Rashard Lewis speaking after Saturday’s 90-89 loss:
“We had our chance and let it slip away. For some reason, I feel we’re still the better team,” Magic forward Rashard Lewis said. “We just made too many mistakes at the end.
“It was our mistakes, nothing they did. They still got to beat us one more time.”
For the record, I don’t fault him for this. All professional athletes have sizable egos — it’s a huge part of that drive that makes them stand out from 99.9999% of the world who’ll never draw a paycheck for playing sports. If certain athletes appear humble, they just have a better filter than others.
(And just in case the title doesn’t make sense to you, here’s a refresher.)
whew… he’s got to stop talking like that and must now play like a $19 million man…
Even though they’re probably going to lose 4-1, and the one came when the other side’s PG got injured, they’re the better team. Yup.
“Whatever gets you through the night…”
John Lennon
for more proof that the NBA has its pets - Tay’s block was the block of the season not just the playoffs. But does NBA.com show it as the block of the night — no way. They show some guy named Dwight Howard
The Magic is a great young team, however they are soft and they know it. They made a big deal about not backing down from the Piston and they are not punks. The Pistons never said that they were. The bottom line is they are soft and mentally weak from the coach to the players. Its shows from the late tech they got and in the post game interviews by coach Mario aka Stan Van Gundy. I understand why the Heat ran him out of town because he can’t win close games. Twice in the series th Magic have made silly plays at the end of games. Both at the hands of the Hedo. If I was a Magic fan my question would be what in the hell are they talking about during time outs at the end of the game. Look small ball will never win you a ring in the NBA. I will say this to Howard is a little soft as well. I never seen Oneal at his age taken out of the game like Howard has been. They need a a bad ass on their team really bad.
Here’s how I feel about post-game interviews with 99% of athletes: Who cares!? Most of them say basically nothing anyways. Its either: A) pat, canned, and insipid answers, or b) personal posturing. Your lucky if one interview in a 100 yields anything like substance. For example, I love Chauncey’s play on the court, but his post-game interviews are atrocious. I have been conducting a semi-scientific study of his post-game interviews, and in the last 14, yes 14!, interviews that I have seen (or heard on the radio), all this season, he has said the word “aggressive” at least once EVERY SINGLE TIME. No exceptions. No kidding. Now these interviews haven’t been sequential, so the test group is admittedly random. But the point still stands doesn’t it? Its one thing to play very well (even, very, very well) and quite another to speak very well about playing.
So the moral? Someone get C-Bills a thesaurus.
Here are a few synonyms for “aggressive” to get him started: assertive, vigorous, energetic
BTW, CB is not the only one who overuses the word “aggressive”. It’s just that since I noticed it, I started keeping mental track of it with him. Many other basketball players use it very frequently in their interviews as well. Coaches too, but not quite as much as the players. Avery Johnson being the exception to this. He, like Chauncey, seem to say it at least once in every interview…
Does anyone have a link to a clip of Tay’s block?
“I feel we’re still the better team”
He must not realized we beat them with out our starting PG and that they are suddenly down 3-1. These guys from Orlando say the darndest things, silly Magic…
there is a link to the block on need4sheed - plus natalie has some other great clips there too
dude, what does rashard lewis know anyway? this is his 4th playoff appearance in 10 years. and none of those seattle teams that he was a factor on lasted very long in the playoff world. they were mere bumps on the road for actual contenders. listening to rashard lewis about who the actual better team is is like listening to a orlando sentinal writer about journalistic integrity.
“Q: Any reason to come back to Amway Arena this week?
A: Not unless you have tickets to see The Police and Elvis Costello on Friday night.”
- Ken Hornack, Magic beat writer, Daytona Beach News-Journal
Hornack has more about the Magic history of young bigs who got outmuscled by veterans, comparing Howard last night to a young Shaq getting manhandled at Indiana by Dale Davis and Antonio Davis back in 1994. Click the link in name, there are some good ‘Dyess quotes.
