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

Detroit Pistons at Miami Heat
February 12th, 2006 ~ 3:30pm
American Airlines Arena, Miami, FL
TV: ABC Radio: WDFN


Probable Starting Lineups

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 HaslemJames PoseyDwyane 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/james_posey.jpghttp://www.pistonsforum.com/img/resources/heat/dwyane_wade.jpghttp://www.pistonsforum.com/img/resources/heat/jason_williams.jpg

~Tale of the Tape~

http://www.pistonsforum.com/images/picdump/mia021206-1.png
http://www.pistonsforum.com/images/picdump/mia021206-2.png
http://www.pistonsforum.com/images/picdump/mia021206-3.png

GUESS THE SCORE!!

Your Comments??
~

I'll be there right behind the Pistons bench.

Should be a hostile atmosphere. Wish me luck! :)

Punish the Heat. Pistons 75, Heat 69
Don't let them touch 70.

I'll be there right behind the Pistons bench.

Should be a hostile atmosphere. Wish me luck! :)

Good Lucky Motown (Lucky dog)

I expect a highly motivated Heat team... my biggest concern is Shaq or Zo hurting Ben/Sheed (physically)... watch for some dirty play down low.

That brings us to today other big game between the Heat and Pistons. This will be a tough game for Detroit to win all roads point to a close loss. This game means so much for the Heat that after the embarrasing lose to the Mavs on thursday they have had two days to prepare for this game and get the taste of the horrible lost out of their minds.
The Pistons needs this game to keep pace for home court through out so it is a game thats important but if the Pacers win this afternoon than we will still be two games ahead. I think this game will come down to the last 4 mins. Who ever will have the most poise will win I have this bad feeling about this game so I am going to pick Heat 96-93. Though pick but I hope I'm wrong.

The one thing to look for is the play of Walker, if he has a big game the Heat will win, if Wade and Shaq have their normal game and the pistons casn shut everybody down than the Pistons has a chance.:laugh:

Game Chat, is open!!!


http://www.pistonsforum.com/news/853-pistonsforum-com-game-chat-debut.html

Come on in, the room generally picks up towards the middle or end of the first half. Meet some friends, have some laughs and let's cheer the Pistons to a big victory over the Miami Heat!

Game Chat, is open!!!




http://www.pistonsforum.com/news/853-pistonsforum-com-game-chat-debut.html

Come on in, the room generally picks up towards the middle or end of the first half. Meet some friends, have some laughs and let's cheer the Pistons to a big victory over the Miami Heat!Tell Bruddah JZChen taht i cant chat today as I'll be at work til 5. I'm on the DVR sO I'll watch the game later. Unfortunately, Pistons are 9-8 when I dont get in the chat room, my bruddahs! Bring it home, bruds!!

Bad loss by Indiana a few minutes ago. They were up 5 on the Spurs with 1:30 left and they let Manu get a 4 point possession. Downhill after that. Spurs and Mavs are right on our tail.

Don't forget that the Spurs have the best start in their franchise history. We need to expand that 2 game advantage before the all-star game.

I ain't gonna blame the guys for this. It seems the league's plans with this matchup is to let Shaq do whatever he wants and shove guys all he wants in the first half and then Wade scores in the 2nd when Shaq is tired. At least 3 offensive foul no calls on Shaq vs Sheed. Sickening.

These are games that the coach can learn from. Or are they?
Carlisle with some questionable moves in the 4th Q, and Flip couldn't do anything to stop the Heat in the 4th. Hardly surprising.

Even Tough I called this a close lose, I think this game was just distrurbing down the Stretch, The last 5 possesions was 20 foot jumpers not one touch down low to Sheed. I hate to see that when the game come down the line that we did not execute any thing right. Tay on Wade was a mis-match Rip and Delfino played a great game on him.

Very upset with this lose more than the Atlanta lose, This game was under control and the guys committed to many TO's.

I'm very disappointed in the shot selection in the end by Chauncey. Bad - bad - bad - bad. We need to stop jacking up 3's to try to increase the lead when the other team is creeping up our necks

I'l put this one on the refs... by last count there was at least 8 over the backs on Shaq not called.
The only changes I would have made was feeding Sheed in the post more (they don't have an answer for this).... Also Tayshaun has never been able to gaurd Wade with his quickness... I'm also dissapointed in Tayshaun not even attempting to block Shaqs shots when he was in clear position to do so a few times.
Major props to Delfino on his defense on Wade... he's earning his stripes (I was wrong in saying he can't defend).
This will make the Pistons more determined for the rematch.
Overall a pretty damn good effort in a hostile environment.
When Wade makes those kinda crazy shots you know it's not your night.

It would help if the Pistons

1. Kept their composure
2. Went to Sheed in the post more than once
3. Played Lindsey on Wade
4. Played defense more than twice a quarter

I was not impressed by this. The Low said it best in chat, if you blow a late 13 point lead on the road, you are gunna lose.

The refs hurt the Pistons, but the players and Flip (who is rapidly earning his way back on my %$@# list) did nothing to help themselves.

Bottom line, Pistons deserved to lose. 2-3 in last 5, 4-4 in last 8, it's time to shake things up. I'd like to suggest trading Flip and Darko to San Antonio for Popovich and Sean Marks.

1st half

Wow, Flip has been hiding it all year. The perfect bench combination. Arroyo, Delfino, Prince, Dyess, Sheed. Guess he was just waiting to pull it out in a big game. This unit pulled ahead of Miami. It featured strong rebounding by Delfino, fantastic defense on Wade by Delfino. Arroyo ran the show to perfection. About the only thing that could go better is if Tay had not tried to force things quite so much. Good to see him stay aggressive, but he can work on his offensive game some other time. Time to win today.

Shaq. We are not even guarding the guy. So far, that is pretty much what Ben, Sheed, Davis, and Sheed amount to. Shaq is getting right where he wants, getting the ball, and just dunking it all over us. Davis looks particularly insignificant next to Shaq. And he did not look like much at all vs. Mourning either.

Wade was one for 7 with a few minutes to go in the half. Rip comes in and gives him a bucket. A bit too easy. Frankly, why Flip feels he must put his starters in for the last 3 minutes of the half is beyond me. Our subs were doing just fine.

Sheed has hit a couple of triples. Tay has done some scoring, Rip has made his midrangers. CB has hit some shots. Dyess hit one outside shot and got an easy dunk off a no looker from Arroyo, and another dunk off a pass from Arroyo after an offensive rebound. Delfino got to the line after another offensive rebound and made both. Did I mention Delfino was all over the boards? Did I mention he was virtually smothering Wade?

Evans played bit, and did not do much. He made way for Delfino rather quickly and that five man unit mentioned above played most of the 2nd quarter.

Arroyo missed a shot, but we got the offensive rebound, so no harm there. He did commit one foul that hurt us later as we got into the penalty. Delfino, well he got a foul call that hurt us too, but that was a superstar call as he breathed on Wade.

