2nd Round Game 2 - Chicago 8pm

tv: TNT



I am not sure what to expect here after the game #1 shlacking from the Pistons. If the Bulls are able to put game #1 behind them then they will really impress me. I don't think the Pistons are going to take the night off. They showed in the Orlando series that they are all business this year.

My pick - Pistons by 8.

TNT just said it will be at 8 PM. Game 1 of Golden St. at Utah will be at 10:30. I guess it was going to be 7/9:30 if the next series would have been GSW at Houston.

pistons win game 2....................88-80:pound:

I agree with Coach Collins 100% that this game is the closest thing to a must win for the Bulls.

You can pretty much pencil in game 3 or 4 going to Detroit. The Bulls need to win two in detroit to win this series.

Hard to imagine but I'm more excited about game 2 than I was about game 1.

Sweet Av. Never seen that pic before.

http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/897/roscoe0002fv1.jpg

Sweet Av. Never seen that pic before.

http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/897/roscoe0002fv1.jpg
It seemed appropriate for the run.
I want to see the belts again :)

As stated in another thread - the Pistons in a repeat performance in game 2.....A BLOWOUT!!

You heard it here first...........

IMO if we win game #2 we're going to the finals... I don't think Clev/NJ will be as much of a challange as the Bulls.

Also think we'll see a better Bulls team in game two... let's hope the cardiac Pistons don't show up.

I guess I missed this during the game, but watching some of the highlights on ESPN this morning where they freeze-framed to focus on floor spacing, I was startled to see how undisciplined the Bulls were in their defensive collapsing on penetration.

In the two highlights they showed, one was where Tay drove in on the baseline, and in addition to the two defenders who moved in to try to cut him off, every single other Bulls defender was cheating toward the basket, for what seemed like no good reason. That left someone (I think it was Sheed on that play, or maybe CB) wide open at the top of the 3-point circle for a trey that went down. The next highlight they showed was the 3 that Tay hit early in the 4th quarter to extend the lead to 22. CB drove into the lane, and literally all five defenders either slid over or collapsed to try to help! That left Tay wide open for the triple. If the Bulls keep breaking down like that on D, this series isn't going to last very long. Skiles is going to have to try to correct that.

After we win tonight, I am busting out The Low's favorite avatar. Holy Flip.

On Espn whatever this morning, they were talking about how Sheeed was actually a better ALLAROUND defender than Ben. They say he's better on the post and better side to side. Ben is better at disruption and better on top of the key. Thats why I hope that Webber can be more of a 'distraction' to pull Ben away from Tay or Rip on the weak side curl....BTW, TW, I picked the Bulls tonite but I feel the Homies will put the clamp down late in the 3rd and 4th and win 99-90.:MusicBigGrin:

After we win tonight, I am busting out The Low's favorite avatar. Holy Flip.

Ah man please dont jinx us, although i am almost certain we'll win.

My pick - Pistons by 8.

I read that wrong the first time. I thought you said Pistons IN 8. :pound:

This game will be a closer contest than the last one. The pistons will struggle through the first 3 quarters but will do enough to take this game out early mid way through the last. My prediction Pistons FTW 93-87. :P

I read that wrong the first time. I thought you said Pistons IN 8. :pound:

May I suggest the following:

Heartland Community College: Academic Support Center - Reading Improvement Classes (http://www.hcc.cc.il.us/asc/reading.html)

Am I missing the chat link? Really solid first quarter for the Pistons, and they were continuing to pour it on in the first few minutes of the second quarter...things have bogged down in the last minute or so, though.

Well, without Billups or Hamilton the offense has really bogged down, and Nocioni just hit his first three of the series...hopefully that isn't the beginning of a little run.

CB and Sheed back in the game --- immediately results in a Prince dunk over Ben.

David Stern is at the game..........the officials want to impress.....trouble ahead in the 2nd half for the pistons....

Pistons bump the lead up to 21 at the end of the 3rd quarter. Firing on all cylinders, basically. 12 minutes from mission accomplished for the first two games of this series.

Sheed and CWebb just can't stay out of foul trouble in this game...Sheed picked up his 5th in the first 20 seconds when the Pistons went to a zone (with CWebb in the middle).

Well, 6-0 run to start the 4th for the Bulls...lead down to 15.

