2nd Round Game 5 - Chicago May 15th 8:00 PM

TV - TNT


Well, no sweep was in order for this series, however 5 games would be sufficient. The Bulls had too much pride and energy to succumb in Chi-Town. Will they be able to sustain that energy at the Palace?

Pistons take this series in five.............
Pistons win.............89-77...........
Time to move on...........:)

Rock the Baby Bulls to sleep!
100 - 85

I wonder how many games it will take us to beat the Spurs in the finals. Do you think in 6 games? Oh ... as you noticed, i am not worried about this siries and i am not worried about the siries with the CAVs

If Chris Webber shows up, we can beat the Spurs in less than 7.

well i'll be there doin my part. we might have another sign, maybe the same one...who knows. but looking forward to chicago getting their own 'hit the road jack' medicine.

I wonder how many games it will take us to beat the Spurs in the finals. Do you think in 6 games? Oh ... as you noticed, i am not worried about this siries and i am not worried about the siries with the CAVs

Lets hope the Pistons are not thinking like this. We don't want to see Chicago making history, being the first basketball team to come back from 0-3. The Pistons had better stay focused on the series at hand.

I am assuming that every Piston die-hard fan is sweating bullets right now frantically anticipating in what we hope is the eventual demise of the Chicago Bulls. Whoa, I sounded like Bill Walton there for a second. I believe that this game will be the most competitive game in the series, however Pistons will take control in the 4th to win by anywhere from 6-10 pts. Final Score Pistons 94 Bulls 86. You can take that to bank.

:lecturer:

I just got a co-worker of mine to give me the Bulls and 5-points tonight for a 6-pack of beer. So the anti-jinx is in.

I'm buying a Pistons victory for < $10!!

Hopefully that takes some of the pressure off you guys and you can watch the game stress-free.

I am assuming that every Piston die-hard fan is sweating bullets right now frantically anticipating in what we hope is the eventual demise of the Chicago Bulls.

I'm not worried. It's in the bag. I don't know how it will play out but the Pistons will win. Enjoy the game. :)

The crowd will be on the Bulls backs from start to finish...I don't think they can handle it, much less the Pistons. I'm certain the Pistons wanna take care of business tonight. The only thing that can stop them are whistles. Anyone know what crew Stern has dictated for tonight?

I'm sure Ben would like to kick back, happy that his season is done, and hit one of his favorite restaurants with his old buds. :)

Chat is open.

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

Not worried about the Pistons offense that much, but the first team to 90 wins this one. In fact as long as the Bulls score less than 85, the Pistons will win. Ok I am not worreid, but I am concerned..:nailbiting: ..

Looks like the fix is in, Bulls hack and knock over Pistons, no call.

Ridiculous as Billups gets his 4th foul for less contact than he is taking.

CWebb is killing us. He's less effective than Ben on offense.

I'm not worried. It's in the bag. I don't know how it will play out but the Pistons will win. Enjoy the game. :)

OK, I just got home and at the end of the third quarter I am shocked to see us down 20. No way in hell I thought this would happen!:gettinghanged::jaw:

I am extremely concerned here. I went from being totally confident before this game to having significant doubts about whether the Pistons can avoid pulling off the worst collapse in NBA playoff history. My confidence in this team has almost completely vanished, just in one evening.

Flip Saunders looks like he is gunna puke. I can smell the fear on him from all the way over here, across the river.

I can smell the fear on him from all the way over here, across the river.

I believe that's Old Spice. :captain:

CWebb is killing us. He's less effective than Ben on offense.

I haven't been able to watch the last couple of games...what has happened to CWebb since game 2? Have the Pistons gone away from actually feeding him in the low post, or is he overvaluing his own touches and looking too much to score?

Regardless, CWebb's production is not important as long as the Pistons are winning, but I'm not sure it would've mattered who showed up for the Pistons tonight if they are going to let the Bulls shoot 60%+ from the field for an entire game. It appears Gordon was just on fire from the field, and other Bulls stepped up in support. Is this just a hot shooting game that the fans can write off as a night it just wasn't meant to be for the Pistons, or do we really need to be worried about Game 6?

