http://www.pistonsforum.com/img/resources/team/MIA_799.gif http://www.pistonsforum.com/img/resources/team/at.gifhttp://www.pistonsforum.com/img/resources/team/DET_3079.gif

Series 3-1 Miami

Wednesday May 31st, 2006
8:00 PM

Palace of Auburn Hills, Mi

TV: ESPN
Radio: WDFN 1130 AM

Your Detroit Pistons

Ben WallaceRasheed WallaceTayshaun PrinceRip HamiltonChauncey Billupshttp://www.pistonsforum.com/img/resources/pistons/ben_wallace.jpghttp://www.pistonsforum.com/img/resources/pistons/rasheed_wallace.jpghttp://www.pistonsforum.com/img/resources/pistons/tayshaun_prince.jpghttp://www.pistonsforum.com/img/resources/pistons/richard_hamilton.jpghttp://www.pistonsforum.com/img/resources/pistons/chauncey_billups.jpg

The Miami Heat (boo, hiss)

Shaquille O'NealUdonis HaslemAntoine WalkerDwyane WadeJason Williamshttp://www.pistonsforum.com/img/resources/heat/shaquille_oneal.jpghttp://www.pistonsforum.com/img/resources/heat/udonis_haslem.jpghttp://www.pistonsforum.com/img/resources/heat/antoine_walker.jpghttp://www.pistonsforum.com/img/resources/heat/dwyane_wade.jpghttp://www.pistonsforum.com/img/resources/heat/jason_williams.jpg

Comments?
~~

Yep, I posted Game 5 in anticipation of a Pistons Game 2 win. :)

I know thats right. This is still the Pistons year, irregardless of thier terrible play in game one.

Yep, I posted Game 5 in anticipation of a Pistons Game 2 win. :)

It happened.:thumb:

okay, this is way early -- but i'm jumping out of my skin with excitement: a friend just offered me free his extra ticket to Game 5!!

:rapture:

I'VE NEVER BEEN TO A PISTONS GAME BEFORE!!!

wooooooooohooooooooooo

any and all advice or tips from veteran "live" fans more than welcome!!

Congrats Prof. My first game was a game 5 as well.

No advice, just go as you are, and be prepared for a lot of excitement.

okay, this is way early -- but i'm jumping out of my skin with excitement: a friend just offered me free his extra ticket to Game 5!!

:rapture:

I'VE NEVER BEEN TO A PISTONS GAME BEFORE!!!

wooooooooohooooooooooo

any and all advice or tips from veteran "live" fans more than welcome!!

If it`s a blowout make your way to your vehicle and head to I-75 ASAP, getting out of that lot is a beast!!!!!!!!!!:frusty:

okay, this is way early -- but i'm jumping out of my skin with excitement: a friend just offered me free his extra ticket to Game 5!!

I'VE NEVER BEEN TO A PISTONS GAME BEFORE!!!

wooooooooohooooooooooo


OH MY GOD PROFESSOR THAT IS SO EXCITING!:biggrin1: I've only been to two live Pistons games and they were road games here in Seattle two years in a row. I am so jealous and also happy for you at the same time! :) I swear I have been seriously thinking of moving to Detroit for one year so I could see the Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills for a season. But wowee kazowee, your first live Pistons game is ECF Finals Game 5 at home. Man, you MUST be living right! My advice: just immerse yourself in the experience with abandon. WOW!:biggrin1:

Congrats Prof!!! You'll have a great time.
Only advise is to get there kind of early to get a decent parking space. But then again, we usually try to get a parking spot far from an entrance, but close to one of the exits at the Palace. As was mentioned before, getting out of that lot is awful!! We usually leave early, but those were only the games that were blow outs. :ohwell: I don't think game 5 will be a Piston blow out, and had better not be a Heat blow out!! :fingerscr
Have a great time and don't forget to visit the Piston Locker Room <store>
They have some great Piston stuff there!!

Guillotine time. No need to prolong it.

:fish2:
:grouphug: "Cancun, Cancun, Cancun!"

... :rip:.

Game 5: Guanrantee Win. Just for you Prof. Enjoy and write up a good recap.

okay, this is way early -- but i'm jumping out of my skin with excitement: a friend just offered me free his extra ticket to Game 5!!

:rapture:

I'VE NEVER BEEN TO A PISTONS GAME BEFORE!!!

wooooooooohooooooooooo

any and all advice or tips from veteran "live" fans more than welcome!!

Save yourself. Sell those tickets............QUICK, they should still be worth something!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Any loss predictions? Will this team lose tommorow?:mad::frusty::doh::hurt::brick::deadhorse :smash::Cry::mad2::rip::pout:

HELLLLL no!!!! I'm not sellin' my ticket to see my team!!!!

And thanks to those who gave advice and shared my enthusiasm.

I'm not interested in predictions either way. Nor am I interested in offering my two cents about what they need to do differently. Whatever.

THIS is all that matters:

I've floated when they've floated, I've gone down with 'em when they've gone down. That is The Way.

Section 224, Row 17, Seat 10 -- i'll be there making noise from before it starts til after it finishes, however it finishes!

HELLLLL no!!!! I'm not sellin' my ticket to see my team!!!!

And thanks to those who gave advice and shared my enthusiasm. Wear your shirt. Take pictures. Save every memento. I wish I had mine from the games I've attended.

That run we had was the best basketball I've seen this team play in months, but the foul trouble got all of our aggresivness away. After Chaunceys horrible call against him I knew Tay and Rip couldn't carry the team froma deficit on the road by themselves. We'll know how long this series is going to be by the Pistons body language in the first 3 minutes. There energy will not be in the middle it will be 100 or 0.

We have a serious problem on our hands now, people are counting us out of this one, but we must(will) fight back and rebound from this loss in game 4. I thin we need to pass to Ben in the post more often, catch Shaq in some bad positions and get easy buckets, and second, we need to learn to shoot again, if we can't shoot, we are just shooting ourselves in the back:doh:
Wednesday night we all will be waiting and praying for the Pistons to bounce back:fingerscr

I'm starting to feel it. We are going to beat these clowns. We are going to suck the wind from their sails and ruffle Pat's greasy fade.

The Pistons are going to come out like a house of fire. Kick them in the breadbasket. Flying elbow off the top rope like Macho Man Randy Savage.

Right now, the Pistons have everyone where they want them. They landed on enemy soil and burned their boats. No going back. Real Robinson Crusoe meets Freddie Krueger type stuff. Tiger style ninja attack.

Flip has been sandbagging and will unleash the most brilliant offensive plays in the history of professional basketball. Rip will score 30 as Dwyane Wade fouls out in the early 4th quarter.

Put it on the front page, the back page, print it on every page. We will win.

the most important game in recent Piston's history. just a few more wins and things have a chance to go back to normal.

a loss tonight and this could be the end of this group as we know it.

let's run the ball, move it on offense, and leave it all on the floor. Go Pistons!!

Pumped for tonight's game. Will check into chat at the half and after the game. The team will come out swinging today. They are a proud group.

I may sound very pessimistic but let's not get embarass at home by ending the season here. Let's go all out and win this game and hopefully we'll be back here at the Palace again for game 7.

Give it all you got, PISTONS!!!

GO, GO, GO!!!!
DETROIT BASKETBALL!!!

It seems to be the feeling of the fans and beat writers in Detroit, and it may come out as a plea to the Pistons. PLEASE do not let Miami celebrate on the Palace home floor with an Eastern Conference Championship. If they lose this series do not do it tonight.

I for one do not want Miami getting the pleasure of getting Champange and hats, tee shirts in the Palace.

My true belief is that if Detroit can just get one, breath air of confidence again in the blood and come out and get a win.

The should win tonight, but only if they play like they did in game two and the third qrt of game 4. 48 minutes is the battle cry good shot selection, ball movement, and above all show some defensive PRIDE.

