Pistons/Magic 2nd Round Game 5, May 13th, 7:00 PM

TV - TNT

Can the Pistons take care of their business and end this in five, so Billups can heal. Or, will Jameer Nelson`s guarantee come to pass and force a game six in Orlando?

I think the Pistons win a tight contest. Billups will play sparingly.

Flip needs to convince these guys not to take this team lightly despite the 3-1 lead. Finish 'em off and on to the ECF.

I think they can do it without Billups. I would take the chance and rest him if it's iffy.

They definitely need to take it seriously. The games have been hard fought, and Orlando could totally steal one in Detroit if we don't watch out. With that said, I doubt the Pistons let their guard down. I say Billups will be available but will not start, and the Pistons win convincingly with strong performances from Max and Stuckey.

GO PISTONS!!!

Pistons win the series in 5 after a glorious victory. They're standing tall and proud and want to make a playoff statement as they go. So it is written. So it shall be done.

The key is whether or not we have figured out their offense. Since mid-game 2, they have been able to run their offense way too smoothly. We need to pressure their guards more.

Lewis has been a problem. Sheed has slowed some with age and doesn't seem to be able to handle him outside. On the other hand, Sheed has done well with Howard.

Tay has had problems with Hedo. Hedo did a lot of damage in the 4th quarter in game 4.

Nelson only drives right yet we seem to be unable to contain his drive as we should.

Still, I think we have seen what they are about and hopefully, we can get some adjustments from this slow moving (historically) coaching staff whoever is in the game. The key is not who we play so much as to how we play.

That said, I wouldn't mind seeing key defensive short stint substitutions using Afflalo and yes, even Amir. But for the limited purpose of jamming their offense up. I would like to see Theo in when Howard is out to be a shot blocking force.

9.2 DR, Bup-Bup very iffy. Nelson and Dooling better be careful they don't go back to Florida in a body bag.
Stern rules of an elimination game anything can happen.
How does this taste Or., 4 and 1, 1 and 4 ... back to the drawing board.

I would expect Stuckey to be much more comfortable in this home game if he is asked to start again.

The questions for me are all about the Magic, not the Pistons. The Magic team hasn't shown a lot of discipline, mental toughness or focus. Faced with having to win 3 in a row, will they battle to the final buzzer, or will they roll over if they are down, early or late?

These guys don't have a lot of playoff experience. A meltdown would be appropriate.

Got to have much better rotations if we want to win. Use the bench. Inactivating Amir this game will be a mistake IMO, inactivate Arvis and play AA at back-up SF. He has shown the ability to guard Lewis as well.

We won despite some iffy coaching in Game 3. Go back to starting Max, and let Stuck run the pick n roll. He should be ALOT more comfortable at home.

Magic will come out like they have nothing to lose, and if they win this game, we're in trouble.

If Flip utilizes the right bench players, we should be fine. The bench has been able to lock up the Magic in the 2nd quarter. He needs to learn to sub them in the 3rd as well.

Keep fresh bodies on the floor, keep the defensive energy up, move the ball. And Rip needs to play under control again.

Also i think Tay's problems w/ Hedo have alot to do with shouldering more of the offensive load, and the insane min he's playing. If AA can guard Lewis, he can keep Turkeyglue in front of him.

If the Pistons don't start playing Amir and Afflalo, they will lose in the first round.

If the Pistons don't start playing Amir and Afflalo, they will lose in the first round.

couldn't have said it better myself. i'll be at the game and hoping to see the pistons as the 1st team advance to the conference finals.

Um, still no play him or sit him poll on CB. :sssh:

IMO we dress Billups, but start Stuckey.... If Stuckey is suckey, then play CB sparingly and dress Hunter too for oldtimes sake. Dixon and Amir can sit.

If we are able to get a lead and maintain it without CB, then he can rest and mend until the ECF starts.

However this is a close out game and we do not need to play anymore games until the ECF. So they need to take care of business Tuesday so that Rip and Tay can get a breather too for a few days.

If the Pistons don't start playing Amir and Afflalo, they will lose in the first round.

first round... heck they can't beat miami

I don't think that the defense is an issue as much as the offense is. When they toughen up defensively, Sheed has been able to shut down Lewis (when he wanted to) and they make Howard uncomfortable, Tay can hold the fort down against Hedo. I think the key is to shut the little one up. If Pistons guards can stay in Nelson's grill for the game and make him play defense, it will be a much easier game for the whole team.

Hopefully, while sitting, Billips understands what he has to do to break down their defense.

We were pretty lucky to win that game with one of our best players on the bench. I have to say I had my doubts. I thought he would have to get at least 5 seconds of of playing time.

We were pretty lucky to win that game with one of our best players on the bench. I have to say I had my doubts. I thought he would have to get at least 5 seconds of of playing time.

That's an excellent observation bills!

That's an excellent observation bills!

Thanks.

Correct me if I'm wrong but is that avatar from Rufus' rookie year?

Thanks.

Correct me if I'm wrong but is that avatar from Rufus' rookie year?

You're absolutely correct (I believe this picture was taken prior to the tracheotomy/voice-box installation that Henry had after his brief stint with the Albany Patroons of the CBA).

You REALLY know your hoops man!

Holy Cow. I can't believe that I didn't recognize Rufus. :o

Holy Cow. I can't believe that I didn't recognize Rufus. :o

To be fair Roscoe, his wooden leg isn't visible in this photo.

Got to have much better rotations if we want to win. Use the bench. Inactivating Amir this game will be a mistake IMO, inactivate Arvis and play AA at back-up SF. He has shown the ability to guard Lewis as well.

Inactivating Arvis hasn't really been suggested, but I think it's an inspired idea. Arvis does not bring what is needed. I agree, sit him. The other guys bring so much more.

Of course its more of a side issue with Amir playing. Who knows though, maybe last game he would have blocked a shot or did something to add on 2 extra points so it would not have been a last sec shot that won it.