OK, I know I'm just posting with myself here, but CWebb is doing a terrible job in the middle of that zone. He's trying to make up for it on offense as best he can in this 4th quarter, but he just doesn't seem to have a feel for how to play the middle of a zone, and the Bulls are just taking advantage each time down the court.

Sheed not happy with the officials after a dunk --- I'm hoping he doesn't pick up a worthless T in the last 6 minutes of this game.

OK, I know I'm just posting with myself here, but CWebb is doing a terrible job in the middle of that zone. He's trying to make up for it on offense as best he can in this 4th quarter, but he just doesn't seem to have a feel for how to play the middle of a zone, and the Bulls are just taking advantage each time down the court.

Sheed not happy with the officials after a dunk --- I'm hoping he doesn't pick up a worthless T in the last 6 minutes of this game.

I agree, the Bulls have done well against the zone in the 2nd, while the Bulls going to zone on D has helped them as well. I expect to see a lot more zone from the Bulls in game 3.

The Bad
Carlos Delfino – put the damn armband back on
Lindsey Hunter – get back on the speed
The Decent
Chris Webber
The Good
Every other Piston
Flip Saunders
The Best
Jason Maxiell's extremely dirty foul on Deng's face

Thursday:

The Bulls are going to wish the refs let Sheed stay on the floor tonight.....

ok, 2 minutes left, and Billups and Hamilton will hopefully come out of the game with a 17 point lead.

Wow, they just announced a great stat. The Pistons have led in double digits for 72 of the 96 minutes of this series. Now THAT is domination.

As stated in another thread - the Pistons in a repeat performance in game 2.....A BLOWOUT!!

You heard it here first...........


I don`t mean to toot my own horn............:horn:

The Bad
Carlos Delfino – put the damn armband back on
Lindsey Hunter – get back on the speed
The Decent
Chris Webber
The Good
Every other Piston
Flip Saunders
The Best
Jason Maxiell's extremely dirty foul on Deng's face

I think an argument could be made that CWebb should make the Good column for his offensive performance, but I will agree that his defense in the second half left much to be desired.

Maxiell was throwing his elbows around pretty good tonight --- did you catch his elbow to the face of Hinrich after Hinrich had already fouled him? I'm surprised Hinrich didn't end up with a Nash-like gash on his nose after that play.

As stated in another thread - the Pistons in a repeat performance in game 2.....A BLOWOUT!!

You heard it here first...........

And now we've heard it here 2nd as well. :laugh:
A don`t mean to toot my own horn............:horn:

Feel free to toot away after you predict a blowout win in games 3 and 4 as well. :rockon:

Remember what I said about rebounding?

46-38 game 1
51-30 tonight

Awesome hustle tonight! This doesn't look like the reg season Pistons...these guys are SERIOUS! Couldn't peak at a better time. :)

Huge first quarter for the Pistons had the Bulls back on their heels before they could respond. Skiles even brought Mike Sweetney in for Ben at one point, which was mystifying. Ben recovered in the second quarter and had a decent game, although CWebb torched him in the first quarter.

This was a really bizarre statistical game. Pistons turned it over 21 times, got outshot at the FT line 52-23 (!)...and still won by 21 points. Outrebounding the Bulls 51-30 and outshooting from the floor 53% to 34% (on 11 more FG attempts) accounted for that. And the Pistons leading rebounder, with 9, was...Rip Hamilton.

The Bulls can hope to build on their aggressive drives to the hoop in the second half that got them most of those FTs, but their big 3 are struggling. Hinrich was invisible tonight, and Gordon might as well have been. Deng had only 16, and he was totally dominated by Tay, who dropped 25 and took 8 more shots from the floor than Deng did!

I don't know what the Bulls are going to do about their rebounding woes. They can reasonably hope to shoot better at home, and that the Pistons won't be quite as lights out, but they can't win if they keep getting murdered on the boards. And they can't get anything consistent going for their perimeter scorers.

:pound: OK, I know I'm just posting with myself here, but CWebb is doing a terrible job in the middle of that zone. He's trying to make up for it on offense as best he can in this 4th quarter, but he just doesn't seem to have a feel for how to play the middle of a zone, and the Bulls are just taking advantage each time down the court.

Sheed not happy with the officials after a dunk --- I'm hoping he doesn't pick up a worthless T in the last 6 minutes of this game.:pound: u know we have a chat room , right? Cmon in..