I am not going to work till Friday........

I can`t face those folks tomorrow.................:tsk:

OK, I just got home and at the end of the third quarter I am shocked to see us down 20. No way in hell I thought this would happen!:gettinghanged::jaw:
Likewise. I was not able to watch the game tonight, or even check the score until the beginning of the fourth quarter. When I saw the score on yahoo sports, I thought perhaps there was a mistake, and that yahoo had the numbers reversed. A real shock. Very difficult to understand the mentality that would allow this kind of a letdown (or overconfidence), particularly after what happened in the Cleveland series last year.

This is making my keyboard hurt.:mad:

Boy did the complexion of this series change quickly. The Pistons have lost the mental edge and the Bulls have all the confidence in the world. How can this team have such a split personality? No thanks to the refs in this game.

I am not going to work till Friday........

I can`t face those folks tomorrow.................:tsk:
Just remind them they are 'Zards fans.

Watched the second half. What a piece of crap game from the Pistons. Bulls got anything they wanted, made the extra (and extra) pass while the Pistons launched bad jump shot after bad jump shot.

I offer my kingdom for a low post threat.

bs calls.

chicago knows the way to beat the pistons is to take chauncey out.

rip needs to sit and put delfino / flip murray in because they drive to the hole. chicago is hiding ben gordon on defense by having him check rip. rip isn't a difficult defensive assignment.

webber needs to sit and put in maxiell.

lindsey never needs to touch the court in this series.

Why do I care so much how this team plays? It just puts me in a bad mood to see the Bulls tromp on the Pistons on their home court. Where is the fire in the belly that was so evident earlier in the series? Really do the Pistons only play well when they have their backs against the wall? Flip can't be blamed for this loss, the players have to execute and show some will to win. Letting the Bulls shoot 72% in the first half? They are a jump shooting team and they were looking like Hall of Fame players right down to riding the pine normally Chris Duhan. The Pistons start and stop with Rasheed and he just has to come out to play on Thursday and not let this thing go to 7 games, my heart can't take it. Also the bench needs to come in and play the way they are capable of, let the starters rest a bit more in the 1st half and trust the bench to carry some of the heavy lifting.

I'm disappointed but we have two chances to win one game. The Bulls have to be perfect.

I'm disappointed but we have two chances to win one game. The Bulls have to be perfect.

Agreed.

But, One can`t help to think about history being made. Coming back from a 3-0 deficit - with the Pistons being the team that was up.

That would be devestating to me, you, the city of Detroit, and the list goes on...............

I'm disappointed but we have two chances to win one game. The Bulls have to be perfect.

True, but two days ago we were anticipating a sweep. Now we're reduced to pointing out that we probably won't succumb to the worst collapse in playoffs history. That's...not good.

Flip Saunders looks like he is gunna puke. I can smell the fear on him from all the way over here, across the river.
I can smell it out here in California dude! Flip has flopped. The pressure was on the Pistons and they choked big time:mad:

It ain't over yet, the Bulls maybe able to pull off the sweep the hard way and the history will be made. Yeah the Pistons can go fishin ...NOT

Believe me the Bulls will more focused to take care of business on their own floor than we were tonight. Those Road Warriors better step up on Thursday or the momentum will surely be in the Bulls favor in game seven despite it being at the palace.

I said in the pregame chat that the first team to 90 would win...but wtf happen...well the Bulls hit the shots in the first half, (72%) gained the confidence and kept shooting in the second half to finish with 57%.

Not only did the they let Chicago dictate the tempo by hitting the shots and showing the energy in the first qtr, but they let the second tier guys like Tyrus Thomas get off with dunks (5-5 at one point) and left PJ Brown open to hit 7-9 uncontested shots. ben Gordon shot with reckless abandon and made most of them including 5-6 form the 3 point line. I thought he had more than the 28 that he finished with. Heinrich also picked apart our defense for 13 assists and timely shots to finish with 17.

