Just in case anyone is interested in watching the NBA Finals with their DBB brethren, consider this your open thread. Game 1 tips in a few. Ugh.
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Somehow I don’t think this thread is going to hit 400 posts.
This game is more interesting than I thought it would be.
Hmmmmmm…”A lot of bench players getting some early minutes”
Then why is that considered such a damn-fool notion in our neck of the woods for so long?
I wonder what the ratings will be for this series. That’s what I avidly paid attention to in previous Finals. Detroit vs. San Antonio got the most complaints . . . but it wasn’t the worst rated Finals. Last year’s was the worst.
I was so angry, I forgot the proper tense of that last sentence.
Nuggets-nation is now making some noise about our guys:
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=8956
The deal described therein is a potential disaster. It seems like one of those ideas that sounds good on paper, but blows up on execution. Additionally, I doubt Dyess gets traded at all.
Sam Cassell?
The one part of that which was mildly humorous, Keegan, for me . . . the McDyess fan-favorite status which would off-set the loss of Iverson.
Iverson sells jerseys in Michigan, the other 49 states, and abroad. I’m not sure if McDyess would sell enough jerseys in Michigan while playing for Detroit.
It might be time to put Odom on Garnett.
Oh, there’s a playoff game on tonight?
And we have our first “bullshit” chant on a clear foul.
You know, I can’t stand watching that video fellatio of the Celts and Lakers anymore on the commercial breaks. I’m going to do what the proper Detroit sports fan would do in a similar situation, which is to watch the game from a nudie bar (in South Florida).
QD: concur, but I still feel pretty good about LAL’s chances here. They have the best player, the best coach, and all the rings.
Keegan: I see no deals being done between the Pistons and the NBA’s version of the And 1 squad, aka the Thuggets. Diametrically opposite philosophies of how the game is played. Also, Dumars isn’t into guys with rap sheets or bad casino credit histories.
That dude in the GMC commercials is from the D.
Lakers are in REAL good shape. I expected Odom and some of the younger players to get rattled by the raucous Boston crowd.
All the Laker role players are knocking down their open shots.
Plus, I love how Phil Jackson is doubling Perkins in the post and occasionally doubling Rondo on pick-and-rolls. They’ve never seen anyone do that to them before and they’re turning the ball over liberally.
I’m confused here, guys. There’s no basketball until November, right?
How did those two guys in Lakers jersey’s get front row seats in Boston?
YIHAAAA, Paul Pierce is down. Taken out by his own man THE FATMAN Perkins.
Okay, I was watching “Fear Itself” on NBC . . . pretty decent. Although, the final scene pretty much undid any of the decent work that was done the first 40 minutes of the show.
Altogether, not a putrid summer show.
When did anyone not named Kobe turn into a decent player? I mean, seriously. Vladamir Radmanovic? Sasha Vuacic? Chris Mihm? Luke Walton? How many of you would trade anyone on the Pistons for one of those guys? Yet here they are, clicking on all cylinders, playing really well. Crazy.
It reminds me of a post I made way back after the Gasol trade. I was like, “Oooo, Vladamir Radmanovic! I’m soooooo scared!” Guess they showed me.
That was a SICK f’n alley oop for the Kobe slam.
Congratulations, Pierce, you made 2 threes in a row. Douchebag.
OH COME ON MARK JACKSON. Paul Pierce reminds you of Willis Reed coming out of the locker room after an injury? PLEASE.
I just died a little bit on the inside.
The NBA is officially crappier than the NHL.
I swear Cassell doesn’t know the Celtic offense. Or defense. In fact, he might be senile.
This league is completely rigged.
Hi Sauce1977. How are you?
I really don’t like either of these teams. The Spurs I could root for in a Finals against a non-Pistons team, and I might be able to root for the Cavs against at least most western teams. But I really don’t like either the Celtics or the Lakers.
Way to sell it, Pierce, ooh he surface-scratched your babyfat sealskin.