And now we've heard it here 2nd as well. :laugh:


Feel free to toot away after you predict a blowout win in games 3 and 4 as well. :rockon:

Game 3 will be a Piston win............IN OT!!!!!!!!!

I think an argument could be made that CWebb should make the Good column for his offensive performance, but I will agree that his defense in the second half left much to be desired.

CWebb was 10-11 from the floor--I think that's better than "decent" or even "good"! I can live with some shaky D if he's going to be THAT productive and efficient.

Awesome hustle tonight! This doesn't look like the reg season Pistons...these guys are SERIOUS! Couldn't peak at a better time. :)

Couldn't agree more!

CWebb was 10-11 from the floor--I think that's better than "decent" or even "good"! I can live with some shaky D if he's going to be THAT productive and efficient.

Agreed D4E. It isn't like we expect much from Webber defensively anyway. I'll take that kind of performance from him for the rest of the playoffs.

Hey Roscoe, X out that 6th victory buddy!!!!!!!!!

ben is no longer good. maxiell is better than him. we are better than chicago.

4cwebb, sorry! I forgot to post the link. Anyways, chat will be open every game and you can find the link in the QUICKLINKS menu up above.

Sorry about that. :ohwell:

we are better than chicago.

Way to go out on a limb with that one jay! ;)

Hey Roscoe, X out that 6th victory buddy!!!!!!!!!
That is slippy's job. I don't want to step on his toes.

That is slippy's job. I don't want to step on his toes.

Ok.

Slippy!!!!

X out that 6th win my friend!!!!!!!!!

DOMINANCE!!!!!!!

That is slippy's job. I don't want to step on his toes.

Mad props to Slippy and anyone else involved in the idea and maintenance of the official playoff countdown (up)! :good:

More of the same, only we jumped out on them harder, going up 24 early in the 2nd quarter. After that, we pretty much coasted in. Lots of foul trouble kept disrupting our rotations, but it did not matter that much as Chicago just had way too little fire power against us. Chicago could run a good play here and there and get points while the Pistons simply overpowered Chicago on matchup after matchup.

Weird game in some ways. We outrebounded Chicago completely, with Chris Webber helping to set that tone with early offensive boards. We scored plenty of paint points. A lot of that was Webber too on his way to 22 points. The only thing Webber did not do well at was defense when he was called on to do a bit too much. Like when paired up with Dyess or simply out there as our only big at times.

Due to so much foul trouble on our front line we ended up playing Prince quite a bit at power forward in the 2nd half, but we could have used Dale Davis more.

Prince was the scoring hero for us along with Webber. All starters got double digit points again. Our bench did not score a point for much of the first half though. Still no point guard for our bench. Still correctable. We could still play Blalock, or use Delfino as the backup point, letting Amir play some small forward.

We gave up 30 points off turns. Thats bad, but most of that if not all was with us up at least 16 points when the turn was made. Just did not matter. Lots of margin for error in this one.

Jason Maxiell made one jumper from the post, and thats about it for his offense. He missed 2-2 at the line on one trip. He got in foul trouble, along with Webber, and Sheed fouling out. Maxiell's defense is pretty darn good though, and he got his share of bounds in this one.

Delfino played some good D, helped with the ball handling chores, especially when we went small at the end of the game. I think he just made one free throw. He did not shoot much. Murray did not play except for 2 garbage minutes at the end of the game. Hunter did nothing at all, but he did hit a three in garbage time. Dale Davis put in maybe 4 minutes? Not much to say about his stint.

CB got double digit assists and scored about 14. Eleven of those points came in the 2nd quarter, and much of that as we built up that 24 point lead. About midway thru the 2nd, we were on a pace to hit about 75 points for the half. We cooled off pretty much for the rest of the game, but the damage was done, and Chicago never got to better than within 13 the rest of the way.

Tay had the inside game going as well as the outside shot. Rip scored some, including a couple of long rangers. So easy to forget to guard Rip out there. So easy to forget that he led the league in 3 point shooting last year.(In percentage). I think that new ball hurt him to start this year. Good for us as it helps to lull teams to sleep as they just don't remember how good he is.

Chicago was at the line all nite. I don't think it was the officials, we were just fouling a lot, and not caring really as our front line is just too deep to care.