Well, we have a ten point lead, but our defense is not doing that great overall. At 59-49, we are pretty much letting them get toward a 100 points for the game. We are scoring at a very high rate too, and it better keep up if we are going to continue to let Shaq dunk all night uncontested.

game report

Well, Flip choked. Absolutely choked. Completely forgot he ever had a bench in the 2nd half of the game. Yes, Dyess played some, until he picked up a fourth foul, but saw no 4th quarter action. No Evans. Can't say I mind that any, but you got to play somebody. How about Hunter? Apparently, either Hunter is in no way ready to play at all, or Flip is treating Hunter like the rest of his bench players. Not playing them. Ok enough venting. Now for the good.

CB shows he can hit shots. And Rip scored a bunch. Sheed knocked down plenty of triples. Usually, three guys going good on the scoring is a win. But not if you simply let the other team have two star players go unchecked for long stretches of the game. Late in the game, CB hit a couple of triples. Rip knocked one down too. We had a 4 point lead with a couple minutes left. Oh so close, but Wade could not be stopped. That is, he could not be stopped by any of our starters. Delfino was like an on / off switch in the 2nd half for Wade. Wade started the half strong, completely was stopped by Delfino, and then was impossible to stop after Delfino came out of the game.

Delfino pretty much flawlessly stayed on Wade like a cheap suit. And while in, he helped run our offense a bit, and continued to be a force on the boards. Delfino did hit one triple in this game, but notice, from the right side. From the left elbow, he has launched two airballs in the last two games. What is up with that? Maybe not his best spot? Other than that, wow, quite a game from Delfino.

No sign of Hunter. No Darko. Dale Davis did not come back out in the 2nd half. No Arroyo, no Evans in the 2nd half. Just 7 guys, and only 6 played in the 4th quarter due to foul trouble on Dyess.

Can we say fatigue lost this one for us. Nope. Both CB and Rip continued to nail their shots right to the end. The only thing not working for us was Tay, who got plenty of rest from Delfino. What lost this game was matchups. A ton of baskets to Shaq because we have no EC anymore to at least slow him down some of the game. And Wade, a coaches choice. He will not believe in any of his bench players apparently. How can you possibly let a guy score 17 straight and not bring in a defensive specialist to cool the guy down?

Did I say I was done venting? Hardly. That unit from the first half, you know, the one that got us a lead, Flip said heck, who needs it. He left Arroyo sitting out the 2nd half. What more can a guy do? And one more game not playing Darko. Even after it was proved beyond any doubt Davis is worthless on Shaq. How in the heck does this coach expect to win a 7 game series against Miami while letting Shaq go rampant all game long. And look, Shaq played a whole lot in this one. In the playoffs, he will be long past his current injury recovery, and the games will be very well spaced. Joe better do something. Have Flip play Darko or give EC whatever it takes-oops, he can only pay league minimum. But sweet talk, cajole, whatever, get EC back.

The refs, the fourth quarter O, Tay doing his invisible man routine when a game gets physical. Boy am I pissed.

Delfino EARNED the chance to guard Wade in crunch time. EARNED it. Tay wasn't doing anything out there.

Props to the bench, crap on everything else.

The Pistons kind of lived -- and died -- by the three-point shot today. And I agree that Flip needed to get somebody on Wade in the fourth quarter (Delfino) who could stop him on at least a few of those possessions. He was scoring at will and single-handedly beat us. It seems as if the Pistons, with their big lead going into the fourth, were certain that they had won this game, and then had a letdown which allowed Miami to creep back into the game until they were in a position to win it at the end.

If Delfino plays the entire 4th on Wade, the Pistons win by 5-10. And that's with the Heat getting every whistle.

I hope that Flip learns his lesson and plays Delfino a lot more against guys like Wade, Pierce, Lebron, etc. He is the only guy that doesn't get lit up on this team. Sure he gets a ticky-tack foul occassionaly, but he never lets these guys get into a rhythm.

Shaq should have fouled out but didn't.Regardless we were up and should have won.Delfino was great on Wade I thought and did deserve the right in the end to shut him down.But with the shot he hit with Tay in his face I don't think matters,but he should have been in there he showed he can hang.

The Heat played and acted with the win like this was game 7 of the ECF,our turnovers and lack of execution killed us in the 4th.Flip better open up the bench after the all-star break and I've yet to see the mismatch master he was supposed to be in Minny shining through here.
We're a different team than Minny was with our starters but the bench has to start getting some more mins.

If Delfino plays the entire 4th on Wade, the Pistons win by 5-10. And that's with the Heat getting every whistle.

oh really?

in the 4th quarter, with delfino in the game the pistons only scored 2 points in 5 minutes, 17 seconds. the remaining 6 minutes, 43 seconds the pistons scored 12.

in the 4th quarter, the pistons were outscored 10-2 (5:1 ratio) with delfino in the game, and outscored 19-12 (1.6:1 ratio)without delfino. the pistons had a better +/- without delfino in an extra 1.5 minutes. flip's mistake was not playing arroyo to start the 4th when up 13 points.

that's not to say delfino didn't play excellent defense on wade, because he was phenomenal and that's something positive to take away from this game. but according to the facts and numbers i can claim that if delfino had stayed in the game the entire 4th quarter, we could have LOST by 5-10.

oh really?

in the 4th quarter, with delfino in the game the pistons only scored 2 points in 5 minutes, 17 seconds. the remaining 6 minutes, 43 seconds the pistons scored 12.

in the 4th quarter, the pistons were outscored 10-2 (5:1 ratio) with delfino in the game, and outscored 19-12 (1.6:1 ratio)without delfino. the pistons had a better +/- without delfino in an extra 1.5 minutes. flip's mistake was not playing arroyo to start the 4th when up 13 points.

that's not to say delfino didn't play excellent defense on wade, because he was phenomenal and that's something positive to take away from this game. but according to the facts and numbers i can claim that if delfino had stayed in the game the entire 4th quarter, we could have LOST by 5-10.

(10:43) [DET] McDyess Foul: Offensive (4 PF)
(10:43) [DET] McDyess Turnover: Foul (1 TO)
(10:01) [DET] Billups Turnover: Lost Ball (3 TO) Steal: Anderson (2 ST)
(8:52) [DET] B. Wallace Rebound (Off:1 Def:5)
(8:49) [DET] Team Turnover: Backcourt Turnover (TO)


That's why we couldn't score. Guys were throwing the ball away left an right. Delfino missed one shot at the shot clock buzzer. I can't see how he hurt the offense. Especially considering that he only touched the ball once. Sounds like a problem with Chauncey forcing the issue, and Dice commiting about 30 offensive fouls (it seemed).

The reason the Pistons lost this game is because Wade scored 17 points on consecutive possessions. Delfino was stopping Wade. That's all that needs to be said. You make it sound like Tayshaun was helping our offense. The difference is Chauncey made a couple shots when Delfino came out.

Lee, CB and Rip were not nailing their shots to the end. CB was turning it over when he tried to slash and Rip has a tendency to go cold in the 4th or at crunch time. I don't have any answers. But in this game the Heat wanted it more.

If Prince hits the last shot this thread has a different flavor.... hey they outpayed the best competition in the East for 3 1/2 qtrs on their court...
Most of the tough road games are behind them now...

Hell yes we miss EC!... make the phone call Joe... we can always trade DD... it's cold and heartless but it's smart business.... however we can beat the Heat as is.

