At Orlando

THURS. April 26th - 8:00 PM

TV: TV20 Detroit
Radio: WDFN 1130 AM

Curse of the Game Three Phantom.

Anyone know the odds on this game. The Sheed interview on NBA.com mentioned the Pistons historic tendency to drop this game.

My prediction is that we'll see a Maxiell, DD sighting. But only briefly.

Curse of the Game Three Phantom.

Anyone know the odds on this game. The Sheed interview on NBA.com mentioned the Pistons historic tendency to drop this game.

My prediction is that we'll see a Maxiell, DD sighting. But only briefly.

This time the Pistons will exorcise the game 3 demons. Just a hunch.

Curse of the Game Three Phantom.

Anyone know the odds on this game. The Sheed interview on NBA.com mentioned the Pistons historic tendency to drop this game.

My prediction is that we'll see a Maxiell, DD sighting. But only briefly.

Last year we dropped game three to the Bucks and the year before we dropped game three to the Sixers...both after going up 2-0.

In fact, last year we lost game three in every series...so the odds are that we will win game three in this series because how could we keep losing all these game threes?

Remember that the Magic have been a terrible road team this year. There is no doubt that they will play tougher at home. The Pistons really need to take this next game seriously.

The Magic fans are not used to making the playoffs and will be energized.

Just keep the pedal to the metal. I think it was Sheed who said that game 3 is very important in the series not to give Magic any thoughts they could get back into this series.

This is the only game I could see the Pistons dropping. If they take this one I predict they will crank up the intensity and blow out the Magic in Game 4 on Saturday.

This time the Pistons will exorcise the game 3 demons. Just a hunch.
I got out my fat samurai avatar to chase away all the evil spirits...and some cute chicks as well. Life's pretty hard as a fat samurai.

One of two things will happen, and they all depend on BHill.

Either he will solidify his standing as one of the worser coaches in the NBA by making zero adjustments, and the Pistons once again toy with the Magic on their way to a sweep.

Or he realizes Darko is better than Battie, and Nelson sucks. So he starts Darko and Dooling/Arroyo. In this case, the Magic either show some pride and sneak out a win, or get completely embarrassed because they already quit on their coach.

I think we might see Sheed's best game as a Piston Thursday night. He really seems on top of his game so far and I think understands the importance of not giving these guys any air at all.

I think we might see Sheed's best game as a Piston Thursday night. He really seems on top of his game so far and I think understands the importance of not giving these guys any air at all.

I would love to see that. It's tough to tell the difference between Sheed being focused and Sheed hitting 3 pointers. If he took all the same shots and missed them, I don't think we'd be praising him for stretching the defense.

But going on body language (he seems to have a serious demeanor), and lack of arguing with the refs, I am leaning toward the theory that Sheed is hungry again. When Sheed is done with the Magic, there will be nothing left but bones and a little gristle.

Body language, lack of arguing, and a pretty serious committment to defense.

Body language, lack of arguing, and a pretty serious committment to defense.

I would add going after boards and posting up down low quite a bit more.

As the contrarian, I'll add that:

He has made 1 shot that was not a jump shot from outside the paint, and that was a tip-in.

So, he has 0 dunks, and 0 post moves in the paint or from "close" range.

Besides that tip in, he has 1 offensive rebound.

He has made 1 free throw.


When he's on the court, we are giving up an eFG of 50%... not that great.

When he's on the court, we are getting outrebounded, which is not good since we are the team shooting the higher %.


I love the way he's making shots, but just want to point out that he does not appear to be doing the dirty work yet. Hopefully because he hasn't had to.

Orlando Magic NBA stats and data from 82games.com (http://www.82games.com/0607/playoffs/0607ORL.HTM)

Also, I am only posting this because it is ironic/ coincidental that the best 3 players from a Roland Rating, Production, and +/- standpoint for the Magic are Milicic, Arroyo, and Hill.

Surprisingly, Arroyo's #s this year look very good. Coach Hill doesn't think he is effective though and really cut hit PT down. I think there must be something about Arroyo's flair that turns coaches off.

Orlando Magic NBA stats and data from 82games.com (http://www.82games.com/0607/playoffs/0607ORL.HTM)

Also, I am only posting this because it is ironic/ coincidental that the best 3 players from a Roland Rating, Production, and +/- standpoint for the Magic are Milicic, Arroyo, and Hill.

Surprisingly, Arroyo's #s this year look very good. Coach Hill doesn't think he is effective though and really cut hit PT down. I think there must be something about Arroyo's flair that turns coaches off.

In my most humble opinion, its real simple. Arroyo is a better basketball player than his coaches are coaches. Arroyo is often right, and the coach wrong, about the approach to the game. This causes conflict, since Arroyo hates to lose, and tries his best to get his coach to improve his coaching. The bottomline is that stubborness on the coaches part is the problem, not Arroyo. We will give Brian Hill this much, he is at least less stubborn than some. Given orerriding evidence all year long about something, he will change his mind. Too slow really do to his team much good, but at least he will change his mind.

