tv: ABC

The grudge game, time to avenge the earlier blowout at the hands of the Bulls in Chicago earlier this season.

Ben Wallace also makes his 1st post-Piston visit to the Palace. Lets show some class guys and give him a standing O, well you don't have to stand - just do not boo please. The best revenge is living well, so lets cheer Ben during the intro's and then proceed to cheer on Webber, Sheed and co to make him and the rest of Bulls look like fools out there. Let the Pistons do our talking for us during the game. Different team since the last Bulls game.

Different team since the last Bulls game.
The team that may be the most different is the Bulls, depending on what happens before the trade deadline.

Even in Philadelphia Webber abused Ben on the block, and he sure as hell can't guard Rasheed.

Speaking of "abusing", though, Luol Deng is probably going to make Tayshaun wave his arms around and cry, again, Hinrich's going to shut down Rip, again, and we still can't guard Ben Gordon.

Even in Philadelphia Webber abused Ben on the block, and he sure as hell can't guard Rasheed.

Speaking of "abusing", though, Luol Deng is probably going to make Tayshaun wave his arms around and cry, again, Hinrich's going to shut down Rip, again, and we still can't guard Ben Gordon.
Do you have anything to add to that? Will the Bulls hit more threes during warmups? Will Scott Skiles' shoes be shinier than Flip's?

oops, didn't mean to sell this game but i forgot to take it off stubhub, and someone bought my tickets...the one game i wanted to go to all year. at least i was well compensated ;p

I have an obligation on Sunday that I can't get out of and I will miss the game completely...ARRRRRG! :yellowprison:

PISTONS: Ben There (http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/benthere_070223.html)

Wallace said he's not sure what kind of reaction he'll get when he returns to Detroit on Sunday, his first trip back since signing with the Bulls as a free agent. "Those are Piston fans and I'm a Bull," he said. "`If they cheer it will be great. If they boo it will be great. As long as I get some type of reaction."

A great game to close out the month of February. Looking back on the month, the Pistons only lost one game; to the SA Spurs.

Let`s get this win to make it a 10-1 month. The Bulls have been up and down this month but I am sure Ben and his boys will be up for this one.

Expect a playoff type game, with a Piston victory - 93-87

A great game to close out the month of February. Looking back on the month, the Pistons only lost one game; to the SA Spurs.

Let`s get this win to make it a 10-1 month. The Bulls have been up and down this month but I am sure Ben and his boys will be up for this one.



A win Sunday would mean that the much-maligned bolegged-twitching Flip would be dare we say, eastern conference coach of the month for February (beating out Sam Mitchell of course)

This is a lose-lose game for me. If we beat Ben badly, I will feel bad. If we lose to the Bulls, I will feel bad.

The only way I feel good is if Ben has 20 rebounds and hits all his free throws, and the Pistons win by 1 point.

I'm not sure I'm ready for this game after being shown the error of our ways by Darko and the Magic...

Maybe Dolphin will Hack-A-Ben until Skiles relents and pulls him out for the remainder...therefore handing victory to the Pistons on a silver platter.

Low - Would you consider replacing your Bulls avatar if the Pistons win?

BTW - I hope the Pistons win and Ben has 3 boards and gets benched for fighting with Skiles. Know its not going to happen, its going to be a tough game. At this point you have to start thinking of sending messages to teams that you may see in the post-season so I am sure the Pistons will be playing their best.

Still have mixed feelings seeing Ben in another uniform. Hope the Pistons start the game with a montage recognizing Ben's great moments with the team. After tip off the I want the Pistons to pound the Bulls, though I doubt that will happen.

Low - Would you consider replacing your Bulls avatar if the Pistons win?...

Well, you're going to see a change no matter what the outcome considering I lost that bet during the home game vs ORL.

However, my av is simply a silent protest in support of Ben Wallace ONLY. Not the bulls. I'm not arguing about Ben anymore so that's my way of not getting sucked back in to the bickering. After I literaly took part in running people out of chat, I decided to refrain from %%%%%ing about Ben. It's not solving anything and no one agrees at the end of it all.

This is a lose-lose game for me. If we beat Ben badly, I will feel bad. If we lose to the Bulls, I will feel bad.

The only way I feel good is if Ben has 20 rebounds and hits all his free throws, and the Pistons win by 1 point.

Do you think Ben feels bad when the Pistons lose? I doubt it. He's a Bull now and when we play him he is the enemy just like any other player.

