http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/v/nba/teams/1/80x60/chi.gif Chicago Bulls (5) vs http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/v/nba/teams/1/80x60/det_3.gif Detroit Pistons (1)

http://wtfdetroit.com/pics/bullspistonsstats.png

might as well start the bulls-pistons thread. that series is done now.

we will need to play our best ball this year in order to beat them. it hurts me to say it, but the bulls are a better team, if not more experienced, than us right now.

if we don't significantly step it up, they beat us in 5 or 6 games. :(

If we play focused and come with a solid gameplan, we'll win this series in 5 games. If we have trouble getting up for this series, then we arent ready to go for the title.

well i don't know that you're giving the bulls enough credit. hard to do, i know. i hate them too.

but believe me, this team is for real. they have more athleticism than us, more overall depth, and a better coach/motivator. not to mention, they are trying to reach the top so they're much hungrier than we are.

i hope you're right but my mind tells me it's not going to be anything close to a 5 game series. i think if we advance, it's in 6 more likely 7 TOUGH games.

you don't manhandle the heat the way they did and get pushed over by us in the next round. true the heat were not at the top of their game but neither are we right now.

if we raise our level of play and play up to our abilities all the time, then i'm confident we can prevail. but this bulls team is extremely intense and scrappy the whole 48 minutes- something i haven't seen since our 2004 team.

if we can't rediscover that type of pistons basketball, we won't win the series, plain and simple. as much as it pains me to say it, i just have a bad feeling they prevail.

UNLESS sheed brings it each and every night and takes it to these kids. also, rip will somehow have to overcome their hounding defense and we'll need some huge production from prince and also our bench.

we've got a week to rest which is good and bad. we need the rest but we usually come out flat after a long layoff. if we end up advancing though, this layoff will come back to help us in another month. :)

i agree with guts. 5 games, unless ben plays out of his mind... kinda likely actually. still, we have too many advantages.

I never said 5 games for sure. Too bold a prediction. In fact I'm worried that it may go 7. I said "if" we stay focused. Unfortunately that hasn't been our strong suit at times. But again the key to this game is defense. We gotta prove to Ben that defense is still our culture and that we now can post up at both PF and C on offense. An inside beating will be a requisite for us to counter their Backcourt Depth.

Also Delfino, hunter, and Flap Murray are going to have to have the best series of their lives.

This is going to be a tough, tough series.

If the Bulls are stroking the jumpers, they'll be very hard to beat.

I suppose the same could be said for the Pistons.

I've been worried about the Bulls for a while, and unfortunatly those fears were warranted. They remind me of the way we played in 2004, hungry, young, hustle, DEFENSE, a hardass motivating coach, and now in the Heat series they showed poise and discipline.
Discipline in that they didn't take a game off or sleepwalk through one or two games or have a 'letdown' game or insist that 'if it aint rough it aint right' to justify not taking care of business. THey just did it. Their dismantling of the Heat was eerily reminiscent of our dismantling of the 04 Lakers (except they didn't take game 2 off).
We can match them in poise, but I don't think we have the discipline. I'm not getting a good vibe, but I'll pick the Pistons in 6 anyways. I say home teams win until we break through in Game 6 and take the series.

one area where we might have an advantage is that Skiles didnt have to make any adjustments against the Heat because they were winning - he said even adjustments were overrated. Considering the way they fizzled out the previous two years when going down in the series, the opportunity is open for him to get outcoached - but that requires the Pistons to come out on top first. Game 1 and 2 are essential.

The Bulls are a very dangerous team, but they've done everything in the world to remind the Pistons of that -- humiliating win at home, sweep the Heat, etc. The Pistons of old have usually responded to such challenges (apart from the Ben and Chauncey meltdown last year). My suspicion is that, much as was the case with the Bad Boys of old, beating Chicago will be as hard as the Finals, but it will happen and it will be great.

What day does this series start? It seems no one wants to spill the beans on that little tidbit of information.

No one knows yet, AFAICT.

McCosky said what he is hearing is Saturday, then Monday, then not again till Friday. Won't that be great for the nation.

Kornheiser says Bulls can beat the Pistons but not win it all because they don't have a guy who will get you that crucial 2 points when the game is on the line 95% of the time. Wilbon says Deng is that guy.

I think this series depends on Sheed. The Bulls have no post scorer, and we do. If sheed steps up and provides a dozen points in the post every night we might finish this quickly (assuming our backcourt doesn't slump). If Ben/PJ can keep Sheed floating outside and this turns into a jump shooting contest we could be in for a long series.

Didn't the NBA used to start second round games even when the first round was still going on? Why in the hell are they going to wait a week before playing again? That's going to be terrible for both teams.

I think this series depends on Sheed. The Bulls have no post scorer, and we do. If sheed steps up and provides a dozen points in the post every night we might finish this quickly (assuming our backcourt doesn't slump). If Ben/PJ can keep Sheed floating outside and this turns into a jump shooting contest we could be in for a long series.

QFT.

Let me also add though, that one can make up for the lack of a post scorer with good paint penetration. if Deng starts cutting into the basket and scoring at will in the paint, we'll be in for a LONG series. Also if you start diverting big men too much to stop the perimeter invaders in the paint, well it becomes far easier for sucky offensive players like Ben Wallace and PJ to score. Basically perimeter defense is key.

the good thing is that we have more scoring options than the Heat did.

i also agree that defense will be the key to this series. the bulls seem to rely on the jump shot even more than we do. but they've got guys who can get scorching hot from the outside.

i think this series goes 7 games.

As good as the Bull are, I still think that Detroit can beat them if we don't play L & S. By L & S, I mean Lazy and Stupid. If we come out with good effort and then don't go into our lulls where we get lazy by all of a sudden jacking up a bunch of outside shots and not playing tough D. Then there is the Stupid part where we get a lead and then (add in the lazy part) start with the stupid turnovers and temper tantrums. We have teh ability to compete with any team in the league. I think it will come down to how much effort we put in and how smart we play.

I also think this series comes down to Sheed. The first game is going to tell us what his role needs to be in this series. If he is forced to play hard D, he's going to end up in foul trouble again and that takes him mentally out of the game every single time. I think he's got the ability to do it. Don't let me down, Sheed.

I think Webber is just as Important as Sheed. If he's able to put pressure on ben Wallace from an offensive standpoint, then that'll go a long way. But more than both guys Tay is the ultimate X-Factor. He must be at his all around Best with Deng. Matchup wise this is Tay's moment to prove that he's blossoming© at the right time:mccosky:

NBA sets dates for first two games of round two
Posted by Justin Rogers May 01, 2007 23:25PM
A. Sherrod Blakely is reporting the Pistons will open their second-round series on Saturday, with Game 2 on Monday. Game times have yet to be announced.



Bulls can't stop singing praise for Pistons
Posted by Justin Rogers May 02, 2007 00:31AM
Early quotes coming out of the Bulls' camp are all praise and respect.

May 1, Chicago Tribune: "Defensively, they're about as good as it gets," Hinrich said. "They have length and athleticism. They block shots. At times we struggle with their length on that front line. We have to be more creative and sharper with our execution.
"We struggle with their physical play. [Richard] Hamilton is all over you. Chauncey [Billups] is real strong. My focus is playing with poise because I know Hamilton will be slapping me every two seconds. You just have to be ready for it.

"Against Miami, we were able to really use our quickness and ball movement. Detroit matches up better as far as quickness.
...

"What makes Detroit unique is their big guys have a lot of versatility," Skiles said. "We could really focus in on Shaq and try to make it difficult for him. But their bigs can go on the perimeter. They can play inside. They can put the ball on the floor. They can all pass. It's challenging in balancing how we want to play against them."


They may just be saying this but they are right, the Pistons match up against them a lot better than the Heat did. This wait is killin' me....it seems like the playoffs haven't even started for the Pistons yet.

O snap

Somehow "guarancioni" doesn't have quite the same ring to it.

http://www.emptythebench.com/2007/05/02/andres-nocioni-says-bulls-will-beat-pistons/



Andres Nocioni Says Bulls Will Beat Pistons
These young Chicago Bulls sure have confidence to burn, don’t they? Back in March, breakout forward Luol Deng predicted the Bulls would finish the season with a 17-0 run (they went 12-5). Now, with a week of down time between their second-round series against the Detroit Pistons, Argentinean forward Andres Nocioni is letting his postseason inexperience show by running his mouth to the press and giving the Pistons free bulletin board material:

Only days after Nocioni correctly predicted he and the Bulls would beat the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs, the forward was more specific about the outcome vs. the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

“We are going to win. We are going to win, of course,” Nocioni said Tuesday. “I believe we can win. We are going to play seven games, and we are going to win (Game 7) in Detroit. It will be nice. Nice.”

Nothing wrong with having a little confidence in yourself and your teammates during the postseason. And after sweeping the defending champs out of the playoffs in the first round, the Bulls certainly have the right to feel good about their chances against Detroit. He’s right, Chicago has more than a sporting chance to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Still, don’t expect to hear any comments even remotely close to Nocioni’s come out of the Pistons’ camp this week. This squad knows that talk is cheap, and there’s no reason to give your opponent added motivation before what promises to be a heated series. Check back at Empty the Bench later this week for a full preview and our final predictions.

Guaranchapu?

Game time has been set for 7:00 Saturday.

sweet. Wings at 1:30, Pistons at 7:00. Something tells me I'm not going to be very productive that day.

I think this series depends on Sheed. The Bulls have no post scorer, and we do. If sheed steps up and provides a dozen points in the post every night we might finish this quickly (assuming our backcourt doesn't slump). If Ben/PJ can keep Sheed floating outside and this turns into a jump shooting contest we could be in for a long series.