I'm making a first playoff perdiction of the season PISTONS 92 Heat 84.

GO PISTONS!!!!!

I have invited, or should I say a few of my Heat fan friends invited themselves over my house to watch the game tonight.

I will not be in chat for the entire game, but I will check in at the beginning and sometime during the 2nd half. When you see me enter let`s show Heat fans how we roll when checking out our Pistons.

They want to celebrate a EC championship victory at my house, not unlike the Miami Heat attempting to do the same at The Palace.

It aint Happening at either place, NOT TONIGHT!!!!!

I can kick them the hell out of my house really quick if need be, don`t know about the Palace though. Any way let`s do this!!!!!!!

Welcome to Excuseville....
The refs... Not practicing defense.... Hunter not playing enough.... Sheeds ankle... Coach is a joke... play our best when back is against the wall...yada yada
All out the window tonight... If you can't execute in front of your home crowd facing elimination... then guess what... the Heat are simply the better team.

I'm



getting




EXCITED!

Lets silence the media and the Shaq/Wade groupies.

Win one for the Flipper, win it for LB, win it for the Bad Boys...just win baby:nod:

I will be wearing my Piston tshirt, I'll make my wife & kids wear theirs too!!

Palace fans got to show some unity too, break out the fros and white tshirsts.

bring out some real celebreties, Anita, Aretha, Madonna, Eminen, and whoever lives there beside Hearns and Kid rock. Wheres' Stevie Wonder and Wille Horton when you need them....

And finally...will the real Pistons please show up and play some basketball!!:pray:

Get Lanier, Bing, Mahorn, Vinnie and Laimbeer in that locker room to knock some sense into these guys before the game....and hell, suit these guys up and activate them....

I got my Pistons cap.

I got my white Pistonsforum t-shirt (though I may throw on a pair of glasses and lose the shirt and begin to boogie if i think it'll get me on TV like that creepy kid the cameras have been obsessed with lately).

I got my disposable camera.

I got my binocs (I'm way way far away from the floor).

I got my ticket.

And I got the fever!!!!!

Just know, my friends, that if the Palace crowd seems quiet tonight -- it won't be cause of me. Now, y'all bring the positive vibrations from wherever you are, and I will try to channel forth all of y'all's awesome fan energy into constant noise to help the team bring it!!

GO PISTONS!!!!!!

I got my Pistons cap.

I got my white Pistonsforum t-shirt (though I may throw on a pair of glasses and lose the shirt and begin to boogie if i think it'll get me on TV like that creepy kid the cameras have been obsessed with lately).

I got my disposable camera.

I got my binocs (I'm way way far away from the floor).

I got my ticket.

And I got the fever!!!!!

Just know, my friends, that if the Palace crowd seems quiet tonight -- it won't be cause of me. Now, y'all bring the positive vibrations from wherever you are, and I will try to channel forth all of y'all's awesome fan energy into constant noise to help the team bring it!!

GO PISTONS!!!!!!
REPRESENT REPRESENT!

For my birthday, my girlfriend bought me a TV to go with my apartment cable. I get to actually watch the game.

For my birthday, my girlfriend bought me a TV to go with my apartment cable. I get to actually watch the game.
She is a lovely woman.

...and HGTV. you know to fix up the place.

CHAT IS OPEN!

If you are coming to WHINE and COMPLAIN, please don't.

The Heat have two guys that have a clear advantage... the Pistons have three.
Sheed, Chauncey and Prince...
just maybe we'll utilize the edge better this game.

play hard, play unselfishly, play smart, try to defend and have fun! - Uncle Lair

Pistons 3 keys to the game.

Borrowing heavily from KGREG and his passion for time and score....

1. Pistons must lead at the end of the first quarter.

2. Pistons must lead at the half.

3. Pistons must shoot 45%.

If they accomplish all 3 of these goals, it is impossible for them to lose.

http://live.worldcuptalk.net/index.php?showtopic=93

Will the national media revert to the BANDWAGON-ASS CATS that a certain power forward called them out as earlier this year? Pressure's on, Miami. Not that I wouldn't like to swap places with them at the moment, but let's see if they can handle it now.

Our back court still needs to step it up offensively with better FG%. Better ball movement by CB but he is still dribbling too much and takes dumb shots. Hats off to Prince. He carried this team. Sheed talks a lot but shows little by the way of production. Of the starting 5 Sheed is almost as bad as Ben offensively. Can this guy ever have a 15+ pts 10 reb night? This team needs another scorer.

Game 6 will be interesting to say the least.

Improved play by Chauncey. Not good by any means, but not bad any more either.
I'm not going to make any excuses for the way Rip played tonight. A lot of that was just stupid. I am glad he actually stayed back for rebounds tonight, though.
Tayshaun and Dice played very good offensive games. Decent rebounding, mediocre to bad defense, but hit a lot of key shots.
Sheed played a good defensive game. Rushed a couple of shots, though.
Ben's energy was key, but he was abused by O'Neal.
Lindsey was okay.

The team defense was not very good, but the rebounding was impressive.

If Miami hits the same FT% the Pistons do, though, it's a 1-point game.

If Miami hits the same FT% the Pistons do, though, it's a 1-point game.

C'mon if ifs and buts were candies and nuts. Same thing holds good for the Pistons. They have had several playoff games with atrocious FT shooting. No excuse for the Heat on that count.

The Pistons missed many wide open looks and blew several finishes. That's player execution. The score could have been higher sooner.

Chauncey was only 3 of 12 from the floor, but 11 of 11 from the line, with 10 assists against only one turnover! And even though Rip was 7 of 21 from the floor and had 4 turnovers, he also got TEN rebounds. He and Chauncey combined for 15 boards, which is pretty amazing.

Big ups to Dice, 12 pts and 6 boards in 19 minutes, and he didn't miss a shot from the floor OR the FT line (2 of 2 on the hack-a-Dice near the end). Gotta get production from him in every game now.

I liked the energy from Ben and Lindsey.I'm tellin you Tay has been the most consistent player for us great game.Agreed Chauncey improved but still has room,Sheed did what he needed nonoffensively.That ankle is really bothering him I don't care what anybody thinks.Dice great game.

This is better tonight the way they played and put forth effort to get the win.Not perfect but a W.I was so pissed after 4 I just wanted this to be over.This team just needs to be slapped upside the skull for making me so emotional stringing out my hopes.Someone please hug me.

They have had several playoff games with atrocious FT shooting. No excuse for the Heat on that count.
The point is that the team defensive concept was not sound, and the Heat got to the line enough to win. Miami got misses from several unlikely players tonight, and Detroit makes from far more unlikely players. Combine that with the relatively friendly whistle the Pistons got tonight, and I have absolutely no confidence that they'll be able to win in Miami playing the way they did tonight.

The missed shots go both ways. The missed free throws don't.

And Flip is going to have to do something with the zone offense. The normal offense looked pretty bad, but there was some continuity. The zone completely confuses Billups and Hamilton.

What exactly did Sheed do that was stellar over the course of the game? He pulled down 5 rebounds and scored 7 pts. Haslem didn't seem to have any problems against him.

Can somebody tell Rip not to run directly into big men? Pass, Rip, pass.

flip finally did the smart thing and took ben out so there would be no hack a ben. hack a mcdyess doesn't fly. great game by mcdyess i've been calling for him to get more minutes.

great game by tay. i wish he would shoot earlier when the shot clock is running out at least get rim.

ben wallace had that great block on shaq. that was the play of the game for me. :fingerscr

i'm still pissed about the officiating. bump rip no foul but breathe on wade definite foul. the pressure is now on miami.

The point is that the team defensive concept was not sound, and the Heat got to the line enough to win. Miami got misses from several unlikely players tonight, and Detroit makes from far more unlikely players. Combine that with the relatively friendly whistle the Pistons got tonight, and I have absolutely no confidence that they'll be able to win in Miami playing the way they did tonight.

