2nd Round Game 1 - Chicago May 5 7pm

tv: TNT

2nd round starts. Lot of talk in other threads about it, its finally here.

Gotta set the Bulls straight in the first game. Pistons too often lose one at home right away........Don't wanna be diggin ourselves out of a hole.

I'm hyped for this series.

Pistons have to win that 'Ship so Sheed can bring the championship belts back out.

I'm concerned that Detroit will expend so much energy in this one, that they will be easy pickins' in the ECF or in the NBA Finals.

How huge will the bench have to be? I can just see Flip reverting to burning out the starting 5.

Can't wait.

Gotta get past da Bulls.

NJ or Cleveland will beat each other up horribly and would be a walk in the park by comparison.

Can't wait.

Gotta get past da Bulls.

NJ or Cleveland will beat each other up horribly and would be a walk in the park by comparison.


I agree. This is THE series in the East. Hopefully the Pistons pull this one out with no injuries.

Let's do this. The wait has been killing me.

The finals will be the winners of PHX/SAS and CHI/DET.

This will be Carlos Delfino's breakout series. He will make amends for his regular season error/s.

JMax will be > Tyrus Thomas

Note - TNT picked up the game. No local TV coverage.

Winning game 1 is huge IMO. We can`t let the Bulls think they can beat us. This is not the regular season, and we are not the Mav`s!!!!:stirthepot:


Jump on them early and for God`s sake, don`t let up!! As I said in another thread, go right at Hinrich. The Bulls offense stalls when he is not in the game.

Nocioni is a flopper, and Deng is not a very good defender, Tay should be able to do almost anything he wants.

We should win this one......94-88. Hinrich will foul out, trying to guard Rip and/or Billups.

This is a MUST win game. Our backs are against the wall. It's win or stay home... and play game 2.

:sweep: :sweeping:

Pistons come out playing some tough "D"........
Prediction is 82 - 77 ................

Go Pistons !!!!!!

finally, some real basketball.

I reviewed a game from late March, where Chicago beat us by 2 points. Gee, I am not saying Flip Murray did all that bad, but between him, and a rusty Hunter returning after that 10 game suspension, a whole lot of Chicago points got made. Flip Murray is lost on defensive rotations pretty consistently in this game, and Hunter was a step slow often, at least for much of his brief time out there. (He seemed to get into it a bit later, but had already given up too many points by then.) Now, Flip was out there during a good defensive stand too; again,his game was not all bad, just not very good at all. Rip did not play this one, along with Chris Webber, so Murray got a whole lot of minutes.

In the first half, Chicago had a horrid streak where they shot 20% over about 30 shot attempts. Both Murray and Delfino were out there for much of that.

Rewatching the game, it still irks me that Murray is getting a start in this game over Delfino, a guy who has played consistently enough all season to stay in the rotation. What was worse, Murray got into foul trouble, and still, Delfino did not get extra minutes. Instead, Hunter came in for Murray midway thru the 3rd quarter.

Overall, Chicago looked very unimpressive in this one. Jason Maxiell looked pretty impressive, save that he seemed not to have very good timing for going up for rebounds. Prince did not do much besides get inside on post moves a bit. This was not one of those games where he was going nuts on outside shooting.

The Pistons themselves looked equallly unimpressive for the most part. It did not help that Flip Murray started the game, which dummied down our offense and defense way too much. I can't see for the life of me how this game translates into what we are going to see tomorro night.

lee, Chris McCosky had a good take on the radio this afternoon.

The regular season games are only useful when gauging the matchups, not the results.

I really don't think Flip was aggressive enough in that game. He only recorded 3 shot attempts in 26 minutes. That's too little for a starting PG.

This is my NBA Finals. Isnt it ironic(Dont ya think?) .
This is my Super Bowl.
its Hearns vs Leonard.
Its Game 5 at the Boston Garden.
Its Isiah's 3rd qtr on one foot vs the Lakers.
It's Vinnie double-0 7 J vs Portland.
It's Gibby's blast to RF off The Goose.
It's Stevie Y in OT.
It's Rumeal's Ft's in Seattle vs Seton Hall.
It's Desmond Howard's 4th down TD catch frrom Elvis vs Notre dame.
It's Woodson's punt return vs Ohio State.
It's Magic's alley oop to Special K.
It's seeing Scotty on skates.
It's seeing LB in a Tiger jersey.
It's seeing Sparky tell Gibby "He dont wanna walk U!"
It's seeing Barry run for 2000yds vs the Jets.
It's Detroit.
It's Motown.
It's MEEEECH-i-gan!
It's us.