I agree with WTFchris (http://www.mlive.com/pistons/stories/index.ssf?/base/sports-2/1178224808296380.xml&coll=1)

Just saw a sweet ass ESPN commercial that was made up completely of clips from the Zeke/Jordan era Piston Bulls rivalry ending in a graphic saying "Rivalry Renewed". It was sweet ass (sorry its late).

Let the dismantling of the Baby Bulls Bandwagon Begin!

I want the Pistons to crush their brains until fragments of it are stuck to the bottom of Detroit's shoes. Like bubblegum on a hot sidewalk. Then take that ass kicking foot and plant it right upside Skiles's forhead until he can't remember his assist record.

Alright, let's get this show on the road. I've been waiting for this for way too long. Anyone else as excited about this as I am?

Im ready. Got Pistons jersey on and my Bulls fan friends comin over (remember I live next to Chicago). This should be fun MWAHAHAHA

double agent b-diddy is off to infiltrate a chicago sports bar. i hope not to have to take too many lives to accomplish the mission.

double agent b-diddy is off to infiltrate a chicago sports bar. i hope not to have to take too many lives to accomplish the mission.

Wtf, BE STALIN, BE HILTER, BE BUSH. Kill em all!

Oh fuck you Charter Cable, It said the game was on at 8, if not for RealGM I would still be watching baseball.


Good to see we are beating the shit out of these punks.

Deng is so damn good.

We are getting horrible calls. Not to blame anything on the refs though

I hope we win by 2 because Hinrich is a dumbass

I hope we win by 2 because Hinrich is a dumbass
How about 22?

that's cool too

Hinrich's quick crossover is really messing up Billups. He's getting that quicker step everytime.

and deng is so fuckn good at midrange jumpers.

also another note, Sheed is really focused out there. He's playing the best defense on the team and is making a shitload of tips to our guards for rebounds. and way to fuck up tyrus.

and WTF is up with Ben's midrange?!

look at these teams not being able to hit shit

and dice is getting unlucky on his 2 tipins

How about 22?

wow what about that

what a lead, what a run, u gotta love those 3's

Who would have thought wed win by 26?

Chicago's bench shot 3/30!

Good win Detroit. I love the D controlled by Sheed and we were patient on offense for the most part. On D we caused so many turnovers and converted. That was the difference imo. I didn't want to see a game one blowout. Yes it sets the momentum but Chicago is going to be hungrier than ever, and I dont want Sheed to lose his focus.

And we need to get rid of cwebb this summer. Signing him should not be a priority

edit: Billups was icing his ankle and didn't play the 4th. any word on if he is injured or not?

Great game, IMO. Not sure if I mentioned this, but I'm a college student in the Chicago suburbs (actually about 10 minutes away from the Bulls practice facility) and I watched the game with several Bulls fans, of course sporting my CBill jersey for good measure. Also, my roommate is a big Bulls fan. I'm trying not to rub it in, but I'm really pleased with the whuppin' we put on those guys.

Now, looking to Game 2, we need to keep our focus and stay poised. The Bulls will come out better on Monday, and it's crucial that we don't let up. If we take a 2-0 lead to Chicago, we'll be sitting pretty.

BTW, I'd say our coaching staff did a great job prepping the guys for this game. They took the Bulls completely out of their element by stopping the dribble penetration and having a game plan for covering the perimeter on kick-outs.

excellent win by us. i'm amazed at how sharp we came out and the energy we displayed for the whole game. it's a shame we can't play this intense ALL the time for 48 minutes in every game. that would make us like the 2004 team that won it all.

i hate to do this, but i have to credit flip and our coaches for having the team prepared and motivated like that today.

sheed was amazing, no matter what his stats may say. hunter was incredible too, billups and rip were very good and pretty much everybody played their role and played it well. except c-webb looked flat out there.

i thought we got some horrible calls against us on foul calls against dice (about 3 of his 5 were absolute nonsense) and of course sheed. and some of the no-calls and out of bounds calls that went to the bulls when they clearly should've been for us.

but in any case, we should not hope for the bulls to be as bad (and careless) as they were tonight. i REALLY hope we don't get overconfident and complacent like we have a tendency to do. we need to win game 2 or else things can turn very suddenly.

bottom line- we took care of business and while it was great and all, it was one of the necessary 4 wins. put it behind us and move on to #2.

Wow what an EPIC ass-whooping. It was like Lord of the Rings or something 8-)

Very impressed with our focus and seriousness, its clear the boys came to play instead if slacking off. I actually think we'll win game 2, but am worried about Game 3 on the road.

the BABY Bulls' lack of playoff experience really showed. They were getting "bored" on the layoff (i'll bet the Pistons were thanking the lord for the layoff after all those game 7 to next series jumps), they played like they were still playing slow old geysers like the Heat. They weren't ready.

It's good to go up and not play catch-up like we did against Miami last year or San Antonio the year before.

Nearly 20 reporters were huddled around Ben Wallace before the game, and he joked about the house he still owns in suburban Detroit. "I'll cut you a good deal," he said. ... Chicago's bench was 0-for-12 through the first three quarters and finished 3-of-30

Its been a while since we've seen the Pistons take a team seriously and put forth effort for all 48 minutes. A complete domination. The only Bull who looked good was Deng. Nice exploitation of that shrimp Gordon. Good to see Maxiell get some play in a series about athleticism and effort (he was strokin it something fierce). Webber looked to slow for this series.

I could elaborate, but... hellz yah.

what an ass whoopin'

no reason to get too excited, though. our defensive energy reminded me of the '04 team, when they'd smell fear on the other team and start getting every loose ball and making every hustle play. the bench evolution is showing dividends now. props to Flip Saunders for that one.

after playing a slow footed Miami team for a series, it must be like playing against a team full of Roadrunners tonight.

http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/2765/roadrunnerfg4.jpg

What a fucking night for basketball. Rasheed impressed the hell out of me. If he can stay on the ball like this, this series is over. And Rip Hamilton...god damn, what a game.

I knew for sure that the Pistons were going to try to win this one by a huge margin. Psychologically, it's the best approach. Chicago has got some young players and that gives them a tendency to be psychologically timid. Beat them badly enough, with a squad of veterans, and they'll be too scared to come correct.

blitzkrieg from the pistons, i love it. the bulls had been severely overrated, so i wasnt shocked that we hadled them, but i was shocked that the pistons actually ran up the score... something we never do. the sweep of the magic, what should be a quick series vs the bulls, and we should win the ecf quick too. compare that to the wc champ who's probably going to have played almost 20 very tough games, and we have the huge advantage we needed.

just think if the pistons did this the last 2 years. i do believe they learned their lesson. taking care of your business early is easier than procrastinating, in the long run.

there's an interesting ESPN article up by Sheriden talking about how the Pistons stood Ben up for dinner and he was sort of waiting for them. Followed by repeated "this aint no buddy ball" quotes from Rip. Hmm, mind games by the Pistons for sensitive Ben?

there's an interesting ESPN article up by Sheriden talking about how the Pistons stood Ben up for dinner and he was sort of waiting for them. Followed by repeated "this aint no buddy ball" quotes from Rip. Hmm, mind games by the Pistons for sensitive Ben?


GOOD, That almost makes up for Sheed going to Dinner with JO.

..almost.

I'm shocked that Ben actually thought we were going to have dinner with him.

You'd think Ben would understand the intensity of the playoffs better than our guys. I guess not.

there's an interesting ESPN article up by Sheriden talking about how the Pistons stood Ben up for dinner and he was sort of waiting for them. Followed by repeated "this aint no buddy ball" quotes from Rip. Hmm, mind games by the Pistons for sensitive Ben?

i wonder if this is a case of taking a quote out of context, to stir up some controversy. i swear i heard the "this ain't buddy ball" in a pre-series interview from Rip. i wonder if Sheriden took the quote from earlier last week and made it sound like Rip was talking about standing up Ben.

eh, whatever.

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/sp/getty/62/fullj.getty-74061431gs016_chicago_bulls_10_37_39_pm.jpg

^^ a baby died for that, well worth it of course.

That dunk was incredible, but I have to admit the Deng dunk on Max was just about as good.

It does seem as though Maxiell is going to be putting in some court time against the Bulls. He's a very good pick for Ben Wallace - more muscular and more athletic. When we need competitive rebounding, he does fairly well, but we can also bring in McDyess. I gotta say - playing against Ben this year seems better than playing with him. I think he can be handled quite well.

I really hope we win Game 2.

Beating the Bulls is just fun!!!! :D

Schedule for the remainder of the series
Posted by Justin Rogers May 07, 2007 11:59AM
Game Date Location Time TV
Gm 1 Sat., May 5 @ DET 7 ET TNT
Gm 2 Mon., May 7 @ DET 8 ET TNT
Gm 3 Thurs., May 10 @ CHI 9 ET ESPN
Gm 4 Sun., May 13 @ CHI 3:30 ET ABC
Gm 5 Tues., May 15 @ DET TBD TNT
Gm 6 Thurs., May 17 @ CHI TBD ESPN
Gm 7 Mon., May 21 @ DET TBD TNT

what's up with the 9 o'clock start on Thursday?

I don't know what the rim did to Mad Max as a kid or maybe one possibly beat his mom......but that kid hates the rim

That dunk was incredible, but I have to admit the Deng dunk on Max was just about as good.

Max got dunked on because he was anticipating the shot, unfortunately. it looked like it was jumping up to reject a shot, but couldn't adjust when Deng decided to throw it down on him instead.

next time, Deng shall not be so lucky.

Pistons must stay 'locked in' (http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070507/SPORTS0102/705070305/1127)

Chris McCosky / The Detroit News

AUBURN HILLS -- Assessing the Pistons before Game 1, former Pistons coach and current TNT analyst Doug Collins said, "Do you know why they are so locked in and so focused? Because they know the Bulls can beat them."