The missed shots go both ways. The missed free throws don't.

And Flip is going to have to do something with the zone offense. The normal offense looked pretty bad, but there was some continuity. The zone completely confuses Billups and Hamilton.

On the friendly whistles, I agree. Wade will get a lot more calls going his way. On the makes from unlikely players I disagree. The back court didn't really do a whole lot. Dice stepped up which is not unusual. Prince has been the most consistent Piston in the playoffs. Who stepped up offensively besides these two?

The offensive flow looked fairly good in the 1st and 3rd but they struggled to convert. The Pistons inexplicably stop ball movement from time to time.

Game 6 will be a pressure cooker on both teams. Both have something to lose. Pistons go home, Miami will have to come back to D Town.

What exactly did Sheed do that was stellar over the course of the game?He played very good help defense and solid man defense, although his mobility is clearly affected by the ankle. He was not a liability on the boards. He set a couple of fantastic screens. He posted up without the ball (a continuing problem with the weakside spacing is making Miami's fronting defense a wild success). He made some good cuts.

For the first time this series, though, his shot selection was terrible. He rushed a couple of shots unnecessarily. He also missed a couple he normally makes, but that's true of everyone.

On the makes from unlikely players I disagree.Ben, Sheed, and Dice were a combined 5-8 from the line. Prince was 5-5, not unusual, but slightly above what's expected. I guess that's not much, but it's much less surprising than Haslem (an 85% shooter) going 0-3, or Payton 0-2, and Wade 1-3.

Improved play by Chauncey. Not good by any means, but not bad any more either.
That's fair.

Tayshaun and Dice played very good offensive games. Decent rebounding, mediocre to bad defense, but hit a lot of key shots.

Tayshaun scored 29 points and had 7 boards. You're really having a hard time giving our best playoff performer any credit for turning in star performances.

Ben's energy was key, but he was abused by O'Neal.
I seem to remember Ben letting Shaq get his, and steal and block on the Diesel when the opportunity came. Ben abused Shaq.

If Miami hits the same FT% the Pistons do, though, it's a 1-point game.
I read your posts on other boards including this one. I saw your vote at WTF as the lone guy picking a loss. I think you should just have a drink, sit back and enjoy the ride however long it lasts. You don't seem to have much faith or happiness even when we get back to playing some Detroit basketball.

ben wallace had that great block on shaq. that was the play of the game for me. :fingerscr
Careful bball jay, you're starting to sound like a Ben fan. :P ;)

The Palace was rocking. Loudest of the year to date. Even fans in the smoking area were hyped up.

If Flip is right about his 1 play theory then we found it tonight when Ben sent the Giant to the floor on a clean block.

You guys saw the rest of the game I am sure? Great win. Now for the 1st time in this series the Heat are under pressure. They have been pretty loose after skating out to that game 1 victory.

Yep - the old Pistons definetly showed up tonight. I know some guys were shooting cold but the overall team effert was there and Dyess/Hunter played great off the bench.

Who cares about details. We all mourned yesterday. Today, we'll take another day on life support and hope/pray for more fortune on Friday.

The message has been sent. The Heat do not want to come to the Palace for a Game 7. They must win Game 6.

GO PISTONS.

Great win that gives me real hope for game 6. The Pistons played with a lot of hustle and energy. Tay had the kind of game that Wade has had in Miami. Ben had one of his best overall games in the playoffs. Chauncey was perfect at the line, and Dice made a huge contribution. On the down side, the ball movement suffered at times in the second half and Rip was still forcing shots that weren't there. And things got a little too close for comfort just before Tay's clutch three late in the fourth.

Ben, Sheed, and Dice were a combined 5-8 from the line. Prince was 5-5, not unusual, but slightly above what's expected. I guess that's not much, but it's much less surprising than Haslem (an 85% shooter) going 0-3, or Payton 0-2, and Wade 1-3.

Ben, making some FT's, is like a blind squirrel finding a nut. He only made 1-2. The Heat FT's shooting backed up under pressure. It won't get easier in Game 6. Wade scares me. That guy is in a zone with his shooting and all his shots seem to fall in. He is the key to Game 6.

+ Tay was stellar
+ Ben was great
+ Dice played out of his mind
+ Rip's aggressiveness
+ Lindsay in the first half
+ Drove the lane in the first half
+ Chauncey hit his FT
+ Guard rebounding
+ Determination and energy
+ Free throws
+ Lockdown on Wade/Shaq, making roleplayers (try to) beat them

- Chauncey's shooting and decision making
- Sheed, everything about him. F U Sheed
- Sheed 41 minutes 7 pts, Dice 19 minutes 12 pts
- Players fell down a lot
- Rip getting abused with no calls
- Rip's passing
- No driving the lane in the 2nd half
- Lindsay in the 2nd half
- Sticking players with the ball with 1-2 seconds on shotclock

Why or how Sheed played twice as much as Dice I have no idea. Dice earned 28+ minutes for friday, give it to him Flip.

This looks a bit more like the team from the past 2 years. It wasn't the team we saw the last 9 games, and it wasn't the team from the 88 before that.

Two way street SKLuck. Dice has sucked for the last 2 games. Based on that, he should not have been allowed to play tonight.

Somewhere in there, you're missing 2 blocks and a foul from Sheed. He was also not in foul trouble which helped the team manage the rotation without having to force Dice into playing due to necessity.

I realize folks get frustrated by Sheed, but if you're watching him move, something simply ain't right, and I don't see him not caring if they win.

I still think he's trade bait for the right deal, but if this is his bad game, I'll take it.

Careful bball jay, you're starting to sound like a Ben fan. :P ;)

yeah. that block was great. i had to give credit where credit was due. ben played great this game. even hit a free throw. :nod: if he keeps doing that i won't be calling for the sign and trade at the end of the season anymore.

Skluck, that's an astute observation on Sheed vs Dice... if Sheed is really having this kind of problems with his ankles... then why not exchange roles.
I'm all for Dice geting the Lions share at PF in game 6.... Haslem doesn't bother him.
For get the pride get the W

the ONLY thing I didn't like was Rip arguing with the Ref's while the heat went the other way for a bucket. That's Complete BS. Otherwise, I didn't think they would play the way they did because every time I get to watch, they play lame. I was going to play the superstitious card and not watch the game but I'm glad I could.

I really like Lindsey. Some people are born with greatness other have greatness picked out of their hands by number 10.

my last thought was that stat that the pistons are 11-2 in elimination games. well...to me that means this team underachieves WAY too often. Bring your A game and we'll be alright. :fingerscr

Sorry I missed most of the game, had to close a client tonight and meet some month end production. This new thing of being self employed has me making some tough sacrifices. I only saw the last 6 mins of the game.

Couldn't tell what was going on. Seems like Tay is already earning next seasons contract. I also saw some DAMM GOOD defensive rotations in the last mins of the game. Trap on wade in the corner, Rip rotated to Shaq to at least prevent the lob, Tay rotating out on Wade to make him at least take a circus shot, and he missed.....hallelujah. I saw this team do some of the little things that win you 'ships.

The best thing about all of this tonight........We finally won a close fourth quarter game, while it didn't seem like the offense was stellar the defense got stops and I applaud that. Also as painfu as it was, it was a good move to take Ben out of the game:doh: . Hate to admit it but it was a DARN GOOD MOVE by Flip.

I just saw Shaq on ESPN whining about the great Ben block....claiming it was a foul. He sounded like his mother just died in a tragic car accident. How funny is that??? :laugh:

GO PISTONS!!!! They have finally emerged!!!

:nod:

Sorry I missed most of the game, had to close a client tonight and meet some month end production. This new thing of being self employed has me making some tough sacrifices. I only saw the last 6 mins of the game.
KGREG, did you see "THE BLOCK II"?