As the announcers pointed out, Chicago now has to win 4 of 5 to take this series. As they lose every matchup, and man did Tay ever whip the snot out of Deng tonite, this is virtually impossible. Flip Saunders is going to have to give quite a motivational speech for next game to keep the team interested-or not. Ben Wallace is still on the Chicago team-I don't think a word needs to be said.

Speaking of Ben, those were my best laughs of the nite watching Ben trying to be an offensive machine. Got to love that he is on another team and some other fans have to suffer that kind of thing. GO PISTONS!!!!!

Btw, Wings just closed out the Sharks.

DETROIT PRO SPORTS!!

The best part of Rip's game tonight was backing down on the much shorter Bulls guards and scoring on turnaround jumpers in the lane. He was killing them with that.

Three-point shooting has been big as well. Pistons were off the charts tonight, 10-19. They're shooting 45% on 3s so far in the playoffs!

Thanks Ozark!

They really can't board with us. Ben is all alone against our entire front line. They have match-up problems all over the court. If they cover the match-up problems shooters are open.

They went to Sweetney because we are playing smart defense--getting out on the shooters and forcing them to drive. We leave Ben to pick up the driver. Skiles wanted to see if Sweetney could give them some offense. Not enough offense and his defense was poor.

They are capable of giving us a battle ( the score is somewhat deceptive) but hard to see the Bulls compete for the series.

We need to go into Sheed early next time. Dyss needs to adjust. They are rushing out on him to stop the open look. Hunter sure did not look too good out there. Delfino is too tentative on the shot again. Maxiel made some mistakes but they cannot handle him down low. Only Ben can and he is overmatched by what they are asking him to do. I would use eMurray some at the point.

Pistons bench was weak in this game, after a great Game 1. But as long as they don't get totally dominated in Chicago, I think the Pistons will be fine, given how badly the Bulls' starters are getting outplayed by ours.

The camera shot of the Bulls on the bench in the final minutes, starting with Ben and ending with Skiles, told the whole story. Those are the kinds of faces you usually see on the losing team at the end of the series, not after just two games. These guys know it's over. This is a pretty hard fall for a young team that has just swept the defending world champs in the first round.

This was a strange game in many ways. The number of Pistons fouls and turnovers was unreal. Most of their fouls looked basically intentional, like they didn't care who they sent to the line or who fouled out. Not a lot of free chili in this one.

Ben led the Bulls with 7 rebounds. Here are the Pistons who matched or exceeded that number:

9 Rip
8 JMax
7 Tay
7 Sheed
7 Webber
7 Dyess

I feel really bad for thinking that the Pistons weren't going to come out with the kind of energy they did in Game 1. I knew they weren't going to think it would be easy, as several of them stated that they didn't anticipate blowing Chicago out any other game this series, but I thought maybe their focus would be slightly blurred by the Game 1 rout. I'm so glad I was wrong. Other than the 21 TOs and excessive fouling, there wasn't a whole lot I didn't like about this game. I hope in Game 3 they feed the 'Sheed a little more and make him be agressive on the offensive end. His defense was great again, even though he played limited minutes. To which I might add: Thank God for our frontcourt depth! I loved Maxiell's little shove that got him the T. Was that his first T of the year? Of his career? Hmm... Anyway, here's to more of what we saw in the first 2 games and to Dee-Troit dominace in Game 3! CHEERS! :cheers:

P.S. Flurray played?

Here is how I see this game.

If you ignore free throws, and only look at actual baskets made, we beat them 92 to 50!!! If we would have got the calls and they wouldn't have (switch the FTs around), then we would have won 129 to 66.

That is absolutely ridiculous that they even had a chance mid way through the 4th quarter. Nice reffing.

You got Sheed and Tay getting chopped as they're dunking and nothing.


All in all, I'm glad that Sheed and co. have something to be pissed off at.

4cwebb, sorry! I forgot to post the link. Anyways, chat will be open every game and you can find the link in the QUICKLINKS menu up above.

Sorry about that. :ohwell:

No worries...I didn't realize the link was in the Quick Links menu (although that makes logical sense).

Pistons won games 1 and 2 convincingly but we shouldn't get to happy until we win one on their court. I only say that because the Rockets won games 1 & 2 and they are watching the playoffs from Tear mac's garage.