Bingo.

And its still true. Hopefully the "locked in" part stays true as well.

42-18

I just found out that I can watch the games on Sopcast! Woo!

fantastic. i'm shocked (but pleased) with how we've taken it to the bulls in consecutive games. i know the playoffs are altogether different but with the way the bulls outrebounded and outhustled us in the 4 regular season meetings, i expected a tougher fight.

that being said, all we did was hold serve. this series is far from over and could still change. i don't see them winning 4 of 5 but we can't afford to drag this series out too long.

we faded in the 2nd half despite still holding a good lead. our execution against their zone was not good and we made a LOT of bad turnovers. we have to execute better if we're going to keep advancing.

in any case, we still won big and played well overall. i hope to see us get better with each game and kick these kids while they're down. we can't afford to let them build any confidence or momentum.

i hope we come out in game 3 and play our best game yet. because we better not think we can just walk through this team. i expect them to perform MUCH better in games 3 and 4 and put up one hell of a fight. we better be prepared or else we'll be pushing the series to 6 or 7 games.

what is sopcast?

that being said, all we did was hold serve. this series is far from over and could still change. i don't see them winning 4 of 5 but we can't afford to drag this series out too long.


Bs, that wasn't holding serve. I didn't just watch a Detroit Home Game. That was a road game with a favorable crowd. Fuck Stern, and Fuck Bevetta. You can't stop us !

Only 40 more points, until Rip cracks the NBA's top 50 all-time playoff scoring list....

The only thing sweeter is that the current #50 is Danny Ainge.

I wonder what Ben thinks about sitting in the 4th quarter now?

Sucks for him that he can't pout his way out of this one.

I wonder what Ben thinks about sitting in the 4th quarter now?

Sucks for him that he can't pout his way out of this one.
Ben gets 60 million dollars to be quiet. the about 10 million more than the price it woulda cost us for him to shut up here. expensive emotions, but its not a big deal. I want to kick his ass because he's a bull, not because of anything that happened while he was here.

what is sopcast?

its like tvu. pm me or lax if u want it

The bulls are losing coz of Ben Gordon. The guy can not play defense. He's an undersized 2 guard but doesn't have the skills for a point guard. Ben's gotta pay the price and get fucked over by Richard Hamilton. I also heard Ben was guarding Tay? Couldn't watch the game.

If we sweep these motherfuckers ill be the happiest man alive

Best game I've seen CWebb have as a Piston. Dude was on fire. I love the post game comments too, (paraphrase) "This ain't last year, McDyess and I are HUNGRY for a championship".

I believe him.

The announcers talked about Ben guarding Tay. I don't think I ever saw it. If he did, Chauncey would immediately exploit that. Tay is racking up points on Deng, no way Gordon hides by switching to him.

It was nice to see Webber get some last night. After game 1 I was starting to think he was too slow for this series.

Give me a break on all the fouls. Could that game be any longer?

[Just read through some game threads. Apparently he was on him in the 1st. Guess I was too busy watching all the points to notice this terrible decision.]

Via World Crossing:

http://basketbawful.blogspot.com/2007/05/bullspistons-game-1-little-extra-home.html



Here's an interesting excerpt from Sam Smith's magnum opus The Jordan Rules (http://www.amazon.com/Jordan-Rules-Sam-Smith/dp/0671796666):

"The Bulls coaches had inspected [the basket in front of the Piston's bench] and believed the Pistons had tinkered with it. A rubber-and-foam piece usually found behind the rim appeared to be missing. [Phil] Jackson had studied tapes of the Pistons games noticed that whenever the Pistons were shooting at that basket, they had their best rebounders in the game and crashed hardest for offensive rebounds. Jackson knew the Pistons were one of the greatest teams ever at screening and hitting the boards, but this was different. It was almost as if they expected to miss more on this particular basket."

That passage is from a book written about the Chicago Bulls' 1990-91 championship season. Why am I bringing it up now? Because something struck me as particularly odd in Game 1 of the Bulls/Pistons series: The west-end* basket seemed tight. Exceptionally tight. Like, tight way beyond what you would expect after almost 90 games of professional basketball.

*Direction relative to how it is viewed on television.

The Pistons started the game shooting at the basket in question, and they gangbanged the boards for 12 of their 14 offensive rebounds en route to establishing a 13-point halftime lead. The Bulls switched to that basket for the second half, and things promptly went from "bad" to "tragic." Chicago scored only 28 points after halftime (an all-time team playoff low), including a 12-point fourth quarter. Speaking of that fourth quarter...the Bulls hit only one of their first 15 shots and ended the stanza 3-for-20.

Of course, some of the Bulls' second-half shots were -- as you would expect -- simply off the mark. But some of them were close to dead-on. If you go back and watch the game again, you'll notice that several shots were halfway down the cylinder before kicking back out like they were shot from a gun. Others hit the mark only to clunk off the rim like it was made of stone. There was absolutely no give whatsoever in the west-end basket. I mean, the physics were crazy wrong. I haven't seen anything quite like it in all my years of watching and playing basketball.

Mind you, I'm not trying to give the Bulls a free pass here. They sucked. As a team, they committed 22 turnovers that the Pistons converted into 19 points. The Chicago bench was beyond woeful, shooting a combined 3-for-3o ("led" by Andres Nocioni's 1-for-8 performance). Furthermore, the Pistons played an agressive and energetic brand of defense the Bulls never faced against the Heat.

That said...something was up with that west-end basket. I'm sure of it. And if you wanted to shake up a young and already nervous team, a little basket tampering would certainly do the trick. Maybe I'm wrong here, but it's worth noting that Joe Dumars, the Pistons' President of Basketball Operations, was a member of that "Bad Boys" Pistons team that Phil Jackson accused of such trickery back in the early 90s.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/227/488315961_95261414a6.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/39453023@N00/488315961/)

The Pistons better get the benefit of those terrible foul calls in game three. The refs better even that shit up. I can't believe how looking at them was a foul... yet the Pistons would get hammered and nothing would be called.


...Yet the Pistons won by 21... Fuck a Bull.

there's been no basket tampering. that's ridiculous. i saw nothing unusual about the bulls poor performance except the fact that we overwhelmed them in nearly every regard and they cracked under the pressure.

The Bulls just look intimidated right now - which is strange because the confidence they had coming into game one was ridiculous. The problem I see with them so far is the fact that everyone thinks that they should be the one to pull them out of their shooting slump. Heinrich is shooting too much,same with Nocioni and a handfull of other players. They don't work the ball around. I don't expect that to continue... or else it will be a very short series.

Wow, looks like this Chicago writer is throwing in the towel.


Dazed look of Bulls speaks volumes (http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/cs-070507morrissey,1,1530646.column?coll=chi-sportstop-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true)

Published May 8, 2007

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The Bulls came here hoping to bring home a game and instead gave up two for adoption. The only thing they've proved is that they don't belong in this playoff series.

That's what the first two games of the Eastern Conference semifinals look like and, barring some sort of miracle or emergency NBA dispersal draft that includes Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant, that's what the rest of the series is going to look like.

The Bulls can't match up against this team. Nobody can guard Detroit's Tayshaun Prince, the man with the wingspan of a pterodactyl. Luol Deng tried Monday night. So did Thabo Sefolosha. Forget it.

Nobody can handle Rip Hamilton's quickness. And Ben Gordon on Chauncey Billups is gum on the shoe, a nuisance but nothing life-changing or shot-altering.

"We just weren't there for each other," Gordon said.

The Bulls couldn't be accused of playing without heart in Monday night's 108-87 loss. It wasn't a matter of that. It's not a matter of want-to or effort or energy in this series. The Bulls have all that. They don't have the Pistons' talent or experience, and until someone decrees that playoff games are decided by adrenaline levels, talent and experience will always win out. And the Bulls still have a dazed look in their eyes that says they know they're in way over their heads.

It's why this series, for all intents and purposes, is over. It's hard to envision any Scott Skiles strategy that's going to change it. An exit strategy might be in order.

These Bulls built their reputation on defense. The Pistons hit 52.6 percent of their three-pointers Monday night. Any questions?

"Right from the jump ball they owned us," Skiles said, nicely summarizing the game.

If it weren't for Bulls rookie Tyrus Thomas scoring 12 points in the fourth quarter, this would have been really ugly. Or really uglier.

The Bulls cut the lead to 13 points on an Andres Nocioni three-point play midway through the fourth quarter, and hope made a brief appearance. But in a matter of seconds, Rasheed Wallace dunked over Thomas and Billups hit a three-pointer and, well, papa was home. And the kids knew it.

The most interesting pregame instruction on a board in the Bulls' locker room was, "We are the underdogs! Play like one!" Interesting because, what, this had been news to the Bulls going into their series against the top-seeded Pistons?

On Monday night they were underdogs for sure, confirmed underdogs, having been blasted by 26 points in Game 1. So here was Game 2, and would the underdog designation replace their compliant smiles with snarls?

Not exactly. Mostly, their mouths were open in astonishment, to the point where you knew who on the team still had his wisdom teeth and who didn't. That was because the Pistons were having a hard time missing. They shot 63.6 percent from the floor in the first quarter, 55 percent in the first half and 52.6 percent for the game.

"I've seen an intensity in the locker room that is higher than I ever would have expected," Detroit center Chris Webber said afterward. "I love it when we have that edge."

When Ben Wallace is your leading scorer, as he was for the Bulls with 12 points at halftime, that's when you know for sure you're the underdogs.

Wallace spent most of the fourth quarter on the bench and was heckled unmercifully by fans who were upset he left Detroit for Chicago and a $60 million contract in the off-season. During a timeout he glared at some of them behind the Bulls' bench and muttered.

That's how it was Monday night.