Key to the game IMO was CB going out with four fouls with 7:32 left in the 3rd. The score was 70-62 and it appeared that the Pistons could cut that lead in half by the end of the qtr, but with Hunter replacing Billups, the Bulls put together a 12-2 run over the next 4 mins before Flip replaced Hunter with Flip jr. with about 3 mins left in the third qtr. The Bulls continued the run and finished with a 20-5 run before Billups reappeared at the end of the qtr, but the game was over then even with another 12 mins to go.

Don't jump off the bandwagon folks. we can still win this but it has to be in six...need the weekend off to rest for the Cavs. Just stop Gordon!!!

Billups gets 3 fouls in 4.5 minutes to start the 3rd.

Bulls go on a 20-5 run without Billups on the court (replaced by Hunter and Murray).

Hunter, 2 fouls in 4 minutes 15 seconds. Pistons only score 2 points during this time.

Billups gets 3 fouls in 4.5 minutes to start the 3rd.

Bulls go on a 20-5 run without Billups on the court (replaced by Hunter and Murray).

Hunter, 2 fouls in 4 minutes 15 seconds. Pistons only score 2 points during this time.


I agree, there were some bad calls. But I don't think you can blame this one on the refs. The Pistons played poorly. They are going to have to play better ball if they are going to advance.

Really interesting pressers. I'm happy I am recording them. Billups says they needed to make adjustments but didn't. Should have them up in an hour or so.

Last year I thought it was just Flips bad coaching that cost the Pistons against the Heat but this year I can't believe how stupid the players are. I mean didn't they learn ANYTHING from the series against Cleveland last year. They were in the Bulls heads after game three. They thrashed them for two in Detroit and erased a 19 point lead in game three to beat them,then in game four they just mailed it in. I mean even the players admit that in the papers. Maybe more of them should have stayed in college for the full four years. Now the Bulls have all of the confidence in the world and they are going home for the next game.
I have to think that Webber shouldn't start any more in this series, Max should start so someone will be attacking the basket to start the game and draw some fouls then bring Webber in when Chauncy sits and run the offense through him.
As for Kirk the flopper, his idea of defense is to fall down 24 times a game figuring that even if he only gets 25% of the calls his man will foul out.
Couldn't stand to watch the fourth quarter, I had to find something else to do just to keep from firing something at the TV. Too expensive these days and not as durable.

I couldn't stomach this one at all so I tuned out in the second half. I think the Bulls win a close Game 6 in Chicago and Detroit wins a close Game 7 back at The Palace, but having to go seven games is ridiculous. I think you have to give the Bulls some credit. They shot the lights out. 73 percent in the first half.

73 Percent but they were only up by 8.

This was a winnable game until the whistles came. We get zero respect from the zebras at home.

They are getting to the open floor. Why now and not before--I don't know. We made them drive in the first two games and they would throw it to Ben. Even the drives are more open but the key is that they are getting and hitting jumpers. The Pistons have to stop the jumpers even if it means giving them a drive here or there.

What worries me is that a young team may have found an answer to an older team. I hope that that isn't it and that good old fashion effort is what we need. I am as stunned as anyone by this game.

We too can press this team and make them frantic. We need to get back to business.

Part of their game plan is to drive and get fouled (we have to be selective as they are not good finishers). Why did Webber foul Ben Wallace? We are not playing smart. That is just one example. They also plan on running and taking the quick look. We have to be ready for that.

The offense was strained because we cannot score at that pace. We need to get Sheed on the block, get Chauncey into the lane some and please keep Rip from driving all the way to the hoop to get blocked.

Maxiel should get more playing time.

Tough loss to digest. I hope it is just a big blip and does not damage the playoff run. you have to be worried.

