http://www.amigoclub.jp/miki/pistons/pistons_rasheed01.gif
http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/825519/2/istockphoto_825519_vector_skull_with_pistons.jpg

versus

http://www.sportsteamlayouts.com/layout-small/Raptors2.jpg
http://lee.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/raptor-jesus.thumbnail.jpg


It's no wonder the Toronto Raptors would rather avoid Detroit in the postseason. Some teams might have a tough time against the Pistons' reserves, alone.


With their starters getting plenty of rest, the Pistons look to continue their five-year run of dominance at home against the Raptors when the teams meet Sunday.

Having locked up the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, Detroit (56-23) has been able to give its starters a break over the last three games. But the Pistons had lost two straight before holding Washington to 27.1 percent shooting in a 102-74 win Friday night.

Richard Hamilton led all Detroit starters with 30 minutes, but that was only in an effort to help him shake off any rust with the playoffs approaching. He missed eight of the Pistons' previous nine games to rest a sore hip.

Hamilton was the only Detroit starter to play more than 24 minutes, but the Pistons got a career-high 28 points from reserve forward Jason Maxiell and 52 from their bench overall.

Toronto, meanwhile, can't afford to give anybody a break. The Raptors (40-39) are trying to avoid a seventh-place finish in the East, which would pit them against the Pistons in the first round of the playoffs. A sixth-place finish would mean a first-round matchup with Orlando.

"That's the best position for us to be in because, as we know, Detroit has the experience, they have the years, they know what it takes," Toronto point guard T.J. Ford said. "You'd rather go against somebody with the same amount of playoff experience as yourself."

Also, the Raptors have been terrible at Detroit in recent years, losing nine straight since an 89-78 win on April 2, 2003. Toronto has been held to 87.8 points per game during that skid.

The Raptors have lost two of three overall against the Pistons this season, but won the last meeting 98-82 on March 26.

Toronto won its second straight Friday night, beating New Jersey 113-85 to eliminate the Nets from playoff contention. After losing four of five, the Raptors have beaten their last two opponents by an average margin of 23.0 points.

"Going into the playoffs, we really have to build on this," Toronto forward Chris Bosh said. "We really have to have solid defense and we have to move the ball on offense."

Strong point guard play has been the catalyst for the Raptors' run. Ford and Jose Calderon have combined for 37 assists and no turnovers over the last two games.

Getting others involved helped Hamilton ease his way back into the flow for Detroit on Friday. He had nine points and matched a season high with 10 assists.

"It felt good to be out there," Hamilton said. "I didn't have my shot ... so I was trying to get baskets for the other guys."

Maxiell, meanwhile, is Detroit's top reserve and is expected to be an important part of the team's rotation in the playoffs. He is shooting 81.0 percent (17-for-21) from the field in his last three games after struggling with his shot for a long stretch.

Good work, Zek.

I figure now's the time to try my hand at making OGTs, since not many people will actually be here chatting about it.

Hubie already showing his love for any team that happens to be playing against the Pistons.

Figures.

Wait, do we have all 5 starters out there? I wasn't expecting that, I would have thrown out a higher number than 40 minutes total in the poll.

IT'S WINNING TIME

I miss winning the tap.

fuckarasho

We should have an auto-refresh option on OGTs

Looking solid thusfar.

Now that would be spiffy.

I take that back, we're looking like pretty bad right now. Poor defense.

Sloppy ball.

We should have an auto-refresh option on OGTs
For Firefox users, an extension called Tab Mix Plus has an option to auto-refresh pages every so often. The only problem is that it doesn't turn the page, so you end up having to go to the next page by hand.

And speaking of turning it over... ugh.

Way to botch the showboating dunk, Moon! Nice ball movement on the fast break that followed it.

Theo's in. Nice ball movement leading to a Rattler dunk! Too bad we can't stop Toronto for shit.

Bosh is pwnin.

Hubie just said Manu could be up for the MVP. Are you kidding me?

Hubie "the boy lover" Brown

Bosh is pwnin.
IBSSWCHHB

Rip with a beautiful drive and a fadeaway!

http://hoopedia.nba.com/images/4/47/Act_jose_calderon.jpg
http://snl.jt.org/pics/char/ChKa-Mr.%20Peepers.jpg

Anyone?

HUNTER WHY ARE YOU SHOOTING? EVER!

Delfino's pussy is showing.

Lol @ Carlos missing that.

Delfino botched a layup on a fast break, Stuckey ran past him before he shot it and they waited until a second or so after the miss to blow the whistle. That was pathetic officiating and it was blatant.

I ALMOST put a Delfino botches a layup option in the poll. If we end up playing them in the first round, I want to be able to bet on that every game.

Ball Don't Lie Delfino.