R u Reeeeally ready?

Really need a win here. Hope no one from the Pistons will be ice cold from the floor after such a long rest.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!

This is my NBA Finals. Isnt it ironic(Dont ya think?) .
This is my Super Bowl.
its Hearns vs Leonard.
Its Game 5 at the Boston Garden.
Its Isiah's 3rd qtr on one foot vs the Lakers.
It's Vinnie double-0 7 J vs Portland.
It's Gibby's blast to RF off The Goose.
It's Stevie Y in OT.
It's Rumeal's Ft's in Seattle vs Seton Hall.
It's Desmond Howard's 4th down TD catch frrom Elvis vs Notre dame.
It's Woodson's punt return vs Ohio State.
It's Magic's alley oop to Special K.
It's seeing Scotty on skates.
It's seeing LB in a Tiger jersey.
It's seeing Sparky tell Gibby "He dont wanna walk U!"
It's seeing Barry run for 2000yds vs the Jets.
It's Detroit.
It's Motown.
It's MEEEECH-i-gan!
It's us.


R u Reeeeally ready?


I loved reading this post. Nobody can sum up the highlights quite like HQ.

I loved reading this post. Nobody can sum up the highlights quite like HQ.
Thank u.Ol' Green One! This is in my heart. this seris aint about beauty or grace. This one....is personal!..

i'll be there as usual. go pistons!!

Ps 99
Bs 89
Snuff film.
Sheed in Wings red.

Chat is open

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

Now that Dallas and Miami are out, does that make us the favorites (according to everyone not in Pistonland)? The way we're spanking Chicago tonight, I'd have to think yes.

Will this change things for a team that loves being the underdog?

This game was a great start to the series for the Pistons. Hopefully they can keep outplaying the Bulls like they did this game.

We have to be the favorites to come out of the East for sure. Seemed like the Bulls would have put up more of a fight. We have to demoralize them in game two.

That Rip post game interview was the best one I've ever seen. Not because of what he said, but because it looked more like a pre-game interview. Not a bead of sweat. No signs of fatigue. No heavy breathing. YES SIR!!

Couldn't have asked for much more out of Game 1. CB's aggressiveness in the first quarter had the Pistons up 6, and then the bench exploded in the 2nd to push the lead up to 16 at one point. Lindsey, Fino, and JMax were all fantastic in that quarter. Third quarter was atrocious for both teams, but the Pistons hit three straight 3s in the first two minutes of the 4th, and suddenly it was all over with a 22 point lead and 10 minutes to go. Defense was terrific for most of the evening, and the Pistons outrebounded them by 8. The Bulls bench went 3-30 from the floor...ouch!

:brick:

Pistons came out with the needed intensity from the first second of the game. And how about the Brahma tonight? The guy is a freak. He needs to be in there more. I liked how Hunter played tonight, too. Very aggressive on D, but he should probably never shoot.

Did Flip Murray do ANYTHING tonight? Liked McDyess' rebounding efforts. I was going nutz when he missed those two tip-ins in a row.

Too many turnovers for Detroit tonight. That third quarter was brutal to watch. It really was.

C-Note was great in the first quarter. Tay was great in the fourth. I didn't like Webber's game tonight much at all.

Pistons played great defensively I thought. Hard to believe this was a Flip-coached team tonight.

What a game. Nice to the Pistons beat the stuffin outta them. Balanced scoring with great support from the bench. Need to kick them in game 2 and not let them leave Motown with false hopes.

JMax will be > Tyrus Thomas

Good call, webz!!

That Rip post game interview was the best one I've ever seen. Not because of what he said, but because it looked more like a pre-game interview. Not a bead of sweat. No signs of fatigue. No heavy breathing. YES SIR!!

Rip had been resting on the bench for 20 minutes before the interview. That always helps. :)

The game as seen through the eyes of Bull's fans. Courtesy of blogabull.com game thread.


This is an embarrassing showing

thus far. We are playing like a bunch of mentally retarded children

I am shock
The bulls are playing like a high school team. Come on guys, pick it up!!!

Come on Bulls.

At least make this competitive. The f'ng Magic played them closer than this

I think

I'm going to cry. Things have to get better for us in the second half. Don't they?