Much bigger issue is how Stucky and Hunter play if Billups cannot go. We know motivation will not be a problem with Jameer's gurantee, thats about as stupid as it gets right there. Lets see, we are playing a team that tends to relax with they are up in a series so lets pick this time to brag about how we are the better team.

Pistons 102 Magic 78 ( with or without Billups)

Holy Cow. I can't believe that I didn't recognize Rufus. :o

The legend lives on.

:pound:

am I only one who do not get rufus-jokes here?

am I only one who do not get rufus-jokes here?

Probably not. It's a real old joke.

I don't think that the defense is an issue as much as the offense is. When they toughen up defensively, Sheed has been able to shut down Lewis (when he wanted to) and they make Howard uncomfortable, Tay can hold the fort down against Hedo. I think the key is to shut the little one up. If Pistons guards can stay in Nelson's grill for the game and make him play defense, it will be a much easier game for the whole team.

Defense is definately still an issue IMO. Sans that 3rd quarter they were scoring at will, and have been shooting almost 50% from three. And i agree about staying in front of Nelson. No one (who has played anyway) has hows that ability.

am I only one who do not get rufus-jokes here?

I don't know either.

Now that Celtics /Cavs series is tied, There will be at least two more games between those teams. First is Wednesday night and second is Friday night. If Pistons win this game, they have a long rest. resting and waiting for other series is something Pistons have not done in last few years.

Go Pistons

CB probably will not play.

Start Stuckey, but alternate him quickly with Dixon with a devil mix-match with Tay at point....geesh, did I really say that! The key for Dixon, is to understand the movement flow and counter-balance RIP...15-20 footers all night. Rip and Dixon are the best two players who need little room to get their shots. At 6-7, Rip has the better ability to get closer, but Dixon will spread those wings, especially the free-floater Lewis. This is one of the keys: to take Lewis out toward the 20 ft. line and away from rebounding.

Dixon has big time confidence when it matters. If he gets hot, then Flip has the easiest job of coaching that night. And Dixon can finish!

Good ideas P99 but Lenz can handle DooDo and Nelson.

Billups looked good in shoot-around today, according to Joe D.


ESPN - Billups participates in shootaround; Dumars thinks he'll play - NBA (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2008/news/story?id=3394328)

Billups looked good in shoot-around today, according to Joe D.


ESPN - Billups participates in shootaround; Dumars thinks he'll play - NBA (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2008/news/story?id=3394328)

I think it should be Arnie's call. Anything less than 95% with ANY chance of re-aggravating it and he should stay in the sport-coat.

It's about winning a championship not just a series.

nice joe dumars interview to tide you over until gametime:

http://podloc.andohs.net/dloadTrack.mp3?prm=2031xhttp://query-origin.andohs.net/8000A6/content-root3.andomedia.com/origin/mp3/espnradio/dailydish/nbadish080513.mp3

Pistons need to finish them off. I forgot how much i disliked Van Gundy. I really don't want to hear him say anything else, unless it's an exit interview.

I think it should be Arnie's call. Anything less than 95% with ANY chance of re-aggravating it and he should stay in the sport-coat.

It's about winning a championship not just a series.

Totally. Let's not be short sighted here. If he's not 100% then it gives the other team a bull's eye to aim for, Chauncey's mobility. Besides I really think we should be able to end this series and beat Orlando in our house tonight. And if not, well we'll have to play more game(s). Yeah it would be nice to get some rest, but on the other hand what if we re-injure Chauncey AND lose the game. That's the worst case scenario.

Arnie should decide. Chauncey should not decide. Flip should not decide. And Arnie should decide that the healing priority is more important in the long run for this team's professed goals....A CHAMPIONSHIP.

We don't reallly want Chauncey struggling with his hamstring against Rajon Rondo, do we? No we need him to be tip-top shape.

P.S. Those bright red X's across the top of my screen are SMOKIN' HOT!!!!

Thats the one statement i have seen nothing in reference too... we have all heard about him working to get ready, and everybody here keeps saying sit him out so he doesn't reinjure it....

But I have yet to see from the team or Billiups that there is any risk of reinjury.... did anybody notice it?

am I only one who do not get rufus-jokes here?
For sure not.

Billups looked good in shoot-around today, according to Joe D.


ESPN - Billups participates in shootaround; Dumars thinks he'll play - NBA (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2008/news/story?id=3394328)

got to love the media.... the article you linked has dumars saying he thinks he'll play but the headline of the article says he won't lol

looks like he's out now

Detroit Pistons Basketball: News, Blogs, Photos, Audio, Schedule & Stats - MLive.com (http://www.mlive.com/pistons/)

Billups has been told by Arnie Kander, Detroit's strength and conditioning coach, that he can't make the hamstring any worse by returning to action now.


but that is the best part of the article, hopefully being at home stuck can have a great game and let us get it some more rest..... sorry but i'll take a bit of rust, if its against boston we only need to win 1 out of those first 2 games to take control of the series.... so i'll take a bit of rust, and that could be balanced out by a tired (phyically and mentally) boston team.

am I only one who do not get rufus-jokes here?

For sure not.
Rufus Henry is a Pistons fan meme from the Det News.

I believe it was started by Cloudwalker, back when he was known as Cirrus.

Anthony Goldwire (http://www.nba.com/playerfile/anthony_goldwire/index.html) was on the Pistons roster and somehow Rufus became a metaphor for such a player.

Rufus has had legal trouble, plays craps in the back alleys, hangs out on the street corner, has a wooden leg and an eye patch. He's like a ghetto basketball pirate.

Hopefully Cirrus Cloudwalker will regale us with more of his legend soon.

Chat is open!!!

* link removed *

No Billups tonight..can we do it!!! Lets go Pistons!!!!

Stuckey to the bench with 2 quick fouls.

the game s going to be called tightly until the last quarter. Man,i wanted billups in to help close this series out. Close it out and get some rest!!!! Go Pistons!!!!!!!