The first thought that comes to mind with Arroyo is overdribbling...although I understand some people don't call it that. In any case he has worked his way out of the doghouse.

in my opinion arroyo dribbles a lot but he usually ends up with a good shot. if a coach called pick and roll and told arroyo not to wait the clock out his team would end up with a very good shot. lb used to want us to manage the clock so that would make arroyo appear to overdriblle. i don't think we would call it overdribbling if 10 seconds into the shot clock you're running the pick and roll. if you like arroyo or not you have to admit he's a good pick and roll guard even when he is looking for his own shot. you also have to admit that he's a great passer. that's why i still like him as a player he just hasn't caught the right coach and system yet.

anyway i predict. b. hill makes no adjustments and we win again. although i think a few adjustments may come in from over his head.

My issue with Arroyo is on the defensive side... it's usually a free ride.
I haven't followed the Magic like some of the DHOFers but it does seem curious that Battie and Arroyo are starting over DMC & Dooling.
I got a hunch Darko will have a solid game this Thursday... he's definately got the Palace funks (had one good game this year in Auburn Hills).... I'd be happy if Sheed matched Darko.

I'm with you Merc on Dooling and Darko starting. I'm not sure coach Hill has it in him though but it seems to make sense. Dooling particularly could be a big improvement.

Sheed wants no part of Darko.
Pistons 94
Hills' and Darkos' 90
I bet Sheed shoots all 3s or short player shots in this game.
Wouldn't be suprised if Darko outscores him and Darko is an afterthough in Hills game plan.

Actually TFD, no one in the Pistons org wants a piece of Darko anymore. :pound:

I love the way he's making shots, but just want to point out that he does not appear to be doing the dirty work yet. Hopefully because he hasn't had to.

"Hasn't had to" gets my vote. When Orlando combines for 7 total shots in the paint in the first two games, nobody needs to to do the dirty work.

DETNEWS | Weblog | Pistons Blog (http://info.detnews.com/pistonsblog/index.cfm)

By Chris McCoskey:

Planting the seed


It happens all the time in the playoffs. A team loses two on the road and thinks maybe they didn't get a favorable whistle. So, before the series resumes in their building, the coach sends a little message through the media. This is what Magic coach Brian Hill has done the last two days.

He's been telling anybody who will listen that the Pistons got away with roughing up center Dwight Howard in the first two games. A lot of the times when they forced him to turn the ball over, Hill said, they were fouling him. That's hooey, of course, but Hill is trying to protect his guy. For sure the Pistons are going to swarm all over Howard again in Game 3. Hill hopes that by yakking about the no-calls at The Palace, he will get a couple of those calls here in Orlando.

Here's the problem with that. Is it really in Howard's best interest to send him to the free throw line more often? Hey, the Pistons are putting him there every time he goes in for a layup or dunk. And the kid was a basket case at the line in Game 1. Obviously, Hill would rather Howard try his luck at the line to avoid the turnovers, but just the same, Hill might want to be careful what he wishes for.

The other thing that's not quite right about Hill beefing about calls is that his team has shot 12 more free throws than the Pistons, and they were in the bonus for more than half of the third quarter in Game 2. You would be hard-pressed to get the Pistons to believe they were the team getting the favorable whistle.

Actually, Carlos does wind up with much better shots than Jameer does. Even the ESPN guys were complaining about Jameer's dribbling the other night. How many times does he dribble completely around the half court. But even then, it takes second place to the number of times he dribbles down among the trees and comes up with ZIPPO.

The only way the Magic has a shot in game three is not going to happen. They need to start Arroyo or Dooling at PG and Darko at the 4.
That way they just might avoid digging themselves into a big hole right out of the gate. But then, their second unit would not have any punch.

Jameer's only chance to have any kind of game is to play most of his minutes against Flip Jr and the bench.

Not gonna happen, tho!! Pistons should continue the broom treatment, in that case.

Actually, Carlos does wind up with much better shots than Jameer does. Even the ESPN guys were complaining about Jameer's dribbling the other night. How many times does he dribble completely around the half court. But even then, it takes second place to the number of times he dribbles down among the trees and comes up with ZIPPO.

The only way the Magic has a shot in game three is not going to happen. They need to start Arroyo or Dooling at PG and Darko at the 4.
That way they just might avoid digging themselves into a big hole right out of the gate. But then, their second unit would not have any punch.

Jameer's only chance to have any kind of game is to play most of his minutes against Flip Jr and the bench.

Not gonna happen, tho!! Pistons should continue the broom treatment, in that case.


Hey Lazy,

Just wondering if you noticed while looking over the stats that the Pistons have won every 1st and 3rd quarter in the series and the Magic have won ever 2nd and 4th quarter in the series?

Battie plays the first and third quarters while DMC plays the 2nd and 4th quarters. So far it seems as though B-Hill's starting lineups have been pretty ineffective and I can't see any chance of him changing them.

Pistons will win the series in 4, maybe 5 if the take a night off. But for the sake of the fans and interest in the series I would like to see Darko starting against our frontline. I think the games would be closer and more exciting.