Wow

I think we have to give some credit to Detroit. I didn't realize their defense was this good - and they have so much depth on offense. Impressive team. I think the only way we can win this series is if BG comes up big in at least 3 games. Other than Deng, we don't have much offense.

why is hamilton still in?
hope that punk turns an ankle

I understand losing on the road in the playoffs.

No biggie. Happens all of the time. But I do not understand the failure to even be competitive.

We have to be the favorites to come out of the East for sure. Seemed like the Bulls would have put up more of a fight. We have to demoralize them in game two.
I saw everything I needed to see in the first half. Had to Tivo the second to take care of something else.

The Pistons are all business right now. They might not be absolutely dominating, but from the outset, they are giving a consistent and powerful performance. Coupled with the McConduit's report that Rip and Sheed were putting in extra serious practice, this team has made the mental adjustment and it is going to take a very good effort by an opponent to beat us.

Did Flip Murray do ANYTHING tonight?
Spelled someone for 7 minutes. I'll take that.

Pistons played great defensively I thought. Hard to believe this was a Flip-coached team tonight.
The Pistons D has been improving all year but not enough people have been able to see it, and there is always the ghost of Larry Brown to contend with. The zone was made for these small ball teams that like to penetrate and generate a lot of movement inside the arc. Force them to make shots. With CBill pressuring the guards early, they never could find a rhythm. Next game, it might be Rip doing the same.

I'm VERY pleased tonight.

I went out, thought i had the game taped and my VCR screwed up!! :frusty:

From the score, it looks like i missed a damn good game. Did anyone tape it? I don't mind paying for a copy. :fingerscr

Guys, I am very very happy. Great performance.

But I do remember feeling this way the first couple of games of the Cleveland series last year, so I am really hoping the team doesn't lose focus along the way.

This is a BIG PLUS that we whalloped 'em. Bench got more minutes and more experience and came through. On the other hand, they didn't have a bench. Really only played with 3 scorers since Gordon was taken out of the game early.

Yeah, I forgot, Pistons beat the Cavs by 27 in Game 1 last year, then Game 2 by 6, and then...well, we know what happened then. Still, with the focus we're seeing from the Pistons now on DEFENSE, we've got to feel pretty confident that they can get things done in this series.

we wobbled on that milwaukee series before so it was like a building shaking in an earthquake. This time our Orlando series was solid.

The Pistons D has matured to the point where they can take advantage of any mistakes and shread you for it. Miami did not do that, its not something the Bulls are used to.

Everything went right this game. This was the perfect start to the series.

Billups came out blazing, and getting Ben Gordon in foul trouble, as the Pistons got a fairly easy victory tonight. Billups just totally outclasses the Chicago guards. Worse for Chicago, Duhon ain't giving them anything off the bench. Indeed, the Chicago bench did not even get a bucket in the first half of the game.

Deng was pretty much the only bright spot for Chicago, but Tay guarded him pretty effectively, plus was raining in shots all nite himself. Yeah, I think Tay won this little battle. Deng scored a lot more readily when Tay was sitting, but me, I was like, Tay is resting, Deng is scoring, and yet here we are still beating up on Chicago.

Dyess was the most significant sub for us, doing fine defensive work, getting lots of boards, and hitting several jumpers. He would have had a great game indeed if he had not missed several putback tries. Delfino contributed mostly on the boards, including a slam back off one offensive bound. He made two outside shots in garbage time to make an otherwise poor shooting nite look better.

JMAX got into the game, but you got to wonder if he would have if not for foul trouble. The press here did say to expect more of Maxiell. Maxiell got a slam from collecting an offensive board, dribbling from the right to in front of the basket for the dunk. He hit a jumper off a post up. He got a dunk on a nice bullet pass from Hunter. Another dunk late. His defensive rotations were impressive as always.

JMAX played about the last 5 minutes of the 2nd quater and most of the 4th quarter. We started out the 4th quarter with 3 unanswered triples. Sheed, Rip, and then Tay. Rip's was the most impressive, coming as the shotclock was expiring. Tay's was the most dramatic, as it spelt the end of Chicago's nite.

Davis got a couple of minutes in garbage time. Flip got some garbage time minutes too plus he played just a bit to end the first half. Hunter played the whole 4th plus about 6 mintues in the 2nd quarter. In total, I think Hunter must have been plus 24 in this game, or something like that. (At least at one point in the game when our lead got up to 28). Hunter did not really run the point well, but he did fine on defense, disrupting Chicago often.

