The matchup everyone expected becomes a reality
BY KRISTA LATHAM
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER
May 23, 2006
Quote:
"Oh, I definitely wanted this series."
CHAUNCEY BILLUPS, Pistons point guard, on getting a rematch of last year's Eastern Conference finals.
Re-Heated Rivalry
DWYANE WADE
"This is a completely different team. That is why the rivalry is not there like it could be. But it's still the Miami Heat and the Detroit Pistons."
SHAQUILLE O'NEAL
"We want to win the whole thing and whoever is in our way, that is who we want to try to beat. So it's not really revenge."
PAT RILEY
"(Shaq) wants to win a championship. Dwyane's healthy and in shape -- we're all healthy and in shape. Let's go for it."
So many times, preseason predictions turn out to be bunk. So many times, reality is far different from what everyone expects to happen.
Not this time.
All season, the Pistons and the Miami Heat seemed destined for a rematch in the Eastern Conference finals. And starting with Game 1 tonight at the Palace, destiny is now reality, and it's something the players admit they'd hoped for all along.
"Oh, I definitely wanted this series," point guard Chauncey Billups said. "I think they're the other best team in the Eastern Conference. And when you're the best, you want to play against the other teams that are supposed to be the best. That's what the playoffs are all about."
Last season, the Pistons and the Heat forced a winner-take-all Game 7 in Miami. And for much of that game, the Heat led. But in the final quarter, Rasheed Wallace made big plays and Billups hit four free throws late in the game, icing an 88-82 win that ended the Heat's NBA Finals bid.
Since then, the only real constants in South Beach have been superstars Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal. Stan Van Gundy is gone as head coach, replaced in December by president Pat Riley, who spent the summer upending his roster despite its relative success.
He brought in Antoine Walker and Gary Payton. He courted Michael Finley, only to see the veteran guard go to San Antonio. And he parted ways with key players Eddie Jones and Damon Jones.
Now, the Heat is the same team wearing a different costume. The same two dominant players, Wade and O'Neal, run the show. But the supporting cast and the director have changed.
The Pistons assume that shakedown came with them in mind. "I was a little surprised that they changed up most of their roster and key parts of their team," Billups said, "especially with them being so close to getting to the Finals. They made their adjustments to make sure they'd beat us."
But the Heat says this year's series is not about getting revenge for last season.
"They beat us last year," O'Neal said, "but we are not worried about just beating the people that beat us. We want to win the whole thing and whoever is in our way, that is who we want to try to beat. So it's not really revenge. We know we have to go through them and they have to go through us."
The Pistons agree; while they wanted to play Miami, they aren't reminiscing about last season.
"That's over," Rasheed Wallace said. "That's a year ago. I ain't worried about that."
The Heat has spent the last six days resting in Miami after dispatching the New Jersey Nets in five games. The Pistons, meanwhile, needed seven games and what coach Flip Saunders called an "extraordinary" defensive effort to finally send LeBron James out of his first playoffs.
The Pistons struggled against the Cavaliers, shooting just 42.5% from the field while averaging 87 points.
But Saunders gave a succinct "no" when asked if he was worried about his team's offense. With the Cleveland defense out of the picture and a more traditional opponent headed their way, the Pistons expect to get back to their comfort zones.
"They have a different style," said Richard Hamilton, who will likely have to guard Wade for much of this series. "They played totally different than Cleveland. It's a totally different series."
If anything, the Pistons, in the Eastern Conference finals for the fourth straight season, just want to build on the positive parts of the Cleveland series: The long stretches when their defense dominated. The shorter stretches when their offense clicked.
"I think there were times, against Cleveland, that we played well," Saunders said. "We played well offensively in spurts. But we never could put together any runs. The one thing we have to do is play with more consistency."
Contact KRISTA LATHAM at 313-223-4493 or
klatham@freepress.com.
