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Finals Matchup: San Antonio Vs. Detroit

acedickson said:
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.
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After looking the roster over, I realized you're right about them having a very different lineup than they had a few years ago. But I still maintain that the Pistons' best chance is to force the Spurs to become a team that lives and dies by the three, like Seattle. I didn't say I thought the Pistons would win the series. It was more like I was tossing some desperate ideas their way.
 
Inspector Lee said:
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!
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If Pistons could hold off their persecution complex for just a moment, they'd notice that they DO get respect. Their starters are highly regarded and much talked about. Their coach is a media obsession. Sportswriters still marvel at how they came together and peaked at the right time to beat the Lakers last year, an event almost no media members were creative enough to predict. Of course the NBA PR machine would rather there were someone more exciting in the finals, but having the defending champs in the finals again is never a bad thing.

Every team seems to like to play the Disrespect Card when things aren't going well. Players talk about their "backs being against the wall", etc. And trust me when I say that having your team be the beneficiary of an LA or NY media hype machine is not all that it's cracked up to be.
 
buryyourbrideau said:
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
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If you're saying that the Pistons' only chance is to play Elden Campbell more, then that can't be good. It just can't.
 
Hello............... PISTONS?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!!?!


*Hmmm, doesn't seem like their are here either...

/me wonders where they disappeared to....

They got beat like a 4 year old at Christmas in the last two games.
 
Well, this series is certainly not over yet by any stretch, but wow, you can't dominate much more than the Spurs have so far in the first two games. Last night they were nearly perfect in the first half and when Detroit had their one run early in the 4th, the Spurs answered by blowing them out down the final stretch.

I'm sure that the Pistons will come out with a lot more fire back home in game 3 (and they had better if they don't want this series to be a sweep) and give the Spurs quite a challenge. Still, if San Antonio takes even just one of the 3 games coming up in Auburn Hills, they'll be in the driver's seat. We'll just have to see what happens tomorrow night.
 
I'm surprised that the Pistons havent tried to post up Billups on Parker more often. He obviously has the size advantage on Tony, if I recall correctly in 2003 the Suns did that all the time with Stephon Marbury. I guess I was wrong about the "closely fought games" prediction I made earlier, they have been no where near close. We'll just have to wait and see what happens up in Detroit, Pistons lose Game 3.... well theres just no coming back from that. Looking forward to Game 3.
 
I think it's pretty clear that if the Pistons had played this way last year, they wouldn't have beaten the Lakers in the finals.
 
Eevee said:
Let see Tues' game when the Pistons host the Spurs.
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I thought their defense would be better last night since they lost game 1 like they did. Somehow it was worse. I'm starting to wonder if the same thing is happening to the Pistons this year, as it did last year with the Lakers. The Larry Brown distractions could be the reason for the lack of aggresiveness and lack of focus. Just as the in fighting with the Lakers made them play sub par.

Here's to the Spurs taking 2 oout of three in Detroit and winning ring #3 on Father's Day!

GO SPURS GO!
 
Eevee said:
Let see Tues' game when the Pistons host the Spurs.
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I sure hope so, I'm getting tired of these easy blowouts, it makes the series less and less interesting (except for spurs fans of course), because only one team is playing good and the other is playing like crap. There's no magic to the way the spurs play, they play both very good defense and very good offense. Detroit's defense was in disarray and their offense was sloppy. The officiating may have had something to do with it, but that excuse doesn't do you any good.

In game 1 detroit had something going when they practically shut down manu ginobili until the 4th quarter. They need to get their heads out of their rear ends and start playing defense by building a wall of china inside the lane on the defensive end, and sending duncan, ginobili and muhammed to the bench in foul trouble on the offensive end.