What a joke of a game...the complete opposite of how I felt this game would go. CB out on fouls didn't help (still played 34 minutes), but few Pistons played with much intensity at home...except for Jmax. Gordon lit it up tonight, Deng was steady, but TT put up some demoralizing play. The D was non-existent tonight.

Playing into lee's court...Murray & Hunter combined for 30 minutes, 0 points, 1 assist & 4 TO's...not that it really mattered anyway. This game was never within control of the Pistons.

Kenny The Jet postgame diagnosed the Pistons with 'phatcatitis' in being lackadaisical....can't disagree after tonight's disappointing turd.

I am now starting to worry some.

73 Percent but they were only up by 8.

This was a winnable game until the whistles came. We get zero respect from the zebras at home.

Really man? You think this came down to the refs? What about all the bad shots the Pistons took? What about the terrible defensive rotations as the Pistons bad version of the zone chased the ball around the court? Bad calls or no, the Stones are a veteran team and should be able to play through that.

You can't play through losing Billups as you make your move to grind it out, and then sub in Hunter for offense who then proceeds to get his 3rd foul in a total of 7 minutes.

D4E pointed out the FT discrepancy, and there was an advantage to the Pistons with fouls earned, but if you look at when the fouls were called, and on whom, we got absolutely slammed at one position out of 5.

Just so happens it is the most important position on our team.

Conspiracy or incompetence, there are no coincidences.

If this goes seven, the younger legs may win out and we know who has those. Whoever comes out smokin and gets a lead of more than 10 in the first half will win. The Pistons cannot afford to fall behind by double digits at anytime during game six.

The Pistons have fought the refs in all five games, but the last two have really been crucial with Billups forced to sit out major minutes when the game was on the line. Still the 60-70% shooting can't happen 3 games in a row. They would have shot 50% even if we had played some D.
Hold them to 45% in the game six and under 90pts and we win!!

A shame that both the Wings and Tigers can get road wins tonight vs two real good teams and the Pistons couldn't get the job done at home. All 3 teams will be on the road Thursday..lets hope they go 3-0 with of course a Pistons close out victory!!

My Holy Flip avatar has been a jinx.

Time to change up.

Please note, the negative comments directed toward fans are directed at detnews.com, where I copied this from. I think the fans on this board did a pretty good job of writing up the game, pretty much getting what is going on.

Next one is in Chicago. Don't expect the Pistons to win that one, because Flip Saunders will not adjust. Maybe in game 7, he might do something to save the day. Lets hope, because the guys he is choosing to play are the wrong ones.

Interesting. I read two boards worth of comments just now. This one missed the game apparently. Nobody is mentioning on this board (detnews.com)how badly we did whenever Billups sat due to foul trouble. If we lose this series, Flip and Dumars need to simply resign. The only way Dumars stays is if the owner, Bill Davidson, admits he tied Dumars hands by being cheap, and opens up the purse strings for next year. Otherwise, Dumars, while having all these great plans for the future, has failed to prepare for right now, and again, should resign.

Ok, maybe all that sounds kind of harsh. Maybe we will manage to win the series yet. I will certainly be rooting like crazy the next game hoping for a Pistons victory. But with a fan base that accepts mediocraty, it really does not help much. The fans have basically let Dumars and Flip do what they will, cheering them on mightily, even though we have no bench. They cheered on the hype. Hey, we have no bench. Any fan who really cares should start hollering about it.

Sheed did hold up some on the 3's tonight. Good. But he did not get inside much either. Webber managed a couple of dunks, a couple of free throws, but in all, he hurt us bad. Not near enough points to make up for his lack of presence in the middle. Just can't get over to help out. And Dyess, not helpful at all in this series so far. He comes in and does what, puts up more outside shots, making it all worse. We need post players coming in, not jump shooters. And again, Dyess can't get over either. Worse still, Flip Saunders actually kept going to this combo, apparently unaware, even much of a season worth of proof, that the combo will not work on defense.