Sorry haters the real Pistons showed up tonight and showed they still know how to play D. In the words of Cypress Hill
"We aint goin out like that we aint goin out"

If the Heat expected us to just roll over and hand them the series they were Wrong!!! Great play from Tay his dunk on Zo pricless and a great game from Dyess. The Pistons can pull this out. Down 3-1 well now its 3-2 and time to shutem down on south beach

Good game overall, with exeception letting the Heat back in it after having an 11 point lead. CB had a another tough night shooting, but stilldished out 10 assists and was perfect at the line for 10-10,

rip another disappearing act in the second half with only 2 pts and about 5 missed buckets down the stretch. We almost blew this one as they ran 3 straight plays for Rip that didn't cash in.

Milestone/omens:
We held Wade to under 30 points
We scored 90 points
Our bench outscored theirs 14-10 which means that Posey and Payton didn't get off.

Both starting guards despite the rough shooting finished with double-doubles
We shot 88.5% from the FT line

ben scored more points at the free throw line (2) than Shaq or Wade as they only had 1 each. :eyebrows:

No one was in foul trouble

We outboarded them by 2, but gave up too many second chance points:doh:

We got to get more production out of Sheed to steal that victory on Friday.

And finally we get at least one more night of chat and I will wear the same Pistons Championship t Shirt Friday:nod:

Just win baby

If the Heat expected us to just roll over and hand them the series they were Wrong!!! Great play from Tay his dunk on Zo pricless and a great game from Dyess. The Pistons can pull this out. Down 3-1 well now its 3-2 and time to shutem down on south beach

I really believe the Heat thought they would end it at The Palace and celebrate at our place. No way, and why did Zo get so upset with Tay? There are so many posters with him being slammed on it`s pathetic. Why get angry about this one?

I feel really good about game 6. Our offense can still come around some and the defense looks like the D of old.

Did the Heat look tired to anyone? If this thing goes 7 Shaq may run out of gas!

The Block II

http://www.pistonsforum.com/images/picdump/2det-mia_053106.jpg

KGREG, did you see "THE BLOCK II"?Only as a highlight, staying up late hoping for a re-broadcast

Only as a highlight, staying up late hoping for a re-broadcast
Don't worry cousin. I'll have a clip for your collection sometime tomorrow. ;)

Sweet Pic!

PF on the backboard :^)

Warning: the image themicrowave posted is the tame, family-friendly version. The frontal view is not easy on the stomach.

That pic shows how effective Ben can be as a help defender... he shouldn't always carry "the load"

The Block II

http://www.pistonsforum.com/images/picdump/2det-mia_053106.jpg


If this was Wade it would`ve been one time he may not have got up, at least not so fast!

If this was Wade it would`ve been one time he may not have got up, at least not so fast!

If it had been Wade, it would have been a foul on Ben:eyebrows:

Just know, my friends, that if the Palace crowd seems quiet tonight -- it won't be cause of me. Now, y'all bring the positive vibrations from wherever you are, and I will try to channel forth all of y'all's awesome fan energy into constant noise to help the team bring it!!


Professor, I was so thrilled to think of you being at this game tonight! Really, an experience to cherish for a lifetime. You must tell all! I kept just imagining you seeing the warmups, the intros, the game and being with that Palace crowd. WOW!

Professor you are now way more addicted to the Pistons than you were before you went to the game, aren't you? There really is no hope for you for affair teams or anything remotely like that now!:)

The ONLY differences tonight were that the Heat got 20 free throws instead of 40 and they only made 30% of them. If Miami would have matched the Pistons FT%, then they would have won. Simple as that.

The momentum of the calls or lack of bad calls is what is propelling the Pistons to what appears to be "energy" or "confidence". I guaranty you that I could have called that game in a way that would have given Miami the win, and anyone who disputed it would have been called a whiner.

Tough sport to emotionally invest in because of that reality.

Awww screw this team.
We have lost our identity....period.
I just looked through the photo gallery at the detnews site, why and the frick did SHEED!!!! arrive at the game in a Maybach!?!?!?!?!?!?!? I have no clue who these dudes are anymore......I specifically posted that there were to be no expensive foreign vehicles........F-150's, Ram's (with the Hemi), and Silverado's. Pull out the big tough, blue collar vehicles that work hard, now we're riding around in Bentley's and Maybach's........Dang it!!!!

The epitimy of being spoiled was Shaq's answer to the reporter about Ben's block...

"That was a foul young lady. Don't ask such stupid questions. That was a foul."

Maybe Ben's nucksac hit him on the chin after the block, but that was the only contact.

http://www.pistonsforum.com/images/picdump/det-mia_053106.jpg

Awww screw this team.
We have lost our identity....period.
I just looked through the photo gallery at the detnews site, why and the frick did SHEED!!!! arrive at the game in a Maybach!?!?!?!?!?!?!? I have no clue who these dudes are anymore......I specifically posted that there were to be no expensive foreign vehicles........F-150's, Ram's (with the Hemi), and Silverado's. Pull out the big tough, blue collar vehicles that work hard, now we're riding around in Bentley's and Maybach's........Dang it!!!!
Man, Sheed has a lot of rides. In Portland, he wouldn't wash his cars because it always rained. He's down to earth if you saw his MTV Cribs bit. If you didn't, let me know and I will hook you up.

These last three games have been decided on who got the break or the key/impact play at a key moment down the stretch or in the last six minutes.

In tonight's game, the key play happen at the 4:32 mark of the 4th when Shaq blocked Rip's shot and the ball went out to Prince and he canned the three. The score went from 79-76 to 82-76 and the Heat scored only 2 points after that...yeah I said it right..only 2 points in the last 4 mins. What a crucial and great time for our defense to show that ole Piston spirit:nod:

If that D can carry over to the next 2 games then Da Palace will be ablazen next Thursday night for game one of the Ship:fingerscr

The epitimy of being spoiled was Shaq's answer to the reporter about Ben's block...

"That was a foul young lady. Don't ask such stupid questions. That was a foul."

Maybe Ben's nucksac hit him on the chin after the block, but that was the only contact.

Wades post game comments were that Pistons won because they were desperate team!! I can partly agree with that.....who wouldn't play a little desperate when your season could be over in less than 5 mins and you only had a 3 point lead and the other teams big guns are scoring at will???duh:P

I have invited, or should I say a few of my Heat fan friends invited themselves over my house to watch the game tonight.

I will not be in chat for the entire game, but I will check in at the beginning and sometime during the 2nd half. When you see me enter let`s show Heat fans how we roll when checking out our Pistons.

They want to celebrate a EC championship victory at my house, not unlike the Miami Heat attempting to do the same at The Palace.

It aint Happening at either place, NOT TONIGHT!!!!!

I can kick them the hell out of my house really quick if need be, don`t know about the Palace though. Any way let`s do this!!!!!!!

Wow Dlev, you're a much better person than I am. I'd have a hard time letting a Heat fan into my house ever, let alone several of them to watch a possible elimination game!!

GREAT WIN!!

There were still a few rough spots, but for the most part, that was the best consistent energy and effort I've seen from the boys in weeks. We've definetely given the Heat something to sweat about. They do NOT want to come back to the Palace for game 7.

Tay is becoming a star right before our eyes. If he keeps playing like that, they'll have no choice but to make him an All-Star next season. He's our MVP in these playoffs, no question. The guy has taken his game to another level every season, and especially every post season since he's been in the league. A great sign of things to come. I'm glad we were able to resign him long term.

Game 6 will be a tough one though. We can't expect Miami to be so rediculously horrible from the line again, and I'm sure they'll get some additional opportunities with the home court discount on foul calls. We need to come out strong from the opening whistle.

"The Block II" was AMAZING!!!! The fact that Ben came from out of nowhere, was able to get their in time and get ALL BALL was just unbelievable. Then to top it off, he won the tap as well.

one thing i was wondering... Could this be called a foul on Ben because his hand was touching shaq's hand?