The idea that Wallace's friendship with his former teammates is affecting his play, a theory that was advanced in a newspaper column Monday, struck him as ludicrous.

"I don't want to beat nobody badder than I want to beat those guys," he said.

Look, the Bulls had 52 free-throw attempts to Detroit's 23 and still lost by 21 points. Wallace could view the Pistons as mortal enemies and it wouldn't make a bit of difference in this series.

With 4:21 left, Skiles put Malik Allen and Adrian Griffin in the game, and you could hear the sound of feet on the metal stairs near the expensive seats as people headed to the parking lots.

As for the Bulls, they've come a ways as a team, but they have miles to go and hardly any season left.

rmorrissey@tribune.com

Bah, it's still going to go at least 6 games IMO.

All it is going to take for this thing to tighten up a bit is for those jumpshots to start falling for the Bulls. Maybe it won't happen, but it probably will.

If the Pistons stay aggressive and keep making shots, it won't matter though.

In case anybody is wondering, C-Webb played his way into the Pistons record books last night.

He set the franchise record for highest %FG (%90.9) in a playoff game.

just curious: (and too lazy to look myself!) where is this list of alltime playoff scorers?

just curious: (and too lazy to look myself!) where is this list of alltime playoff scorers?

Actually, it's hard for me to find one online. I had to go off of my almanac for this one...

The Bulls best chance against Detroit is to go quick and small.
Keep PJ Brown planted on the Bench. Give those minutes to Tyrus Thomas and Nocioni. Play fast break basketball. Getting killed on the boards anyway, might as well get killed for a reason.

From the mess that is Terry Fosters "glog"


Big Ben Called Out

One fan got on Ben Wallace about signing a $60 million contract with the Bulls and leaving the Pistons.

He was being critical of Wallace leaving a better situation for the money. Ben heard the taunts and simply rubbed his fingers together as if to say I got the money. I am sure it will get even worse if the series returns to the Palace for Game 5.

Right now Ben looks embarrassed. His team has been dreadful and he has done nothing to help.

I wish someone had a picture or video of that!

We really need to get back to posting articles from the paper in these threads. That Ben thing was in at least 2 Chicago columns.

That would be a sweet sig Mxy. I'd put it right next to this one.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e341/Greene000/shimmy-1.gif

all time playoff scorers (http://www.nba.com/statistics/encyc/Player.jsp?sortOrder=21&conf=all&clock=all&active=all&type=TOTALS&rule=all&position=all&season=all&exp=all&college=all&team=all&age=all&height=all&x=39&y=9)

AUBURN HILLS -- While most people were sleeping in the early morning hours Tuesday, Chris Webber sat in a darkened room and watched a tape with steely eyed intensity.

Advertisement
Webber was nearly flawless offensively in the Pistons' Game 2 crunching of the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference semifinals a few hours earlier, but he wasn't poring over the game tape to stroke his own ego. He wanted to explore ways to get better and figure out what the Bulls might do in Chicago Thursday to slow him and his white-hot team down.

"I'm up that late anyway," he said. "I'm a night owl."

Usually, Webber checks over the game film after a good night's sleep, but he was too restless and pumped up to hit the pillow before he hit the study room.

"I had a lot of energy, so I just watched the game last night," he said after practice Tuesday afternoon. "You just want to see what you're doing well and what you're not doing well. Your tendencies show up on tape, just little things, and I just wanted to see it while I was in the mindframe of the game, to remember plays and things like that."


Webber hung around after practice to work on his post moves and free-throw shooting with assistant coach Igor Kokoskov. The last Webber wants is to start feeling too good about how he and his teammates are playing.

"That's the thing I'm reading about, that I'm enjoying the journey. Truthfully, that's hard for me to digest," he said. "I take enjoying with being complacent. I really don't enjoy it. I'm glad we won. I watched the tape of the game last night and that's it. We've got a game on Thursday. That's as much as I enjoy it."

http://www.dailytribune.com/stories/050907/spo_pistons001.shtml

wow, odd that my almanac has different numbers in a lot of areas....

Fuck this 9 pm start shit.

:mccosky:


Ben's back pain, and other stuff

Joanne Gerstner was at Bulls practice today and she reports that Ben Wallace sat out with back spasms. She said he was walking real slowly, clearly uncomfortable. They will determine his status at game time, but Ben not being able to play might not be great news for the Pistons. They have been able to put heavy pressure on the Bulls' perimeter players, largely because they don't feel they have to worry much about Ben or PJ Brown down low. If Ben doesn't play, Scott Skiles would deploy a small lineup, with five scorers -- the kind of lineup that has given the Pistons problems at times this season.

We had a brief chat with commissioner David Stern before Game 2, some of which actually made it into the newspaper. It was funny, because I asked him how the referee lineup was affected by Joey Crawford's suspension. I wondered how they were selecting his replacement. Stern said he wasn't sure, but added, smugly, that the most experienced and qualified officials would be working the later rounds of the playoffs. I wish I could have talked to him afterwards. I wonder what he thought of Leon Wood and Joe Forte making an absolute mess of Game 2. There were 60 fouls called and 81 free throws shot -- in a blowout game. It took nearly three hours to play. That cannot be what Stern wants in the playoffs. It was almost impossible to watch after a while.

Much is made of the Pistons being a great road team -- and they are. But it might surprise you to know that since 2002-2003, their road record in the playoffs is 16-17. The thing is, though, they have won some huge games on the road -- a Game 7 in Miami, a Game 6 facing elimination in both New Jersey and San Antonio. I didn't look it up, but I am willing to bet no other team in the East has more road playoff wins in that span of time.

the sloppiest fucking effort ever. dumb as shit entry pass after dumb as shit entry pass with too much one on one ball.


And fuck you refs on these fouls.

It looks like Gutz is about as frustrated as I am. The Pistons are playing some of the worst ball I have ever seen.

Anyone else having flashbacks of last year?

Man props to the bulls for defending the post well in their zone. But we threw some stupid entry passes in rather than trying to penetrate or find another option.

also gotta kill the quick chucks, billups was the ring leader of that. But we seem to be trying to get it together now.

Anyone else having flashbacks of last year?
not yet. But i dont like it so far.

Don't wake the Pistons up!
Great third quarter, HUGE shot by Wallace, I'm looking for a closeout 4th.
When you are a young team, like the Bulls, and you've played the best you can and are only up by one, it's gotta hurt.

Rasheed is taking the game over.

AAAHHH! AAAAH! AAAAAAAAAH!!!!!

Never give up on your squad. Ever.

Six straight trips down the floor in crunch time without even getting a good shot off, let alone making one. Could have had this one put away.

We won despite Marc Jackson and refs not wanting us to.

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Wow. Possibly the fugliest basketball game I have seen since the Pistons/Celtics game 3 in 2002. This was sick, but the W shows how great this team is.

Huge win after a superb first 24 by the Bulls. There is no panic in these guys. Can't say the same about the fans :x

I will never doubt this team again.

Repeat.

I will never doubt this team again...

Great halftime adjustments. Its become obvious that the quality of the staff will make difference. Our staff around Flip>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Last years gay ass staff of assistants.

Great win, and kudos to the power of experience.

Wow. Possibly the fugliest basketball game I have seen since the Pistons/Celtics game 3 in 2002. This was sick, but the W shows how great this team is.
Told you it wasn't the cleveland series yet. Sheed was healthy and he made a difference.


Kudos to Dyess for battling on the boards with Ben. Oh, the Bulls can keep Nocioni. I'm str8 with getting delfino.


Lastly Ben Gordon is the MVP of the game. Drove to the lane wildly all night and it came back to haunt him in the 3rd.

I may only have a bottle of wine in me but...I love you guys?

Skiles went on the presser and crapped all over the idea that Flip's defensive schemes is causing Chicago to miss shots.

Basically, they had a ton of open looks, and just didn't make them.

The very idea is "funny" to him.

Bulls fans calling for Skiles head. They should.

0 Turnovers in the second half against their defense? Utterly ridiculous.

Ive never ever in my life typed/said this.... ZMFG!!11!!1!!

That second half was the shit, and Kstat is almost right except at halftime I did say 'Im not worried'. Beautiful win, my throat is scratchy just from yelling at the TV during the 3rd.

Great halftime adjustments. Its become obvious that the quality of the staff will make difference. Our staff around Flip>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Last years gay ass staff of assistants.

Great win, and kudos to the power of experience.
Terry Porter anyone

Ben Wallace would not say why he was late, telling reporters as he jogged from the court to the locker room after warming up before the game: "Talk to you after the game." Bulls coach Scott Skiles clearly was not happy about Wallace's late arrival. "It's disappointing to me if it's an exhibition game in October," he said. "I don't put any more emphasis on this game than any other one. It's something that I can't, right now at this moment, be distracted by personally. I have to get myself ready for the game."

I was at a friend's place through the first half watching this on his big-ass TV (drove home at halftime). I told him we were gonna win this game at the end of the half and he thought I was nuts. Moohaha!

the ultimate hustle player couldn't even hustle his ass into the arena on time...

Seriously, that's kinda sad. Ben is more Sheed than Sheed right now.

And Sheed is quiet and focused all of a sudden, isn't he?

Webber has a lot to do with that.

He's one of the few guys still playing that Sheed grew up under and listens to.

the ultimate hustle player couldn't even hustle his ass into the arena on time...

Seriously, that's kinda sad. Ben is more Sheed than Sheed right now.