I think the Magic are showing that you need at least two bigs on the court who can do the dirty work to play elite NBA basketball. You can’t just surround Dwight Howard with gunners. The only system I’ve seen that works without two grinding bigs is the triangle offense and you better have somebody named Jordan or Kobe in the lineup to make that work. Unless Orlando gets a PF that can grind and prefers 15 foot jumpers (like a McDyess or Horace Grant) they are going nowhere fast with this roster.
Jameer Nelson:
“We’re going to make some adjustments and we’re going to win this game. I’m not being arrogant or cocky or anything like that. I think [Saturday] we let it slip out of our hands. Game 2 we let it slip out of our hands. We’re going to win this game in Detroit.”
I don’t think the Magic are crazy for thinking they’re the better team. They’re probably more talented, but what separates the Pistons is their experience and precision. The Magic have goofed-up on several late-game plays in this series, whereas the Pistons have done what they needed to do to close the team out. But even with all that, the Pistons have outscored the Magic by a total of 2 points through 4 games. It’s not a stretch to think that if these two teams met next year, with another year of experience for the Magic, they might come out on top.
This year just isn’t their year, though. I love Jameer, but he’s wrong. Detroit’s taking the next game, running away. The Magic have shown great resolve this season, especially on the road, but they’re not surviving an elimination game against the Pistons in Detroit.
IP: Tayshaun’s block was hardly the block of the season vis-a-vis Jason Maxiell’s baby consumption against Tyson Chandler. I have never seen ANYTHING like that. The closest I’ve seen to that is when Ben blocked Shaq in the playoffs (Shaq had the ball about hip or chest high) and Ben just powered the ball as well as Shaq down to the ground.
Ben Q.: More talented? Nuh-uh. The Pistons sit JUAN DIXON when Chauncey is healthy. Juan Dixon is a college all-American, NCAA Champion, and oh yeah, has a career ppg average of 8.9. What’s the big deal about 8.9 ppg over six seasons? Nothin’, unless you’re one of the teams healthy inactive players basically EVERY game. We’re so loaded we don’t have room to play a relatively young guy who has had mild success as a starter in this league. No time for Dixon, Hermann and Amir Johnson v. time for Marcin Gortat? Nothing personal Ben, but … Advantage: Pistons (by a boatload).
*team’s
IsraeliPiston: Actually, the block of the playoffs was LeBron’s stuff of Rondo’s layup. He ate the ball! Oh, and he blocked his layup again!
I have to disagree with Ben Q Rock as well. Saying the Magic are a better team is downright laughable. Make no mistake, Orlando is a talented team, but they are not better than a team that starts 3 All-Stars, not including a 6-9 SF who can essentially run the point and win a 2nd round game while missing your All-Star point guard. How anybody can look at a team that has a starting back court of Mo Evans and Jameer Nelson and say they’re better than the Pistons is looking through blue and white tinted glasses.
Also, I that last sentence isn’t a sentence. It should read “Anybody looking at a team that has a starting back court of Mo Evans and Jameer Nelson and saying that they’re better than the Pistons is looking through blue and white tinted glasses.”
Sorry, I’m an engineer, the “English language” isn’t something that I use very well.
DBB: A blogging community that collectively cares about its grammar almost as much as its team.
Ben Q. Rock - I wish I was as confident of a Pistons win in Game 5 as most Orlando fans. It’s going to be hard for Detroit to repeat the 9 turnover figure with the starting PG out and it’s hard to go 14-15 from the line every game. Orlando is facing a near impossible task in winning the series but I’d still give them a 1 in 3 chance of winning Game 5.
I credit Orlando for having a real loud crowd in Game 4. It made the game exciting and in a lot of ways was responsible for the Pistons going to Lindsey Hunter. Not every team has a 3rd string PG who can run a team in a hostile road playoff game. Usually when a team is that far into their bullpen they are in trouble. Not Detroit.
