OST: East Rd 2, (5) Bulls vs. (1) Pistons (Pistons win 4-2)

[Higherwarrior]

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.

[metr0man]

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.

[Black Dynamite]

[QUOTE]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[/QUOTE]

[Fool]

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.

[UxKa]

I could elaborate, but... hellz yah.

[Matt]

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.

[Big Swami]

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.

[b-diddy]

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.

[metr0man]

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?

[BubblesTheLion]

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.