Several lessons were learned today.... throwing Darko out there at Miami after being porcupine ass for the season isn't one of them.:doh:

If Prince hits the last shot this thread has a different flavor.... hey they outpayed the best competition in the East for 3 1/2 qtrs on their court...
Most of the tough road games are behind them now...

Hell yes we miss EC!... make the phone call Joe... we can always trade DD... it's cold and heartless but it's smart business.... however we can beat the Heat as is.

Several lessons were learned today.... throwing Darko out there at Miami after being porcupine ass for the season isn't one of them.:doh:

It appeared to me that Tayshaun's last shot wouldn't have counted anyways. It was still in his hands as the clock expired.

And I agree about Elden. He was always good for 4-5 minutes of hearing very little from Shaq. Elden was the only guy that could keep him from performing his usual dunk-drill that he does against Ben/Sheed/Dice. He just pushed him 3-4 feet outside his comfort zone.

I apologize...I didnt gethome until 6:00Pm, so I watched my DVR(still a wonderful thang!!). No chat today....all 9 losses when I wasnt able to go PFC!(pistonsforumchat, squares!)...I am so mad for so many reasons>>>.
1. wade is GREAT and he should have been ours. I saw him at Marquette U. when 90% of yall didnt know who he was and then we pick this foriegn butt-hole named darko???!! If a player in my hood named Darko , came on 'my court', I wouldve bloodied his face. He's a punk , a nobody...and we would be defending champions for the next 6 years with wade or Bosh ...or even Hienrich!!!
2. NO FLIP....NOT ONE good coaching move in the second half. The LOs' were great and got punked by their coach on National TV. Bill and Rip are my boys but they still aint ALLTHAT, like Wade. We couldve used some serious bench play in the start of the 4th...BUT, NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
3. nO WAY tHE hEAT CAN BEAT US IN A 7 GAME SERIES and certainly not at home. we gave them 75% effort and 25% coaching and still almost won. What i hate was that we are now only "1" game up on the Spurs who showed how to win a game u r supposed TO WIN!!!
4. Tay better get some rear end by the playoffs or I will be In His face from now on!

I could go on...but......that last quarter has hurt my feelings too bad..:tsk:

I am still very angry about this game. Not that we lost, but how we lost.

I read somewhere (too much reading trying to find some closure to remember where) that with LB you had to play D to get on the court, with Flip you have to play "O".

This myth about the Pistons playing good defense has to be put to rest. They play defense in spots. There is no emphasis on defense from Sheed, CB or Tay. Their effort waxes and wanes game-to-game. The only guys playing with any defensive pride game in and game out has been Rip, Ben and recently Delfino.

How the heck does Wade score 17 straight without an adjustment? Without a timeout? Tay was left on an island, an island we know he cannot master as evidenced by last year's ECF.

In fact, with the exception of a few good regular season games, Tay's last great defensive stand was in the 2004 playoffs against Kobe. I'm not picking on Tay. I don't doubt he's giving a solid effort, but finishing the game with no fouls, and the coaching staff doing NOTHING to take Wade out of his game was STUPID.

Flip better get his act together. He better find a way to reign in these guys. CB's shot selection and offensive execution in the 4th Q has taken a dramatic step backwards since the New Year.

The players win and lose the game, but Flip is not making use of the bench (again no Hunter, after Flip mentions publically that LH will get run), Delfino taken out when all we really needed was to lock down Wade a little longer. Davis and Dice absent late in the game as usual, and THREE players with 40+ minutes.

And people think LB was too short and hard headed with his rotations...

I can handle losing to Utah, NJ, even Cleveland at home. I can understand dropping a game against Atlanta, and Indy is always scrappy without their main pieces.

But this was the Pistons game to win, and they folded. No stops, no execution, no clever substitutions, nothing. It was like watching water drain out of the kitchen sink after the dishes are done.

Still very, very mad. Either DW was proof positive tonight that Joe screwed up drafting Darko, or that Flip is not an adequate replacement as coach because this is the part of the season when the boys should really be hitting their stride and the rotation should be somewhat sorted.

Is Flip in over his head in the Eastern Conference? Are the starters running the show?

All I know is that we have dropped our last 4 against EC contenders. Miami, Indy, Cleveland and New Jersey. And that makes me ill. We've got 9 more games against these teams.

I am upset with Flip and not only for witholding the guy who was doing a job on Wade. When Shaq has energy like he did today, Ben can't even slow him down. Sheed was very little better. Dice was like a rag doll to Shaq. Davis was totally ineffective. I am pissed at Flip for not trying Darko, just to see what would happen. I recall Darko effectively fronting Shaq. There was absolutely nothing to lose by trying this. Flip seems like a very stubborn person. We better figure this out before the playoffs cause if Shaq keeps his energy, he and Wade would be big trouble.

Lot of disturbing things. Too many Turns, Too many offsensive boards for Miami.

I don't know about not defending Wade. Seemed like he was defended well in the 4th he was just hitting tough shots.

Disturbing trends recently. Not enough D, Not going inside enough, taking too many 3's, too vulnerable on the glass. Lost 3 of 5 now.

Sorry, not quite done yet.

We got outboarded. Sure it was by a small margin but it happened again. Turnovers? We lost 13-4. Two starters combine for 8 points (Tay and Ben).

Dwyane Wade is a turnover machine. He had zero. That means no ball pressure. To put that in perspective, it's the FIRST TIME all year that DW has not had a turnover. Heck he's only had 5 games with only ONE turnover. This is a guy who averages a very solid 3+ TO per game.

Don't even get me started on the ageless wonder, Gary Payton or that Rip took only 2 shots in the 4th Q as our most consistent (and highest %) scoring threat.

Micro's angry Box Score link (http://philadelphia76ers.com/games/20060212/DETMIA/boxscore.html)

No, the sky is not falling, but man I've been saying for ages that someone needs to push Tay for minutes, that he can't defend quick guys, that we need to work Hunter back into the lineup ASAP and it's starting to show signs of cracking.

Man, Flip had me totally onboard until recently. Now it looks like he's been coaching on autopilot. Hell, I could tell the Pistons to shoot whenever they have a shot. It doesn't take a wizard to do that.

Micro,someone needs a beer or a nice massage... it's all good bro (no I ain't patronizing.. just hepin' a friend)... this is a gr8 team... and a solid coach...did LB have this kinda record?... let's save the serious stuff for the playoffs.

Micro,someone needs a beer or a nice massage...
I'll take the massage. I just had hot chocolate. :)

it's all good bro (no I ain't patronizing.. just hepin' a friend)...
Appreciated. You have been the voice of calm and cool reason. I've noticed. ;)

this is a gr8 team... and a solid coach...
I've tried to keep it together when stuff has bothered me. But tonight, the boil came to a head. Maybe I'm completely off my rocker. Most losses have been discussed here with little passion. I'm seeing stuff I wish I wasn't seeing, or rather stuff that I overlooked when we were running all over teams.

Fact is, this squad can't play halfcourt with Flip's system. The execution is terrible. And they're not getting the stops on the other end like in seasons past. Like I said, I wish I wasn't seeing it, but it's happening...

did LB have this kinda record?... let's save the serious stuff for the playoffs.
I hope and pray that LB is further demonized this offseason as the Pistons roll to a title with Flip. Honest. Damn LB. But at this time last year, post brawl even with the coaching fiasco, this team cranked it up another notch and started taking names for their $#^! list.