It was noted that Flip Saunders deliberately played Hunter very little in the Orlando series (he only played 10 minutes) so that he would be fresh for this series. He looked pretty tired after those 6 mintues in the 2nd quarter, so lets hope him playing the whole 4th was not too much for him.

Well, Billups sure looks healthy now. What a contrast from that March 26th (I think) game where he started 2 for 14. That was an injured CB. Tonight, we saw the real Mr. Bigshot. CB came out firing over Gordon, who was guarding him initially. Duhon got his turn next to get repeatedly burnt by Chauncey. In the end, Hinrich got some scoring, but Duhon was near shutout while Gordon just made two shots for the night. Oh, and we held them to under 70. Got to love that.

Ben Wallace hit his first free throw, and even made two outside shots. One clanged around a few times before going in, and one was a fade-away over Webber. You know a team is in trouble if they are depending on Ben for offense.

The question of JMAX vs. Thomas. Thomas looked scared. JMAX looked fearless. And JMAX scored all the points and played the good D.

Sheed nailed a few triples, got inside a bit,but his defense was the biggest contribution from him tonight. He defended his own guy quite easily. (Like, hey what does Chicago have anyway-not much up front.) And Sheed was constantly found trapping someone on the baseline.

Rip did two things. Fine D, which is not too difficult for him against Chicago as he has speed to spare and quite a height advantage over the Chicago guards. And two, he scored as much as he felt like scoring. It was CB's nite to shine, but Rip still managed to put up good numbers.

Webber, well, so so. Got some bounds. A good pass or two. Chicago was not getting inside on us too much. Defensively, well, he is just gaurding Ben or PJ. Not much of a chore. The thing about Webber that is underated is that despite lack of foot speed, he does know where to be, and that is more than half the battle.

I still think Chicago will manage to rally and win one game in this series. But then again, if the Pistons sweep the series that will hardly surprise me. GO PISTONS!!!!!

It's hard to find much to complain about from this game. I just checked again and Flip had 2 assists in 7 minutes. Everyone played a part and we rolled 11 men.

Minutes were down (rest), we made our FTs, we won the battle of the boards, Maxiell had a nice scoring game, Hunter had 6 assists off the bench, Sheed fought through bad shooting to have a decent line.

And we never got too goofy or bogged down.

This is a BIG wakeup for the Baby Bens. They were probably still feeling pretty good about beating the Heat. I expect a much better effort from them in Game 2.

Reckoned that I've missed this "D" for two seasons, would like to borrow what Big Ben told JMax after the game, "Good job". Keep coming, Deeeeeeeeeetroit.

Great game by the Pistons! I was very, very impressed with the bench this game. Couple of bench highlights:

Delfino grabs the rebound, and then hits the reverse jam. Awesome!

Maxiell with the dunks AND the midrange jumpers! Amazing!

Dice with the rebounding, and the beautiful outside shooting. I'm out of superlatives!

I expect the Bulls to adjust and put up a fight in game two. Pistons shot the lights out, and the Bulls (thanks to the Pistons D) were ice cold. :cold:

I'm waiting for the nba broadband highlights

I guess this game answers the question of which team would be most affected by the long layoff. The young team apparently could not regenerate the smooth flow of a week ago. I imagine they will be a lot better organized and in better ryhthm for game 2.

FlipS & Company did a wonderful job in having the Bull scouted and the Stones prepared.

Great game. I missed the first half, but was very impressed with the first half box score.

I disagree with most on a better performance by the Bulls in game 2. I believe it will be another beat down. However, they will come out firing in Chicago and win game three for their only victory of the series.

I went out, thought i had the game taped and my VCR screwed up!! :frusty:

From the score, it looks like i missed a damn good game. Did anyone tape it? I don't mind paying for a copy. :fingerscrVCR? Tape it? :pound:

Guys, I am very very happy. Great performance.

But I do remember feeling this way the first couple of games of the Cleveland series last year, so I am really hoping the team doesn't lose focus along the way.
Ahhh, the difference? there is No Shaq or NO Wade waiting 4 us!!!:)

Rip had been resting on the bench for 20 minutes before the interview. That always helps. :)

That was my point. A nice easy win.

I have no doubt that the series will get much tougher, but this was a great way to start out!

Ahhh, the difference? there is No Shaq or NO Wade waiting 4 us!!!:)

I agree HQ. Last year, I think the team looked past the Cavs a bit. I think they felt that they could mail the series in and were more concentrated on Miami in the next round.

