so it’s a moot point now.
These fouls got me worried
THERE IT IS! THROW HIS ASS DOWN!
It may not result in a flagrant, but I think you got what you want there, Boney!
AWWW YEAH ANTONIO BEING USEFUL
Screw Jameer, Boney. I’ll take a little pissy-pissy with Dwight.
Well Boney wet dream of knocking the Magic on there butts is happening. Problem is, key players got fouls. Be careful
THATS WHAT WE NEEDED
offensive my ass!
McDyess did not particularly display perfect form with that hiptoss. Sauce, I don’t know if it’s damn lucky, damn good, etc. but in a game like this, the basketball gods seem to favor the Pistons over the Magic down the stretch (see Game 2).
I’ll take a double technical, no shots, no change of possession. Just a crybaby Howard, and Dyess doesn’t give a shit
lol
Maurice Evans is enjoying the finest series of his career. That’s just karma. I have great doubt he’ll ever be this useful for the rest of his life.
Gotta go back 2 Sheed
RIP!
All that flopping is bad for the neck, eh Mo?
evans ran into rasheed and had the nerve to complain to the ref
“That’s just karma. I have great doubt he’ll ever be this useful for the rest of his life.”
Mo Evans, 5 years $45 million.
the Mouseketeers don’t like it when you touch them with forearms and wrangle them down with hip tosses… they want to chill at the 3 point line and not be touched. like I said, 2007 Toronto Raptors
That was a hell of a good jumper over Rashard, by Rip.
Man, when he’s on, he’s on.
We’re in their head, clearly. Mo Evans had a wide open 3 for DAYS on that play and he took it in for a midrange jumper because the 3s haven’t fallen this half. And after that serendipitous knock down, Evans is probably more freaked out.
Settle down boys
He wanted to be a starter, Kevin, just like Delfino. Neither of them were good 2s - Rip exceeded them by a large margin. Dunno where they wanted to start, dunno what they can bring, but I do know that Mo still can’t dribble all that well, can’t pass all that well, mostly finishes well and hits corner 3s. That’s an undersized 3 that’s playing the starting 2 role for this Mickey Mouse club.
lol Jameer Nelson’s gonna get killed.
So help me, let’s beat these girls.
tay looks like someone my mom would sit down at the dinner table and finish the plate. those thin shoulders, jesus.
It’s kinda funny watching sissies like the Magic wilt under the playoff intensity. Dwight Howard is not tough enough yet to be a superstar. If/when he gets there, watch out. For now, I will revel in the awesomeness that is Orlando’s shortcomings and the Pistons’ tough, physical, veteran presence.
After 6 years, Tay’s weight is only now an issue?
you know what I say?
throw someone else down. the crowd is not booing loud enough yet.
evans is getting 9 mil a year?! are these guys hiring?! i don’t mind head butting sheed for a cool 9 mil
It’s 80 - 75 Pistons… and whomever wins I’m standing and applauding in my living room. They fought and scrapped in this game and as a fan that’s all I ask.
sheed
QD and I had a disagreement the other day. He was pretty sure Brendan Malone was on Zeke’s staff and I swore I saw Malone on the bench next to SVG. I feel vindicated now. Sheed definitely meant to bank that one.
lol Rasheed
Play like that for four quarters you bum. Bless you for showing up at all.
Tim: Don’t worry, you’ll be applauding for the good guys.
Sauce: It’s no longer “Does this team take games off?” It’s shifted into “Does Sheed take quarters off? Um, why was Stuckey guarding Turkoglu, ever?
Wow, typically selfish play by Sheed there. One more pass and Lindsey is gets a shot that’s open by MILES instead of one that can be closed on like Sheed was looking at.
lol forget it, I DO want Jameer Nelson to get some Piston elbow late in that series-clincher quarter.
God Dammitt, I cant believe we’re gonna lose like this
maaaaaaaan
Just when it looked like things were in control, they fire off 8 straight
I hate having to be on the fence with this team. My neck muscles get sore figuring out where they are from minute to minute.
