This isn’t a must-win, but it’s still damn important. I put together a preview of sorts at FanHouse, and I’ll also be live-blogging the game. Do your thing in the comments — I’ll see you when this gets tied up.
A Detroit Pistons blog
This isn’t a must-win, but it’s still damn important. I put together a preview of sorts at FanHouse, and I’ll also be live-blogging the game. Do your thing in the comments — I’ll see you when this gets tied up.
lets go Pistons
woohoo — thanks!
Here’s to “aggression.” *\m/*
just wanted to be first.
amir in, we’ll win by 30.
if we go down more than 3 points at any point in the game:
trade rip
fire flip
-and we’re going to lose the series.
that’s a pre-recap for the knee-jerkoffs. no offense to anyone that may be.
LETS GO STONES!
If I have to see one more picture or video of KG screaming I’m gonna puke. GO PISTONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow, not only do I think Doc Rivers is a truly horrible coach, but now I hate him. That hype speech ESPN showed him giving in the locker room was patented lunacy.
“Come With Me”? Really Boston, you’re going to play the musical anti-christ during our introductions? I liked it when San Antonio played the theme for The Undertaker from the WWF during the 2004-2005 Finals. And Antonio McDyess is 6′10 Palladino! You get it wrong tonight and watch him drop a double-double on your Celtics. And Celtics, we OWN Final Countdown. Please stop using it, thanks.
No tights from Chauncey, that’s gotta be encouraging.
The tights are gone! Good sign!
I could do without Javie reffing this game.
WTF Garnet screaming on video?
Go Stones!!
Nice foul! Go Stones!
nice D… looks like Game 2 of the Philly series
LOVE the D! “Great defense” said VG. Love it. EVERY possession!
ESPN is so reactionary … ugh. Travel by Garnett after 22 seconds of excellent defense. Don’t go to sleep Celtics or this will be a long night.
At least there was a hand in his face.
Bad foul Sheed.
Good to see CB being “aggressive”.
2 on Sheed-Not good. Let’s hope Maxey brings it tonight. Terrible call, BTW.
I am just loving the D. Wish that 3 would’ve fallen.
Putting Allen on the line is not exactly the best of strategy. I wouldn’t describe Chauncey’s play thus far as “tentative”. If anything, he may be overcompensating for his tentative play last game. Sheed looks lost again though that offensive foul call was a blown call.
This is not good. That T is bad news. Now and later.
I don’t think Celtics fans know that technical is likely to be a good thing. Should re-focus Sheed and get him engaged.
Wonderful.
According to Yahoo!, the foul against Allen was on Rip. Good make up call on Allen. Tee-hee. Three team fouls on Boston already, Chauncey will probably have no trouble exploiting that type of advantage tonight.
Good D. Peirce looks “on”
Did you see Sheed there with the encouraging arm around Rondo while Rip was shooting the foul shots? Pretty funny.
Rip gets it to go from a horrible shot choice and attempt. I like that sign.
That was a whack turnover.
10-14 w/Boston shooting 50% and us shooting 27.3%. If one assumes these percentages regress toward the mean while we keep up the rest of the good things we’re doing, we’re winning this game.
*make that 45.5% for Boston, which is a little closer to the mean.
I feel better about our start this game. And its not just the fact that we didn’t go down 8-0. We look focused. Especially on D. And I like that. A little discombobulated on the offense, yes. But I am happy to see Chauncey looking better than last game so far. I don’t like the fouls on RW though. Not at all.
Our bigs are rebounding ferociously, but I´d like to see Billups be just as careful when he is under the basket. That offensive rebound given to Allen was a shame.
We *really* need to cut down on our sloppy TOs tho. I just cringed as that last pass was made where Rondo made that steal & threw it off Rip.
Deeee-troit Basket-ball!
Haha, Chauncey’s keying in on what is KG’s Achilles heel, his craziness. 24 second violation without Boston even knowing where the clock was at. Awesome.
Nice, another shot clock viol. And Rondo is still a tentative little bitch.
And another ridiculous TO
Nice to see an easy bucket.
Pierce is good. Plain and simple. Gotta admit it.
He’s crafty
While dormant on offense, Sheed has locked down the defensive glass. We’re being a little lazy with our (lack of) ball control. If we clean that up and keep all things generally the same, we’ll control the game. I expect Flip to hone in on protecting the ball. Let’s hope the boys are listening and can do it.