If HCA is the goal, we better pull our bootstraps up. Spurs are traditionally a very tough second half team (and they are showing it again). At this rate, we're funnin' and gunnin' and still might not win HCA in the Finals.

I am still very angry about this game. Not that we lost, but how we lost.

I read somewhere (too much reading trying to find some closure to remember where) that with LB you had to play D to get on the court, with Flip you have to play "O".

This myth about the Pistons playing good defense has to be put to rest. They play defense in spots. There is no emphasis on defense from Sheed, CB or Tay. Their effort waxes and wanes game-to-game. The only guys playing with any defensive pride game in and game out has been Rip, Ben and recently Delfino.

How the heck does Wade score 17 straight without an adjustment? Without a timeout? Tay was left on an island, an island we know he cannot master as evidenced by last year's ECF.

In fact, with the exception of a few good regular season games, Tay's last great defensive stand was in the 2004 playoffs against Kobe. I'm not picking on Tay. I don't doubt he's giving a solid effort, but finishing the game with no fouls, and the coaching staff doing NOTHING to take Wade out of his game was STUPID.

Flip better get his act together. He better find a way to reign in these guys. CB's shot selection and offensive execution in the 4th Q has taken a dramatic step backwards since the New Year.

The players win and lose the game, but Flip is not making use of the bench (again no Hunter, after Flip mentions publically that LH will get run), Delfino taken out when all we really needed was to lock down Wade a little longer. Davis and Dice absent late in the game as usual, and THREE players with 40+ minutes.

And people think LB was too short and hard headed with his rotations...

I can handle losing to Utah, NJ, even Cleveland at home. I can understand dropping a game against Atlanta, and Indy is always scrappy without their main pieces.

But this was the Pistons game to win, and they folded. No stops, no execution, no clever substitutions, nothing. It was like watching water drain out of the kitchen sink after the dishes are done.

Still very, very mad. Either DW was proof positive tonight that Joe screwed up drafting Darko, or that Flip is not an adequate replacement as coach because this is the part of the season when the boys should really be hitting their stride and the rotation should be somewhat sorted.

Is Flip in over his head in the Eastern Conference? Are the starters running the show?

All I know is that we have dropped our last 4 against EC contenders. Miami, Indy, Cleveland and New Jersey. And that makes me ill. We've got 9 more games against these teams.

Anger is great, just shows what a great fan you are.

I absolutely agree that the rotations should be sorted somewhat by now. To me, Flip has wasted the season to this point on that score. Something about chasing regular season wins. And to me, whether you agree or not, the attempted inclusion of Evans in our rotation has not helped the process at all. In this game, Evans played four minutes. He had no role at all in this game. He has had no role in any game we really cared about.

But here we are, team turmoil as far as the rotations go. Not one fan knows who will or will not play the next game off the bench. Dyess might play 15 minutes, or 30. Arroyo, anywhere from 4 to 15. Delfino, Evans, Davis, Hunter, maybe none at all. Or anyone just might have a big role all the sudden. Who knows. For sure, listening to Flip will not give you clue one.

So what now. Simple. Forget homecourt. Do what Hubie Brown would have done. Play everyone extensively, from the rookies on up, and see who can contribute what. Then sort it all out. Flip still has plenty of time if he starts now. We need about 5 more wins to ensure we make the playoffs. Any more than that is just gravy. Lets get the team ready and let the rest fall where it may. Personally, I believe if we played the bench extensively, it would lead to more wins not less.

CB, in general, should be coming in for the final 6 minutes of the game, after a good long rest. This is not a pro-Arroyo post. Nope. You can play Prince at point for all I care, but your starting point guard need not get overused to the point he can't make good decisions down the stretch. This is a mental game too. Tonight Billups may have some physical energy left in the tank, but I doubt his mind was that into things after getting zero rest in the 2nd half of the game.

Ok, I just read the 2nd part of your post (Micro)... some solid points there...
About Ben & Tay dissapering... no question LB got more outta Ben... this was noticed today against Shaq... he basically didn't have to work on "D" today... I'm not advocating Ben becoming the focal point (like LB tried) but LB brought out the untapped potential much better than Flip... it got Shaq in foul trouble almost every time.
As for Tay.. he's coming off a couple real nice games... I'll cut him some slack for this one (other than wussin' out on helping on Shaq)...there's definately an opportunity here for the next time we meet these bastards.

Hopefully the team came out of this somewhat healthy (that's still up in the air) ... Lookin' forward to a Nets azz kickin' on Tuesday.

Bruddah HQ: You get my vote for best recap.

Micro: I agree 101%

Someone needs to come up to the team and tell them that they ain't the champs. Lets get back to playin' D fellas!!

Damn .. knew I shouldn't a taken Lee off the ignore list... I stopped reading when he was blaming this on Mo who played like 5 minutes tonight... whatever hater.

bah we looked terrible down the stretch other than a few nice shots. It had me pissed :frusty::frusty: for a while. But these are the pistons and they're gonna get a win before the all star break and then come back focused and ready to smash the competition. btw next game is vs the nets and jason kidd's kid looks like an alien and has a mustache at age 3! I hope he makes it to the palace so I can laugh at him when j. kidd blows his lame kiss at the free throw line and they show the obligatory shot of his wife and kid (i know its mean and vain but I hate j. kidd and as a result his family feels my hate too!).

Damn, just saw that last shot by Wade again.. I don't care if you're Artest... nobody coulda defended that better that Tayshaun... that Wade kid is a serious talent.

Guys this one is in the rear view mirror... good motivation for the future... nice slap in the face for some lazy play at times (hello Sheed) let it it go.. we got bigger fish.

Micro - I was mainly pointing out the offensive boards 14 to 9. Thats 5 more shot attempts and I bet all of were from Shaq stuffing back in missed shots.

Overall with the offensive boards and turns Miami had 14 more shot attempts than we had. Free throws were about equal 18 to 21 with Miami taking 3 more.

You are just not going to win too many games giving up that many more shots - most of the disparity was in the 4th quarter I would imagine.

All that and if Tay would only have hit that wide open 3 we would have won. With 2.whatever sec's left it would have been nice to have worked out a better 2-pt play but that 3 was a shot Tay should have made.

I agree Flip hasn't subbed well. Nash gets his mandatory rest to start the 4th, and Chauncey needs it too. Even if he's not tired, it's a mental refresh, and gives a different look to the other team ... gotta keep them on their toes. I also think Dale Davis is going to need more practice against the big fella in the next 2 meetings - he's looked like a man's man in previous games, but he was defending Shaq like Ben/Sheed. he's there to bang, not back off, and someone's gotta tell him that.

But I like to look at the positives, so let's do so:

- 3 guys scored in the 20s today.
- 11 of 20 from 3-point land
- tayshaun grabbed 10 boards
- billups had a solid game
- mcdyess shot the lights out
- arroyo played solid again, bench held their own
- delfino proved again he is an excellent defender, and can guard the quicker/stronger players in the league like wade - if nothing else getting to see that is key for the inevitable playoff series
- we were up by 14 on the road against the 2nd best team in the east going into the 4th quarter
- prior to this game we were 6-1 against division-leaders

and on a sidenote it's a pleasure listening to hubie brown instead of bill walton's ramblings or espn's 48-minute lovefest of the pistons. hubie sticks to the game and provides valuable insight.

