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QCassidy352 said:
I just get the feeling that if you don't already like one of these two teams, you aren't going to care about these finals. You might say "that's always how it is," but I don't think so. The Suns and Heat are exciting to watch even if you don't follow or like them, but with these two... who cares?

Exactly!!! Wished it was the Suns and Heat. But give credit to the Pistons and the Spurs.
 
I personally find the NBA to be boring.

The court isn't big enough for 10 egos at once....though college bball is getting just as bad...sigh.
 
SEE YA SPURS haha

yea right, boring series my behind, watching the pistons is not boring, just because they play defense dosnt mean that they cant score.

they beat LA last year who was supposedly the "best" team and they are going to beat SA this year who is supposedly the "best"

no one plays like a team more than detroit and no one is a better team than detroit. always in it when the game is close and their backs are to the wall.

you will ALL eat your words.

pistons in 6.....winning it in motown :D
 
buryyourbrideau said:
pistons in 6.....winning it in motown :D


Actually Game 6 and 7 are back in San Antonio because of the 2-3-2 format for the finals, where San Antonio will win it. I do agree that these are gonna be a slow finals because of the two defensively minded teams but if you cant enjoy watching a good game of basketball no matter what the score is go watch the AFL where scoring is through the roof. For all the Detroit fans i've been up there for a college competition and everyone down here is wondering what is there to do up in Auburn Hills? Buncha media guys were wondering that on TV. Thats why they wanted to go to South Beach. I drove by the Palace and it was in the middle of nowhere... kinda like where the SBC Center is down here except its 10 min away from downtown SA.

Spurs in 6 closely fought games.
 
The Spurs will win it. That's alright because the trophy will come back to Los Angeles in a several years, as it always does. :D
 
DDEEEEETRRRRROOOITTT BAAA-SKET-BALLLLLLLLLL

just wanted to relive some memories from this thread last year. looks like the general consensus around here is that the series will be a mind-numbing-low-scoring one. i think it would be cool if we all gave game 1 a look tonight and then build our impression from there.

this will be a battle of defense or a complete wash. i'm hoping for the wash in detroits favor of course. now the real question is if Manu Ginobili is actually Bronson Pinchot from perfect strangers. you be the judge:
 

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FightTheFuture said:
just wanted to relive some memories from this thread last year. looks like the general consensus around here is that the series will be a mind-numbing-low-scoring one. i think it would be cool if we all gave game 1 a look tonight and then build our impression from there.

this will be a battle of defense or a complete wash. i'm hoping for the wash in detroits favor of course. now the real question is if Manu Ginobili is actually Bronson Pinchot from perfect strangers. you be the judge:

Whoa!!! Maybe they are twins?
 
buryyourbrideau said:
SEE YA SPURS haha

yea right, boring series my behind, watching the pistons is not boring, just because they play defense dosnt mean that they cant score.

they beat LA last year who was supposedly the "best" team and they are going to beat SA this year who is supposedly the "best"

no one plays like a team more than detroit and no one is a better team than detroit. always in it when the game is close and their backs are to the wall.

you will ALL eat your words.

pistons in 6.....winning it in motown :D


ZZZzzz....

Just kidding. Yeah, I was really depressed when the pistons beat LA last year. Yes the Pistons play good defense, but such a low scoring team... Time for me to go back to sleep.
 
Toeknee said:
Actually Game 6 and 7 are back in San Antonio because of the 2-3-2 format for the finals, where San Antonio will win it. I do agree that these are gonna be a slow finals because of the two defensively minded teams but if you cant enjoy watching a good game of basketball no matter what the score is go watch the AFL where scoring is through the roof. For all the Detroit fans i've been up there for a college competition and everyone down here is wondering what is there to do up in Auburn Hills? Buncha media guys were wondering that on TV. Thats why they wanted to go to South Beach. I drove by the Palace and it was in the middle of nowhere... kinda like where the SBC Center is down here except its 10 min away from downtown SA.

Spurs in 6 closely fought games.

yea i got a little jazzed up and forgot about the 2-3-2 format. well we will all see how good this series is going to be real soon.
 
FightTheFuture said:
just wanted to relive some memories from this thread last year. looks like the general consensus around here is that the series will be a mind-numbing-low-scoring one. i think it would be cool if we all gave game 1 a look tonight and then build our impression from there.

this will be a battle of defense or a complete wash. i'm hoping for the wash in detroits favor of course. now the real question is if Manu Ginobili is actually Bronson Pinchot from perfect strangers. you be the judge:

lol - that's good stuff!

I'm rooting for detroit for one reason - richard hamilton! been a fan of his since he played college hoops at uconn. go rip!
 
Toeknee said:
the SBC Center is down here except its 10 min away from downtown SA.

The SBC center is like 5 mins tops from downtown. That's with traffic on a game night, lol. Granted it's not in downtown like the Alamodome is.
 
FightTheFuture said:
now the real question is if Manu Ginobili is actually Bronson Pinchot from perfect strangers. you be the judge:

Whether he is or not, that "Balki" sure did shred the Pistons defense last night though didn't he! :D I always thought that Jeff Van Gundy (the Rockets coach) looked a lot more like Balki than Manu Ginobili does though...
 
acedickson said:
The SBC center is like 5 mins tops from downtown. That's with traffic on a game night, lol. Granted it's not in downtown like the Alamodome is.