Pierce is definitely good, but far from dominant.
no foul by Pierce on that shot by Hamilton?
since i’m chopping veggies, garlic, etc for dinner right now, i’ve got a nice huge butcher knife in the living room while i’m watching this. I’ve never cheered on the team and celebrated a good play while holding a big knife - it felt way better than clapping loud.
Arright, save for the turnovers, we’re looking much better. I have a feeling those won’t happen as much after this quarter, we’ll be in good shape. I’m hoping that Max and Stuck will come out rebounding and scoring tonight, respectively. Go Stones.
Pinon-LOL
Chauncey Billups owns the Celtics backcourt. Plain and simple. Gotta admit it.
LOVE that foul!!!!
Very nice D, overall good play by the Pistons. I´m surprised by the turnovers, though. If Detroit eliminates them in this first quarter, it will mean their focus will be completely on, and only good things can happen if that´s the case.
And Chauncey kicking House in the groin, literally.
I would love to see some baby eating!
It worked that time but I can’t stand when Billups does that.
C’mon Stuck we need you to come with BIG energy. Bring it.
UTEP: With you a 100%, buuuuut … he’s been owning them in more ways than just drawing a ridiculous shooting foul. Billups is ready.
Chauncey looking much better here in game 2.
FINALLY. KG pushes off *all the time*
LB-I agree
Yeah, that Billups step back J over Pierce was awesome. I think he’s at %100, or damn close.
I got Monday tickets. Hope we’re up 2-1 by then…
I wish Van Gundy would STFU about his coaching days. I don’t care about your stupid fucking suits, you jackass. Talk about the game.
Sheed cannot make a three in these playoffs. Does anyone have his numbers handy for playoff threes? BTW, where are you guys getting your box scores at? ESPN is slow.
Feeling good about quarter one, my keys to game 2 for Pistons fans: Chauncey looking better, and finding some answer for their Pierce/KG pick-and-roll. Good signs both.
Van Gundy should never coach again. Not because he was a bad coach but because he is hilarious as a color guy. Decent quarter. Would love to see Sheed get going offensively.
Flip’s face after the Stuckey foul, absolutely classic. I’m very happy with the first quarter. If we don’t fall asleep in the 3rd quarter like we did in Game 1, we should take it. Rip, Chauncey and Dice with all our points is a little suspect but I don’t think it particularly matters. Looks like we’re going to need to cover for Sheed’s offensive absence tonight, and so far we’ve done that just fine. His defense is solid though.
Jeff Van Gundy is almost as bad as his brother, the Penguin.
I aggressively posted this comment, with arrogance.
I use the Yahoo box scores, they’re much better and faster.
We’ve got to shut Pierce down. Or at least limit him. His confidence is through the roof after that duel with LBJ.
we need Prophecy Projectz here to tell us how he doesn’t have the Pistons getting past the first round… then it’ll feel like a real Piston playoff game
Sheed and Prince look a little off. And I find it noteworthy that Tay isn´t guarding Pierce exclusively. It´s only the first quarter, and Rip has defended him on a few plays.
Thanks Other Matt. Got a link?
Weird note, in the regular season victory … our top 3 scorers: Chauncey - 28, Rip - 21, Dice - 13 Sheed had 9 on 3-10 shooting (3-5 from 3) and Tay had 2 on 1-10 shooting. So, we certainly can beat Boston without offensive production from Tay and Sheed.
Heh, each team only has 3 scorers.
Dash Rick: http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore?gid=2008052202
Dash Rick:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore;_ylt=ApGD0s44AGbRgVGyPZRnKnA5nYcB?gid=2008052202
That J was way off. C’mon Stuck.
I hate that foul on RW.
that “blocking” foul was BS
I think Juan Dixon was just shown talking on his cell phone. He definitely had his hand up to his ear while he was talking.
Dash Rick, I can’t paste the link for some reason, but go to sports.yahoo.com and navigate from there.
Dash Rick: BTW, in case you still wanted it, the Yahoo! Box Score:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore?gid=2008052202
Finally, a rebound. And an easy basket!
damn, did it really just take like 2 min 15 seconds for *anybody* to score in this quarter?
Theo! Stuckey, awareness … I like.
Thanks Other Matt. I tried to paste a link earlier today and it wouldn’t let me either. Hmmmm.
Love that play by Stuck.
Great play by Stuckey, and great call with the trip on Allen on the Hunter steal.
Fuckin’ beautiful. Do it, Zoo Crew, do it!
Anybody else commenting in the Liveblog over on FanHouse?