Three things we need to be concerned about, will the Bulls shoot better at home, will the Pistons continue to outrebound the Bulls and will the refs continue to provide the Bulls with bonus points.

We can only hope that the Pistons come out with the same intensity and play agressive enough to get a few calls themselves and put these guys on the ropes and take game three. No prisoners, no let ups. They can rest in July. The best scenario is the next time the Pistons play in the palace it is game 1 of the ECF one day next week.

Yes that was a very strange game. Result is all the counts though. Pistons are up 2-0 and I don't think the Bulls ever got to within 13 once the Pistons pulled away.

Good old playoff basketball. If it looks different from game #1 and very different from the Orlando series thats because it is. Flip has been making some great game to game adjustments. No free Chili tonight as the Bulls used to embarass us with that during the reg season. Some of the defensive breakdowns could have been because Sheed was not in there and some of it was the guards losing focus on defense and allowing some penetration. Flip may have to adjust that zone because the only concerning thing was that for about 5-7 mins of the 4th the Bulls started looking like they may have found something that worked.

There were also some bad calls. I thought those 2 Sheed got on Nocioni were garbage. Especially that one when Nocioni was all over him and Sheed gets the offensive call for trying to clear some space. When Sheed is on the floor it seems to make everything go so much easier for the Pistons on both ends.

Gordan has been in consistant foul trouble for both games. If both Sheed and Gordan sat out I would that that in the Pistons favor. Although Gordan deserves his fouls wheras some of Sheed were junk. Sometimes the Bulls defense appears to consist of fouling on every play to see if they can get away with it.

Thats why you develope the bench. Can't go into the post-season with only 3 or 4 playable bigs. There will be some games like this when you need the extra staff to secure that home court series leading 2-0 win.

Jmax - way to send a statement on Deng. During the season Deng thought he could fly in for uncontested dunks whenever he wanted - no more. On the other side I thought Ben Wallace's no-fly zone accepted plenty of traffic there last night. The man is still deadly but he can't seem to jump like he used to. Not a good thing for a 6.6" center. Hopefully Cwebb can continue to take advantage of that.

Sorry for the delay on the 6th X.

Let's just take 2 on their court and get ready for the ECF.

What Max said!

LAst year with the type of plays we had, if you weren't one of the annointed 5, you were a liability. This year Rip is getting into the lane, Webber is rocking the high post. Sheed is going inside and out instead of just out. They have to adjust to the attack and that leaves Davis, Maxiell, and even Delfino with better scoring opportunities. They may not have put up great numbers but MAxiell was in there on the glass and Dyess was doing his thing spelling Sheed for extended minutes.

I'll give FLip Sr. credit for having this team focused with consistent effort, consistent execution and good depth.

Pistons bench was weak in this game, after a great Game 1. But as long as they don't get totally dominated in Chicago, I think the Pistons will be fine, given how badly the Bulls' starters are getting outplayed by ours.

The bench didn't hurt us, which in itself is a good thing. Now, no starter played too much especially with 2 days off in between the games.

I feel really bad for thinking that the Pistons weren't going to come out with the kind of energy they did in Game 1. I knew they weren't going to think it would be easy, as several of them stated that they didn't anticipate blowing Chicago out any other game this series, but I thought maybe their focus would be slightly blurred by the Game 1 rout. I'm so glad I was wrong. Other than the 21 TOs and excessive fouling, there wasn't a whole lot I didn't like about this game. I hope in Game 3 they feed the 'Sheed a little more and make him be agressive on the offensive end. His defense was great again, even though he played limited minutes. To which I might add: Thank God for our frontcourt depth! I loved Maxiell's little shove that got him the T. Was that his first T of the year? Of his career? Hmm... Anyway, here's to more of what we saw in the first 2 games and to Dee-Troit dominace in Game 3! CHEERS! :cheers:

P.S. Flurray played?

Unfortunately Pistons give us reasons to doubt their effort. They've been known to coast, even in the playoffs. Who's to say they are not going to think that this series is over at this point. I sure hope they keep that door shut. So far this year they haven't given us that reason, but somewhere deep in the back of my mind...

Here is how I see this game.

If you ignore free throws, and only look at actual baskets made, we beat them 92 to 50!!! If we would have got the calls and they wouldn't have (switch the FTs around), then we would have won 129 to 66.