Damn, risky move there by Hunter (assuming he flopped to a degree). By not getting the charge, that’s what happens in a 4 on 5 situation with a good three-point shooting team.
Flip a coin. The threes fall or they don’t. This team has one skill.
They need to keep their composure… this is our game for the taking… they need to keep scoring though… play to win!!! Throw the ball inside…move.. cut… fur christ sake… don’t try and run the clock out..!!! ahhhh!!!
Things are still in control, we just need to execute on offense. Not cool when Sheed is tossing up ill-advised 3s when another teammate doesn’t have a player within about 6-8 feet of him and when Tay bowls over Nelson.
Damn losing like this….dammitt.
this is where we miss billips driving and getting fouls and easy fts
Nice… dooling … sweet!!! make um pay rip
Prophecy? Get off the fence!
RICHARD HAMILTON!
I second no 3’s unless we actually need them. I’d like to see Hedo do the splits on a foot hook though. Rip is the man tonight though, we still have this.
f-you turkaloooo
Sheed did it to Lindsey again. Son of a bitch.
somebody put turk on the floor!!! Drop his ass!
have a seat Dooling
Thank god. I thought that wasn’t going to be a T. That’s definitely the right call.
Why is Hedo driving like he is Lebron James?
Throw down those FT’s Rip. You earned them.
oh rip… that was an important one.
It’s safe to say that Dooling will never be a Piston.
someone needs to flop for Detroit, take a charge
So god damn predictable.
Watch Lewis or Turk hit the game winner on us or something
Fuck these soft ass calls!!!
PHANTOM FOUL
What kind of phantom foul was that on Jameer Nelson?
soft calls, for a soft team
DAGGER!@(@#$%@#(*
Nine seconds boys, nine seconds. Lock it down.
DAGGER OVER SUPERMAN!!()@*#)(*@
Time to breathe.
lucky lucky lucky….
TAY!!!!
Prince!!!!!
Wow…>!!!! What a rebound!!
wow, i would have called a time out, but prince comes through, can they get one more stop to end this series (basically)
Tayshaun just did the Superman-throw-the-ball-down-in-the-hoop play in a game!
Oh dear God shut them down.
no foul no foul
pussies will go for penetration
Tayshaun! Yes!
Are we gonna get Hedowned?
Lock um down and BOX OUT!!!!
Maxiell in … hmmm.
they’re going to spread the floor for a drive and kick. their offense is as predictable as Chicago’s in these situations
TAY WITH THE DAGGER!@(#*(@*
Pistons win…. Pistons win!!! … pIstons !!!!win!!!!!
Crawford if you call a blocking I am going to have you murdered.
wtf
it was offensive if anything
TAY!!!!!
YEEESSSSS!
F-You Florida!!!… Yeah… the whole state… F-You!!!!
Pistons win! Beautiful beautiful beautiful…even without Chauncey…
SIGH OF RELIEF.
Damn right. Finally we show up when we have something to prove. First win on the road in the round sans Chauncey. Consider the series done; Orlando can’t take two on our floor.
LawyerBoy, and everyone:
I’m sorry I don’t like Rip, I just don’t. He had a great game though.
Regards,
Boney
90-89 take that Magics bitches!
Good tough win, that’s a win that shows character.
you cannot believe how happy I am
2:40am and all is well in Israel and the world - way to go Pistons
way to go tay and rip and DICE
Hedo charged on Maxiell, but that’s an obvious no-call. Crawford ends up seeing that Turkoglu’s foul was late. Ball-game. Good guys. The universe tends to unfold as it should.
i dunno who the ref was who stood next to dyess/maxi on the left there of the last play but he was a pussy for not whistling the offensive…
I AM BESIDE MYSELF!!!!!! I HAVE RAPED AN INNOCENT KITTEN!!!! THIS SPEAKS ILL OF MY CHARACTER AS A HUMAN BEING!!!!
