Pistons/Magic 2nd Round Game 4 Sat May 10 5PM

tv: ESPN

Someone linked something in the game 3 thread about Flip saying that he will announce Billups status 1 hour before the game. So we will see.

I believe in Rodney Stucky.

My pick: Pistons 94 Magic 87

I will be sending Flip mind signals to play Amir, take Sheed off Lewis all game, play AA, stop Rip from ball-hogging and other general b-ball stuff.

Hopefully, he has good service.

I will be sending Flip mind signals to play Amir, take Sheed off Lewis all game, play AA, stop Rip from ball-hogging and other general b-ball stuff.

Hopefully, he has good service.

If you think about it, who could guard Amir if he was allowed to work in the post? I know he is raw but he can put up a lot of points. Maybe even get Howard in foul trouble as he would have to help out.

Assuming Billups can't go I would like to see Dixon activated, who knows maybe he will get hot.

At any rate. Orlando can't possibly shoot near 50% in 3's again.

If he gets to play, Dixon will at least win one game for the pistons.

Dixon's my choice to back up Stuckey.

Never have I heard Billups name mentioned so much in a game that he wasn't playing in (Spurs-Hornets) . You would have thought he was the MVP....or some thing:)

Dixon's my choice to back up Stuckey.

Never have I heard Billups name mentioned so much in a game that he wasn't playing in (Spurs-Hornets) . You would have thought he was the MVP....or some thing:)

Actually, if Dixon played, it would make sense to start him in this series. This puts Dixon guarding Nelson, and Stuckey guarding the taller Dooling when he spells Nelson. (Arroyo has been playing due to an injury for Dooling, but Dooling is back now.)

Note, Dixon starting would not mean Dixon plays more than Stuckey, Stuckey could come in quite early and beat up on Nelson some before Nelson sits.

Also, please note, I don't think playing Dixon would help us near as much as playing Afflalo more. Between Afflalo, Tay, Rip, and Stuckey, we do have enough guards.

I say sit Billups down for game 4 regardless. he needs to be absolutely healed. Also trust that Flip makes the right moves. He will... Pistons 106 - Magic 94.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/extramustard/05/08/vangundy.jeremy.tale/index.html

This is good.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/extramustard/05/08/vangundy.jeremy.tale/index.html

This is good.

Priceless

My uncle always says he remind him of Jon Lovitz.

I don't see that as much as Mario from the original SMBros

The Hedo bit is great.

I say sit Billups down for game 4 regardless. he needs to be absolutely healed. Also trust that Flip makes the right moves. He will... Pistons 106 - Magic 94.

Billups won't be absolutely healed until the offseason. These are the questions that need to be asked:

1. Can he be effective at all and help the team win? If not, don't play him. Gotta put the best team out there. Or at least the team that gives you the best chance to win.

2. Can he hurt his hamstring worse if he plays, thus, jeopardizing him playing in the ECF, if the Pistons get there? Tough call here. Kander would know this. A lot of pressure on Kander to get him ready. Hopefully, Arnie will have the ballz to say he shouldn't play if that's how he really feels.

I don't think he will play, and if he does, he won't be effective and will play only sparingly. But he is much better at running the offense than Stuckey, who is not an NBA point guard yet. Stuck is a poor man's D-Wade. He needs to get the ball where he can take it to the hole -- not at the top of the key.

And for mercy's sake, keep the ball out of Rip's hands unless it's a jump and shoot!

Kander said he would administer treatments that "Chauncey's never seen before, a lot of stuff he isn't even going to be able to spell."

I'm sure that he'll start by rubbing the cucumber/mango/papaya paste combined with essential oils from pine, peppermint, arachis, wheatgerm, almond and grapeseed on there. Probably bust the magnets out and do some magnet therapy. Top it off with a wrap containing natural rare earth elements on the periodic table that have been used in Japan and Asia for generations to relieve the pain and inflammation...

The papers make it sound like the team thinks Billups can play but he isn't so sure. I think other players on the team would have tried to play last game when it happened. I guess that is life when you are a power PG who averages .75 rebounds per game.

These long layoffs after losses kill me. Every team I watch seems miles better than DET. It is absurd how much better SA's offense is and BOS bench is than DET's.

The papers also say that Flip is leaning towards Hunter as the backup PG. Offensive woes are gone!

The papers also say that Flip is leaning towards Hunter as the backup PG.

That is probably just a ploy to make Orlando feel like they don't need to prepare for the game.

With Billups injured, can Flip afford to make the same mistake again?

We should be activating Hunter AND Dixon. Anything happens to stuckey or his backup, we need a 3rd PG.

In my mind, Amir is out with CB and Samb. You can't take out Jarvis because he's the backup SF, and you can't takeout Hermann because he backs up the bigs.

With Billups injured, can Flip afford to make the same mistake again?

We should be activating Hunter AND Dixon. Anything happens to stuckey or his backup, we need a 3rd PG.

In my mind, Amir is out with CB and Samb. You can't take out Jarvis because he's the backup SF, and you can't takeout Hermann because he backs up the bigs.

What if we disactivated Samb, Chauncey, and Flip?

Make Lindsey coach and go from there.

I'd much rather see Hunter active. These guys HAVE to keep the dribble penetration to a minimum and Dixon hasn't been known for denying anybody anything.

Everytime ORL takes a 3, there's a Pistons no closer than 8-10 feet running like he missed the bus, waving his arms and hoping they miss....not really a sound defensive strategy if you ask me.

A lot of this positive spin on the injury could be for Orlando. So we can assume that either Billups is not going to play or that he is not going to be playing at 100% which means that other players are going to have to step up.

I would like to see both Hunter and Dixon activated. Maybe Hunter has another great game in him or maybe Dixon will get hot. Its going to be up to Flip to start pushing buttons out there until something clicks. The Pistons can still win without Billups as long as Prince and Rip step in to pick up the slack. They both can be and have been good ball distributors. It does not have to be all on Stucky to pick up the slack.

Good news is the Pistons are up 2-1 so if they dig down and pull this one out its going to put us at a huge advantage up 3-1.

With Billups injured, can Flip afford to make the same mistake again?

We should be activating Hunter AND Dixon. Anything happens to stuckey or his backup, we need a 3rd PG.

In my mind, Amir is out with CB and Samb. You can't take out Jarvis because he's the backup SF, and you can't takeout Hermann because he backs up the bigs.

I forgot that they'd be deactivitng CB if/when he can't go. I agree 100% that you need both Hunter and Dixon.

I am not sure about Hayes. What is the point of playing him if you can't get him the ball where he needs it. They can't get him any open shots. Maybe they should bite the bullet and try AA at the SF. Then they can keep Amir active.

I would also like to point out a H-U-G-E blunder by Dumars and co. coming to light in this series. How much would Primoz Brezac be helping right now? The series would be over by now........

The papers make it sound like the team thinks Billups can play but he isn't so sure. I think other players on the team would have tried to play last game when it happened. I guess that is life when you are a power PG who averages .75 rebounds per game.




What does Billups' rebounding average have to do with this injury?

I would also like to point out a H-U-G-E blunder by Dumars and co. coming to light in this series. How much would Primoz Brezac be helping right now? The series would be over by now........

Huh? They basically swapped Brezec for Ratliff when those moves were made. I'm not sure what scenario you're envisioning here.

Huh? They basically swapped Brezec for Ratliff when those moves were made. I'm not sure what scenario you're envisioning here.

Ernie's name appears very appropriate re: that post.

I'd much rather see Hunter active. These guys HAVE to keep the dribble penetration to a minimum and Dixon hasn't been known for denying anybody anything.

Everytime ORL takes a 3, there's a Pistons no closer than 8-10 feet running like he missed the bus, waving his arms and hoping they miss....not really a sound defensive strategy if you ask me.