Haha, 3 on Ray. Watch Celtics fans blame it on the refs if they lose. I think the Celtics already have 3 team fouls for the quarter but I’m not sure.
As much as I love Stuckey (and hate Van Gundy) I do have to agree that any Pistons coaching staff member comparing Stuck to DWade is a little crazy.
I wish those three were on Pierce rather than Allen. It’s hardly consoling that Allen is sitting. Whoever replaces him will almost certainly be shooting better.
‘Bout time some bad breaks happened to Boston.
Hooray, Ray Allen’s Twilight Years.
Would love to see Billups/Stuck go right at Cassell, assuming he gets some of Allen’s minutes here.
Stuckey is learning amazingly fast. Such good decision-making in his first playoffs is a great omen for the future, and a big boost to Detroit right now. That floater in the paint was outstanding from his part.
NIIIICE!
Arrrgghhh! I wanted that turnover!
a bucket like that from Lindsay is a major unexpected bonus
That foul on the Raptor was ridiculous. Let them play!
I kind of hate this lineup, Ratliff and Hunter, not nearly enough fire power.
shit, are we in the penalty already? How many fouls does Boston have?
Dash Rick: 3 fouls on Ray will only further send him into basketbal depression. He’s still their starter.
damn it, get your feet behind the line LH
LINDSEY!!!
Hunter coming through!!!!
Phew-
LB, true enough. And I agree. I’d just rather have it be Pierce.
that was a beautiful! back and forth b/n Stuck & Dice
and one
That give and go was BEAUTIFUL! Dice is HUNGRY. Mark it down.
Hey, at least Davis moisturized for that foul…
McDyess is da man. Without the mask he is still very cool with the basketball.
If Lindsey keeps on scoring, this breather for the starters will pay major dividends in the third and fourth quarter. And Dyess, you rock.
Can’t stand Big Baby. Anybody seen his picture on Yahoo! Classic.
Good point LB — riding the pine will only further eat on Ray-Ray’s mind & doom his chances at recovering his shooting touch.
Although I think I agree with David Friedman (http://20secondtimeout.blogspot.com/) that Ray’s value in the regular season vs the playoffs is just dramatically different. When teams can scout & plan for the C’s offensive sets, he sees far fewer open looks, and his entire game is based on knocking down open shots. He creates nothing & lives/dies on others making space for him. That happens far less in the playoffs.
Dash Rick: I would rather have it be Pierce too since he’s a burden on offense, but I’d take Posey/House/whoever in for Allen with 3 fouls on Allen than just Allen in there himself.
We’ve made this run with a lineup of: Hunter, Stuckey, Rip, Dice & Theo while Boston has had Rondo, Pierce and Garnett in. Just think about that for a second, folks.
Was Glen high? Good God…
+1 to Mike Payne for ripping on Big Baby, the manicure spokeswoman.
Doc Rivers said nothing meaningful there. RA RA.
Two words, BALL MOVEMENT.
We have it.
Boney
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:12 pm
we need Prophecy Projectz here to tell us how he doesn’t have the Pistons getting past the first round… then it’ll feel like a real Piston playoff game
*crashes through the wall like the Kool Aid man*
We’re doomed!!!!!
*runs out like a madman*
Late to the party but Im liking the aggression and the fact we are keeping up with them.
MP: Even though I think it’s fair to say you and I share a little bit with Big Baby Davis … still, +1.
Stuckey has three fouls already? Again I just tuned in
Dash Rick: Well, there’s one on Pierce for good measure.
Wow, Celtics fan are so whiny. Um, Pierce was clearly in the restricted area. No amount of crying changes that.
P_P: So does Allen.
Argghhh! Mogulus is slow. Anyone have another link?
Sweet, 2 on Pierce. Suck it, Celtics.
Excellent fouls on Pierce. Good job by Rip.
Excellent work from Rip going at PP.
Here’s to hoping Sheed doesn’t pick up #3. Let’s close this half strong!
I agree with JVG though Breen is right, it could’ve gone the other way. Certainly not worthy of the Celtics’ fans classy trademark chant.
Two on Pierce!
LOVE that steal. And quick 2.
Wooooooo! Doc Rivers strikes again! Tony Allen in the game.
Thats what I like to see Chaunce
Wow, really? You’re really gonna complain on that foul when you had a fistful of Sheed’s jersey on that play?
Is Perkins capable of playing basketball without fouling? I don’t that he is. Perhaps he should look into a career as a sumo wrestler or a rugby player.