8 minutes left in the 2nd quarter and there've been 3 foul shots all game. Wow.

AJ in the house!

Stuckey averaging 14.5 ppg over the last 6 games? Not bad

Max with the pump fake on Bosh at the top of the key, then just blew right by him.

I think Delfino laid on Lindsey a bit too long there. That was pretty homo.

On court
Rodney "Rodney Stuckey" Stuckey
Arron Afflalo
Jarvis Hayes
Jason Maxiell
Amir Johnson

This should be fun.

LINDSEY HUNTER IS TERRIBLE AT RUNNING THE POINT! Guy can't even make an entry pass any more. Why have Lindsey at point when Stuckey is in at well. I'd much rather have Lindsey missing 3s than killing the entire offense every posession.

I think Delfino laid on Lindsey a bit too long there. That was pretty homo.
And when he got up he didn't use the floor, he put both his hands on Hunter's chest to push himself up.

LINDSEY HUNTER IS TERRIBLE AT RUNNING THE POINT! Guy can't even make an entry pass any more. Why have Lindsey at point when Stuckey is in at well. I'd much rather have Lindsey missing 3s than killing the entire offense every posession.
:cogent:

And when he got up he didn't use the floor, he put both his hands on Hunter's chest to push himself up.

Yea, I was wondering wtf that was all about.

Maxiell owns Bosh.

Max is schooling Bosh on the low block right now

Just a thought: if we're "seeing the playoff rotation" today, does that mean that Dixon isn't in it?

That was a poor double team.

Fear of Amir in the lane changing shots. I like it.

Just a thought: if we're "seeing the playoff rotation" today, does that mean that Dixon isn't in it?
God, I hope so

Our second unit holding the lead against Bosh and such, I like.

Rodney "That's Me" Stuckey with the scoop and score.

Afflalo's jumper has looked good the last few times I've seen him play. If he can get that down, he'll be a damn good draft pick by Joe.

Stuckey with a beautiful move! Blew right by TJ Ford like he was made of stone.

Nice freakin' flagrant foul by Ford there. Stuckey shoulda bopped him.

Ford gave all of his best moves there, and Afflalo just played him perfectly
Damn right, finished it by blocking him too.

Shoulda Corliss'd him.

Although that might have some pretty nasty repercussions on that neck of his.

Stuckey couldn't quite finish in the trees at the rim but Max with a dynamite putback. I'm really liking what I've seen from this second unit here today.

Gigli is a terrible movie. Thank God the half time is over.

No Tigers at the half?

The Pistons with 4 turnovers in this quarter and the problem is.......they're turning it over.
Thanks for that insight big guy.

No Tigers at the half?

The White Sox had already had an at bat, I assumed the Tigers were losing by 12 or so.

Shit. That was a GREAT block by Sheed.

Sheed give a 110% every play, every day.

I can't believe he played the starters for the entire 3rd quarter. I don't want to see them again. Just let the young guys play out the game, get some experience against a playoff team in a tight game.

Stuckey around and over Bosh. I love this kid.

Kapono has such a great looking shot.

I can't believe he played the starters for the entire 3rd quarter. I don't want to see them again. Just let the young guys play out the game, get some experience against a playoff team in a tight game.

Its time to get them geared up for the playoffs.

Stuckey with a great feed to the rattler.

...who proceeds to miss both and give Toronto some FT's on the other end.

Theo completes the -4 point swing.

That was not a travel! It was a pretty pretty move.

A beautiful move by Stuck, but a BS travel called. Damn, that was pretty.

The bench is about to outscore the starters against a playoff team.

Amir hasn't played well, but Amir and That's Me are making up for it.

Afflalo is not good enough to be forcing shots against anybody. Pass the freaking ball.

Nice dish by Amir to make up for that pathetic jump hook attempt.

We just clinched homecourt advantage against everyone in the NBA except Boston and Houston.

Still need another win before these games become completely meaningless.

that ball slipped out on the way up. can't really fault him for that.

anyway i've noticed that amir is often overlooked in garbage time. i wish he would be a bit more assertive and call for it more or just go all out to the bucket if he does get it.

but i do like his mental approach, in that he's not playing for his own stats out there. he stays within himself and plays the right way.

stuckey had another great game. his ability to get to the rim is very exceptional. he might, MIGHT, be top 10 in the league at it, already. i would have to do some pondering on it, but hes way up on the list. probably top 20 is more realistic though. either way, very happy with his play today.

one concern was the mention that he has never played in a big game in his life. only one way to find out what hes got.

We just clinched homecourt advantage against everyone in the NBA except Boston and Houston.
We have it against Houston. Even if they win their next 3 and we lose our next 2, we'll still have a better conference record and win the tiebreaker.

The Lakers are a different story. If they win their next two and we lose the next two, they'll have a better conference record and win the tiebreaker. If they lose against the Spurs, we clinch against everyone but Boston.

We have it against Houston. Even if they win their next 3 and we lose our next 2, we'll still have a better conference record and win the tiebreaker.


The way it works in the finals is record in the opposite conference.

We would have tiebreaker against LA, but not Houston.

Regardless, a home win against Minnesota and we won't have to worry about tiebreakers.

http://www.nba.com/pistons/notes.html

??? That's what I get when I click on "Game Notes" for the Pistons/Raptors game. Have they not updated that page in 2 years?

The way it works in the finals is record in the opposite conference.
No, I don't think so. It's in our conference. Opposite conference stuff factors in as a tiebreaker, but only after the record in one's own conference:

http://www.nba.com/features/seedingprimer07.html


We would have tiebreaker against LA, but not Houston.
We have, at worst, a 36-16 conference record.
Houston has, at best, a 35-17 conference record.
LA has, at best, a 37-15 conference record.

If LA loses, the next two games are absolutely meaningless because they won't have enough wins to trip the tiebreakers. Starters should dig out their nice suits for Minny and not make the trip to Cleveland.

It doesn't show tiebreakers for teams in opposite conferences in there. That's all in-conference stuff.

It's not the opposite conference, though. It'd say so if it were. That tiebreaker list applies to the Finals, otherwise the "opposite conference playoff teams" record wouldn't make any sense. ;)

It's not the opposite conference, though. It'd say so if it were. That tiebreaker list applies to the Finals, otherwise the "opposite conference playoff teams" record wouldn't make any sense. ;)

The "conference record" wouldn't make any sense either. it's like having two teams in different divisions being seeded by divisional records.

so tiebreakers are different if you're in a different division but if you're in a different conference they stay the same? I don't think so.

The rules are such that how well you dominate your conference determines whether or not you get homecourt if it's close. Like it or not, silly or not, that's the way the rules work. The team that's tougher against the opponents they see the most often gets homecourt. It's a valid criteria.

It's looking like the Lakers will win against the Ginobili-less Spurs today, so we'll need to win against Minny. But Houston is already out of contention.

Either way, they should beat Minnesota, so it's a moot point.

Indeed. We better beat Minny. They should be playing for lottery balls.

I really want Sheed, Chauncey, and Dice to not take the trip to Cleveland -- stay home, rest up, let the bench play. Rip goes to work his hip out, and Tay can keep his streak going, and that's it.

I really want Sheed, Chauncey, and Dice to not take the trip to Cleveland -- stay home, rest up, let the bench play. Rip goes to work his hip out, and Tay can keep his streak going, and that's it.

The thing is, the Cavs could be only 1 game out of the 5 seed when we head there. It would be nice to bury them.

The thing is, the Cavs could be only 1 game out of the 5 seed when we head there. It would be nice to bury them.


I would rather Cleveland go into the playoffs strong, knock off Washington, and then give Boston some major fits...

Probably won't happen, but thats my perfect scenario

Or do you think the Wizards could give the Celtics more fits than the Cavs?? At least the Wizards have more options...

The wizards took 3 out of 4 from boston this year, and they didn't have arenas for 3 of those games.

There's no doubt in my mind I'd rather see Washington play them.

If the Cavs DO get by Washington, it'll take so much work from lebron that he will be out of gas by round 2.

"I'm just attacking, and I feel that nobody can stop my drive," Stuckey said. "I love contact, so I'm going at the big guys, no matter who it is. It's all about being aggressive."

:yingyang:

honestly, home court 'advantage' is meaningless for a team like ours IMO. in some ways i think we're better off NOT having home court.

i think when we have homecourt we get complacent and lose the hunger we need to be at our best.

It means a lot in the finals. Having games 6 and 7 at home is a gigantic advantage.

"I'm just attacking, and I feel that nobody can stop my drive," Stuckey said.

I agree Rodney.

honestly, home court 'advantage' is meaningless for a team like ours IMO. in some ways i think we're better off NOT having home court.

i think when we have homecourt we get complacent and lose the hunger we need to be at our best.


I agree 100%, it always seems like in the past we've won games we "weren't supposed to win"

Whether that meant games facing elimination on opposing teams courts or whatever...

I agree, homecourt is meaningless to the Stons

Besides, if they make it to the finals and don't have HCA, I'll only get a ticket to 1 game...

From the chicago TV guys during the Magic-Bulls game tonight.


Orlando's bench is going to need to step up in the playoffs.


Oh, I don't know, they have some quality players like Dooling, Bogans, Carlos Arroyo...that's a quality guard.


Not compared to Rodney Stuckey.

Did that really happen? That's awesome!

Did that really happen? That's awesome!

it was so funny I TIVO'd it and rewound it several times.

Nice.

The wizards took 3 out of 4 from boston this year, and they didn't have arenas for 3 of those games.

There's no doubt in my mind I'd rather see Washington play them.

If the Cavs DO get by Washington, it'll take so much work from lebron that he will be out of gas by round 2.

this entire post is very, very wrong.

this entire post is very, very wrong.

The Cavs were a breath away from dropping a must-win game at home against Miami's NBDL squad tonight. Their whole roster outside of leBron was outplayed by a handful of guys who will not even have jobs next season.

They should be thankful i think they're even a threat to win a single round. You would need to have your head completely and totally up LeBron's ass not to see they are a bad, bad basketball team.

this entire post is very, very wrong.

The Cavs were a breath away from dropping a must-win game at home against Miami's NBDL squad tonight.

They should be thankful i think they're even a thread to win a single round. You would need to have your head completely and totally up LeBron's ass not to see they are a bad, bad basketball team.

This is starting to remind me of the ben wallace fanboys that were defending the chicago bulls to the death until Big Ben got kicked out of town and people finally got around to admitting they were not a good team.

back to being the old 'wrong about everything' kstat? playoffs are a different animal. i dont know why i have to mention that cleveland, with a lesser team, beat the crap out of us last year and probably should have beaten us the year before that.

to dismiss them over regular season games of little significance is rather foolish.

and to pickup a soft team like washington over them is even worse.

back to being the old 'wrong about everything' kstat? playoffs are a different animal. i dont know why i have to mention that cleveland, with a lesser team, beat the crap out of us last year and probably should have beaten us the year before that.

to dismiss them over regular season games of little significance is rather foolish.

and to pickup a soft team like washington over them is even worse.

Like I said before, fanboys. Substitute wishful thinking for logic.

Completely overlook the fact they have no chemistry at all, shoot like shit and defend even worse, further overlook the fact they aren't even close to the team they had last year, just look at Lebron and get down on your knees.

I don't care who your best player is. If you have no chemistry and your team doesn't believe it can win, you aren't going to win.

It's abundantly clear the Cavs don't have much of either. Furthermore, they know it. They play like a team that knows it has no chance.

They look exactly like the Miami Heat team everyone was slobbering over last year simply because they figured Wade would beat teams by himself, like he did in 2006.

Doesn't work that way. Even superstars need help.

Now for your moment of zen:


Like I said before, fanboys. Substitute wishful thinking for logic.

I feel vindicated.

http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080414/SPORTS0102/804140383/1127


The Pistons need one victory to secure home-court advantage should they advance all the way to the NBA Finals. The only team that could edge them is Houston (54-25 before Sunday) because it owns the tiebreaker against the Pistons.

BTW, since Houston lost tonight, we're officially in as the #2 seed in the entire postseason.

I feel vindicated.

http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080414/SPORTS0102/804140383/1127

McCosky got it wrong. The article was re-edited to show Houston with a 54-26 record, so as it stands now, it's wrong.

Langlois says otherwise, BTW:

http://www.nba.com/pistons/chat_mailbox/pistons_mailbag.html


Langlois: For teams in the same conference, the first tiebreaker is head-to-head play. Then division record, if they’re in the same division. Then record within the conference. They vs. playoffs teams within the conference. They vs. playoff teams in the other conference. If they’re still tied, then it goes to total net points. After that, they just move the series to Mars. For the NBA Finals, it’s head to head first, followed by winning percentage vs. your own conference, winning percentage vs. the opposite conference, winning percentage vs. the other seven playoff teams in your own conference, winning percentage vs. the eight playoff teams in the opposite conference and, finally, point differential.

McCosky?

Wrong?

In LLTP we trust.

http://sportsline.com/nba/story/7164305

We have it against Houston. Even if they win their next 3 and we lose our next 2, we'll still have a better conference record and win the tiebreaker.

The Lakers are a different story. If they win their next two and we lose the next two, they'll have a better conference record and win the tiebreaker. If they lose against the Spurs, we clinch against everyone but Boston.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080415/SPORTS03/804150379/1051


If the Pistons win either of their games -- tonight against Minnesota or Wednesday night in Cleveland -- they can claim home-court advantage in the Finals.

But if they lose both games, things get messy.

If the Pistons lose their last two and the Lakers win their season finale at home against the Sacramento Kings, both will have 57-25 records. The New Orleans Hornets could also tie with the same record if they win their last two -- at home against the Clippers and at Dallas.

So who wins the tiebreaker?

The first tiebreaker is head-to-head matchups. The Pistons beat the Hornets in both meetings this season but split the season series with the Lakers.

So then the league turns to conference record. If the Pistons lose out, they'll be 36-16 against their Eastern opponents. If the Lakers win their finale, they'll be 37-15 against the West -- and win the home-court advantage.