The Block II

http://www.pistonsforum.com/images/picdump/2det-mia_053106.jpg

well, i hope we win game 6 in Miami. Then come back to the palace on game 7. i would like to see how he would play game 7. I would like to see how he plays out of desperation.

Wades post game comments were that Pistons won because they were desperate team!! I can partly agree with that.....who wouldn't play a little desperate when your season could be over in less than 5 mins and you only had a 3 point lead and the other teams big guns are scoring at will???duh:P

one thing i was wondering... Could this be called a foul on Ben because his hand was touching shaq's hand?

I found this on nba.com (http://www.nba.com/analysis/rules_12.html?nav=ArticleList) (scroll down to "EXCEPTIONS" under "B. Personal Foul"):

(5) Incidental contact with the hand against an offensive player shall be ignored if it does not affect the player's speed, quickness, balance and/or rhythm.

I think this means that it was a clean block, assuming that the photo captures the full extent of the contact. It wasn't the incidental contact, it was getting the ball shoved in his face that affected Shaq's speed, quickness, balance and/or rhythm. :laugh:

What an awesome play. I hope they watch it over and over on the flight to Miami to get fired up.

Micro, I don't have any trouble saying it--it was a Tay and Ben show again. We need to let Tay have the ball next year on the wing and let him create as a focal point of the offense. Ben did those little things that get the ball away from Shaq. This is what we all have been looking for--the team looked close to itself.

Sheed is not moving well--I noticed that too and not sure we can win this series if he is not able to step it up a bit. Will someone in the organization please tell Rip to stay with his mid-range game. He is not a passer and he is not great to the rim.

Ben should be used like tonight--give him the ball once and a while at the free throw line and let him drive into Shaq. You might get some fouls or have him slant in for a pass.

We finally did some trapping to get the ball out of Wade's hands. Still, we need to be ready to use Davis as they will go to Shaq in game 6. I sure wish we had a young Hunter-type to bother Wade.

I'm glad about this win, but it was a must since we don't want to be eliminated that easily. But one thing bothers me...
Sheed 3-11 from the field, 7 rebs, still logging 41 mins?
Mc Dyess 5-5, grabbing 6, only loggin 18 mins? Why not roll the Dice more?

Pistons and Flip look better when the boys play as a team and bring energy. The more determined team will win. This remaining games are all about desire.

Wow Dlev, you're a much better person than I am. I'd have a hard time letting a Heat fan into my house ever, let alone several of them to watch a possible elimination game!!

Not a house full, it was only two, and they were friends before they became Heat fans............If we win this series it may damage our friendship..............lol, just kidding

I apologize in advance if I duplicate too many other posts, but reading multiple pages on the Blackberry is too hard.

Main thing - guard rebounding is a wonderful thing. Guards rebound, teams win.

Not sure if this level of play will get it done in Miami, but there were sure some signs of coming out of the funk of the last couple of weeks. Dice hitting some shots sure looked fine.

Don't get the foul calling disparity between Rip and Wade, but I guess that is just the way it is.

Good to hear Miami getting back to their old level of whining. Kick them hard again and the cracks will show.

Friday can't come too soon.

The point is that the team defensive concept was not sound, and the Heat got to the line enough to win. Miami got misses from several unlikely players tonight, and Detroit makes from far more unlikely players. Combine that with the relatively friendly whistle the Pistons got tonight, and I have absolutely no confidence that they'll be able to win in Miami playing the way they did tonight.

The missed shots go both ways. The missed free throws don't.

And Flip is going to have to do something with the zone offense. The normal offense looked pretty bad, but there was some continuity. The zone completely confuses Billups and Hamilton.

I'm with you here. We played a decent game but were very much aided by friendly whistles (won't get those in MIAMI) and missed free throws. I'm waiting to see how much we can limit wade again as well.

I don't know that the whistles were all that friendly. It sure looked to me like Miami was pushing off on a lot of the offensive rebounds they got. Although their historically bad FT percentage (2nd worst all time for a team in a playoff game, according to ESPN) was definitely a break that we can't count on receiving again.

one thing i was wondering... Could this be called a foul on Ben because his hand was touching shaq's hand?

The same thing was mentioned by one of the announcers (might have been Hubie Brown) a few games ago when Hunter forced a jump ball on Wade.

He said that a players hand is considered to be an extension of the ball in that instance, so its not a foul.

http://www.pistonsforum.com/images/picdump/det-mia_053106.jpg
Not only this was 'THE BLOCK II' but to have Shaq fall over his big fat butt, that was the highlight.

Wades post game comments were that Pistons won because they were desperate team!! I can partly agree with that.....who wouldn't play a little desperate when your season could be over in less than 5 mins and you only had a 3 point lead and the other teams big guns are scoring at will???duh:P

What else can one get from a guy who has not graduate from college (yet) and say stuffs like 'They WAS tired'???

Rip gone cold again in the 2nd half, tired legs and running out of gas???

Sheed, please show up in Game 6 and we can guaransheed there will be a Game 7.

So much talk about the Heat missing FTs in this game. How come no one mention about the Pistons not making their 3s. Being a jump shooting team and a good 3 point shooting team, game would not be even close if we made 35% of the 3s taken in this game.

Stones vs Heat's zone defense: Being a good 3 point shooting team (CB, Rip, Tay, Sheed and even both Mo and Hunter), maybe Flip should have the team moving the ball and eventually come up with a decent 3 point shot. It seems that CB has difficulty making decision against the zone. Hunter or Tay should be handling the ball and have CB or Mo coming off screens for 3s. Even Sheed would not problems shooting 3s over the shorter Williams, Payton or Wade. However, this is just my thoughts, I ain't no coach....

It's funny how some can see a game and still not get it.
#1) Tay does not need the ball on the wing as a go to guy.....he ain't that good, nobody on our team is that good. Tay will get 18pts if they have enough sense to move the ball weakside to hit him on a cut, curl, post up or jumpshot. Tay also needs to take a step in from the arc sometimes and put more pressure on the defense, he's not a 3pt shooter, he's a guy who can make the shot from time to time....there's a difference between the two.

#2) Sheed played a solid game, I'm one who feels that this team is at it's best when Sheed is not a focal point of the offense. That is a position that he is not comfortable in, he likes to have the game come to him. Since Sheed arrived in Detroit he's never been more than a very skilled role player. Sheed's best games are when he gets you 16 pts, 4 from the off-glass, 6 from the arc, and 4 from the box. When you try to go to Sheed exclusively it slows this offense down (circa CHarles Barkley in Houston). Last night Sheed played great help defense, he was active in trying to double and recover , just a solid Sheed game all around, sure we wish a few more buckets would have fallen, but hey.

LAPISTON, what planet you from??? Rip used to be a great passer and slasher off the curl, that play used to be very fruitful for this team until Flip turned Rip into a statue in our half court sets.......doesn't anybody remember the game where Rip had 24pts and 12asts. Rip plays out of control alot, but he finally pefected his passing and drive game only for Flip to take it out of the DANG playbook:frusty: Rip credited the former a-hole/tyrant/traitor/coaching great that used to coach this team and credited him for completing his game, only for Fred Flipstone to bypass all that and make Rip one dimensional again, but Rip didn't care because he finally made the all-star team and had the green light to shoot three's:doh: .

Rip used to be a great passer and slasher off the curl, that play used to be very fruitful for this team until Flip turned Rip into a statue in our half court sets.......doesn't anybody remember the game where Rip had 24pts and 12asts. Rip plays out of control alot, but he finally pefected his passing and drive game only for Flip to take it out of the DANG playbook:frusty: Rip credited the former a-hole/tyrant/traitor/coaching great that used to coach this team and credited him for completing his game, only for Fred Flipstone to bypass all that and make Rip one dimensional again, but Rip didn't care because he finally made the all-star team and had the green light to shoot three's:doh: .