I think we have better grammar than the staff writers at the Freep.
Yeah, I’m not sure how you can make the argument that the Magic are more talented. Pistons top 4 are Chauncey, Sheed, Rip, and Tay…Magic’s top 4 are Howard, Turkoglu, Lewis and….Nelson? Advantage Pistons. After the top 4 the Pistons are much deeper and versitile. Yes, the Pistons have only outscored the Magic by 2, but 2 of the 4 games have been played with out their best player! Plus, they couldn’t even game plan to play with out Chauncey for game 3.
the magic live and die by the 3 - they make them they win, they miss they lose
if Detroit does not turn the ball over and makes most of it shots, Orlando loses as detroit has time to get back and defend
If Orlando turns turnovers into points and misses into threes they win
DBB Crew,
I used hyperbole when I said the Magic were more talented than the Pistons. The point one of you made — it’s a Sunday, I got very little sleep, and my team’s season is essentially over, so forgive me if I can’t be bothered to scroll up — about the Pistons having Dixon and Johnson gathering dust (vs. the Magic having Gortat) brought Detroit’s depth into focus. So yes, the Pistons are more talented.
What, then, explains the 2-point differential in this four-game series? The Pistons are indeed more talented, but it can’t be by very much if the victory margin is any indication. I attribute it to their experience and familiarity with one another. To me, that’s what separates these two teams. Not (necessarily) the talent.
Ben Q. Rock: Sometimes talent doesn’t mean an obvious blowout. That’s the the games are played on the court, not on paper. The NBA is a game of match-ups, and even though the Pistons are stacked, Orlando plays well against them (as did Philly; as does Utah). Hopefully the Magic can get some supporting cast to go with Dwight, Rashard, and Hedo. They can be a good team.
That’s WHY the games are played on the court, not on paper. This is DBB — can’t let someone else point that error out for me, you grammar police, you!
(me loves good grammar, though, and DBB is definitely one of the sharpest around……. strangely enough)
the 2 point differential is because of an irregular blowout in game 3. chauncey goes down in the first 4 minutes. we have 2 of our backup guards inactive and the other 2 are rookies. the coaching staff had to adjust on the fly and that ended with almost incredible results EXCEPT for a meltdown 4th quarter.
and the point differential in the 2 games that chauncey actually played is 26. more signs pointing to a more talented roster than the magic.
look, the whole we’re still the better team b.s. is the swan song of the sore loser. and that includes the pistons when they do it. it’s like patriots fans STILL clinging to their 18-1 dream team. “we were the better team.” no, you weren’t. look at the scoreboard and shut up. if the magic are the better team, they will win the next 3 games and advance to the ecf. if they do not win the next 3 games, then they belong in the pistons’ playoff dust.
I wouldn’t have noticed the error if you hadn’t pointed it out… and I’m an English major.
It’s been a long weekend.
Ben Q.: Piggy backing on what Garrett says, the 2 game differential is what’s important, not the 2 point differential.
Well, what do you want Lewis and even Nelson to say? “Wow, I guess we now know Detroit is better than us?” They lost a close one they could have won on Saturday, and now they are trying to psych themselves up even though they are in a huge hole.
And if Chauncey doesn’t play, the Magic have a decent chance. If he plays, and Detroit doesn’t let up, they have an off chance. I would love to see this end in 5, get out the popcorn, and hope to watch the Cavs and Celtics beat the hell out of each other (what is it with Boston and road games in the playoffs anyway?). But maybe Chauncey doesn’t play, the Magic steal one in Detroit, and go back home looking to tie the series. I guess I don’t see Orlando winning three straight, but one, maybe.
As to the “more talent” thing, I guess the Magic can say they have the guy who would be picked first by any team given a choice from both rosters (Howard), and Hedo and Rashard are arguably better offensive players than anybody on Detroit (but see Rip’s game 4). Now, if you include that thing called “defense” I would rather have Tayshaun and Chauncey. And beyond that, Detroit in a squash.