Warthog... Warped minds think alike (you too Motown) ...Agree with you, Hubie is much better on the ears than the guy who experienced the 60's too much :^) ...all around solid post.

We didn't play playoff defense--that's for sure. This game was more like a show than a war. Our bigs may have been a bit tired. I wouldn't expect them to give up so many boards even with the over-the-backs when fresh. Miami played their game, waiting for us at home, diving for all the loose balls, Shaq playing animated and Wade given a green ticket by our defense and we had control of the game on their court. This is the Atlanta game at a higher level. Our turnovers cost us or we win. If we keep the ball moving on this team, we can expose their slowness of foot. We will score on them again--98 points. They will not score on us like that when we bring it. We didn't bring our big D late. Absolutely, Wade can be guarded better--I have seen other teams do it. The Heat can compete with us but it will take more than they have shown to beat us in a real series.

The defense was great on anyone not named Shaq or Wade. You're not going to shut down a supporting cast much better than that. Only Payton had a decent night outside of the "Big Two". The thing that hurt is that Shaq and Wade shot the ball too well. You don't really bank on Wade doing what he did in the fourth quarter, and Shaq was really getting away with a lot of push-offs on the putbacks. Notice that everytime he got an offensive rebound one of the Wallaces was enjoying the slam from a view on the floor in the first row? If the officials are going to allow that type of thing to go on, then there's not much we can do. We just have to hope the officials correct the issue, because that was an easy 10-12 points right there.

The best thing we can take from this game is that we have a guy on the roster that can contain Wade. The only issue is if he's going to get enough playing time be a factor in the future.

Well, well, Micro I guess your boy Zsa Zsa didn't have a good game today or you would have found solice.
...If this game didn't convince you we need HCA nothing will. Our boys are good but they aint walking away from the league like the Bulls did.
...And thanks again for changing your avatar. Spooky is spooky, I'm sure it only took half of us complaining to get you to realize. Why not put that mask on Fino?
...I been looking for something to smash since the Atl. game.
...Fortunately there's enough punk teams in this league for us to get 60 wins.

don't look now, but the spurs have won 9 straight and are now only 1 game behind the pistons. the pistons dropped another game they should of won. i thought the team would stop being overconfident after the atlanta loss, but i was wrong. lets hope the pistons have another great run after the allstar break to finish the season.

Flip's biggest mistake was not playing Delfino more. He played shutdown D against Wade, yet when Wade was scoring his 17 in a row, Flip didn't go back to him.

That's the problem with 5 "all-star" starters. When they play bad, or are mismatched, the coach will never dare to replace them. Flip needed some cajones last night, cause I bet we win, if he put Delfino in for Tay in the last 5 minutes last night.

Fellas,

I have read a lot of really good points about yesterday's game! It was definitely a game we should have had, and I am probably more pissed than anyone else because I kept waking up in the middle of the night thinking about it!!! Yeah, yeah, yeah......i know i'm trippin, but the fact remains is that we have done this twice in the past week on the road!!! Going into the fourth quarter, having controlled the game the entire time, to not come away with the win.....it's just disheartening!!! And yeah, i know it's the dog days of the NBA season, but all we have heard all year is that "getting home-court" is the mission for the regular season...and they can't continue to let up on any of these teams late, because we are just giving them confidence!!

Now granted, do i think miami can beat us in a 7-game series? If both teams play like that at the end of the game, yep!!! But come playoff time, i'm sure it will be a different story!! Miami through everything, including the kitchen sink yesterday, and it was on their home-court so the officating will always be suspect!! Bottom line, we just need to start playing better and not force so many jump shots when we have control of the game.....well if there w/n the flow of the offense is one thing, but alot of those shots and turnovers was people trying to do to much!!! Ok, well i think i've said enough for now....but i will leave you all with this thought....we only took 2 free throws in the 4th!!!! ONLY 2!!!!!! That should tell you all you need to know!!!!! With all of that said, we will still get home court and still take care of business come June!!! Bottom line, it was only one game.....a game we should have had and put our foot on their necks....but only one game!!!!!

I'M OUT!!!!

interesting thing, it was the first time for me to see Billups dunk.
http://cmsimg.detnews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C3&Date=20060213&Category=SPORTS0102&ArtNo=602130326&Ref=V4&Profile=1127&MaxW=1000&Q=100&title=1

Thoughts

Heat salary cap situation is actually quite a bit better than the Pistons.

Carlos Delfino needs some more playing time. Great job on Wade.

Dale Davis isn't a Shaq stopper in the way EC was (or is?)

Flip's stubborn refusal to adjust during games and play the bench brings back memories of another coach.

We do sometimes miss the Iron Fist of Larry Brown.

Thoughts

Heat salary cap situation is actually quite a bit better than the Pistons.


Wait till Wade gets his Max deal. In 2009/2010 Shaq will be 38, and they'll have about 40 million bucks wrapped up in 2 players with only 1 being "superstar" level.

For the next two years the Heat are in great shape and unfortunately we are not in great shape and we have to sign Chauncey too in 2007. From what I've read the Pistons are capped out and will be paying luxury tax for several years. So we may be riding this starting five into the sunset. The time to win is now.

lots of good points concerning the game yesterday. it certainly was for me the most aggravating loss of the season. but i think it aggravated me most of all in that i anticipated the post-game analysis (both here and in the national media) along the lines of "oh, i guess the pistons weren't so good."

i wanted to make a couple of points concerning the recent "slide" (including yesterday's 4th quarter fold):

I think it's important to recognize that for some time now the Pistons are getting every other team's best game, even more than in the year following the championship. The press has so hyped this year's team, chauncey's mvp talk,, flips coach of the month awards, the new offense, the all-stars that I'd imagine every team facing the pistons wants nothing more than to take them down. In that sense, it seems to me that some sort of "slide" was almost inevitable at some point during the year.

Now, that's not an excuse for losing, just a partial explanation for why some of the things that have been working through the first 42 games haven't been working so well over the past 8. And given that explanation, I'd sum up all of their particular problems under the heading of over-confidence. But a particular manifestation of over-confidence: namely, both the coach and the players have over the past eight games showed a blindness to the particulars of each game as it unfolds and consequently an inability to make the adjustments necessary to respond to what the opponents are doing well (or keeping the pIstons from doing well, especially if it's something they've been doing well and easily throughout the first half of the campaign). As if they were saying, "hey, we're the pistons, 36-5, we don't need to adjust. sooner or later the 3 ball will fall, sooner or later Wade will miss." It's true, sooner or later both those things will happen. But by simple adjustments, the Pistons could have made kept control of the game and made those things either a) unnecessary or b) happen sooner.