If you can't slow down their offense from scoring on the court, then it's best to find a way to get them to commit fouls so that they can spend time on the bench and not on the court.
 
i think that detroit will get two out of the three in d town

they are still too good and experienced to let the series slip away that easily

however im not sure i like their chances when they get back to SA

im really having trouble saying this....... :(
 
Hey anything's possible. Nothing's over yet. I think after seeing what the spurs have unleashed in the previous three playoff series, Detroit knows a little bit about their opponent and how they play.
 
aloofman said:
If Pistons could hold off their persecution complex for just a moment, they'd notice that they DO get respect. Their starters are highly regarded and much talked about. Their coach is a media obsession. Sportswriters still marvel at how they came together and peaked at the right time to beat the Lakers last year, an event almost no media members were creative enough to predict. Of course the NBA PR machine would rather there were someone more exciting in the finals, but having the defending champs in the finals again is never a bad thing.

Every team seems to like to play the Disrespect Card when things aren't going well. Players talk about their "backs being against the wall", etc. And trust me when I say that having your team be the beneficiary of an LA or NY media hype machine is not all that it's cracked up to be.
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I agree about the hype in LA and NY and how it is a pressure cooker but Detroit has not gotten any props all year. And the media members last year who weren't creative enough to pick them over LA were too busy cozying up to O'Neal/Jackson/Bryant. Just like this year. Nobody wanted to see Detroit back unless Miami (and Shaq) were ousted early. Larry Brown is getting press for all the wrong reasons. I mean, the media here was basically calling him a liar before Game 6 against the Pacers.

I don't understand why Detroit seems to be self-destructing. I mean, Rasheed is the only one who usually picks up a tech and it jumpstarts the team. Now everybody seems to becoming gradually unhinged. Still, Spurs are a classy team-oriented outfit. I've got no beefs if they take home the hardware (again).

Detroit's only hope right now is the fact that it is a 2-3-2. Personally, I don't like the format. The team with home court should never trail a series if both teams hold serve. The Palace will be no place for a nervous person...
 
After the brawl with the Pacers last year, the press including the armchair headcoaches of ESPN really dumped on the Pistons and their fans. Ever since that event, so much negative light had unfortunately been cast on the Pistons.

I think it's typical of great teams being underrated and unappreciated. The Suns were criticized for their high flying style all season and managed to make it to the Western Finals. The Heat on the east were the favorites over detroit, yet they lost to the reigning champs.

San Antonio is a great team, but I'm personally getting tired of the excessive media fawning over this club. I won't forget the time Bill Walton said that Manu Ginobili was a better player than LeBron James or Dwyane Wade. What is that guy smoking anyway?
 
bill walton... YES!

bill walton will give props to whichever team is on top at that point in the game. he's like the dennis miller of basketball, he doesn't really give any relevant comments except the obvious. the only reason he's wearing an ear piece now, is he kept dropping the mic because of carpal tunnel syndrome.

detroit looks exactly like they did in the eastern conference finals in 2003. the pistons got whipped in each game and you could see quite clearly early in the series that NJ was going to own them.

san antonio seems to be exploiting everything wrong with detroits defense and stifling their offense the way they did to every team all season. they make every play so quickly that i think the pistons try to react by doing a fast break play in return. who knows whats going on in their heads. larry brown only cares about sinking the deal in cleveland.

go lakers [/end bitter fanboy]
 
Exactly. Walton has no insight. He's merely a mouthpiece for the best playing team, whichever it is. I ignore everything he says.
 
I typically mute the tv and turn on the radio to watch/listen to the game if Walton is on the broadcast.

He is the Barry Melrose of basketball.
 
calyxman said:
Exactly. Walton has no insight. He's merely a mouthpiece for the best playing team, whichever it is. I ignore everything he says.
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Right on. He definitely has NO INSIGHTS. So...annoying to hear him. Wish they would use someone else.

acedickson , I sure hope the spurs win on Father's day Sunday, it'll make my day! :D
 
Inspector Lee said:
I don't understand why Detroit seems to be self-destructing. I mean, Rasheed is the only one who usually picks up a tech and it jumpstarts the team. Now everybody seems to becoming gradually unhinged. Still, Spurs are a classy team-oriented outfit. I've got no beefs if they take home the hardware (again).
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Why did the Lakers tank in the Finals last year? Who knows? I remember arguing with a guy from Sacramento about the 2002 conference finals. He was saying that the Kings would have won Game 7 if they had just hit their free throws. To which I responded: "Championship teams hit their free throws in Game 7s." I wasn't being flip. My point was that it's hard to win the championship, partly because you have to play at a very high level for almost two months straight. It's extremely hard to do. Think about how many seven- or eight-week stretches there are during the regular season in which any team can play both good and bad. When it happens in the playoffs, surprises can happen.