Rufus Henry is a Pistons fan meme from the Det News.

I believe it was started by Cloudwalker, back when he was known as Cirrus.

Anthony Goldwire (http://www.nba.com/playerfile/anthony_goldwire/index.html) was on the Pistons roster and somehow Rufus became a metaphor for such a player.

Rufus has had legal trouble, plays craps in the back alleys, hangs out on the street corner, has a wooden leg and an eye patch. He's like a ghetto basketball pirate.

Hopefully Cirrus Cloudwalker will regale us with more of his legend soon.

I think Cloud developed the mythical Rufus Henry character back in the 04/05 season when Joe was auditioning back-up point guards every other week (Horace Jenkins, Smush Parker, etc...).

We all kinda ran with it and added to the Myth of Rufus.

DA RUFUS - ON FIRE!!!

got to love the media.... the article you linked has dumars saying he thinks he'll play but the headline of the article says he won't lol

I noticed that too. Kind of sloppy.

GO Detroit!!!! Just a little more:gun1:

stuckey getting some great playoff experience in a closeout game.

rip #1 playoff scorer.

dice has the desire that's carrying the team.

cb is looking good in suits and resting his hamstring.

6 straight ecf.


8 more games.

The refs let them play in the 4th. detroit closed out, but we know orlando didn't lay down. Everyone gets rest!!! Hopefully not rust.

LUCKY, LUCKY, LUCKY!!! that is all I can say: narrowly beat team who had 21(!!!) turnovers.

And we have 6 reliable players: starters+ stuckey.

They have to play A LOT better in next round

Nice win tonight. Now everyone can get rested for the Cavs or Celtics. CB can give his hammy some more rest because we will need him to be 100% pain free if anyway possible.

Stuckey became more agressive in the second half, Dice came up big especially in the rebounding Dept.

The Tayshaun block was a thing of beauty, didn't hink that he could ever come up with a more sweeter block than the one he made in Indiana a few years back.

Our defense was awesome tonight, gave up one or two uncontested threes, besides that, we were pretty much dead on.

ECF BABY, ECF here we come.

Give it up for some serious teamwork! Rip 16-16(!) from the line, Dice hitting from the floor and from the line and getting 6 big offensive boards, Stuckey with 15 pts and 6 assists and NO turnovers...and Tay with another block for the ages. Pistons were missing CB with only 16 assists total and 36% from the floor, but also only THREE turnovers, which might be a playoff record.

I'm really proud of the way they finished off this series. CB getting hurt was definitely an opportunity for Orlando, but the Pistons still got it done in 5 games.

Thanks, Magic for all the help (21 turnovers; 16 of 28 from the line). Pistons win despite shooting 36 percent from the field.

McDyess was HUGE. Stuckey played very well, too. He took it to the rack. That's why we got him.

I think Orlando's big problem is two-fold: You can't rely on Howard to make FTs when it counts so you can't chuck it down to him when it's all on the line. Pistons played Hack-a-Howard all night. And you can't rely on Turkoglu to be your go-to guy all the time. Turkoglu is a good player but well below star level. He's not a guy that is going to consistently win you games nor should he be expected to. If Turkoglu is your ace-in-the-hole, you best come up with a different plan.

To win without Billups in two games is huge...time to trade him for the # 1 pick :MusicBigGrin:

Stuckey maturing nicely..

Rip was quiet in the 4th, but canned the last 6 pts at the FT line to seal the deal!

Defense held for the first 8 mins of the 4th..Tay another series saving BLOCK!!!!


Before the game
Jameer "we will win game 5"
Lewis "we are a better team"
After the game
SVan Gundy "we was robbed"

LUCKY, LUCKY, LUCKY!!! that is all I can say: narrowly beat team who had 21(!!!) turnovers.

And we have 6 reliable players: starters+ stuckey.

They have to play A LOT better in next round
NO Rax...we beat a team in 5 GAMES that we SHOULD HAVE beat IN 5 GAMES!! End of story...no 'barely' to it!

LUCKY, LUCKY, LUCKY!!! that is all I can say: narrowly beat team who had 21(!!!) turnovers.

And we have 6 reliable players: starters+ stuckey.

They have to play A LOT better in next round


Agree there rax...they mssed 12 free throws too. and we yep we barely won, but to do it without Billups means that we would be favored with him playing.

McDyess played like a beast and grandmother passed away today

I predicted another round correctly. I figured we'd beat these guys in 5. Doing it without Billups the last two was especially sweet. The players and coach all brought it up a notch this series. Congratulations to the Pistons...6 ECF in a row...Detroit Basketball...:gun1:

that pass by stuckey to prince had me out of my chair

that pass by stuckey to prince had me out of my chair
Agreed. That was a thing of beauty. On the replay, you could clearly see Stuckey looking back at Turkoglu to see if he would try and double. As soon as he did, he kicked it back to Tay for the wide open 3. That was definitely pre-meditated.

I was impressed with how calm and cool Stuckey was in this game. Zero turnovers in 33 minutes with 6 assists. Ladies and gentlemen, we have found CBs successor.

All I can say is:



DEEEEETROIT BAAASSSSKETBAAAALLLLL

The AP recap (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=280513008) says that the Pistons' 3 turnovers tonight was a record low for a playoff game.

That was fun to watch.

Orlando's players are idiots with the ball.

I'm glad the refs weren't calling phantom fouls. There were a few humiliating plays down the stretch. Sheed ripping the ball away from Howard. Turk getting blocked by Maxiell. Turk getting blocked by Tay. Nelson (Mr. Guaranty) just losing the ball with no real pressure. Turk fumbling the ball out of bounds at the end.

The 3-point shooting formula doesn't get you to the ECF.

Who's got next? Boston, or Cleveland. Whichever one it is, we face a strong small forward. This could be a problem, as Flip still has not solved how to backup Prince. In this game, we were minus 15 with Prince sitting, and trying to use Hayes and then later Herrmann to back up Tay. Wrong players. Neither should even be dressed for us.