One mans 5 mins can be another mans 10 mins. ;) Yeah im soo glad that we don't play in the dome anymore that things is soo cavernous. The SBC is soo cozy and loud, good sightlines from every seat too. Can't wait for Sunday should be another see-saw game.
 
I haven't been to the SBC center, yet. I'm having a party for the game Sunday night, feel free to stop by. Just some friends and family. :D
 
buryyourbrideau said:
yea right, boring series my behind, watching the pistons is not boring, just because they play defense dosnt mean that they cant score.

That's true, the two aren't mutually exclusive. But in this case, the both teams play tough defense AND can't make open shots. Not all of that ugliness is a result of defense. Some of it is because there are a lot of crappy shooters on the floor at any given time. Except for Duncan, Billups, and Ginobili for one quarter per game, none of them can score worth a damn.

A tip to the Pistons. Here's how Phil Jackson beat the Spurs in the playoffs (usually) for five seasons:

1. clog up the middle so the Spurs' guards can't drive to the basket.

2. make Duncan work for shots. You can't stop him, but you can tire him out a little and prevent him from passing out for too many easy shots.

3. dare Bowen, Parker and Ginobili to hit outside shots. Sometimes they will, but for long stretches of the game, they won't.
 
Saw the 4th quarter of the game last night (lo.....w scoring game, glad I didn't watch the whole thing).

But liked "O-Bi Wan Ginobili" play. Cool...
 

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aloofman said:
A tip to the Pistons. Here's how Phil Jackson beat the Spurs in the playoffs (usually) for five seasons:

1. clog up the middle so the Spurs' guards can't drive to the basket.

2. make Duncan work for shots. You can't stop him, but you can tire him out a little and prevent him from passing out for too many easy shots.

3. dare Bowen, Parker and Ginobili to hit outside shots. Sometimes they will, but for long stretches of the game, they won't.

You're right about the first two, but not the third. Bowen and Parker are only in their fourth year with the Spurs and Ginobili in his 3rd with the Spurs (and the league). Plus, Parker was a rookie in 01-02, and nothing like the player he is today.

Jackson beat all of them together once in those four years (last year). They (The Spurs) were a completely different team during the 3 Laker championships before that. But he did dare the other Guards and SFs to beat them in that manner.

The problem is the Pistons aren't the lakers of 00-02. Plus, the Spurs didn't have slashing guards like Parker and Ginobili then either. Avery Johnson was paired with Mario Elie (99-00), Derek Anderson(00-01). Neither of those backcourts are the equivalent of the current.

Besides, in 02-03 the Spurs beat the lakers with the same style that they lost to them in 03-04 with.
 
buryyourbrideau said:
SEE YA SPURS haha

yea right, boring series my behind, watching the pistons is not boring, just because they play defense dosnt mean that they cant score.

they beat LA last year who was supposedly the "best" team and they are going to beat SA this year who is supposedly the "best"

no one plays like a team more than detroit and no one is a better team than detroit. always in it when the game is close and their backs are to the wall.

you will ALL eat your words.

pistons in 6.....winning it in motown :D

Just out of curiosity, how many parades, how many rings, how much hardware do we have to bring to Motown before we finally get some of that Aretha Franklin R-E-S-P-E-C-T? Detroit lives and dies by Rasheed. He is the X factor. All I can say is if Detroit takes Game 2 - look out!

Still, if the Spurs come out on top, I'll have no beef. Duncan is all world and I have no problem with him getting another ring.

Even though the ratings will be in the gutter, I'm glad we're not dealing with the Shaq-Kobe PR freakshow. LA is done and Shaq won't play more than 70 games in a season from here on out.

Seems like the west has some teams who can break through in the ensuing years. The only way Miami makes it over the "hump" is if they sack Van Jeremy and bring in the Zen Master (read: Phil Jackson). Detroit will hang around again next year. My only real concern ( from an Eastern Conference perspective) is the emergence of the Bulls coached by the essence of guttiness - Scott Skiles.
 
aloofman said:
That's true, the two aren't mutually exclusive. But in this case, the both teams play tough defense AND can't make open shots. Not all of that ugliness is a result of defense. Some of it is because there are a lot of crappy shooters on the floor at any given time. Except for Duncan, Billups, and Ginobili for one quarter per game, none of them can score worth a damn.

A tip to the Pistons. Here's how Phil Jackson beat the Spurs in the playoffs (usually) for five seasons:

1. clog up the middle so the Spurs' guards can't drive to the basket.

2. make Duncan work for shots. You can't stop him, but you can tire him out a little and prevent him from passing out for too many easy shots.

