Really man? You think this came down to the refs? What about all the bad shots the Pistons took? What about the terrible defensive rotations as the Pistons bad version of the zone chased the ball around the court? Bad calls or no, the Stones are a veteran team and should be able to play through that.

You can't play through losing Billups as you make your move to grind it out, and then sub in Hunter for offense who then proceeds to get his 3rd foul in a total of 7 minutes.

D4E pointed out the FT discrepancy, and there was an advantage to the Pistons with fouls earned, but if you look at when the fouls were called, and on whom, we got absolutely slammed at one position out of 5.

Just so happens it is the most important position on our team.

Conspiracy or incompetence, there are no coincidences.

If this goes seven, the younger legs may win out and we know who has those. Whoever comes out smokin and gets a lead of more than 10 in the first half will win. The Pistons cannot afford to fall behind by double digits at anytime during game six.

The Pistons have fought the refs in all five games, but the last two have really been crucial with Billups forced to sit out major minutes when the game was on the line. Still the 60-70% shooting can't happen 3 games in a row. They would have shot 50% even if we had played some D.
Hold them to 45% in the game six and under 90pts and we win!!

A shame that both the Wings and Tigers can get road wins tonight vs two real good teams and the Pistons couldn't get the job done at home. All 3 teams will be on the road Thursday..lets hope they go 3-0 with of course a Pistons close out victory!!

My Holy Flip avatar has been a jinx.

Time to change up.

Please note, the negative comments directed toward fans are directed at detnews.com, where I copied this from. I think the fans on this board did a pretty good job of writing up the game, pretty much getting what is going on.

Next one is in Chicago. Don't expect the Pistons to win that one, because Flip Saunders will not adjust. Maybe in game 7, he might do something to save the day. Lets hope, because the guys he is choosing to play are the wrong ones.

Interesting. I read two boards worth of comments just now. This one missed the game apparently. Nobody is mentioning on this board (detnews.com)how badly we did whenever Billups sat due to foul trouble. If we lose this series, Flip and Dumars need to simply resign. The only way Dumars stays is if the owner, Bill Davidson, admits he tied Dumars hands by being cheap, and opens up the purse strings for next year. Otherwise, Dumars, while having all these great plans for the future, has failed to prepare for right now, and again, should resign.

Ok, maybe all that sounds kind of harsh. Maybe we will manage to win the series yet. I will certainly be rooting like crazy the next game hoping for a Pistons victory. But with a fan base that accepts mediocraty, it really does not help much. The fans have basically let Dumars and Flip do what they will, cheering them on mightily, even though we have no bench. They cheered on the hype. Hey, we have no bench. Any fan who really cares should start hollering about it.

Sheed did hold up some on the 3's tonight. Good. But he did not get inside much either. Webber managed a couple of dunks, a couple of free throws, but in all, he hurt us bad. Not near enough points to make up for his lack of presence in the middle. Just can't get over to help out. And Dyess, not helpful at all in this series so far. He comes in and does what, puts up more outside shots, making it all worse. We need post players coming in, not jump shooters. And again, Dyess can't get over either. Worse still, Flip Saunders actually kept going to this combo, apparently unaware, even much of a season worth of proof, that the combo will not work on defense.

Prince did ok, but with too little help behind him, Deng was killing him. Worse, they bring in Delfino to back up Tay, out of position at small forward. This will not work. Delfino needs to play guard in this series, and of course will need help guarding his guy-but so what. Zones are designed for that. People can get help last I checked. I though it was comical of Flip Murray by the way to take out Flip Murray, and Delfino at the same time. He just does not understand that Flip Murray can't play basketball. Flip Murray fans, hey, I am sorry, but the guy just is lost on his defensive assignments, and does not know how to play with the team on offense. He did do a couple of things right, in many, many minutes of play. Getting inside and dishing a few times hardly makes up for all the times he did nothing with the ball. But again, the fans here apparently like to cheer, and ignore the many times down Flip Murray does nothing as a point. Cheer on if you wish, it won't help make him a point guard.

Hunter came on for a couple of minutes at the end of the first half and gave us some good D. But that is about the extent of what Hunter can give us these days. A couple of good minutes. Beyond that, he hurts us. Too slow. Too old. And did I mention, he is the NBA's all time worst shooter in the playoffs. And is apparently bent on cementing his record real good this season.

Tay, Billups, and Rip all did well enough on offense. On defense, hey, they were not that great-but a lot of that is who is playing behind you. Our best stretch of the game was early 2nd quarter, where we got back into the game. Who was playing the net? Sheed and JMAX. Two good defenders who make each other better. Dale Davis absolutely should be joining these two in the rotation to give us better defense. Dyess and Webber can sit out until next series. By the way. Amir Johnson also would work great in this series. Someone asked how long it would take to incorporate the new players. I say no time at all. Amir is quick, tall, and has very good basketball IQ. Good players I am not worried about. Its guys like Flip, who wil never learn the game, and Hunter, who is too old and slow to play the game anymore, that I am worried about. With those two the rotation, we will never be any good. Play Amir. Move Delfino to the backcourt. Or lose the series.

In other words, Flip has to adjust. Will he is the question.

I watched some of the Wings game tonight. I got to say, that was one exciting game to watch. Wish I had time to watch more. But no, I will stick to basketball. GO PISTONS!!!!! WIN!!!!!

That was a GREAT avatar. I will miss it.

Can someone please tell the team that you don't get to go to the next round unless you win 4 games before the other team?

Post game press interviews (MP3 audio) can be found here.

These last two games were really upsetting. The first loss was written off as "Chicago gotta have a win in a series" and "Detroit will take care of business at home". I don't think we can write this loss at all. Are the Pistons not putting in the effort or Chicago is not as bad as we all thought and the tide has turned? With this Pistons team we'll never know. Who's to say that it wasn't all they could give? Maybe not. I don't want to talk gloom and doom, but there has to be doubt. This is not the first time that this is happening to this team. I love them and a 100% behind the team hoping for a win in every game. But this is just not looking good.

__________________
I think the Washington Wizards have got to be the dumbest team in the history of civilization. - C.Barkley

This game was just absolutely crazy. I don't think there is a better word in the English dictionary to describe it. I now know how the Chicago fans felt during and after Games 1 and 2. Not a good feeling...But I suppose we should take the "No use crying over spilled milk" motto and suck it up, huh? Game 6, which seemed so improbable to everyone a week ago is now huge. The only comfort I can take going into Thursday is that the Pistons seem to play well when their backs are against the wall. Here's to once again playing with passion, focus, fire, and intensity! CHEERS!

P.S. I don't know if you all have heard this song yet, but if you haven't (or even if you have and would like to hear it again) here's the link:

http://a1135.g.akamai.net/f/1135/233...2/nwblonde.wmv

Let's keep the DEEE-TROOOIIIT! BAAA-SKET-BAAALL! spirit alive people!