Oops, I meant, “I would rather have Tayshaun and Rasheed,” who are the equivalents to Rashard and Hedo.
I think the point differential thing matters a lot. It’s massively more predictive of future wins and losses than wins or losses. And it makes intuitive sense — suggesting some teams “dial it up” in close games or certain situations suggests they’re playing suboptimally in others. Good teams blow other teams out. Plain and simple.
Where I would quibble with our Magic friend is in trying to draw much out of 1. a small sample 2. a sample where our best player played in only half the games.
Rather than pointing to the differential of one series, I’d highlight the Pistons’ having 2 points higher of differential over the course of the regular season. THAT is why it’s not tenable to say the Magic are more talented. I don’t even know what “experience” means. Take game 4 as an example. The Pistons blew a 7 point lead down the stretch and relatively inexperienced Hedo outplayed everyone on the court. It would seem to me that we won because we outplayed Orlando over the course of the whole game, not the last 5 minutes (which were won by Orlando).
LB: The two-game differential is vastly more important in deciding the series, yes. But the two-point differential illustrates how close the teams are in terms of talent (although, as Forty notes, that’s a fairly small sample size).
Also, just for a thought experiment re: talent, I think here’s how the draft (irrespective of current contract situation, which would put Lewis WAY lower) would go. Howard (far and away #1)
Billups
Prince
Lewis
Wallace (have to question how many more productive seasons he has)
Stuckey (Hamilton and Turk are solid, but Stuck has a very high upside — I’d take a chance on his next 10 years over Hamilton/Turk’s guaranteed next 4)
Hamilton
Turkoglu
And then SEVERAL of our players go next before you get to Nelson
By the way, Ben, I liked how you handled the clock situation a lot on your site. And the blog in general is excellent. I’ll be reading 3QC next year before every Pistons-Magic game. And I don’t think this is the last time we’ll see each other in the playoffs (and unfortunately, I think the clock is ticking on how much longer we can hold you guys off - Dwight is straight up ridiculous. The only guy I’d rather build around is LeBron. It’s very close with Paul, and that’s it.)
I’d take Prince over Billups, but that’s fairly solid. I’ve grown to appreciate Prince a LOT in these playoffs. He’s an excellent player, yes, but I also like the way he conducts himself in interviews. A consummate professional for whom I have the utmost respect.
I appreciate those words and your readership, Forty. Obviously, I’m biased toward the Magic, but I try not to let that cloud my judgment.
The point spread being only 2 does not prove much of anything. Considering that Detroit won by 19 (in convincing fashion in the 2nd half), by 7 in Game 2 (it came down to the end)… Sure, Orlando won by 25, but that game was tight in the 3rd quarter (cut it to 4 after being up what, 20?). We also know Detroit has a history of not playing well in Game 3s, and to cut the lead that close without their General? Amazing.
They won by 1 yesterday, in a game they had no business winning. I called it early in the 2nd quarter, someone needed to plant a Magic on the ground for Detroit to win. Detroit got physical in the 2nd half, and that’s the reason why they won.
When Orlando isn’t hitting 3s (11 in game 3, 7 straight in Game 2) they’re not that good. Detroit is more talented because not only can Prince play the point (whereas Lewis and Hedo cannot), but because they can clamp down on D when it matters. You know the trap and the zone is coming from Detroit, the only thing is you can’t stop the turnovers. They’re not the best shooting team on the floor, but when old man Hunter is on the floor there is no let up on the defensive end as there is when Arroyo is on the floor and Nelson is getting a rest.
