I'm still not sure what happened exactly.

I don't know why this team seized up so badly at the worst possible time. It's just strange. I don't expect them to win every year, but I want to see them go down in a battle. Instead, their play was wildly uneven. Effort and/or execution was often lacking.

Similarly, the way forward is obscured, at least from my point of view. Over in the game 6 thread, lemonpen makes an excellent point when he says that the future seems kind of cloudy right now. Contrast this with '91 when the Bad Boys found themselves ousted by the Bulls. I think we all knew their run was done. The Bulls were up-and-coming, the Pistons were on their way down. It was the same in '88 when the Pistons dethroned the Celts as Eastern reps.

This is different. I don't have a feel for what the future holds, and I think the reason for that, at least in part, is because I don't know why we lost. Or rather, I don't know why we played the way we did -- I had trouble recognizing our guys half the time. Just a strange playoffs. I feel as disoriented as our guys seemed to be on the court.

Well, the zone/man-man coverage problem never came up. They just played poorly. Their Defense brought them back only to have the shooting and plays just not happen. But since I like Defense, I can't blame the poor shooting on an 'off' night---the Heat's D was very good and one example is Billups missing a perfectly good layup due to him 'feeling' Shaq ready to strike. Same that Ben could do on the other end.

Next year is another world---and that's when I'll be back.

Go Tigers and Go Lions---I'll check back now and then on the football forum.

For 5 months I'll be confused, I'll still be confused in the middle of next season as well probably. Remember how Wade said he wanted to be the first champion of the 03 draft? Darko did so little it seems that no one knows that he won a championship in his first year with the Pistons. This teams future is very foggy right now and I don't know if we'll see a 40, a 50, or another 60 win season. I'm hoping we go under the radar and have a 50 win season. I don't know what to expect next season though at all.

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"That's the end, man." Rasheed Wallace

I agree with LanierFan that in this world you have to keep re-inventing your hunger. I think that Spurs and Pistons lost that fire in the belly. I really think more went on in the locker room for both teams than was reported. I know that somewhere at the end of the regular season there was talk of Pop leaving, but he squashed that rumor probably because he didnt want a "larry brown" meltdown like last year.

I think the guys for both teams are probably bored with their team mates, kind of like the honeymoon is over. What spark Spurs had was Michel Finley, but not enough to light a fire in the belly for the other players. Maybe it was because 5 or 6 guys just had new babies after last year finals, and somehow priorities subtly changed. Is that possible? Were they feeling their age more?

I dont know what changes will or should be made for either team. I just know when that hunger edge is lost, in order to get inspired, you have to totally mix it up, don't re-build on what didnt work. As an artist, I know how hard it is to give up a painting that is not working and start over. Some of what you liked will still come through, and you actually like what might happen.

Thank you guys for this great forum. You have no idea how it has helped me. So, lets get to work because I want to see PISTON/SPURS REMATCH NEXT YEAR!!!!!!!!

Flip is always on the radio at 4:35 PM on 1130 on Thursdays. I want to hear what he's got to say.

The scarry thing is that a year from now we conclude how we blew our best and final opportunity at a SHIP in 06. This is the type of situation where we come back and do everything right but are derailed by a significant injury or some other crap, never to return to prominance.

I also agree with this BSA. Joe spoke about adding that fire each season. I think this year it was supposed to be Davis and later Delk.

Pop added Finley and Van Exel, two guys who would love to finish their careers with a title.

The same with Miami's group of retread role players.

Ironically, Dallas made the least moves and just at a glance, is the youngest of the upper echelon teams. I suppose youth can fuel fire as well as veterans.

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Nov 13 LW Milan Lucic had an active night. He scored his first goal in eight games since his Oct. 25 hat trick and also pounded Michael Komisarek in a third-period fight. Lucic cut his hand in a fight with Michael Komisarek. "I'll be fine," he said. "(X-rays are) negative, but there's so many broken bones in there from before you can't really tell."

Passion can originate from a lot of places, but in Dallas's case, I really think a lot of that comes from AJ. As soon as he took over for them last year, he imbued the team with something of his own fiery character, and that has yet to wane. They've upped the intensity in the playoffs too, which of course is what you would expect from a great team.

If you recall back in 04 the Pistons actually got better with each playoff round. We came into the Finals a better team than we started with in the 1st round. I think you need that to win a title. You have to be playing your best ball at the end because you know the team out West has been.

Good point. The way we played in the '04 Finals was as good as I've seen these guys play. It's true the Lakers weren't at their best (infighting, Shaq wasn't in prime shape, Mailman's injury was a big blow), but we were playing so well they had no chance.

That series was glorious!