Props to Antonio for the miracle rebound surrounded by 3 Magic. Props to Tayshaun for taking it to the hoop with the soft touch. Props on Detroit for getting Turkoglu to get an offensive foul that wasn’t called, then props to, of all people, Joey Crawford, for seeing on the replay that no matter what the time, the Whirling Turkish’s foul didn’t matter.
Whew! LoL Whew!!!
What a relief! Lets get Chaunce ready and wrap this bitch up on Tuesday PLEASE!
kudos to Lawyerboy and his mean and law of averages re the 3s
12-24
Tay… sounds like a captain. He has been consistently awesome all post season
That was pure guts that game.
NBA Playoffs - Where Chauncey doesn’t play and we still rule happens!
Boney: I appreciate the note. You don’t have to like Rip. Chauncey’s persona still really grinds my gears but I try to cut him slack when I can. But like I learned with Chauncey, you have to accept Rip. Rip is a Piston and he’s DAMN good too, like Chauncey. It’s not because of a system, which may make him more successful, but Rip is good because Rip is good, damnit.
I like the last second no fouls. It’s consistent. Detroit’s been burned by that before. I prefer it.
Ohad: Once he misses the runner, you don’t call the foul on Turkoglu.
I haven’t watched the game yet - just got home from work. But I’m so keyed up, I had to look at DBB, and Tim’s post: “Pistons win…. Pistons win!!! … pIstons !!!!win!!!!!” just made my day! I can tell he was excited and wanted to be the first to say it and he just jammed on that exclamation point key.
Congrats to the Stones for manning up, even with Tha Man on injured reserve. Great day to be a Pistons fan! Can’t wait to see it!
IP: it’s worth going to bed at 3am. easily the most fun i’ve had this late in a while
“NBA Playoffs - Where Chauncey doesn’t play and we still rule happens!” best line EVER.
a tale of two halves
what did we do and who made the adjustments - Flip? Cowens? Mr. D?
I love watching that Tay DAGGER again on Sportscenter… hit the DAGGER over Superman!
CUE THE SUPERMAN MUSIC NOW BITCHES!
WHAT NOW RETIREMENT COMMUNITY? WHAT NOW? ENJOY YOUR BRUNCH TOMORROW BITCHES!
kevin s.: Not a practice I would engage in, but if so, I would go with 8-9 instead of 12-24. I love a player who buttresses an already solid skill set by handling business from the free throw line.
saue, LB: point taken
You know who deserves so damn love right now? Antonio McDyess, the games leading rebounder AND shot blocker.
sauce that is….
I guess the Pistons will meet the Celtics in the Eastern Conference this year. YAY !
ohad you are right but I am so Happy I can’t sleep
this blog is so right on point - someone suggested a flagrant and after the double tech we owned them
I’d say Lindsey had a very solid game…i’m curious about his +/- compared to stuckey’s
Yes, Dyess *made* that last play happen.
“kevin s.: Not a practice I would engage in, but if so, I would go with 8-9 instead of 12-24.”
You missed the joke, my man. If you were in my basement right now, I would behead you.
You are not, though.
you know, Tay was supposed to be the man this year. All the analysts were saying it: he’s gonna step up. He’s gonna be huge. He’s gonna be an all-star. But he didn’t. But who gives a shit. He has been absolutely, undeniably, the MVP of our post-season. Yeah, Rip’s been huge, Max is arriving. But it’s Prince’s palace. Makes me glad I was screaming “rebuild around Tay! rebuild around Tay!” in a dark moment the year they lost to the Heat. Tay is Detroit royalty.
Awesome road win. Orlando shoots lights out in the 1st half and the Pistons don’t panic and grind out a win with good defense, good FT shooting (14-15), and taking care of the ball (9 TO).
46 minutes for Tayshaun! 40 minutes for ‘Dyess! Everybody stepped up.