Six straight East finals appearances. Absolutely, us Piston fans should be proud of our team for this accomplishment. But at the same time, we all know how the world veiwed a Utah team that kept getting that far but not getting a Championship. Yes, our team does have one, but that was 4 years ago. Another one would stamp this group of players as truly something special. But two tough series stand in our way.


Rip was terrible, absolutely terrible, and yet he was the scoring hero for us. Rip could not hit a midranger to save his life. Not one made tonight. But he got to the rack several times for hoops. He made 16 of 16 free throws. That is a lot of going inside. Rip did make one of about 3 three point attempts, his only outside shot made of quite a few. As a team, we shot terrible, led by Rip's futility on his midrangers.


Stuckey finally missed a free throw in the playoffs. At least I don't think he had missed one prior to tonight. I think he is about 24 for 25 or something like that now. Pretty darn good. Stuckey made one outside shots on his way to 15 points. He also made a short jumper on a fast break. Other than that, his scoring was all layups and at the line. A couple of the layups were pretty nifty, but short of spectacular. One of them gave us a lead that we never gave up.


Dixon got into the game for a moment or two. I think he missed one shot, did not hurt us on D. That was the start of the 4th, a quarter where Orlando did not score a bucket for the first 8 minutes. You guessed it, Hayes nor Herrmann played in the 2nd half. And Tay got no rest at all.


Rip passed Thomas for the Pistons all time playoff scoring lead. Maybe he knew about this and was nervous. For some reason, the guy just could not get a quality shot attempt off. Couldn't even find the right zip code.
Tay did it again. Huge block on Turk with Turk going for a layup. Helped seal the win in the last seconds. Gee, we had a ten point lead with not much time to go, and Orlando still found a way to charge right back into the game in the last minute. Can't say they ever stop fighting, thats for sure. Orlando self destructed thruout this game, passing the 20 turnover mark while the Pistons barely turned the ball over at all. This included zero turns for Stuck.


Stuckey again found himself in foul trouble early in the game. Second foul picked up just a few minutes into the game. But he ended up with one fine game, scoring the points, dishing out assists steadily, and playing fine D on Nelson. (We also switch Stuckey onto their small forward at times.)


Sheed had a huge problem thinking he just had to keep jacking up three after three. He never made one, and him and Rip between them ruined our shooting percentage for the game. But we won cause of the turnover discrepancy and better rebounding. We got up a ton more shots than they did.


Dyess had a double double. Lots of those outside jumpers made. Like I have said many times, on the rare occasion that Dyess hits em like that, he can help win a game. His shooting helped for sure in this one, and he hauled down plenty of boards.


Theo got in for a stretch in the first half, pulled down some offensive rebounds, helped tire Howard out a bit.
On defense, Sheed was great late in the game guarding Howard. He stole the ball from Howard three straight times at one point. For the game, we fouled Howard a lot, and he did not make us pay at the line.
Hunter played. Killed our offense for long stretches. Did nail a three to make up for a small part of that.


Turk showed some great scoring talent against us tonight, but also some lousy passing. Lewis, except for a very brief scoring spurt, choked on the big stage tonight, shooting poorly and contributing to the turnover problems of Orlando.


So how does a team that can't hold onto the ball, and can't rebound, make such a close game out of it. Back to paragraph one. We play the wrong players. This is very correctable. We have this person called a coach you see, and all this person has to do is quit playing guys who just can't play. That would be Hayes and Herrmann. Find different solutions for backup small forward. This is a must if we are going to get past the next round.


GO PISTONS!!!!!

For a team playing without its best player I am impressed with this win. Pistons D had a little something to do with all those Orlando TO's.

Onto the next round. Rip passed Isiah Thomas as the all-time Piston playoff scoring leader.

Who's got next? Boston, or Cleveland. Whichever one it is, we face a strong small forward. This could be a problem, as Flip still has not solved how to backup Prince. In this game, we were minus 15 with Prince sitting, and trying to use Hayes and then later Herrmann to back up Tay. Wrong players. Neither should even be dressed for us.

So how does a team that can't hold onto the ball, and can't rebound, make such a close game out of it. Back to paragraph one. We play the wrong players. This is very correctable. We have this person called a coach you see, and all this person has to do is quit playing guys who just can't play. That would be Hayes and Herrmann. Find different solutions for backup small forward. This is a must if we are going to get past the next round.


GO PISTONS!!!!!

AA deserves the back-up forward role. Flip needs to stop the BS. He's successfully guarded Lebron, and has had success against BOS. He will be needed. I don't understand why at the end of the season we were playing him behind Tay, it was working beautifully, and it's scrapped in the PO's.

Chauncey needs to come back. I'm sick of this rotation. I don't understand the logic of playing the sucky vet over the rook who's a better player b/c of some sort of priority thing.

I hope Dyess starting isn't permanent. Max min have been majorly limited.

We won, but what a lucky win. We tried numerous times to lose. However, ORL obviously is just better than us at that.

Tay's min are ridiculous and can't be maintained. You lose nothing on defense by playing spellcheck behind him.

Stuck stepped up. Good job.

Also i know this is thinking way further ahead but height will be needed to match-up with floppy if the Cavs adavance (and their front court in general). <Amir>. They kill us on the boards.

My worry with the rotation is not neccessarily what was going to happen in the earlier rounds, but the defense and match-up advantages we will need in the ECF/Finals. That's when Amir will come into play esp against the WC teams. My faith that Flip will realize this is severely dwindling with AA's 2 sec, and Amir's stint on the inactive list instead of Arvis. Flip needs to learn to stop coaching scared (or stupid) whichever it is. TAKE RISKS. Play your bets players (even if they are rookies), don't be afraid to throw a player in a game.