Wow. Cold. But true. I wonder if there is some emotional toll on Ben Wallace in this series?
Now, is it me, and me alone, that doesn't think Chicago is ever going to go far with a lineup in which Nociconi and Heinrich play such significant rolls, and Ben Wallace at center? That seems like three extroardinarily easy to defend starters.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA

If you'd have asked me before the game what the perfect way to win this game was, I'd have said a blow out. I'd have been wrong. How do you even imagine this kind of game. It's like they wanted the Bulls to feel good about themselves one last time before they tore their fucking throats out. In-fucking-credible. This is the kind of game that gives a squad an identity in the history of the team. Unbelievable. Siting there watching them just march back into the game and over their opponent. That's what you watch sports for.

I dont know if you guys partake in senseless trolling of other teams messageboards, but me and wil ledezma and a couple guys from werollhard BOMBARDED the bulls board on ESPN.

Skiles still denies that the zone is having an effect on his team.

kirk is having a flashback to his college days....

http://aycu31.webshots.com/image/17390/2003118841864621344_rs.jpg

Wow. Cold. But true. I wonder if there is some emotional toll on Ben Wallace in this series?
Now, is it me, and me alone, that doesn't think Chicago is ever going to go far with a lineup in which Nociconi and Heinrich play such significant rolls, and Ben Wallace at center? That seems like three extroardinarily easy to defend starters.

gordon is a 6th man, and imo, kirk and nocioni need to be moved. for being the son of a coach, kirk is amazingly stupid. both of them bog down the offense too.

i knew the pistons would do their classic mid-3rd qrter zone d fueled push, but i honestly didnt think they would come back from 19 down. wow. bulls are cooked. i was supposed to go to this game tonight but it fell through. rumor has it there might be a luxury box in my future on sunday. seeing how bull fans are the most fairweather fans on the planet, my guess is the stadium will be 1/4 full and be dominated by piston fans, and i should have no trouble finding a free ticket at work.

that game was a thing of freakin' beauty.

it's downright SCARY how methodical the Pistons are becoming, when facing adversity. they have so much faith in their system and philosophy, they just run the offense until it works.

in just one series the Bulls go from "the next Eastern Conference powerhouse" to a team full of questions. anyone having flashbacks of the '04 Lakers that were broken up after being embarassed by the Pistons? the Bulls are so young, but the Pistons have been ripping their hearts out repeatedly, and mercilessly.

the only (cruel) remaining option is for the Pistons to win Game 4 on a impossible buzzer beating shot.

The Pistons felt the zone changed the tenor of the game, though Bulls coach Scott Skiles vehemently disagreed.

"Is their zone getting all kinds of public recognition?" Skiles asked. "Is that what's going on? I think it's kind of funny, and I don't mean to show them any disrespect, but we have been getting shots all over the place. I'll look at the tape to see if we're looking at the same game, but we missed somewhere between 18 and 25 open shots.

"I don't want to take anything away from them because they have long, athletic guys and when you take it to the wrong area they will get a piece of the ball. We got a little tentative."

Chicago Tribune (http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/cs-070510smith,1,7885158.column?coll=chi-sportstop-hed&ctrack=3&cset=true)

And while Bulls coach Scott Skiles again downplayed its effectiveness, saying his team was "getting shots all over the place," [Rasheed] Wallace had another view.

"That's just lying to themselves about things that we do," he said.

God damn Sheed! Ice. Fucking. Cold.

We know their favorite spots to shoot better than Skiles does.

From an on/off-the-court +/- perspective, this is interesting. Luol Deng was -16, and the next closest Bull was at Gordon at -6. Nocioni, for all his lack of nuts at the line and being owned defensively, was +1. On our end, less of a surprise -- Webber was -17 and McDyess was +16.

Bulls fans can blame Skiles all they want (and I hope they do since I hate the guy) but the real villian in Chicago is Paxson.

He blew it at the trade deadline when he didn't go out and get a post scorer. With the resources that they have (not talking about trading Deng here, who I think should be their franchise player) they could have acquired somebody that could save their assess when the jumpers aren't falling, like they haven't been against us.

Add to this that Paxson's decision to break the bank for Ben is looking like a big time mistake, and this mistake is not going away any time soon. It's really going to cripple their chances to load up and build a championship team IMO. What could they have done with that money they gave Ben? There wasn't much to choose from last offseason, but this and next year they would have had some options that they don't have anymore.

As much as the second half was amazing to watch last night, both teams have pretty much just turned this into a jump shooting contest.

Also, credit where credit is due.

Props to Flip on the HPTFZD.

I hate to admit it, but yeah, Flip Saunders' coaching actually really came through last night. Dap where dap is due.

Also, credit where credit is due.

Props to Flip on the HPTFZD.


I'm approaching "eat crow" zone.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/mariotti/381491,CST-SPT-jay11.article

In a hole lot of trouble
Pistons expose Bulls -- again -- for what they are: A soft team that desperately needs scorers

May 11, 2007
BY JAY MARIOTTI (inbox@suntimes.com) Sun-Times Columnist

You almost longed for the dismal days of Tim Floyd and Dalibor Bagaric, or Jerry Krause sending Benny the Bull and the Luvabulls to the airport in a daffy attempt to recruit Tim Duncan and Tracy McGrady. That's how embarrassing it was to watch the Bulls choke on a 19-point lead and collapse like, well, the Cubs. Not much was at stake in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, only the credibility of John Paxson's master plan and community trust in the Bulls' future. But all they did was expose themselves as a brittle, sloppy, skittish team of erratic jumpshooters who weren't ready for prime time, turning wild cheers to boos in a soft, spineless, 81-74 loss to the Detroit Pistons. The Bulls at least could have made the series interesting by knocking out the Pistons, who didn't show up for the first half and had no apparent interest in working Thursday night.
Instead, the talk today will concern whether Paxson's nucleus is a hocus-pocus tease -- good enough to reach the second round but stuck in some no-man's land between real contention and mediocrity. Let the discussions resume about Kevin Garnett and Pau Gasol, about whether Ben Gordon should be sacrificed because he doesn't play the defense required by Scott Skiles. Because when you've waited nine years for a playoff-series victory after experiencing six championships in the '90s, the last thing anyone needs is three or four more years of tweener ball.
''When you lose at home, they put you in the bowels of the arena for a press conference,'' Skiles said. ''We played better and harder, but in the third quarter, we let up for four or five minutes and let them back in. Much like the last two games, we couldn't find the bottom of the basket.''

''This loss hurts a lot more than the other two,'' Luol Deng said. ''It's hard losing a game like that. It really hurts.''

Zone brings on chill
How symbolic was the pregame tardiness of Ben Wallace, whose $60 million will look foolhardy if the Bulls are swept by his former team? While traffic is no excuse in Chicago unless you're Michael Jordan, the fact remains Wallace was hired to set a competitive tone against his former teammates. Alarmingly, he preferred to text-message them last weekend in pathetic attempts to have dinner, requests that were denied by Pistons players who'd rather drink title champagne than break bread with the enemy. ''Somebody said the traffic was really bad. In Chicago, it usually is,'' said Skiles, offering a wry commentary on a brewing problem.
But then, the Bulls have much bigger issues than Big Ben's bad clock. All Flip Saunders had to do on the Detroit sideline was yell ''zone'' to his players in the second half. Instantly, the Bulls froze. What happened to Gordon, who shot 4-for-16, went scoreless in the fourth quarter and has played an abominable series that thrusts doubt about his future? Is it realistic to keep using Kirk Hinrich in a critical offensive role when he's so unreliable as a big-game shooter? Only Deng has been consistent as a scorer. In the end, it was the experience, moxie and pride of the Pistons that put the Bulls in their place, with any remaining loyalists reminded of harsh reality.

No team has overcome an 0-3 hole to win an NBA playoff series.
Ever.

''From my seat, what has become a trend in three games -- when they want to do something out there, they do it. When they want to penetrate, they penetrate. When they want to shoot threes, they shoot threes,'' Skiles said. ''Once it got tight, they turned it up, and we weren't able to go with them.''

Asked about the Detroit zone, he smirked as only he can smirk. He is being outcoached by Saunders -- where was Chris (DNP) Duhon, by the way? -- but he can't face the music. ''Is their zone getting all sorts of public recognition? Is that what's going on? I think it's kind of funny. I don't mean to show disrespect, but we're missing open shots,'' said Skiles, in comments that will fire up the Pistons. ''They're good enough to feed off of that.''

For the record, the Bulls scored 30 points in the second half, two fewer than they scored in the second half of Game 1. They desperately need scorers, and if Paxson has the nerve, he'll see Garnett, Gasol, Jermaine O'Neal, Vince Carter and others available this summer. I enjoy youth movements as much as anyone, but they have to show continued progress. This series, so far, is a major setback after the stunningly easy sweep of the Miami Heat. Either that or the Pistons are bound for an NBA title, though I can't see it when San Antonio and Phoenix are playing the league finals as we speak.

I keep thinking back to Wednesday, to a post-practice scene involving Skiles. His forehead tightened like a rack of washboard abs. His frown challenged the cojones and competitive integrity of his players. His facetious tone could have cut through Steve Dahl, Dan McNeil, Mayor Daley or any of the town's smart-alecky blowhards. He was in vintage attack mode, firing a survivalist rally cry to his desperate team.
''Man up,'' he said.

Mission unaccomplished.

Don't expect more patience
It was vital in the big picture that the Bulls at least showed a pulse in this series. Collapsing only will lead to offseason public debates about a nucleus that is young and talented but not projected as championship material. As it is, Paxson still hears questions about why he didn't trade for Gasol, the low-post scoring force so sorely needed. The quick answer -- he didn't want to relinquish Deng -- makes sense, but that doesn't mean Gordon will escape another round of trade talk. When a dynasty fades away, and you make fans wait and wait, no one has patience to wait longer. The ultimate difference-maker, Garnett, should be available soon. The Lakers want him dearly, but the Bulls can put together a more attractive offer. Would you give up Gordon, P.J. Brown and a lottery pick that Paxson prays turns into a high one?