Rip - 32 pts, 12-24, 8-9 from the line, only 3 TO. Huge. I slammed Rip a bit the other night for his 6 turnovers but for as much as he handled the ball tonight he couldn’t have played any better. And ‘Sheed outplayed D. Howard. Straight up.
markb
stuckey -6 hunter +7
btw not that you had to have had a crystal ball for that one but didn’t i say they would penetrate….pussies
To all you mothers out there, Happy Mother’s Day, from Boney!
I love Antonio’s effort this game. He was by far the most aggressive player we had on the floor. I saw someone somewhere say they didn’t like him; how can that be? I love the guy.
thanks IP…I had a hunch it was as lopsided as that
ha.. Tay said Hedo likes to go both ways
IP: I dunno who got the boys to play lockdown D finaly, but when will people stop calling Flip a bad coach? I can understand people fearing that Flip will burn them again with the unfortunate nature of his
never-gotten-to-an-NBA-Finals pedigree, but the guy has done a good to great job in these playoffs. He’s shown absolutely NO fear in going to the bench, which has been one of the most consistent criticisms he’s taken over the years at DBB. The boys are winning. Until Doc Rivers (or Mike Brown?) hands him his ass in this year’s ECF with a cupboard as full as the one Flip gets to work with, I’m going to believe Flip can get it done with this squad.
To Dwight’s, Hedo’s, Rashard’s, and Jameer’s moms: happy mom’s day. Sorry your sons disappointed. I’ll be over to console y’all soon…
rob: that’s D-hoe to you…
“I guess the Pistons will meet the Celtics in the Eastern Conference this year. YAY !”
Exactly. When the Cavs are down 2-0, they are TOAST!!!
hehehe…Taychaun is saying “Hedo likes to go both ways” in his press conference……………….referring him to heading to the basket.
Wow. ‘Sheed layed a big pick on Turkoglu on the last basket by Tayshaun. Be sure to watch for it on the replay.
“Tay said Hedo likes to go both ways”
Haven’t you seen Eastern Promises?
I only got some of the game. ESPN Gametracker says Maxiell only played 12 min. Is that right? If so, why?
this is much better than reading about it the next day
Goddamn. Watching this on my DVR is gonna be like watching Star Wars again. I know for sure the Death Star is gonna blow up. But I still love watching them Ewoks dance…
kevin s.: Wasn’t the joke that you were mocking Boney for posting “4-18″ after Game 3? I don’ think I missed the joke. I recall Boney’s post vividly, as I hit the roof as a result. I get the reference, I suppose I was just being too logical and critical in that the most awesome thing about Rip for me tonight was his ability to lock it down from the free throw line (per usual). 88.37% (38-43) from the line for the playoffs. A retro-PG4L “Day-um” is in order, if I may say so myself.
Long story short, please don’t wish to behead me, kevin s. I’m smart; I swear.
those pussies shot 55% from the 3pt and we STILL won.
thank god for free throws
Rob G,
More like Empire Strikes Back with the “Luke I am your father”
*don’t think … sorry, I’m a grammar freak.
like I tell my boys - you win games with defense and free throws
Good night all and thanks for making this one very great late night early morning
watching the game and reading all your posts was a pure delight
Great win lets hope cleveland beats boston and it goes to 7 grueling games
368 replies for th post…
what’s the record?
A great coach wrangles his players better than this. We’ve had a 6 game series against Philly . . . and this was fixing to go to 6. We lost a few series like this under Flip, including an inexcusable 7 game series vs the Cavaliers in ‘06 and the 6-gamer vs. Chicago in ‘07 whilst being up 3-0. Some of that is the fault of the players . . . the majority of it, actually . . . but I prefer the coach to be held accountable. With the right coach, one CAN squeeze more out of a great team, get more out of a lesser team, and I don’t see this team as a .500 club without Flip, unless you put in Ron Rothstein or someone. These players, I would hope, are not creating Stephon Marbury-like distractions and problems in the lockers, and I’d like to think that they’ve been under-performing, rather than over-achieving. When a quality team like Detroit has had the series they’ve had over the last three seasons . . . you have to look at the coach. This is a cumulative Flip’s Fault, not a phenomenon of yesterday. He has to be held accountable, and Chauncey better be right about this club being the better team. I feel this club’s in a double-down situation, and they’re doing it against the dealer showing a 10.