Prince did ok, but with too little help behind him, Deng was killing him. Worse, they bring in Delfino to back up Tay, out of position at small forward. This will not work. Delfino needs to play guard in this series, and of course will need help guarding his guy-but so what. Zones are designed for that. People can get help last I checked. I though it was comical of Flip Murray by the way to take out Flip Murray, and Delfino at the same time. He just does not understand that Flip Murray can't play basketball. Flip Murray fans, hey, I am sorry, but the guy just is lost on his defensive assignments, and does not know how to play with the team on offense. He did do a couple of things right, in many, many minutes of play. Getting inside and dishing a few times hardly makes up for all the times he did nothing with the ball. But again, the fans here apparently like to cheer, and ignore the many times down Flip Murray does nothing as a point. Cheer on if you wish, it won't help make him a point guard.

Hunter came on for a couple of minutes at the end of the first half and gave us some good D. But that is about the extent of what Hunter can give us these days. A couple of good minutes. Beyond that, he hurts us. Too slow. Too old. And did I mention, he is the NBA's all time worst shooter in the playoffs. And is apparently bent on cementing his record real good this season.

Tay, Billups, and Rip all did well enough on offense. On defense, hey, they were not that great-but a lot of that is who is playing behind you. Our best stretch of the game was early 2nd quarter, where we got back into the game. Who was playing the net? Sheed and JMAX. Two good defenders who make each other better. Dale Davis absolutely should be joining these two in the rotation to give us better defense. Dyess and Webber can sit out until next series. By the way. Amir Johnson also would work great in this series. Someone asked how long it would take to incorporate the new players. I say no time at all. Amir is quick, tall, and has very good basketball IQ. Good players I am not worried about. Its guys like Flip, who wil never learn the game, and Hunter, who is too old and slow to play the game anymore, that I am worried about. With those two the rotation, we will never be any good. Play Amir. Move Delfino to the backcourt. Or lose the series.

In other words, Flip has to adjust. Will he is the question.

I watched some of the Wings game tonight. I got to say, that was one exciting game to watch. Wish I had time to watch more. But no, I will stick to basketball. GO PISTONS!!!!! WIN!!!!!

That was a GREAT avatar. I will miss it. :pound:

Can someone please tell the team that you don't get to go to the next round unless you win 4 games before the other team? :rolleyes:

Post game press interviews (MP3 audio) can be found here (http://www.pistonsforum.com/detroit-pistons-general-discussion/6578-pistons-bulls-game-5-post-game-pressers.html).

These last two games were really upsetting. The first loss was written off as "Chicago gotta have a win in a series" and "Detroit will take care of business at home". I don't think we can write this loss at all. Are the Pistons not putting in the effort or Chicago is not as bad as we all thought and the tide has turned? With this Pistons team we'll never know. Who's to say that it wasn't all they could give? Maybe not. I don't want to talk gloom and doom, but there has to be doubt. This is not the first time that this is happening to this team. I love them and a 100% behind the team hoping for a win in every game. But this is just not looking good.

This game was just absolutely crazy. I don't think there is a better word in the English dictionary to describe it. I now know how the Chicago fans felt during and after Games 1 and 2. Not a good feeling...But I suppose we should take the "No use crying over spilled milk" motto and suck it up, huh? Game 6, which seemed so improbable to everyone a week ago is now huge. The only comfort I can take going into Thursday is that the Pistons seem to play well when their backs are against the wall. Here's to once again playing with passion, focus, fire, and intensity! CHEERS!:cheers:

P.S. I don't know if you all have heard this song yet, but if you haven't (or even if you have and would like to hear it again) here's the link:

http://a1135.g.akamai.net/f/1135/23302/1h/cchannel.download.akamai.com/23302/nwblonde.wmv

Let's keep the DEEE-TROOOIIIT! BAAA-SKET-BAAALL! spirit alive people!