I think this is right on the money. Rip is my favorite Piston and I really have been missing these kind of moves I was used to seeing him make. I hope he hasn't forgotten how to do it, just that he is rusty with it and that the rust can be sanded off before the next game. His shooting woes are more cause for concern for me. Playing tight? Fatigue?:noidea:

The return of TEAM DETROIT BASKETBALL is a glorious sight! What a beautiful thing to watch a team deny in so many different ways! I could watch our defense lock down all day and all night and never get bored. Matter a fact, time for me to rewind the tape and watch again!:whoo:

Professor, I was so thrilled to think of you being at this game tonight! Really, an experience to cherish for a lifetime. You must tell all! I kept just imagining you seeing the warmups, the intros, the game and being with that Palace crowd. WOW!

Professor you are now way more addicted to the Pistons than you were before you went to the game, aren't you? There really is no hope for you for affair teams or anything remotely like that now!:)

Thanks Aurora! I was thinking of all of you too! The experience was WAYYYYYY to much to process, let alone write about coherently. So I'll just let the fragments spill out as they will.

When I first got a glimpse of the Palace as I was driving up I-75, I got so excited I almost swerved into some swanky new car in the lane next to me loaded with wine-and-cheesers. Excruciatingly slow cloverleaf exit onto whatever road feeds the entrance to the parking lot. I arrived around 7. Remembering Armygirl's advice to park far from the Palace itself; I weave my way through tailgaters dressed in blue and red and white and then somehow have the presence of mind to park directly under the "3G" signpost, cause I knew I'd otherwise never register where I'd left the car. Walking up to the building itself, I'm moved to call my father, who first go me into hoops as a young boy when he'd take me to see the three games a year the Bucks used to play in Madison, Wisconsin -- back in the days of Oscar Robertson and Lew Alcindor. Saw Alcindor and Chamberlain go at it once. Now I'd see Ben and Shaq go at it, some 30 odd years later. The carnaval atmosphere is feeding me: loud music, people drinking beer and eating outside, tents set up where we can pick up Men at Work signs and make up other signs. One couple I walk by stands holding a very large two part poster: 1) It ain't over til Aretha Franklin Sings; 2) huge black and white photo of Aretha. I don't know what to do first. I smoke a cigarette (my 7000th of the day -- normally I smoke 5, maybe 8 a day), but don't even notice. I'm momentarily resentful of the rich looking yuppies I see looking red-faced, glistening, and over-moussed. But I blow that out on a lungful of smoke. They're just here like me. Whatever. Walk into the Palace. Store on my left. Uh oh! The store. Like a moth to a flame, I am sucked in, stunned by the amount of money gravitating around this event, and wanting to do my share: I pick myself up a Sheed road jersey, a traditional blue Detroit Pistons t-shirt, as well as a kids Sheed jersey for Professorspawn and a nice Hamilton t-shirt for the boy. Then it's sort of time. But i'm not really ready yet. I don't want to miss anything. So i mill about in the atrium for a few more minutes just soaking everything up. I don the Sheed jersey over my PistonsForum shirt (with misgivings Roscoe -- sorry!, but I just felt the need for Sheed overpower me). Finally, going in - security check, I'm breathless, i want to tell even the guy wanding me -- THIS IS MY FIRST GAME!! (I'm guessing it showed). Lady scans my ticket (cool -- I get to keep the ticket, who knew!) and I bid her an overly cheerful good evening. I go up the stairs and start wandering around, only half looking for signs for my section. Beer. Good. A depressant right now would be good. I get a pint of Killian's and then spot my kinsmen -- the fellow smokers -- out on a little terrace milling in a haze. More good. I step out with my commodities in a white plastic bag in one hand, binoculars and disposable digi-cam slung over my shoulder, beer in the other, and a cigarette in the other. A guy bums a smoke. His ticket is laminated on a string around his neck. I'm jealous. I want that. I call my friends to see where they're at. They've just parked. I tell them I'm having a beer. We hang up. A moment later they call back. The cell phone ring startles me so I drop my bag of goodies, my binoculars, and my cigarette. The guys selling beer on the terrace shake their heads in dismay. I smile at them sheepishly, feeling like some kind of nerdy virgin on prom night. My friend says: "did you say you had beer?" (thinking i'm tailgating). I start drinking the beer really fast, then remember I can bring it back in with me (and that it's only the cigarette I can't bring in). I start smoking the cigarette really fast. Put it out. Gather my crap off the ground, and go back into the Palace where I locate my stairs. A little sign tells me that I'm entering the "noise factory and that ear plugs may be recommended" or something like that. I like that sign. The usher points out my row. I climb. I climb some more. 3 rows from the top, just about right behind the basket where Tay would posterize Zo and Ben would spalding Shaq. I'm surprised by how close the floor still seems, and how beautifully clean the lines and colors of the lane are. Find my seat. THUNDERSTICKS! woooooo hooooo! Hands shaking, I fumble with the weird little inflation thing (which isn't really weird at all: every non-automatically inflatable device should be as simple as a Thunderstick). Blow them up. Start pounding them. Lots of empty seats still. I stand up and practice: "deeeeeee-troit bas-ket-ball!!!!!!" and pound my sticks furiously. This is very good.

heat come out to warm-up. i look through the binocs. who cares about the Heat. Then the Pistons are about to come out, the place still only seems maybe 2/3 full to me, but the noise starts up. the noise. the NOISE (only later I realized that NOISE was nothing compared with the NOISE. warm-ups. realization: they actually exist. the pistons I mean. 3 dimensional, flesh and blood human beings, playing a game i've played all my life. just like me. and, of course, nothing like me at all (mostly black and all big and very rich and very very good). but they are real. i like that. i like that they seem to be having fun in warm ups. Sheed hits a bunch of shots from behind the arc like he was casually tossing a wad of paper into a trash can. net. net. net. net. (turns out not to be a sign of things to come). starting line ups: the spectacle begins. flames shooting out from some kind of flame belching tower erected in front of the hoops, mason bellowing, total insanity, players come out before they're announced or after, fans screaming continuously, and the flames punctuating the chaos, reaching 30 feet in the air. i reallllllly like the flame thingy. oh yeah, friends showed up, thanks a lot, this is incredible, wow, whatever.

two things i never understood, i mean with my whole self, with my skin and bones and guts and blood, until last night: 1) the agony and frustration some of you have expressed in recent weeks here on the forum; 2) the meaning of home court advantage. i have no point of comparison having never been to a game, but it seemed really loud, and really continuously loud. speaking for my section, at least, there was no defensive possession unaccompanied by the chant DE-FENSE followed by two pounds of the thundersticks. And there was no offensive possession unaccompanied by the chant "LET'S GO PISTONS" -- doo. doo. doo-doo-doo! on the thundersticks. Not a single possession either way. And I can feel, really tangible, it's quite amazing, the circuit conducting energy from the fans to the players and back. If we slacked for even half a minute, I could feel the players slump a little bit. I felt responsible for the team's energy. accordingly, i pounded the thundersticks non-stop for 2 1/2 hours, yelled almost continuously, and was standing for probably 80 % of the game (i figured if i blocked the view of anybody behind me then they didn't deserve to see cause they should've been standing). a drug. the whole thing was like a drug, but way better. henry miller writes of getting drunk on pure water. this joy. that's what it was. and definitely wanted more. i could give my life to this i felt in the midst of it (Hence my newfound visceral understanding of the agony and frustration of some of y'all on the forum -- and my apologies if I've sounded preachy or judgemental in response. I don't know if I'll feel that frustration in the same way, but rest assured, i get it now. i really get it). and the whole operation geared to keeping us making noise: make noise and we'll throw you some little blue bundle of something (I don't know what it is but I scream even louder, jumping up and down cause i want it -- sadly, the throwers of the blue bundles didn't have the arms to reach the ceiling where i was sitting); make noise cause miami can't hear you; make noise so that the little sledgehammer on the loud meter will finally, finally, swing from "louder" to "loudest". I like that. I like how everything in the place conspires to generate energy, energy manifested as noise. and all so that the five guys out on the floor, the five real human beings on the floor, playing this game, will feel a surge of something and be able to keep trying harder, beyond the limits of what they think possible. and this brings me to the game (most of which y'all have covered wonderfully).