“I feel this club’s in a double-down situation, and they’re doing it against the dealer showing a 10.”
I feel this club has doubled-down while doing so against the dealer showing a 10.
Detroit Piston playoff basketball - Where forcing Boney to shut up about trading Richard Hamilton happens..
LB: congrats on passing rob for top comentator
and rob…the whole being at work, earning a leaing just isn’t gonna cut it
Good night ya’ll
Sauce: I think Flip got somewhat of a raw deal last year when Rasheed refused to control himself and starting feuding with him. I think everything is a lot more together now and both Flip AND the team deserve their due credit. The Philly series could just as easily be explained due to rust. We lost 2 of the first 3, and then we locked it down. We lost one in Orlando (Chauncey goes down shellshock), but outside of Wednesday, we’ve only lost 2 quarters all series. To me, that’s different. I dunno if it is or isn’t good enough for you, but when facing the prospect of playing the Celtics or the Cavs (who will have to go at LEAST six just to win), I feel comfortable (not to be confused with ecstatic) with Flip Saunders at the helm.
ohad: Wow, I hadn’t even noticed. That’s messed up, man. Rob G had like a 80-90 post lead before today. That shouldn’t happen. I feel like I took it in a cheap way. I’m kind of ashamed.
375, bitches! can’t believe i come home from crappy work to awesome win. will start watching tivo now. good job, dbbers.
lol@ people still hating on Flip even after a Playoff win.
JD: Lemme know if you ever are free to watch a game in LA.
Okay, in a Boney-esque jab, I’ll bite:
lol@ Prophecy for not yet having learned to have faith in the Pistons.
WHAT THE HELL? LB PASSED ME? OMG WTF LOL!
Prophecy? The only thing I can say is:
Shit, or get off the pot.
When this team rolls to another Finals appearance, I don’t want you saying “I knew it all along”.
Alright, yesterday I checked the series schedule, and it said game 5 on Wednesday. Now I look and it says Tuesday. What the hell? Did the league just decide to push it up? If so, that’s bullshit, that’s an extra day that could be very useful in getting Billups back.
Wow!! Great game. Usually I’m a Flip basher, as his adjustments seem to be premised on maybe catching lightning in a bottle, but those few possessions with Rip on ‘Shard was pretty heady. Shard got away from the arc and tried to muscle Rip down low. I do not think he scored after he got out of his outside game. (if he did, they were quiet points).
Also, the isolations…I still can’t believe that worked. Usually when the Stones resort to Isos, we don’t “shoot a high percentage.” But it worked. It got Rip to the free throw line and really got Orlando flustered.
Again great game. Question for y’all do you play Chauncey game 5 or rest him further?
Ben looking like the Ben of old!
And I know I’m not crazy because I heard Michael Wilbon on ESPN saying the Pistons should hold Billups out because that would give him almost 6 days of rest. 6 days from Thursday would have been Wednesday.
Also, has anyone noticed that Ben Wallace has looked smaller since moving to Chicago and now Cleveland. He used to look huge playing for the Pistons. And no more afro?
Lawyerboy: just FYI, I’m gonna “post up” hardcore come next game. So bring your best comments, son, cuz I’m taking back #1!
Ben Wallace . . . I barely feel for him. And to think I was pissed off when he left . . . crestfallen, actually . . . now, I just lol.