Thus for example: I don't in principle have a problem with Chauncey or Sheed taking 3s near the end of games to try to put the game away because they had success with that more often than not. But yesterday, for example, they seemed to me not to recognize that Miami had stepped up its perimeter pressure on defense significantly over the course of the second half. Chauncey hit a couple of very difficult jumpers in the face of that pressure. But a better strategy would have been to adjust to that pressure by either looking to Sheed in the post, or taking their man to the hoop and finishing or getting to the line. LIkewise, Wade was incredible in the early part of the 3rd quarter, so that after he hits a few in the fourth (as many have said) Flip needs to recognize that an adjustment was necessary. If he didn't want to go with Delfino (which probably would hvae been the best choice based on the facts of yesterday's game), then he should have just gone to Rip or even Chauncey. If nothing else, they should have put Wade on his ass about a half dozen more times to make him beat you at the line and to keep the crowd from going nuts.

Anyway, I think that throughout the first half of the season, they showed a much greater attentiveness to what each game situation was calling for and a willingness and ability to make the changes necessary (i.e. grinding games out when necessary, posting sheed up five times in a row when necessary, taking their man to the hoop when necessary). For whatever reasons, they've seemed to me blind or stubborn of alte. That's the only way I can explain how they let Miami beat them by 15 points over the final twelve minute stretch despite my still unwavering belief that they are a much better team than Miami (home or away).

Lastly, I still can't get on board with LB nostalgia. Sure, defensive lockdown intensity from all 5 players on the floor was missing yesterday and has at other moments during the season. But as aggravating as defensive lapses can be, I gotta believe I'm not the only one who went nuts in the past couple of years when the offense would go into deep freeze. My point isn't that Flip is an improvement over Larry, just that it's a wash. And truth be told, I believe our overall chances have improved with Flip if only because no matter how hard they tried, the PIstons under Larry were never going to pressure other teams offensively: the system just wouldn't allow it. Meanwhile, this year's Pistons CAN pressure them defensively. Granted, they need to find the will to do it and Flip must assume some responsibility for that, as must the veterans who know by now that you've got to do it on both ends.

All in all, going back three years I've felt that this squad's achilles heel was one of collective psychology (rather than problems of personnel, for example). Their emotional intensity and focus is simply too contingent on external circumstances (i.e. this is a big game, or nobody respects us, or we're the %%%%). This makes them an easy team to get behind, but also at times a maddeningly inconsistent team. I don't really see how that would change or what would make it change, but I think it's the sort of thing that would keep this team from ever making it easy over the long haul (on themselves, or for us fans).

If there's one bright spot about this...at least it's happening now instead of a month from now. There's still time to sort out the problems before the playoffs...hopefully Flip is aware of what they are after yesterday.

For the next two years the Heat are in great shape and unfortunately we are not in great shape and we have to sign Chauncey too in 2007. From what I've read the Pistons are capped out and will be paying luxury tax for several years. So we may be riding this starting five into the sunset. The time to win is now.
I still don't see how we're worse off for the next "two years". They're already at the 61 Million mark (the luxury tax limit is 61.7 this year), and next year they'll still be at 57 (well over the cap), despite virtually their entire bench expiring (7 players including Zo and Payton). Plus Posey has a player option that he is very likely to pass up. Once they sign a new bench or re-sign their current players they will be looking at being over the luxury limit already. Then throw in Wade's 12 million first year, and they're in the 75 million dollar range with Wade and a bunch of old guys. Trust me, they need to win NOW more than we do. Our best players will still be good in a few years.

Sorry, not quite done yet.

No, the sky is not falling, but man I've been saying for ages that someone needs to push Tay for minutes, that he can't defend quick guys, that we need to work Hunter back into the lineup ASAP and it's starting to show signs of cracking.

Man, Flip had me totally onboard until recently. Now it looks like he's been coaching on autopilot. Hell, I could tell the Pistons to shoot whenever they have a shot. It doesn't take a wizard to do that.

I disagree. A piece of the sky did fall yesterday. There is nothing new about loosing big leads, or superstars going off saving the day. Not even against good teams like ours. Specially not on national TV.

Reversing the order of your points, Flip has not really had to do much game coaching considering our offensive output and winning margin. Yesterday it again looked a lot like he would not have to. The sky began to fracture when D. Wade went off. Peices of it fell as Flip lived up to the claims of his hiring day critics. Can't get past the 1st round.

Yesterday had all of the trappings of a playoff game, including the part where coachs engage in a chess game. Flip never completed a move. To steal Harwells line "He stood there like the house by the side of the road".

It didn't all come down, but there are some small, light blue peices littering American Airlines Arena.

I disagree. A piece of the sky did fall yesterday. There is nothing new about loosing big leads, or superstars going off saving the day. Not even against good teams like ours. Specially not on national TV.

Reversing the order of your points, Flip has not really had to do much game coaching considering our offensive output and winning margin. Yesterday it again looked a lot like he would not have to. The sky began to fracture when D. Wade went off. Peices of it fell as Flip lived up to the claims of his hiring day critics. Can't get past the 1st round.

Yesterday had all of the trappings of a playoff game, including the part where coachs engage in a chess game. Flip never completed a move. To steal Harwells line "He stood there like the house by the side of the road".

It didn't all come down, but there are some small, light blue peices littering American Airlines Arena.
LMAO. You do realize the Pistons blew a VERY similar lead against the Heat at HOME last year, don't you? You know, when Miami outscored us 22-9 in the fourth quarter, and Wade had another spectacular game (Triple Double). Games like these aren't limited to Flip Saunders coached teams. They happend plenty under Larry Brown. The whole "chess match" thing is completely overrated. Wade hit everything, the Pistons got lazy. You think it was Pat Riley's plan for them to get down 13, then rely on Wade going 7-7 in the final 5 minutes of the game? No, Riley's plan didn't work for %%%%. His player went on an individual tear and squeeked out a game for them. The Pistons are still in the drivers seat of this matchup. It took WAY too many things to line up perfectly for them to win by 2 at home.

BTW, here's some trivia... When was the last time Wade had zero turnovers in a game like he did last night? I'll give you a hint... It wasn't this year! In fact, he averages more turnovers by himself than the entire Heat team had last night. THAT is how perfect the planets had to align.

"It's just another game," said Chauncey Billups, who had 29 points and 10 assists. "They might look at it as something more than it really is. They had struggled against the good teams, and now they beat the best team in the league. So I am sure they are proud. They should be."

I'm not sure Chauncey and Co. are taking this loss as seriously as they should be. Maybe this is just their media persona. :doh:

Chauncey always says something like that after a loss, which is another thing that bugs me.

Lemme throw another bouquet on the pile for Carlos Delfino: Yesterday he was the only guy who actually fouled Shaq hard enough to stop him inside. Bravo, Carlos! If the zebras are going to call it, make it a good one.

LMAO. You do realize the Pistons blew a VERY similar lead against the Heat at HOME last year, don't you? You know, when Miami outscored us 22-9 in the fourth quarter, and Wade had another spectacular game (Triple Double). Games like these aren't limited to Flip Saunders coached teams. They happend plenty under Larry Brown. The whole "chess match" thing is completely overrated. Wade hit everything, the Pistons got lazy. You think it was Pat Riley's plan for them to get down 13, then rely on Wade going 7-7 in the final 5 minutes of the game? No, Riley's plan didn't work for %%%%. His player went on an individual tear and squeeked out a game for them. The Pistons are still in the drivers seat of this matchup. It took WAY too many things to line up perfectly for them to win by 2 at home.