superb energy throughout the game, by everyone who stepped on the floor. even the miami runs weren't caused by a relaxation of that energy. our guys were frickin' all over the place on defense. it was incredible.

tayshaun: obviously a beast, and the three different looks of him, rip, and lindsey on wade seemed to me to really throw wade, who looked pretty lost (except for about 3 minutes in the fourth where it seemed that simply be decree he shifted into another gear -- but that turned out to be an illusion, or at least, temporary).

sheed, as someone said, did a lot of things well that weren't necessarily directly linked to offensive production. he makes a lot of rebounds possible, even when he doesn't pull the board himself. and his tomahawk slam was awe inspiring. those some long arms the dude has -- generate some pretty serious force when they come down.

liked that they pushed the ball up the floor more, even if it resulted in some turnovers or missed shots (that might also have been fouls that weren't called); and liked that they seemed to remember to move the ball in their half court sets, and that they remembered for longer than four minutes at a time.

of course, there were lots of little things and maybe some big ones that could have been better, and hopefully will be on friday, but they really pale in comparison with the feeling -- the vibe -- that they had emerged from sort of spell cast on them by an evil Heat-loving wizard. they were setting picks, chasing loose balls, boxing out, rotating, manning up, running the floor, staying with nearly every possession until the last possible second. the statistical odds may still favor the heat, and the heat may win the thing for all i know, but i just can't believe that they weren't rocked a little bit by the sheer intensity of what the team brought last night, and by the sense that if on the one hand, yeah, sure, it coulda been closer if they'd made some free throws, it also coulda been a blow out if chauncey, rip, or sheed make even half the shots they usually make but missed last night. the crowd might have (I hope) contribbuted to that intensity, but I suspect a lot of it had to do with playing for fun cause they no longer had nothing to lose. i think tayshaun said something like that after the game and i said it to my friend during the game. man they look they are having fun just going balls out crazy for 48 and let the chips fall where they may.

okay, that's it. now i'm gonna stop.

That's post of the year type material.

So prof, you never told us...did you have a nice time at the game? :laugh:

It's way cool to see these guys in real life isn't it? Especially in a late round playoff battle. I'm glad that the experience worked out so well for you. :thumb:

Sheed played a solid game, I'm one who feels that this team is at it's best when Sheed is not a focal point of the offense. That is a position that he is not comfortable in, he likes to have the game come to him. Since Sheed arrived in Detroit he's never been more than a very skilled role player. Sheed's best games are when he gets you 16 pts, 4 from the off-glass, 6 from the arc, and 4 from the box. When you try to go to Sheed exclusively it slows this offense down (circa CHarles Barkley in Houston). Last night Sheed played great help defense, he was active in trying to double and recover , just a solid Sheed game all around, sure we wish a few more buckets would have fallen, but hey.

Agree with your description of Sheed as a "very skilled role player," and would expand your point to say that a 16 point, 8 rebound game (including one or two clutch threes that demoralize the opposition) -- along with aggressive and loud defense (but without foul trouble) -- represent Sheed at his best.

Kgreg, I never bought into that experiment with Rip. I remember the Indiana first half last year where we scored 28 points and Rip drove and drove and drove-- for nothing into the teeth of the defense. Rip is the best mid-range shooter in the game. But he is not good at one on one and his passes near the hoop often lead to turnovers in the playoffs where defenses are tighter. Rip needs to pull up and take that J more--that is his thing. Teams now try and stop Rip's first look on the curl but the shot is still there a moment later. But Rip goes too far in or all the way in. Look at his recent shooting percentages. We don't run the curl enough for Rip--I agree--it is a weapon. But it is high percentage only when Rip takes the j more than the drive.

Tay should get the ball just inside the arc and let him survey the floor. They do not want him to back down one on one so that puts pressure on their defense. If Tay has the ball dribbling past mid-court, they are also pressured because they are afraid of Tay's open drives to the hoop. They are not afraid of Rip or Chauncey driving to the hoop as they are of Tay. Riley himself said he would rather see Chauncey drive than pull up--he worries when he pulls up.

Not only this was 'THE BLOCK II' but to have Shaq fall over his big fat butt, that was the highlight.

I missed it because I was at work. Is there some video highlight available that anyone knows of?

I missed it because I was at work. Is there some video highlight available that anyone knows of?
There is some bad YouTube video available. You can find the link at DetroitBadBoys.

I will get video up in a couple hours when I am home. Still tied up with work.

There is some bad YouTube video available. You can find the link at DetroitBadBoys.

I will get video up in a couple hours when I am home. Still tied up with work.

Great. Thanks, Micro.

Great post professor! I've never been to a game either, but part of me now feels like I have!

Thanks Aurora! I was thinking of all of you too! The experience was WAYYYYYY to much to process, let alone write about coherently. So I'll just let the fragments spill out as they will.

When I first got a glimpse of the Palace as I was driving up I-75, I got so excited I almost swerved into some swanky new car in the lane next to me loaded with wine-and-cheesers. Excruciatingly slow cloverleaf exit onto whatever road feeds the entrance to the parking lot. I arrived around 7. Remembering Armygirl's advice to park far from the Palace itself; I weave my way through tailgaters dressed in blue and red and white and then somehow have the presence of mind to park directly under the "3G" signpost, cause I knew I'd otherwise never register where I'd left the car. Walking up to the building itself, I'm moved to call my father, who first go me into hoops as a young boy when he'd take me to see the three games a year the Bucks used to play in Madison, Wisconsin -- back in the days of Oscar Robertson and Lew Alcindor. Saw Alcindor and Chamberlain go at it once. Now I'd see Ben and Shaq go at it, some 30 odd years later. The carnaval atmosphere is feeding me: loud music, people drinking beer and eating outside, tents set up where we can pick up Men at Work signs and make up other signs. One couple I walk by stands holding a very large two part poster: 1) It ain't over til Aretha Franklin Sings; 2) huge black and white photo of Aretha. I don't know what to do first. I smoke a cigarette (my 7000th of the day -- normally I smoke 5, maybe 8 a day), but don't even notice. I'm momentarily resentful of the rich looking yuppies I see looking red-faced, glistening, and over-moussed. But I blow that out on a lungful of smoke. They're just here like me. Whatever. Walk into the Palace. Store on my left. Uh oh! The store. Like a moth to a flame, I am sucked in, stunned by the amount of money gravitating around this event, and wanting to do my share: I pick myself up a Sheed road jersey, a traditional blue Detroit Pistons t-shirt, as well as a kids Sheed jersey for Professorspawn and a nice Hamilton t-shirt for the boy. Then it's sort of time. But i'm not really ready yet. I don't want to miss anything. So i mill about in the atrium for a few more minutes just soaking everything up. I don the Sheed jersey over my PistonsForum shirt (with misgivings Roscoe -- sorry!, but I just felt the need for Sheed overpower me). Finally, going in - security check, I'm breathless, i want to tell even the guy wanding me -- THIS IS MY FIRST GAME!! (I'm guessing it showed). Lady scans my ticket (cool -- I get to keep the ticket, who knew!) and I bid her an overly cheerful good evening. I go up the stairs and start wandering around, only half looking for signs for my section. Beer. Good. A depressant right now would be good. I get a pint of Killian's and then spot my kinsmen -- the fellow smokers -- out on a little terrace milling in a haze. More good. I step out with my commodities in a white plastic bag in one hand, binoculars and disposable digi-cam slung over my shoulder, beer in the other, and a cigarette in the other. A guy bums a smoke. His ticket is laminated on a string around his neck. I'm jealous. I want that. I call my friends to see where they're at. They've just parked. I tell them I'm having a beer. We hang up. A moment later they call back. The cell phone ring startles me so I drop my bag of goodies, my binoculars, and my cigarette. The guys selling beer on the terrace shake their heads in dismay. I smile at them sheepishly, feeling like some kind of nerdy virgin on prom night. My friend says: "did you say you had beer?" (thinking i'm tailgating). I start drinking the beer really fast, then remember I can bring it back in with me (and that it's only the cigarette I can't bring in). I start smoking the cigarette really fast. Put it out. Gather my crap off the ground, and go back into the Palace where I locate my stairs. A little sign tells me that I'm entering the "noise factory and that ear plugs may be recommended" or something like that. I like that sign. The usher points out my row. I climb. I climb some more. 3 rows from the top, just about right behind the basket where Tay would posterize Zo and Ben would spalding Shaq. I'm surprised by how close the floor still seems, and how beautifully clean the lines and colors of the lane are. Find my seat. THUNDERSTICKS! woooooo hooooo! Hands shaking, I fumble with the weird little inflation thing (which isn't really weird at all: every non-automatically inflatable device should be as simple as a Thunderstick). Blow them up. Start pounding them. Lots of empty seats still. I stand up and practice: "deeeeeee-troit bas-ket-ball!!!!!!" and pound my sticks furiously. This is very good.