LB, as a fellow grammar freak, I think your use of the word “phase” in an earlier post (at 6:29) is incorrect. Shouldn’t you have said that Flip didn’t seem fazed? According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the word “phase” refers to a stage of development or a part of a cycle, while the word “faze” means “to disrupt the composure of; bother; disconcert; disturb.” I’ve noticed “phase” being used a lot in this type of situation lately, but I don’t think it’s correct.
As for the game, I think I’ve just gotten back to my normal pulse and respiration rates, and I don’t think I’ll have any voice left for choir tomorrow. That was an absolutely horrible, absolutely wonderful game, and I’m so proud of my Ripster! I was calling for him to have a 42 point game to catch Isiah, but I’ll take 32 and a win with no hesitation. Also, we’re the first team to win on the road in the second round!
I think the real player of the game is McDyess. He was ferocious! He came up with the biggest rebound of the season and layed the smack down on Twat Howard.
Hey Sauce, who’s Ben Wallace?
Didn’t he play for us once
Fadel: hear, hear (and for you grammar/semantics freaks out there, ‘hear, hear’ is short for ‘all hear him!’). Migiddy saved our collective arses with his badass offensive board and his charge/no-call on Hedonism. It was that move that allowed Tay the leverage to D up on Hedo the way he did. Excellent.
I had to admit that as I was driving home from work, I was convincing myself that a 2-2 series tie with Billups out would be OK. So, so glad our boys could steal a win on the road and ‘get the split down in O town’!
http://32049.spreadshirt.com/us/US/Shop/?&searchtext=lebron
and for the record, this is my ecstatic comment on the Orlando Sentinel site:
“To answer y’alls’ question: what does Rasheed do? Yeah! he cries… all the way back to Detroit WITH A 3-1 SERIES LEAD! How did those masks work out for y’all? How about that flash animation? Grow up, Sentinel! Y’all got a lot to learn! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
Did anybody catch the reaction of that Magic fan next to the Pistons bench when Prince hit the game-winning shot? It was priceless.
Haha!
Pistons won this game a helluva lot more than the Magic lost it. Kudos.
Holy hell, guys. 395 comments on a Saturday afternoon game? I haven’t read through the thread yet, but that’s some impressive work DBB.
I was at a first communion party for a cousin and disappeared at 5:00 like the degenerate I am to watch the game. It was an excellent decision.
“I suppose I was just being too logical and critical in that the most awesome thing about Rip for me tonight was his ability to lock it down from the free throw line (per usual). 88.37% ”
Got it. I thought you were referring to one of Tay’s Philly performances.
Just got back from the Cleveland-Celtics game.
The Celts are a bunch of fucking wilting pussies. We’ll take those bitches no problem — if the Cleveland LeBrons don’t KO ‘em first.
“A great coach wrangles his players better than this.”
Does he, now?
“We lost a few series like this under Flip, including an inexcusable 7 game series vs the Cavaliers in ‘06 and the 6-gamer vs. Chicago in ‘07 whilst being up 3-0.”
First of all, both of those teams were better than this team. Second, we are now up 3-1, in spite of missing our best player (who was inexplicably screwed out of an all-NBA spot).
“These players, I would hope, are not creating Stephon Marbury-like distractions and problems in the lockers,”
You don’t need to hope. They clearly are not. Look, we don’t get Pau Gasol falling into our laps. We are not Miami, Los Angeles or New York. We get the players who come here. And those players have kicked butt for nearly a decade, irrespective of coach.
“and I’d like to think that they’ve been under-performing, rather than over-achieving.”
Tonight they over-achieved, so put this game in that column.
“I feel this club’s in a double-down situation, and they’re doing it against the dealer showing a 10.”
And we just hit blackjack. Here’s the stat you need to know. 1-4. We need to win one game at Boston. I’ll take those odds.
Post number 400! Woo hoo!
Oh, and we have John Hollinger talking about stuff like “seamlessness”, “chemistry” and (gasp) “experience”.
You got a metric for those, big guy? How about simply complimenting the defense that won the game for us, and maybe heaping some blame on D’Ho, who airballed a tip-shot.