Of course, cheer him and show your appreciation for his past accomplishments when his name is announced. But I think once the game starts you are going to hope he misses every free throw, and gets butter fingers near the boards.

Ben made his choice. The Pistons made theirs.

Go Pistons!

Well, you're going to see a change no matter what the outcome considering I lost that bet during the home game vs ORL.

However, my av is simply a silent protest in support of Ben Wallace ONLY. Not the bulls. I'm not arguing about Ben anymore so that's my way of not getting sucked back in to the bickering. After I literaly took part in running people out of chat, I decided to refrain from %%%%%ing about Ben. It's not solving anything and no one agrees at the end of it all.

Funny you mention that. Lately when I have been seeing yours and others posts around on this I have been trying to make a point of refraining. Everyone has a right to their own opinions right?

Funny you mention that. Lately when I have been seeing yours and others posts around on this I have been trying to make a point of refraining. Everyone has a right to their own opinions right?

Absolutely, hence my Wallace avatar. States my view....saves us the misery.

The bottom line on Ben bolting to the Bulls is this; Ben needs some serious help to contend for a ship in Chi-Town. If he stayed in Detroit would his chances be better to win it all?

IMO, winning a championship didn`t weigh on Ben`s mind at the time of making his decision to move on. If Skiles and Paxson don`t make a move by next season to improve the Bulls chances of winning a title will Ben be upset? Or, will he be happy playing out his career with a fat paycheck?

We will find out, real soon......

The bottom line on Ben bolting to the Bulls is this; Ben needs some serious help to contend for a ship in Chi-Town. If he stayed in Detroit would his chances be better to win it all?..

Well, I've always maintained that his AND our chances were better with him here, though I doubt Saunders possesses the ability to utilize Ben's talents effectively.

Do you think Ben feels bad when the Pistons lose? I doubt it. He's a Bull now and when we play him he is the enemy just like any other player.

Of course, cheer him and show your appreciation for his past accomplishments when his name is announced. But I think once the game starts you are going to hope he misses every free throw, and gets butter fingers near the boards.

Ben made his choice. The Pistons made theirs.

Go Pistons!

I am sure Ben is probably hoping that the Pistons were sub .500 this season without him. But don't expect to read any quotes with him sticking his foot in his mouth or folding under the pressure like Darko did. Ben lives for this kind of pressure. Its going to be a battle but the Pistons are the better team and will win as long as they match the Bulls seriousness.

Well, I've always maintained that his AND our chances were better with him here, though I doubt Saunders possesses the ability to utilize Ben's talents effectively.

I can`t argue with that assessment my friend........

I hope Ben gets long stand ovation, and i hope he plays an excellent game. getting tons of boards and block shot and makes all his free throughs while the Pistons still win the game. Is this too much to ask? :P

I hope Ben gets long stand ovation, and i hope he plays an excellent game. getting tons of boards and block shot and makes all his free throughs while the Pistons still win the game. Is this too much to ask? :P

I am all for the standing O to start the game for Ben. After that, he is the enemy. Ok, I will admit, I like to see Darko do well when he plays us, so I will give you an ok to cheer for Ben during the game.

Ok, I will admit, I like to see Darko do well when he plays us, so I will give you an ok to cheer for Ben during the game.
:thumb: :MusicBigGrin:

HEY!

Remember everyone, this is a 1:00 PM EST tip, on ABC (national)!

333333333333333!!
believe it or not, i took the day off for this.....
THIS...IS SPECIAL!

This is a lose-lose game for me. If we beat Ben badly, I will feel bad. If we lose to the Bulls, I will feel bad.

The only way I feel good is if Ben has 20 rebounds and hits all his free throws, and the Pistons win by 1 point.

I'm still a fan of Ben and all, but I would be ecstatic if we blew them out by 30 and Ben put up a weak game. He needs to know what he's missing out on.

Chat is open....sorry 'scoe...couldn't wait.

Some sloppy defensive play so far from the Pistons.

The Pistons left Duhon (I think it was him) WIDE open for TWO 3pt attempts ON THE SAME POSSESSION!

They've given up too many easy baskets from being out of positions.

And Dice didn't box out on Wallace's 2nd FT attempt, giving up an easy put back.

I do like the full court press though...