Rip! WHAT!!??!?!? Was that!?!?!
McDyess is playing fantastic defense. Absolutely fantastic. When Garnett scores on McDyess he absolutely has to work his ass off for it. I LOVE it.
Jesus that was one hell of a move & shot by KG. He has been playing ridiculously well against us so far, but I don’t think the Cs can count on that level of play the whole series. We’re contesting his shots, but he’s just making some fantastic shots.
That is good D on KG. That was a tough shot. But at least Dice made him work for it.
When Garnett scores on McDyess it’s no fault of McDyess’s, it’s because there’s no defending that shot, but McDyess is killing himself to try. Garnett can’t make that shot every time. We’ve almost played a perfect quarter thus far.
Perkins still looks like an angry fowl. Turkey or chicken, take your pick - a real cartoon, that guy.
And Rip cleverly getting fouled on every possession. This feels good.
That was a fundmental play by KG, I can respect that.
Now dont do that again Ticket….
I gotta give Flip having the balls to switch McDyess on Garnett. By that reason it is why the Pistons is leading.
If McDyess and Ratliff can keep bothering Garnett all night, that’s a much better idea on defense than I can ever give Flip Saunders credit. At first, I hated it because Antonio’s a mediocre defender, but he doesn’t seem to get bothered by KG’s tough made shots. Yet, Antonio still brings the defensive effort. Keep it up, Antonio. I’ve been critical in the past, but man, just keep doing this. It’s genius.
I agree LB. KG is just playing ridiculous ball right now. It can’t continue forever.
J: No way he makes shot more than 45% of the time, generally speaking. If Dice continues to hound him like that, it’ll stop falling for KG eventually. I mean still within this game eventually. The key is keeping KG to that shot.
Beautiful Chauncey.
Getting good value from the penalty
motherf’r!
ChAUNCER
That play and that 3 were so sweet it should be illegal.
Chauncey’s limping!!!!NOOOOOOOOO!!!
Despite that miss by Rippy, him and Chauncey are 10-12 from the FT line for the night (83.3%). Not quite their average level of FT shooting, but 12 attempts between them in the first half is excellent.
Note: Mike Breen did not say BANG! on that three by Chauncey.
May I just say … My man Flip!
Bang!
hell yeah Tay
tay is solid gold
Mr Bigshot, welcome.
I´m liking the way Detroit is fouling right now. Preventing easy buckets, and spreading the fouls. This is a thing of beauty right now.
a 32 point 2nd Q? astounding! the c’s don’t give up many of them.
Wow, making Perk earn it from the line. Excellent instincts and reaction by the Pistons. There is not a pump fake Tony Allen doesn’t fall for. Sucker. My goodness is he bad. To think I thought he was good before he got hurt last year. 32 point quarter. Pure ownage. This is how you do it, folks. Unless we come out very flat in the 3rd, we’re going back to Motown tied. Afflalo sighting!
Was gone for a few minutes… What’s up with CB!?!? Limping!?!?
Hunter is amazing on D. That was SO close.
He walked it off.
CB looked great, and then he had worrisome moment. But he seemed fine on the next 2 possessions.
Detroit’s having a great game, so far. Please oh please, keep playing this great.
Tough break on Lindsey right there, but that’s nothing in the scheme of things. Just an unfortunate circumstance off a nice defensive play that had to be called a foul. I love the stone-cold crazy intense look on KG’s face. Sourpuss is gonna lose his mind. Yes sir!
he didn’t want to come out cause he was already warm and moving. if he aggravated anything, it could tighten up during halftime.
lol@ The Garden playing Marky Mark
Feel it, Feel it lol
Dash Rick: No harm, no foul. He probably just got nicked and it jolted him momentarily. He’s fine.
can I get a “yessir”, Rip?
Thanks!
Well that was as solid a 1st half as you could.
Obviously like all these Playoff games, the 3rd Quarter is gonna be key. Lets see if we can keep this going.
+1 Prophecy
I love the breaking through like the kool aid man… nice!
Beautiful.
I feel positive, but it should be said– I can’t tell you how many Boston box scores I watched throughout the season, where a team was up on them 10, 15 points– and then Boston rallies it away in a heartbeat. Hopefully Detroit keeps this intensity after the half and continues to shut Boston down. We’re holding them to 39%, and their only answer at this point is Garnett, who can’t f#cking miss…
We can do this, let’s go back to Detroit with the series tied, and prevent Boston from getting another home win.