I agree, I don't know why we don't go smaller.

Rip can handle Lewis or Turkey for stretches @ the 3, just like Afflalo can.

Tay should be the 4 whenever Lewis is @ the 4.

I would like to see both Hunter and Dixon activated. Maybe Hunter has another great game in him or maybe Dixon will get hot. Its going to be up to Flip to start pushing buttons out there until something clicks. The Pistons can still win without Billups as long as Prince and Rip step in to pick up the slack. They both can be and have been good ball distributors. It does not have to be all on Stucky to pick up the slack.

Don't forget Sheed in the post - he's a great passer from there. How he plays will be key to this game, too. If he abuses his man in the post then maybe a perimeter defender cheats over to him, setting up Hayes/Dixon for an open look. If he sets up along the 3pt arc most of the game then he's not helping.

With Billups injured, can Flip afford to make the same mistake again?

We should be activating Hunter AND Dixon. Anything happens to stuckey or his backup, we need a 3rd PG.

In my mind, Amir is out with CB and Samb. You can't take out Jarvis because he's the backup SF, and you can't takeout Hermann because he backs up the bigs.

Scoe, please explain why you don't feel that our "back-up SF" can't be benched (am I missing some sarcasm? - I AM a little slow sometimes.).

I believe that AJ can contribute MUCH more in this series (with these match-ups) than Arvis.

I'd much rather see Hunter active. These guys HAVE to keep the dribble penetration to a minimum and Dixon hasn't been known for denying anybody anything.
Well, my point is, you don't only go 2 men deep at arguably the most important position. So Hunter and Dixon must be active.

Scoe, please explain why you don't feel that our "back-up SF" can't be benched (am I missing some sarcasm? - I AM a little slow sometimes.).
No sarcasm. Heaven forbid, what do we do if Tay gets injured? Play Hermann at the 3? What if he gets into foul trouble? Play AA at the 3?

I think we need to be 3 deep at every position, Sheed/Max/Rattler/Dice are swappable at the 4+5, with Hermann as the 5th PF. Tay, Jarvis and Walt backup the 3, Rip, Aff, Dix at the 2, and Stuckey, Hunter and Dix at the 1.

I believe that AJ can contribute MUCH more in this series (with these match-ups) than Arvis.
AJ has limited range, can be foul prone and is a lousy perimeter defender. Jarvis has range on him at the 3.

No sarcasm. Heaven forbid, what do we do if Tay gets injured? Play Hermann at the 3? What if he gets into foul trouble? Play AA at the 3?

• IMO: Yes. Play Walt @ SF (perfect size matchup with Turkey and Shard).

• And another "affirmative" for playing Spellcheck @ the 3 spot (his quickness would KILL TurkeyGlue or Lewis). - ANYTHING that keeps Arvis off of the floor is cool with me. The ONLY time he should see ANY action at all would be as a final-shot offensive substitution at the very end of quarters.

• I think Amir is a better match-up against the big SFs that Orlando has. Just because Flip hasn't played him at the 3 this year (which he should have), doesn't mean it's a crazy idea.

• ...and yes, Jarvis has range. He seems to be missing his shots (playoffs = 7 for 24)from a longer distance lately. :brick:

• IMO: Yes. Play Walt @ SF (perfect size matchup with Turkey and Shard).

• And another "affirmative" for playing Spellcheck @ the 3 spot (his quickness would KILL TurkeyGlue or Lewis). - ANYTHING that keeps Arvis off of the floor is cool with me. The ONLY time he should see ANY action at all would be as a final-shot offensive substitution at the very end of quarters.

• I think Amir is a better match-up against the big SFs that Orlando has. Just because Flip hasn't played him at the 3 this year (which he should have), doesn't mean it's a crazy idea.

• ...and yes, Jarvis has range. He seems to be missing his shots (playoffs = 7 for 24)from a longer distance lately. :brick:

I concur on all points. It is not Arvis's range that is hurting us. It is the fact that he can't play D. Not only does his shooting percentage hurt us; he can't stop anybody from scoring.

Well, my point is, you don't only go 2 men deep at arguably the most important position. So Hunter and Dixon must be active.


I can see that. I was mostly responding to folks who would rather see Dixon if only one got the nod.

if CB is not 100% then we don't have to play him. We can afford to go back to Detroit with 2-2. I am also sure that the other series (Cavs Vs Celtics) will not be finished soon as well. So we will be ok. I hope this is what Flip does.

What does Billups' rebounding average have to do with this injury?

It points out that he's a dandy boy.

I would say de-activate Wally and bring in Hunter. Then if Billups can't go then bring in Dixon.

Can Amir guard Turkoglu? I think he can. Not that it matters since Flip has already decided that Amir is not ready and even if he did play Rip and Tay would never pass him the ball. But if he did play and did get the ball then it would be nice to force the Magic to match up to us rather than us down to them. Not having a PF is supposed to be an advantage for the opposing team not a disadvantage.

Well, my point is, you don't only go 2 men deep at arguably the most important position. So Hunter and Dixon must be active.


No sarcasm. Heaven forbid, what do we do if Tay gets injured? Play Hermann at the 3? What if he gets into foul trouble? Play AA at the 3?

I think we need to be 3 deep at every position, Sheed/Max/Rattler/Dice are swappable at the 4+5, with Hermann as the 5th PF. Tay, Jarvis and Walt backup the 3, Rip, Aff, Dix at the 2, and Stuckey, Hunter and Dix at the 1.


AJ has limited range, can be foul prone and is a lousy perimeter defender. Jarvis has range on him at the 3.

Micro, you have been bad mouthing Amir all season. It makes none of it true for all you write against him. Amir is one of our best perimeter defenders, able to get out there quickly, with a ton of reach, height, and ups. Overall, the defensive numbers show that if Amir goes out there onto the floor, it significantly drops the other team's field goal percentage. Anyone who likes defense should be cheering on Amir to get playing time.

Conversely, if you don't like guys who can't play perimeter D, Hayes is the poster child for lack of defense.

Lots of discussion about guys who will play the fewest minutes. I'm more concerned about the main three, Tay/Rip/Sheed, and how they approach this game. We need another performance like game 5 of series #1. Come out focused, intense, agressive, and cohesive. Get off to a strong start and everyone else will follow. Give the bench a wave to ride.

As far as D goes, it would be very helpful if we manage to remember that 4 of 5 Magic would rather hoist a 3-ball, and quit retreating deep inside the arc.

Micro, you have been bad mouthing Amir all season. It makes none of it true for all you write against him.

I think he has a personal vendetta against anyone not named Franzen...

I am a big Amir fan, but the fouls continue to be a real problem. If you look at the regular-season leaders in fouls per minute (http://www.nba.com/statistics/player/Fouls.jsp?league=00&season=22007&conf=OVERALL&position=0&splitType=9&qualified=N&yearsExp=-1&sortOrder=3&splitDD=All%20Teams), he's 19th on the list with 8.9 fouls per 48 minutes. He did this while playing more minutes than any of the 18 guys who are higher on the list. Last year in the D-League in almost every game he put up huge numbers and then fouled out or came close to it.

I think this is something he can and will improve, but right now it's holding him back.

I am big a Amir fan, but the fouls continue to be a real problem. If you look at the regular-season leaders in fouls per minute (http://www.nba.com/statistics/player/Fouls.jsp?league=00&season=22007&conf=OVERALL&position=0&splitType=9&qualified=N&yearsExp=-1&sortOrder=3&splitDD=All%20Teams), he's 19th on the list with 8.9 fouls per 48 minutes. He did this while playing more minutes than any of the 18 guys who are higher on the list. Last year in the D-League in almost every game he put up huge numbers and then fouled out or came close to it.

