Archive for the '2008 Playoffs' Category

Chauncey Billups is (finally) ready to play

Published by Matt Watson on May 15, 2008 in 2008 Playoffs and Injuries. 10 Comments

Chauncey Billups will be on the court for the start of the Eastern Conference Finals, whenever that may be. From Joanne Gerstner of the Detroit News:

Billups, who has missed nearly three playoff games with a strained right hamstring, said Thursday he’s ready to play again.

Billups practiced almost up to capacity with the team.

“It’s just good to be out there,” Billups said. “My full-out sprint is not where I want it to be, but it’s not like I’m that fast anyways.”

If the Celtics win on the road in Cleveland (I know, I know, but it could happen) on Friday, the ECF could start on Sunday. If the Celtics and Cavs play seven games, the ECF won’t start until Tuesday.

Dumars talks about the playoffs, Stuckey and Tay’s block

Published by Matt Watson on May 15, 2008 in 2008 Playoffs and Around the Internets. 40 Comments

As I’m sure many of you have already seen, Joe Dumars sat down with Keith Langlois for a rather lengthy Q&A for Pistons.com on Wednesday morning. Every time he does this I want to quote the entire article on DBB, but instead I’m just going to pick a handful of highlights and urge you to read the entire thing.

Langlois: At this point last season, you were going into the conference finals with an 8-2 playoff record. This year, pretty similar – you’re 8-3. Yet I get the sense that you feel better about where you’re sitting this year than you did a year ago. Is that so?

Dumars: No question. No question. I feel better about it. The difference in that record, the 8-2 and 8-3, the first game we lost in the playoffs, against Philly, was probably more beneficial to us than what happened last year. It got our attention. We had every guy’s attention the next day at practice. Guys knew. We cannot go back down this road, inconsistency and a lackadaisical approach. It made it easy to hammer home that point to guys from that point on. So I feel better – you’re absolutely right. I feel better about where we are right now heading into the conference finals than I felt last year.

Also worth mentioning: the Pistons entered the ECF last year having just lost two of three. Now, the Pistons have won six of their past seven. In other words, yeah, the Pistons have one more loss than a year ago, but they also have momentum.

Langlois: My next question was going to be was last night especially satisfying when you see Stuckey come in and not just hold down the fort, but to make plays in the fourth quarter and to have the ball in his hands for 30 minutes under pressure situations and not turn the ball over once, to take it at Dwight Howard the way he did.

Dumars: The answer to your question is yes. And that’s why you stand strong and do not waver in January and February when the kid might have some rough patches and you hear, “Well, maybe you should pull back.” No, no, no. No. Let him get through this, because there’s a bigger purpose. And the bigger purpose is a closeout game where he has to start. If you don’t stay with that kid through the season, through his ups and downs, if you panic, if you become impatient, if you go away from him, kill his confidence, he will never play like that in Game 5. That’s why, in the middle of January, you have to make those tough decisions and stay with him and assure everybody that this is going to work out. By the way, I’ve got to say this, too. You make that decision, I create a mandate that young guys are going to play, we still wound up with the second-best record in the league. We won 59 games – more than anybody in the West, more than everybody but one team in the entire NBA. It’s not like we suffered in the regular season for it. Sometimes that gets lost. How many more games do you think we’re supposed to win?

After reading that, my first thought was, “well, that’s nice, but why hasn’t the same strategy been used with other players (*cough* Amir *cough*)? But later in the interview, Dumars explained what sets Stuckey apart from most young players:

Dumars: In my eight years here, I’ve never seen a young player, a rookie, have the composure he has from the first day he got here. He didn’t just develop this composure over the course of the season. The first day he walked in here, he had that composure and air of confidence about him that lets you know he wasn’t in awe and he was never going to shrink when the moment came. It’s not like you saw it unfold over the season. Day one. He’s possessed that. I was telling my wife last night, he has that certain thing that lets you know when the big games come, he’ll be there. He’s going to be there. I don’t know how to describe it, or what “it” is, but he has that certain “it.” You never see him nervous. He may make a rookie mistake. But it’s not that he’s afraid or nervous, it’s that he’s unfamiliar with how to handle certain things. From day one, he’s had that.

Last but not least, Dumars thinks Tayshaun Prince’s block on Hedo Turkoglu was more impressive than his storied block on Reggie Miller:

Dumars: This was impressive. Miller never saw it coming. This was a mano-a-mano play. Hedo turned the corner and decided “I’m throwing it down. I’m not going to try to lay it up. I’m not going to try to float it.” And that’s a mano-a-mano thing you say to yourself on the court. And Tayshaun said, “I’ll meet you at the rim.” You have plays like that where both guys make up their mind that “I’m going to impose my will on you.” Hedo made up his mind and Tayshaun made up his mind. Those are the most impressive plays. Because there is no surprise element here. It’s one guy saying, “I’m coming.” And the other guy saying, “OK, I’ll be there.” And that’s impressive.

