I agree 100%. There's no need to freak out. I'm not thrilled to start the series in a 0-1 hole, but Miami shot extremely well, and they're unlikely to continue at that pace. Shaq's week of rest is over, so watch him become less and less effective with the every-other-day schedule. It's a long series...practice, regroup, hit it tomorrow.

ditto: not to mention that Shaq wasn't all that effective even with a week's rest: 14 points, foul trouble, etc... and we are unlikely to continue shooting (at least our four main scorers) so poorly...

Hmm. Well I have a sister who is a licensed psychologist. Does that count?

Certainly it could be what you propose. LanierFan. If so, it's a rather drastic falloff due to increased age and newfound lack of desire. I mean, how long has it been since the regular season? Five weeks or so? Now if we were talking about the 2004 Lakers your argument might carry a little more weight. And even if that is it, then they need a coach experienced with the dynamic of championship teams even more.

And no sorry but it couldn't be that simple. Because "expecting a little more while wanting it a little less" is still a psychological state of mind.

So there. Imagine a world where the Detroit Pistons play DEEETROIT BAAASKETBAALL. Is that too much to ask in the playoffs?

A couple of reasons for optimism about last night--two of the things that lost us those three games against Cleveland were (a) committing way too many turnovers and (b) bricking huge numbers of FTs. But both of those things were taken care of nicely last night, as the Pistons had only 6 TOs to Miami's 15, while shooting 19 of 22 from the line. It's pretty clear that if ANYONE had been making ANY SHOTS AT ALL from the floor, it would have been a win. And it doesn't look like Shaq is going to be any sort of consistent difference-maker for the Heat, as lurker and Prof both mentioned just above.

Pessimistically speaking, Rasheed and Chauncey have just fallen apart on offense. They've both been consistently bad since early in the Cleveland series. Big trouble if that doesn't change real soon.

Can we stir not shake?

from the Professor in New Pistons Motto thread
i certainly do think the issue is a mental or, more precisely, psychological one. but i'm starting to think the ups and downs and lapses come from how focused the Pistons have been (since the end of last June actually) on "THE TITLE". Everything has been about the next GAME 7 BEING AT THE PALACE AND WINNING IT.

Sometimes when you get fixated on a long-term goal, you lose sight of the fact that reaching that destination consists of many tiny (and not immediately rewarding, let alone spectacular or glorious) steps along the way. Moreover, in formulating the goal in terms of "game 7 being at the palace" the Pistons might have inadvertently missed the point: the point would be not to even need Game 7 at the Palace because you've already taken care of business ahead of time.

I used to think they got bored when things got easy. That might still be true sometimes. But I think the case is that they are so caught up with winning the championship as all that matters that they take their eyes off the step that is right in front of them. That would explain why they are so "miraculously" resilient. The losses or poor performances remind them that they winning the title is actually made up of winning a bunch of games that are right in front of them; not just winning game 7 of the finals.

It certainly doesn't make them easy to watch. And there's always the danger that the moment they refocus and realize they need to win the one right in front of them they run into some guy on a tear, or their own shots rim out, or another team will be clicking on all cylinders. But I don't share what I sense is a kind of disappointment and even disdain for the team for having lost desire or become fat and happy. They aren't underdogs, they aren't just happy to be in the playoffs, or the 2nd round, or even the conference finals. Maybe they should be, ideally, but that doesn't really seem realistic or even honest. They've been saying it all year, we fans have been saying it all year: "the only thing that matters is a championship. anything less would be a disappointment." I think they are playing exactly like anybody would who has such a drastically unbalanced fixation.

What they need to pull through is to remember that championships are won one series at a time, one game at a time, one minute at a time, one cut, one pass, one stop, one board at a time. I'm guessing they'll only remember that when losses force that reminder upon them.
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I thought this excellent perspective from the Professor in the first New Pistons Motto thread deserved a read here in case any one missed it. I didn't know how to put it here, so Roscoe forgive and let me know if I broke a rule by copying and pasting like this from one thread to another.

As far as psychological theories for Pistons underformance go, we may have enough to have our own thread! I figure if we are going to have endless posts debating the bench, statistics, and God Forbid Darko still, the forum can afford a few amateur psychologists going wild as well.

This is possible. The Pistons have shafted players and coaches in the past. Maybe Joe D is a member of the inner circle now.

Hey man, that's better than having unlicensed

• Gynecologists
• Obstetricians
• Sexologists
• Neurologists
• Colon and Rectal specialists

running around here!

Maybe the players should not coach themselves. The coach should coach (motivate, train, scheme) and the players should play (make shots, rebound, pass).

More leap of faith!

More Flip sandbagging?
AHB, Tay was an opportunity player during the reg. season. Now I see him slashing into the paint. And being successful.