BTW, here's some trivia... When was the last time Wade had zero turnovers in a game like he did last night? I'll give you a hint... It wasn't this year! In fact, he averages more turnovers by himself than the entire Heat team had last night. THAT is how perfect the planets had to align.

You missed my point. It isn't THAT we lost. It IS that our leader did NOTHING to prevent it. I didn't suggest any of several options available to Flip would have saved the day, only that he didn't attempt any.

Chess match thing is overated?
Substitution patterns, intentional fouling, two 4 one possessions, matchup recognition, full or 20 second time outs, switching defenses, ....
This was a one possession game that came down to making the most of 2.8 seconds. Oh yeah, how you manipulate what is in your control does matter.

Wade is great but we set him up by giving him way too much room. Of course he got hot. I have seen other teams guard him better. We were into this game for showtime. That said, we need better defensive strategies on Wade going back to last year. He is good but not that good. not sure about Shaq. He kills us early but still did not do much late when we can guard him. We can't guard him early because we don't want our bigs to get into foul trouble. But Shaq does not pass as much as he used to and maybe we can cheat a little. We can step up the tempo on this team and they will not have an answer. Coaches should study the Sun's strategy against the Heat. We should be able to contain Shaq and Wade when it counts. They cannot contain our speed. Look at their lineup, most of their guys are slow of foot.

Motown’s 10 Point Run

(Special Game Edition)

I went to Miami for this?

That’s all I could think about during my 4 hour drive back home to the Tampa area after witnessing what can only be described as a mental collapse by our beloved Pistons. Having had great visions of capturing some premium close-ups of our team in action for PF.COM, you can imagine my disappointment when I discovered that my digital camera was malfunctioning. Unfortunately, that was not the only malfunction that took place in American Airlines Arena. In our most meaningful Eastern Conference game of the season thus far, we came up short in the final seconds. There was no camera, but there was plenty of FLASH (D. Wade). Here is my picture of the events as a devoted fan sitting from behind the Pistons bench.

What you didn’t see on TV:

Player Communication ~ As one might expect, during road games it becomes imperative for the road team to perform as a collective unit. Bench guys should provide emotional support to starters and vice-versa. The second quarter of the game was a classic example. During Carlos’s run in the 2nd quarter, Chauncey was constantly in Los’s ear sharing his off/on court observations during every timeout. This was just one in a series of conversations that incluced Mo Evans, Dice, Delfino and the starters. The result was a calm, poised team for 3 quarters sporting a comfortable lead. Mysteriously this level of communication appeared to have all but vanished midway in the 4th quarter. Coincidence? Perhaps this was a time where more coaching was necessary on a team that typically performs well on autopilot, but was obviously struggling.
Playoff Atmosphere ~ Once the Miami Heat got the game to within 6 points, the stadium began to rock. The noise level increased 12 octaves queuing the Miami Heat’s official DJ to start playing some thunderous BASS inflicted music to get the crowd inspired. The Miami Heat Jr Dancers and the All-Star weekend elected Miami Heat Cheerleaders (not bad on the eyes) jumped unto the court and performed a well choreographed dance routine. The shortest member of the bunch, a young white kid sporting a fashionable red Kangol (hat) wows the crowd with moves not seen on the dance floor by such a young talent since Michael Jackson. The Scoreboard/Jumbletron positioned in the middle of the court flashes to an older man who appears to be in his 70’s gettin’ his boogie on in the crowd. You felt a huge change in momentum sweep the building. And in the midst of all of that activity… C-Note hits two clutch threes and brings the arena to a hush. UNBELIEVABLE! You would have to be there to recognize how amazing that feat was.
Wade is the King of Miami ~ The media heads love Shaq, but the fans in the arena are IN LOVE with Dwayne Wade. During the last 2 minutes where it became the Chauncey vs Wade show, the crowd was calling for Wade to take all of the shots. He obliged by making every shot he threw up. Often times this would be with a degree of difficulty unimaginable by any other player on the court. Wade was without a doubt the most talented player to lace up Sunday afternoon. And if not for my eagerness to make it to my car, I think every Heat fan in the joint would have attempted to ram that point down my throat. J
Snow Birds in Full Effect ~ Perhaps the most surprising element of the game for me was the amount of Detroit Pistons fans that existed in the crowd. During the first three quarters there was a pronounced vocal presence whenever the Pistons would score. This persisted throughout the entire game. On my way out of the arena, approximately 1 out of every 7 jerseys worn by the exiting fans was a Pistons jersey. Not bad considering that the Heat is easily our strongest competition in the East.
Where is the Intensity? ~ The intense defense that was the staple of the Going to Work Championship team appeared to have been absent in this one. The overall feeling of the game was that of a scrimmage until the last 7-6 minutes in the fourth quarter. Although the Pistons had a sound lead throughout the entire game it was one sans a sense of urgency. The game appeared very slow paced and the players were extremely lethargic in the huddle. Our dominance appeared to be more of a product of Miami’s inability to cut down unforced turnovers rather than our defensive presence. You did not get the feeling based on the players’ body language that this was a game that we needed to win. I believe my girlfriend said it best when after three quarters she said, “Baby, this is boring.” What you did see on TV:

Air Chauncey! ~ Never thought I’d see the day when Chauncey would put one down…Two Handed! Things were truly going well for the first couple of quarters. Unfortunately we were not able to maintain that intensity in the 4th quarter.
Poor Decision Making ~ C-Note made some clutch shots for us in the stretch but it was his decision to limit the ball movement in the final minutes that made it easier for Riley to devise a counter strategy for our MVP candidate.
Vanishing Act ~ Tayshaun, after putting together a string of strong games, seemingly vanished in this big matchup. If Prince makes that three, we continue to talk about how impregnable we are to Miami’s attacks. With a miss, questions on Tayshaun’s defensive presence and assertiveness are now again raised to the forefront.
The “D” in Delfino stands for Defense ~ With Lindsey still not playing any stable minutes, Delfino has slowly become one of the best on-ball defenders on our team. His brand of defense is more similar to Hunter than Prince, as Prince relies on his athletic ability, positioning and length, while Delfino has excellent foot work and quickness.
Adjustments, The mark of a good playoff coach? ~ Flip’s coaching abilities are beginning to come under fire as the season continues and the 70 win plateau slowly becomes a distant memory. All of the victories we’ve collected under the guidance of Flip thus far have been predicated on out executing the opposition. (Sounds very RC'ish) Rarely have we seen Flip make an in game adjustment that changes the outcome of the game on defense. He’s shown a lack of creativity and confidence in his bench. His game time substitution patterns often seem conservative, inconsistent and untimely. This could ultimately come down to Flip’s system vs. Flip’s inability to deviate from what he knows has worked in the past.