For now, they wait for a hollow Sunday, Mother's Day after the mother of all Bulls collapses. ''It's the biggest game of everybody's life,'' Gordon said.
Sorry, but that game was Thursday night.

In a hole lot of trouble
Pistons expose Bulls -- again -- for what they are: A soft team that desperately needs scorers

I hate to admit it, but yeah, Flip Saunders' coaching actually really came through last night. Dap where dap is due.
Props Flip indeed, but props to the better staff also. Terry porter and dave cowens >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>the two losers helping him last year. Biggest props to joe D for demanding he gets some Assistants worth a damn. The way scott skiles is smirking in the face of elimination as if he's itching to get starting on his summer crafts project, i dont know how good a coach we beat on unfortunately. [smilie=peepwall.gi:

scott skiles is smirking in the face of elimination as if he's itching to get starting on his summer crafts project

Sweet imagery. I can just picture him sitting courtside, bored, flipping through a DIY book called "Making Puppets for Fun and Entertainment," with full-color photos. That is about the only way Skiles could show any more contempt for his team than he's showing right now.

There was a cute on-screen graphic on SportsCenter this morning that read something like this:



Records during the month of May.

Pistons 3-0

Red Wings 3-0

Tigers 7-1

They were talking about what a great time it is to be a sports fan in Detroit. Pretty cool.

Lions: still shitting up the league.

Don't poop the party, guy!

Lions: still shitting up the league.

Still undefeated in May though!

Regarding Big Ben's "emotional turmoil" as someone else said, I think he's gotten all lonely and misses his buddies being that he's notoriously "sensitive" for a big tough guy- i theorized that the players mighta been playing a little mind game by standing him up for dinner. I think at this point in time, he sees how good we are and how much fun the guys are having and wishes he was with us. Too bad Ben, too bad.

I cant beleive we won this game. I checked the score at half time 28-44. I thought to myself how the fuck did we only score 28 at halftime? I didn't even other checking the score because id figure it to be something like 69-85 or something.

But fuck that shit.

Rasheed in rare diplomatic form:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/lopresti/2007-05-11-lopresti-bulls_N.htm


(But Rasheed Wallace had a few words over in the Detroit locker room afterward, trying not to chortle. "As we chopped it down," he mentioned of the lead and the Bulls, "them butt holes got tighter and tighter.")

Best quote of the post season. I'm going to make that my avatar some day - but not yet... (I'm a little superstitious)

Close out game today.

Can the Pistons make it 8-0 in this playoffs?

I have to imagine the Bulls are demoralized right now. This might get ugly quick.

I think this is either going to be a hideously boring game or freakishly weird one. You heard it here first.

Kinda crappy effort by the Pistons in the first half. Ww are getting outhutled on most of the plays and have way too many dumb passes for turnovers (Sheed)!!

Does anyone else hate that camera angle they overuse in the playoffs? You cant see half of whats going on...

We arent even trying for offensive boards, sickening. We need some JMax just for that reason.

Chris Webber has scored 0 points.

Wow, what a load of shit. We aren't playing well, and should be losing at this point, but the refs are really helping the Bulls out. Tayshaun got molested on two dunk attempts and didn't get a whistle, while Chauncey flew by Gordon and an and one was called. We need to capitalize on the free throws we are getting. Ben used the off arm on Rasheed, Rasheed mouths off and gets T'd, and Hubie shuns Rasheed for such a foul, "clearly a foul there." Yeah, Hubie, it was on Ben; I'm tired of the Piston hate Hubie throws down. Can we please have a different announcer? Damn. Looks like we won't be able to win this one, but oh well.

Does anyone else hate that camera angle they overuse in the playoffs? You cant see half of whats going on...

i agree. it's a stupid gimmick that i wish they'd stop. hell, sometime when they go back to the regular view, that other camera blocks the view.


Chris Webber has scored 0 points.

in two games.

The first game Webber was just off, but this game we didn't even bother giving him the ball. That's on the guards, not Webber.

It was really a pretty pathetic effort. Sheed really needs to work harder on rebounding and stop with the shitty passes (4 TO's vs. 1 asst.). I'm not sure what in the hell is wrong with Webber but he needs to show up if he wants a ring. Rip and Chauncey both shot for shit. Prince was the only starter who played well.

The bad - only 2 blocks, out-rebounded by 18, 37.3% shooting (24% from 3 pt.), a ton of offensive fouls, and a general lack of effort. Good thing that the next game is at home. I would have liked our guys having teh extra rest but hopefully the Cavs/Nets series will go 6 or 7.

Pistons, Wings, Tigers. Worst. Day. Ever.

The loss that has the most bearing on anything was the Red Wings. They all suck though.

Murray was all over Hinrich lmfao.

Time for the Bulls to steal on in Detroit :)

Bulls first team in NBA Histroy to come back from 0-3
I'm a BULLiever.
Fuck The Pistons ;) lol

Pistons, Wings, Tigers. Worst. Day. Ever.
Get a bunch of women cycling together in an office and your head will hurt at the same time. I think the losses here were all on the same principle. I hope Detroit's Mother's Day Massacre will quickly fade into a historical footnote.

delusional bulls fan ramblings removed

That avatar is hilarious.

What a horrible gane to watch.

At least Hinrich's mom was hot.

the pistons look like they fell into their old habits. they're come back vctory in game 3 and their 3-0 lead undoubtedly left them overconfident. there was no intensity and urgency on the piston's end.

i do worry about their reliance on waiting around until the fourth quarter to mount a comeback. through the first few games of this series, i think we all saw a very intense pistons team come out and throw the first punch. game 4 looked like they were intent on taking the punches until late in the game and then trying to throw a haymaker.

well, it was in a losing effort, but DAMN FLIP!

EsxBWdrWgNo

Watch the last angle of that dunk very carefully. Hinrich takes a shot at Flip's junk......dirty as Bruce Bowen, damn!

Well, I give up.

Just spent a good 15 minutes trying to locate a pic of Hinrich's mom for my avatar, but no luck.

His MySpace page is as close as I came: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=144938826

Nice find Glenn. I tried to leave a comment to the effect of 'Nice punch to Murrays junk' but I have to be his friend and Im just not going there.

Hubie Brown is too busy right now making a case for Murray's junk being called for the offensive foul on that play.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/realgm/ElijahHinrich.jpg
The Pistons will win 105-87

Hubie Brown is too busy right now making a case for Murray's junk being called for the offensive foul on that play.

Fukken post of the century

For some reason I have a little nervous feeling in my gut about this game. But I think the 'Stones pull out a close one, especially if Flip Murray is dunking on everyone's friends and family.

I'm not even going to watch it. It's my custom when my team gets up 3-0 to not watch the close out games.

Eventually, you know you're going to win, and it's no point letting your team drive you nuts by watching them toy around.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/realgm/ElijahHinrich.jpg
[FONT="Arial Black"]
This is what I envisioned Hinrich's mother to look like.

As I remember Heinrich's mom is quite the porker

She has a nice grill too.

Aaaaahahahahahah check out this comment from aolsportsblog:


that move was as crooked as mama hinrich's teeth

We need Mrs. Hinrich unity avatars.

:mccosky:


The other somewhat amusing sideshow at practice was us media types trying to make a big deal out of Kirk Hinrich throwing a punch at Flip Murray's groin area after he was dunked on in Game 4. Check out YouTube and you can see the video. Hinrich clearly jabs with his left hand. Murray, though, said he never saw the punch and certainly didn't feel it. If he did, he said Hinrich would have had a lot more to worry about than just getting suspended. Joe Dumars and Flip Saunders reviewed the tape, but it didn't look like they were sending it to the league. So much for our big story, right?

LOL at Bob craving some Hinrich. They better fucking win this game.

Blakely

Check out the little jab that Skiles throws at Flipper.


Skiles rips Pistons' zone defense, then runs it himself

Posted by A. Sherrod Blakely May 15, 2007 06:39AM

It was funny to see the Bulls play some zone defense the other night considering some of the comments made recently by Scott Skiles, who said the Pistons' zone defense isn't all that different than what "probably 10,000 high schools do, all over the country, everyday, every game."

At any rate, Skiles commented to reporters in Chicago on his team's zone defense: "It puts them in their zone offense, instead of going to some mismatch so we'll do it some again. I don't have a name for my zone, a clever name or anything."

That was another not-so-subtle dig at Detroit's defense by Skiles. He was talking about Saunders referring to his zone defense as a "hyperbolic, paraboloid, transitional, floating zone defense."

When did Flip call it that?

It is a stupid name. Talk about trying to make it more than it is.

Also, credit where credit is due.

Props to Flip on the HPTFZD.


Flip has called it that for years.

Flip's an idiot. Minnesota is a terrible school.

Skiles is the biggest baby of a coach ever. Can't say I respect anything about him. If Zo was a coach, I'd have more respect for his shirt ripping flexo bs than Skiles shyt headed smirks of stubborn tears.

What the fuck? Seriously the combination of the Bulls not missing (near 80%) and the Pistons playing like shit is pissing me off. This is why they should have finished them off in game 4.

If it wasn't for Chauncey, this game would be over already.

I'm not even sure I want Detroit to win this one. What the fuck is wrong with Flip Saunders? Why does he insist that a zone defense is effective against people who never enter the zone?

Still having flashbacks... except we waited until game 4 to self destruct this year...

I think it's fairly clear now, between Cleveland last season and these last two games, that the Flip Saunders version of the Pistons are not a mentally strong playoff team. When people talk about our experience and how we've been there before, its important people realize they are talking about the Brown Pistons. Last season we may have made the ECF but we limped in there and got our asses kicked in there. Not really something to be referencing.