Frankly, the talent argument is moot when you look at positions. Perhaps a case could be made that the Magic are equally or more talented than the Pistons (a case I don’t agree with, but let’s assume it for the moment). I would argue that this talent is highly mitigated by the starting roster and the roles expected of these players. Having Rashard at the 4 seems to be a big mistake. He doesn’t play as tall as he is (6′10”). That is, he doesn’t rebound particularly well, nor can he defend other power forwards when they post up. In addition, he was frustrated when he guarded by the smaller Rip (6′7”). He plays more like a 6′5” player. So, even though the Magic have a tremendous center, they lack that other big who can bang down low OR pull up for mid- to close-range jumpers. This situation is further exacerbated by the undersized Nelson. Given that basketball is a five on five sport, having a liability like a 4 who can’t rebound trumps talent in a heartbeat.
(And grammar freaks, feel free to check that over, but I’m willing to ‘Guaran-Sheed’ that it is perfect!)
GODDAMNIT! “In addition, he was frustrated when he WAS guarded by the smaller Rip”
This on a post where I brag about my grammar! Pride cometh before the fall.
The point differential is tough to measure in this case, since the Pistons have played two games without their best player, and the Magic were +14 in the chaotic minutes following.
If we are looking to an indication of quality, why not simply make an apples to oranges comparison of each team’s regular season? I would also note that Hedo has returned to his normal, average self during the playoffs this year, which takes your big three down to a big two.
Quick note:
Pistons’ road record during playoffs: 3-2
Rest of NBA: 9-48
the home team dominance in this round has been absurd. since we’re talking endlessly about point differential, i’d like to see the point differential between home teams vs road teams thus far. not only are the home teams winning, they’re KILLING.
let’s hope it keeps up at least thru tuesday.
I like the Magic. They’re well-balanced for a team, offense and defense. Stan Van Gundy’s one of the better coaches in the league. He’s better than Jeff, his brother, if one had to choose between the two. Dwight Howard will be a better Shaq with better defense if he keeps working on his game. If Dwight stays healthy, few teams would want to face him 5 years from now, most likely.
What I don’t like about the Magic . . . and I can actually say I respect them again, something I haven’t felt since before the Grant Hill Magic era . . . Rashard Lewis. 3 playing the 4. Bad idea, but Stan’s gotta do whatever the GM conceives. I’m not an Otis Smith fan. Rashard WAS overpaid. That’s the kind of contract someone gives to LeBron, not Rashard. And the Magic bid against themselves. I don’t know how hard it is to realize half the teams in the league can’t outright sign players to more than mid-levels due to being over the cap . . . mind-boggling. Other things I don’t like . . . Jameer’s obviously a bit mental. Good young point guard, but not good enough. Hedo? Pick a 3, and get rid of the other. Either Rashard, or Hedo. When Battie? comes back, I don’t really see that much of a difference. But the biggest hole, and this is also a problem for Utah, New Orleans . . . murky 2-spot. Mo Evans sucks. He’s an undersized 3, can’t move with the ball well, can’t pass it well, can only finish well. You can get away with Jameer/Carlos if you have a REAL SG. Mo Evans won’t cut it. Must find an upgrade. Yesterday.
Sauce– Otis and Stan have both said they didn’t plan on Lewis playing out-of-position as much as he has. They signed him before Battie tore his rotator cuff, and I suspect the initial plan might have been to ship Turkoglu out so Lewis could start at the thre. Battie’s injury changed all that, and altered the course of Hedo’s career as a result. There’s a chance the Magic could trade him, but I rather doubt it. I think they’d be just as happy with a Jameer/Hedo/Rashard/Tony/Dwight starting lineup. Four guys 6′10″ or taller. Nice (although Battie is a non-factor offensively, moreso than even Evans).
Personally, I actually think that playing Lewis at power forward makes a lot of sense for the Magic. It’s given the Pistons some trouble matching up offensively, and I’m not sure how many teams really can take advantage of Lewis playing a larger, post-up player. Few teams have the luxury of playing two skilled bigs, so just sticking Lewis on the less talented one and have Howard defending the low-post scorer can work. I honestly don’t think that any other team could be successful with Lewis at the 4, but Howard is such a tremendous rebounder that it is less of an issue than on any other team.