That is absolutely ridiculous that they even had a chance mid way through the 4th quarter. Nice reffing.

You got Sheed and Tay getting chopped as they're dunking and nothing.


All in all, I'm glad that Sheed and co. have something to be pissed off at.
I am also glad they are keeping their mouths shut. It looks like Rip was correct when he said that he was getting T'd only when he planned on it.

There is nothing to review here. Just one word to describe what's happened so far including this game - DOMINATION!!!


:cheerleader:

Hell yeah, that was a great game. Loved to watch it, that was simply good basketball.
Billups was everywhere. He must have had the ball in his hands for about 80% of the Pistons ball posession overall. The Bulls tried to double him, tried to force TO's, but no chance. Hit key 3's and got his teammates involved.

Hamilton:
As the broadcasters mentioned, he's become way better at shooting off the dribble and creating his own shot. Also some key 3's and his usual running that makes one thing he has the lung of a horse.

Prince:
Loved to see him running the point or at least bringing the ball up. Makes the team far more versatile with alternatives to Lindsey and Flip. Good ballhandling, brought the ball up very solid. Besides JMax, he's the dunker on the team. His vertical leap is quite underrated but it's one of the main reasons why he's able to compete despite being that extremely skinny.

Sheed:
Sheed is stretching the offense and the Bulls have no answer for it. Tonight, he took only good shots from the arc and worked the boards very well. If he wants to, he can be a very good rebounder as he showed yesterday. Did what he had to- remember when he entered the 4th quarter for the red- hot Webber. I thought the Pistons would slow down a little bit but Sheed made a nice two handed slam at his first posession. That set the tone to continue the way the Pistons played with Webber, simply with Sheed instead.

Webber:
What can I say? Sure, he's lost his explosiveness. But as he showed, he's still a lowpost thread. He works his jumphook to perfection and makes his shots even if he gets fouled, simply because he knows how to work with his quite big frame. So where he lacks athleticism, he compensates with foodwork and strength.

Delfino:
Played quite a bit, did nothing special but played his usually solid D and worked the boards. It was very important that he didn't commit any really bad mistakes and that he can be trusted in.

Hunter:
Had a harder time against Hinrich than Billups, but managed to bring the ball up front which was the most important thing.

Dyess:
He's a rebounding machine. Still, it's sad, but one has to admit that his offense is simply weak. He has that one fade away shot that isn't very reliable and that's it. There where some posessions at which the old Dyess would simply stuffed it home but at times, it's still obvious that this guy's afraid to get into the paint.

Maxiell:
Yesterday, Maxiell was part of a 4-bigs- rotation and he played on one level with the others. One nice outlet pass, some nice shots from mid range and surprisingly good work on the boards. Love to see him battling Ben Wallace when he got that technical. He looks even stronger than some months ago. Not afraid to take the hard foul and altering many shots.

Overall:
Good execution, the fouls are a problem. The Pistons are forgetting about Ben Wallace and offer too many open looks inside for the Bulls guards. Last night, the fouls problem for the bigs wasn't such a big matter because of the big lead, but if the lead's smaller, one has to wonder if DD and Nazr could provide what is needed.
FUnny to see FLip working what everyone else worked against his team last year. Playing 4 on 5 and sometimes trust into Ben's offensive weakness. Remember his undefended airball right under the basket?

For the Bulls, Tyrus Thomas is a monster. That kid has a huge upside and he could be a key since PJ Brown and Ben Wallace are almost ineffective on the offensive end.

Wow is all I can say. I was beginning to doubt this team could turn that intensity back on again. We haven't seen it other than in flashes since about February of last year.

Ditto to everything said above and...

- Rip leads the team in rebounding. All right, he didn't have much competition with Sheed only playing half time, but still he stepped up and went after the ball. If the Pistons guards rebound the team is almost impossible to stop.

- Note to Tyrus Thomas - Buy a game face.

- Note to JMax - See if you can unload one of your old game faces to Thomas for some bucks. You gotta love grabbing Deng by the head and tossing him aside and not even looking back as he walked away.

- 10 and 7 for Sheed in eighteen. He's had weeks that averaged that playing 34. The man is ready to play. And getting some really goofy fouls called against him.