don't you remember him dunking in the 04 finals? i think flip should have used that timeout earlier to settle the game down. sure we wouldn't have a timeout for a last second play, but with a 13 point lead i don't think that would have happened. shaq gets away with too much inside, and i don't know how the pistons will get those calls. the downhill play for the pistons was when ben hustled down an offensive rebound and chauncey wasn't looking when he threw it to him. that 3 by tayhsaun looked good. when he plays bad pistons lose. lets hope the pistons have good luck tommorow, it's rip's birthday, and i hope this team plays to it's potential and goes on another huge winning streak. here's something to think about, piston fans are not feeling godd, and this is the worst we've seen the pistons play this season, and in these games where they have played bad they are still at 50% (4-4). san antonio is only 1 game behind us, and could inch closer to the pistons today with a win over the cavs. for the pistons to win tommorow tayshaun needs to play good.

don't you remember him dunking in the 04 finals?

hmm...you might be right. I kinda remember some bet with Rip too about him getting a dunk in a game. I don't think that was a two handed dunk though. I think it was a Joe Dumars-esque dunk where it was kinda questionable looking. Could be wrong though... :confused:

hmm...you might be right. I kinda remember some bet with Rip too about him getting a dunk in a game. I don't think that was a two handed dunk though. I think it was a Joe Dumars-esque dunk where it was kinda questionable looking. Could be wrong though... :confused:
Looked to me like the ref was already moving the whistle towards his mouth to tee him up for hanging on the rim. Then he saw the wide eyed look on CB's face and realized he didn't know how to get down so he let it go.

Well, I'm not usually one too get overly excited about regular-season losses, but this one has me a bit disappointed. Not because I'm worried about Miami catching us, and not even because SA picked up another game on us. It has more to do with the fact that I think we missed a chance at dealing Miami a major psychological blow. I don't think we're a lot worse off for the loss, but I do think the Heat are much better off for the win. Three quarters of really outstanding basketball wiped out by a lousy last quarter.

On the last play, Tay actually played Wade as well as possible. What had me a bit annoyed is that Wade should never have shot the ball. I was shouting at my television screen that you have to take the ball out of his hands there. A high double, whatever. You can't let the star beat you. Make Haslem hit a jumper. Hopefully Flip learned something from this.

My other issue (like many on this board) is for about the last half of the fourth quarter we should have been throwing the ball to 'Sheed in the post. Neither Haslem nor Walker has any chance against him down there. The other thing I would like to see is, when Dyess and 'Sheed are in the game together, to take more advantage of Shaq's unwillingness to leave the paint.

I am with everyone else on Delfino. I was one of the most vocal critics of him last year, but he is proving me wrong. After watching him play Pierce, Kobe, and now Wade, I'm convinced that the guy is the real deal defensively. I'm not ready to put him on the all-defensive team, but he's physical and also fundamentally very good. He's not afraid to get right up into a guy, a little bit like Hunter. In fact, the bench made a very solid contribution in general.

Well, we'll see what happens from here on out, but I think we gave Miami a breath of life.

Bruddah HQ: You get my vote for best recap.

Micro: I agree 101%

Someone needs to come up to the team and tell them that they ain't the champs. Lets get back to playin' D fellas!!

Thanks Bruddah slip...much luv 2 ya. I think these were the most accurate and passionate posts I've seen this season. keep it up, my bruddahs. StoneNation is upset!!!

don't look now, but the spurs have won 9 straight and are now only 1 game behind the pistons. the pistons dropped another game they should of won. i thought the team would stop being overconfident after the atlanta loss, but i was wrong. lets hope the pistons have another great run after the allstar break to finish the season.

Big loss tonight in Cleveland...The Boy King went off for 44!! WOW...my bruddah!

If there's one bright spot about this...at least it's happening now instead of a month from now. There's still time to sort out the problems before the playoffs...hopefully Flip is aware of what they are after yesterday.

hope...fully. my Bruddah! I am seriously wondering IF HE IS a palyoff coach. Could BroMicro have been right all....this...time..?...:frusty: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!:laugh:

I think we missed a chance at dealing Miami a major psychological blow. I don't think we're a lot worse off for the loss, but I do think the Heat are much better off for the win. . . .Well, we'll see what happens from here on out, but I think we gave Miami a breath of life.

Yep. Great post; all excellent points.

Also agree with Tbird... I was thinking that a Miami loss would have forced Riley to make some trades from a weak position.

Big loss tonight in Cleveland...The Boy King went off for 44!! WOW...my bruddah!
yep, i watched that game.

Tell Bruddah JZChen taht i cant chat today as I'll be at work til 5. I'm on the DVR sO I'll watch the game later. Unfortunately, Pistons are 9-8 when I dont get in the chat room, my bruddahs! Bring it home, bruds!!

BRUDDAH, it's all your fault, you promised to get your azz in the chat, lol.http://www.pistonsforum.com/images/icons/icon10.gif Now, the Stones are 9-9 when you are not in the chat. I put the loss on you instead of Flip, lol :laugh:

Now back to the game, the way the Pistons have been playing lately really breaks my heart. The loss at home to Jazz, the loss to Nets at Jersey, the loss to Hawks at Atlanta, the loss to Pacers at Indiana and now the loss to the Heat at Miami. This 5 losses was especially heartbreaking. What happen to 'DETROIT BASKETBALL'? Bring it back, Joe. We need you to get into Flip's ears and tell him to play D. If Flip has no control over the starters like what other posters presume, maybe we need to get another coach. Where's the DEFENSE?

I believe that other than the Mavs game at Dallas, all 8 losses were lost by bad coaching and NO DEFENSE! A team of almost 5 All Stars losing to a team of 2 All Stars. Doesn't really matter if the 2 All Stars are starters. They are only 2 individuals. Miami strategy against us this season is pretty simple, Shaq to dominate the 1st half and Wade to finish the game in the 4th. Flip and his assistants got to recognize this. Shaq ain't gonna play the full game like he did in the 1st half against us cuz he has already worn out by the then. Why our bigs of Big Ben, Sheed and Dice has only 11 fouls the entire game? Who and why are they saving all the fouls for? And yes, Davis has 6 fouls to give as well. Sometimes, we need Shaq to earn it at the free throw line.

Delfino played 13 min the entire game and during the 13 min, Wade did not make a single FG. If i'm not wrong, he were 0-6. How can he go 7-7 in the 4th? Yes, I agreed Wade made a difficult shot to win the game but what about the previous 6 shots?

We don't necessary need to upgrade our bench in my view. Either Flip has to go or play the bench, plain simple. The bench came in and did a good job for us in the 2nd and why Flip did not go to them and the end of the 3rd and the beginning of the 4th really amazes me. Stick to what's working in the game, Flip. If the starters not getting the job done in that particular game, use the bench. Every stars has their off nite and I think our starters understand that and if they don't, they don't deserve to be a PISTON. The bench is good enough to support our starters to win the Championship this year. I really believe so if Flip play them more. I also believe if Hunter is back and play the way he did 2 years ago, he and Delfino may cause some havoc to the opposite guards like Hunter and James used to. Even Davis is makin all his FTs recently, which is a big surprise.

If our starters is really that good, it would not hurt to play the bench more including Darko and Jmax, especially if we are up by 10+ pts in the 2nd quarter and towards the end of the 3rd. If the sucks, starters can always come back into the game and win the game for us.

Flip, playing 5 All Stars for 40 min almost every game will not make you a great coach. Even a high school coach can do that.

Sorry guys, I'm really frustrated. And Bruddah HQ, get your azz in the CHAT!!! :nod: