CL Platano

The Pistons played a perfect game last night they will not repeat it. It is highly unlikely that they will committ no turnovers again.

Doom878

Oh yeah I wasn't saying you thought he was bad. It's just funny that if someone's counted on to score 30+ in a pro bball game it sounds like the team failed or something. That's probably the least likely reason the Heat lost anyways. They played crappy defense, foul trouble for the big guys, little support from everyone else other than Wade, great shooting from Detroit players, then maybe because Wade didn't have 30+ did we lose.

CrockPot

badboy

I hope phonix wins again...not likely, but I want them to...

Joe5.0

Cmon guys the eastern conf finals are going 7 games. I hope detroit wins of course, and I think they will. It gets alot harder to beat a great defensive team like Detroit in a 7 game series. In all truth they should or could be done with the series right now, or at least 3-1. They gave away game 4 and they know it.

Fibonacci

NBA Basketball: NBA Playoff Notebook: Pistons know what it take
2005-06-01 10:22 (New York)

Jun 1, 2005 (The Sports Network via COMTEX) -- By Warren Blatt, NBA
Editor

(Sports Network) - Detroit is two wins away from earning the chance to
defend
its world championship. The Pistons evened their best-of-seven Eastern
Conference finals set at two games a piece with a 106-96 win over Miami
at The
Palace of Auburn Hills.

Richard Hamilton scored 28 points and handed out eight assists in 45
minutes of
action for the defending world champions in Game 4's victory, while
Rasheed
Wallace finished 9-of-13 from the floor and had 20 points for the
Pistons.

"Like I said before, it was only a 2-1 series and now it's even," said
Wallace
after Game 4's win. "It would have been a different story, I guess a
different
atmosphere if it was a 3-1 series, but it's 2-2."

Chauncey Billups, who the MVP of the 2004 NBA Finals, contributed 17
points and
seven assists in Detroit's victory, while Tayshaun Prince netted 15 and
grabbed
nine boards. All-Star Ben Wallace scored just four points, but pulled
down a
game-high 15 rebounds.

"I obviously thought the Pistons played extremely well, particularly in
the
second quarter," said Miami head coach Stan Van Gundy after Game 4's
loss."I was
very, very disappointed in our defense, particularly in the first half,
just
gave up too much going to the basket. We were undisciplined, and for
most of the
night, their four main guys that they looked to offensively, we didn't
do a
decent job on any of them. That was disappointing."

Miami, which won Games 2 and 3 after falling in the opener, was led by
Dwyane
Wade in Game 4's loss, as the All-Star guard scored 28 points and
dished out six
assists. Shaquille O'Neal ended with just 12 points and five rebounds
in 25
minutes of court time.

Wade was 10-of-22 from the field and had to work hard to earn his
points. The
Pistons, who have mainly used Prince to guard the Marquette product,
switched up
their defense and defended Miami's star guard with Hamilton.

"We just wanted to change up," said Detroit head coach Larry Brown
about using
Hamilton on Wade. "We didn't know if we were going to go the whole game
and you
know, we were thinking about whether foul trouble would dictate who
would play
him. You know, Lindsey (Hunter) played him for about 15 minutes, as
well. But
the kid is a great player. You know, you can't give him the same look.
At the
end, he almost brought them back by himself."

With this series now a best-of-three set, the Pistons have some recent
history
on their side as they have won six straight playoff series when the set
is
knotted at 2-2. Detroit has also won 21 of its last 23 playoff series
when
winning Game 1.

"Well, we're in much better shape than we were after the other night
(Game 3's
loss), said Brown. "It's a three game series with them, home-court
advantage. I
think we all felt that this would be a great series, and hopefully
that's the
case.

"But we won down there, we had a chance to win both games down there,
but
there's no doubt in my mind, we're going to have to play our best game.
We've
got to figure out a way to win one game on the road, and then take care
of our
homecourt. That's the only way I can look at it. I think we all feel a
lot
better than we felt after the other night.

With the rumors of coach Brown's possible departure at the end of the
season
looming, Detroit was still able to take care of business in a must-win
situation
in Game 4. The Pistons know what it takes to win in the postseason, and
they
proved it during their clutch victory.



(c)2005 The Sports Network. All Rights Reserved

badboy

very interesting suns/spurs game going on...will they be able to get this win?
90-93 spurs with 2 minutes left.

Doom878

I was about to post here too. Stoudemire just dunks at will. He has unbelievable hang time. The guy catches it on a rebound at his knees and just funks it.

badboy

nevermind, 4 point lead by spurs with 24 seconds to go

Doom878

7 point lead with 16.8 left. Time for GT4.

badboy

time to sleep, gotta get my ass up at 6

BEETROOT

What is the deal with these playoff ads. That fucking guy whispering about animals and then it morphs into a player. They are terrible.

Even worse though is espn playing 'in the air tonight' over every single pregame show or highlight reel

teg_to_bike

He's insane... 35ppd in the series??

Doom878

Stoudemire is already the 2nd best PF in the league if you consider Duncan one. I can't think of anyone better. Jermaine O'Neal is 3rd. Am I missing anyone?

BEETROOT

Too bad Suns play him at center. They really need a legit center to get Stoudamire back to PF.

teg_to_bike

KG gotta be up there somewhere

1. duncan
2. amare
3. kg

ccannizz11

umm last year's mvp? helloooo mcfly



edit: damn you teg

Doom878

KG??? He still plays basketball. Weird when the Wolves aren't there anymore. Posting from work is bad for the brain.