Man, I don’t think anyone in the league over-reacts like Paul Pierce. Odom bumped him on a rebound and he flailed around (got the foul call) then walked down the court rubbing his chest, checking for blood, examining his jersey, rubbing it some more, all the time with a sour look on his face. Ugh.
How many shots can Garnett miss?
He made that tip-dunk. I think Mike Breen has a man-crush on Garnett.
Why does Doc Rivers bitch about legitimate fouls called on his team when the refs are already in his team’s pocket?
Keegan: No way Dumars makes a deal in 2008 or 2009 that brings Iverson to Detroit. No way. As for Kleiza (whose trade value is probably much in Denver’s favor being unreasonably high with currently one more year left on his meager rookie contract) and Camby, those pieces could be great additions for Detroit. I’ve talked with Matt W. about penning a piece for DBB on possible trades that are cap-friendly. I have all sorts of ideas.
Really thought the Lakers would pull it out tonight. Neither team played their best tonight.
@LB:
Get on that guest post STAT! I’m excited to hear what DBB thinks of those concepts, a few of which are solid.
MP: Patience my friend. It’s like the PIAB thing (but not as intricate). If I’m going to go and do that thing properly, it’s not going to happen in five seconds.
Rigged for several installments of profits.
Sauce, remember Sheed: “it’s entertainment”.
Goddamn Cassell looked especially mutant-like last night. I thought LA was going to steal it, too.
Yeah, I couldn’t watch last night. Could anyone fill me in on two questions:
1. Did the 35 free throws for the Celtics have anything to do with them winning 52-37 in the second half?
2. How many of the 13 minutes that Cassell played did the camera spend in horrifying close ups on his fetal face?
Shinons, you might have thought Speilberg was directing that bitch, with E.T. out there on the floor. ZING!
I can’t stand Paul Pierce.
I’ve been a huge NBA fan for decades, and this is honestly the hardest Finals for me to watch that I can remember because I just can’t bring myself to root for either team. In years past, I’ve watched Finals between two teams neither of whom I affirmatively liked, but usually there was a team I *disliked* more (cough, Jordan’s Bulls). This year, yuck.
I guess if the Celtics win then maybe the Pistons won’t feel so bad about losing to them (compare last year)?
Game 1 of the NBA Finals, featuring the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, drew a 6.6/11 at 9 p.m. but “So You Think You Can Dance,” 6.0/10, led the hour in total viewers. A second “CSI” put CBS in third. “Last Comic Standing” improved a little to 3.4/6. The CW held steady with a “Supernatural” repeat.
http://www.zap2it.com/tv/ratings/zap-ratings060508,0,2056842.story
Stern, your league is dead. Give up, you pathetic old man.
It’s interesting how the two teams in the finals, one got Pau Gasol for Jarvis Crittenton, Aaron McKie, Kwame Brown, and 2 first round picks and the other got Ray Allen and Glen Davis for Jeff Green, Delonte West, and Wally Szczerbiak and Kevin Garnett for Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair, Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff, and 2 picks. Hey, maybe we can trade Hayes, Fabio, Dixon and our first round pick for LeBron James!
It’s insane that it would ever take more to acquire Jason Kidd than Kevin Garnett (or Pau Gasol).
I hope the Celtics win.
After the illegal Gasol trade, and the fact that Kobe should be watching the Spurs contend for another title from his prison cell, my hope is that the Celts take the title. Sure, they built their team in almost as short a time, but they also got 3 old dudes who gotta win now, or never.
http://tvbythenumbers.com/2008/06/06/nielsen-ratings-june-5-2008-dream-nba-finals-matchup-doesnt-produce-dreamy-nielsen-ratings/4052
Jeff from CelticsBlog,
Paul Pierce is a bitch, and I still would take Tayshaun Prince over him. Prince doesn’t need to be carried off the court, he can walk off like a man. Prince doesn’t need a wheelchair in the back hallway, he can walk it off.
Prince doesn’t flop either.