Gotta do something to liven up this series.

About 45 seconds ago I took a break from work and came to PF.com. Saw on the homepage that jackattaq was the most recent poster, and immediately concluded:

Darko post.

Sometimes it's a drag to be right.

One of two things will happen, and they all depend on BHill.

Either he will solidify his standing as one of the worser coaches in the NBA by making zero adjustments, and the Pistons once again toy with the Magic on their way to a sweep.

Or he realizes Darko is better than Battie, and Nelson sucks. So he starts Darko and Dooling/Arroyo. In this case, the Magic either show some pride and sneak out a win, or get completely embarrassed because they already quit on their coach.

Or, option 3. No matter what the Magic do the results will continue unchanged. Maybe, just maybe, the Pistons are a superior team that will sucessfully rise to whatever challenge is presented.

Gotta say, this series has the weirdest flavor ever. There are more Piston fans trying to figure out ways the Magic can win, than are Orlando fans period.

Does anyone here really believe that Orl will be able to avoid the sweep?

I know history says that Det doesn't sweep teams, but this has to be an exception.

For the record the Pistons have lost 6 of their last 7 Game 3's.

I think Ariza deserves some more playing time. I don't like Brian Hill's comments that he won't change anything saying that 'this is not the time of the season to start changing things'.

Ok, so you are the 8th seed playing the 1st seed and you're down 0-2. When exactly is the right time to start changing things??

If Cola had that attitude in that series against the Magic in 03, he wouldn't have inserted Prince, and we would have lost that series. (To be fair he should have started playing Prince far earlier in the season anyway, but still...)

You've got nothing to lose Brian, time to show you've got a pair.

I think the Pistons are going to win tonight, despite the problems we generally have with game 3. But if for some reason we lose, I can already hear the kvetching. Be careful what you wish for folks.

Gotta say, this series has the weirdest flavor ever. There are more Piston fans trying to figure out ways the Magic can win, than are Orlando fans period.

The Magic are brutal. And the Pistons are playing down to their level, doing just enough to win. I want the Magic to play a little better, so we don't pick up some really bad habits. Even if the Magic played the best they could, we'd still win in 5.

The Bulls aren't going give Sheed wide open 3's. Hinrich knows how to run an offense. Skiles knows how to coach.

Hopefully, we stop playing around, blow these clowns out by 30. Get Flip and Dale some burn, and prepare for Chicago. But if not, and we sleepwalk through this series, I'd like to see Orlando at least make an effort to make some of our guys work.

Sweep is not goal of Pistons (http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070426/SPORTS0102/704260348/1127)

The "News" is already setting them up with excuses for not taking care of business. Also, nice attitude coach. OF COURSE YOU GET BONUS POINTS FOR SWEEPING YOU IDIOT! It's called "rest," and making things easier on yourself for the next round. Every time this guy speaks, I get closer to an aneurysm. At least Brown waited until AFTER they gave away a chance for a sweep to start making excuses.

Sweep the Magic. Get it over with. Make your lives easier. REST.

What NBA coach needs to be told this?

"This is a must win," Howard said.
"We know what we have to do and we've been battling them. We just need to get a new outcome."


Um... OK...

:hmmm:

All this talk from guys who are not philosophers.

What can they say?

The only proper statement in sports when you have to comment on a series is that you are trying to win one game at a time. If you don't say that, then you get in trouble.

Just think if Flip made a comment about how he is scouting the Suns and trying to come up with a strategy on how to beat them in the finals.

All this talk from guys who are not philosophers.

What can they say?

The only proper statement in sports when you have to comment on a series is that you are trying to win one game at a time. If you don't say that, then you get in trouble.

Just think if Flip made a comment about how he is scouting the Suns and trying to come up with a strategy on how to beat them in the finals.

Personally, I would think it's an idea to get everyone off his back. It's funny too.

I get all that, but the fact that he's getting annoyed and making comments to the point that there is nothing advantageous to finishing a series early, given the chance, is ludicrous.

For my money. I want this guy explaining that he's going to hit the game tapes and figure exactly what they can do to maintain their strangle hold on this series and make things easier for themselves.

Dwight Howard...

"This is a must win. We know what we have to do and we've been battling them. We just need to get a new outcome. My main thing is to come into this next game really focused on stopping my man on defense and rebounding the ball. The offense will come, and I'll get my shots. But the main thing is defense because that's where we'll win games."

Not exactly sure this is the right approach. No 30 for Howard, no wins for the Magic. Seems like he needs to be more aggressive rather than sitting back and waiting for offensive opportunities to come to him. He can get both Sheed and Webber in foul trouble, but that isn't going to happen by concentrating on defense. It's not as if the Pistons have been killing them off the block.

Or, option 3. No matter what the Magic do the results will continue unchanged. Maybe, just maybe, the Pistons are a superior team that will sucessfully rise to whatever challenge is presented.

Gotta say, this series has the weirdest flavor ever. There are more Piston fans trying to figure out ways the Magic can win, than are Orlando fans period.