Doom878

Uhh. The Heat won a few hours ago. Are the other Heat fans drunk?

teg_to_bike

Detroit is in trouble, and Renegade is gonna get paid.

I still think this is going to a seventh game.

Hows Wade?

Doom878

NO word yet. Probably game time decision.

Amoeba

I think the Heat will take it all on Saturday if Wade recovers fully, if not game 7.

Heat looked great tonight 5 players in double digits, a lot of the ref calls were horrible that wouldnt have changed the outcome

Amoeba

BTW the officiating has been so inconsistent and benefits the Pistons one game and then the Heat the other that it has become ridicolous.

Game 6 will be intense

Joe5.0

Def some questionable calls, I still like Detroit's chances. They play best when under pressure. With Wade not being 100% they def can win game 6, and it's gonna be a great game 7.

So far I think this series is the best of all the series so far in the playoffs for all the teams.

teg_to_bike

Detroit and Miami are lucky the Bulls are not in the conference finals!

badboy

I didn't see the passion to win for detroit in game 5 as much as I did in game 4.
anyone else see this?

A lot of players were standing around, not really wanting to do anything.
Rasheed needs to do more if the pistons want to win.

Doom878

Rasheed was such a non-factor last night. 3 stinking shots.

badboy

That’s one reason I never really like Rasheed.
Being a basketball player myself, I would always give it my best every time I stepped on the court. I have the love for the game and I am competitive as well.

By Rasheed making statements like "we will win next game, no doubt about it" and then performing at that said game, I think he doesn't respect the game because if he can perform at will, like he says he can, why doesn't he give his all in all the games?

He is a good player, when he wants to be, but doesn't have the respect for the game.
Personally, I would rather have a player who I know will give his best and is an okay player than someone who is a good player but performs whenever he feels like performing.

ccannizz11

As long as Shaq stays out of early foul trouble, Detroit has serious problems.

Amoeba

I agreee, thats what killed them in game 4,

Wade plays with pain all the time, hes gonna suck it up and win game 6 for us.

ericajackhannahjamie?

I never liked the Pistons. I started to hate them when Hamilton and Wallace turned down the summer Olympics at the last minute. All spring they said they might play, then when time comes, they didn't want to play. Why? Because they thought they were too good for the league or simply because they're too chicken to fly to Greece afraid they might get harrassed or killed by terrorists? Detroit is a good team, but I would rather see San Antonio or Miami win it all.

badboy

I would rather see detroit take it all, but if they keep playing like they did last night, they won't even make it to the finals.

Come on detroit, you can do it.

ccannizz11

I like the pistons, I think Larry Brown has done wonders for that team....

But I still like Miami for the win Alex.

Doom878

Speaking of the Olympics, the next Dream Team is going to come back with a vengeance. Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Larry Brown, and several other NBA Legends will be responsible for selecting the players. Can't wait to see who they pick.

Amoeba

This is absolute bullshit, Pistons are probably going to win the series now because wade is hurt, I hope you Piston fans understand you didnt beat the Heat, considering our star player isnt playing. Even if Wade plays on Saturday he won't be 100%. Still hoping Heat can pull it off anyways so Rasheed will shut his whiney ass up.

Amoeba

I meant if he plays on Monday,

tonights game was a joke, if Wade can play at 100% on Monday, I think the Heat take the series. If Wade isnt 100% then the Pistons will take it. It's just funny that the Heat players are all battered and bruised up and the series is still 3-3. Shows how overrated the Pistons are whether you believe it or not. Damon Jones, Haslem, Wade, Shaq, and Eddie Jones are all not at 100%

Joe5.0

Miami def isnt the same team w/o Wade, but that doesnt mean Detroit is overrated. It means Miami is a 2-man team, just like the Lakers last year. Iif Ddetroit lost Hamilton then Chauncy would pick up his scoring, and Dyess would have to contribute more.

And BTW Hamilton has had a nagging injury this postseason also. Face it, Detroit is just deeper and more experienced. If Shaq gets in foul trouble they lose. If Wade isnt playing phenominal they lose.

I hope Wade plays game 7, but I doubt he will be 100%.

ccannizz11

Whoa, losing without Wade doesn't make them a 2-man team. Last time I checked this is still a team game. And saying that they are a 2 man team kinda takes away from Detroits great defense. Saying they are a two man team, is saying that they would lose to anyone if one of the two isn't playing. And we all know thats not true.

Fact is, Miami needs their full team out there to compete with a team as good as Detroit. They can't be expected to hold their own against a great team like that otherwise. And Detroit is absolutely not a deeper team, but they are more experienced and still play more as a team than Miami does without Wade.

And if Detroit lost Hamilton, it's not as simple as Billups picking up his scoring. Because billups can't guard two players on defense, he also doesn't create shots for himself like Hamilton does. Bottom line is, both teams need their full squad to beat the other. To have Miami go into Detroit without their best ball handler/defender is a recipe for turnovers and lackluster defense, and that's exactly what killed them last night. You ask detroit to do the same in Miami, and I guarantee the game would look remarkably similar in favor of the Heat.

Amoeba

I agree with you, if Detroit lost hamilton the Heat would win, just like Detroit won when we lost wade. I hope Wade plays 100% and the Heat whip Detroit's ass to send them home.

Doom878

Hahah. I read in today's Herald he went out the night before to the Forge.

South Beach = -10pts for Miami opponent