Regards,
Boney, Sauce1977, and LawyerBoy
All the other f-sticks I think would take Pierce over Tay
Yes!
Eff the Celtics.
I got an email from David Stern the other day thanking me for making this season a great season for the NBA. He also told me how excited he was about the ability to watch games on NBA.com and how proud of the nba.com website he is and how interactive it is.
This is what I replied:
“Dear Mr. Stern,
The ball doesn’t lie. Enjoy your Finals full of floppers and too much face time for Bill Russell and Magic Johnson. Maybe Bill Russell can give you one of his championship rings since you’ve done such a great job of getting your dream matchup.
Regards,
Pistons Nation”
and of course I got email back saying the inbox I replied to was unattended…
It’s fun to leave reminders of the league’s failure in places, like the ESPN comments . . .
Boney, if you’d truly take Prince over Pierce, you might be NBA GM material, a la Isiah Thomas, Billy Knight, or Larry Harris. If you haven’t figured it out yet, Paul Pierce is better than anyone on the Pistons’ roster.
I’m not going to even bother to compare the two offensively, but with the work Pierce has done defensively this post season, now that he’s playing with actual NBA quality defenders, Prince might actually be worse than him defensively too. IIRC, Prince got taken apart by LeBron James in the 2007 playoffs, while Pierce handled himself quite well against the now vacationing Anointed One.
Now Pierce is 1/4 of the way from vanquishing the other NBA Great Hype, Kobe Bryant, after another legendary performance in the second half of Game 1 of the Finals. If Pierce was on the Pistons, you’d be writing daily novenas about him. Oh that’s right, he did get to run with your four guys a couple of years ago at the all star game. That was kind of fun, actually. Imagine Melo instead of him, but actually on the Pistons’ roster the last half decade, if you want to torture yourself.
Dude, that episode of “So You Think You Can Dance” was strong. Think before you type.
I’ll take Pierce and his Academy Award 8 out of 10 times, however. Yet, I can’t help but notice how much better Prince performs with the ball in his hands. That point forward look in the Orlando series was really effective, with Prince shining in the role. When he gets stuck waiting over on the weak side, he has no…rhythm, I guess? I hesitate to say that, because a shooter’s “rhythm” is one of the vaguest, cheapest excuses to turn to when he is struggling.
@ TripleOT: I’m done bemoaning the Darko pick! Done! As far as I’m concerned, we picked Rodney Stuckey at #2 in the ‘03-’04 NBA Draft. Allow me my delusion!
TripleBLT, no one would buy the filthy meat you have to serve.
TripleOT: I don’t know how fans roll in Boston, but we Pistons fans like winning fifty games every year. We like deep playoff runs, not few and far between peaks followed by horrendous valleys. And here’s the thing: there are no superstars who do it for us. Tayshaun Prince has made the Conference Finals all six seasons he’s been in the league, becoming the first person to do it since Byron Scott did it in 1989 with the Lake Show. Before this season, Paul Pierce’s squad hadn’t won over 50 games since 1992. The Celtics have only managed to get over .500 in 4 of his 10 seasons in the league, 3 of the 6 seasons since Tayshaun got into the league. You can do that math right? Advantage: Prince by a mile.
Please, tell us what being a lottery team is like. We fully expect to see you in that position again before we ever have to endure it. Good luck in the NBA Finals.
TripleOT,
Two things that Tayshaun is better at than Pierce:
1. He has a ring, and has been a part of successful seasons in every year of his career. Pierce doesn’t.
2. Tayshaun hasn’t cried to be traded, ever. He hasn’t joked with Kobe Bryant in the offseason about who he was going to be traded to, and then recinded his demands when KG became a part of the roster.
Pierce can fill out a point scoring column better than Prince. I’d still take Prince over him because he’s a better teammate and he would’ve walked off the court under his own power the other night after getting a tamp cramp.