I think this is something he can and will improve, but right now it's holding him back.

Newflash. Amir gets to more plays per minute. Amir also is never called upon to not foul, to conserve his fouls to stay in the game. If he needed to foul less, he would. Its really no problem. What you really need to look at is if the other team scores or not score if you put Amir into the game. So far,the answer is they don't.

I'd much rather see Hunter active. These guys HAVE to keep the dribble penetration to a minimum and Dixon hasn't been known for denying anybody anything.

Everytime ORL takes a 3, there's a Pistons no closer than 8-10 feet running like he missed the bus, waving his arms and hoping they miss....not really a sound defensive strategy if you ask me.

This is so funny to me. I swear sometimes i hear a player just yell "ahhh" as he's running to try to distract the shooter. :pound:

edited to add;

I third or fourth ? balldon'tlie's post.

Newflash. Amir gets to more plays per minute. Amir also is never called upon to not foul, to conserve his fouls to stay in the game. If he needed to foul less, he would. Its really no problem. What you really need to look at is if the other team scores or not score if you put Amir into the game. So far,the answer is they don't.

??????

"Gets to more plays per minute"? Is that a stat?

AJ is never called upon not to foul? Does that mean he is put into the game, to foul?

Lastly, so AJ is responsible solely for the opponent to not score?

:confused:

Doesn't look like AJ's going to be the one becoming inactive . . .

Chauncey Billups feeling better, but Game 4 status still up in the air - Detroit Pistons Basketball: News, Blogs, Photos, Audio, Schedule & Stats - MLive.com (http://www.mlive.com/pistons/index.ssf/2008/05/chauncey_billups_update.html)


If Billups can't play, Rodney Stuckey will start. His backup is still yet to be decided, although the Pistons will likely go with Lindsey Hunter.

Pistons coach Flip Saunders talked some about Rashard Lewis who has given them fits throughout this series. Lewis' play is one of the reasons why Jarvis Hayes is out of the rotation, and replaced by Walter Herrmann. Saunders said he's also giving some thought to putting Amir Johnson on Lewis tomorrow night.

"Just because of his (Johnson's) quickness and his length and his ability to defend people out on the floor, but also if he gets beat off the dribble, he can make it up and contest at the rim," Saunders said.

??????

"Gets to more plays per minute"? Is that a stat?
It could be. Lee invented AOTG. He might be hiding more statistical models from us. Hoarding them like Oliver Miller and the last bag of peanuts on Roundball One.

Micro, you have been bad mouthing Amir all season.
I've been unimpressed with Amir most of the season. I feel he has regressed.

It makes none of it true for all you write against him.
But does it make it true if I write for him?

Amir is one of our best perimeter defenders, able to get out there quickly, with a ton of reach, height, and ups.
Those are physical attributes. He hasn't connected his brain to his arms and legs out on the perimeter yet.

Overall, the defensive numbers show that if Amir goes out there onto the floor, it significantly drops the other team's field goal percentage.
Perhaps because he is hacking and bumping like Rick Mahorn with MadAnts in his pants?

Anyone who likes defense should be cheering on Amir to get playing time.
And anyone who likes offense should not?

"Just because of his (Johnson's) quickness and his length and his ability to defend people out on the floor, but also if he gets beat off the dribble, he can make it up and contest at the rim," Saunders said.

Or when he gets beat, if he does, and a big rotates over to help, Amir will be able to match up better with that big on a switch than anybody else than can check Lewis.

I wish, if we are going to put Dyess on Lewis, we would post him up.

It's like when LB got canned Dyess forgot how to shoot his $ turnaround.

Or when he gets beat, if he does, and a big rotates over to help, Amir will be able to match up better with that big on a switch than anybody else than can check Lewis.

I wish, if we are going to put Dyess on Lewis, we would post him up.

It's like when LB got canned Dyess forgot how to shoot his $ turnaround.

That and when Arroyo left. :)

That and when Arroyo left. :)

What did Arroyo have to do with Dyess posting up?

Arroyo was a S/R player.

What did Arroyo have to do with Dyess posting up?

Arroyo was a S/R player.

I just realized you said turnaround J, i thought were talking about his shot in general which Arroyo was great at setting him up for.

Saunders said he's also giving some thought to putting Amir Johnson on Lewis tomorrow night.
"Just because of his (Johnson's) quickness and his length and his ability to defend people out on the floor, but also if he gets beat off the dribble, he can make it up and contest at the rim," Saunders said.



Thats great news. I hope it happends and I hope he gets more than a few mins to prove himself out there.

You guys know that I have not been on the AA and Amir are important bandwagon this year. But in this series I would love to see what Amir could do out there. I guantee you all its going to be a heck of a lot more than Walter. And I guess the fact that Walter has been out there is the main reason why I want to see Amir. There is no reason why Herman should be ahead of Amir in the rotation.

What did Arroyo have to do with Dyess posting up?

Arroyo was a S/R player.

S/R?

I think he's referring to the fact that it seemed like Arroyo had a really good sense for getting the ball to Dyess in the right place.

Lots of discussion about guys who will play the fewest minutes. I'm more concerned about the main three, Tay/Rip/Sheed, and how they approach this game. We need another performance like game 5 of series #1. Come out focused, intense, agressive, and cohesive. Get off to a strong start and everyone else will follow. Give the bench a wave to ride.

As far as D goes, it would be very helpful if we manage to remember that 4 of 5 Magic would rather hoist a 3-ball, and quit retreating deep inside the arc.

No argument here.

I predict.... No Billups, but a fired up and motivated Pistons team wins going away.

I predicted the Pistons in 5. So it is written. So it shall be. They will win tonight.

I duuno, this team gets me worried. we seem reactive or passive or something. We can't seem to turn the corner on anyone consistently...even when their bigs switch on our guards. they have 1 big man but instead of putting him in foul trouble, he puts 3 of our guys in foul trouble. we don't trap or press.
I generally like the level of play but maybe I don't get the sense that when the going gets tough, we can do things to force things to go our way. I hope the team just flat out proves me wrong this series.

I expect Detroit to come out and play hard tonight.:nerd2:<---Me

It could be. Lee invented AOTG. He might be hiding more statistical models from us. Hoarding them like Oliver Miller and the last bag of peanuts on Roundball One.


I've been unimpressed with Amir most of the season. I feel he has regressed.


But does it make it true if I write for him?


Those are physical attributes. He hasn't connected his brain to his arms and legs out on the perimeter yet.


Perhaps because he is hacking and bumping like Rick Mahorn with MadAnts in his pants?


And anyone who likes offense should not?

One, no, its not a stat. Its a simple observation. Amir gets to plays more readily than almost anyone else. This is due to a very unusual combination of height, length, and quickness that he has.

Lets contrast this to Herrmann for instance, just last game. There were several plays we all wish Herrmann could have gotten to. But he just moves to slow. These two players are like the two ends of the spectrum.

Next, what you write, good or bad about a player, obviously does nothing. In case you don't know, I do read more than this site and detnews.com. You have been quite prolific this season in badmouthing Amir. Pretty much endless. Pretty much not a bit of it true.

Next, our offense does not seem to do all that bad with Amir in. It does not improve nor get worse with him in the game, per the stats. Our defense in contrast gets decidedly better with Amir in the game.

Finally, the crack about him not connecting his arms to his legs is just more badmouthing on your part. Just not true. What is true is that player after player decides to pass the ball to the next guy when guarded by Amir. PS, yes, this is simple observation as nobody is keeping stats on that as far as I know.

Knowing you, you are about to come up with another load of silly comments. But I warn you, unless they have a bit more merit than this last batch, I will not bother to answer.

Knowing you, you are about to come up with another load of silly comments. But I warn you, unless they have a bit more merit than this last batch, I will not bother to answer.

Fear the 356!! :stirthepot:

Knowing you, you are about to come up with another load of silly comments. But I warn you, unless they have a bit more merit than this last batch, I will not bother to answer.
Because I will be stealing your thunder? ;) :D

Chat is open!!!

* link removed *

I am excited for a big Pistons victory! Olaaaaaaaay, Ole, Ole, Ole. Oh-lay, ooooo-ooohlay.

WOW!!!

As I said in chat, best win since game 6 in San Antone

YEEEEEHAAAW!

YES SIR!

THAT'S WHAT WE DO!

:djparty:

tayshaun prince you are hereby invited to dinner

What a Win. What a Win.

In the midst of our ecstasy, I think we might have caught a break on that last play...JMax went down to try to draw the charge on Turk, but he had a foot inside the circle. That could definitely have been a call going against the Pistons.

As I said in chat, best win since game 6 in San Antone


I was going to write the same thing....totally shut out howard

Pistons 15-0 run in the 3rd qtr was a game changer. We outlasted their 10 three balls and held them to 34 points in the second half after they scored 57 in the second half of game 3. Howard held to 8 pts and 12 boards.

McDyess got the best rebound of the series on that one with 20 seconds left to give us that last winning bucket by Tay!!!

pistons are the first team to win on the road in the second round and lets hope we can close this one out Tuesday.

Nice decision to leave CB on the bench...his injury may have hampered us, because you know Flip would played him on one leg. :)

Clearly, Rip was the hero in this one. The guy has to be exhausted. That one looks like it took the wind out of Orlando's sail. I loved how frustrated Dooling got.

I didn't watch this entire game but when I did, it looked like Stuckey brought next-to-nothing on offense. He was minus-6 for the game and did little more than bring the ball up court and pass the ball quickly off to somebody else. That is not what a point guard is supposed to do. Good thing Hunter picked up the slack. Lindsey had a ton of quality minutes tonight.

Liked the way Sheed picked up his game but hated his 0-fer from behind the arc. SheeD's D can always be counted on. No Afflalo tonight but yet we still managed to win. How can that be? :stirthepot:

Rashard Lewis still a matchup problem.

Anybody notice how they play that annoying music (sounds like a sneaker squeeking on a gymnasium floor) whenever the Pistons get the ball? I don't know how they can get away with that.

How about Dice with 14 rebounds, including that big offensive one at the end...and Rip with 32 points!

And kudos to Lindsey for a GREAT game...8 pts, 3 boards, 3 assists, no turnovers, in 26 minutes. At least this time, Flip was rewarded for showing confidence in him.

How about Dice with 14 rebounds, including that big offensive one at the end...

That was a great play...saved our butts...

since my stream died out, I had to listen. Do you here have any idea how frustrating is at the same time to listen bball and watch NHL hockey?:)

Btw, wings leads 2-1 after 1st Q. Dal couldn't convert 4 to 1 rush....

Btw, I believe that some will complain here that no AA and AJ...whatever

That was a great play...saved our butts...

Yeah, and Dice got that board by beating 3 Orlando guys to the ball!

Sorry I had to toss everyone out of chat, but unlike the old chat, I can't shut it without manually tossing people out via 20 minute bans.

It's a lot easier if people just head out when the "chat closing" message is posted.

FANTASTIC GAME, AWESOME CHAT!

Hunter and Dyess were huge as supporting cast. I loved how he jumped Nelson for that loose ball. That's DEEEE-troit BASKETBALL. Sheed carried us for stretches. The whole team turned the screws in the second half. Too much stalling on the offensive end. The defense is scrambled and then Tay or Rip holds the ball and its basically a 1 on 1 with the clock coming down.

Great neutralization of Howard as an offensive force. Lewis seemed quiet down the stretch.

The one thing that orlando doesn't do is trap or show hard defending the P&R. allows us to execute the offense better

Sorry guys, I couldn't watch this one or chat with you on this one, I kept myself busy by washing, cleaning, i.e.

I knew this would be a nail biter without CB.

I only have one thing to say DEEEEEEEETTTTTTRRRRROOOOIIIITTTTT
BBBBBBBBBAAAAASSSSSKKKKKKEEEETTTTTTBBBBBAAALLLLLLL LLLLLLLLL.

I just hope that Tay doesn't get burnt out, he's logging a lot of minutes.

Well, hopefully things won't be as iso-heavy when CB gets back out there. Lewis was indeed quiet down the stretch, but one reason for that is they rely heavily on Turk for scoring in the clutch. I think he was top 5 in the league for 4th quarter scoring this season.

Btw, I believe that some will complain here that no AA and AJ...whatever
Arron who? Hunter was great. couldn't ask for more out of anyone on the team.

teyshaun >>>>> :hoops:

Their bench which scored 16 points in the first half and was beating up our scrubs were held scoreless in the second half. Hunter was the only significant player off the bench with the good D in the third and the 2 three balls. Max has totally disappeared in O town.. Lets hope he is able to resurface in Motown Tuesday.

We only missed one free throw, the tech shot by Rip in the end, but needed every one of those other FT's to win this. The good was that we didn't waste shots on three balls and I am shocked like someone that Sheed didn't try a panic three instead on passing to Tay

That was really a nice win. Piston's starting PG out and they take one on the road. I think they win the series eventually anyhow, but can you imagine the Sh** we would have to listen to from their fans and media if they pulled this out?

Take that Orlando.

teyshaun >>>>> :hoops:
Welcome to the board Phil! :) I think you may need to change your country setting... :)

How bout Lindsey and Rodney... 48 minutes combined. 0 Turnovers.

Looks like CB's job could be in jeopardy to LinRod Hunckey.

Looks like CB's job could be in jeopardy to LinRod Hunckey.

:pound:

Welcome to the board Phil! :) I think you may need to change your country setting... :)

He ain't becoming a Cannuckian if that's what you're thinking!:pound: Don't do it Phil............

What a win indeed. I think I threw my back out getting back on the Piston bandwagon. That first half made me really angry. By the time O-Town made it a 15 point lead I was cheering against DET. The team was following their leader CB and laying down in the first half.

DET's offense is so bad it seems like they're trying not score. Everything they do is labored. How in the world do you end up with Lindsey Hunter in an iso? Conversely, it seemed like Orlando could score any time and any way they wanted early on.

Flip made a good move when he put Sheed on Evans and Rip on Lewis. Orlando went like DET and shut down their whole offense trying to go to Lewis in the post. Aside from some fouls, they got nothing from that.

I still think it is a mistake not playing AA some on Lewis. I would have liked to seen Dixon get some run too. Figuring out how to play Hunter and Dixon though is probably way out of Flip's league at this point.

I never believed it when announcers etc would say that Dyess is the strongest guy on the team. I figured Max might have something to say about that. Not anymore. Good lord.

I thought DET looked pretty bad on their last few possesions, offensively and defensively.

Hamilton scores 32 as Pistons beat Magic 90-89 - NBA - Yahoo! Sports (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap;_ylt=Ajhuw5BkYaLklvNh_ujvuWG8vLYF?gid=200805 1019)


Pistons rookie Rodney Stuckey (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/4293/;_ylt=ArGMmXPDseib1VRTKW01mcWLvLYF) made his first playoff start in place of Billups, but Hunter took over the ballhandling duties much of the time with Stuckey in foul trouble. Hunter rarely appeared in the regular season, playing a career-low 24 games and spending 46 on the inactive list in his 15th pro year. He looked rusty early but finished with eight points and three assists.
Billups is third on Detroit’s career playoff scoring list and was averaging 15.8 points and 5.7 assists this postseason. In the end, the Pistons didn’t need him.

<p>Seven man rotation. Just Hunter and Jason Maxiell, who was demoted back to the bench, played significant minutes off the bench. Besides that, Hayes got in for 4 rather ugly minutes, where he bricked shots, and gave up points. He was minus 8 for the game. Hayes did hit a triple. If only Flip had pulled him right there before Orlando could start abusing him on the other end of the floor.</p>

<p>Dixon toiled 3 minutes, took just one shot and missed. We did not have to worry about them exploiting him on D, since Hayes was in at the same time and was a much easier target to pick on.</p>

<p>Amir did not dress, as they wanted to dress both Dixon and Hunter to back up Stuckey. Herrmann and Theo did not play. Neither did Afflalo. Apparently, they want to bring back Billups for the next game. I say no way. We are up 3-1. We can finish off Orlando without Billups. Let him rest and heal.</p>

<p>Dyess played just shy of 40 minutes. Way too much for him usually, but he did just have 2 days rest, and this was a nationally televised game. Dyess got some led us in the rebounding department. He took some outside shots, bricking most of them and getting us in trouble by them. But later, him and the whole team pretty much started going inside more. CB was interviewed at one point in the 3rd as we were making a run. He said the difference was that we quit settling for outside shots, and Orlando could not get fast breaks off our missses.</p>

<p>Even though Sheed took, and missed most, many 3 pointers in this game, he also worked the inside quite well, scoring 17 for the game. He was often making Howard work hard to guard him. On the other end, Sheed was guarding Howard a lot and doing great. Howard was responding very poorly to this, tossing up several wild shots. Yeah, Rip sure scored a lot of points (32), but you really can't underestimate just how good Sheed was in this one.</p>

<p>Our third star in this game also scored a bunch, and mostly inside. Tay had it going. He hit a three too, but most of his scoring was getting into lane and putting it thru the hoop on short "half hooks" I guess you would call them. I think every Piston fan about swallowed their heart when Tay nailed that last one. And a lot of Orlando fans hearts broke at the same moment. Clutch. Clutch. Clutch.</p>

<p>Hunter knocked down a couple of threes and got a layin on a fast break. His defense was not great, but he gave it his all. One thing Hunter could always do is bring the ball up the floor well. Between him and Stuckey, they had no turnovers, and we only had 9 for the game.</p>

<p>Some people are saying Stuckey did not do so well. But wait, we were getting beat on mismatches something terrible with Sheed or Dyess trying to guard either of Turk or Lewis. That does not work, and its no bad reflection on our point guard. Our 15-0 run started with Stuckey in their until he picked up his 4th foul.</p>

<p>Twice in this game, we made strong defensive runs with Maxiell in the game. Both runs were critical, getting us back into the game each time. The last time Maxiell played before today, we rocked in the 3rd quarter of game 3, with Maxiell in the game. Sure he has not scored the last couple of games, but his defense is solid, and again a very important part of a Piston win today.</p>

<p>Good steady shooting by our three stars who played, Tay, Rip, and Sheed, won this game, along with a whole lot of good defensive rotations. Still, we barely managed to pull this one out due to poor defensive matchups against their small forwards.</p>

<p>In sum, I think we could have done better, but we won, we are up 3-1, life is grand.</p>

<p>GO PISTONS!!!!!</p>

It was amazing how much ball movement the Pistons had on their last possession before Tay hit that shot. I haven't seen a finish like that in a while. I also liked Lindsey's jump ball with half-Nelson and Dyess's double tech with Superman. Now that's Pistons basketball.

The team would be feeling very LOW if the coach is let go now...:pound:

Anybody who is complaining about anything needs to raise their dominant hand and slap the %%%% out of the themselves about 3 times...

NOW.


Sick sick sick Connie Hawkins shot by Tay to win the game.

He's been our "big game James" but with Defense these playoffs. And yes Defense is capitalized.

I slept through the game. I tried to stay awake , but apparently the one hour of sleep i got last night overtook my Pistons love.

I checked the score fully ready to see a DNP for Amir/AA and get mad, but i'm so happy we won. I could care less right now. It's just one game. AA will go back in the rotation once Billups comes back (which shouldn't be this series).

Amir was inactive. Again as long as it's only one game/or while Chaunce is out.

Go Pistons! Seems like Tay/Rip (and everybody stepped it up). Finish this series at home, and we'll get some rest. BOS can't play on the road if their life depended on it.

If we beat ORL, it will be crucial to get one there.

I just hope that Tay doesn't get burnt out, he's logging a lot of minutes.

Me too. Finishing this series off early will be crucial. All our players could benefit. At first i was thinking don't want them too rusty, but they are going to need the break.

Me too. Finsihing this series off early will be crucial. All our players could benefit. At first i was thinking don't want them too rusty, but they are going to need the break.

I concur.

Tay needs to log about 35 mins max in the next game.

Spellcheck time. Nice to see Arvis give us a little something, however little it was.


Let's go wings 11:17 left 2 - 1 lead going on the powerplay.

I concur.

Tay needs to log about 35 mins max in the next game.

Spellcheck time. Nice to see Arvis give us a little something, however little it was.


Let's go wings 11:17 left 2 - 1 lead going on the powerplay.

Definately next game, Lewis seems to still be giving us majopr trouble, will be at home should be a looser rotation. I think Stuck will play better at home, and Max seems to still be in DET anyway. :)

And the Wings are great. I don't even like hockey, and i'm getting sucked in.

Definately next game, Lewis seems to still be giving us majopr trouble, will be at home should be a looser rotation. I think Stuck will play better at home, and Max seems to still be in DET anywway. :)

And the Wings are great. I don't even like hockey, and i'm getting sucked in.


I just said the same thing in the hammy thread.

funny. :pound:

One of the guttier wins for this Piston era. How we won, I don't know. Our younger stars, Tay and Rip, kept us going. Then, our older star, Sheed did damage. Another older star, Dice, rebounded. And then our retiree, Hunter, helped turn the tide. How improbable is some of that??

Too many minutes? I am not going to complain one bit.

No great contribution from the youth? If our stars don't win games for us, we are not going to win many series.

Flip did some coaching like having Maxiel in at the end. Did he do enough on defense? I don't think so. They still scored too easily. But I am not going to complain...

Yeah, and Dice got that board by beating 3 Orlando guys to the ball!

I know. I still don't know how he got to that. Amazing play.

What a win indeed. I think I threw my back out getting back on the Piston bandwagon. That first half made me really angry. By the time O-Town made it a 15 point lead I was cheering against DET. The team was following their leader CB and laying down in the first half.

DET's offense is so bad it seems like they're trying not score. Everything they do is labored. How in the world do you end up with Lindsey Hunter in an iso? Conversely, it seemed like Orlando could score any time and any way they wanted early on.

Flip made a good move when he put Sheed on Evans and Rip on Lewis. Orlando went like DET and shut down their whole offense trying to go to Lewis in the post. Aside from some fouls, they got nothing from that.

I still think it is a mistake not playing AA some on Lewis. I would have liked to seen Dixon get some run too. Figuring out how to play Hunter and Dixon though is probably way out of Flip's league at this point.

I never believed it when announcers etc would say that Dyess is the strongest guy on the team. I figured Max might have something to say about that. Not anymore. Good lord.

I thought DET looked pretty bad on their last few possesions, offensively and defensively.

Gee, whiz - Will you lay off the whining? We just won a throwaway game without our starting All-Star point guard and you're complaining? Go soak your head, party-pooper! :MusicBigGrin:

Anybody who is complaining about anything needs to raise their dominant hand and slap the %%%% out of the themselves about 3 times...

NOW.



YESYESYESYESYES!!!!!!

Yeah, I agree that while it's peoples perrogative to complain after a game, they should be hard pressed to do so. Pistons won wounded in a hostile environment under pressure. Let's be happy! Who knows what tomorrow will bring, but let's enjoy this.

Yeah, I agree that while it's peoples perrogative to complain after a game, they should be hard pressed to do so. Pistons won wounded in a hostile environment under pressure. Let's be happy! Who knows what tomorrow will bring, but let's enjoy this.

Getting a split with Billups would have been very good.

Getting one without him is almost beyond belief for me. we have 2 match points now and then Deuce at worst.

Another badass thing Tayshaun did tonight: block the %%%% out of a dunk attempt by Mo Evans. That was ridiculous.

The good was that we didn't waste shots on three balls and I am shocked like someone that Sheed didn't try a panic three instead on passing to Tay

This is where NOT having CB was an advantage. CB woulda thrown up a panic three ball.

I missed this game folks. Anyone know about it being rerun on NBA TV or something??

Another badass thing Tayshaun did tonight: block the %%%% out of a dunk attempt by Mo Evans. That was ridiculous.

Good observation, fwoompf. I almost forgot about that one. That was as graceful and beautiful a block as you will ever see and every bit as good as his other famous blocks. The Reggie Miller block will always be the most memorable because of Reggie's reaction, but he flicked the ball out of Mo Evans' hands like he was a magician: Now you see it, now you don't.

I missed this game folks. Anyone know about it being rerun on NBA TV or something??

4:00 am on ESPN2

i'm surprised there hasn't been more %%%%%ing about AA and Amir not playing...if we lose and they don't play--we lost BECAUSE they didn't play. If we win and they don't play...people just forget taht we won without them.

i'm surprised there hasn't been more %%%%%ing about AA and Amir not playing...if we lose and they don't play--we lost BECAUSE they didn't play. If we win and they don't play...people just forget taht we won without them.

yeah, but I'm just happy there is less %%%%%ing

Afflalo cannot be on the floor with Hunter or Dixon.

And Stuckey needs rip out there.

Even if the Magic had pulled this one out in the final seconds, it would have been hard to blame this loss on not playing those guys. Not that it would have stopped some people from trying, but the primary thing those two can bring--defense--was certainly not the problem in the second half, with Orlando scoring only 34 points total. The Pistons should certainly be able to win games whenever they hold the other team under 90.

Still think we win going away if we let AA guard Lewis half the game and get him more frustrated. :MusicBigGrin:

4:00 am on ESPN2

Whoa!!!!

Looks like I will not see this game!!!!!!!!!!!!

Still think we win going away if we let AA guard Lewis half the game and get him more frustrated. :MusicBigGrin:

I think we'll do that in game 5 a little more, remember that rooks tend to struggle away from the nest (the palace), which is multiplied in the playoffs.

Whoa!!!!

Looks like I will not see this game!!!!!!!!!!!!

No alarm or VCR?

I know I'll be watching if/when the 8 month old gets me up. ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I think we'll do that in game 5 a little more, remember that rooks tend to struggle away from the nest (the palace), which is multiplied in the playoffs.

I hope so. I would like to see us win by enough to get 5-10 for AJ also. Does anyone think he'll get any more minutes the rest of the season (excluding GT)?

I hope so. I would like to see us win by enough to get 5-10 for AJ also. Does anyone think he'll get any more minutes the rest of the season (excluding GT)?

Depends on matchups.

Amir could get a little KG time, and if we are lucky enough he could matchup well with a couple guys that would come out of the west.

This definitively was a fun game to watch. Good thing we won. Now we got to do the same at the Palace, still without CB for sure.

I want to see the Tay's block u're talking about. I missed a lot of the game.

Hunter still plays good enough. Its kinda like a formula, a really old veteran like Hunter and a really young rookie as Stuckey make a good replacement of Billups. Not the best, but good enough. Rasheed didnt lose his mind, thats good. And impressive the boards that Dyess got, specially the off ones.

Lets go man, we're this far from the ECF.

Still think we win going away if we let AA guard Lewis half the game and get him more frustrated. :MusicBigGrin:

I'll concur. If AA had played instead of Arvis, and played more we wouldn't have been down by so much and won by wayyyy more for sure; at least 20. AA can guard Lewis. And that's not even counting the positives Amir would've added. :swords:

Only half-joking . . .

It should be better next game.

edited to add;
Amir would match-up great against all the potential West teams, Hornets,Lakers,Spurs, they all are undersized to a degree except maybe the Spurs with KT but Opberto plays extensively for them.

Anyone know why McDyess started instead? I know Max has been struggling . . . Is this a permanent thing?

WOW-WEE !
Let's hear it for Lens.
Old man is still kickin':)

Gritty.

Dyess got the start instead of Maxiell and had a very passionate game. Overall, he had more rebounds and blocks than Howard and the same number of points. I will take that! His 2 offensive rebounds toward the end of the game were difficult and true game savers. If they don't stand out in your memory, go review the film. They were HUGE.

Also huge were the tough shots that Sheed, Rip, and Tay hit to get out to a lead in the 4th.

Lindsey did enough and his two 3-pointers were gifts from the gods. Found points.

If we would have lost this game, we would have been all over several players and Flip in here, so let's just accept that it was a difficult game and we came away with the W. Certain players struggled, but others came through. That seems to be our formula this post season.

Gritty.

Bulletin Board material. Hope the Pistons are listening . . .


"We had our chance and let it slip away. For some reason, I feel we're still the better team," Magic forward Rashard Lewis said. "We just made too many mistakes at the end.

"It was our mistakes, nothing they did. They still got to beat us one more time."



"I'm not trying to be arrogant or cocky or anything like that," said Nelson after the Magic fell to the Pistons 90-89 Saturday in Game 4. "But tonight, we let it slip out of our hands. Game 2 we let slip out of our hands.

"We're going to win this game in Detroit."

Nelson and Dooling were working us over pretty good in the 1st half but then they faded out.

Bulletin Board material. Hope the Pistons are listening . . .

What else can they say? It's over?

i think flip's defensive scheme on Howard is good. They've contained him rather well and the guys have not allowed too many easy buckets. Howard is working very hard. starting dyess was a good change too. i think if we lost, you couldn't blame flip for it. we were in it until the end and that no time out was a good idea since it never allowed them to really set their defense. you can't really ask for more.
credit rip for playing his game and coming up big too.

that no time out was a good idea since it never allowed them to really set their defense.


Good point Sloop. If Prince had missed that shot we would be all over Flip, but he made it, so it never even crossed our minds.

I had to drive from Detroit to Columbus and because of crazy I-75 construction detours I missed the first 3 quarters of the game. Luckily, today was the day I reactivated my Sirius radio account for the first time in 3 years, so I got to listen to the game to pass the time driving by myself. I made it to my cousin's place just in time for the fourth quarter. Sweet game!

Dyess was a monster who came to win. His boards were ridiculous, and he manned up on Howard and Lewis when it counted.

Rip got what he needed for himself and also picked up what would have been Chauncey's.

Tayshaun has been unstoppable since the playoffs began. His block on Mo Evans is tied with Maxiell for Block of the Year. ( YouTube - Jason Maxiell - Block of the Year (2008) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDD5GAivH7c) ) Evans looked around confused, and then fell on the court.

Lindsey showed dirty little Dooling why he has 3 rings.

Sheed played great defense and knocked down his shots when it counted.

Flip Saunders managed the clock and the timeouts well, and did an excellent job with the substitutions.

Chauncey did an excellent job coaching from the sidelines. He couldn't help himself!

Stuckey played big for a rookie and showed that he has heart.

The Pistons are rolling, and should be able to end this in Detroit while giving Mr. Bigshot a few more days to rest up.

I think the Pistons should let Chauncey sit one more out and see if they can finish this one up in Detroit.

See this is what you call stealing a game. Down 18 early in the 3rd and down again by what 3 in the final 2 mins with Tukolgu heating up, The Pistons found a way to win. Prince hitting that floater with 9 secs to go down by 1, gotta love it. Magic could not answer. That game had to be so deflaiting for them, even the crowd seemed to just sit there after the game wondering how they lost.

Big game by Rip. Someone had to step in and pick up the slack and that guy was Rip as he spurred on the Pistons all game, especially in the 2nd half. He totally abused whoever they threw on him. Boggans grabbed a tech in the 4th as he threw Rip in frusteration. Not to rag on the Magic but they do have a few immature guys who do take cheap shots. They keep talking about how physical we are and yet they are ones getting the flagrant fouls. Kind of cheap shot team in a way. Hunter stepped up pretty big helping out Stucky, coule of plays where Nelson blew by him a little to easily but Hunter was solid overall.

Anyway. Would have been nice to see Amir play as I think he could have helped out there but you can't complain about a playoff win in any shape or form.

Final note - Why couldn't Mo Evans have played like that when we had him?

Most of Piston's FANS are fans of defense rather than offense. count me in as well. Even coaches who are known for their offense could tell you that defense won us game 4. However, we keep AA out of the rotation. Even though a rookie, and might choke in this game, we could have had him play in the second quarter. Things could not go worse anyway.

Yes we won this game, but flip is still playing not to lose rather than playing for the win. I think the win had more to do with the players rather than the coach.

45 min for tay, 43 for rip and 41 for sheed. I thought Flip said he learnt the lesson from last year. or should i say last two years.

I will add, Max played 15 minutes. His stats were almost zero in all categories (one rebound) but is +7 and he was in during the major 15-0 run. Reminds me of Big Ben.

And don't forget that crushing pick Sheed set to free Prince up for the last shot.

I also looked at the last play a couple of times - yes, Max's foot was in the restricted area when there was contact with Turk, but the ball was already gone when they collided. Can't call that on a last second play.

Most of Piston's FANS are fans of defense rather than offense. count me in as well. Even coaches who are known for their offense could tell you that defense won us game 4. However, we keep AA out of the rotation. Even though a rookie, and might choke in this game, we could have had him play in the second quarter. Things could not go worse anyway.

Yes we won this game, but flip is still playing not to lose rather than playing for the win. I think the win had more to do with the players rather than the coach.

45 min for tay, 43 for rip and 41 for sheed. I thought Flip said he learnt the lesson from last year. or should i say last two years.

Even in routed game none of C's big three played less than 37 min. In PO 40 mins have always been normal mins for starters.

Bulls MJ starting ćrew played 40 mins per game some 10 consecutive years in POs. No problem for them. I'm answering only cuz this "tired" topic is really tired.

Looks like CB's job could be in jeopardy to LinRod Hunckey.


Too funny!!

I want to see the Tay's block u're talking about. I missed a lot of the game.

Tay's block is No. 3 on the nba.com's Top 10.


NBA.com: Official Home Page of National Basketball Association: 2008 Playoffs (http://www.nba.com/playoffs2008/index.html)

Lindsey "8 Belles" Hunter really sparked the team. I felt it was a great win.

Not taking anything away for this incredible win, however, Flip needs to find a way to incorporate Amir and Afflalo into the lineup.

Look at all the favorable matchups if these two were allowed to play. I agree with someone who said that Amir would match up well with Lewis, possible slowing him down, what Amir loses in footspeed, he will make up in rebounding ability and certainly take Lewis to task whenever he drifts back out there on the three point line.

Afflalo, needs minutes. We will need these two bodies ready once we win this thing and face either Cleveland or Boston.

Since Boston cannot win on the road, we need to be able to play our arses off at the Garden. Please Flip, we need AJ and AA ready.

Even if it is ok in the playoffs, why play Tay 45 min if we can give him at least five minutes by subbing AA in

Even in routed game none of C's big three played less than 37 min. In PO 40 mins have always been normal mins for starters.

Bulls MJ starting ćrew played 40 mins per game some 10 consecutive years in POs. No problem for them. I'm answering only cuz this "tired" topic is really tired.

Even if it is ok in the playoffs, why play Tay 45 min if we can give him at least five minutes by subbing AA in

Because we needed him.

And we've got 2 full days off in between games.

He'll be fine.

It's not like we are doing back to backs or 4 out of 5's right now.

We're doing 3 out of 7's.

Hunter's jump on Nelson was classic, our good ole pit bull.

I watched Hunter's game with lots of emotion, keeping sharp and focus day in / day out and gives out all he has at the first step into the court whenever his number is call, dude has inspired me profoundly at very stretch of a carrer. LH my man.

Even if it is ok in the playoffs, why play Tay 45 min if we can give him at least five minutes by subbing AA in

The game was a real nail biter. the end result was a win. Does flip need to find someone who can spell tay?? Yes. But this was a tight game. In tight games expect clutch players to play clutch minutes.

Hunter's jump on Nelson was classic, our good ole pit bull.

I watched Hunter's game with lots of emotion, keeping sharp and focus day in / day out and gives out all he has at the first step into the court whenever his number is call, dude has inspired me profoundly at very stretch of a carrer. LH my man.

I loved that hunter play as well as when Dice body slammed Howard. It was wonderful.

I loved that hunter play as well as when Dice body slammed Howard. It was wonderful.

When asked about it, Dice was like i threw him down get it right. He said Dho was trying to intimidate him and if he was going down, Dwight was coming with him. :pound:

As for Tay, 5-10 min of AA could definately help. With Tay one thing usually goes when he exerts himself; the offense or defense. We need both.

Hedo was blowing by him at times in the 4th. We need to have a permanent, dependable back-up SF, and Arvis doesn't fit the bill.

Game started too early for me over here (5am instead of 5pm, 12 hrs time difference). Tried to get up after the alarm sounded but slept on. By the time i woke up, it's already 6 which incidentally was almost halftime. Since there is nothing to watch at this time, I could have went back to sleep and miss the entire game. Fortunately, we have CHAT over here that kept me awake.

Things did not look good at the start of the quarter til we pounded the ball inside to our bigs, started with Dice over Turk and Sheed took over from there. Lindsey came in after Stuck got his 4th foul. After Lindsey was called for a foul which he thought was lame, Lindsey put on his WARFACE. And so did Scoe, Dre and etc in CHAT. That subsequently followed by the jumpball situation between Lindsey and Nelson. And the rest like they say, is history.

I thought we could have won this game by more points if we continued pounding the ball inside. Our bigs can definitely post Turk or Lewis inside. Even Sheed bullied Howard inside a bit.

Player of The Game = Tay (since he made the winning hoop, got to give it to him instead of Rip)

Unsung Hero of The Game = Dice (that 14 boards esp the last 2 offensive rebound was HUGE and the WWE move on Howard was AWESOME)

This is the kind of basketball which is DETROIT BASKETBALL!!!

JZchen, what do you know about that cyclone ? Did you say the chatters weren't crying like little babies while the Pistons were down?
-
Wood, is Dooling a punk or what? He got so frustated he tried to snatch off Rips mask. That Maxi clip was on a Hornet not KG.
-
Our team is better than Or. VanGuns knows this. Stern knows this. That's why we get the calls. Maqic announcers were like, if the foul is on 2 Pistons put it on Sheed. Foul him out.:)

YouTube - Tayshaun Prince Blocks Mo Evans Two Handed Dunk (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_nbNTzA2rs)

nJoy!

YouTube - Tayshaun Prince Blocks Mo Evans Two Handed Dunk (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_nbNTzA2rs)

nJoy!

Rasheed dancing at the beginning of that is HILARIOUS!

Magic point guard Jameer Nelson (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/topic/sports/basketball/jameer-nelson-PESPT008442.topic) all but guarantees an Orlando victory against the Pistons on Tuesday night at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

"I'm not trying to be arrogant or cocky or anything like that," said Nelson after the Magic fell to the Pistons 90-89 Saturday in Game 4. "But tonight, we let it slip out of our hands. Game 2 we let slip out of our hands.

"We're going to win this game in Detroit."




Magic coach Stan Van Gundy hinted that the officials need to be a little more cognizant of how the Pistons guard Howard.

"They were very physical with Dwight, and how the game is called is a huge thing," Van Gundy said.



Jameer Nelson: We will win Game 5 -- -- OrlandoSentinel.com (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orl-mnotes1108may11,0,955397.story)

Nelson and Dooling were working us over pretty good in the 1st half but then they faded out.

Rip made Dooling into his little girlfriend after the first time they butted heads. That was freaking awesome.


this "tired" topic is really tired.

AMEN! We played the bench in the reg season so they could spot the starters in the playoffs IF NEEDED (injuries, etc), and so that the starters would be capable of playing 40+ mins for the whole playoffs.

Magic coach Stan Van Gundy hinted that the officials need to be a little more cognizant of how the Pistons guard Howard.


The officials need to be more cognizant of Howard's shoving, and of how he will stand inside the lane for entire defensive possessions without getting called for three seconds.

That's Tays signature move, seen it before.
Now I know why you like Sheed so much, you like his violent dance imitations.
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VanGuns said he couldn't speak to the officiating without losing money.

VanGuns said he couldn't speak to the officiating without losing money.

That's just Mario talking crap. He knows they got beat.

Props Due to LH, that Tie up on Nelson.....SWEET!!!!

Props to Dyess, that Howard take down was A-W-E-S-O-M-E BABY!!!! Howard tried to slam Dyess first, but Dyess was like, "Naw, young fella, YOU'RE the ONE GOING DOWN!!!" BAM!!!!

Props to Flip for the playoff adjustments. Putting Rip on Lewis was pretty cool. It made them forget about the Turk- who's money in the fourth and force feed their overpaid psuedo-star....STUPID!!!!! Maybe Flip is learning how to win in the Playoffs. GREAT WIN!!! I'm proud of that team, that 2nd half effort looked awfully familiar to a team I used to know and love in 2003,04, & 05.

Coy, He did say he couldn't find them shots and that was on him.
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KGreg, gotta love the and ones we've been forcing.

do you guys think, since Billups was on the side line, that he was able to pick the magic apart?? Sometimes it's easier to examine a teams play from the sideline. I think that missing one game would be a huge scouting point for Billups.

As far as Nelson's comments go, what is suppose to say. then again, he could try and hook Stuckey's, Hunter's, hell ,the whole team feet. strained hamstrings for everybody.

There is going to be some hard fouls coming from the Magic. The Diceman/Superman body slam was only a glimpse on what might happen to get Detroit out of their game. No suspensions, no T's please!!!

do you guys think, since Billups was on the side line, that he was able to pick the magic apart??
Sometimes I think Chauncey is smart. And sometimes I don't.

Amir would match-up great against all the potential West teams, Hornets,Lakers,Spurs, they all are undersized to a degree except maybe the Spurs with KT but Opberto plays extensively for them.


We seem to be a dwindling group who still believes that Amir can make an impact. I still believe at some point he will get his shot this post season and be the extra ingredient to help put us over the top.

We seem to be a dwindling group who still believes that Amir can make an impact. I still believe at some point he will get his shot this post season and be the extra ingredient to help put us over the top.

I believe he could make an impact, but I no longer believe he will get a shot. I really thought prior to the playoffs that it was going to happen for him. :(

I would love to see him incorporated, but I'm not dwelling on it.

I would guess that game 5 is the most likely scenario for him to see real PT. Flip has already mentioned that he thinks he could match-up well in this series. So a home game with a 3-1 lead and an injured starter seems like a possible window of opportunity. For it to happen, we probably need to end the first quarter with a lead an some big man foul trouble.

Sometimes I think Chauncey is smart. And sometimes I don't.

sometimes Chauncey thinks you're smart. And sometimes he doesn't.

sometimes Chauncey thinks you're smart. And sometimes he doesn't.


???????????????????

If Dyess keeps manning up, forget about Amir.
And Amir will be gone in 1 year.

sometimes Chauncey thinks you're smart. And sometimes he doesn't.
:pound:

I believe he could make an impact, but I no longer believe he will get a shot. I really thought prior to the playoffs that it was going to happen for him. :(

Let's keep a little perspective here, we are 7 up 3 down in the playoffs, Amir has gotten a little burn...

I still can't believe that we won this game. Rip and Tay just plain played like stars. Tay is at a new confidence level.

I am glad that we stuck with the core. I feel much better with the win than getting guys minutes and we lose.

Our youth is not consistent which is usually the case in this league. Maxiel has given us some good minutes but has he scored the last two games? Glad he was in on the last play vs. Hedo's drive. Maxiell helped a lot in game 1. Stuckey is not finishing at the hoop consistently. Not in the playoffs. Not at this level. Not yet anyway. And, his defense has not been very good. Nelson has taken him at least a few times. One of their forwards was taking the ball to the rack in game 4 and Stuckey happened to be there and sort of froze. As a guard you jump out and make the big pick up the dribble. Still, he was in on our good run in the 3rd quarter. Good. He is not afraid to shoot. Good.

Ratliff has been disappointing in that he is slow. He makes blocks but he doesn't board well.

We can't play the Hunter card too much but it was the right move in game 4. In the playoffs, winning is everything.

If the bench can help win a game here or there, that is all one can ask. We are up 3-1 because our stars played like stars.

We seem to be a dwindling group who still believes that Amir can make an impact. I still believe at some point he will get his shot this post season and be the extra ingredient to help put us over the top.

I don't think we're dwindling as much as ppl are like Darth said just giving up. I truly hope he gets thrown in there at some point, and was beyond dissappointed when he didn't get a chance on Lewis after what Flip said.

I'm holding out hope like you though. Defense can make huge impacts in the PO's, and both Amir and AA provide that.

I don't think we're dwindling as much as ppl are like Darth said just giving up. I truly hope he gets thrown in there at some point, and was beyond dissappointed when he didn't get a chance on Lewis after what Flip said.

I'm holding out hope like you though. Defense can make huge impacts in the PO's, and both Amir and AA provide that.

I would love to see them both get in and have a large impact. I think that is the only way they see more action. Just like Max.

I don't think we're dwindling as much as ppl are like Darth said just giving up. I truly hope he gets thrown in there at some point

You hope Darth gets thrown in there? Good night! :MusicBigGrin:

Both teams will live or die based on how many threes that the Magic hit.. If it is more than 12 then the game will be close or we will be fighting to keep up with them. I would rather see D Howard make 7 or 8 dunks than see his Magic teammates make more than 8 or 9 three pointers. They have hit 32 in the last three games and won one of those and were close in the other 2. That is their game. Defend the arc well and threes in the 4th qrt will be catch-up/panic three ball attempts.

very similar to game 4 in the philly series. we were doing poorly, so at halftime i visited the pf.com chatroom briefly, then put my maxi jersey on the kitchen chair and watched the rest of the game...lo and behold, a win.

time to finish it.

We seem to be a dwindling group who still believes that Amir can make an impact. I still believe at some point he will get his shot this post season and be the extra ingredient to help put us over the top.

Careful, you're dwindling more.