This game was just absolutely crazy. I don't think there is a better word in the English dictionary to describe it. I now know how the Chicago fans felt during and after Games 1 and 2. Not a good feeling...But I suppose we should take the "No use crying over spilled milk" motto and suck it up, huh? Game 6, which seemed so improbable to everyone a week ago is now huge. The only comfort I can take going into Thursday is that the Pistons seem to play well when their backs are against the wall. Here's to once again playing with passion, focus, fire, and intensity! CHEERS!:cheers:

P.S. I don't know if you all have heard this song yet, but if you haven't (or even if you have and would like to hear it again) here's the link:

http://a1135.g.akamai.net/f/1135/23302/1h/cchannel.download.akamai.com/23302/nwblonde.wmv

Let's keep the DEEE-TROOOIIIT! BAAA-SKET-BAAALL! spirit alive people!
They play well with their backs against the wall when there's gas left in tank. Is there any left? I sure hope they have enough to turn the tide. Otherwise this is going to be the most disappointing year I can remember.

i do think the refs made it harder to win this game, but their calls (esp. the ones against chauncey in the third) didn't make it impossible.

our players were still making decisions, on every play both offensively and defensively, and many of them were bad decisions.

the bulls heating up (as compared to the first two games and the second half of the third) should make the games close, but it shouldn't lead to a chicago blow-out.

what drove me crazy last night, more than anything, was our utter paralysis on offense: nobody was moving, play after play: rip one on one while the other four guys stand still ont he other side of the floor, sheed one on one on the block while the other four guys stand still on the other side of the floor, tay one on one on the lbock while the other four guys stand still on the other side of the floor, chauncey one on one from the toop of the key while the two guys stand still on either side of him. NO MOVEMENT WITHOUT THE BALL AND NO MOVEMENT OF THE BALL. chicago's a good defensive team, but we made it easy too easy for them.

this was key, for example, when we had the score at 68-62 with the ball: rip took a bad shot (i don't remember where the other four guys were, but probably they were standing still on the other side of hte floor), chi rebounded and scored, then, yes, cb got his fourth foul and it was the beginning of the end. but even then, down 8 or 10, without cb, they still could have played like the veteran team they are and remembered to run an offense.

and this adjustment -- to actually put some effort in on offense -- is on theh players on the floor. they'll do it on thursday and we'll win, or they won't and we'll lose (a close one if chicago shoots normally, a blow out if they shoot like they did on tuesday).

Warthog, if you read this, I'm wondering if those were Booos I heard at the end of the game.

How was the Palace atmosphere in the 4th Q?

don't want to say nothing but oh no. are we in trouble ?

I don't think we can write this loss at all. Are the Pistons not putting in the effort or Chicago is not as bad as we all thought

i'd say both are true. after all, chicago just missed being the two seed in the east as a result of their play over 82 games. that's not a fluke. and miami may be weak, but they still swept themm with ease. they are young and quick, have some good shooters, and play pretty well within their limitations for the most part.

at the same time, the pistons clearly have not put in the effort (at least, in my view, not the mental effort) in the past two games except for brief periods and have not played to their strengths.

the heartbreaking thing for me is that their 7-0 run to start the playoffs made me kind of forget how the typical pistons playoff run goes. i don't remmeber my prediction now in theh playoff bracket, but i'd probably have said, before the playoffs, that we'd be 3-2 against chicago at this point and i'd have been fine with it. but i'm not fine with it now and it's cause those jerks got my hopes up that they were gonna make the playoffs easy on me this year. so much for that.

well, yesterday just plain sucked. i got a flat tire and had to switch cars. on the way to the palace, on i-75 it was such a downpour of hail and rain drops the size of spit, that i couldn't see 5 feet in front of me driving...FROM RAIN. then when i got home our cable was out so i couldn't watch tv or go on the internet. the weather was bad enough during stretches that even with an 8 PM start people were still late getting there.