How'd you get inside my head?? What am I thinking right now??

We are like a cat toying with a wounded mouse. It's just laying there as we paw at it, hoping it might show some sign of life... so that we can pounce on it again.

You dog owners won't understand.

Low, now we know that if Flip said he put 100K in Low's Swiss bank account you would find something wrong with how the transaction went...
it's cool, we understand your hatred towards Flip has no limits.
Flip says we should win... Low says see he's pissin' off the other team.
Flip pulls a Nellie and says we don't stand a chance... Low says he's sounding like a loser
Fliip says I ate cornflakes this morning... Low say it was prolly the wrong brand... ya see it simply don't matter what Flip says... it's automatically wrong before it's said.

:pound: :pound:

Although the cats laying on my desk are saying, "Yeah, so what? That's the way we do it. Want me to chew off a leg for you?".

Low, now we know that if Flip said he put 100K in Low's Swiss bank account you would find something wrong with how the transaction went...
Compelling!

Another quote from Orlando:


``I don’t think you shake up the lineup this time of year,’’ Magic coach Brian Hill said following Wednesday’s practice. ``It’s not like we’ve lost two 20-point games. We were in a position to win both games. We just have to play harder and better in Game 3.’’


:pound: :pound: :pound: :pound:

They only have 2 games left in the season. It would be unfair to their graduating seniors if he benched them now.

They only have 2 games left in the season. It would be unfair to their graduating seniors if he benched them now.

Yeah, because Battie has "EARNED" that starting spot over Darko with his play all season and the first two games of this series, right? Am I right?

There's no way that Darko's play could beat out a veteran like Battie's is there?

Also just for kicks:

Here are Sheed's numbers this series and Darko's numbers extrapolated to be equivalent to playing as many minutes as Sheed.


16.5 ppg, 3.5 PF, 1.5 BLKS, .5 STLS, 0 TO's, 2 ASTS, 8.5 REBS 1 FTA's per game, 50% FT, 48% FG.
15.6 PPG, 3.25 PF, 1.95 BLKS, 0 STLS, .65 TO's, .65 AST, 6.5 REBS, 4.5 FTA's, 57% FTS, 67% FGS.

It sure seems as though Battie is doing a great job of slowing Sheed doesn't it?

Just like how Sheed's points are all coming in the first quarter against Battie.

I can see how Brian Hill gets alot of criticism.

Low, now we know that if Flip said he put 100K in Low's Swiss bank account you would find something wrong with how the transaction went...
it's cool, we understand your hatred towards Flip has no limits.
Flip says we should win... Low says see he's pissin' off the other team.
Flip pulls a Nellie and says we don't stand a chance... Low says he's sounding like a loser
Fliip says I ate cornflakes this morning... Low say it was prolly the wrong brand... ya see it simply don't matter what Flip says... it's automatically wrong before it's said.

Unless that 100K comes with a championship...I'm mailin it back.

Unless that 100K comes with a championship...I'm mailin it back.
Please take the money. It is what Larry Brown would do! :D

Please take the money. It is what Larry Brown would do! :D

Now, THAT is funny.

Unless that 100K comes with a championship...I'm mailin it back.
Atts my boy :MusicBigGrin:

Well, not to provoke anyone to this--->:pirates:, but if I can only have one team win tonight between the Wings and Pistons, I would go with the Wings. Not because I like them more (I don't), but they need it more.

The Pistons are gonna win this series irregardless of what happens tonight.

Exciting night. But I'll probably be at my kids little league game for much of it. Oh joy..oh rapture.

Please take the money. It is what Larry Brown would do! :D


No, LB would make Dolphin win the title first and then resend 200K.

Chat is open!!!

http://www.pistonsforum.com/misc.php?do=flashchat

See you after the tip (8:06 pm)

good game by the pistons. tay owned hedo. cb and jameer cancelled each other out. cwebb played great in the second half. sheed was sheed. rip had an off night.

another good game by darko. i bet battie still starts for game 4 anyway.

Just what we wanted. After a bad start, the Pistons played great the rest of the way, winning each of the last three quarters after rallying to tie it at the end of the first. Everyone in the starting lineup except Rip had a great game--Tay led the way with 23, and CWebb bounced back from a bad first half with a huge 3rd quarter. The 3-balls were falling, and the Pistons sealed the deal in the 4th with some lockdown D. Dice had 11 boards off the bench, and the Pistons had the overall rebounding edge 47-39. This was definitely their best game of the series so far.

Well, this is an unusual spot for us to be in, up 3-0 in a series for the first time since the Bad Boys era. I guess they might come out lazy in the next game, but with Orlando demoralized from getting pounded in this game, the series will probably end this weekend.

That was a great game. 4 techs... gotta love it! McDyess' block on Hill was the prettiest thing I've ever seen. I know there are chronic pessimists amongst us but if you didn't like that game get the hell out of the base!

It's strange. It doesn't really feel like playoff basketball because we are in such control. It is the same feeling I get when I'm watching a hockey game where the Wings are up by 2 goals. It's possible they'll lose, but not bloody likely.