This year, with the way things have turned out, the 2nd round will more than likely be tougher than the 3rd - regardless of which team wins. The team should be 100% focused on this round.

I think it's good that Chicago beat us 3 of 4 during the regular season and swept Miami. It forces the team to take them seriously.

You know, whether you're at the Palace or kickin' it at home, screaming profanities and chanting DEEE-TROOOIIIT! BAAA-SKET-BAAALL! along with the Mason-led crowd, there is nothing quite like watching the Pistons do what they do. This game was 10 kinds of pretty! I enjoyed everything about this game, from the Skiles tech to the 3 consecutive 3's to the Nocioni airballs to 'Dyess' missed putbacks (too much power, 'Dyess!). Here's to matching the energy and intensity and fire that they played with tonight and grabbing Game 2! CHEERS! :cheers:

P.S. "why is hamilton still in?
hope that punk turns an ankle"

Let me at 'em...

Good job at not looking the Bulls over. We will see if the coaches and the players make sure that they don't get lackadaisical in Game 2.

Post game audio for your listening enjoyment!

Rip Hamilton sideline with David Aldridge

Rip Hamilton Press Conference

Kirk Hinrich Press Conference

Flip Saunders Press Conference

Scott Skiles Press Conference

nJoy!
.

Good job at not looking the Bulls over. We will see if the coaches and the players make sure that they don't get lackadaisical in Game 2.

Agreed. The relatively easy nature of the second half of this game could lead to a let down, and as someone else has mentioned, the Bulls will certainly come out swinging in Game 2.

Great Game 1 by the Pistons, but they were supposed to win this game to hold homecourt advantage. The job is halfway complete for the first two games.

The thing that stood out for me was how incredibly disjointed the Baby Bulls looked on offense the entire game. They looked like a bunch of guys who had never played with each other before. I kept waiting for them to get into some type of rhythm, but it never happened.

I was watching with my 12-year-old daughter, and found myself saying over and over, "look, he has no decent shot to take" and "he has nobody good to pass to." If the Pistons can stay locked in like this, we could be in for a really long run.

VCR? Tape it? :pound:


:pound: :pound:

Some addtional ramdom thoughts
I am extremely happy for the win (tigers and wings win too) so my day was made (but feel sorry for T-mac)

I am seeing a Piston win on Monday too, but not going to really get happy until the Pistons win one in Chicago next week and they are up 3-0 or 3-1.

I know Chicago will adjust but as we said all along, if their jumpers ain't fallin then they ain't winnin:brick: They shot 33% and were just horrid in the second half scoring only 28 points. Even worse was their bench shooting 3-30. Were these guys nervous or what?

The bulls couldn't make up the difference in paint either scoring only 18 points (to the Pistons 22).

Enough of the Bulls woes, the Pistons looked good all the way around with the bench providing a spark in the second qtr and Hunter providing + points instead of negative flow. He didn't score but he did grab 3 steals and 5 assists. Max did his thing to show that we got more than just Dice back ther to back up Webber and Sheed.

Championship level play.

We caught glimpses of the Piston defense only here and there in the regular season. We certainly did not play the Bulls like this during the regular season. Murray, Hunter, really the whole team had their hands on balls. We stayed with the shooters making them drive into traffic. They would throw the ball away or to Ben.

Encouraging too was the play of Maxiel. He brought a dimension that the Bulls could not match. Dyss is back to hitting the jumpers as he doesn't have to shoot it over taller centers. We seem to be a deeper team than they are.

The rebounding should be there all series. We are simply a taller team.

Only one game. We must keep the petal to the metal.

Sheed played huge..........Loved the rebounding of Prince...........Mcdyss played very well..............Glad Maxeil got time, HE"S HUNGRY.........
:) :) :) :) :)

VCR? Tape it? :pound:

Hey now! LOL

I have a DVD player too. For some reason i picked the stupid VCR.

The thing that stood out for me was how incredibly disjointed the Baby Bulls looked on offense the entire game. They looked like a bunch of guys who had never played with each other before. I kept waiting for them to get into some type of rhythm, but it never happened.

I was watching with my 12-year-old daughter, and found myself saying over and over, "look, he has no decent shot to take" and "he has nobody good to pass to." If the Pistons can stay locked in like this, we could be in for a really long run.

I think some of that may be 4 games against Miami. Miami was not pressuring them like the Pistons were. Notice the expressions on the Bulls, how surprised they were. Especially Gordan, he did not have a clue at times.