Get this: We’re being outrebounded 12-22. Why does it not matter? Assists are 10-5, TOs are 4-9 (Flip got to ‘em after the first quarter. Go Flip!) and steals are 6-2. Rondo can get his five steals again at this point, we’re just turning the heat up on them as a whole team and that’s what we need to do. Not that I think this team suffers from complacency like teams in the past, but it’s hard to keep a killer instinct when you play that comfortably. I love how now Stu Scott is declaring the game ours. Stupid ESPN flip-floppers. God, I hate the media. Wilbon called Rondo one of Boston’s “perimeter shooters”. Shows how much he knows about this series.
3rd quarter becomes very important now. We must at the least break even.
Same here, Payne. I don’t want the foot off that throat, ever.
*when you outplay them that comfortably
a win tonight would play some psych games for better and worse - detroit coming in and winning on boston’s court - something boston has yet to do - it ups the ante.
Great stat breakdown LB. Very interesting #s on the boards & TOs.
Enjoy the 3d quarter — I’m going down to the gym to watch the second half on the treadmill.
Laughton: If we can take the 3rd quarter by 7 or so, this game becomes a blowout in the 4th. But yes, staying even at the least would be a very worthwhile quarter.
Did Wilbon really say that about Rondo? What an idiot. After Rondo drilled those back-to-back 3s against the Cavs, I checked his stats. Rondo shot 5 for 19 *all year* from 3-pt range. Rondo is *not* a perimeter shooter.
We should bring Jackie Moon to camp next season
Hello. Great game so far. Man, did Sheed make the plane to Bostonn or what? But nice to see CBill and Rip get after it.
I thought I saw spellcheck get in the game, but the Boxscore shows a goose. He didn’t just get in for that free throw attempt did he?
pinon: If we win tonight, I feel like we can pretty much mark wins for Games 3 and 4 in pen.
I’m late on this, but Prophecy_Projectz: best entrance ever. Oh yeah!
guys, i leave you with a 7 point lead.
it´s 4 in the morning where i live..
that´s the game we need to take from boston and it looks possible tonight.. go pistons
I feel good about the first half. Good team play. Some silly turnovers, but the intensity on D has more than compensated. I like Stuck’s play. And Hunter was a definite bonus! CB looks better. Biggest downside is probably Sheed’s three fouls. We need to stay in the zone. Especially on D. I like Flip’s rotation. And really like the gutsy move of putting Dice on KG. Yes, KG is making shots. But they are anything but easy shots. Go Dice!
Realistically, all you hope for on the road in the playoffs is hanging tight and hoping to steal one at the end. So as long as we’re there at the end, I’ll be happy (unless there’s some kind of ridiculous Spurs-esque collapse). First 4 minutes out of the half are huge.
Wooden stake, Pistons. Now is the time for it. Sheed isn´t making an impact offensively, but I´m beginning to think Detroit really can live with it long-term. If Sheed has a breakout game, good, but their bread-and-butter against Boston clearly is the backcourt. And when McDyess is this awesome, Detroit is in control, even though KG is playing out of his mind. Great job by Flip.
J: Thanks to the wonders of DVR, the exact quote is:
“But you look at the perimeter shooters: Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, Eddie House, P.J. Brown (WHAT? the perimeter is suddenly 18 feet and in now, Wilbon? I might have to delete my PTI Season Pass, you IDIOT). They’re like 3-15 in the first half. (Those 4 are actually 2-10 for the first half, but I’ll give Wilbon a break because he doesn’t have a Yahoo box score at his disposal). KG and Pierce have gotten their points; no else for Boston is scoring.”
God, I need a life.
Like I said its all about this next quarter. I know Cleveland had a sizeable lead in Game 2 of the last series but Detroit has to keep there composure and Sheed hopefully gets going.
Dash Rick: Sheed has two fouls. Breen misspoke. The early foul we all attributed to Sheed (which sent Allen to the line) went to Rip.
Did anyone else read that article by Chris Sheridan on ESPN titled variously “Running on Empty” and “Down 0-1, Pistons find themselves in East finals slump”? I HATED that article. “Slump”!?!? After one game that the Celtic’s were supposed to win? Stupid.
Although I complain about my Canadian broadcasts all the time on here, there is one saving grace to showing a game on TSN: Jennifer Hedger. Sweet, sweet Jennifer Hedger.
http://www.freejose.com/images/j/jenniferhedger.jpg