heat come out to warm-up. i look through the binocs. who cares about the Heat. Then the Pistons are about to come out, the place still only seems maybe 2/3 full to me, but the noise starts up. the noise. the NOISE (only later I realized that NOISE was nothing compared with the NOISE. warm-ups. realization: they actually exist. the pistons I mean. 3 dimensional, flesh and blood human beings, playing a game i've played all my life. just like me. and, of course, nothing like me at all (mostly black and all big and very rich and very very good). but they are real. i like that. i like that they seem to be having fun in warm ups. Sheed hits a bunch of shots from behind the arc like he was casually tossing a wad of paper into a trash can. net. net. net. net. (turns out not to be a sign of things to come). starting line ups: the spectacle begins. flames shooting out from some kind of flame belching tower erected in front of the hoops, mason bellowing, total insanity, players come out before they're announced or after, fans screaming continuously, and the flames punctuating the chaos, reaching 30 feet in the air. i reallllllly like the flame thingy. oh yeah, friends showed up, thanks a lot, this is incredible, wow, whatever.

two things i never understood, i mean with my whole self, with my skin and bones and guts and blood, until last night: 1) the agony and frustration some of you have expressed in recent weeks here on the forum; 2) the meaning of home court advantage. i have no point of comparison having never been to a game, but it seemed really loud, and really continuously loud. speaking for my section, at least, there was no defensive possession unaccompanied by the chant DE-FENSE followed by two pounds of the thundersticks. And there was no offensive possession unaccompanied by the chant "LET'S GO PISTONS" -- doo. doo. doo-doo-doo! on the thundersticks. Not a single possession either way. And I can feel, really tangible, it's quite amazing, the circuit conducting energy from the fans to the players and back. If we slacked for even half a minute, I could feel the players slump a little bit. I felt responsible for the team's energy. accordingly, i pounded the thundersticks non-stop for 2 1/2 hours, yelled almost continuously, and was standing for probably 80 % of the game (i figured if i blocked the view of anybody behind me then they didn't deserve to see cause they should've been standing). a drug. the whole thing was like a drug, but way better. henry miller writes of getting drunk on pure water. this joy. that's what it was. and definitely wanted more. i could give my life to this i felt in the midst of it (Hence my newfound visceral understanding of the agony and frustration of some of y'all on the forum -- and my apologies if I've sounded preachy or judgemental in response. I don't know if I'll feel that frustration in the same way, but rest assured, i get it now. i really get it). and the whole operation geared to keeping us making noise: make noise and we'll throw you some little blue bundle of something (I don't know what it is but I scream even louder, jumping up and down cause i want it -- sadly, the throwers of the blue bundles didn't have the arms to reach the ceiling where i was sitting); make noise cause miami can't hear you; make noise so that the little sledgehammer on the loud meter will finally, finally, swing from "louder" to "loudest". I like that. I like how everything in the place conspires to generate energy, energy manifested as noise. and all so that the five guys out on the floor, the five real human beings on the floor, playing this game, will feel a surge of something and be able to keep trying harder, beyond the limits of what they think possible. and this brings me to the game (most of which y'all have covered wonderfully).

superb energy throughout the game, by everyone who stepped on the floor. even the miami runs weren't caused by a relaxation of that energy. our guys were frickin' all over the place on defense. it was incredible.

tayshaun: obviously a beast, and the three different looks of him, rip, and lindsey on wade seemed to me to really throw wade, who looked pretty lost (except for about 3 minutes in the fourth where it seemed that simply be decree he shifted into another gear -- but that turned out to be an illusion, or at least, temporary).

sheed, as someone said, did a lot of things well that weren't necessarily directly linked to offensive production. he makes a lot of rebounds possible, even when he doesn't pull the board himself. and his tomahawk slam was awe inspiring. those some long arms the dude has -- generate some pretty serious force when they come down.

liked that they pushed the ball up the floor more, even if it resulted in some turnovers or missed shots (that might also have been fouls that weren't called); and liked that they seemed to remember to move the ball in their half court sets, and that they remembered for longer than four minutes at a time.

of course, there were lots of little things and maybe some big ones that could have been better, and hopefully will be on friday, but they really pale in comparison with the feeling -- the vibe -- that they had emerged from sort of spell cast on them by an evil Heat-loving wizard. they were setting picks, chasing loose balls, boxing out, rotating, manning up, running the floor, staying with nearly every possession until the last possible second. the statistical odds may still favor the heat, and the heat may win the thing for all i know, but i just can't believe that they weren't rocked a little bit by the sheer intensity of what the team brought last night, and by the sense that if on the one hand, yeah, sure, it coulda been closer if they'd made some free throws, it also coulda been a blow out if chauncey, rip, or sheed make even half the shots they usually make but missed last night. the crowd might have (I hope) contribbuted to that intensity, but I suspect a lot of it had to do with playing for fun cause they no longer had nothing to lose. i think tayshaun said something like that after the game and i said it to my friend during the game. man they look they are having fun just going balls out crazy for 48 and let the chips fall where they may.

okay, that's it. now i'm gonna stop.

donning my 'Sheed jersey, may I just say that I am quite proud to have been there in spirit...and/or just lookin mighty fly.

this story, heard thousands of times now, doesn't get old.

yay for you, werewolf!

since everyone else has this pretty much covered, i'll touch on the only thing that hasn't. i dunno if the players were watching but it inspired me at least. normally for the pistons intros, the lights shut off, you hear a noise like the one from A Current Affair back in the day, the players all say 'It's time Detroit...it's time Detroit, it's time Detroit...let's go to work.'

It was different this game though. The lights went off, it got real quiet, and the screen on the jumbotron stayed black too. White letters in a small section of the screen faded into view, and it said "WHAT IS IMPOSSIBLE?" Then in one corner it would show our most significant highlights while asking another question in the other corner, with the remaining two corners black. For instance, in the bottom-left it showed Tayshaun's block on Reggie while in the upper-right, answering the question of what is impossible, it said "Is it winning when no one gives you a chance?" repeated with similar questions like "Is it defying all odds when all else seems lost?"

Then at the very end, again a black screen with white letters fading into a small section on the right side of the screen simply with the word "IMPOSSIBLE", then a few seconds later text fades into the left side of the screen, and it completes the phrase "NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE"

It's hard to describe just how sweet this was, but somehow it captured the feeling the importance and significance of the game while simultaneously bringing back the memories of the past 4 years of resolve and 11-2 in elimination games (19-2 if you combine elimination + close-out games) and inspiring you to believe 100% that the Pistons would win the game. It was awesome.

It's too bad you didn't take any pictures. :frusty: