Pistons/Magic 2nd Round Game 2, May 5th, 7:00 PM

TV - TNT

Flip Saunders did a marvelous job coaching game 1 of this series, however, was it the real Flip? The Pistons seem to have snapped out of their stupor, and is playing at a very high level.

Some barbs were exchanged after game 1 between players; hey this may get real interesting before it`s over!!!!!!



NBA.com Spicing it up: Magic and Pistons trade barbs before Game 2 (http://www.nba.com/games/20080505/ORLDET/preview.html)

okay i had to miss the 1st game but i'm not missing this one!! i'll be back at the palace and hoping to see another blowout.

Anybody think the Magic threw game 1? Think about it. What better way to beat the Pistons than to get them back into their "too good for you" malaise that they get when they know they can beat you? So you throw the Pistons a game 1 blowout, then win game 2 when the Stones don't show up to get home court. Then its back to Orlando with homecourt and momentum. You only need to win one game on the road. I mean, Orlando is not nearly as bad as they showed in game 1. It seemed like DHoward and the 3pt bombadiers were really not trying to assert themselves at all. I think we're going to see a completely different Magic team tonight!

Conspiracy theorists unite! Come on, man.

Pistons/Magic 2nd Round Game 2, May 5th, 7:00 PM

TV - TNT

Flip Saunders did a marvelous job coaching game 1 of this series, however, was it the real Flip? The Pistons seem to have snapped out of their stupor, and is playing at a very high level.

Some barbs were exchanged after game 1 between players; hey this may get real interesting before it`s over!!!!!!



NBA.com Spicing it up: Magic and Pistons trade barbs before Game 2 (http://www.nba.com/games/20080505/ORLDET/preview.html)

I read this. I think Ratliff should keep his mouth shut, but that's just me. It's not like Theo is out there battling most of the game. I hate when the Pistons take the media's bait. Be professional and do your job.

no, i don't believe Magic threw this game away to get game two. However, i don't think lot of the win was because of an excellent Pistons defense. Some of it was because of Magic's lack of concentration or Luck. They missed some wide open 3 pointer shots. I don't think game two will be that easy if the pistons play as they played in game 1

Theo got fouled by Lewis and he had a response. He wasn't talking as much mess as the magic were, so why does he need to be quiet?? You are ackin like this is the Wiz-Cav's series where these guys are on TV talking trash knowing they are the underdogs or something.

Conspiracy theorists unite! Come on, man.

Ah, but if they were actually thinking about how to win the series, this would be the way! Regardless of whether they planned it or not, this may be the result if we see the same old Pistons garbage of the past couple of years. Let's see what sort of effort Detroit gives tonight.

Although I don't think the Magic fixed game 1, I do agree that they are a much better team than what we saw on Saturday. I expect more scoring from Lewis, more deep bombs from Turk, and improved play from Dwight "little legs" Howard.

If the Pistons stay focused, we should still win tonight. If the Pistons have some more good luck, it could be another blowout.

There was some talk in the Game 1 thread about JMax coming out early in the first quarter, only 6 minutes in, but I didn't see anyone posting Flip's comments on it from the postgame press conference, which were mentioned on DetroitBadBoys:


“[The] big thing is we try to send a lot of bodies at [Howard]. And we wanted to keep a fresh body on him all the time,” said Saunders. “I took Maxey out, I think five minutes, six minutes into the game. Some of the guys on the bench are saying, ‘Why take him out?’ I said because I want to keep somebody fresh on him, and our guys have to know that they don’t have to play 10 minutes, they can play six minutes and they can go as hard as they can, and hopefully what it’ll do is when you get in the third and fourth quarter, it’ll wear him down.”


Obviously that worked quite well, so it'll be interesting to see how the big man rotations go tonight.

There was some talk in the Game 1 thread about JMax coming out early in the first quarter, only 6 minutes in, but I didn't see anyone posting Flip's comments on it from the postgame press conference, which were mentioned on DetroitBadBoys:



Obviously that worked quite well, so it'll be interesting to see how the big man rotations go tonight.

So this shows the good and bad of Flip right there.... Great idea.... but why didn't he mention it to the players ahead of time...

There was some talk in the Game 1 thread about JMax coming out early in the first quarter, only 6 minutes in, but I didn't see anyone posting Flip's comments on it from the postgame press conference, which were mentioned on DetroitBadBoys:



Obviously that worked quite well, so it'll be interesting to see how the big man rotations go tonight.

This is the way all our rotations should be. 6-8 minutes at a time; Balls Out.

Sign of the apocalypse, I agreed with pretty much every move Flip made all game.

Scary.

Sign of the apocalypse, I agreed with pretty much every move Flip made all game.

Scary.

True-dat st8!

Our little twitching head coach seemed to come of age right before our eyes last game.

Keep it up Flip!

Great idea.... but why didn't he mention it to the players ahead of time...

That's a good point. If the player thinks he is getting 12 minutes, then he will pace himself accordingly. If Flip told him that he would get 6, you think he would play harder.

Oh well. Still a good idea by our coach overall. He's full of them lately.

Is it possible the Pistons will "fix" game two and lose on purpose?

Is it possible the Pistons will "fix" game two and lose on purpose?

no see that's reserved for game 3 or 4. they probably get a bonus from mr. d for all of the extra revenue game 5 brings in. :D

9.1 DR
The big win goes to their head. Need to stay focused.
Magic will shoot lights out in game 3 and 4
Flip has the horses now - no excuses.

Anybody think the Magic threw game 1? Think about it. What better way to beat the Pistons than to get them back into their "too good for you" malaise that they get when they know they can beat you? So you throw the Pistons a game 1 blowout, then win game 2 when the Stones don't show up to get home court. Then its back to Orlando with homecourt and momentum. You only need to win one game on the road. I mean, Orlando is not nearly as bad as they showed in game 1. It seemed like DHoward and the 3pt bombadiers were really not trying to assert themselves at all. I think we're going to see a completely different Magic team tonight!

Yeah right...........

Pistons by 16 tonight!!!!!!:MusicBigGrin:

I bet they throw the first 4 games and then realize their mistake.

All four Around The Horn guys say that this series is over and the Pistons will win in 5 or 6. I can only hope that both teams were on the floor practicing or away from a TV and didn't see this. Last thing we need is for our guys to believe "we got this" after game 1 and suffer through a 7 game series or for the Magic to see it and use if for bulletin board lockeroom fodder.

I asked Dee Brown if that was a ploy that worked, veterans ragging on the young team to get in their heads and make them play our game instead of theirs. Worked on the Mavs last year against the Warriors. He thought that would be the real case instead of getting into a pissing match.

There was some talk in the Game 1 thread about JMax coming out early in the first quarter, only 6 minutes in, but I didn't see anyone posting Flip's comments on it from the postgame press conference, which were mentioned on DetroitBadBoys:

Obviously that worked quite well, so it'll be interesting to see how the big man rotations go tonight.
I called this in the chat. Flip was giving DHo multiple looks. It's the oldest trick in the book, to take a star off his game. Never let him get comfortable. The Pistons used to do this to Jordan.

That's a good point. If the player thinks he is getting 12 minutes, then he will pace himself accordingly. If Flip told him that he would get 6, you think he would play harder.

Oh well. Still a good idea by our coach overall. He's full of them lately.
I'm no Flip lover, but I certainly think you're over-thinking this. It worked out awesome, because just before Maxey got pulled, he blocked Dwight on a post up through natural aggression, not from trying too hard, and possibly picking up needless fouls.

You guys are giving Flip a lot of credit for winning the opening game of a series. Maybe his rotations were good, but Orlando is going to make some adjustments to what Detroit did in game one.

SO... CAN Flip make in game adjustments to what Orlando does tonight to counter what Detroit did to them in game one. If the team falls asleep, let's see what he does to wake them up. If Flip can do that these things then I think maybe he deserves some credit for learning how to coach. Until then, I still think he hasn't shown much, if anything.

Maybe this is harsh, but after two years of crap, I think we need to see more. Lots more.

Detroit beat a crappy Philly team and this orlando team is nothing to write home about. I'm going to wait until I see more.

Not trying to be negative...really. But I am cynical.

Not trying to be negative...really. But I am cynical.
And starchy!


CHAT IS OPEN!!!!

* link removed *

:)

WHEW! That was close...

Linwood's Recap:

With about 5:00 minutes left in the 4th quarter, I predicted a Pistons win.

I was right.

Linwood's Recap:

With about 5:00 minutes left in the 4th quarter, I predicted a Pistons win.

I was right.

So what. I predicted the same thing with 10.6 seconds left.:MusicBigGrin:

Detroit beat a crappy Philly team and this orlando team is nothing to write home about. I'm going to wait until I see more.




I agree. All sports teams from Philly are crappy.

CYEAH WE WON
anyone read --- gundys lips after the buzer lol

Only Tay played "playoff minutes", rest of team had their normal share.

God bless not so well oiled clock, it helped not so well oiled team to win.

Nothing like letting them have some confidence.

Linwood's Recap:

With about 5:00 minutes left in the 4th quarter, I predicted a Pistons win.

I was right.

Yeah with the Pistons up 87-86, and CB at the line, I said the first team to 89 would win and the game would be won at the FT line...well the last 13 points were scored at the FT line

Pistons got a break, but that's not why Orlando lost the game. Pistons gave them multiple chances to tie it up or go ahead, but Lewis turned it over a few times in the end and there went Orlando's chances.
Pistons got through the foul trouble to their bigs. Overall lots of calls from the refs both ways. Dyess fouled out as well as Nelson. Bench played major minutes in the 2nd quarter allowing starters to be more rested in the 4th. As Lee would say, the game was won in the 2nd quarter when starters got their rest.

Yeah with the Pistons up 87-86, and CB at the line, I said the first team to 89 would win and the game would be won at the FT line...well the last 13 points were scored at the FT line

I think we should start a consulting firm predicting futures.

I liked how Chauncey got clobbered, shook it off, and calmly hit both of his free throws. From the replay it looked like the back of his head might have bounced off the floor. Ouch.

The third quarter almost killed the Pistons tonight. They were cheating off shooters on every pick and roll, and the Magic hit a barrage of 3s to make them pay for it. The defense was a lot more effective once they stopped leaving everyone open to stop penetration that hadn't even been particularly deadly or anything. Rip bricking everything was a big liability, although everyone in the frontcourt made up for it by making almost everything. Sheed and Tay were 15-23, and JMax and Dice were a combined 7-7!

AA and Stuckey actually played together for most of the 2nd quarter and did a nice job, although Stuckey was pretty bad in the 2nd half. But it probably helped down the stretch; neither CB nor Rip played more than 35 minutes. Actually, aside from Tay at 44 minutes, no one else played more than 35. Orlando had 3 guys over 40 minutes, and Jameer probably would have been close to that if he hadn't fouled out. Bogans was kind of the escape goat for them tonight...27 minutes, 0 points, and 5 fouls?! Ouch.

Gutsy win, but I think the Magic are going to be pretty tough down in O-Town.

Pistons have to play much better D if they want to go far in this playoff. They had the Magic down and let them come back w/ shoddy play. They may come back 2-2 if this continues down South.

Looked like another coaching gem by Flip. Obviously, lip readers could see that Van Undies got all up in a bunch after the final buzzer...:)

I think we should start a consulting firm predicting futures.I think you should keep your day job :D

One thing for certain they will throw up more threes in game 3 & 4, so we have to defend the arc better. Can't give up any more 36 point qtrs either.

Despite their 11 three pointers, the Magic had 19 TO's and the Pistons picked up 22 pts off those TO's.

Once again 15 point leads are not safe enough. especially with a team of 3 point artists. Should have had a 20 pt half time lead but we faded at the end of the second qtr.

Very good sign when Orlando pretty much brings their A- game ( except for the TO's ) and the Pistons still find a way to win with lets say less than perfect games from 3 of the starters.

Howard had a near 20-20 game, their 3-pt shots were falling. Pistons won this on 4th quarter execution. Granted they did get some help from Lewis and Turkoglu with their carless passes but have to give the Pistons some credit for taking advantage of it.

I was a little upset with some of the dirty play in the one from the Magic. Did Bogans intentionally throw himself in front of Billups causing him to trip? Kind of looked like it to me. Plus the smirk grin on Bogans face told a lot. Maybe its just me.

We are going to hear a lot about the Billups 3 when the clock never started. It was a gift but you don't know how that effected the game. Maybe if the clock was running then the play would have been setup earlier or the Pistons would simply have made up the extra ground. At any rate, Magic fans can deduct it from all the crap superstar calls Howard was getting. They are still way ahead on that one.

Pistons up 2-0 rack it.

ESPN - Orlando vs. Detroit - Box Score - May 05, 2008 (http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=280505008)

The TNT play-by-play announcers made a big deal (more than once) of the Pistons' three-pointer at the conclusion of the third quarter, which they concluded should not have counted. That Pistons possession had started with just over 5 seconds left on the game clock, which froze at 4.8 (or was it 4.1) seconds, and the refs were left to make their best judgment on whether time had really expired just before Billups fired his three. The announcers timed the possession themselves with the aid of video replay and concluded that it had expired, by a few tenths of a second. But the other side of the clock snafu is that whoever fed Billups for the three (was it Ratliff?) might have relied on what he saw on game clock when he decided to pass rather than take a two-point shot. So disallowing Billups's basket would not have been a perfect solution either, even if the refs had correctly guessed that time really had expired. In any event, it was sheer speculation for the announcer (Fratello?) to suggest that a third quarter call could have altered the outcome of the game.

What was van Gundy so exercised about at the end of the game (with his f.b. double expletive)? Was he still angry about Billups's three-pointer at the end of the third? Some foul calls at the end of the game?

What was van Gundy so exercised about at the end of the game (with his f.b. double expletive)? Was he still angry about Billups's three-pointer at the end of the third? Some foul calls at the end of the game?

He likely thought Hedo was fouled with about 10 secs to go.

What was van Gundy so exercised about at the end of the game (with his f.b. double expletive)? Was he still angry about Billups's three-pointer at the end of the third? Some foul calls at the end of the game?

I would guess at some of the poor execution from his team at the end there.

What was van Gundy so exercised about at the end of the game (with his f.b. double expletive)? Was he still angry about Billups's three-pointer at the end of the third? Some foul calls at the end of the game?

I think he was made about the no-call of Ratliff hacking Turkeyglue with 11 seconds left.

On the shot clock...

It's really no big deal. It's the same as any other call in the game. Phantom fouls, no calls, etc. Plus, you know, it's not like they hit the button at the exact second on every other possession anyhow. So really there may have been a few more seconds remaining. Also, had the Pistons missed the shot, it could have changed other things.

I remember as a kid hanging around the hockey rink and sitting in the box with a friend who worked the time clock. The guy used to clip a couple minutes off of each period so he could get off work earlier. For example, when it would switch from like 18:00 to 17:00 he would clip it to 16:00. He never got caught. I didn't like that he did it, but you know, what could I do? Anyhow, a guy took a shot and scored and a big argument ensued as to whether time had expired. Fortunately, they decided it counted, but you know really there were two whole minutes left...

Not sure what my point is, other than stuff happens...:MusicBigGrin:

Home cookin'

Billups' 28 points and disputed shot lifts Pistons to win - NBA - Yahoo! Sports (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap;_ylt=AkZ1DNqdChdX5A9kUVWqkis5nYcB?gid=200805 0508&prov=ap)

I remember as a kid hanging around the hockey rink and sitting in the box with a friend who worked the time clock. The guy used to clip a couple minutes off of each period so he could get off work earlier. For example, when it would switch from like 18:00 to 17:00 he would clip it to 16:00. He never got caught. I didn't like that he did it, but you know, what could I do? Anyhow, a guy took a shot and scored and a big argument ensued as to whether time had expired. Fortunately, they decided it counted, but you know really there were two whole minutes left...

Not sure what my point is, other than stuff happens...:MusicBigGrin:
That's a great story!:pound::pound::pound:

The TNT play-by-play announcers made a big deal (more than once) of the Pistons' three-pointer at the conclusion of the third quarter, which they concluded should not have counted. That Pistons possession had started with just over 5 seconds left on the game clock, which froze at 4.8 (or was it 4.1) seconds, and the refs were left to make their best judgment on whether time had really expired just before Billups fired his three. The announcers timed the possession themselves with the aid of video replay and concluded that it had expired, by a few tenths of a second. But the other side of the clock snafu is that whoever fed Billups for the three (was it Ratliff?) might have relied on what he saw on game clock when he decided to pass rather than take a two-point shot. So disallowing Billups's basket would not have been a perfect solution either, even if the refs had correctly guessed that time really had expired. In any event, it was sheer speculation for the announcer (Fratello?) to suggest that a third quarter call could have altered the outcome of the game.Good point. I was running a play clock in my head and wondering why that pass was made, expecting the buzzer to go off. I thought it was Rip that passed off, but it was actually Stuckey (thanks for the correction D4E). He must have been looking at the clock figuring he had time to defer to Chauncey.

It's annoying that the national coverage is going to focus on that shot and literally nothing else about the game, but whatever. The Pistons will still have a chance to put the hammer blow down in Game 3.

Just looking at the box score the stat that jumps out at me is what Tay did tonight.

He actually led the team in rebounds and assists!!

Ten rebounds for Tay, wow........I didn`t realize he had 10 rebounds.

He also added 17 points and 2 steals. Max also stood out going 5-5 from the floor, with three rejects...........

Nice win Go Pistons!!!!

I liked how the Magic stuck to their guns and kept firing 3s. They weren't getting into the paint.
All that can change in Or. cause Sheed will likely foul out. The paint will open up for them. So that means we must bring our 3s to Or.

I liked how the Magic stuck to their guns and kept firing 3s. They weren't getting into the paint.
All that can change in Or. cause Sheed will likely foul out. The paint will open up for them. So that means we must bring our 3s to Or.


Funny that when they started their 3 point barrage we didn't panic ans start throwing up threes ourselves and stuck to the short jumpers in the paint...other wise they could have gone up 7-8 pts. For about six mins or so we were trading 2's for their 3's.....still if I were Flip I may have called a TO to yell and twitch at someone about the perimeter defense. 36 pts%^&%

Very good sign when Orlando pretty much brings their A- game ( except for the TO's ) and the Pistons still find a way to win with lets say less than perfect games from 3 of the starters.

I like the fact that, as you say, Orlando brought their A- game tonight, because this was good preparation for what we are likely to see in Orlando. Game 1 was probably not a good indication of how the Magic will play at home. We may see Orlando's A game in game 3, which means we will have to turn it up a notch to come out victorious.

You know I'll take a 3 before a charge thru the paint any day. We'll need to match their 3s in Or.

It's annoying that the national coverage is going to focus on that shot and literally nothing else about the game, but whatever. The Pistons will still have a chance to put the hammer blow down in Game 3.
It's a little goofy to get so worked up about a single 3-point shot when your team lost by 7.

OrlandoSentinel.com (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/basketball/magic/orl-magic-pistons-officials-poll,0,7990124,post.poll)
That's what Orlando fans think about this game.

36 pts in the 3rd quarter ?! :swear2:

Were we asleep?

I haven't watched yet, but from looking at the box score Tay played almost the whole game, and AA was a +8 in limited min. Makes sense to try him in at SF, lord knows our perimeter defense looked like it needed him.

I read the NBA BS article. It's so stupid this is even getting media coverage. Do you know how many times there's a bad call during the game that gives a player 2 or 3 FT's? And it wasn't even in the 4th!

We are going to have to play a hell of alot better in ORL. Looks like they're pissed already from the supposed "talking" and this will just add incentive.

Howard had 22/18. Absolutely sick.

Tay can't keep playing these minutes for ORL, and it doesn't look like Hermann is the solution ?, although i think he looked rusty and out of game shape in that 1st game.

VanGuns has a point. Home cookin' don't play anywhere. And it was tied at the time.
Fix the clock. Then start over, our ball still.
That's funny 75% think they got robbed.

The third quarter almost killed the Pistons tonight. They were cheating off shooters on every pick and roll, and the Magic hit a barrage of 3s to make them pay for it. The defense was a lot more effective once they stopped leaving everyone open to stop penetration that hadn't even been particularly deadly or anything. Rip bricking everything was a big liability, although everyone in the frontcourt made up for it by making almost everything. Sheed and Tay were 15-23, and JMax and Dice were a combined 7-7!



I don't get it. Did they all of a sudden decide to change strategy?

Wasn't our plan all along stay w/ the shooters? :der:

Also one thing that worries is me is that they always finish quarters much stronger than us.

I honestly believe that we just saw the best that Orlando is capable of playing overall in this series. Could be wrong but I am not worried about the Orlando home games.

36 pts in the 3rd quarter ?! :swear2:

?

I haven't watched yet, but from looking at the box score Tay played almost the whole game, .

When Herman came in early I thought oh good they are using him as the backup SF now. Then I noticed that Tay was still in the game.

When Herman came in early I thought oh good they are using him as the backup SF now. Then I noticed that Tay was still in the game.

Yea, many ppl speculated this would happen in the PO's (no back-up for Tay b/c Arvis would reveal his true suckiness). Only one game, not a problem yet, but i though we were trying to get his minutes down.

Was Hermann awful or something? He only played 1 or so and thats it. Doesn't seem like enough time to really f up . . .

OrlandoSentinel.com (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/basketball/magic/orl-magic-pistons-officials-poll,0,7990124,post.poll)
That's what Orlando fans think about this game.

The piece by the Sentinel columnist, Mike Bianchi, that is linked on your OrlandoSentinel.com link offers a very entertaining and (for Orlando fans) downbeat take on game 2.

Yea, many ppl speculated this would happen in the PO's (no back-up for Tay b/c Arvis would reveal his true suckiness). Only one game, not a problem yet, but i though we were trying to get his minutes down.

Was Hermann awful or something? He only played 1 or so and thats it. Doesn't seem like enough time to really f up . . .

I think he just came in to protect against some foul trouble with the rest of the guys. Kind of thought that was at least still Amirs job but I guess not.

I think you should keep your day job :D

I knew you were going to say that.

OrlandoSentinel.com (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/basketball/magic/orl-magic-pistons-officials-poll,0,7990124,post.poll)
That's what Orlando fans think about this game.


heres one that a blogger posted before the series started

Orlando Sentinel - 10 Ways Magic Can Beat Pistons by (http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_magic/2008/05/10-ways-magic-c.html)

5. Run, Forest, run. The Magic aren't a running team, but if they can give those old Pistons' legs a workout, it would take the pressure off their half-court offense and give them easy baskets.
6. Agitate Rasheed. It doesn't take much, but surely somebody can poke or prod him, make fun of the gray spot on the back of his head.
7. Win at Auburn Hills. The Magic have already done it during the season. They were one of the league's best road teams, and won a big Game 4 in Toronto. Time to prove it again by stealing one of the first two games.

If the Magic still had Milicic, they would be heading home with a 2-0 lead. :stirthepot:

Tough to see how Magic can rebound -- OrlandoSentinel.com (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/basketball/magic/orl-bianchi0608may06,0,4235939.column)

What you have just seen is what happens when a ballet dancer gets drawn into a brawl with a street fighter.

All that is left of the Orlando Magic after the first two games of this playoff series is torn tutus, tattered tights, shredded satin slippers and hurt feelings.

This was like Thomas "Hit Man" Hearns vs. Mikhail Baryshnikov in a Motown steel cage match.

If this series isn't over after Detroit's 100-93 Game 2 victory Monday night, the Magic are at least standing in the corner, drunken and dazed, and listening to the ref give them a standing eight count.

Thing is the Magic are the ones talking about how rough the Pistons play but they have been the only ones taking cheap shots out there. There have not been a lot of them but there has been a couple.

Its not worth the trash talk from the Pistons if it leads to a key player missing the rest of the playoffs because some Magic player got frusterated. Just finish these guys off and save the talking.

The piece by the Sentinel columnist, Mike Bianchi, that is linked on your OrlandoSentinel.com link offers a very entertaining and (for Orlando fans) downbeat take on game 2.

Yeah, I saw that. Wouldn't expect much different from the media. They always exaggerate things.

I'm willing to take 3 points off of our score if it makes the Magic fans feel better. 97-93 is the officially modified score for the historians to see.

Man was Prince awesome in this one. 2nd leading scorer. Leading rebounder. Led team in assists. Led in steals. Held Turkyglu to 12 points and made him cough it up 6 times.

Sheed, Max, and Dyess were 14 of 17 from the field and that included 2 missed threes by Sheed.

Billups has returned to his usual self.

8 turnovers to 19! That is how you beat the Magic. Howard is quite good, but he turned it over 5 times and his teammates turned it over a lot trying to get the ball to him. It makes me appreciate all of Sheed's finesse.

Ain't that an awesome game, 11 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 3 in 31 mins, wow Maxiel was everywhere.

Max was fantastic. The only downside is at the end of games he's really giving up way too much height to Howard. Sheed should always be on Dwight in the last few minutes esp. for rebounding purposes. That tip in could have been costly. I'm dying to see Amir get a shot at SF/PF. Probably won't happen, but think he would be of extreme value against either BOS or CLE and if Flip doesn't throw him in this series, my hope of seeing him in the next one if we win is almost non-existent barring some sort of divine intervention.

edited to add;

He did have 5 fouls this game so i get why he wasn't.

I'm willing to take 3 points off of our score if it makes the Magic fans feel better. 97-93 is the officially modified score for the historians to see.

Man was Prince awesome in this one. 2nd leading scorer. Leading rebounder. Led team in assists. Led in steals. Held Turkyglu to 12 points and made him cough it up 6 times.

Sheed, Max, and Dyess were 14 of 17 from the field and that included 2 missed threes by Sheed.

Billups has returned to his usual self.

8 turnovers to 19! That is how you beat the Magic. Howard is quite good, but he turned it over 5 times and his teammates turned it over a lot trying to get the ball to him. It makes me appreciate all of Sheed's finesse.

You can thank Nelson for that. Now if Chauncey would start guarding him that would be much appreciated. :)

Max was fantastic. The only downside is at the end of games he's really giving up way too much height to Howard. Sheed should always be on Dwight in the last few minutes esp. for rebounding purposes. That tip in could have been costly. I'm dying to see Amir get a shot at SF/PF. Probably won't happen, but think he would be of extreme value against either BOS or CLE and if Flip doesn't throw him in this series, my hope of seeing him in the next one if we win is almost non-existent barring some sort of divine intervention.

edited to add;

He did have 5 fouls this game so i get why he wasn't.
FWIW, Ratliff was the guy on Dwight late in the game. Maxiell was guarding Rashard. Dwight didn't do much but turn the ball over when Max was on him. IMO, Maxiell is a better matchup on him, but without Sheed, Max is the only other guy who can guard Rashard or Turk.

And I don't get why Flip was calling Theo the best Dwight defender. Based on what? Size? Theo seems to constantly allow him to get great post position, and helps too much leaving Dwight open for putbacks. Sheed or Max will always be my first 2 options on him.

Something that upset me in the 2nd half of this one was Flip changing the strategy that worked so well in the first half. The first half "Good Flip" had a Stuckey, Afflalo backcourt with Tay playing the SF spot. The result? A big run. Single handedly building a 14 point lead. Second half, No Arron, and he goes with the Rip/Stuckey backcourt that always just turns into the Rip brick-fest. Sure enough, that's exactly what happend. I don't understand why Flip can't see what works and what doesn't when it's staring him in the face.

I was wondering the same thing.

Rip too often gets selfish when he is running with the bench. He'll run down and pull up for a jumper without batting an eye, much less thinking of passing to the guys on the floor with him.

Looks like different players present different matchup problems. It's a total team effort.

Tough to see how Magic can rebound -- OrlandoSentinel.com (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/basketball/magic/orl-bianchi0608may06,0,4235939.column)

I don't like seeing this stuff.

I mean, I don't like the Pistons seeing this stuff.

If the Pistons start believing it, they will start playing lazy as if Orlando is already toast, and Orlando is going to kick our butt in game 3 and possibly win game 4 too.

Detroit is only the better team when they match their opponent's efforts!

Beware Game 3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ramblings about the game


can i just say.....OMG, you'd think that 3 pointer at the end of the 3rd was a 20 point basket that took us from down 10 to up 10.....

Its really getting annoying, not one national media person has said anything rational in my mind yet.

Great game, Yes Billiups and Hamiliton are going to get a great share of our mins, but Flip is showing that both our rookies have his trust and he's not scared to play them....

I do beleive that Orlando was 7-7? in the 3rd Quarter, and basically played just about the best ball they could that quarter. so 4-21 the other 3 quarters.... as we say with our pistons live by the 3 die by the 3.

We didn't play our best game, Hamilton shoot a horrible percent really....

I really think we are playing a great balance of great experience with young energy.... I know folks want Amir to be playing... but we have 3 players getting ton of meaningful mins.... I know max played last year but not everygame.... (much to our grumpyness)

Hamilton 36:06 39:53 down almost 4 mins
Billiups 34:36 40:36 down 6 mins
Prince 37:42 41:36 down amost 4 mins
wallace 32:47 35:47 down 3 mins

those are the starters mins this year compared to last year playoff mins.... that is a major reduction... 6 mins for billiups, think how much smarter and fresher he is in the 4 th now

This was also the first game we have won in this years playoffs down the stretch, and they looked cool calm and collected...

All in all I am a happy camper this morning.... save the media and there nuts of a way of looking at that 3 pointer at the end of quarter 3.

Its not worth the trash talk from the Pistons if it leads to a key player missing the rest of the playoffs because some Magic player got frusterated. Just finish these guys off and save the talking.


You got it right Max. A slightly different angle and CB could have come up with a concussion or at best back spasms. As it is I bet he stinks of papaya juice this morning. And that fall Prince took could also have been much worse. The entire airplane probably reeked last night.

Time to get really serious and get this thing over with. Let the other guys beat themselves up.

If the key to guarding Howard is to take his legs out, then it makes sense that Maxiell would have some success with his lower center of gravity. For a guy who is only 6'7"ish, slowing Howard down is pretty impressive.

As much as I'd like to see Amir get some time at the 4, I'm totally surprised that Flip is doing things as well as his is with Stuck/ Afflalo/ Herrmann/ Ratliff in his 10 man rotation. Flip made the comments in the press conference afterward that we have 2 rookies getting real minutes in the playoffs and he's not sure if there are any teams left that are even playing 1. Are there? If that's true, then he really has a lot of trust in our guys indeed. Maxiell isn't a rook, but it's not like he got a ton of minutes before this season. And now he is starting in the playoffs guarding "Superman".

I think we'll play well in Orlando. The question will be how much better will they play.

If the key to guarding Howard is to take his legs out, then it makes sense that Maxiell would have some success with his lower center of gravity. For a guy who is only 6'7"ish, slowing Howard down is pretty impressive.

As much as I'd like to see Amir get some time at the 4, I'm totally surprised that Flip is doing things as well as his is with Stuck/ Afflalo/ Herrmann/ Ratliff in his 10 man rotation. Flip made the comments in the press conference afterward that we have 2 rookies getting real minutes in the playoffs and he's not sure if there are any teams left that are even playing 1. Are there? If that's true, then he really has a lot of trust in our guys indeed. Maxiell isn't a rook, but it's not like he got a ton of minutes before this season. And now he is starting in the playoffs guarding "Superman".

I think we'll play well in Orlando. The question will be how much better will they play.


Julian Wright is getting some burn in NO.


And also Glen Davis. Kindof odd that the two other teams with great records are playing rooks as well.

Our point of view has been herethat pistons had a so-so game and magic nearly their best. Well, magic fans think exactly opposite: they have figured out how to beat pistons D and Magic has not played nearly as well as they did against of raptors. They are pretty confident that when magic plays as they should, pistons will be beaten.

As much as I'd like to see Amir get some time at the 4, I'm totally surprised that Flip is doing things as well as his is with Stuck/ Afflalo/ Herrmann/ Ratliff in his 10 man rotation.

Flip gets an "A" so far for his coaching moves. He'll be tested in Florida though. The Magic will be formidable but I think Detroit can come away with a split.

what a great game last night. it was an eerie start though because they started the national anthem at 6:55 and there were seriously no more than about 3000 people in the stands. traffic is still very bad for 7 PM games, there's construction on walton, and i heard a lot of people saying they thought it was at 7:30. so the arena was kind of empty to start, and there were plenty of empty seats throughout the game.

the crowd was good but really got into it during the 3 minutes the refs were deciding what to do about the chauncey shot. an impromptu thunderstick 'da, da, da-da-da' chant got going throughout the entire building and everyone got very fired up.

as for the game itself, i thought everyone played great except for rip, and to some extent dice (although it is hard to argue with 2-2 shooting, 8 boards-4 offensive, and 2 assists in 21 minutes). dice just doesn't seem to fit well in this series. hayes got his first DNP of the year and i was glad. and hey, afflalo is a great defender but with the size and athleticism of turk and lewis, amir fits perfectly to defend them (as long as he doesn't get caught on a switch with howard). amir is just as quick as both of those guys, very athletic, and can easily guard them out to the 3 point line. neither of them are physical players which would work perfectly.

we were getting anything we wanted early, and missed about 4 easy shots that could've helped contribute to a 20-point lead and/or blowout. oops. we did get away from that, had some terrible iso's, lack of ball movement, and saw chauncey taking some atrocious shots, but he came up big in the end so i won't blame him for being aggressive.

our bigs continue to do a great job and ratliff is perfect for this series. max is just incredible - his importance cannot be overstated. afflalo was just awesome - they hadn't been doubling howard the whole game, so on an early possession he pokes his hand in and gets a steal from it. he also helped cause a couple other turnovers. stuckey also looks impressive, despite having a little trouble finishing at the rim again - but he is making veteran plays, veteran passes, and he played much better defense on nelson this game. also, if you watch the last fast break of the game where sheed got the one-handed dunk, stuckey ran and cut in front of the orlando player (legally) so he couldn't run down and catch up to sheed. it's a little thing that absolutely no one else noticed but it was important to the play and shows he's got excellent basketball IQ.

tay continues to be superb - 8 of 13 shooting and 2 of those he had to provide bailouts at the last second before the shot clock ran out. he played 44 minutes, so what? he's been rested all season and can handle it now. if we finish off orlando early he'll have plenty of time to rest before the ECF.

all 4 of orlando's bench players were far in the minus while 3 of our 5 were heavily in the plus - big difference.

other sidenotes - the palace has these weird barstool chairs in the concourse with big holes in the middle...maybe so you don't have to get up to go to the bathroom? lol. i accidentally spilled a little b-dub's wing sause on my maxiell jersey. our ticket guy bought us a beer. some dude spilled his entire big boy milkshake on the girl sitting in front of him...all over her hair, jacket, pants, shirt, everything, but she laughed about it thankfully and no harm done. automotion was very conservative. the drumline was back. they gave me 12 wings instead of 10 which was sweet. and the pistons won. great night all around.

The problem to playing Amir is his propensity to get called for the fouls. And Lewis and Turkey are both good free throw shooters, so it would be to their advantage. Amir needs to play more next season so that refs can actually learn who he is and that he shouldn't be called for a foul on every possession.

Flip gets an "A" so far for his coaching moves. He'll be tested in Florida though. The Magic will be formidable but I think Detroit can come away with a split.

I'd actually give Flip a solid B (his GPA is WAY up from last series though).

He's doing well (for Flip) but there is still room for improvement.

For example:
- Dyess should NEVER be checking Rashard Lewis like he was last night. Amir (even Walt) would have been a good call in that situation.

- Flip's plays out of time-outs are still AWFUL! Last night he ran the one where they toss the ball around for ten-seconds to get Chauncey an off-balanced 17 footer.

- Why not call a TO in the midst of that barrage of 3-pointers in the 3rd?


I'm proud of Flip for his improvement over the last few games but IMO our standards should still be a little too high to go giving Saunders an 'A'.

Hog-caps are my favorite part of the day.

Flip gets an "A" so far for his coaching moves. He'll be tested in Florida though. The Magic will be formidable but I think Detroit can come away with a split.

Actually, now that I think about it, I think he did specifically say that there are no other rookies in the backcourt in the Playoffs.

Definitely tougher to play guard in the playoffs as a rook because of the poise factor needed to not make a fool of yourself.

FWIW, Ratliff was the guy on Dwight late in the game. Maxiell was guarding Rashard. Dwight didn't do much but turn the ball over when Max was on him. IMO, Maxiell is a better matchup on him, but without Sheed, Max is the only other guy who can guard Rashard or Turk.

And I don't get why Flip was calling Theo the best Dwight defender. Based on what? Size? Theo seems to constantly allow him to get great post position, and helps too much leaving Dwight open for putbacks. Sheed or Max will always be my first 2 options on him.

Something that upset me in the 2nd half of this one was Flip changing the strategy that worked so well in the first half. The first half "Good Flip" had a Stuckey, Afflalo backcourt with Tay playing the SF spot. The result? A big run. Single handedly building a 14 point lead. Second half, No Arron, and he goes with the Rip/Stuckey backcourt that always just turns into the Rip brick-fest. Sure enough, that's exactly what happend. I don't understand why Flip can't see what works and what doesn't when it's staring him in the face.


I just realized that. I was going by play-by-play and assumed the O rebound was Max on him.

---------

The defense was spectacular in the 2nd half. I mean old Piston-esque. That irriates me too. I hate how the rotation tightens up and all of a sudden most of the starters play a majority of both quarters. He needs to learn to sub the bench in esp during the 3rd quarter. It's nonsensical to leave them in, and then the 4th comes and he puts himself in an awkward position b/c he's scared of using specific ppl during that time

Actually, now that I think about it, I think he did specifically say that there are no other rookies in the backcourt in the Playoffs.

Definitely tougher to play guard in the playoffs as a rook because of the poise factor needed to not make a fool of yourself.

There are other rookies playing in the PO's, specifically Julian Wright who has looked fantastic and Amir-esque at times.

Flip shouldn't be paying attention to the label "rookie" or what other teams are doing. Play your best avaliable talent (and play them in the 2nd half!)

edited to add;

As for Flip's coaching, i'll agree with bball don't lie, a B; make that a B-. Tay's min need to come down. AA needs to be playing back-up SF, and get time in the 2nd half (or Hermann needs a chance to see what he can do at SF). It wouldn't kill him to throw Amir in for a few minutes (could have done it when we had that lead in the 2nd quarter), and see what happens.

Also our late game situations/plays/offense still blows. We need better play-calling. And better time-management in the 2nd half rotations would help.

Actually, I think he said that there are no other rookie tandums playing in the backcourt who are still in the playoffs and have one of them with Final Four experience. Energy, hit shots, mumble, mumble... then I turned the channel.

Actually, I think he said that there are no other rookie tandums playing in the backcourt who are still in the playoffs and have one of them with Final Four experience. Energy, hit shots, mumble, mumble... then I turned the channel.
This belongs in the Flip Quotes section.
:hoops:

Actually, I think he said that there are no other rookie tandums playing in the backcourt who are still in the playoffs and have one of them with Final Four experience. Energy, hit shots, mumble, mumble... then I turned the channel.

:pound:

I have read some good writeups by other posters here. Thanks. Always fun to read your observations on the game. In all, most things were covered between what is posted on the two sites I read. Here is what I saw.

I guess I'll start with the 3 point shot made with time running out. Like at least one poster who commented, and many other people I am sure, I was counting down the shotclock in my head and knew Stuckey had goofed by making the extra pass. We lucked out there. But who knows who would have won the game if the shot had not counted. A whole quarter of basketball was left to play. If this had occurred right toward the very end of the game, then it would be a big deal. But it did not, and is not.

For us who love to see the young players play, can't be unhappy about this game. JMAX started again, and did pretty well. He hit 5 of 5 at one point. (Did he ever take another shot? I know he did get to the line.) These were outside shots mostly. Again, we got a lead. Maxiell sat. Lead shrank. Maxiell in, lead grew. Etc. There again was an exception, as we did poorly in the 3rd quarter with JMAX in the game. Or maybe we did not do that bad, as Orlando hitting 7 straight threes is showing some serious talent, open shots or not. If they miss a couple, we still stay ahead in that quarter. Here is my point, we are taking a serious chance of losing a game if we continue to not match up with them. Playing Amir Johnson some of Dyess's minutes and some of Theo's minutes would be a great help to us.

Tay played pretty near the whole game. Not enough rest. He is our best perimeter player, and look what happened to our perimeter D in the 3rd quarter. It went non-existent. The 4 minutes of rest he did get was with Rip playing small forward with Stuck and CB in the backcourt. Herrmann did play a minute or so, but at power forward. Tay scored 17, mostly going inside though he canned a few jumpers too. (And a three.) One fairly spectacular block too. Oh, and 5 assists and 10 rebounds.

Afflalo played one continuos nine minute shift in the 2nd quarter. A stretch where Orlando made either zero or 1 basket. Stuckey was playing along side him. I see some people fret about his D, but it certainly did not seem bad in that 2nd quarter. For much of the quarter, Tay was the only star amongst our four stars out there. Sheed, Rip, and Billups were taking a break.

Yeah, Rip was stinking it up pretty bad most of the night. Just off on his shot, his balance, everything. And did I mention the horrible perimeter D being played in that 3rd quarter? But he hit a key triple in the 4th. At least something for the cause.

Speaking of triples, yes, why did Sheed shoot that one late. I guess it takes a lot of confidence in the team to take a triple when we only needed a 2 at the moment. Well, the team came thru.

Billups was 10 for 10 from the line and nailed a couple of threes on his way to 28 points. But he did not overmatch Nelson all that badly this time as Jameer got loose for a bunch of threes in the 2nd half.

Our old friend Evans had a good scoring game against his former team.
Our 4 man rotation on Howard held well for the first half, but Howard broke loose big time in the 2nd half and ended up with quite a statistical game, and played some very solid D.

Foul trouble did hurt us some in this game. Just one more reason to add Amir to the rotation.

Well, I have quite the headache, so I will stop for now. Again, thanks for the game reports and observations, keep them rolling.

GO PISTONS!!!!!

Edited to add: I wrote this over at the other site after the game. I seem to have forgotten to post it here as I usually do. Must have been that headache.

Thanks for your observations Lee and hopefully its not your blood pressure that's causing the headaches. But don't worry, you took your daughter to game 1, so this series is in the bag. :)

Its really getting annoying, not one national media person has said anything rational in my mind yet." Qoute Round
-
Steve Smith took the human error is natural stance. Which is dumb when we have electronics to fix it.

"Our old friend Evans had a good scoring game against his former team."

You're friends with Mo Evans? ...After all you two have been through? :wedgie:

You're friends with Mo Evans? ...After all you two have been through? :wedgie:

As saying in my national language goes: old love won't rust

As saying in my national language goes: old love won't rust
Which language do you have in mind?

Scott (Orlando, FL): How much of an impact do you think the end of the third quarter had on the Magic-Pistons game?
John Hollinger: Huge. Take away that play and Orlando has a one-point lead in the final minute, plus maybe Turkoglu doesn't lose his mind and hoist that silly fling trying for a 2-for-1.


Was Hollinger born yesterday? How can he say that because of the play at the end of the 3rd Orlando didn't have a lead at the end of the 4th? He's going to lose whatever credibility he's had (if he did).

ESPN: Chat with John Hollinger - SportsNation (http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=20501)

Was Hollinger born yesterday? How can he say that because of the play at the end of the 3rd Orlando didn't have a lead at the end of the 4th? He's going to lose whatever credibility he's had (if he did).

ESPN: Chat with John Hollinger - SportsNation (http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=20501)

Everything that happens in life has a bearing on destiny. I believe its called "the butterfly effect". Remember that game in the regular season where Chauncey got that huge bump on his head? Neurologically, that bump has slowed down his reaction time to a point where he is unable to stop the dribble penetration of quicker PGs. Jameer Nelson had a play in the second quarter where he blew by Chauncey and finished at the rim with a layup and an 'and-1'. Without "the bump" earlier in the season, Billups makes that play and prevents those three points. Pistons would have been up one at the end of the game anyway making TurkeyGlue's argument meaningless.
Hollinger is a jackass!

Everything that happens in life has a bearing on destiny. I believe its called "the butterfly effect". Remember that game in the regular season where Chauncey got that huge bump on his head? Neurologically, that bump has slowed down his reaction time to a point where he is unable to stop the dribble penetration of quicker PGs. Jameer Nelson had a play in the second quarter where he blew by Chauncey and finished at the rim with a layup and an 'and-1'. Without "the bump" earlier in the season, Billups makes that play and prevents those three points. Pistons would have been up one at the end of the game anyway making TurkeyGlue's argument meaningless.
Hollinger is a jackass!
That's kind of was my reaction to that as well.

Here's more from the same:

NBA's Lack of Foresight Dooms Magic - May 7, 2008 - The New York Sun (http://www2.nysun.com/article/75999)

If only we had the power to give that game to the Magic. I feel so guilty that it is still considered a W.

They had less than 20 turnovers, so they deserved a victory.

media desperately tries to create something: since first game between bos and cle didn't offer much material ( you know what I'm talking, right?), media desperately tries to fill "vacuum".

Let's say, pistons wins tonight and series would be 3-0. Do you think after media still blames for that this malfunctioning clock from 2nd game?:)

Talk about flawed logic.

If the Pistons knew how much time they had they would have shot earlier. Duh! Why is that so hard for Hollinger to figure out.

Dee Brown and Ian Eagle agreed it was a non issue. Magic had 12 minutes to correct it and couldn't get it done. I said today on NBA radio, "ok, we give the Magic the 3 points---we still win 100-96"

That's kind of was my reaction to that as well.

Here's more from the same:

NBA's Lack of Foresight Dooms Magic - May 7, 2008 - The New York Sun (http://www2.nysun.com/article/75999)The league may institute a more sophisticated review for game clock malfunctions, but I'm wondering if they're going to consider the players on the floor as part of their new rule? Everyone knows they rely on game and shot clocks for last second on court decisions. I can almost guarantee Stuckey would have shot the ball instead of passing if he saw the clock at 1-2 seconds instead of the 4.8. If Stern & co change the rules, they should also institute some sort of do-over provision.

The league may institute a more sophisticated review for game clock malfunctions, but I'm wondering if they're going to consider the players on the floor as part of their new rule? Everyone knows they rely on game and shot clocks for last second on court decisions. I can almost guarantee Stuckey would have shot the ball instead of passing if he saw the clock at 1-2 seconds instead of the 4.8. If Stern & co change the rules, they should also institute some sort of do-over provision.

That's right. Do over would be fair. But to take away three points would not be fair.

That's right. Do over would be fair. But to take away three points would not be fair.:pound:

Stuckey may have made that 2 pointer if the clock didn't stop.