Great games: Rip Hamilton, Chris Webber (got away with a shove for the first game-winner of his life, but otherwise excellent), Jason Maxiell
Good games: Tayshaun Prince, Chauncey Billups (both phenomenal on offense but not much on defense or defensive rebounding), Flip Saunders
Bad games: Lindsey Hunter, Antonio McDyess, Rasheed Wallace
Not-an-NBA-player game: Carlos Delfino

Defense was not good; luckily Chicago's offense was worse. Rebounding decent (led by Webber and Maxiell with Prince taking advantage of Chicago's point guards on the offensive glass).

Chicago can't miss a shot in the 1st half, Pistons do not have Sheed for 3 quarters and they win anyway on the Pistons 21st offensive board of the game as Webber stuffed it back in for the win.

Nice comeback by the Pistons after being down by 16 midway through the 3rd. Of course they almost blew a 7 point lead with 1:51 left as Ben Gordon almost singlehandily won the game for the Bulls hitting their last 5 pts to bring the Bulls back to tie and then was left open to hit the possible game winning 3 pointer.

Credit the bench play of Dice, JMax, Delfino and oh yeah Hunter to close out the 3rd that got the Pistons back in the game. The Bulls shot a blistering 57.5% form ther floor in the first half and continued that assault to open the 3rd before the Pistons finall woke up with some nice shooting and decent defense on the Bulls scrubs. (Those same scrubs were outplaying our guys in the second qtr. ) We almost made an alstar out of the rookie T Thomas as Big Ben had all of the bulls playing with a lot of energy. Good thing Gordon only played 25 mins due to foul trouble:)

We only got 17 from the bench, but the energy of the Brahma in that 3rd was enough to get everybody else going. It may have been our unfortunate luck that Sheed got injured and Max was in....

Bottomline the Pistons overcame some bad shooting to squeeze out victory and now Flip can win his coach of the month award and the team has four days off to get ready for a rough March schedule.

Good win. Chicago played mighty tough D inside with both PJ Brown and Ben Wallace swatting a lot of shots. Still, Webber just knows how to calmy, patiently, get the score inside. And his putback with 2 seconds left won the game.

Jason Maxiell fans, be proud, cause JMAX sure did well in this one. We were down about 14 when JMAX came into the game and we were up when he left the game about a quarter of basketball later. Sheed had twisted an ankle in the first half, and only came back in for defensive purposes very late after coming out early in the 3rd quarter. JMAX made us not miss Sheed in the least bit, grabbing the boards, and being there time and time again on help out D. Managed to get a few points for us too.

Delfino played short minutes, due to foul trouble, but he came up with a triple in that run to get us back into the game.

Tay had another spectacular block, not a whole lot more, as he is still bothered by that ankle sprain he suffered 4 games ago. He did have a huge hoop in crunch time posting up though.

Sheed had a pretty forgettable game. Slow start. Although he was trying to go inside, there was just nothing there. When there was, oh well, we all know how Ben gets into your head. You think, where is Ben, when you should be concentrating on putting the shot in.

Tay missed those two free throws that would have put us up 4 with time about out. Darn. But we still won.

Dyess did very little, but he did hit a crunch time jumper. Going inside was something Dyess was not up to vs. Chicago's interior D.

Hunter hit one jumper each half, and did little as a point guard. He did function as a needed backup to Rip since Delfino had the foul trouble. And he was in the game as we tied it back up.

Rip is just awesome. Just keeps hitting the shots. Big game. Big shots, all of them, and a whole bunch went in as usual. CB had an ok game on O, but on D, at least the first half, far too many shots went unchallenged on the perimeter. Chicago is one team CB can't make a living on from driving the lane.

You do have to wonder why we left Dyess in after we got up 7 late in the game. Ditto for Webber. Seems the Dale Davis and Jason Maxiell combo would be the thing. But hey, we got the win, and youth, Jason Maxiell, was developed further. GO PISTONS!!!!!

This is what Maxiell needs to bring. The rebounding and defensive intimidation. The dunks are just icing on the cake.

Pistons are lucky to win shooting less than 40% and giving up 48% to the other team.

I know it`s difficult to get into a rythym without consistent PT, however, J-Max gives it his all everytime he comes into the game. Yes, he only saw PT today because of Sheed`s injury, however, if we need him in another game or perhaps, in the playoffs we can be certain his head will be in the game!

IMO, that`s very encouraging.

Hell Ben was pumped up tonight- as soon as I saw him wearing the Fro it was clear he wanted to win this one. He did ok and it was hard to see that he got fouled a couple of time. Usually, there should be no need to foul a player like Ben to keep him off scoring.
Block party tonight. 9 blocks for each team.
Maxiell had a decent night, alot of hustle, especially on the boards. On the bad side, you can still see his positioning is poor, on offense and defense as well.
RIP was awesome at times, making Jordanesque- shots. You could see he was kind of sad that his dunk got blocked since it doesn't happen too often that he gets to dunk.
Webber could tell Maxiell alot about positioning. He makes up his poor leaping ability by standing right most times for rebounds and open looks.
And his right arm is simply huge, he should have a chance against Ben at armwrestling :)

I missed the game and forgot to set my DVR. How was Ben greeted at the Palace? I'm sure there was some booing, but I hope most fans greeted him well.

Sprocket says…

A few years ago a tough Central Division matchup might have ended 85-83, but times have changed. Defenses are more limited now and scoring is up. Nonetheless, this 95-93 Pistons win over the Chicago Bulls was no less hard-nosed, no less tough, and no less intense. The new man in the middle for the Pistons, Chris Webber, is the only Piston to shoot over 50% (with nine boards and three steals), and the man who grabs Prince’s miss with less than three seconds left and hits the game winner.

The first quarter begins badly for the Pistons when Rasheed Wallace comes down on P.J. Brown’s foot about three minutes in. Sheed stays in the game but is limited and leaves for good a couple of minutes into the third quarter after shooting two for eleven. The Pistons put together an eight to nothing run in the first to come back from a five point deficit. The run is spurred by a series of Chicago turnovers (five in the first half of the first quarter), including two in a row forced by a pressing Pistons defense. Delfino makes an appearance late in the quarter and proceeds to pick up a foul a minute over the break and into the second. The first ends with the Pistons down two 27-25.

The second quarter is a similar seesaw affair through the first eight minutes until the Bulls begin to pull away. They end the quarter on a thirteen to one run for an eight point lead, 53-45. The Pistons manage only six points in the paint in the first half despite many close in shots. It’s simply too much Ben Wallace, who looks like the Ben of old enforcing the no-fly zone at the Palace. The Bulls block seven or eight Pistons shots in the first half and Big Ben alters many, many more. Adding to Sheed’s two for ten half is Rip’s two for seven one. Three Chicago illegal defenses and a tech, drawing four Billups free throws helps to keep the Pistons close.

(Aside – is there something about the Pistons offense that exposes three seconds in the lane? They seem to benefit from many three second calls.)

The first four minutes of the second half is all Bulls. From the last few minutes of the second quarter through the beginning of the third they outscore the Pistons twenty-three to three, while Detroit shoots one for seventeen from the field. The remainder of the third quarter though is much better for the Pistons as they outscore the Bulls by fourteen. This time it’s way too much Hamilton on the offensive end and way too much hustle and tough inside play from Jason Maxiell, and way too much 3-2 zone with Prince at the top. The Bulls fail to score in the last 4:10 of the third quarter while the Pistons put together a dozen points to pull within two at the break. Prince breaks out of his slump late in the third and also begins to play well on both ends of the court.

Near the end of the third JMax draws a charge on Ben Wallace leading to a Wallace technical. Ben’s first half emotional high seemed to dissipate in the third, perhaps the heckling from the crowd began to get to him, who knows? But, with Ben out of the game for the first four minutes of the fourth, a different ballgame unfolds.

Everyone who plays for the Pistons in the fourth contributes and Rip plays very hard. Delfino hits a timely three and over the first half of the period the Pistons claw back to take their first lead since the early moments of the game. With the Pistons up five around the two minute mark Ben Gordon hits a three for the Bulls to turn up the intensity one more notch. On the ensuing play, Billups triggers the inbounds pass (for the first time I can remember ever), gets the ball back and drives, missing a tough shot. But, Prince grabs the offensive board and gets fouled. With a chance to put the game out of reach Prince misses both free throws.

The next possession sees both Wallaces on the bench. Gordon is fouled by Hunter on a drive to the basket and makes both free throws. With fifteen seconds left and a tie game the Pistons bring the ball the length of the floor and Billups takes a jumper from just below the left elbow. His miss is rebounded by Webber who puts the ball in for the final margin. Gordon’s last second three bounces high off the rim to end the game.