When does a Detroit fan sit back and finally think that maybe the PLAYERS have their heads up their asses and aren't getting the job done? The Pistons look pathetic out there, shots aren;t dropping, and they are all looking for someone else to do something good.
Sometimes you all loosy goosey and shit and it bite you in de asss.

We are getting pistolwhipped and skullfucked out there.

I'm just shocked right now. I never thought this could happen. Our players are seriously a bunch of egotistical pricks. I know they were all thinking, "We're the best and we'll win on our homecourt". Well, WIN THE STUPID GAME. DON'T JUST SAY THAT YOU'RE DOING TO WIN IT. DO IT.

Now, it looks like we have almost a must-win game 6 in Chicago. I don't have much faith in our ability to come back here for a game 7 after having lost three straight to such a streaky team. And I don't have much faith in this team right now to win a game 6, for that matter.

I'm just pissed. I haven't been this pissed at the 'Stones since... I don't even know.

I hope chicago wins this series. At least if they do, they have the chance of going somewhere. If we win, it will be wasted.

In fact, fuck the finals. Just give the trophy to whoever comes out of the west. Save 7 games and possible injuries.

What an absolute joke. This team acts like they are the '98 Bulls. They think they can just waltz into an arena (especially their home one) and get a W. They are arrogant with no reason to be, and now they're getting their asses handed to them. Where is the killer instinct? Where is the team of the first 2 games and the comeback in game 3? I'm sick of this shit.

This looks eerily similar to the Cleveland series last year, although I don't see us winning game 7 this year. Embarrassing.

Honestly I miss Lawrence Harvey Brown more and more with each game. Ever since he's left this team has been on an absolute fucking power trip and quite frankly I am sick of it. The Bulls deserve to win this series.

Go Wings.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

EDIT: Tigers too.

I think we've gotten away from saying this, but:

Welcome timbeau0805.

We've been waiting for you.

After having cooled down a bit (only took me about an hour!), I think we will probably come out with renewed focus and win game 6. I know that is a very bold prediction, and there really isn't much reason to believe it, but I just sense something special with this team this year. It's easy to be down on this team for destroying a great opportunity, but this could be a defining moment. When we won it a few years back, we had to fend off a strong New Jersey team. That was a much worse situation than this is.

Do you all remember how bad that felt to lose a winnable game 5 at the Palace in triple overtime? I do. I thought that team was toast. But they surprised us all and got the job done.

All this team needs is a strong reminder from Joe Dumars. They need to get the job done, and Joe will make sure they do it.

Another win by the Bulls :)
Just win the home game and see what happens in Game 7.
When will Sheed open his mouth??

For as badley as the Pistons played along with the Bulls playing a near perfect game, I really wasn't that upset. I should be but I wasn't. I think that it has a lot to do with what happened with the Suns/Spurs suspensions. I am just so disappointed by the league that I all of a sudden don't seem to care for basketball anymore. I really hope that this is temporary but I feel like somehow part of the game died with that decision. It just comes across as being so totally unfair and unreasonable and since the team that started the whole fiasco comes out ahead, entirely unfair. It's just sad, plain and simple. Stern, you suck and are ruining the game. If your goals was to chase away fans, mission accomplished! You're a minus one right here!

The thing that worries me the most is the fact the refs called the game tonight like there would be a game 7 and at this point I am not too confident about one, at home or not.

There is no way Bulls win 4 in a row. However after we won game 3, I just said to myself, I wont get worried until we lose game 5....

Team needs to refocus. Missed the game but it seems like Flips being a dumbass and we are playing poorly.

It's just staggering how bad the team effort was here - team, in this case, covering the players and the coach together.

* using zone when Chicago's on a perimeter streak is really a huge fuck-up in my book. The zone defense protects the basket. If the offensive team has no intention of taking it to the basket, what fucking good is the zone? I bet you anything this is an example of Flip Saunders' pride being hurt by all the comments about his zone defense, and he's trying to prove that it works.

* The rebound numbers were also really deceptive. The rebound effort was awful. You could actually see moments where after a shot, the top of the screen was completely red and the bottom of the screen was completely white. That means Pistons aren't even trying.

* Passing was my balls. There was no real hustle out there.

* But the number 1 complaint I have about last nights game: POSITIONING. I can't understand it for the life of me why it is that we have one white jersey sticking it out for rebounds in a sea of red jerseys.

We had guys out there trying to make an effort. I think Flip Murray was trying. I think Chauncey was trying. I think Tayshaun was trying too but he's too tired after being relied on for way too long. The guys who were out there showing some energy and hustle were abandoned by their teammates or taken out of the game by their coach. Everyone in Detroit should be ashamed of this performance.

you are all a bunch of children.

Power was out from the storm (its still out). Couldn't watch the game.

Unfortunately, I expected this to happen in at least one of the games in this series. The Bulls can really shoot it, and when they get hot, you can't beat them.

As I've said before, we're in a jumpshooting contest now, fellas.

That said, if we had the Mrs. Hinrich unity avatars in place, no way we lose that game.

I think we've gotten away from saying this, but:

Welcome timbeau0805.

We've been waiting for you.


Thanks for keeping it real, Mo.

Hi Tim.

I'm not watching the next game. I can't stand watching the Pistons dick around for 42 minutes, it puts too much stress and anger into me. I don't want to die at an early age.

I think we're seeing a very real problem with these Pistons: Mental toughness. It's not just for when you're down in a series.

They have a real problem playing the "playoff adjustment" game. We were fine and everybody was singing Flip's praises... but the thing is... we hadn't lost yet. It takes exactly one adjustment to kill us. Part of it I think is they're just too arrogant to accept that the team earned the win by adjusting and just assume the loss was all on them - so they dont have to make any changes, just "play our game, cuz we been here before".

They figured out the zone. Does Flip have anything else up his sleeve? Our Man to Man D looked putrid last night.

If Flip was coaching us in '04, we would have lost to the Pacers after the Game 4 blowout at the Palace in the ECF - if you remember, they made adjustments to spread the floor and open up the paint (I think they put in Croshere into the starting lineup and changed a few other things). we adjusted back and blew them out of their own building and eventually won game 6 to go to the Finals.

OK, I've calmed down a bit and taken a look back at the game somewhat. It does appear that the problem definitely appeared to be centered around defensive adjustments. It's a plausible root explanation for the kinds of things I saw last night - if the team was confused about what they were being told to do on the court, it could cause some guys to second-guess their game.

I mean, think about this. You're in a dire situation, already pretty stressful, and you're told to do something that doesn't make sense to you. You don't have a choice, really, you have to follow the gameplan your coach lays down, but you could be conflicted about what is expected of you, and that can cause a lot of chaos on the court.

Miracle comeback game aside, whoever starts strong wins the game - that's always been the case in the other 4 games. The Pistons said it themselves at the start, they had a plan to out-hustle and play with energy and intensity since that was Chicago was known for.

the usual "we'll play lazy then turn it on" mentality isn't suited for the Bulls, it just doens't suit the makeup of their team.

On the bright side I don't think the Bulls will shoot 62% in game 6.


Did I mention I am a bipolar sports fan?

If you don't D them up well, they may shoot 62%. It wasn't too long ago that D-Wade averaged 60% field goal shooting for an entire series.

Throwing yourself into defenders and launching shots that go in by the grace of God will do that.

Throwing yourself into defenders and launching shots that go in by the grace of God will do that.
I don't think its God that's on his side.

Fucking voodoo, satan bastard

Someone needs to tell Wade that this is basketball, not a mosh pit.

hot shooting by the bulls or not, the pistons should be ashamed of themselves. i wish we had a more VOCAL leader who got in our players' faces when things are going ugly like this for us.

we should be embarassed that we got our asses kicked on our homecourt by a young team in the playoffs! yes, the bulls were shooting hot. but watch the film- we were not making any hustle plays out there. even our cuts looked slow.

the bulls simply played with more energy and intensity and we never matched it, even once they started kicking our ass up and down the court.

i'm disgusted by about 11 of the last 12 quarters of basketball i've watched from us.

no way we win a title like this. or even make the finals in the weak east for that matter. i hope somehow we wake up and things change. but if we didn't learn after the last 2 games, i fear we will never learn. what a waste of a tremendous team we've assembled.

we should have at least 2 or 3 titles to show for the team we've put out there over the last few years. instead we have 1- which is great- and 2 collossal disappointments (and perhaps a 3rd on the way, but hopefully not).

I've got to agree on Highwarrior 100% on this. We have a great team and we just don't seem to have the desire.

Very good point by HW. This team does not have a true "leader" or a "go to guy" when we absolutely have to have a bucket. We have 5 or 6 studs, but when you need a bucket or someone needs to reem someone, who's gonna do it? The Flip Saunders element hinders us too. I was at game 2 and even though it was a blowout, but late in the game after Tyrus Thomas just got about his 8th dunk, I leaned over to the guy I was with and said "they're absolutely shredding this zone". Time for an adjustment Filip.

Win this game please. Fuck a game 7.

We regroup, refocus, and rekick their asses tonight. We let them have their fun, but playtime's over.

Pistons in 6.

[smilie=shuriken.gi:

Quote me on this: if this game is lost tonight, we're probably going to see Flip Saunders let go, and possibly some other big moves in the roster. The only indispensable players are Chancey and Tayshaun Prince; everyone else is fair game, and Sheed makes entirely too much money to perform like he has been.

Guys I want everybody up for this game. Wether you are there or at home watching on TV, I demand jumping up and down and screaming from everyone. Pistons jerseys and colors must be worn, and if you have 'a reason' that you cant watch the game I wont buy it.

!!Lets go Pistons!!

OK I will watch this game with support and enthusiasm. Go Pistons!

THE STREETS WILL FLOW WITH THE BLOOD OF THE NON-BELIEVERS!!!

Shit, who am I kidding. I must watch, there's no way I don't. If we lose, it may take one or two years off of my life, but oh well!