How poised was Prince? The whole team was emotional, except for the 2 assassins, Smooth and Tay. Combined for 16-29 from the floor. 5-8 from deep.

The rebounding was great and, like the scoring, it was spread across the board. Dyess-11, Webber-7, Prince-7, Sheed-6, Billups-6, Hamilton-5, Delfino-3.

Webber went on a great little run to start the 2nd half. He is really maximizing his performance given how dang slow he is. What a smart player.

I don't know why, but I just love seeing Davis get some real burn. He's like a link to the Bad Boys. He didn't show up in the stat sheet, but he was playing physical with Orlando, and I think it helped.

Now, did those last 5 games of the regular season really matter? We could have played Flip Saunders, Cowens, Harper, Abdenour, and Porter... although it would have finally given Kander a real challenge.

Great game for the Pistons.

A very balanced attack and solid effort in what is normally a let down game for the team.

Orlando did well in this game for the most part. The Pistons did a whole lot better though. Tay was hitting his outside shots all game long (well, at least for the last three quarters). Webber was cooking inside. I think he got like 17 points, everyone inside. Sheed hit some shots, as did CB. Rip was shooting short most of the game, but his off night was hardly noticed amongst all the scoring we did get.

Webber did not get all that many bounds, but most he did get were offensive rebounds where he put the ball in. Dyess played plenty due to foul trouble on both Webber and Sheed. Dyess hit a jumper or two, got a lot of bounds. Dale Davis played a few stints, good to see him in the game. Even Maxiell got to play a couple of minutes at the end of the first half. Considering we got Amir Johnson in the wings, man do we ever have depth at the bigs position.

Dale Davis scored once on a putback I believe, but he also was in there fighting for those bounds, helping us to some 2nd chance points.

For Orlando, Howard got quite a few dunks on us, maybe about 6, but Darko looked more impressive. Darko even got to shoot an outside shot-one he has missed once in the last month out of about 6 tries. He made the shot. Kind of rebelling against his coach, who does not want him taking these outside shots, even if he can make them all day. Grant Hill was over the hill, missing most all his shots, regardless of how open. Turk did little except give up all those shots to Tay. Nelson did hit some shots for Orlando, but gave up a lot too. Battie was invisible. In all, except for Howard, Orlando's starting lineup is just not very good.

Will game 4 be any different. Doubt it. I did not listen to any interviews after the game, but I bet Hill has already said he will not change a thing. So what he is now 0-7 vs. the Pistons this year. He will say they competed and that is all that matters. In other words, the guy is a loser so us Pistons fans can look forward to yet another easy win on Saturday.

Had some techs in this one. The one Sheed got was more from an earlier "discussion" he had with the ref vs. the call when he got the tech.

The Pistons did fine with Murray in. Murray did pretty much nothing, but hey, he also did not make many bad decisions either. Billups got plenty of rest. Delfino played plenty. No Hunter. Let me see, thats a nine man rotation with a tenth guy playing a couple of minutes. Not bad.

There was plenty of unneeded roughness going both ways in this game. The craziest thing I think is when Howard squished Webber. He literally jumped on Webber's back. We got the ball out of bounds on the foul call. But how in the heck is that not a flagrant foul, or at least called a shot attempt. How can the refs tell what Webber is trying to do under that mountain anyway?

The game was made entertaining by a few things. Tays shooting. Webbers inside play. Darko's play on both ends of the floor. And all those dunks by Howard, one of which was of monstrous proportions.

Orlando was doing fine in the first half, right until the end of the half. Tay hit a three, then stole the inbound pass with under 3 seconds to go, and passed the ball to Billups who nailed a 3. Six points in a span of 4 seconds, making a 2 point game an 8 point game. The lead stayed at 8 to start the 2nd half, but we started pulling away on the strenth of rthe inside play by Webber and more Tay triples. GO PISTONS!!!!!

Good report, Lee. Nice to see Webber back. We will need him.

It was funny when Sheed blocked Hedo's shot you could clearly hear him shouting "Get that sh.t out of here!!!". I think he was right by commentators when he let that yell out.
Overall a good game by Pistons, as always lots of unchecked emotions with that team.
Javie was on the power trip in the first half, looked like he wanted some camera time. It went both ways. The refs would let banging go and then would call touch fouls. It's like they got the memo to call the handchecks and such, but at the same time forgot that they still need to call the other stuff. Also, I think too many techs, including Howard. These are playoffs, emotions are going to run high, need to allow for that.

Just wanted to add a few more things:
The bench didn't hurt the Pistons any
The rebounding was there (so they can actually rebound if they wanted to)
They went to the hole and got some calls
Only 13 triples attempted
Webber looked energized and did many positive things
Brian Hill is confirming once again that he is not very smart - Battie 22 min 2 pts, Darko 24 min 11 pts. Why did Darko only play 24 minutes???
Darko looked good near the basket with that hook shoot over whoever was in front of him. He needs to send "thank you card" to LB for that. He still should be allowed to shoot the jump shot. That'll make him that much better having an inside and outside presense. Imagine telling Sheed - if you shoot anywhere beyond 10 ft from the basket - you're going to the bench.

When a team is executing as well as the Pistons are some credit has to go out to the coach. Thats what they did tonight. The Magic gave it their all and kept on falling behind. Pistons always had an answer.

Are the Pistons one of the best road teams of all time? Probably top 10 I would imagine. Best road team out of the franchise probably. Plus the sea of blue made them feel wanted.

Great games overall by the the Pistons. Nice to have that front court dept. Props out to the coaching staff for putting in the hard work in that, payed off in this game. Also nice read on how to play Howard.

Time for the sweep. Has not happened since what 1990? 1991.

Just wanted to add a few more things:
The bench didn't hurt the Pistons any
The rebounding was there (so they can actually rebound if they wanted to)
They went to the hole and got some calls
Only 13 triples attempted
Webber looked energized and did many positive things
Brian Hill is confirming once again that he is not very smart - Battie 22 min 2 pts, Darko 24 min 11 pts. Why did Darko only play 24 minutes???
Darko looked good near the basket with that hook shoot over whoever was in front of him. He needs to send "thank you card" to LB for that. He still should be allowed to shoot the jump shot. That'll make him that much better having an inside and outside presense. Imagine telling Sheed - if you shoot anywhere beyond 10 ft from the basket - you're going to the bench.


He needs to send HATE MAIL to LB for attempting to destroy his career.

Anything Darko has done over the last year and a half in Orlando, did NOT happen because of LB. It happened because of Darko being a good player. He's played in the lowpost because his CURRENT COACH asked him to. Not because of LB. He may have had that jumphook before LB even met him. No one knows what all skills he had when he got to Detroit because LB did his best to hide them all.

Screw LB, I hope that prick never gets near another young basketball player again. I hope Memphis has the brains (which I doubt) to tell him NO WAY.

The Pistons haven't had a 4-game sweep since they swept the Lakers in 1989 to win their first championship. It will be nice to finally see them actually play up to expectations against a far inferior team like Orlando.

It's strange. It doesn't really feel like playoff basketball because we are in such control. It is the same feeling I get when I'm watching a hockey game where the Wings are up by 2 goals. It's possible they'll lose, but not bloody likely.


I agree Ta. And I wonder if that's the feeling the Pistons themselves get that leads to the "if it ain't rough it ain't right" attitude and statements.... let's hope not.

It's a beautiful game when guards rebound.

The big guys made it no place for the faint of heart under the basket.

What a beautiful game. We took the first punches, stayed close, and then put our foot on their throat.

I don't think there is any team playing as physical as we did last night.

If we stay healthy, watch out. This Pistons team is capable of literally beating the junk out of anyone right now.

Great to see...
Flip Murray, Dale Davis

Fantastic and complete game
Tayshaun Prince

Giving up the body and fighting like dogs
Rasheed, Antonio and Rip

Game face for 48 minutes
Chauncey Billups

Welcome back
Chris Webber

PopcornMachine's GameFlow - Detroit @ Orlando (http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/gameflow.cgi?date=20070426&game=DETORL)

Postgame Quotes
PISTONS: Postgame Quotes - Round One, Game Three (http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/DETORL_070426_quotes.html)


Pistons Head Coach Flip Saunders

On taking Rasheed (Wallace) out of the game when he got his technical …
It wasn’t that Sheed couldn’t play with two fouls, it was more about the way the game was being called. I thought it was being called pretty close, and because there was so much emotion during that point, I didn’t want him to pick up what would be considered a “cheap foul” in that situation. We know Sheed’s emotional … at halftime I talked to the players and said, “Orlando is playing with a lot of emotion, we have to get away from that emotion and do the things that we do … defend, execute offensively and kind of grind it out, and force the other team to grind it out and not get in to a running type game.” We came in here, and anytime you go on the road and hold a team to 77, you have got to feel pretty good about what you are doing defensively. I thought we changed defenses pretty well tonight. Our zone was good again, it changed the tempo a little bit. And there is no doubt that our ability to throw a lot of bigs at Dwight has helped us.

On the physicality of the game…
As I said, we are a grind it out team and when we have the opportunity to get a little bit dirty and to get physical, that’s when we are at our best. At time’s we are a counter-cruncher. What they do defensively, we react to that offensively and defensively try to dictate what they do. So, basically we can look to be aggressive defensively and offensively try to execute. We have guys who are competitive; our guys have been extremely focused. A lot of people up in Detroit are saying we didn’t have a killer instinct, and our guys came down here and have been focused just with the idea of going out and playing how we want to play. I think the biggest thing for us is that tonight we dictated how the game was played; it was played pretty much at our pace.

On Chris Webber’s shift in focus to the shot rather than defense like in the previous two games …
I think it was a combination of the flow of the game and the function of what Orlando was doing. As we watch film, I think our players can see where our second big, a lot of times, is not being guarded, and the release man will have to try take away a lot of our baskets cuts, and so, we definitely wanted to try to get our second big involved a little bit more offensively. And I think Chris is getting better and better; he was sick there for a while, and he struggled just to get his legs back under him. I think about five or six days ago he started to get his legs back under him and I think he’s going to continue to do that now, playing every other day and not having back-to-backs.

Surprised on all the technical fouls called on Detroit tonight?
Surprised? You don’t have Direct TV, huh? (laughs). You have never seen us play?

Four in one game though? Were you guys a little bit emotional tonight?
Well, we were emotional early, and that’s to be expected. That’s why we tried to calm our guys down, but in reality, that probably helped us. It probably got us focused early, and our guys were able to settle down after that. At the time I didn’t think so, but looking back, we did get pretty focused.

On Tayshaun Prince…
He’s been playing well … he is the one guy on our team that no one talks about but he goes out there and he is kind of like the silent assassin. He goes out there and kind of floats around and has the ability to make big shots at the end of the shot clock. He does everything … you almost don’t want to take him out of the game because he does so much for us with the ball and he’s the third ball-handler on the floor, that’s one of the reasons we don’t turn the ball over much. Defensively, he is always locked in to one of their top offensive threats at the two or the three, but he is in a very, very good rhythm. He had a couple of bad decisions, but overall he had a pretty solid, lockdown game.

On Tayshaun’s steal …
There’s no question that propelled us … those are plays that are killers when they happen against you, and for you they are plays that give you a little bit of that extra cushion. To start out the second half, you score and all of a sudden you are up eight. Now it becomes a three possession game, so there is no question that it was a huge play at that time, and I guess the biggest thing is that we were lucky we had great on-court awareness.

Just what the Dr. ordered. After Sheed got benched, the Pistons stopped playing around and buried Orlando. Solid play all around, great coaching, and great adjustments in the 2nd half.

Brian Hill has really made me appreciate Flip. He's got LB's stubborness without LB's coaching ability, real bad combination. I can't imagine how he doesn't get fired after this series. Millen must be giving him advice on blackmailing the owner.

Flip and Delfino play well together as the 1-2 guards. They bricked some shots, but there was a lot of ball movement, they got good passes to Tay and Webber. Nice to see Flip have confidence in Delfino at the 2.

As for Davis, where has he been all year? He was an absolute Man on the floor.

As for my obligatory Darko comment, you have to wonder how much he's pushed up his market value. He's clearly been the best and most consistent player for Orlando.

Just finished watching the re-played game on sport channel, the local commentator was high they cheered and praised the Pistons liked no one, Pistons did everything at will, Pistons dissected opponent's offense as though slicing sasimi, DD and CB has been giving lessons to their counter players throught out the game, etc, etc.
I thought the crucial mement came at colsing minutes of Q1 after Sheed was taken out then every possesion was ended by attacking the rim which really got the tone set. Let's don't forget the great steal by Tay, what a wonderful sequel of CB's sudden turned about and gave extra pressure near the base line.

When Detroit controls the pace, it wins games because its defense is still terrific (even without Ben Wallace (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3149/)) and its halfcourt offense is really good".

Pistons' balance of power - NBA Experts Blog - NBA - Yahoo! Sports (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/nba_experts/post/Pistons-balance-of-power;_ylt=Ag7Ls6JtDGd1j3od3mjZT9E5nYcB?urn=nba,30 536)

As for my obligatory Darko comment, you have to wonder how much he's pushed up his market value. He's clearly been the best and most consistent player for Orlando.

They are in a tough spot with him right now. If they don't play him, they could drive him away (especially with the agent he has). And if they do play him, they could lose a few million bucks per year for the next 4 because of his increased market value/ negotiating power.

He's like their Amir Johnson is for us... just on a larger scale. And, we are more confident that Amir won't bolt.

But how about Reddick? All time leading NCAA scorer!!?? Deadly 3-point shooter. Was playing well in the regular season.

The Magic are getting killed at the 3-point line, they can't spread the floor, and they have Reddick sitting on the end of the bench looking miserable. I'm not sure if defense is really something they should be concerned about right now, considering they can't break the 80 point barrier at home in a game when they had only 13 turnovers.

Who would win a 7 game series right now? The Magic or the deplete Wizards? Maybe they can play it out in the losers bracket.

TaShawn, no one else is going to pay Darko big bucks. Only Orlando, and because they can. They are totally in the driver's seat when it comes to the contract negotiation, UNLESS he wants to take a risk (huge risk in my opinion) and playout his qualifying offer (1 year).

TaShawn, no one else is going to pay Darko big bucks. Only Orlando, and because they can. They are totally in the driver's seat when it comes to the contract negotiation, UNLESS he wants to take a risk (huge risk in my opinion) and playout his qualifying offer (1 year).

He was about to jet to Europe while under contract with Detroit, so I'm not sure how risk averse he really is.

Is that course of action (playing out the qualifying offer) any riskier than a good college player staying in school for another year?

If he gets hurt, his guarantee to earn and start will be limited. And without that, he can't get a better offer the following year.

Darko has a couple avenues.

1. He re-signs with Orlando to a new long term deal.

2. He takes his one year qualifying offer and becomes a free agent the next offseason.

3. His agent gets an offer sheet that is more than Orlando is willing to pay (see Mehmet Okur) and signs a long term deal elsewhere.

1 is highly likely. 3 less likely. 2 very unlikely.

The last two players of note to take their qualifying offers were Vlad Rad and Reggie Evans. Neither of them benefitted from it, except they got out of Seattle (assuming that is what they wanted).

If he gets hurt, his guarantee to earn and start will be limited. And without that, he can't get a better offer the following year.

Darko has a couple avenues.

1. He re-signs with Orlando to a new long term deal.

2. He takes his one year qualifying offer and becomes a free agent the next offseason.

3. His agent gets an offer sheet that is more than Orlando is willing to pay (see Mehmet Okur) and signs a long term deal elsewhere.

1 is highly likely. 3 less likely. 2 very unlikely.

The last two players of note to take their qualifying offers were Vlad Rad and Reggie Evans. Neither of them benefitted from it, except they got out of Seattle (assuming that is what they wanted).

After his last two games I'm a lot less sure #3 won't happen via a S&T. I can hear the hype machine revving up with looped highlights from this playoff series. Darko is providing live NBA action with which to be judged this time.

I actually agree that he will just reach a number with Orlando. Despite some minor grumbling about the restrictions on his game, I think that he is happy to be getting consistent minutes (especially in crunch time) and likes having another big man by his side to do the heavy rebounding. He sees himself as a CWebb/ Sheed type player.

The Magic are doing their best to keep Darko on the Low... everyone gets on Hill for not playing him over Battie... the Magic understand that their opportunity is in the future... all they want now is to get the kids some playoff exposure... then lock em into long term deals... playing Darko 35 minutes now does not help their cap situation moving forward.

The Magic are doing their best to keep Darko on the Low...

No wonder the Low is so grumpy. Darko must be heavy.

I actually agree that he will just reach a number with Orlando. Despite some minor grumbling about the restrictions on his game, I think that he is happy to be getting consistent minutes (especially in crunch time) and likes having another big man by his side to do the heavy rebounding. He sees himself as a CWebb/ Sheed type player.
I can't see Darkos agent settling for that. He will field all offers and I suspect there will be some juicy ones. Darko is showing just enough to support the hype of several years ago.

TaShawn, no one else is going to pay Darko big bucks. Only Orlando, and because they can. They are totally in the driver's seat when it comes to the contract negotiation, UNLESS he wants to take a risk (huge risk in my opinion) and playout his qualifying offer (1 year).

The more they talk about Brian Hill returning, the better it sounds for Darko to get outta town. I was watching the Lakers last night after the Piston game and it seems that they could use him. I would bet that Koby might even get him the ball and Phil would promote it. Playing with a mobile superstar, maybe the best player in the game today, would be good for DMC.

Brian has no clue as to how to coach a basketball team and whether we like him or not, Phil is a top level coach.

As far as Orlando is concerned, having Dwight there to absorb all the entry passes into the middle, DMC gets so few chances it is ridiculous to the extreme. Dwight leads the league in turnovers and he is the one they try to go to in crunch time. And without JJ or another outside threat on the floor, it isn't going to improve much, soon. When they go through Darko, he gets the ball to Dwight in much better position than any of the guards.

Sorry if I hi-jacked the thread to comment on your thought, but I think we have pretty much established that the Pistons are THE club in the east so we don't have to keep :deadhorse !!

What I mean what I speak about "other" teams is the few who can pay Darko more than his qualifying offer/lowball from Orlando. Not too many teams have cap space, and of those, there are going to be several big name free agents that may tempt them over DMC.

Money wise, Darko is strapped to Orlando in my opinion. But if he isn't concerned about playing for a more modest income in the right opportunity, then there are many teams in the league who will be interested in his services.

What I mean what I speak about "other" teams is the few who can pay Darko more than his qualifying offer/lowball from Orlando. Not too many teams have cap space, and of those, there are going to be several big name free agents that may tempt them over DMC.

Money wise, Darko is strapped to Orlando in my opinion. But if he isn't concerned about playing for a more modest income in the right opportunity, then there are many teams in the league who will be interested in his services.

The local Seattle papers have been speculating that Orlando will pick up Rashard Lewis to replace Grant Hill. Not sure if they would have the money for a near max deal for Lewis and still pay the kid and his agent big bucks.

… you almost don’t want to take him out of the game because he does so much for us with the ball "
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com'mon that's how you feel about all your fantastic starters. you love to play them, it's like music to your eyes.
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R36, what about trade bait for Darko? I'm sure there are teams that would gladly ditch 3 or 4 of their bodies to get Darko. Thus making cap space.

R36, what about trade bait for Darko? I'm sure there are teams that would gladly ditch 3 or 4 of their bodies to get Darko. Thus making cap space.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement doesn't work like that.

If you cut guys, their salaries stay on the books until the buyouts expire. If you trade guys, you have to take back similar value in contracts or contract markers.