Pierce can barely handle the basketball, as evidenced by his off arm being used to clear out a defender. And Pierce’s defense is hardly spectacular. You can put Prince on an island with 4 other guys who are horrible defenders and he’d be able to handle himself better than Pierce. You proclaim Pierce is a better defender now that he has other guys on his team that play defense. Please…
Just for that pathetic display the other night, I hope an ACL or MCL pops the next time Kobe breaks Pierce’s ankles. It would serve Pierce right to think he can play a man’s game in the pathetic body condition he keeps himself.
No thread for game 2? Oh well, Celts looking strong at half time.
Okay, it’s sounding like sour grapes here. You’re well within your right to mock Pierce for that pathetic display of having to get carried off the court and wheeled away. And then cueing the Rocky theme for his return.
Did he do that when he got stabbed?
But to say Prince is better is ridiculous. Pierce is the best player on the best team in the league right now.
Triple OT: While some of your points are well taken, and I like Pierce’s heart (I see his deal a little differently than some of the brethren here, IMHO he carried the Celts against the Pistons), I’m still taking Tay over Pierce.
If Darko wasn’t available chances are we’d have taken Bosh. I don’t see Melo as the kind of guy Dumars wants playing for him. In that case, you’d be looking at a dynasty. If you want the truth, I think Darko’s real problem is his attitude. He’s going to be in the league for a long time, and going to end up like a KVH type of player, although he’ll produce better than KVH in money situations. He had a bad and unlucky situation here and his immaturity only served to help stifle his development. In a lot of ways, he looks like a poor man’s Sheed.
It’s sad to see things turn out the way it did, before the Celtics clashed with Detroit in the ECF, the tone between the two camps was actualy respectfull from both sides! Celticsblog talked about the enjoyment of watching team basketball when Detroit played well and without being an avid reader here, i would hope something along the same lines was said about my team.
That said, i cant help but think that we were just as much a factor in the hatred that flows right now, with our remarks regarding your squard during the playoffs (the continued remarks regarding Rip Hamilton comes to mind and some of the not so nice names he got)
With all thing being said and done, i hope your squard stays together as i still do enjoy watching the brand of basketball you guys played though the season and more so because i would love to see the two teams slug it out again, when everyone on both squads are close to being at their peak preformance (Billups & Rip being injury)
Anyway hope to see you guys next season! and i hope that you can pull out another gem like Rodney Stuckey from this years draft, that kid is beast.
Wow, there’s a lot of bitterness and denial going on with some of the guys who post on this board. There isn’t one GM in the entire league who would take Prince of Pierce, and it’s a joke that you folks are even discussing it. One’s a very good role player, and the other is one of the best playoff performer in the past decade.
Prince is a solid player and was a tremendous late round pick who has thrived on a successful, veteran team. He’s a very good defender who can be difficult to guard at times. Pierce has shown that he can be a transcendent player. He will have a ring in a game or two, so that argument won’t be valid anymore. Pierce defeated LeBron by D-ing him up, and now he’s facing down Kobe.
Give the guy the credit he’s due. All that idiocy about Pierce not being hurt in Game 1 and being a drama queen is beneath any real fan or blogger. When it comes out after the Finals that he will need knee surgery, all those pundits who questioned him will be kissing his ass, saying how brave he was playing and thriving in the Finals.
I have been one of the biggest critics of Pierce in the Celtics blogisphere over the years, but he’s made a true believer of me with his play and attitude. His second half performance in the comeback game 4 in LA was tremendous.
The Finals is proving my contention that the Cs were the best team in the league, and the Pistons were the second. The 2008 champion was determined in the ECF,and all the Cs need to do is close out these softies out West to claim the ring.
BTW, I like the Michael Curry hiring. The Piston’s inability to get over the hump since Larry Brown left has been more a matter of mindset and circumstance than strategy. A character guy like Curry who has been in the league and can relate to the players on their level night work. Doc Rivers is incredible at relating to his players and getting them to play hard for him almost every time out, even with the 24 win squad last year. As long as Curry surrounds himself with some solid assistant coaches, like Doc has, he should be fine.
We’ll see you guys in the playoffs again next year.