from the beginning the atmosphere was not as electric as games 1 and 2. everyone figured close-out game, we got this. the bulls making their first basket was bad. yeah there were some BS calls in the 3rd, and if chauncey stayed in the game i believe we would've pulled it out, but really we lost the game in the 1st quarter. we let the bulls shoot whatever they wanted, drive the lane with no help, didn't give hard fouls, didn't even contest shots. as soon as the bulls get confident, you have a problem, and well, we gave ourselves a big problem.

the fans and pistons got ultra-frustrated in the 3rd, because the pistons kept driving to the lane with 0 calls, while the pistons got called for ticky-tack crap on the other end. i still can't believe they called chauncey for the offensive foul, as hinrich clearly flopped (and did a couple other times during the game), but chauncey also tries too hard to draw those fouls sometimes. now that's 2 straight games that our comeback was stopped by a billups charge.

there were a few times that the crowd was trying to get into the game, but then the bulls would hit another shot and we'd all say 'STOP MAKING THEM!!' and get quiet again. but honestly, pistons fans are smart, and we get quiet when we get p1ssed off. when do we get upset? when the pistons don't play defense and give up easy baskets. other arenas might get quiet for other reasons, but the pistons crowd stops caring when it's clear the pistons aren't putting the required effort out there.

the pistons figured, hey it's game 5, the bulls can't handle the pressure, they'll buckle early and we'll take the game running away. even after the game 4 loss, and being down by 19 in the 3rd, they STILL took this game for granted, and admitted to not making any adjustements! if you look at the 20 quarters of basketball played, yeah we're up 3-2 in the series but it's basically been 10 to 10, which is what scares me more than anything, especially since they have the momentum.

webber actually wasn't terrible, but he's being underutilized. like tayshaun. tay was 4/4 in the 3rd quarter, and then chauncey got out and tay never got the ball again. annoying.

at this point i'd seriously start maxiell over webber, have dale davis be the first sub (and early) so he can regulate, and then play amir johnson over dice the rest of the way. dale should be playing in this series, and doing what he did to orlando - REGULATING. maxiell is outplaying the bulls' big men, and dice/webber are so mentally screwed that we might as well put amir johnson in there, who you know is going to fight for rebounds and play hard. heck you could even put him in at the 3. either way, flip murray and lindsey hunter should not see another MINUTE the rest of the series. let AJ backup tay, and delfino backup rip/chauncey. and the point about not having a deep bench being our problem? that's horse poop. if our STARTERS were doing their job this wouldn't be a problem!!!!

at 6 minutes left in the 4th, just about everyone left. there were a scattering of boos at that point, and a lot more at the end of the game, although the arena was so quiet at that point, it could've been one fan doing it and you would have heard them. so roscoe, to answer your question, the atmosphere was of anger in the 3rd, and of apathy in the 4th. i sat back and relaxed and played my Nintendo DS for the final 6 minutes (and of course my friends' DS battery died so we couldn't multiplayer), and even that was frustrating as i kept falling into this stupid lava and missing easy platform jumps.

we even got to witness a near fight 5 feet away from us. these two obnoxious kids were standing up and cheering during the 3rd quarter, trying to encourage everyone else to do the same, but 1 - palace fans don't stand up unless it's the last minute of a game, and 2 - we were down 22 points and no one's gonna stand up for that. so people in back were yelling 'DOWN IN FRONT!', but they kept standing (and one i don't think understood english anyway). so ushers and security got involved, and this kid is yelling at one of the security guys saying he's not doing anything wrong by standing. then this old guy who thought he was cool decided to get involved, even though he was one section over and 2 rows in front of this kid and completely unaffected by the whole situation. he got in the kid's face and was yelling at him, telling him he shouldn't be blocking people's view, etc., and they nearly came to blows. this went on for about 10 minutes and was about the most entertaining part of the whole day.

ugh. i'm taping thursday's game and not even watching if they lose.

oh and one other thing - pistons assistant coach kevin wilson came on the radio after the game and basically placed a bunch of blame on the palace crowd for being too quiet, and that it was 'quieter than orlando and chicago by far', and he doesn't understand it. well guess what - GIVE US SOMETHING TO CHEER ABOUT!! like i said earlier, if we're not playing defense the fans know it and they stop cheering. we're not the ones on the court sucking.

