PROBABLE STARTERS:

Heat - F James Posey, F Haslem, C O'Neal, G Jason Williams, G Wade.

Pistons - F Prince, F R.Wallace, C B.Wallace, G Hamilton, G Billups.


Pistons face Heat for the first time since East finals

Miami (17-12) at Detroit (23-3) 8:00 pm EST

AUBURN HILLS, Michigan (Ticker) -- The Detroit Pistons put their eight-game winning streak on the line against the resurgent Miami Heat in a rematch of last season's Eastern Conference finals.

Thursday's contest is the first between the clubs since Detroit won a thrilling seven-game series, claiming the deciding game in Miami on June 6.

The two-time defending East champions have come out strong, are in the midst of their second eight-game surge this season and are on pace to break the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls' record of 72 wins. A ninth straight victory would match Phoenix for the longest winning streak in the NBA this season.

Detroit is coming off a 113-106 triumph over Toronto on Tuesday. Richard Hamilton scored 24 points and Chauncey Billups added 21 for the Pistons, who have won 14 of their last 15.

After a sluggish start due to Shaquille O'Neal being hobbled by a sprained ankle, Miami is 7-2 with the big man back in the lineup. The Heat are 6-2 since Pat Riley returned to the bench December 12.

Dwyane Wade collected 35 points Tuesday as Miami posted a 109-98 home triumph over Milwaukee. O'Neal added 23 points and eight rebounds in only 31 minutes.


If anything can slow down the league-leading Detroit Pistons it might be Shaquille O'Neal.

Tim Duncan and San Antonio tried and failed in a one-sided rematch of the NBA Finals. O'Neal and the Miami Heat, who lost to the Pistons in last season's Eastern Conference finals, take their best shot at Detroit when the teams meet for the first time in 2005-06.

The Pistons, tied for the second-best 26-game start in league history, ride a season high-matching eight-game win streak into this meeting. The streak includes an easy 85-70 Christmas Day victory over the Spurs, who won the '04-05 title against Detroit in seven games.

The Heat have finally begun to resemble last season's 59-23 team since O'Neal's return from a knee injury that sidelined him for over a month. Miami went 9-9 without its All-Star center and is 6-2 since his return -- which also coincided with Pat Riley taking over as head coach.

However, Detroit has gotten the better of O'Neal over the last two seasons. The Pistons cruised to a 4-1 Finals victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in 2003-04 before rallying from a 3-2 deficit to claim last season's Eastern title over Miami in Shaq's first season with the team.

In addition, the Pistons took advantage of O'Neal's absence (stomach virus) in the last regular season meeting for an 80-72 victory that snapped Miami's franchise-record 18-game home win streak.

The Pistons kept rolling Tuesday and improved to 4-0 on a five-game homestand -- and to 11-1 at the Palace of Auburn Hills -- with a 113-106 victory over Toronto.

Richard Hamilton scored 24 points and Chauncey Billups had 21 points and 13 assists as Detroit matched Phoenix's 23-3 start to last season.

The 1995-96 Chicago Bulls also went 23-3 before winning 18 straight but the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers and the 1969-70 New York Knicks share the NBA's best 26-game mark at 24-2.

Detroit's Rasheed Wallace insisted he's not impressed with the fast start.

"Our ultimate goal is not to have the best record, but to win that championship," he said.

Tayshaun Prince added 18 points, Rasheed Wallace had 16 and Antonio McDyess posted his second straight double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Ben Wallace was elbowed in the lip by McDyess late in the third quarter and did not return, holding a towel over his mouth on the bench. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year finished with two points, seven rebounds, two blocks -- and five stitches.

"He should be OK, but we felt he'll take enough hits on Thursday," said head coach Flip Saunders, referring to Big Ben's matchup with O'Neal. "He could have played if we needed him."

O'Neal scored 23 points Tuesday, but it was Dwyane Wade who was the difference with 14 of his 35 points coming in the fourth quarter in Miami's 109-98 home victory over Milwaukee.