The level of play has to seriously be stepped up in the next rounds. We had 3 turnovers. ORL had what 22?! They missed dozens of FT's and it took a game saving block to pull it out. Not really the emphatic win we were looking for, but i guess without CB i'll take it.

edited to add;

Also Sheed has been huge. Unsung hero on defense for sure. And our defense in general was a thing of beauty for a stretch there. One major positive out of this series.

First of all, what a run we have been privileged to watch. 6 straight? Unbelievable!

Stuckey grew up a bunch. They will have to pay attention to him now and that will open things up for others.

Dyss played like a man possessed. He willed us to a win. What a gamer! I have been on him this year but he can play big in big games (remember that first Miami series when he busted Van Gundy when Stan tried to played Shaq and Zo at the same time?).

Rip and Tay are playing like the stars that they are. Rip did get disjointed but those free throws were huge.

Tay was a bit out of sync and yet he hit that big three and then the block....Wow. Tell me defense isn't pretty. Or, somebody please tell David Stern.

First of all, what a run we have been privileged to watch. 6 straight? Unbelievable!

Stuckey grew up a bunch. They will have to pay attention to him now and that will open things up for others.

Dyss played like a man possessed. He willed us to a win. What a gamer! I have been on him this year but he can play big in big games (remember that first Miami series when he busted Van Gundy when Stan tried to played Shaq and Zo at the same time?).

Rip and Tay are playing like the stars that they are. Rip did get disjointed but those free throws were huge.

Tay was a bit out of sync and yet he hit that big three and then the block....Wow. Tell me defense isn't pretty. Or, somebody please tell David Stern.
Amen. Great post!

I was watching the wrap show on NBAtv that has the pressers afterwards, and one of the hosts is just dumbfounded that the Pistons had a record low TO's with a rookie PG who did not have one himself.

The AP recap (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=280513008) says that the Pistons' 3 turnovers tonight was a record low for a playoff game.I remember a PO game from last year (or year before?) when the Pistons had 5 TO's and I thought that was amazing. To do 3 with both a rook PG and a geriatric PG is sorta mind-blowing.

The game wasn't pretty, but was the type of win that I love best from the Pistons...team ball on both ends when it counts to get the job done. Getting stops: tight hustle D, forcing TO's, key blocks & boards. Ugly shooting percentage that it was from the Pistons, LB must be smiling in some satisfaction tonight :)

CB out for the last two games might be a blessing-in-disguise for the Pistons in the remainder of the playoffs. In his absence, the Pistons seem to have acquired a unity of purpose that I haven't seen since the 05 Finals.

YouTube - Tayshaun blocks Hedo Game 5 2008 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUr5LbvvTT4)

Although the game was literally tight all the way, the TO's were one of the keys to the win for the Pistons for tonight and the whole series. Those 3 turnovers tonight yielded only 5 points for the Magic, while the Pistons cashed in 34 points off their 21 miscues. The Piston defense had 12 steals.

I think Ernie said that the Magic had 74 assist and 74 turnovers for the five game series.

The Pistons had 36 TO's for this series compared to the 96 TO's in the six game opening round vs the Sixers. They are taking care of the ball better and that has to carry over into the next to series when our shooting could possibly hurt us as both Cavs and Celtics D is a tad better than the Magic's.

YouTube - Tayshaun blocks Hedo Game 5 2008 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUr5LbvvTT4)

Great clip of a great play. Thanks, 'scoe. :)

And Goooooo Tay!
--------------
That was a great game to watch; a total nailbiter all the way. Now the guys can rest up and heal up, get ready for the next round.

The thing is, who would have the guts to play Amir after having him on the bench for most of PO series so far? I bet this person is not Flip.

We have this person called a coach you see, and all this person has to do is quit playing guys who just can't play. That would be Hayes and Herrmann. Find different solutions for backup small forward. This is a must if we are going to get past the next round.


GO PISTONS!!!!!

Isn't it sort of fitting that Detroit moves on to the ECF's...finishing the semifinals strong after the name of Rufus Henry is batted about once or twice. That isn't a mere coincidence. Rufus Henry is just that good.

When Joe picked up Rufus' trail he was driving a CATA bus in Magic Johnsons hometown of Lansing. Most folks thought he was a war veteran, with the peg leg and the eye patch and all, but guys like Magic knew better.

Many a current NBA player has been playing basketball after dusk and heard the clickity clack of dice in the near distance. Suddenly, out would dance this Slick Rick (http://www.mtv.com/shared/media/news/images/s/Slick_Rick/sq-slick-rick-press-arm.jpg) clone (actually Rufus is the guy that Slick Rick stole his "look" from).
Rufus preferred the funky chicken or the electric slide, but he could do it all. Word is, he taught Michael Jackson the moonwalk. Some folks contest this, but why else would Michael pay homage to the way Rufus keeps his shooting hand gloved when he's not stroking threes or shooting dice?

Either way, the guys game is the stuff of legend. Forget all those other shows about legendary guys. Rufus is still the best. He would beat any 4 players on the court right now. The problem is (as Joe soon quickly learned after signing him to a 10 day) he would rather drink, dance and shoot craps.... only occasionally stepping out of the shadows to school unsuspecting players worldwide like some basketball version of Candyman (http://www.haikosfilmlexikon.de/horror/cd/candyman.jpg).

Normally he sounded like the boy that grew up on the streets of Brooklyn, and yet when he talked trash it was with a perfect British accent.

Cisco (http://www.bumwine.com/cisco.html) is his Gatorade.

Pray you never have to lose your money and pride to Rufus Henry.

Sounds like Rufus has more moves than Ex-Lax...

My computer at home crashed a couple days ago so this was the first game I watched from start to finish in over a year! I totally enjoyed it (and the Wings the night before too).

What a block!

I felt that they would win it the entire game, but that they would turn up the intensity when they needed to. Basically, I think that's what happened.

I'm very concerned about what happens next. Seems like they blow a team out game one and know they can let up a bit the next game, or later in that game. I don't think they can get away with that against any of the remaining teams. They haven't the last couple years. But we've been talking about the "switch" all year. This isn't news to anyone.

We know they can crush Cleveland and steal one in Boston. But WILL they change their old patterns?

Sounds like Rufus has more moves than Ex-Lax...

Rufus has more moves than UHaul!!!

...as Marv Albert once said; "The Rufus, ...ON FIRE!"

Dyess, Dyess, Dyess it can not be said enough.

He got us back in the game, and was a total monster on the glass and on Howard.

It was impressive to see them close out the game without their leader and stud FT shooter.

Rest up fellas. You might be the only series of the 4 not to go SEVEN games.

Hopefully C$ is close to 100% on Sunday or Tuesday.

Kudos to Tay for stepping it up in these playoffs. Flip just needs to find a way to sub him. Stuckey has matured as a player and some credit has to be given to Flip for allowing him the playing time, even if Joe had something to do with it. Dyess was amazing, awesome effort.

This team is really something we fans should be proud of, even though I whine and cry when things are not going so good. 6 straight trips to the ECF is just an amazing stat of consistency at the very highest level. Wish we had a few ships to show for it.

GO PISTONS !

YouTube - Tayshaun blocks Hedo Game 5 2008 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUr5LbvvTT4)


“They didn’t do anything that beat us, we just made too many mistakes,” Turkoglu said.

Hmmmmm... :pound: ohhhh kaaayyy.

What an enjoyably frustrating game last night.

I wonder what the score of the game would be if you counted only the last 3 minutes of each quarter last night? Hard to believe that is the stuff of champions. Gulp.

McDyess made a lot of huge plays in this series. It's funny, he is normally $$ when he receives the ball off of penetration and off when they pass directly to him from the top of the key. At the start of the 4th he hit 2-3 shots when they went straight to him and he missed when Dixon go him a wide open shot. All that yelling for nothing.

Why do they wait until they're in trouble to start going to Sheed in the post?

Their offense shut down towards the end of the 1st when they tried to continually go to Tay in the post against Bogans. They are so much better when they don't dwell on these advantages".

I am interested to see Tay in the next round. He was good against CHI last year also, wasn't he?

I wouldn't have a problem with Herrrrrrman playing if he had played some during the year. Why wait until now? I wouldn't be surprised to see AA get some run next round, but it will only be so so because the chemistry will be off.

I had a bad feeling about this one when I noticed AA wasn't getting his requisite 5 seconds. I looked at the box score though and somehow he played for 1 second and I didn't notice it. I guess 1 second is the new number to look for.

Orlando outshot us but insisted on giving us the ball so we could have some extra shots. Dwight Howard was miserable at the line. Bogans had a microphone on him and we heard him give DH some advice at the line..."you're by yourself. Gotta make your free throws"...quite an insight into the inner workings of an NBA game. DH still missed his free throw.



I think a one eyed, peg legged player could have hit more free throws than Howard.

I had a bad feeling about this one when I noticed AA wasn't getting his requisite 5 seconds. I looked at the box score though and somehow he played for 1 second and I didn't notice it. I guess 1 second is the new number to look for.



Obviously you have forgotten much from your days as a Darko booster. Countless statistics were compiled showing the positive effects of towel waving from the bench. It is said to directly affect the outcome of 93.76% of all NBA games.

Personally, I study the towel waving statistics from each NBA game at least 5 times per night. I consider myself an expert on the topic.

I had to tear myself away from the game with 1:09 in the fourth to go out to dinner. When I came back to check the score I was fully expecting a win. Tay's block epitomizes the type of crunch time execution we've been seeing in the last few games.

Lee mentioned Stuckey's free throw shooting. With his miss last night he's 27/28 in the playoffs (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/stuckro01.html) right now. There have been several players who haven't missed a free throw, but if you look at the list of players who have enough attempts to qualify according to NBA.com, he's in first place (http://www.nba.com/statistics/player/Scoring.jsp?league=00&season=42007&conf=OVERALL&position=0&splitType=9&splitScope=GAME&qualified=Y&yearsExp=-1&sortOrder=4&splitDD=All%20Teams), just ahead of Ray Allen.

It's been a long wait, but we finally got something out of the Otis Thorpe trade. Stuckey's skilled, smart, and plays with poise under pressure. He's looking like a future All-Star.

what a game! the day started off ominously, as i forgot my jersey at home and felt naked without pistons apparel...but i did wear my same red/white shirt that is normally underneath the jersey. the fans actually got there on time today, although the game was very back-and-forth and the fans did not truly get into it until the 4th quarter...but when they did they were great.

this is what you call a team effort. sheed was money in the post when we needed him the most. dyess was money in the 4th, making shots, making FTs, and keeping rebounds alive over the league's best rebounder. tay made the biggest plays when he needed. rip was insane at the line. max did his thing. and stuckey...goodness what a performance. the most important thing to note is that he doesn't buckle under pressure, he doesn't back down, and he seems to be better and more focused as the situation gets bigger and bigger - playoffs, 4th quarter, whatever. he's a stud.

i didn't mind max receiving fewer minutes the past few games, because it looked like he was wearing down a little bit guarding howard. but imagine how howard must've felt by the end of the series...body after body being thrown at home and no one backing down.

i was excited to see my favorite matchup of the series actually take place: jarvis vs. evans. boy that was ugly.

to anyone griping about tay's minutes - don't. he didn't play as much during the regular season, and the pistons just played 2 games in SIX days. if he can't go an extra 5-6 minutes from that, then i don't know what to tell you. and we've got nearly a week (or more) before we have to play again, so it is completely irrelevant.

i'm glad we're getting rest now, versus the argument saying the rust will be worse. we need chauncey healthy, we need tay and max to rest, and let's face it, we weren't playing spectacular basketball the last couple games.

the game shouldn't have been close, but those missed shots killed us. we made one fewer basket on 19 more shots. even if we make a quarter of those we win by 15 going away. i also didn't like the one stretch of defense in the 2nd half where whatever we were doing gave them a lot of open 3s...thankfully they missed.

GO PISTONS

I had to tear myself away from the game with 1:09 in the fourth to go out to dinner. When I came back to check the score I was fully expecting a win. Tay's block epitomizes the type of crunch time execution we've been seeing in the last few games.

Lee mentioned Stuckey's free throw shooting. With his miss last night he's 27/28 in the playoffs (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/stuckro01.html) right now. There have been several players who haven't missed a free throw, but if you look at the list of players who have enough attempts to qualify according to NBA.com, he's in first place (http://www.nba.com/statistics/player/Scoring.jsp?league=00&season=42007&conf=OVERALL&position=0&splitType=9&splitScope=GAME&qualified=Y&yearsExp=-1&sortOrder=4&splitDD=All%20Teams), just ahead of Ray Allen.

It's been a long wait, but we finally got something out of the Otis Thorpe trade. Stuckey's skilled, smart, and plays with poise under pressure. He's looking like a future All-Star.

Lurker or anybody else who missed or wants to relive the game, it is being rebroadcast at this moment on NBA-TV if you are at home right now and have that channel.....The 4th qtr is about to start...Pistons are down 68-65.....

“They didn’t do anything that beat us, we just made too many mistakes,” Turkoglu said.

Hmmmmm... :pound: ohhhh kaaayyy.


I guess he forgot about Tay's and Max's blocks on him. I do agree that Orlando made too many mistakes. That's a sign of an inferior team.

Kudos to Tay for stepping it up in these playoffs. Flip just needs to find a way to sub him. Stuckey has matured as a player and some credit has to be given to Flip for allowing him the playing time, even if Joe had something to do with it. Dyess was amazing, awesome effort.

This team is really something we fans should be proud of, even though I whine and cry when things are not going so good. 6 straight trips to the ECF is just an amazing stat of consistency at the very highest level. Wish we had a few ships to show for it.

GO PISTONS !

Right there, if he feels uncomfortable with Arvis and Walter he can just slide Rip over to the 3 for short stretches and put 2 out of Billups/Stuckey/Lindsey in the backcourt.

Or use spellcheck I guess.

Gotta/Have to/ Non optional to get Tay a legit backup at the 3 either through the draft or the Mid Level this season. We need a Michael Finley/James Posey type guy that you wouldn't think twice about giving 20 mins a game.

Spellcheck is a 2, and even a little short for a 2 in NBA terms.

Kudos to Tay for stepping it up in these playoffs. Flip just needs to find a way to sub him. Stuckey has matured as a player and some credit has to be given to Flip for allowing him the playing time, even if Joe had something to do with it. Dyess was amazing, awesome effort.

This team is really something we fans should be proud of, even though I whine and cry when things are not going so good. 6 straight trips to the ECF is just an amazing stat of consistency at the very highest level. Wish we had a few ships to show for it.

GO PISTONS !

We have seen it a few times and I expect to see it even more with the way stuckey is growing day by day... we'll see billiups hamiltion and stuckey 3 guards with two big man at times... depending on who the other team has on the floor.

Hunter played. Killed our offense for long stretches. Did nail a three to make up for a small part of that. [qoute] Lee 356
-
It wasn't Lenz fault. Or. killed our offense. Lenz was +7 last game and -3 this game. Everybody shot bad. Maxi was -7 and the rest of the bench wasn't any better.
Lenz didn't hurt this team this series. Can't drill on a guy if he's doing good.
After all he/we've been through aren't you glad we have Lenz. If Bup-Bup can't go in next round. i'll take my chances with Lenz.:sssh::)

“They didn’t do anything that beat us, we just made too many mistakes,” Turkoglu said.

Hmmmmm... :pound: ohhhh kaaayyy.

Just like last year, a once-proud basketball team going Code Blue (http://www.nba.com/magic/playoffs/07codeblue_splash.html) is never a pretty sight.

Hunter played. Killed our offense for long stretches. Did nail a three to make up for a small part of that. [qoute] Lee 356
-
It wasn't Lenz fault. Or. killed our offense. Lenz was +7 last game and -3 this game. Everybody shot bad. Maxi was -7 and the rest of the bench wasn't any better.
Lenz didn't hurt this team this series. Can't drill on a guy if he's doing good.
After all he/we've been through aren't you glad we have Lenz. If Bup-Bup can't go in next round. i'll take my chances with Lenz.:sssh::)

Believe what you will. Me, I believe Afflalo could have taken those same minutes, and gave us a lot more. If you want to defend Hunter, you could mention he took the ball up the court well, as he always does. But that I put in last game report.

Believe what you will. Me, I believe Afflalo could have taken those same minutes, and gave us a lot more. If you want to defend Hunter, you could mention he took the ball up the court well, as he always does. But that I put in last game report.
-
ok:)
You did notice how ball scoring he was the last ten games of the season.
It's like some one told him to score...I don't know who...but it shocked a lot of us.

Believe what you will. Me, I believe Afflalo could have taken those same minutes, and gave us a lot more. If you want to defend Hunter, you could mention he took the ball up the court well, as he always does. But that I put in last game report.

Well, I'm just glad Afflalo got some playing time in game 5. He will be ready for next year.

http://www.pistonsforum.com/xslippy/wherebigshothappensop0.jpg


from the magic boardhttp://www.pistonsforum.com/xslippy/wherebigshothappens.jpg

http://www.pistonsforum.com/xslippy/wherebigshothappensop0.jpg


from the magic boardhttp://www.pistonsforum.com/xslippy/wherebigshothappens.jpg


Nice! Gotta get the rebound.

:pound:

What happends if they actually get a PF next year. Battie was out, I don't know how that would have effected the series.

Take the win and move on I guess.

We never managed to put howard in foul trouble so its an opportunity cost thing...do you take lewis out? Hedo?

I can't complain about how they guarded Howard. The guy never takes a shot, its all point blank slam dunks. I have never seen someone who could make an offensive living at that before. Simple strategy they used - just don't let him get close. Until Howard developes more offensive tools he will always be stopable.

Howard is all hype... and its like he doesn't want to or doesn't think he needs to develop ANYTHING.

Howard is all hype... and its like he doesn't want to or doesn't think he needs to develop ANYTHING.

He did have a good year but the playoffs are different. I did not like how he and his coach were crying about how physical the Pistons were with them. I do hope they get Clev next year so they can see that its not just the Pistons. No decent playoff team is going to give him a clear path to the basket, what is everyone supposed to do wave to him as he slams on them.

to get on my soapbox.... this is why most basketball players need to go to college for some time, this guy never developed the simplest of post moves. He Dunks... and he ummmm slams bricks off the backboard, the comparisions there trying to make to a young shaq are just nuts, he went and seasoned himself at lsu and had a presense that howard could only wish he had.... Howard is a beast of a physical being, but he's nowhere near the best center in the league, he has alot of learning to do..

Think how great the georgetown centers of the late 80's early 90's would have been if they went straight to the pro's... Now think if howard had gone to college 4 four years (he's be a senior this year).

Looking at hi stats Dwight Howard - Orlando Magic - Career Statistics - NBA - Yahoo! Sports (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3818/career;_ylt=ArmfvDn6smMlsEcxmY6tHQ.kvLYF)

He has gotten better.... but has he truely gotten "that" much better?

NBA is for learning team play not for learning your skill so to speak... and do the players have the right to go straight to the nba from highschool sure.... But do some of these players need to be told that college is the place for them to learn.... heck yea

Ok off my soapbox

What happends if they actually get a PF next year. Battie was out, I don't know how that would have effected the series.

Take the win and move on I guess.

Unless that PF can shoot threes I think we would match up even better with them.

I feel that Orlando's success going forward will hinge on how Dwight develops as an offensive player.

Prior to the series I kept hearing that this years Howard was different from last years, yet I saw the same kid out there. DH is a confidence shooter, displays undeveloped post skills, questionable ball handling against doubles,and gets uprooted too easily before the catch in light of his size and strength.

If he ever gets those left and right hooks down and adds a midrange jumper he's going to be near impossible to deal with, and that would be despite his FT percentage.

Oh well. I'll enjoy our team getting the better of him while it lasts, for however long it lasts.

I can't complain about how they guarded Howard. The guy never takes a shot, its all point blank slam dunks. I have never seen someone who could make an offensive living at that before. Simple strategy they used - just don't let him get close. Until Howard developes more offensive tools he will always be stopable.

Actually, Howard used to have a decent short range jumper. But his last couple of coaches now have forbid him to take any jumpers. Which of course makes him much easier to defend. To not let a quick guy like that ever take a jumper is a mistake. Bad coaching. If he was taking those jumpers to this day, they would be pretty decent at this point, and Howard could drive past anyone trying to come out and defend the jumper.

We will have to see on Howard. He is young, some guys improve and others don't. One thing, for a guy talking all the smack about wanting to beat the Pistons and avenge last year he sure came up kind of lacking in intensity.

I was reading the magic board and a lot of people were complaining of the lopsided calls. Was it really like that? I thought we had calls against us mostly but that may be my homer perspective.

I was reading the magic board and a lot of people were complaining of the lopsided calls. Was it really like that? I thought we had calls against us mostly but that may be my homer perspective.

I thought they had most of the calls. Strange how your perspective changes depending on who you want to win.

one guy did a detailed 4th Q breakdown and reported like 10 missed fouls against us and 0 for them.

Reminds me of that movie the 6th sense "They only see what they want to see"

Looking at the box 27 whistled on the Magic and 24 on the Pistons, and thats with the intentional fouls at the end.

16-28 FT's for the Magic and 28-32 for the Pistons. Thats the game right there.

I was reading the magic board and a lot of people were complaining of the lopsided calls. Was it really like that? I thought we had calls against us mostly but that may be my homer perspective.


Sheed did hack the hell out of Howard when he stole the ball in the 4th quarter.

they think it was bad againt us, wait till they play against a superstar like james or kobe..... lol... they turn the ball over 21 times shoot 50 percent from the line and want to blame a few "missed" calls....

uhh huhhh

the magic got the benefit of almost every borderline call in the game, except for a stretch where she lot a lot of FTs in the 2nd quarter (i believe). they're just whining.

We will have to see on Howard. He is young, some guys improve and others don't. One thing, for a guy talking all the smack about wanting to beat the Pistons and avenge last year he sure came up kind of lacking in intensity.

How long is his contract and/or when does become a FA? Remember the old saying, if you can 't beat em, then join them.

If he has two more years, maybe Joe should make a play for him 2011? Can't you see the Pistons in 2 years from now DHow in the middle, Stuck at the 1, AA at the 2 and AJ the SF and Max the PF, with Tay, CB and Samb coming off the bench and Hunter as the HC:sssh:

He’s not the only one who could use the rest, though. Small forward Tayshaun Prince said he felt a little tired in the third quarter of Game 5. He’s averaging a team-high 39.4 minutes per game in the playoffs and was on the floor for 42.2 minutes a night against Orlando.



Looks like Tay doesn't agree with those ppl who say it's OK for him to play those min. The dreaded "tiredness" :gun1:

This could all be solved by playing AA at back-up SF.

How long is his contract and/or when does become a FA? Remember the old saying, if you can 't beat em, then join them.

If he has two more years, maybe Joe should make a play for him 2011? Can't you see the Pistons in 2 years from now DHow in the middle, Stuck at the 1, AA at the 2 and AJ the SF and Max the PF, with Tay, CB and Samb coming off the bench and Hunter as the HC:sssh:

His contract runs out in 2013 but he has a player option for that year.