Everyone did see that D’Ho airballed a tip shot, right? What happened there?
Tay is no longer the Palace Prince.
He’s the King.
I love everything about this kid. I have since the moment he arrived, and still moreso today.
I just finished reading through the thread, and you guys hit on most of the stuff I was thinking during the game. I was dying for somebody to knock one of the Orlando players on their ass. I was thrilled when it was Howard that got thrown down, and he instigated the whole thing, too. Bastard. That’s got to be it for them, they blew a double digit second half lead against us while we were missing our best player and their “superman” got tossed to the ground like a silly little ho.
I actually thought the MVP of the game for us was Lindsay Hunter. He came in and only had one or two possessions where he ran the patented Lindsay Hunter dribble-dribble-dribble-dribble-dribble-dribble-AWFUL SHOT AS THE SHOT CLOCK EXPIRES-offense. He did all the things he needed to do, and generally filled in admirably.
Tay was excellent again, he’s following the same trajectory of Rip Hamilton in the 2004 playoffs. Speaking of which, he was just terrific tonight. Nothing more needs to be said about that. I also liked it when we put Rip on Rashard for a couple of possessions late. I thought it disrupted Orlando’s offensive flow and agitated Rashard. Plus, he mugged the shit out of Rip in the post and didn’t get called, which annoyed me. Does anybody else feel like the officiating has been wildly inconsistent in this series? Sometimes they really let them play, and yet for 10 minutes at a time games tend to turn into flopfests.
I thought I was the only to take Tay’s comment about Hedo liking to go both ways the wrong way…lol.
Trader Jac: Pwned. Well done, my friend. For a “grammar freak” I looked pretty silly. Fazed is right.
dogg: Wilbon meant Wed. night to Tues. night … 6 days (minus like 3 hours). As far as I have heard (only been looking since the Chauncey injury), Game 5 has always been slotted for Tuesday. No way does the NBA let four days lapse between games in the same playoff series. No way.
Sauce: Gotta agree with kevin s., you are just KILLING Flip, you non-believer! My friend (Flip gives him heart attacks) put it best tonight while we were watching Boston-Cleveland … “I was nervous when Flip didn’t call timeout when Tay brought the ball to the corner on that last shot, but he took it in the lane and just made an amazing shot.” To which I said “I was nervous too, but as much as it may not seem so at times, I think Flip knows his guys better than we do.” My friend concurred. He’s finally aboard the Flip-hope train, or at least the Flip hope train vis-a-vis the Cavs or Celts.
Flip is CLEARLY ready for a victory in the ECF. Tonight was the first night that the same aforementioned friend finally admitted he thought this team was going to win the NBA Finals. Before today he didn’t think they’d even make it there. He called this squad “special”, and I’ve been saying that for quite some time. Boston has proven that there is a way through tenacious pestering, to bottle LeBron, and they’ve proven that if we get them instead, they’re mental midgets. Hell, I’ve been saying they’re mental midgets for quite a while (I mean, isn’t Doc Rivers the perfect head mental midget?), but when Cleveland took the lead early, Boston lost its composure. This Detroit team doesn’t lose its composure. Advantage: Pistons.
P.S.: Seriously, why even play Billups in Game 5? Why even mess with it? Uh, last time I checked, we’re one of only eight squads to come back from 3-1 down. This Orlando team needs our entire starting five (or at least Tay to join Chauncey on the injured list) to get hurt to come back from 3-1. They’re DONE. After Game 5, Chauncey can sit for another week or 10 days. Why bother for Game 5?
I feel good after tonight, i was in company dinner all night, but i managed to sneek out and catch the last three minutes of the game…tay all the way.
the magic are done, now the question is for CB to be or not to be? for game 5…i say rest caz stuk will play better and hunter’s wheels are greased.
im proplexed with the Cs on the road this playoff. i was wishing for the cavs to win given a pisons round 2 victory, but now i dunno
in D-town we should have pizza pies for 22 cents…tay is the man this playoff season
I like that suit Mr. Big Shot had on.