With short jumpers or drives that ended in dunks or trips to the free throw line, Wade shot 10-of-14 from the field and 15-of-19 from the line.

"We came out and took care of business and that's the sign of a good team, coming out and making adjustments," forward Udonis Haslem said.

STANDINGS (through Dec. 28): Heat - 1st place, Southeast Division. Pistons - 1st place, Central Division.

TEAM LEADERS: Heat - Wade, 26.3 ppg and 6.6 apg; O'Neal, 9.5 rpg. Pistons - Hamilton, 21.6 ppg; B. Wallace, 12.1 rpg; Billups, 8.6 apg.

2004-05 SEASON SERIES: Pistons, 2-1.

LAST MEETING: April 10; Pistons, 80-72. At Miami, Hamilton scored 17 points, Prince added 16 and the Pistons limited Wade to five points -- ending his streak at 51 consecutive games in double figures.

ROAD/HOME RECORDS: Heat - 6-8 on the road; Pistons - 11-1 at home.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v63/GlennDanzig/ron_jeremy.jpg (R.I.P.)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v63/GlennDanzig/ShaqFat.jpg

I'm calling a blowout.

We win by 20+

Snaq is going to get his, though.

DALE DAVIS TIME!!

Wow, cool game. There's a purpose for my day. Excellent.

I fucking hate Comcast. The cable is out in our neighborhood and won't be fixed until tomorrow. No Heat game for Dubya. :(

FUCK YOU COMCAST! FUCK YOU WITH A RON JEREMY HERPES INFESTED BROOMSTICK!

Condoleezza, get the nukes ready!

You can come to my house George.

Sweet photoshop, Steve. How'd you get Eric Montross in a State uni?

I wonder what Krista Latham thinks about tonights game?


(this post is a lame attempt to lure Fool out of hibernation)

Sweet photoshop, Steve. How'd you get Eric Montross in a State uni?

LMAO!!

Hey if anyone wants to cause some havoc over on the Miami boards let me know...I will be over there talking shit

www.miamiheatzone.com

Fuck that. Then they just come here, and its going to be alot of work on the mods parts.

lmao @ those heat fans.


This was the funniest quote i could find:



I think we made these trades to compete with San Antonio more so than Detroit, but it's a good read.


LOL @ THIS RETARD.

You have to get past us first numb nuts.

ROLLING ON THE FLOOR LAUGHING MY MOTHER FUCKING ASS OFF AT PAT RILEY



But, as it turned out, Riley thinks the acquisition of Payton could end up being a key against the Pistons.

"I do believe at the end of the summer, we got very fortunate to get Gary, because I think Gary will have the moxie to play against Billups and maybe Rip," Riley said. "And I think maybe in a big-game situation defensively, he can shut people down."



Guess he missed every matchup between Billups and Payton in the last 3 years.

:laughing5:

edited

It's Paul Davis, realistic.......

My cable is back on! WOOOOOOOOO

IT'S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!

19-13 good guys. So far, so good. Both teams look lackadaisical. White Chocolate is on fire, but we are canning our threes. We're forcing Wade to shoot from the perimeter, and he's missing as expected.

Miami doesn't believe they can beat us. That's the way it looks to me.

Is there an online feed for this game?

Is there an online feed for this game?

There's something called podcasts (a similar website), though I've never used it myself. Plus, you can always listen at wdfn.com. Other than that you'll have to settle for my updates.

48-45 good guys. 3 minutes til half. Shaq has dominated in the post, but we'll see how springy he is after 60 plus games and a round of playoffs. Arroyo looking pretty decent out there, he made a nice feed to Rip on the fastbreak. Dice still not hitting, Tay looks cold, Chaunce getting lots of rest on the bench. Anybody's game.

Why did Flip get the Tech in the first half?

Why did Flip get the Tech in the first half?

Ball deflected out of bounds by Miami. Refs disagreed, and Flip disagreed with the refs.

This game is incredibly boring.

Delfino provides great energy in the third.

Delfino provides great energy in the third.

Looks like we are playing small ball right now. The game cast says that we have Billups, Hamilton, Delfino, Prince and Dyess on the floor.

Up by 2. Anybody's game in the fourth. McDyess is a miss machine. Wade heating up. Shaq has been on bench for while, he'll be fresh for the remaining minutes.

Dyess just gave Zo a facial!

Wade with his 5th foul and 7 minutes to go.

Prince!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Behind the back and jam. So patient, like a RB waiting for his blockers.

For once, Steve Kerr said something bright: "Some plays seem to be worth more than two points."

Lead by two with about 3 min left. Shaq has been invisible, Wade has been unstoppable. Sure would like to get this one.

Dwayne Wade ain't got nothin' on Chauncey Billups!


Sheeeeeed!!!!!!!!!!

Up by 5 with 1:06 to go. As long as we don't turn the ball over and execute on offense (& defense) we should be fine.

YES!!!

Great win. Pleased with everybody. Chauncey was clutch, Sheed was clutch, Mousey Prince was clutch. Rip hounded Wade into a few dumb plays in the fourth, Dyess had a big jam and a big block, and Delfino gave a spark off the bench.

Can't really bitch about anything.

24-3 bitches.

THe really satisfying part is that Miami played just about their best --JayWill hitting, Wade unconscious, Shaq cleaning up, Haslem rebounding and finishing jumpers-- and they still lost.

^ Yep.

Great win. Pleased with everybody. Chauncey was clutch, Sheed was clutch, Mousey Prince was clutch. Rip hounded Wade into a few dumb plays in the fourth, Dyess had a big jam and a big block, and Delfino gave a spark off the bench.

Can't really bitch about anything.

The game was suprisingly closer than I thought it would be. We also got out rebounded again (although this time only by 5).

I do have one minor complaint: I would like to see us take fewer perimeter shots. It really wears down the opposing defense when Chaunce or Sheed posts up, and they're both so clever down there.

I do have one minor complaint: I would like to see us take fewer perimeter shots. It really wears down the opposing defense when Chaunce or Sheed posts up, and they're both so clever down there.

I do agree on the 3balls, even though we are shooting a healthy percentage. But it tends to make us one dimensional at times and more importantly take us out of position for possible rebounds (especially applies to Tay and Sheed).

Did you guys realize that minus Ben our starting frontcourt had 6 fucking rebounds. And Dyess didn't help much with his 2 rebounds either. DWade had as many rebounds as Tay and Sheed combined.

Yeah, the 3's tonight were driving me nutso.


Anyways, great win. That Jam Dyess had on Zo was nothing short of ill.

someone needs to put a video of that up within the next 36 hours

There was no better feeling than when flexo got his ass posterized by Dice. Chauncey and Sheed were clutch, and props to Rip for getting Wade into foul trouble. This meant that Williams had to guard Billups (Why wasn't Payton guarding him?) allowing Chauncey to ice the game. Good opportunity to see how the two teams will match up. Again Shaq doesn't get the ball in the post in the 4th.

someone needs to put a video of that up within the next 36 hours

Somebody also get a clip of that Prince dunk.

iamme maybe will get it..

either way it was a nice win. it was even bigger that we got meaningful minutes out of delfino and arroyo. i only had a problem with one arroyo shot and i thought delfino lost his offensive aggressiveness towards the later minutes. but they both were great overall. i still say delfino has some serious upside to reach by the all star break.

also i like that the refs didnt give miami every call. they even caught wade on a couple of his offarm maneuvers. if he didnt have his off arm when he jumped up he'd be screwed.

one more thing i liked was that we didnt fall for many of his "make you foul me" flops, which in turned forced to alot of bad mid air passes.

Can't really bitch about anything.

Darko didn't play. Anytime that happens is cause for concern. Flip needs to be canned. I don't know what our record is and I don't care. What I care about is this teams future. What are we going to do when Sheed and Ben are 40 years old?

Can't really bitch about anything.

