Game 4 OGT: Life or Death 5/29 8pm ET on ABC Bitch!

[Glenn]

Death.

I'm so pissed and actually shocked right now.

As much as I feared the reliance on the jumpshot being the downfall of this team, I'm not going to play the "I told you so" card, since even I had no idea that it could get this bad, this fast.

This team is in turmoil.

[Uncle Mxy]

I vote for Bill Lambieer. All these jump shots are probably making him puke!

As a player, Laimbeer was far more about the jumper than taking it inside.

[Matt]

dale davis deserves the max for finally delivering a hard foul on Wade last night.

nothing dirty, just an honest to goodness, playground type hard foul.

sure that didn't win the game or anything remotely close......but seeing someone (our 3rd string big man) finally decide not to let Wade get easy dunks was refreshing.

[Matt]

You saw it out there tonight. We tried to clamp down like we used to, and we only sent Miami to the line 50 times. We will not be permitted to play the same brand of defense we used to. The NBA is making it VERY clear our style of ball isnt going to work any longer.

i'm starting to agree with this. look at the teams in the conference finals. all can score and shoot a high percentage.

where are the defensive teams like the Pistons, Spurs, Memphis, Pacers, etc.?

do we need to become the Suns? no. i hate to say this, but i do think our problem is more on the offensive end than defensive end. what that translates to for the future of the team, i dunno....

[Glenn]

Even successful teams that run and gun get the ball to the rim. If I recall correctly, PHX was amongst the league leaders in points in the paint.

We don't get easy baskets anymore. Period.

A lot of that blame needs to fall on Chauncey, but a lot of it has to do with lack of player and ball movement as well.

[Comrade]

Even successful teams that run and gun get the ball to the rim. If I recall correctly, PHX was amongst the league leaders in points in the paint.

We don't get easy baskets anymore. Period.

A lot of that blame needs to fall on Chauncey, but a lot of it has to do with lack of player and ball movement as well.

There were a number of teams who generated more points in the paint - namely the New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors, and Milwaukee Bucks. Not exacly the cream of the NBA crop. The Phoenix Suns are the most jumper heavy team in the NBA (even if you don't like to admit it). Only in the playoffs have they started to go inside more, and that's due in large part to the way teams are playing them. That's the difference between them and us - when they're not hitting jumpers they can find their way into the paint. Same with the just-as-jumper-happy Mavericks. Our team, on the other hand, seems to get tighter and tighter and further away from the net.

[Uncle Mxy]

Effort or not, the team that fouled the least this year by far somehow managed to allow 47 FTs, which I believe is the second most in the playoffs this year and what has to be the largest FT differential. The Heat almost took as many FTs as they did FGs. Of course there are going to be a few iffy calls here and there, but this game was chock full of one-sided calls.

Apart from the Ben-Shaq matchup, which had a number of typical Shaq bullshit calls (Shaq not called for that ever-present off-arm, Ben getting called for doing decent D), that wasn't really the case. This wasn't Game 3, where our runs were responded to with repeated Miami blowjobs by the refs.

We lost because we'd play fine D on Wade and he'd make some really tough shots.

We lost because we'd focus too much on one matchup and they'd get to the open man in Haslem.

We lost because we didn't do the work to win.

[Glenn]

I'm glad that there aren't a bunch of you here blaming the loss(es) squarely on the officiating.

Did we get a bit of an unfair whistle? You bet.

Did we play hard enough/well enough to win? Nope.

We've had our asses handed to us by a team that wants it more. No excuses.

LOL@Pistons, indeed.

[Comrade]

Effort or not, the team that fouled the least this year by far somehow managed to allow 47 FTs, which I believe is the second most in the playoffs this year and what has to be the largest FT differential. The Heat almost took as many FTs as they did FGs. Of course there are going to be a few iffy calls here and there, but this game was chock full of one-sided calls.

Apart from the Ben-Shaq matchup, which had a number of typical Shaq bullshit calls (Shaq not called for that ever-present off-arm, Ben getting called for doing decent D), that wasn't really the case. This wasn't Game 3, where our runs were responded to with repeated Miami blowjobs by the refs.

We lost because we'd play fine D on Wade and he'd make some really tough shots.

We lost because we'd focus too much on one matchup and they'd get to the open man in Haslem.

We lost because we didn't do the work to win.

Indeed, I never said we deserved to win.

[TK]

We're fucked. It's over, and not just this series and this season.

The Pistons that we loved to watch over the past 5 years are done. Enjoy watching this group playing together for the last time Wednesday (I think I'll find something better to do that night).

It's fucking over. Done. Bye-bye.

Sheed has made it more than clear he's not interested in being a Piston any longer. Fuck him. He was my favorite player, but now he's a useless piece of shit out there. I counted on one hand how many times he actually stepped foot in the paint in the first half, the rest of the time he just loitered around the three point stripe, and started walking back the other way when he realized he wouldn't get the shot. A 7 footer, walking up and down the court, playing between the circles. Sure, that's what we need. Meanwhile, Ben's trying to outrebound 4 Heat players. And being criticized when he doesn't do it.

He showed signs of life in the second half, and I was encouraged. Then I got pissed at myself for feeling encouraged when our starting PF decided to get motivated for the biggest game of the season. He should've been busting his ass out there from the get-go, but he waits until the second have to even begin jogging? Fuck that.

And Sheed sitting on the scorer's table during timeouts? What the fuck? There's some serious shit going on in the locker room, and we're only seeing the tip of the iceberg. I'm not one to hit the panic button, but you only have to look at the complete inability to look motivated to see that this Piston team is rotten from the inside-out.

This team is done. Maybe in 7 or 8 years we'll see them back on top, maybe not. I seriously hope I'm wrong, but only an idiot wouldn't be able to see it all unraveling.