The influence of Ben Wallace is clearly seen in the boxscore as the Pistons shoot 36% from two, but 50% (seven for fourteen) from three. No one seems willing all game to challenge Ben. Rather than taking it at him and risking the blocks they alter their shots and miss most of them. But, they do outscore the Bulls by four from the line, and win the game on the offensive boards, grabbing twenty-one. The Pistons have twelve steals to Chicago’s five, and match the Bulls in blocks at nine (eight of the Bulls nine blocks coming in the first half). Six fewer Pistons turnovers completes the stat line.

Hard to figure this game. We beat them with Sheed off but they didn't have Nocioni. They played us pretty well. But you never know what level we are playing at in terms of effort. Good to see us grind them down in the last quarter or so.

Maxiel is Piston DNA.

Great games: Rip Hamilton, Chris Webber (got away with a shove for the first game-winner of his life, but otherwise excellent), Jason Maxiell

I'm pretty sure I can remember a couple of Webber game-winners.

A quick search on youtube confirms this.

YouTube - Webber game winner against Denver (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32OwsSuoaXs)

DBA, thats some darn good recapping

Looked like Tay had a good game and was there in the end with a hand in Gordon's face.

But let's start Delfino. :stirthepot:

such a fun game to watch....if we meet in the playoffs, let the rivalry RETURN!!!

After Tay missed the two (TWO!) freethrows, I was actually hoping the Bulls would send it into overtime. I could easily have watched that game for 5 more minutes .

Blakely had a couple of interesting things on the game.

touched on it a little bit in my game story, but I didn't spend nearly enough time writing about Jason Maxiell's impact on the game, and how he's kept himself ready for moments like Sunday night.

It wasn't just his teammates and Saunders who noticed, either.

"I thought Maxiell changed the game when he got in there," said Bulls coach Scott Skiles. "We couldn't match up with him."


- Webber almost did not play.

And the game-winning basket by Chris Webber was even more impressive when you consider he was close to not being able to play because of that left eye injury. He had some complications with the medication he was on, and was throwing up before tonight's game.

Webber said he didn't think he was going to play.

"But Arnie (Kander, Detroit's strength and conditioning coach) and the medical staff worked their magic," Webber said.


- Oh and Sheed was upset that he had to sit out the 2nd half, thought he could have played through it. Not going to quote that.



MLive.com: Everything Michigan (http://www.mlive.com/pistons/weblog/index.ssf?/mtlogs/mlive_pistons/archives/2007_02.html#240538)

I didn't get to see the game cuz I wuz traveling, but it looked like a great one. Maxiell's +/- impact was huge. I'm looking forward to watching his performance on the DVR.

Looked like Tay had a good game and was there in the end with a hand in Gordon's face.

But let's start Delfino. :stirthepot:

Well, he DID leave the door open by missing 2 clutch free throws with 19 seconds left that would have made it a 2 possession game. :stirthepot:


Other than that he played well. A couple nice blocks (seems like he should get more half-court set blocks than he does ala AK47). The hook shot toward the end was timely.

This was a good article about the game and Bens return from Chic. Professionally written without anything immature like you sometimes see from some clubs - "Bulls have to make them pay" nothing like that.

Chicago Tribune news | Registration (http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/cs-070225bullsgamer,1,4524579.story?coll=chi-sportstop-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true)

With Sheed out Tay worked the paint much more. At first he wasn't that effective but soon the ball started coming to he and Webb and JMax. He was not standing in the corner this game.
The effort was there but a good offensive team would have scored 100 on us. With all the misses early we could have got blown out.
Didn't we beat these guys by 5 to 10 last year? With a lot a Bulls drama after it was all done.
When BBeen was a Piston I would see him shoved with and without the ball and not get the call. Same thing last night. If he saw the guy he could hold his position, but guys would shove him from behind and sometimes get the board.

I didn't get to see the game cuz I wuz traveling, but it looked like a great one. Maxiell's +/- impact was huge. I'm looking forward to watching his performance on the DVR.

Not sure if you travel a lot, but Sirius carries all games. Only thing is they carry the visiting broadcasters.

Pistons are lucky to win shooting less than 40% and giving up 48% to the other team.

I call that GOOD!

:hoops:

I call that GOOD!

:hoops:


Yep, Forced Turnovers and offensive rebounds gave the Pistons 15 more shot attempts. Good teams will find ways to win.

Make no mistake about it fellas, Chicago is the real deal. The action in the paint was the best I have seen recently. Da Bulls are a load. We better be ready for those cats.

I half-way liked (for once) the way that game was officiated, except for the quick whistles to halt the fast break.

Skiles knows they have at least one big problem though. J-Max.

That C-Webb / J Max combo worked em!

One thing that was interesting. Ben is doing his thing just like here. But he is also doing what was the liability here-----all defense and no shots even when he's open. Only tip-ins and close 6 footers in attempts. And no foul shots of course.

One thing that was interesting. Ben is doing his thing just like here. But he is also doing what was the liability here-----all defense and no shots even when he's open. Only tip-ins and close 6 footers in attempts. And no foul shots of course.

He's BEN WALLACE, not Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. What do you people want?

His specialty is DEFENSE and REBOUNDING. I fail to understand why so many people can complain about a guy who does what he's good at. He can give you 8-10 pts, but is a monster on the boards and defending the hoop. Why insist on being mad at a guy for not being someone else? He's not a 20 pt scorer. Use him to his strengths and get over it.

Bulls have too many problems winning on the road to contend for a title this year. They should have traded for Gasol. Even if it meant both Deng and Gordan. Can you imagine a Gasol/Wallace frontcourt? Add in Heinrich plus that other young guard that they never seem to find time for.

Bulls have too many problems winning on the road to contend for a title this year. They should have traded for Gasol. Even if it meant both Deng and Gordan. Can you imagine a Gasol/Wallace frontcourt? Add in Heinrich plus that other young guard that they never seem to find time for.

I disagree.

They need Deng and or Gordon. That`s about 39 points per. They can`t afford to give away any points.

Bulls have too many problems winning on the road to contend for a title this year. They should have traded for Gasol. Even if it meant both Deng and Gordan. Can you imagine a Gasol/Wallace frontcourt? Add in Heinrich plus that other young guard that they never seem to find time for.
They don't have to contend they just have to bug us. Which they're getting good at...at our house. If They could knock the Pistons off, all of Chi would go tiptoeing through the tulips.:yellowprison:

They don't have to contend they just have to bug us. Which they're getting good at...at our house. If They could knock the Pistons off, all of Chi would go tiptoeing through the tulips.:yellowprison:

Kind of an overlap here in the Bulls Defense thread.

No, the Bulls are not going to beat the Pistons in a 7-game series. I take the Pistons in 5 or 6. Too many mismatches for the Bulls. Rip and Billups would totally abuse their backcourt and Sheed, Webber, Maxiel are just too much for them in the post.

You want to know who will do well in the post-season then look at road records. Good playoff teams always know how to win on the road. The Bulls don't have that kind of toughness yet.

He's BEN WALLACE, not Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. What do you people want?

His specialty is DEFENSE and REBOUNDING. I fail to understand why so many people can complain about a guy who does what he's good at. He can give you 8-10 pts, but is a monster on the boards and defending the hoop. Why insist on being mad at a guy for not being someone else? He's not a 20 pt scorer. Use him to his strengths and get over it.

Bear in mind that Pistons won back to back NBA titles in 89 & 90 and the Bulls three peat in 96 to 99 with DENNIS RODMAN as the PF, who happens to be 2 time DPOY (at least, I think), who does not shoot much and a poor free throw shooter too. His specialty is DEFENSE & REBOUNDING too. Totally agree with you here, Low.

A good coach will play his players to their strength, especially good players (All Stars), not want players to play the coach's strength. Do you want your coach to make Shaq a shooter 12 feet away from the basket? Do you want Kobe, Lebron, Wade to spot up shooters? Shaq was never a good FT shooter, do you trade him away because of that?

Kind of an overlap here in the Bulls Defense thread.

No, the Bulls are not going to beat the Pistons in a 7-game series. I take the Pistons in 5 or 6. Too many mismatches for the Bulls. Rip and Billups would totally abuse their backcourt and Sheed, Webber, Maxiel are just too much for them in the post.

You want to know who will do well in the post-season then look at road records. Good playoff teams always know how to win on the road. The Bulls don't have that kind of toughness yet.

True that.

All they need to win is 1 Max, and hold serve at home. Wiz has our # too. I'm worried max.

Max all they need to win is 1, and hold serve at home. The Wiz have our # too.
http://www.pistonsforum.com/nba-stuff/5829-obscene-road-records.html

Rosc, this bulletin is messed. last nite it said D59 had posted but I didn't see the post on 2 trys. Now I redid my earlier post because it was gone. But now it's back.

I thought Tay was really involved in the 2nd half. He seemed to be in there fighting for offensive boards, making those hustle plays. I liked his game.

Max was great. He really gives some credibility to the zone because he can anchor it down under the basket and challenge any penetration that comes through. The zone is far less effective if you don't have a shot blocker in the back. He does challenge EVERY shot though, which is good and bad because he mistimed a couple of block attempts leaving it wide open for an offensive board. I guess Dice, Sheed, Web and Prince will get used to that the more they play with Max and help cover the boards.

Rip was tremendous. It always seems like we take all those jumpers and runners in the lane for given. He does it so often. He's also great at forcing just enough contact for the foul call and still be balanced for a decent shot.

Billups and Webber had pretty good games, but its been quite some time since CB hit a clutch shot. I think his nickname should revert to Mr. Medium Shot until he nails a couple more clutch shots.

I still don't like Hunter running the point. I don't know how taking step back long 2's is running the offense. Surely Delfino or Blaylock could bring the ball up effectively and not take the ill-advised shot to boot. I'm really starting to wish for this Acie Law guy in the draft.

All they need to win is 1 Max, and hold serve at home. Wiz has our # too. I'm worried max.

That could be the result of all the Flip bashing through the months. Sometimes gets to the point where we can't see the forest through the trees to really appreciate what a good team we have. The Bulls are not going to hold serve at home. I can't recall a series where it was all home wins, sure there was one but it does not happen very often.

The only team I was worried about was a healthy Miami, now I would say the East is the Pistons for the taking.

Bear in mind that Pistons won back to back NBA titles in 89 & 90 and the Bulls three peat in 96 to 99 with DENNIS RODMAN as the PF, who happens to be 2 time DPOY (at least, I think), who does not shoot much and a poor free throw shooter too. His specialty is DEFENSE & REBOUNDING too. Totally agree with you here, Low.

A good coach will play his players to their strength, especially good players (All Stars), not want players to play the coach's strength. Do you want your coach to make Shaq a shooter 12 feet away from the basket? Do you want Kobe, Lebron, Wade to spot up shooters? Shaq was never a good FT shooter, do you trade him away because of that?

Difference with Rodman was he could make a shot if needed. I would rather have someone who could if needed be able to make a 12 footer than not and have to work around him. Shaq is an entirely different Center.

Difference with Rodman was he could make a shot if needed....

Since when...the '88 Finals?

During his 3 titles with the Bulls, Rodman avg'd 5 ppg.

Rodman didn't exactly tear-it-up at the foul line either.

He shot about 50% or better didn't he? Most were put backs.

I know in one game when Rodman was with the Bulls he was wide open looking to pass off from the top of the key (against the Jazz I think) and he after a about 3-4 seconds just put it up and hit the shot. Ben can't do that.

teams would just let him shoot. It was freaky.

In Ben Wallace's career, he is 5 for 38 from 3-point land.

Rodman was 89 for 402 career, including playoffs.

In 91-92, he was 32 for 101.

Delfino is currently sitting on 33 for 101 this season!


So, I guess the conclusion is that Delfino has the touch of Rodman. Whether that is good or bad, I can't say.

In Ben Wallace's career, he is 5 for 38 from 3-point land.

Rodman was 89 for 402 career, including playoffs.

In 91-92, he was 32 for 101.

Delfino is currently sitting on 33 for 101 this season!


So, I guess the conclusion is that Delfino has the touch of Rodman. Whether that is good or bad, I can't say.

I don't think I have ever seen Ben launch a 3 with more than a couple of seconds on the clock. He's so active he ends up with the ball a lot when plays break down. Rodman would shoot 3s on purpose, and then appear shocked when they went in.

Ben hit a couple 12-15 footers in the 05 ECF...he made LB look like a genius for having faith in him on the O end.

Everyone was shocked when Worm sank one.

When Rodman was in Chicago he was on an anti-scoring kick. Most nights he wouldn't shoot anything other than a dunk, and he often passed them up. I never quite figured out what he was up to, he just wouldn't shoot the ball regardless of whether he could make it or not.

Did he still have his tennys on? Sometimes he would take them off. What color was his hair that day? That might be a clue to his disposition.
Talk about 5 on4.