Darko didn't play. Anytime that happens is cause for concern. Flip needs to be canned. I don't know what our record is and I don't care. What I care about is this teams future. What are we going to do when Sheed and Ben are 40 years old?
this really isnt zeebneeb. even he's not that crazy.

I was really concerned for the saftey of the people in the Palace after the 3rd Qtr, the way Shaq was gasping for air I wasn't sure there was enough oxygen to go around.

I also loved the Big Hypocrite's post game interview.. in a low mumble "we'll get them when it counts, we will be ready"

To that I say have fun being the 2 seed who doesn't have home court. Actually they are the 3 seed as of now and set up with a first round showdown with the Pacers, with Indy having homecourt.

I also loved the Big Hypocrite's post game interview.. in a low mumble "we'll get them when it counts, we will be ready"
:laughing3:

Can't really bitch about anything.

Darko didn't play. Anytime that happens is cause for concern. Flip needs to be canned. I don't know what our record is and I don't care. What I care about is this teams future. What are we going to do when Sheed and Ben are 40 years old?

You're an insult to Zeebneeb. Thats not even funny.

LOL@Fatoine. I got to see a great game tonight too bad Wade travels on every drive to the basket.

I really like Wade's new move where he jumps in the air and then decides what to do; it's really working well for him. He should polish it and then execute it relentlessly.

Mr. Benny Wallace says it best in my sig.

Benny Wallace?

What an insult to the Beast.

Benny is a dog or a small child.

I really like Wade's new move where he jumps in the air and then decides what to do; it's really working well for him. He should polish it and then execute it relentlessly.

I hear Rip calls him "Mini-me".

Great to see the good guys take down the Heat and the Riley hype. OK, we've beat the Heat and the Spurs in the past week. Who's next? I do expect us to see the Heat in th Eastern Conference Finals and the Spurs again for it all, but this time we'll have homecourt and "Sheed will remember not to double off of Robert Horry.

Also, did anyone else see what Shrek Diesel said after the game?


"They are the same as last year. They can be beat."

We can be beat huh? Wade had 33 pts and 9 dimes, Shrek had 26, Haslem made every jumper (again) and even the forgotten "eboy" Williams had 20, and still couldn't beat the Bad Boys II. I can't wait until we meet him in the playoffs and knock him out for the 3rd straight year.

The above post really says it all. The Heat played fabulous ball and still lost.

I love this team.

http://espn-i.starwave.com/media/apphoto/DTP10312300317.jpg

It was a big win, but come playoff time, we're really going to have to take the ball at Shaq more on the offensive end. We didn't really make him work at all on defense, as is most obvious from his having only two fouls in his 36 minutes. We hit alot of big shots tonight but we can't count on doing that every game in a 7 game series, especially when Shaq's in better shape. Say what you want about about him being old and out of shape, but he's still the most dominant force the NBA's seen over the last ten years, and he can still take over a game when he wants to, and methinks that the playoffs may just be one of those times...He was just plain abusing Ben early.

I don't know, I love the win, but let's not get too cocky. If I remember correctly we've had most of our success against Shaq the last two years by getting him in foul trouble, or at least a semblance of it, and taking away some of his aggressiveness. If we're going to beat them again in the playoffs, we're going to have to do more of the same.

LOL@Fatoine. I got to see a great game tonight too bad Wade travels on every drive to the basket.
Agreed.
He paid off the right people that's all, the same ones that Shaq paid off to not see every single fucking elbow he throws. It's called "selective eyesight" An amazing talent.

Huge 3's from Sheed.

Dice posterizes Flexzo.

Ben blocks Snaq and fuels the fast break.

Rip with 9 assists.

Chauncey/Rip/Sheed all with 20+

The Pistons are the only team in the NBA that has used the same starters in every game this season.

We win.

Me likes.


alsoidon'tlikewhenweareoutreboundedandallow50%plus FGshooting




I hear Rip calls him "Mini-me".

Where have you been?

Flip metioned before the game that is was very possible that Dale and/or Darko would get some time guarding Snaq last night.

As we know, it didn't happen, so I've read a few places that people have been jokingly saying "he forgot about them being there" (on the bench).

Then I read this:


SAM'S STREAK: The discussion with Sam Mitchell was about Morris Peterson and his streak of consecutive games played. Well, Mitchell wasn't sure about his streak, except how it ended.

"I remember it was in the hundreds. I know when it ended," said Mitchell. "In Atlanta, Georgia."

Which really bites since that's Mitchell's hometown.

"I had bought a ton of tickets and we beat the Hawks by 20 and I didn't play."

He wasn't too bitter.

Did he ask coach Flip Saunders why the streak had to end that night.

"He told me he forgot me."

Ouch.

My only concern with this team right now is that Dice is not playing on the box and getting 10-12 foot turnaround, but is settling for 18-20 foot jump shots. He is rebounding great, but I think he needs to get back down low and get into a groove. We will need that in the playoffs.


Art

reaction from Miami...

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/basketball/13513224.htm


PISTONS 106, HEAT 101

Loss leaves Heat with empty feeling

BY ISRAEL GUTIERREZ
igutierrez@MiamiHerald.com

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - With the outcome all but decided, Udonis Haslem was kicking and punching the air, yelling at no one in particular and releasing a fit of rage normally reserved for postseason and must-win games.

This game against the Pistons didn't feel like a normal regular-season game for Haslem or any of his Heat teammates. That's why Thursday's 106-101 loss to the Pistons at the Palace easily was the most aggravating loss of the season.

''It's frustrating, because we played good enough to win,'' said Dwyane Wade, who led all scorers with 33 points, nine assists and six rebounds. ``You may say they made the plays to win it, and we made the plays not to win it.''

Both teams had played some of their best basketball of the season, setting up a dramatic, final few minutes in which the experienced, cohesive Pistons executed more critical plays than the Heat.

With Detroit leading 89-87 with 6:33 left in the game, Tayshaun Prince hit a desperation pull-up jumper with the shot clock expiring to extend the Pistons' lead to four, then followed that with a fast-break dunk that began when Ben Wallace blocked Shaquille O'Neal.

Following a timeout, though, the Heat put together an 8-2 run that tied the score at 95 with 4:11 left in the game.

A Prince jump shot was answered with a Haslem jumper. A Chauncey Billups shot was again answered by Haslem, tying the score at 99 with 2:06 remaining.

PISTONS ANSWER

That's when the Pistons put together back-to-back big plays that effectively put away the Heat. Billups, known to teammates as ''Mr. Big Shot,'' hit a driving layup to give the Pistons a two-point lead once again.

On the ensuing Heat possession, Wade, who had been hitting his jumper the entire game, rose up to take another jumper. But rather than release the shot, he tried to pass to Haslem for a jumper from the free-throw line. Haslem, though, already had committed to crashing the offensive board, and the pass ended up in Jason Williams' hands. Williams drove into the paint but missed a nine-foot floating jumper.

''It was probably the right play for that, just getting up in the air and have all the defenders look at me and I throw it back to the [power forward],'' Wade said. ``But Udonis was doing what he does and going for the rebound. He just hit a couple shots before that, so I was trying to feed the guy that was hot.''

With 1:23 remaining, the Heat still had an opportunity to pull out the win, but a stop was crucial. The Pistons ran a high screen-and-roll with Billups and Rasheed Wallace, and Billups used the screen to drive deep into the lane.

Billups was met by a collapsing Heat defense, so he passed to an open Wallace, who hit a three-pointer to extend the Detroit lead to 104-99 with 1:06 remaining.

''It was very simply a high pick-and-roll,'' Heat coach Pat Riley said. ``We run them to death with Dwyane and Jason, and Chauncey got in the lane, went up, froze everybody and he threw it back. There's a time when you simply have to pull triggers. Once a guy gets into the paint, all bets are off.''

Trailing by five, the Heat had two possessions to narrow the lead, but they resulted in a missed Wade jumper and a Haslem turnover as he tried to pass the ball in to O'Neal.

The Heat center finished with 26 points on 11-of-21 shooting but largely was used as a decoy down the stretch with Wade and Haslem both playing well. Williams had 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting, marking the first time this season the Heat had three players score 20 or more. The team as a whole shot 52.5 percent from the field, scored more points in the paint than Detroit (46-36) and grabbed five more rebounds than the Pistons.

The numbers only added to the frustration that already was high for Wade because of another physical run-in with Richard Hamilton. Wade was called for back-to-back offensive fouls while Hamilton defended him in the fourth quarter -- a trend that started last season when Hamilton attempted to defend Wade by draping his body on him as often as possible.

CALL IT EVEN

''I think that's the main thing, he has his body on me all the time,'' Wade said. ``And that's fine. But if they let him play that way, let me play the same way. That's something that doesn't happen, so that's the only thing that gets annoying.''

But Riley can't wait to see his team in more games such as this. He would just like the result to change.

''I want our team to get used to playing in these kinds of games with that kind of competition,'' Riley said. ``I hate the loss, but I like the competition.''

Dyess' dunk over Flexzo.
Ben's block on Shaq which led to Tayshaun's AMAZING move in the lane for the slam.

I jumped the fuck out of my seat for these.

Bye! :)

http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports_basketball_heat/2005/12/pistons_106_hea.html


Pistons 106, Heat 101

Observations from Thursday's 106-101 loss to the Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills:

-- Stop leaving the 3-point shooters! (Please!)

-- Then again, perhaps if teammates had more confidence in Shaquille O'Neal defending at the rim (as Alonzo Mourning does) they'd be less inclined to sag into the paint and allow outside shots such as Rasheed Wallace's decisive attempts.

-- So much offseason reshuffling and it still comes down to make or miss from Dwyane Wade down the stretch. On the bench during Thursday's decisive stages: Antoine Walker and James Posey.

-- Walker only played 15 minutes. What exactly does that say about Pat Riley's confidence? Or lack of it?

-- Shaquille O'Neal's 26 points were enough. His six rebounds weren't. Not even close. Not when Ben Wallace is getting 14 for the Pistons.

-- Thursday offered a more typical Riley rotation, with only three reserves utilized. Heat-Pistons doesn't set up as a place for Jason Kapono.

-- But it would be nice to see more of Mourning. If the Heat is uncertain about Mourning's ability to defend Rasheed Wallace, isn't this -- the regular season -- the time to experiment?

-- Where exactly does Jason Williams go in the middle of games? Big first quarter. Big fourth quarter.

-- Why is it that when Walker banks in a 3-pointer you're not so sure it was unintentional? (It also was his only basket of the game.)

I love how Wade complains about fouls when he's in the top 3 the last two years in drawing fouls.

I missed the entire game besides the last 2 minutes (was not home) and still enjoyed it. Got home just in time to see Billups pull up from the foul line and start driving the nail in the coffin.

My only concern with this team right now is that Dice is not playing on the box and getting 10-12 foot turnaround, but is settling for 18-20 foot jump shots. He is rebounding great, but I think he needs to get back down low and get into a groove. We will need that in the playoffs.


Art

cosigned

YES!


http://info.detnews.com/pix/sports/2005/pistons/pistons_20051229_heat/Pistons8.jpg

Damn. Dice hasn't been that high in years.

Wade's a baby. Just because you have your own shoe doesn't mean you're a winner.

beating a Shaq-led team will never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever get old. 8)



(neither will Flexo getting dunked on) :twisted:

(neither will Flexo getting dunked on) :twisted:

I suppose you will be providing us with the video sometime soon along with the Tay & Delfino dunks. :wink:

Interesting fact:

"Shaquille O'Neal scored 11 points in the first quarter of the Heat's loss to the Pistons. That equaled the highest first-period total ever by a center starting opposite Ben Wallace. The only others to oppose Wallace and score 11 points in the first period were David Robinson (2001) and Kevin Willis (1999).
- From Elias Sports Bureau.

I hear Rip calls him "Mini-me".

Where have you been?

Check your PMs.

And Vinny,

That avatar is hilarious.