That Sportscenter segment with Garnett and Bill Russell and the ethereal music is pretty hilarious, especially when you take in account the dramatic irony of the Celtics getting waxed tonight.
this is the time that i miss mike james..
9 victories to go to solidify this team’s legacy.
QD: Amen. My friends and I were just staring confusedly at the screen asking ourselves, “Is this really happening?”. Russell saying, “I’ll share a ring with you if you don’t win one, but you will. It’s like Field of Dreams. If you keep playing how you play now, it’ll come.” WHAT? That’s the halftime piece for their big primetime game? And yes, the music only made it much more comical.
Re: Billups suit, that military jacket style with the snaps up on the shoulders on top of a rectangular patch is apparently getting over big time. I’m not quite sold yet on it, but I’m not hating on it yet either. LeBron was wearing one at a press conference earlier in the playoffs.
All I know is, I absolutely love this picture of Chauncey:
http://sportsmedia.ign.com/sports/image/article/676/676682/chauncey-billups-interview-20051216015344694-000-000.jpg
I think it’s because of the belt.
Matt: seriously, 419 comments. isn’t that a new record or something. I remember breaking the record this year in a pistons-celtics game but i don’t remember it getting in the 400’s
I just watched the highlights on ESPN.com. ‘Sheed just destroys Turkoglu on the screen to free Tayshaun for the winning shot.
There hasn’t been a whole lot said about Flip, but he coached very well yesterday. Look, he got the tempo slowed down to a crawl, got Sheed in the block most of the 2H, and made all the right adjustments.
That being said, I feel bad for SVG, it’s hard to take a guy seriously who looks like a 55yo porn star whose nickname is “The Hedgehog”. But he was seriously outcoached in this game.
In other news, I love Doris Burke, she knows her stuff, and she can be color person on any game I watch. Finally, I can’t believe I didn’t get down on the Cavs -1. This was so obvious*, but in my own paranoid mind, something this obvious never wins. But that rule usually applies to the NFL, not other sports.
In other words, I’m parroting LB today lol….
*”obvious” because my take on Garnett, Allen, Pierce, is that they’re very talented individuals, you have one conference finals loss among the three of them. That’s a huge reason for betting against them in a road game.
This game was won by Flip,–Flat out.
On yeah, this has to be a record. I’m glad it came during/after a win, too, since it seems we’re usually most talkative after a loss.
i swear to jeebus nobody cracks me up like phil saunders on this site. keep coming back, phil, until your dad gets fired.*
(*btw, you wanna talk about tay ascending to the throne, i finally am getting the feeling that phil’s dad can coach this team. it took 3 years and 2 absolutely miserable, heartbreaking, kick-yr-dog exits, but it’s almost like he’s gotten it. i’d say phil’s dad has progressed as a coach in these playoffs as well as any of our players. now, i’m thinking phil’s dad shouldn’t be fired if we get to a 6th straight ecf but not the nba finals. it would have been finals or bust for me just a few weeks ago. another btw, i move that pistons coach flip saunders should only be referred to as “phil’s dad” from here on out.)
boney, i know you’ve gotten it enough on this thread, but that was probably the best game rip’s played as a piston, which may indicate he’s showing no signs of decline from the player you hate.
well, can’t dwell on this win forever. time to move onto matt’s other threads…
Boney, I hear what your saying when it comes to Rip’s lack of athleticism. He does look like he’s barely above rim on his dunks. But, I would argue that speed and stamina count as athletic abilities too.
And I understand that you’d rather have a player that can break down a defense off the dribble and force the defense to rotate, but I think Rip’s unique game forces the D to react just as much and really makes the guy guarding him expend a lot of energy.
Also, I think Rip deserves credit for improving his defense.
Kevin, LB, whatever. This town loves to forgive. Eff that.