Last year the Pistons peaked just as the Lakers were falling apart from injuries and infighting. In 1988, the Lakers were helped by a tough injury to Isaiah Thomas. In 1989, both Magic and Byron Scott went down with hamstring injuries and couldn't contribute in the finals. I'm tempted to say these things have a way of evening out, but I think it's more luck than anything. Any championship team has to be good AND a bit lucky.
 
Booing all the Spurs, that's class! San Antonio respects the Piston's players, notice they weren't booed in games 1 or 2!
 
aloofman said:
Why did the Lakers tank in the Finals last year? Who knows? I remember arguing with a guy from Sacramento about the 2002 conference finals. He was saying that the Kings would have won Game 7 if they had just hit their free throws. To which I responded: "Championship teams hit their free throws in Game 7s." I wasn't being flip. My point was that it's hard to win the championship, partly because you have to play at a very high level for almost two months straight. It's extremely hard to do. Think about how many seven- or eight-week stretches there are during the regular season in which any team can play both good and bad. When it happens in the playoffs, surprises can happen.

Last year the Pistons peaked just as the Lakers were falling apart from injuries and infighting. In 1988, the Lakers were helped by a tough injury to Isaiah Thomas. In 1989, both Magic and Byron Scott went down with hamstring injuries and couldn't contribute in the finals. I'm tempted to say these things have a way of evening out, but I think it's more luck than anything. Any championship team has to be good AND a bit lucky.
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I agree with everything you wrote. I remember the Sacramento game and I think they missed 15 FTs and lost in OT. I remember when Zeke was hurt in '89. I think he scored 29 in one quarter but they fell short.

And when you talk about luck, who can forget Fisher's prayer in Game 6.

I don't know why Detroit looked so shaky in Games 1 and 2 but they have to move on. I just hope this series goes at least 6 games because it is a long way to football season.

Right now, I'd pay big bucks if this thing is 2-2 with Game 5 at The Palace but I don't want to get ahead of myself.

And I know they do it (and have done it for years) for travel reasons but I just don't like the 2-3-2 format. I think it is unfair to the team with home court advantage.

Maybe we can address this when the teams go back to San Antonio with the Pistons up 3-2. :D

Note: Nothing like coming out of the woodwork after a win...
 
bill walton... the pistons have a 13 point lead. YES!

its just booing. maybe the SA crowd doesn't recognize any of the pistons players and they don't know what to do. i dont know what turned the tides tonight. maybe it was rips elevated play. maybe it was the atrocious turnovers. maybe everyone was trying to figure out what stevie wonder was looking at. either way. bill walton says this is a series again. thanks bill. my tip for tonight is that whenever you see bill walton or a bmw 3 series commercial - start doing some stretches. its good for your muscles and it keeps your body loose.
 
Thank you Detroit! Thank you for a refreshing, and much needed victory, against the Spurs. I think I was right on the money when I said that Detroit needed to put some of San Antonio's key players in foul trouble early on. Choke off the inside lane to prevent guys like Manu and Parker from making easy drives, and so far they pretty much did that. San Antonio did drop several treys that made Larry squint.

But bottom line is, Ben Wallace stepped up his defense, Rip played his game, Chauncey...what more can I say about Chauncey? And off the bench McDyess has been phenomenal.

I'd like to see a repeat Thursday night to even the playing field.

And by the way, I think it's about time Manu gets a haircut.
 
Inspector Lee said:
And when you talk about luck, who can forget Fisher's prayer in Game 6.
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Fisher's miracle shot (which followed Duncan's miracle shot) was actually in Game 5. The Lakers closed out the series in Game 6 at the Stapler, almost certainly because the Spurs' were understandably demoralized.

And remember that in that series, the Spurs were up 2-0 going to LA and everyone was thinking that the Lakers were dead. I don't think you can really determine how evenly matched the two teams are until after the fourth game.
 
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