TO BATTLE!

Shit, who am I kidding. I must watch, there's no way I don't. If we lose, it may take one or two years off of my life, but oh well!

TO BATTLE!
Co-signed!

How had Brown scored 20points in a half???

Who the fuck is playing on him?

1. Rasheed is completely ineffective tonight
2. No defensive rebounding happening at all

Dear Bulls Losers,

FUCK YOU! EAT SHIT! TASTES GREAT! LESS FILLING!

Sincerely,
Uncle Mxy

Nocioni probably still thinks Bulls in 7

Wow, talk about some classless fans. Their team of young upstarts had a fantastic season, knocked off the champs, and won 2 against the Beast of the East, and no one even stood around long enough to give a nice round of applause. What a bunch of losers.

I, personally, am giving a standing O for the Bulls. :thumbsup:

Personally, I think Scott Skiles is still the same punk he was at MSU.

Rip had a rather big night tonight career-wise....

a couple more games, and he's going to cack the NBA's all tiem top-40 playoff scorers.

Personally, I think Scott Skiles is still the same punk he was at MSU.

Yeah, me too, and Hinrich and Nocioni are total dirtbags, but the rest of the team deserves some respect for their accomplishments. Luol Deng is just incredible.

Wonder if Big Ben is over in the Detroit lockerroom chumming it up with his former teammates? Or is he making travel plans to go to Detroit and watch his old team pursue a ring without him?

That's gotta hurt Big Ben an awful lot to realize that we don't really need him as badly as he probably thought. Knowing Ben, he'll shrug it off and won't even let himself think about it.

Not being able to watch these games is killing me.

That was more like it.

If we lose to either Cleveland or NJ, this season will be a collossal disappointment.

There is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON that we should not be in the Finals.

Notes: Ben Wallace showed up at the arena about 1 hour, 15 minutes before tipoff - just as he did before Game 3 - and Chris Duhon (http://www.nba.com/playerfile/chris_duhon/index.html) and Gordon were a few minutes late. Players are supposed to be there 90 minutes before the game. Skiles shrugged it off, saying, "It took (general manager John Paxson) well over an hour to get down here.'' ... The Pistons shot 13-of-22 from the field in the first quarter. ... The Bulls made their first 14 free throws but then struggled, finishing 24-of-35. ... Brown had a season-high 19 points against the Pistons on Feb. 25, and Golden State on Feb. 9.

Where is the outcry? Ben was late and they stuck him on a cross for it.

I'm not in much of a mood for praising Chicago at the moment.

The third time's the charm, it's finally over, time to move on.

Yeah, I don't respect Chicago very much, mainly because of Scott Skiles.

Guys I want everybody up for this game. Wether you are there or at home watching on TV, I demand jumping up and down and screaming from everyone. Pistons jerseys and colors must be worn, and if you have 'a reason' that you cant watch the game I wont buy it.

!!Lets go Pistons!!


I cheered.

Henry Abbott (TrueHoop) on Tay:

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-24-83/Tayshaun-Prince-Wins-Games.html


Tayshaun Prince Wins Games

May 18, 2007 11:51 AM

For whatever reason, practically all of my favorite players are long, skinny, mobile defenders with good hands who can score efficiently in many different ways when their team needs it -- but don't get all huffy if that doesn't happen.

Tayshaun Prince, Josh Howard (Thabo Sefolosha, and Corey Brewer, I have my eye on you two) ... guys like you win games.

Let's take a moment, though, to consider Tayshaun Prince.

A friend of mine sat courtside at a Pistons game earlier this season and told me that he was horribly disappointed in the Pistons. He called them a bunch of names ranging from "punks" to "babies," saying they whined and complained to the point of distraction, all game long.

It was a lack of poise, he said, that almost made you think this was could not possibly be a championship level team.

Almost.

The "almost" was 100% about Tayshaun Prince, who, my friend said, clearly took it upon himself to talk his teammates off the ledge. At one point, when things were getting kind of wild and the referees were about to put a stop to the madness, Prince, I'm told, yelled at the referee "I got this!" and ran to calm everyone down.

He's the rare guy who has the credibility to make sense, in the heat of the battle, to the crankiest of NBA players and referees. Not a lot of those around, and for that Prince, and likely whoever taught him to be classy like that, should be applauded.

Here are three reasons why you might consider making Tayshaun Prince your favorite player:

Alpha Dog, but Subtle

Tayshaun Prince is, on a typical night, a "complimentary" offensive player. Meaning that most of the time, if the play goes as planned, Rasheed Wallace will shoot it. Or Richard Hamilton. Or Chauncey Billups. But if the defense is sound on the main option, everyone knows it's not the worst thing in the world to toss it out to Tayshaun Prince, who just might nail the three, or swoop into the lane for a bucket.

But don't forget how this man first made his mark in the league.

As a rookie, he played a measly 400 or so minutes combined in all 82 regular season games. Then he emerged as then-coach Rick Carlisle's secret weapon. He nearly matched his 82-game minute total in just 15 playoff games. And the main thing they asked him to do? Down the stretch of crucial playoff games, Prince was the go-to guy in the post, and he produced.

Last night, when Chicago was full of fury, striking match after match trying to light that comeback fire, Tayshaun said "I got this." He backed down into the post, dribbling, feeling, patient ... and then turned over right shoulder and shot the left-handed mini-hook that probably sealed the game. It splashed through with 2:19 left, and put Detroit up 85-73. (Chicago finished with 85 points.)

For emphasis, moments later he took the ball back into the same spot on the post. Were they going to let him do that to them again, to end Chicago's season? He worked the shot clock closer to zero, and his butt closer to the basket. Then he pivoted over that right shoulder again, and this time defenders, desperate to save their season, collapsed from everywhere.

Prince fired a perfect pass to wide open Rasheed Wallace (who missed the three-pointer, but you get my point).

In French, they call that savoir-faire.

Defender

Detroit's defense is their calling card, and it used to be all about the wall of Rasheed and Ben Wallace who would frighten and punish anyone, big or small, who tried to score in the lane. But the league, the roster, and the approach have changed. Now, Rasheed Wallace still often functions as the goal-line stopper, but more than anything their current defense emphasizes Prince.

They're fancy zone essentially calls on him to be longer, stickier, faster, and smarter than whoever on the other team might be trying to move the ball through, or shoot the ball from, the area at the top of the key. It has proven highly effective.

And other times? When Detroit plays man-to-man? Prince makes things very tough on great scorers. For instance, I was making the case to ESPN's David Thorpe the other day, about how LeBron James hasn't really gotten all that hot yet in these playoffs. And if or when he does, Cleveland could conceivably beat any team, including the Pistons in their possible Eastern Conference Finals matchup.

Thorpe agreed it was possible in theory. But with Prince on the floor, he pointed out, it was not at all probable that James would get particularly hot in that series.

Diplomat

I have already talked about this a little, but just one more story, this time from Mitch Albom in today's Detroit Free Press:


[Rasheed Wallace] really was everywhere. Shooting. Rebounding. Defending. He simply imposed himself on the game. He hit the opening shot of the half, a three-pointer. Then he hit a turnaround jumper and got fouled. Then he hit a 16-footer. Then he blocked Brown, who seemed to remember what the word "journeyman" meant. He chased down rebounds. He blocked a Ben Gordon drive and caught the ball mid-air.

True, Rasheed's head almost exploded over foul calls. He had more face contortions than a mime at Fisherman's Wharf. A kick call. An out-of-bounds call. The inevitable technical. No referee whistle was beyond his disbelief. But that is how Wallace behaves when he is totally into a game, and, in that second half, he was totally into the game. And when he got T'd up, the entire team rose to keep him in check.

"I told him it's not the time," Prince said.

And when Prince is talking, even Rasheed listens.

Two points about that:

* There are people who can calm down Rasheed Wallace? Do you realize how powerful that is? If Portland had one of those back in the day, the 2000 Blazers would have almost certainly been champions.
* How do you quantify the value of what Prince did in this story? If 'Sheed gets booted, nothing is guaranteed for Detroit. What if Tayshaun Prince had not done all the good teammate things through the years that made Wallace respect him? Would that make the Pistons five points worse? Ten? For the record, Wallace was the most effective Piston yesterday in terms of plus/minus. The Pistons were +12 when 'Sheed was on the floor.

Nice to see some more recognition for the most underrated player in the game, the Silent Assassin. He's more than just a gangly kid who blocked Reggie Miller that one time.

i came to a similar sentiment last night. not as coherent, but still giving props to Prince.

I don't think he could be the dominating first option on any team, but what a nice third or fourth option to have!! and when the team needs him, he just steps up and delivers. he worked on getting out of double teams while posting up (his biggest shortcoming in that past imo) and i could not believe longer L. Deng couldn't D up on him for his life!

my Tay moment: the game against bobcats after the brawl. since half the team was suspended, Tay had to lead the team. with time running out and down two, Tay had the ball at the top of the key, milking for the last shot. half the stadium had left already. (we were getting creamed by the lowly bobcats) i figured he'd cross over and pull up for a J to try to send it to over time. WRONG! he just drove left extended his left arm and bam!! just threw it down to send it to OT! we ended up winning that game. i still remember that dunk as clearly as the horry shot..

anyway, sorry to go off on that. i had to be G kelser like and show some man-love for Tay.

http://espn-i.starwave.com/media/apphoto/878ae5c9-0e4a-4e85-9937-d35e6bd5c68e.jpg

http://espn-i.starwave.com/media/apphoto/77de5011-f091-4d4c-ad04-902d4a336c70.jpg

"That's not a foul. This is a foul."

Deng looks like a fish out of water.

Bring on LeBron!

I didnt think about it like that Mxy, but... largemouth bass.