3. dare Bowen, Parker and Ginobili to hit outside shots. Sometimes they will, but for long stretches of the game, they won't.

i highly doubt that richard hamilton is a "crappy" shooter.

rip and dwayne wade are by far the best shooters in the league off the screen or just run and pull up.

yea you cant stop duncan but he always has an off game here and there and if he is off then the spurs are nothing. detroit showed that when they demolished SA w/out Duncan.

the only problem with clogging the middle is manu and tony's ability to get the call for any contact inside the lane. ben and sheed cant afford the fouls that early in the game to stop that. only if we give elden and possibly darko some time in the game so they cant account for some of the fouls
 
Well, I broke on my original promise and I did watch game 1. All I can say is, Detroit can win this series. They simply manhandled the spurs in the first and second half. It seemed that in the third quarter the game was going the piston's way with the scores being so low and tied up similar to the miami game 7, but they didn't follow through and let ginobili rip through the lane.

If I'm guarding ginobili, I would not give him space. I would rattle him as much as I could to get the ball out of his hands. Too many times he was given opportunities to sit and plan his move to the hoop while idly dribbling the ball in the backcourt.

The guy is obvious. If he's in the backcourt dribbling the ball until the shot clock comes down to 10 seconds, you know he's going for the drive. The defensive team needs to allow him absolutely NO space or time to figure out his move. That's how you'll stop Ginobili.

I also have to say that there were a few lousy calls that night from the refs, especially the offensive foul against detroit when the defender was inside the circle.

Anyway, I wasn't jumping or yelling like I was during the series with Phoenix. But I'll still watch game 2 and I'm expecting for the Pistons to respond.
 
The officiating in the game was lousy. There wasn't a foul called on the Pistons until there was 4:30 left in the first quarter.

I only saw the Pistons manhandle the Spurs for the first 7:00 of the first quarter. After that the Pistons were shut down. 49 points through the final three quarters. If the Spurs are allowed to play like they did in the fourth quarter, the Pistons have no chance. I think they'll adjust and it'll be a much tighter game, with the Spurs edging Detroit by 3 or 4.

So, my call is Spurs go to Detroit up 2-0, win one of three in Detroit, and win the championship in game 6 at home.
 
acedickson said:
I'm not a Pop lover. In fact, I still think he did Bob Hill wrong by firing him the year Robinson missed the entire season and the Spurs won the lottery. But, he's a psycho that forces players into certain grooves? Get real. Manu was in his 1st and 2nd season and hadn't proved himself. I don't know of a coach that's not going to try to control a 1st or 2nd year player. Manu turned the ball over often with his creativity in the first 2 years too. I think Pop wanted him to learn to take care of the ball better, not force him into a groove.

Okay, to put it more lightly, Popovich is like an old school father who punishes his kids by grounding them and screaming at them when they do wrong. Eventually his players learn to follow his rules, but they never learn how to think for themselves and they therefore cannot do anything except what pop has disciplined them into doing.

Larry Brown does the opposite. He sits the player on his knee and talks them through what they did wrong. He calmly explains his logic behind everything. He takes an interest in all of his players' lives and in their basketball potentials. Look at the affect he had on AI. This builds a much stronger allegiance to the coach and it teaches a player how to think for him or herself. It gives that player the tools to GROW into the best player that he can be.

Tony Parker, in my opinion, is the quickest player in the NBA. Under the guidance of Pop he has learned to use that quickness only when necessary, but to generally just toss the ball to TD and execute. Yes, Pop has allowed him and Manu to create a little more havoc this year than in the past. If Parker was on a Larry Brown team, Brown could have councelled him through those horrible shooting nights he sometimes had and could have taught him just how powerful of a weapon he can be.

acedickson said:
The Suns injuries? You mean Joe Johnson missing games 1 & 2? The Spurs scored 110+ points on several occasions. The Suns scored well over 105+ several times without Joe Johnson too. I think the series wouldv'e gone 6, or even 7, but I don't think the Suns would have won. Collectively the Suns are more talented, even without Joe Johnson, than the Spurs are. Still the only play one side of the ball even with JJ.

Q was hurt in 5. He didn't score. Shawn Marion's was obviously suffering from at least amnesia, because it looked like he had forgotten how to play suns basketball. The suns' were an offensive powerhouse. The simple fact that the spurs chose to just run with them at times and let the scores get inflated confirms that they were not playing suns basketball. Nash and amare were the only ones who played their games. Joe Johnson showed up but he was late.
 
maxterpiece said:
Q was hurt in 5. He didn't score. Shawn Marion's was obviously suffering from at least amnesia, because it looked like he had forgotten how to play suns basketball. The suns' were an offensive powerhouse. The simple fact that the spurs chose to just run with them at times and let the scores get inflated confirms that they were not playing suns basketball. Nash and amare were the only ones who played their games. Joe Johnson showed up but he was late.

Marion was just shutdown in the series. Q didn't show up games 1-4. I don't know what makes you think he would've in game 5. JJ being 100% healthy would've extended the series to 6 or 7 maybe. Besides the Spurs were 2-1 during the regular season against the Suns. The only loss was without Duncan and Ginobili! They still only lost by 4.

You can't be one dimensional and expect to beat teams like the Spurs and Pistons. The Spurs showed they can play Suns basketball 3 1/2 quarters and then Spurs basketball the last 1/2 quarter to close out the game. If the Suns keep that team together, and Amare matures a ittle more, the Suns are champions within 3 years.
 
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