- Nice prep job by the coaching staff getting the team ready for the Bulls press. The Pistons turned the ball over a lot last night, but by and large not against the press. Chicago expended a load of energy and didn't have much to show for it. (They got some turnovers in the frontcourt because the Pistons took more time than usual getting the ball up and rushed some stuff, but that's a secondary benefit from the press. If you're not getting steals in the backcourt, you're just wearing your guys down.)

On to Chicago. I thought the Bulls might take a game there, but now...

Three things we need to be concerned about, will the Bulls shoot better at home, will the Pistons continue to outrebound the Bulls and will the refs continue to provide the Bulls with bonus points.

They probably will shoot better at home and continue to get some generous calls, but I don't see much chance of them stopping the bleeding on the glass. The Pistons' height advantage at every position, plus the intensity of their effort, isn't giving the Bulls anything on the boards.

Effort-wise, if the regular season showed anything, it's that the Pistons are a lot less likely to let down on the road then they are at home. That's not to say that they're going to play even better in Game 3 than they did in the first two games (hard to imagine), but it does mean that we should have plenty of confidence in their ability to keep up the intensity away from the Palace.

I think a key thing last night was the Pistons sticking to their guns and not countering pressure defense with pressure in return.

It was as though they were saying, "Pressure us all you want, we're not going to let it affect us".

Some of CBill's best games come with mid-teen scoring and near double digit assists. He doesn't have to be the mad bomber. He can be a capable floor leader.

Only bad stats from tonight's game = 21 Turnovers. Is that the team high this season? Definitely a playoff high.

Did someone say "mad bomber"???

http://www.nba.com/media/knicks/trenttucker_300.jpg

Did someone say "mad bomber"???

http://www.nba.com/media/knicks/trenttucker_300.jpg


Made me think of Leslie Rockymore...:hoops:

There is no way this Bulls team is gonna run away and hide, in my mind. Skiles won't let it happen. That team has SOME pride. I expect a tight contest in Game 3.

The Pistons, at times, really played out of control on both offense and defense. Many turnovers and many fouls. It just goes to show how bad the Bulls shot and rebounded. Frankly, I thought the second half of the game was tough to watch.

I don't like how Delfino settles for that outside shot either. He never has enough time to get set and ends up launching something that seems to always go high off the back rim. He should ball fake and take it to damn hole. He is gonna be quicker than a lot of guys guarding him. Also, he never gets the call on charges. He might as well start trying to strip the ball.

Doug Collins said something about Lindsay Hunter being able to knock down open shots. Uh, no. Sometimes Lindsay gets into an unbelievable groove, but he is clearly a streaky shooter. His shots are usually bad ones.

McDyess looked lost on offense to me, but I know his grandmother (who raised him) is ill so I guess I'm not surprised.

I loved how CWebb played last night on the offensive end. Tay, too. Our 1, 2 and 3 are killing their 1, 2 and 3.

This whole thing about Sheed playing better when he's pissed: That is short-lived. Bad Sheed sometimes overcomes Good Sheed.

If Flip wants to do some good coaching, he should show the team lowlights of last year's Cleveland series, when they dropped three in a row after being up 2-0. That'll keep 'em motivated.

If you reach back to the previous Cleveland series for a meltdown, you gotta go further to the Milwaukee series where in that one game, we got totally embarassed. We had overmatched milwaukee but somehow we managed to stamp ignominity on our playoff run in that one game. GEtting beat is one thing. Getting blown out another. But this was beyond that. And the attitude after? Sickening.

We've seen 6 straight games of focused pistons basketball. The team hasn't been 100% awesome for every quarter but every game: determined to win.

- Note to JMax - See if you can unload one of your old game faces to Thomas for some bucks. You gotta love grabbing Deng by the head and tossing him aside and not even looking back as he walked away.
JMax has his game face on all of the time. He was born with a game face. He has his game face on when he's at the store buying a gallon of milk, and no one ever cuts in front of him in line.

Quote from C. Rosen article on Foxsports:

"For the Bulls to steal a game, they'll need more frequent and more extended lapses by the Pistons. But anything short of collective amnesia will only provide brief respites for the hard-pressed Bulls." :pound:

I hope the Pistons aren't reading their press clippings. Need to stay focused. I think San Antone will be waiting for them if they get all the way through.

I hope the Pistons aren't reading their press clippings. Need to stay focused. I think San Antone will be waiting for them if they get all the way through.


The refs could affect the outcome in a closer contest on the Bulls home court..................:stirthepot:

Wow what a clobberingX2!

I enjoyed it just as much the second go round.

All this talk about switches and gears and new levels for the "real season".... these two games made me a believer that this team can indeed turn it on and off.


And get a load of that Brahma Bull. I wish his role on the team translated somehow into my real life. I'd like the Pistons to loan me their JMax to take care of a few issues at my workplace.:)

1st quarter was a thing of beauty. The refs were pretty much letting everything go in that 1st quarter. Rip was hacked a couple of times going to the basket but still managed to score.

Then the refs decided they would completely reverse the way they were calling it and call everything! Probably in a bid to help the Bulls back into the game. The first 6 minutes of the 2nd quarter was pure agony to watch.

I thought CWebb was brilliant in this game. He was the one making the baskets to stifle any thought of a Chicago run. Those elbow jumpers were sweet. I thought I saw him telling the guys in the first half 'just give me the ball'. Yeah he picked up some touchy fouls, but he doesn't get any respect on the defensive end anymore. Same with Dice. Sheed was just unlucky. He is gonna be mad pissed for Game 3. Looking forward to that!

Max had a fairly rubbish first half, but his second half was a lot better. He kept alive rebounds, got deflections, tap-outs, he was doing a great job without having to score. Dyess' jumper is off again. Delfino was ordinary, Lindsey didn't make any mistakes, thats about all you can ask. Not having a backup point hasn't mattered so far, but its the games where we are down or level when CB sits that I'm worried about. CB is going to play a lot of minutes this playoffs, I just hope he doesn't run out of gas.

Rip was sensational again, he just has a knack of hitting those tough little jumpers in traffic and the 'turn n guns'. He also hit a couple of 3's. Good to see.

Tay was solid again. He is our glue guy.

As long as we can continue to keep Chicago's guards down we should win 1 if not both games in their house. I just don't want to see Gordon get untracked. Keep that foot on the throat.

Go Pistons!

Detroit, when they changed things and did some things differently, we kind of got shocked by that.''


NBA.com Bulls Lament Missed Chances (http://www.nba.com/nba_news/bulls_chances_070508.html)

NBA.com Bulls Lament Missed Chances (http://www.nba.com/nba_news/bulls_chances_070508.html)

This article said Skiles is going to put a hobbled Nocioni on Sheed and Deng on Prince..............:pound:

Is that supposed to help the Bulls???

NBA.com Bulls Lament Missed Chances (http://www.nba.com/nba_news/bulls_chances_070508.html)

Skiles seems to be doing what he can. I think he's being pretty clever. He's already dropped the hammer after the first game and he can't do that again, especially with a young team. He's got to go to the carrot - hey look, you're almost getting it done.

Don't know if it will work, but I think he's saying the right things. Hopefully the Pistons are looking at film of all the traveling calls and missed shots and thinking that the Bulls might not do that again either.

again late with the re-cap but not much to say other than the Palace was rocking again. we had a couple other really rowdy fans next to us and we kept our section energized. my button brought his 'sheed is the only wallace we need' sign and we got on the jumbotron, and the sign was mentioned in 2 chicago newspaper's, need4sheed.com, and terry foster's live game blog. so that was cool.

refs tried their best to keep the bulls in the game, calling everything a foul for them, and never calling contact for us. just plain ridiculous...but at least we played through it and didn't complain. maxiell with the facewash of deng was awesome.

my button brought his 'sheed is the only wallace we need' sign and we got on the jumbotron, and the sign was mentioned in 2 chicago newspaper's, need4sheed.com, and terry foster's live game blog. so that was cool.

That is cool, but...uh...who's your "button"?

That is cool, but...uh...who's your "button"?

That's an interesting question. My button would never go out in public with me like that.

I think he meant to say this:

http://cakeplow.com/uploaded_images/mybuddy.jpg

First My Little Pony, now My Buddy...the '80s live on at PF.com!

NBA.com Bulls Lament Missed Chances (http://www.nba.com/nba_news/bulls_chances_070508.html)
What is odd is that when you read the Chicago papers you would never know that the Bulls have won 31 home games this year.

LOL i said my button!! hahahaha. yeah i meant my buddy - and darth i had one of those!! wow what was i thinking.