“I’ll meet you at the rim” — that’s classic.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference …

Published by Matt Watson on May 14, 2008 in 2008 Playoffs and Around the Internets. 3 Comments

I’m going to try something weird — I’m live-blogging the Celtics-Cavs game over at FanHouse, but I’m pretty sure I can also embed it here … let’s see if this works. Continue reading ‘Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference …’

Pistons eliminate Magic in five

Published by Matt Watson on May 14, 2008 in 2008 Playoffs, Magic and Shameless Plugging. 22 Comments

There’s been a lack of activity on my part over here today and last night (not that it’s stopped any of you), but that’s in part because I’ve been pretty active on FanHouse. Here are some highlights from last night:

  • Flip Saunders on Chauncey Billups taking his time returning:

    “It’s up to the players [to decide] when they’re right,” said Saunders. “And when they’re right, I don’t want them to have any hesitation, because if they’re not right and they have hesitation, they’re not going to play very good, to be honest. So, he’s got to feel comfortable as far as about it.”

  • Stan Van Gundy on Jameer Nelson’s “guarantee” as well as calling out the media for making lazy judgments:

    “What happens all the time is how well [we] play determines what you guys write about a team’s character and everything,” Van Gundy told the gaggle of reporters. “So automatically, if you play well, you have great character. And if you don’t play well, it’s because you don’t have the ‘resolve,’ and the ‘mental toughness’ and all of that. We have all of that. We have to play well.”

    This is an excellent point. I’ve grown increasingly sensitive to assigning character flaws to a team every time they lose. The Magic didn’t lose last night because they lacked character. In fact, the opposite is true: they held Detroit to 36% shooting, they out-rebounded them and they gave up only three three-pointers all night long.

    Unfortunately, they also turned the ball over 21 times (for 34 Pistons points) while Detroit set an NBA playoff record with three turnovers, including not one in the final three quarters. Orlando showed a ton of heart by staying in this game all night long, but in the end, the Pistons executed and they didn’t. That’s nothing to be ashamed of. The Pistons have been to six straight conference finals for a reason.

    The Pistons see this type of logic used against them all the time. When the Pistons lose, it’s not because they’re complacent, they simply don’t well every single night. When Rasheed Wallace has a bad shooting night, he’s not being lazy, he just couldn’t get into a groove. If you ever see me relying on cliche instead of reality, please call me out.

  • Jameer Nelson thinks the media made too much of his “guarantee:”

    After the game, slumped in a chair in front of his locker with his feet soaking in ice and wearing only a towel, a dejected Nelson reflected on his “guarantee” and the attention it attracted. “I didn’t guarantee a win,” he said. “I didn’t say, ‘we’re going to …’ I said ‘we have to go win, we’re going to come get this win.’ And the media took it out of proportion or whatever they want to do. The media always wants a story. I mean, I really don’t care what people write, you know?”

    I mean, he did say the Magic were going to win, but if you read my whole post, he explains himself.

  • I spoke to Rashard Lewis before the game about a handful of things, including how competitive this series actually was despite the fact that Orlando only won a single game:

    We won one game, but at the same time, the record doesn’t say how hard we’ve been playing, how tough we’ve been taking a team down to the wire. They’ve beat us three times, we’ve only beat them once, but I can guarantee you that every game they had to go out there and win the game, it wasn’t handed to them.

And last but certainly not least …

Rip Hamilton’s reaction after the game:

“I didn’t even see who blocked the shot, to tell you the truth. The only thing I’d seen was Tay flexing. I went up to Rasheed and I was like, ‘Uh, who blocked that shot? It must be Tay, huh?’

Pistons, Magic, elimination game

Published by Matt Watson on May 13, 2008 in 2008 Playoffs, Magic and Previews. 433 Comments

Enough said. I’m at the game for FanHouse — leave your thoughts in the comments.

Dumars: Billups will “try to give it a go tonight”

Published by Matt Watson on May 13, 2008 in 2008 Playoffs and Injuries. 17 Comments

DBB reader Q-Dog emailed me a little bit ago to inform me that Joe Dumars was a guest on Chad Ford’s NBA Dish podcast on ESPN today:

I just finished listening to ESPN’s “NBA Dish” podcast. Joe Dumars was the featured guest and Chad Ford asked him about Chauncey. He said, “…he went pretty good today, moving pretty good. I think he’s going to try to give it a go tonight. That’s what it looks like. He looked really good today in shootaround.”

I liked what I heard from Joe, very good conversation about the team, the league and even some politics. (and past heated debates between he and Bill Laimbeer)

Dumars is a semi-frequent guest on Ford’s podcast, and as I’ve said before, it’s obvious the two have a good rapport, as Dumars seems more comfortable talking to Ford than he does in most other interviews. Here’s the mp3 of the podcast or listen below:

Rip Hamilton climbs the leader board

Published by Matt Watson on May 13, 2008 in 2008 Playoffs. 2 Comments

A. Sherrod Blakely points out that Rip Hamilton is on the verge of an impressive milestone: becoming the team’s all-time leading scorer in the playoffs.

Making the record all that more improbable is the fact he has been able to do it in just six postseasons.

He needs just 10 points to tie Isiah Thomas’ franchise record of 2,261 postseason points.

“To me, it’s crazy,” Hamilton said. “Zeke is Detroit. If you get an opportunity to pass him … I don’t even feel as though I’ve been here long enough. It’s a great honor, a great accomplishment. I wouldn’t be able to do it without winning games. That’s the great thing about it.”

I was curious, so I checked the numbers: Isiah averaged 20.4 points in 111 playoff games over nine years; Rip, 20.7 points in 109 (and counting) games over six years. Also, if all goes well, Rip should take over the lead for most playoff games as a Piston, currently held by Bill Laimbeer (113), followed by Joe Dumars (112) and Isiah (111). By playing in Game 4, Hamilton moved into fifth place, moving past Vinnie Johnson (108).

Update on Chauncey’s hamstring

Published by Matt Watson on May 12, 2008 in 2008 Playoffs, Alley-Oops and Injuries. 1 Comment

Chris McCosky has an update on Chauncey Billups’ hamstring: “Speaking of Billups, he continues to make good progress with the hammy. He will test it again in the morning. The Pistons are listing him as questionable. It’s down to whether or not Billups feels comfortable and confident to play on it. The Pistons won’t sit him out just to be cautious. If he’s ready, he’s playing.”

No reaction to Jameer Nelson’s guarantee

Published by Matt Watson on May 12, 2008 in 2008 Playoffs. 41 Comments

No one on the Pistons seems to be taking offense from Jameer Nelson’s “guarantee.” From Krista Jahnke of the Free Press:

“I’ve heard from people that I guaranteed a win, but what am I supposed to do — guarantee a loss? We’ve got to win the game,’’ Nelson said. “We have the confidence that we can do it. I believe it. It’s not that I’m saying it because that’s what we have to do, I believe in this team. I’m not saying it to be arrogant or cocky or anything like that, but we know we have to win — so let’s go win.’’

The Pistons didn’t see Nelson as arrogant either. They can’t really fault his comment.

Said Tayshaun Prince: “He doesn’t have anything to lose by saying that. I think one thing he’s probably trying to do is spark his club. Who knows?

Said Flip Saunders: “I wouldn’t expect anything less. Teams have to have that mentality that, “We’re going to come back and play in Orlando.” Anything less than that, you’d question their ability to beat you. That’s part of what it’s about.”

Said Lindsey Hunter: “I don’t have a reaction. That’s how he feels, that’s how he feels. I’ve been on the other end of a guarantee too. I just laugh at those guys – even our own guys.”

As a Pistons fan, it was always fun when Rasheed Wallace would guarantee a win … up until the point he stopped batting 1.000. These “guarantees” are just words on paper, but if Nelson is really confident his team will win, I’d like to see him actually put something on the line. “We’re going to win … and if we don’t, I’m giving my game check to charity.” Win or lose, if a player did that, he’d be the top story on SportsCenter for days.

Pictures don’t lie: Pistons caught (another) break

Published by Matt Watson on May 12, 2008 in 2008 Playoffs. 32 Comments

Ben Q Rock of Third Quarter Collapse does a great frame by frame breakdown of referee Mike Callahan’s “cold feet” calling a blocking foul on Jason Maxiell in the final seconds of Saturday’s one-point win for the Pistons. I don’t know if anyone ever wants to see a playoff game decided on a blocking call, but still, the pictures don’t lie, and I can see why Stan Van Gundy has sour grapes:

“Let’s just say this _ (Maxiell) is in the restricted area, it’s a block at any other time of the season,” Van Gundy fumed following Orlando’s practice Monday morning. “(Referee) Mike Callahan raises his hand and you can see it on the tape _ his hand’s up and his hand’s down and I can’t explain that.”

By the letter of the law, a foul probably should have been (and almost was) called, just like by the letter of the law, Chauncey’s three-pointer to end the third quarter in Game 2 shouldn’t have counted.

Orlando knew coming into this series that they’d need every break to go their way if they were going to have a chance upsetting the Pistons. Instead, they’ve experienced the exact opposite, from shaky calls on the court to mechanical problems with their plane forcing them to spend the night in Cincinnati between Games 2 and 3. I still think the Pistons would be in the same position they are now without this luck, but I understand completely if Magic fans think they’ve gotten a raw deal.

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