I have no doubt that the Bulls will make adjustments and play better, but so will the Pistons.

This is my NBA Finals. Isnt it ironic(Dont ya think?) .
This is my Super Bowl.
its Hearns vs Leonard.
Its Game 5 at the Boston Garden.
Its Isiah's 3rd qtr on one foot vs the Lakers.
It's Vinnie double-0 7 J vs Portland.
It's Gibby's blast to RF off The Goose.
It's Stevie Y in OT.
It's Rumeal's Ft's in Seattle vs Seton Hall.
It's Desmond Howard's 4th down TD catch frrom Elvis vs Notre dame.
It's Woodson's punt return vs Ohio State.
It's Magic's alley oop to Special K.
It's seeing Scotty on skates.
It's seeing LB in a Tiger jersey.
It's seeing Sparky tell Gibby "He dont wanna walk U!"
It's seeing Barry run for 2000yds vs the Jets.
It's Detroit.
It's Motown.
It's MEEEECH-i-gan!
It's us.


R u Reeeeally ready?
This is damn impressive.... gotta give HQ some props

Deng was pretty much the only bright spot for Chicago, but Tay guarded him pretty effectively, plus was raining in shots all nite himself. Yeah, I think Tay won this little battle.
Wow, the homer virus is contagious

Wow, the homer virus is contagious

We should expect to see lots of bandwagon-ass cats in the near future.:MusicBigGrin:

I think some of that may be 4 games against Miami. Miami was not pressuring them like the Pistons were. Notice the expressions on the Bulls, how surprised they were. Especially Gordan, he did not have a clue at times.

I have no doubt that the Bulls will make adjustments and play better, but so will the Pistons.

like everyone's said, the defense looked phenomenal tonight. i'd add that some of the bulls' problems on offense stemmed from the defense they (esp. the guards, esp gordon) had to play. we are a much tougher team to defend than miami. it's a lot harder to get into a flow on offense when you're getting run around and schooled on the other end.

besides the weak-ish 3rd quarter (which felt to me more like the bulls' sloppiness was infectious than anything else), the only blemish was c-webb, who never looked to me like he was in it on offense (i was sort of too excited by the beat down to really notice how he did on the boards or on defense, but i will say i was happy that someone had to guard him -- not to disrespect Ben, who showed his value, particularly on a couple of plays when chauncey got to the hope and then crapped his pants cause ben was waiting for him).

i assume the rest of the series will be tougher than this one, but we are definitely the better squad and we ought to prevail. i know that last year has got us all a bit nervous about how this will unfold and there's always the possibility of a lapse in focus or of chicago adjustments that flip sr. is unable to match. so there's nothing to say except that this was as good a start as anyone could have hoped for.

on to game 2.

Wow, the homer virus is contagious
I thought Tay played great considering he was the 3rd or 4th option all night.

Tay was +25, Deng -19. Tay scored 5 less points, but did make 3 more assists (which had to be worth at least 6 points).

Nothing wrong with being a homer.

PopcornMachine's GameFlow - Chicago @ Detroit (http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/gameflow.cgi?date=20070505&game=CHIDET)

Btw, I just rewatched a Billups trey, and Tay screened for him, and Kevin Harlan said, "Prince the screen, and Jordan (Gordon) goes under it."

Funny how some responses get stuck in our craw.

Didn't Harlan also refer to Lindsey as Dumars at one point? Someone get that man a scouting report. :laugh: Next it'll be Dave Bing going to the hole past Norm Van Lier.

Coach Vitale better play his bench in game 2.... :gun1:


Thats all I'm sayin' :yellowprison:

The brashness of the Brahma:

(From detnews.com)
Wallace also had to deal with his protégé, Maxiell, scoring six straight points on him in the second quarter.
“Myself and Ben are kind of the same player,” Maxiell said. “If you put a body on him, it's got to affect him. I beat up Ben a little bit, it's only the first game. It's going to be a long series.”

Some addtional ramdom thoughts
I am extremely happy for the win (tigers and wings win too) so my day was made (but feel sorry for T-mac)

I am seeing a Piston win on Monday too, but not going to really get happy until the Pistons win one in Chicago next week and they are up 3-0 or 3-1.

I know Chicago will adjust but as we said all along, if their jumpers ain't fallin then they ain't winnin:brick: They shot 33% and were just horrid in the second half scoring only 28 points. Even worse was their bench shooting 3-30. Were these guys nervous or what?

The bulls couldn't make up the difference in paint either scoring only 18 points (to the Pistons 22).

Enough of the Bulls woes, the Pistons looked good all the way around with the bench providing a spark in the second qtr and Hunter providing + points instead of negative flow. He didn't score but he did grab 3 steals and 5 assists. Max did his thing to show that we got more than just Dice back ther to back up Webber and Sheed.That VCR comment was uncalled for. Shame on u, Dr. :sssh: As far as T-Mac goes, I was cracking up. I could hear Journey's "LOnesome Loser" in the background. One day , he will learn to keep his mouth shut! He can join my forever LL club:

Damon Jones
The Cubs
The St'Louis Blues
Barry Bonds
The Lions
Jermaine ONeal
Kevin Duckworth
Seung Yong-Kim
Flip Mur....
Randy Moss
Mark Prior

Hey now! LOL

I have a DVD player too. For some reason i picked the stupid VCR.
That comment was brought to you by the sponsors of the "Evil Sarcastic Twit that lives in my butt CompanY". They apologize and have been placed on 90 day unpaid leave.:)

This is damn impressive.... gotta give HQ some props
Brought to you by the makers of Peach Schnapp's!:MusicBigGrin:

Hey Lee,
has somebody been sandbagging? Like maybe the
PISTONS !
Snuff Film
enough said.

Top these Skoo.
Barry Sanders around end for 85 yards.
Barry Sanders stopping on a dime and getting 2 Bears change.
Billy Sims going 80 yards with a bomb against Dallas.
All catches by Charlie Sanders
Interception return for a TD by Lem Barney against GBay.
Mickey Tetalltons [sp] wheel house
Cecil Fielders wheel house.
Zeke running in place against somebody.
Dumars with 10 bombs
All Bob Probert fights
Hate 7 min. 2 assists in Pistons snuff film

Great game. The rebound and reverse dunk by Delfino had everyone screaming at my place. Sweeeet.

Only complaint, and only worry, there was no reason for Tay and Rip to play the minutes they did in a blowout. If Rip is playing 40 min in a blowout, does he play 48 if it's close? What really worried me is how tired Rip looked at the end of the 2nd, and Flip kept him in the game until 3 minutes left. That's insane that Rip played the first 21 minutes of the game without a break.

Hopefully Rip won't play that much in every game, but if I remember right from the second quarter, he was helping to spark the big run that happened when Lindsey and Delfino were also in, as the Pistons increased their lead from 6 to 16. Rip was probably supposed to cycle out at some point in there, but with the big blitz happening, Flip decided to stick with that lineup. At least I hope that was the logic behind it. Certainly it worked in that game.

Flip had his team prepared better than Skiles during the layoff... now we have to see who makes the better short term adjustments....
Lindsey play was almost PGesque... driving and dishing on at least two occasions (6 assist?).... still when he gets that wreckless head of steam toward the hoop... well :behindsof

Coach Vitale better play his bench in game 2.... :gun1:


Thats all I'm sayin' :yellowprison:
Oh that's cold man :MusicBigGrin: ... that's akin to calling my mama a Bee with an itch
(signed president of the all hate Vitale club)

like everyone's said, the defense looked phenomenal tonight. i'd add that some of the bulls' problems on offense stemmed from the defense they (esp. the guards, esp gordon) had to play. we are a much tougher team to defend than miami. it's a lot harder to get into a flow on offense when you're getting run around and schooled on the other end.

besides the weak-ish 3rd quarter (which felt to me more like the bulls' sloppiness was infectious than anything else), the only blemish was c-webb, who never looked to me like he was in it on offense (i was sort of too excited by the beat down to really notice how he did on the boards or on defense, but i will say i was happy that someone had to guard him -- not to disrespect Ben, who showed his value, particularly on a couple of plays when chauncey got to the hope and then crapped his pants cause ben was waiting for him).

i assume the rest of the series will be tougher than this one, but we are definitely the better squad and we ought to prevail. i know that last year has got us all a bit nervous about how this will unfold and there's always the possibility of a lapse in focus or of chicago adjustments that flip sr. is unable to match. so there's nothing to say except that this was as good a start as anyone could have hoped for.

on to game 2.

Not only 4 games against Miami. Looks like it also got into their heads that they just swept the World Champs. Interesting to see how they come out in game #2.

Ironically if Ben keeps making those jump shots then someone will have to guard him. Not to start another Ben debate but thats not the same Ben that we had playing for us back in 01 - 05. When someone avg's 15 boards and 4 blocks a game it does not come up that he is a liability on offense. Ben used to absolutly dominate. Something happened last year. He lost a step somehow. Flip was an easy scapegoat but its getting to the point where he can't blame the coach anymore. He is still very dangerous though and will make those intangible plays out there. Just not going to have too many more of those 20 board/5 block games that used to be a staple around the Palace way back when.

well my buddy and i got there really early, and sat around playing New Super Mario Bros. against each other on our Nintendo DS's. The crowd was actually there in time for the game and it was ROCKING ... you couldn't hear half of the national anthem which was pretty unusual, and it didn't let up until the boring 3rd quarter (or the bulls got some of those bogus calls to keep them in the game).

the crowd impressed me for the first time since the Finals games against the Spurs. the orlando series felt like pre-season compared to this. and it was fantastic.

anyway, i loved chauncey's early aggressiveness. simply put, chauncey and rip are better than hinrich and gordon, and considering our bigs already have a huge advantage in this series, there's no reason we shouldn't put this away in 5 games. our guards' hands were super active, and i lost track of how many passes or steals rip and lindsey deflected. flip even made a couple good plays...while they weren't steals, he positioned himself so a bulls player couldn't get to the ball and resulted in them getting a turnover.

the defense was spectacular. i mean it was a complete lockdown, and the bulls only scored 28 in the 2nd half!! everyone was focused and it was great. i love how maxiell shot with confidence, as did dice. one of the most underrated plays of the game was maxiell's HARD foul on tyrus thomas. thomas has struggled throughout the playoffs, and the last thing we need is for him to get confidence, play well, and give the bulls another player on their depth chart. maxiell said 'no free chili', and tyrus went back to sulking.

i expect the bulls to play better, not to collapse 5 guys on 1 penetrator, and to not throw so many passes at each other's feet. that being said, we only used a limited trap and it was effective. if we tighten the screws even further, we're going to blow them out again. if sheed keeps bombing 3s it'll only make it that much easier.

Chicago Tribune news | Registration (http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/cs-070506mitchell,1,1639792.column?coll=chi-sportstop-hed&ctrack=2&cset=true)
Of course, it was Bulls giving the game away.
"We were here, but we didn't show up," Ben Wallace said Sunday.

This is just poster board material:
Chicago Tribune news | Registration (http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/cs-070506bulls,1,6245719.story?coll=chi-sportstop-hed&ctrack=3&cset=true)
"We always respond," Skiles said. "That's our history. That's what we do. The issue is, if we respond and play very well, can we beat them if they're playing at a high level? I think the answer is yes. I'm comfortable in saying we're going to play much, much better [Monday] night."

The crowd was actually there in time for the game and it was ROCKING ... you couldn't hear half of the national anthem which was pretty unusual, and it didn't let up until the boring 3rd quarter (or the bulls got some of those bogus calls to keep them in the game).

the crowd impressed me for the first time since the Finals games against the Spurs. the orlando series felt like pre-season compared to this. and it was fantastic.


It sure didn`t seem that way on TV. The crowd seemed very quiet. I was complaining about that in chat several times.

At one point it seemed the announcers were almost whispering.

It sure didn`t seem that way on TV. The crowd seemed very quiet. I was complaining about that in chat several times.

At one point it seemed the announcers were almost whispering.

there were a few lulls - the 3rd quarter mainly, and a couple more after some bogus calls and an ensuing timeout. but other than that the crowd was rocking the entire time. maybe they turned the crowd mic down or something, but it definitely wasn't quiet.

Tonight determines if it's a long series or a short one.

We win tonight and it's over in 5 (a split in Chicago and home clincher).

We lose tonight and it's a 7 game series.


I think we play a close game in the first half and win by 9 (88-79).

Go Pistons!

Hopefully Rip won't play that much in every game, but if I remember right from the second quarter, he was helping to spark the big run that happened when Lindsey and Delfino were also in, as the Pistons increased their lead from 6 to 16. Rip was probably supposed to cycle out at some point in there, but with the big blitz happening, Flip decided to stick with that lineup. At least I hope that was the logic behind it. Certainly it worked in that game.

Well the only thing I can think of is that it was coming off a week of rest, and they'll have probably 3-4 days rest after game 2 before game 3.

But in no way should RIP have played that much.