How fragile are the Pistons after this beat down? Game 6 will show whether they have the heart of a champion. The turn off/turn on mentality of this team is unfrigginbelievable. Does a coach have to tell savvy vets how to defend and stay in front of their man? They should be ashamed allowing 70% from the floor.

Not bailing on them, just frustrated with the unacceptable play.

This pistons team is capable of some historic %%%% ups. I mean for all the experience, talent, athleticism, we seem to pull out some incredible lameness.

Warthog...great stuff. Always enjoy your Palace recaps. What you said about Maxiell playing makes a lot of sense. I hope Flip can see he needs to adjust to this situation...I just jumped over to his side of the fence and I'm ready to climb back to the other side.

I hope Flip can see he needs to adjust to this situation...I just jumped over to his side of the fence and I'm ready to climb back to the other side.
LMAO! me too!!!:pound:

Thanks for the palace "hog blog". I agree that we need to shake it up an actvate AJ just to see if he can bring something new to the fold. If Cwebb and Dice stink it up bring in Davis, Max and AJ if necessary much sooner than later instead of waiting to see what our underachivers are going to do. In fact since we paid Nazr a lot of cash, might as well put him out there for 2-3 minuets if necessary, after all he outscored Hunter, Murray and Delfino last night in the 3 minutes of garbage time. We only got 48 minutes to figure it out who's bringing what to the table.

The season dare I say may only be another two games:messer: , so I hope the players are concerned as the pressure is on the Pistons not the Bulls.

That false sense of security was not unique to you, professor. I let my true amateur colors fly when Detroit killed Chicago in the first two games and then flipped "the switch" to the ON position in the second half of Game 3. I was as giddy as a school girl when Detroit went up 3-0. I still have confidence that the Pistons will win the series in Chicago, though.

"They play well with their backs against the wall when there's gas left in tank. Is there any left? I sure hope they have enough to turn the tide. Otherwise this is going to be the most disappointing year I can remember" ~mikhail

Don't know if they have a full tank but even if it's at the half way mark, here's to looking at it as half full and to Detroit getting back to playing that good ol' DEEE-TROOOIIIIT! BAAA-SKET-BAAALL! CHEERS!:cheers:

I feel so sick right now I can't even stomach reading all the comments. Time to block that game out.

Credit to the Bulls, a jump-shooting team is sooner or later going to have an excellent shooting game. Even excellent would have been ok. That was just nuts.
It was just unlucky they happened to do it on our floor. If they had of played like this in game 3 or 4, wouldn't have mattered so much.

But still, we were keeping in the game to our guys credit until Billups had to sit. We weren't playing that bad at that point, it was down to 6. No home cooking, whats up with that? The Bulls flop like fish out of water, and the damn refs eat it up. Perhaps we will have to adjust and limit to Chauncey iso's.

Ok, backs against the wall time. People will start doubting the Pistons again, time to win one on the road. Is that what you want guys?? (Piston players)

Its getting annoying, this whole can't win without a chip/reason. Get over it already and close this thing out.

I hope Flip can see he needs to adjust to this situation...I just jumped over to his side of the fence and I'm ready to climb back to the other side.Me three!

It'll be interesting to see if Flip makes ANY adjustment tomorrow night besides opting for extra crispy instead of the original recipe.

The Bulls flop like fish out of water, and the damn refs eat it up. Perhaps we will have to adjust and limit to Chauncey iso's.Excellent point...don't give the refs the opportunity to take him outta the game again.

I predicted a 4-2 series win for the Pistons in the first place. I did not think that the Pistons would win in 6 after being up 3-0.

Hopefully the Pistons come out strong.

himat, not to put any pressure on you because I know you have school commitments, but we were doing a lot better when you were updating the preview threads with the matchup winners each game. :thumb: