ECF Game 1 Celtics vs Pistons Tues May 20 8:30PM

tv :ESPN

Well, here it is. Series starts in Boston. More to follow

This is a game Pistons can win. They have to be ready and play hard and try to speed up the tempo a bit. Boston did look tired and Pistons will be well rested coming off that 5-gamer against Magic.

Normally, I woulda said Celtics in 7, but the first two series Boston has played have been less than stellar. They, like the Pistons, have some old dudes in the starting lineup. I wonder if fatigue will be a factor.

I hope Billups is back to 100 percent because he will need to abuse Rondo, if Doc plays a lot of Rondo, which might not be a good idea for the C's.

With any series, I want to see the Pistons get out and run. Their half-court offense plays right into the C's defensive mindset.

Ok, guys all this run and gun stuff is going overboard if you ask me.

The Pistons need to play like what got them here, run when the opputunity presents itself.

If the Celtics are as tired as we think/hope they are, they will produce about 15 +turns in game 1. Detroit needs to turn those into about 14-20 points.

Nice crisp ball movement on offense will also create easy scoring oppurtunities, making the C`s move on defense, thus making them exhausted by the 2nd half!

Ok, guys all this run and gun stuff is going overboard if you ask me.

The Pistons need to play like what got them here, run when the opputunity presents itself.

If the Celtics are as tired as we think/hope they are, they will produce about 15 +turns in game 1. Detroit needs to turn those into about 14-20 points.

Nice crisp ball movement on offense will also create easy scoring oppurtunities, making the C`s move on defense, thus making them exhausted by the 2nd half!
Nobody is talking about run and gun, as it is not really Pistons game. But they do have to make some opportunities bringing the tempo up here and there and tiring out Boston team.

Nobody is talking about run and gun, as it is not really Pistons game. But they do have to make some opportunities bringing the tempo up here and there and tiring out Boston team.

Exactly. Celts will be fatigued. Why let them set up in half-court D the entire game? Celts will probably miss plenty of shots. Play a 94-foot game instead of a 25-foot game once in a while.

Just win. I beg of you.

This series will be a glorious one. Think 2004 against the Lakers. Pistons in 4...:stirthepot:

How long has it been since the Pistons were considered the underdogs?

This series is going to kick ass.

The key to beating the Celts is to match their energy early. They want to put you away in the 1st or the 3rd. If you match their energy, they tend to wilt.

My biggest concern with our team this year is that Sheed and Dice are 33 and to some extent Billips 31. We are on the older edge. But we are younger than the Celts at key positions. Tay and Rip are in their young prime. Stuckey and Maxiel are live bodies. We are more athletic than they are. They needed a big contribution from 38 year old Brown.

The key to me is matching their energy. Then our youth, depth and athleticism should take hold. This looks like the Lakers 2004 series. Stay with them, Stay with them and good things should happen...

On strategy, we have to get out on Garnett. Sheed has been slow to go out and cover but you have to do that and make him work. He then will tire in the 4th. No Le Bron thank goodness. We have to make a conceted effort on Garnett. No easy looks.

I am so excited to see the Pistons play this series. They've known all year that this was THE series to win and play, and I think we'll be seeing everyone's A game.

They should be tired and we should be refreshed. Perfect recipe for an early steal on the road. Have to win at least one of them.

So i read that Dyess is starting which was expected from Flip and stupid . . .

which also means he will finish games. I look forward to our pick and roll defense.

So i read that Dyess is starting which was expected from Flip and stupid . . .

which also means he will finish games. I look forward to our pick and roll defense.

On the other hand lp, Antonio pulls KG out of the paint and keeps him from roaming on the perimeter defensively as well. Both of these things KG does as well as any big in the league, so you would like to have a shooter in there to keep him honest.

I didn't like McDyess starting in the first two rounds, and I wouldn't like him starting against Cleveland, but for this series I think it is a solid call.

On the other hand lp, Antonio pulls KG out of the paint and keeps him from roaming on the perimeter defensively as well. Both of these things KG does as well as any big in the league, so you would like to have a shooter in there to keep him honest.

I didn't like McDyess starting in the first two rounds, and I wouldn't like him starting against Cleveland, but for this series I think it is a solid call.

I don't neccessarily have a problem with the starting thing, just the fact that he's a starter makes it mandatory that he has to be in at crunch time.

I really want to see Max finishing games just for the sole purpose of him (besides Amir) being our best option on that play they run with PP.

And i also want to see Sheed on KG when it counts. Garnett is a choker, but i don't trust Dyess' one-on-one defense at all.

The advantage that Dyess does have is he's been a beast of a rebounder, but is that the product of ORL playing a two SF's or ? . . .

before POs I predicted that: C's - 1.round 4-0, 2. 4-1, 3. 4-2 and for pistons 1. 4-1, 2. 4-2, 3. OK, I predicted a loss for them but at the same time I secretly hoped that maybe somehow...with some luck...

Well, C's game has downgraded so pistons in six now.

And, please, no Amir in this series: KG eates him alive. IIRC, against of amir KG scored more than 10 pts in 10 or minutes, and those were easy bunnies for KG.

Against of sheed-dice KG has to work hard atleast. Maxi's time depends totally how much energy he has, he is not more than 20 min per game player.

Wonder if Flip will use AA to spot Tay a breather and use him to guard Pierce. He is not going to stop Pierce, just slow him down a bit. Though if Pierce gets hot like yesterday, there is no way to check him. He was hittin everything.

Wonder if Flip will use AA to spot Tay a breather and use him to guard Pierce.

I think this is a good move, anakin. They need to make Pierce work, that's for sure. AA is a guy that can make that happen. Flip needs to play the guy.

I worry that Flip, given that this is the ECF, will rely more on the starters and vets, rather than putting the best team out there.

I am so excited to see the Pistons play this series. They've known all year that this was THE series to win and play, and I think we'll be seeing everyone's A game.
I've been waiting for this one too.

It will be great if we can steal one in Boston and put all of the pressure on the Celts.

Ever notice that Tay starts a lot of sentences with the word "obviously"


From boston.com

Said Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince, "Obviously, by them having a great regular season, everybody expected them to be there. I think people expected us to be in the Eastern Conference finals just because of what we've done in previous years. I guess this is what everybody wanted."

before POs I predicted that: C's - 1.round 4-0, 2. 4-1, 3. 4-2 and for pistons 1. 4-1, 2. 4-2, 3. OK, I predicted a loss for them but at the same time I secretly hoped that maybe somehow...with some luck...

Well, C's game has downgraded so pistons in six now.

And, please, no Amir in this series: KG eates him alive. IIRC, against of amir KG scored more than 10 pts in 10 or minutes, and those were easy bunnies for KG.

Against of sheed-dice KG has to work hard atleast. Maxi's time depends totally how much energy he has, he is not more than 20 min per game player.

He scored twice on Amir (IIRC). Most of his damage was done against our other bigs. And Amir shouldn't be guarding KG in the game anyway.

His rebounding,energy, and defense will help in this series if he plays, just like it would've in every other.

Also Max's ability to recover, and play the pick and roll are going to be important. I think he should be playing about the same or more than Dyess.

Ever notice that Tay starts a lot of sentences with the word "obviously"


I have noticed that. I think it is because he is really smart and everything seems simple to him.

Notice how Flip never starts any sentence with that word.

lpgrl, max has actually averaged more minutes in the playoffs than dice, and i haven't really seen flip afraid to go to him in crunch time when he's playing well. i also don't have a big problem seeing dice in crunch time after he did so much for us in game 6 and is great at getting offensive rebounds when it matters.

A lot of times Rip starts his sentences with "like I said"....even though it's the first time he has mentioned whatever he is saying.

You know, there are so many "you know's" in their sentences, you know.

In terms of jumping the passing lanes, stripping the ball and generally forcing turnovers, the Pistons did to the Magic what the 76ers did to the Pistons. They need to keep it up against the Celtics and look to push the ball upcourt in those situations before Boston can set up its D.

Hope Rip is ready to run in circles the entire game in order to wear down Allen/Rondo.

One thing I noticed a while ago is that NBA players have really gotten into the habit of ending sentences with "... and things of that nature."

I guess they have to give so many interviews and soundbites that they just spit their comments out like robots. Flip obviously has his own comfort phrases.

One thing I noticed a while ago is that NBA players have really gotten into the habit of ending sentences with "... and things of that nature."

I guess they have to give so many interviews and soundbites that they just spit their comments out like robots. Flip obviously has his own comfort phrases.

How have we not gotten to.


Chauncey (and others in the parlance of our times)... "blah blah blah, you know what I'm sayin'?"


"Yes Sir"

Notice how Flip never starts any sentence with that word.

Obviously.

How have we not gotten to.


Chauncey (and others in the parlance of our times)... "blah blah blah, you know what I'm sayin'?"


"Yes Sir"
No doubt the "you know what I'm sayin comment" is a slang of the times that means "do you understand me" and is just a longer version of the "you knows" that most interviewees will throw in there to elaborate and extend a point. Could be called a run on sentence.

I heard it more 5 years ago than I do now. When my son used to day in his sentences, I would just refer back, NO I don't know what you are saying...:)

Remember the Ernest country version of this was "ya know what-a-mean?"

The key to me is matching their energy. Then our youth, depth and athleticism should take hold. This looks like the Lakers 2004 series. Stay with them, Stay with them and good things should happen...



I agree with this 100%.

I just don't think that all of a sudden we are going to see it happen. Yeah, the Pistons will come out with energy and yes I love the underdog role, but I NEED TO SEE this effort and heart we keep referencing! Show me and I'll believe it. Not just for one game either. If the Pistons do not show it for the ENTIRE series, they are going to go fishing in less than two weeks.

I agree with this 100%.

I just don't think that all of a sudden we are going to see it happen. Yeah, the Pistons will come out with energy and yes I love the underdog role, but I NEED TO SEE this effort and heart we keep referencing! Show me and I'll believe it. Not just for one game either. If the Pistons do not show it for the ENTIRE series, they are going to go fishing in less than two weeks.

I really like the fact that the series is starting in Boston. Maybe (hopefully) our Pistons will come out with a greater sense of urgency that they otherwise might not have in a game-1 situation at home.

:gun1: Boston

I think if the Pistons can get this 1st game we might have a good chance of sweeping.

I think if the Pistons can get this 1st game we might have a good chance of sweeping.

We'll fosho be 25% of the way there! :sweeping:

We'll fosho be 25% of the way there! :sweeping:

Think about it. They have not won a playoff game on the road yet so a win in game 1 is really going to have them questioning themselfs. They had 7 more reg season wins but they are 8-6 in the Playoffs wheras the Pistons are 8-3.

Think about it. They have not won a playoff game on the road yet so a win in game 1 is really going to have them questioning themselfs. They had 7 more reg season wins but they are 8-6 in the Playoffs wheras the Pistons are 8-3.

I'd LOVE to see a sweep max!

...and whoever the Lakers face out west (hopefully Spurs), I'd love to see them sweep L.A. as well!

Wouldn't it be cool if D-Stern's Celtics vs Lakers dream match-up was swept right out of the post season!

Note to Stern: This would be a great way for you to prove that the NBA isn't fixed!

Note to Stern: This would be a great way for you to prove that the NBA isn't fixed!

The best way would have be to not %%%% the Mavs AND PE #1 MARK CUBAN out of their title in 06', as Bill Simmons said, any conspiracy theories DIE that instant, for at least 15 years.

I think if the Pistons can get this 1st game we might have a good chance of sweeping.

I think the Celtics match up too well with Detroit for a sweep to happen even if Detroit beats them in Game 1.

There are currently 13 members and 77 guests on this forum. 42 in the game archive. I just thought it curious.

9.6 DR
These were the badest most consistant cats all season.
Reguardless of their less than stellar P/O perfoormance.
We need 1 road win.

There are currently 13 members and 77 guests on this forum. 42 in the game archive. I just thought it curious.

Wow. Lots of Celtics fans, perhaps?

I think the Celtics match up too well with Detroit for a sweep to happen even if Detroit beats them in Game 1.

Agreed. We did not sweep in the first two rounds, and Boston is a tougher team than either Orlando or Philly.

Things I look for in this first game:

Beyond the basics, someone will have to step up and play big. Pressure will be on the Celtics to do this.
Pistons need to stay in their mid-range game and force the Celtics will single looks.
Watch how the refs call body contact, especially on drives. This is the Achilles heel for the pistons (JD had chances to change this) and favors the Celtics.
CB needs to get over the show time and wear himself out from the get-go. No temerity. He needs to penetrate or the pistons will try and out-shoot from the 3 pt. line as time runs out.
If Rondo is aggressive from the beginning and gains confidence then he will spread the pistons. If Allen takes over from there, you have trouble.
Do not...do not, underestimate PJ. A savvy vet who can kill you offensively at the right time. He is the type who won't start or finish, but merely stops the bleeding when the team is reeling.

I think if the Pistons can get this 1st game we might have a good chance of sweeping.

But if we don't, we might not.:MusicBigGrin:

But if we don't, we might not.:MusicBigGrin:

I'll even go as far as bet my 401k that if we lose game one we won't sweep them.

Things I look for in this first game:
Beyond the basics, someone will have to step up and play big. Pressure will be on the Celtics to do this.
Pistons need to stay in their mid-range game and force the Celtics will single looks.
Watch how the refs call body contact, especially on drives. This is the Achilles heel for the pistons (JD had chances to change this) and favors the Celtics.
CB needs to get over the show time and wear himself out from the get-go. No temerity. He needs to penetrate or the pistons will try and out-shoot from the 3 pt. line as time runs out.
If Rondo is aggressive from the beginning and gains confidence then he will spread the pistons. If Allen takes over from there, you have trouble.
Do not...do not, underestimate PJ. A savvy vet who can kill you offensively at the right time. He is the type who won't start or finish, but merely stops the bleeding when the team is reeling.
excellent post. I would say that you'd have to look for guys to play big for short stretches rather than an entire game. You might have heroics from one guy for a whole game but mostly it will be like Maxiell in the 4th or Sheed in the 3rd.

Last minute keys to the game (well, sorta) before i fall off the face of the earth again . . . It's finals week :icon_evil:

Rebound! The have outrebounded us by almost an avg of 10.

Play AA. He makes things happen defensively. Rondo, Allen, or try him on Pierce. Whatever is needed.

If Chaunce is getting killed by Rondo's pen, don't wait too long to switch things up (like after he's scored 15 pts, and we're down by 15)

If Max is struggling, throw Amir in. Throw Amir in anyway. But use Theo only if neccessary.

Let Stuck attack. Please minimize the Stuck/Linds pair to not at all.

Sheed needs to stay with KG.

The Cavs defensive scheme on Allen was great. Use that. In fact the Cavs whole defensive scheme on BOS was great, use all of it.

BOS runs essentially three plays; the PP/KG pick and roll, the Rondo/KG pick and roll, the KG post up at the elbow. Make sure Max/Sheed/Amir are the bigs that have to play those pnr's. If PP kills us with pen, we're screwed.

Most importantly they need to keep their cool, and move the ball. Our FG% against BOS is an avg of 35% or so while they are shooting 45% against us. The only category we have outplayed them is in turnovers. That won't be enough.

edited to add; Tay needs to step his offensive game up. Pierce has hut him down.

Play AA. He makes things happen defensively. Rondo, Allen, or try him on Pierce. Whatever is needed.



I have been joking about it but I hope Flip has enough sense to unleash AA in this series for more than 5 second stretches.

The Cavs defensive scheme on Allen was great. Use that. In fact the Cavs whole defensive scheme on BOS was great, use all of it.



Cavs actually used Pistons' defensive scheme to slow down Allen.

Cavs actually used Pistons' defensive scheme to slow down Allen.

Then why has Allen gone off on us so much in the past? I have to pay better attention.

Ok then use our defensive scheme against Allen, and the Cavs scheme against everyone else. :)

Then why has Allen gone off on us so much in the past? I have to pay better attention.

Ok then use our defensive scheme against Allen, and the Cavs scheme against everyone else. :)
When he was making fadeaway 3-pointers with a hand in his face no defense could stop him. Now he looks tentative and misses wide open shots. Hopefully he can stay at the same level throughout this series.

I have been joking about it but I hope Flip has enough sense to unleash AA in this series for more than 5 second stretches.

swapping the def assignments in this series might be interesting, move billiups over to ray allen for periods of time and bring aa in to guard rondo if rondo is hurting us with his drives.... I think if billiups is healthy we will see more of AA this series, its just tough playing two rookies on the court together in the playoffs, also could see abit of AJ more in this series depending on how things go... I think he fit this series much better then the orlando series. Unless there are series foul issues, theo probably sits most this series.

Then why has Allen gone off on us so much in the past? I have to pay better attention.

Ok then use our defensive scheme against Allen, and the Cavs scheme against everyone else. :)

looks like we have done well against him over the years. 3.4 points 3.4 percent shooting 7.8 percent from 3 point range while shooting 1.2 less attempts... on the negative he averages 1.1 more rebounds, .4 assists, and .1 less to's in comparing his career detroit stats vs his career stats.

this is funny knowing that there game posts are only 8 compared to the 50 + here. lol

Wow. Lots of Celtics fans, perhaps?

all i want to say is I AM READY!!!! been waiting all season for this, LET'S GO DETROIT!!!!

GO DETROIT!

I have a Monster Feel that we're going to steal this first game. Seriously.

GO DETROIT!

I have a Monster Feel that we're going to steal this first game. Seriously.
I sure hope you're correct.

Deeeeeeetroit Basketballlllllll!

I'm feeling good about this game 1! :)

AND NOW...A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT...................




...................HATE TIME IS EVIDENT...these are a bunch of green spewe-colored lepracraps that wanna take the historic legacy of enchanted victories from the city that will rise like the phoenix from the ashes of Red Aurebach!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


NOW LEMME SEE UR WARFACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chat is open. Keep it civil please, I've suffered enough for one day.

http://www.pistonsforum.com/playoff-chat/


-

Chat just won't work for me hardly anymore.

the empty glass with a bead of condensation on the outside of it is apparently half full.

Fix is in, Boston to the finals. 6 times in and the Braves syndrome still is there. Bah

Well that was a bust. Give them a long 2nd round series and they get tired, a short one and they get rusty. Does not seem like the Pistons have any edge comming into any series.

Maybe they will win the next one. One win will still make this a highly successfull trip.

That, my friends, was a steaming pile of s--t. Nice game, Pistons. Is this what we'll be treated to for the next two weeks?

That, my friends, was a steaming pile of s--t. Nice game, Pistons. Is this what we'll be treated to for the next two weeks?
They played a horrible game, and barely lost to Boston.

We can so beat these guys. All the Celts did was hold serve.

Chat just won't work for me hardly anymore.ME E ITHER oz..IM DONE ...AND i'M SPENT. It was like we just soooooo good , we can GIVE AWAY games to a team with :
1. a 66-16 record
2. that beat us 3-1 in reg season
3. that has won 15 straight home games
4. that just finished a 7 game series with Lebron less than 48 hrs ago
5. when we had 6 days to prepare

I luv the old posters, but these new hiphop posters aint 4 me...see yall.

We're lucky we just lost by 9.

Whats going on with these guys man? I cant believe they just left the game slip out of their hands. I'm not saying they could have won the game easily, but come on, they were always trailing by no more than 4 points. Somebody turned the switch off and in the 2nd half they never went to the line as they did on the first. They just started to take contested shots and shooting bricks (Rasheed Wallace the main guy in this last area).

I think Flip turned the team's switch Off again. I really had a good feeling about this game, but it became a nightmare.

Tired of Rasheeds inconsistency. I think I have never seen a guy miss shooting ALL bricks. He made 3/12, those 9 were completely bricks.

Anyways, the Celtics shot 50%, which is bullsh*t. And Pierce just made whatever he wanted to.

I still believe the Pistons are gonna win this series... but they need the attitude they're currently lacking.

I agree with Sir Roscoe. Rip absolutely killed us with his turnovers. Or, it seemed that way. Chauncey was understandably slow-looking. Not because of the injury, but because of his recent ECF performances. Pierce travels every time he jab-steps. I just don't see us taking the series for some reason. We played like crap in the third quarter. No one seemed to learn how to correct their mistakes, which isn't a good sign.

We're lucky we just lost by 9.

Whats going on with these guys man? I cant believe they just left the game slip out of their hands. I'm not saying they could have won the game easily, but come on, they were always trailing by no more than 4 points. Somebody turned the switch off and in the 2nd half they never went to the line as they did on the first. They just started to take contested shots and shooting bricks (Rasheed Wallace the main guy in this last area).

I think Flip turned the team's switch Off again. I really had a good feeling about this game, but it became a nightmare.

Tired of Rasheeds inconsistency. I think I have never seen a guy miss shooting ALL bricks. He made 3/12, those 9 were completely bricks.

Anyways, the Celtics shot 50%, which is bullsh*t. And Pierce just made whatever he wanted to.

I still believe the Pistons are gonna win this series... but they need the attitude they're currently lacking.
thanks. syg....................:)

Well, I've been lurking on your site for years, and finally signed up a few months ago. I was living overseas for the past 8 years, and found your site an interesting supplement to the normal coverage. I suppose now is as a good a time as any for a first post after checking out the chat. It's funny how many have come to expect this type of performance. I know I did. That's the frustrating thing about this team. You write them off, they come on strong. You expect success, they shoot blanks.

The offense seemed out of sync. Not enough assists. Too many turnovers. Holding the ball too long (what was with the repeated Tay against the world plan early in the game?). I suppose Billups coming back into the fold after a layoff didn't help, but it's not like he is new to the team. Did he seem tentative, or is he still injured? Boston's "D" is good, but the Pistons seemed to stop themselves as happens so often.

I suppose now that I've come out of the forum closet, I'll have to post once in awhile....

I suppose now that I've come out of the forum closet, I'll have to post once in awhile....
Yeah, please make it a habit. :)

Welcome. It's great to see you signed up. Hopefully chat is not so miserable in the remaining games. :D :gun1: :yellowprison:

1 down and still 4 to go. We still got a chance to win one in Boston. Kind a rusty tonight though ...

We are not going to beat the Celtics scoring 79 points..in fact in the 4 games we have played them this year we have not scored more than 87 points and the last two we couldn't top 80...:yellowprison:

Billups claimed he was 100%, but I doubt he was at 75%, he missed 2 Ft and only had 2 assists??

Rip and Sheed were invisible in the first half, but we still were within 1 because of the play of Dice and Stuckey. Sheed did not even dominate when KG was out, but hit some shots over PJ and Perkins in the 4th.

I think when they gave up that 6-0 run to end the half, it gave the Celtics some momentum. The game was lost in the third qtr with the 7 turnovers

Well, I've been lurking on your site for years, and finally signed up a few months ago. I was living overseas for the past 8 years, and found your site an interesting supplement to the normal coverage. I suppose now is as a good a time as any for a first post after checking out the chat. It's funny how many have come to expect this type of performance. I know I did. That's the frustrating thing about this team. You write them off, they come on strong. You expect success, they shoot blanks.

The offense seemed out of sync. Not enough assists. Too many turnovers. Holding the ball too long (what was with the repeated Tay against the world plan early in the game?). I suppose Billups coming back into the fold after a layoff didn't help, but it's not like he is new to the team. Did he seem tentative, or is he still injured? Boston's "D" is good, but the Pistons seemed to stop themselves as happens so often.

I suppose now that I've come out of the forum closet, I'll have to post once in awhile....That was straight and to the point. great point!! GREAT POSTS..not full of yourself at all...WELCOME!

Nice to enter the exchange. I haven't met many fans since my return (insane, since I am back in the Detroit area).

I still don't understand the inexplicable lack of ball movement. They know they need to move the ball around to win, yet they abandon this strategy all of the time. I know the opposing "D" has something to do with it, but they didn't even appear to try and spread them out tonight.

What did they practice since the end of the Orlando series?

I agree with some of the other comments. They clearly could have won this game playing as bad as they did. I only wonder how long Boston will stay quiet. Allen is bound to wake up one of these days.....

We can so beat these guys. All the Celts did was hold serve.

Sure, in their minds, they can. This team needs to stop being metaphysical and start getting physical. :MusicBigGrin:

<p>Well, many of you Piston "fans" got what you wanted tonight. Hunter. Theo. No Afflalo. No Amir. And the Pistons looked bad.</p>


<p>Many of you are so enthralled with our starters that you would want Billups to play in a game when he was clearly not ready to play. Someone said he was not at full speed. He was not at half speed. But hey, Flip can do what he wants, cause the fans don't seem to care. At least a vocal minority of them, who I am directing this venom at.</p>


<p>For those of you who think Flip can do no wrong, please change. Join the fans who do care about us winning, and start demanding Flip play Afflalo and Amir to shore up our defense, to add youth to our rotation, just as Dumars wants. Demand that Flip not do what he did tonight, play players only so that he would not have to play Amir and Afflalo.</p>


<p>Hunter played way too much. He did hit one three. Great. Thats it though. Imagine how many hustle plays we could have gotten from a youngster like Afflalo. Anyone see Theo be of any help at all out there? Nope. But since he is on the team, and so many of you actually believe young, energetic players should not play - so many actually go along with Flip's non-sensical line that you can't have more than one young player on the floor, while having the local nursing home's residents all out there all at once is just fine, ok, this is a runon sentence. Quit giving Flip any breaks. Call in on the call in shows and demand better.</p>


<p>If you you post about the game, demand better. And direct some anger at Dumars for allowing this non-sense to go on.</p>


<p>Sheed played pretty much the entire 1st half. Why? He started the game out 1 for 6. Not exactly hot. He did make two consecutive buckets at one point, but otherwise very predictably had a terrible 2nd half to match a not so great first half. And that 3 he took when we were down 6 and desperately needed a 2 point bucket - that was pure "bad Sheed." What was he thinking.</p>


<p>Tay had his moments, but was outclassed by Pierce. Funny, but our bench never helped at all as far as trying to wear Pierce out. You know, we actually have Hunter as the guy playing to spell Tay. What a huge dropoff. Boston must be laughing right now, thinking why not send the local highschool team out at us next time if that is all we got.</p>


<p>Dyess had a good first half. Too old though. Nothing in the 2nd half.</p>


<p>JMAX hit a jumper, had some nice bounds, not much else.</p>


<p>Rip hit some shots, and turned the ball over some.</p>


<p>Hayes did not play. Amir was dressed. I assume that Samb, Dixon, and Herrmann are the guys not dressed.</p>


<p>One more point. With Stuckey in and Billups on the bench, we pulled this thing to within 6. In comes Billups. Why? Just because he is a vet. Not a good reason. Flip, do better. One, start Stuckey next game. Two, sure play Billups, but minimally. Three, do not play Hunter. Too old. Next, play Afflalo and Amir. Pretty simple. Get over your "fright" of playing young players. Do not label players. Just play your best ones.</p>

Sure, in their minds, they can. This team needs to stop being metaphysical and start getting physical. :MusicBigGrin:
Jean Francois, it's all good cousin. I knew we might be in for a six or seven game series, which means 2 or 3 losses, if not 4. This is only one loss.

It seemed like the Pistons were not mentally ready for this game, while the Celtics were. I expected the opposite. But the Pistons are predictably unpredictable, and they can still bounce back with a great game on Thursday.

Flip can do what he wants, cause the fans don't seem to care.

How are these two things even related?



If the Pistons use the "We were rusty" argument, I'm going to scream. Celtics come off two back-to-back 7-gamers, are ripe for the picking, and Detroit comes out with little heart. I'm not discouraged, but I do think an opportunity has slipped away.

Really poor performance. All that time off and we get that? We had no Offensive flow. We were a bit like that early Philly series. Worried about getting inside and passing up looks. If Billips can't drive let Stuckey. They cannot guard Stuckey. Billips can shoot the 3 ball if he is limited.

The team thinks it has match up edges everywhere but for it to materialize, we have to open the offense up. Then you will see open drives to the hoop and not before.

What the real puzzle is was the defense. They got way too much what they wanted. Garnett is roaming free everywhere. I am not worried about Pierce--not for a full series but Garnett must be hounded.

<p>Well, many of you Piston "fans" got what you wanted tonight. Hunter. Theo. No Afflalo. No Amir. And the Pistons looked bad.</p>


<p>Many of you are so enthralled with our starters that you would want Billups to play in a game when he was clearly not ready to play. Someone said he was not at full speed. He was not at half speed. But hey, Flip can do what he wants, cause the fans don't seem to care. At least a vocal minority of them, who I am directing this venom at.</p>


<p>For those of you who think Flip can do no wrong, please change. Join the fans who do care about us winning, and start demanding Flip play Afflalo and Amir to shore up our defense, to add youth to our rotation, just as Dumars wants. Demand that Flip not do what he did tonight, play players only so that he would not have to play Amir and Afflalo.</p>


<p>Hunter played way too much. He did hit one three. Great. Thats it though. Imagine how many hustle plays we could have gotten from a youngster like Afflalo. Anyone see Theo be of any help at all out there? Nope. But since he is on the team, and so many of you actually believe young, energetic players should not play - so many actually go along with Flip's non-sensical line that you can't have more than one young player on the floor, while having the local nursing home's residents all out there all at once is just fine, ok, this is a runon sentence. Quit giving Flip any breaks. Call in on the call in shows and demand better.</p>


<p>If you you post about the game, demand better. And direct some anger at Dumars for allowing this non-sense to go on.</p>


<p>Sheed played pretty much the entire 1st half. Why? He started the game out 1 for 6. Not exactly hot. He did make two consecutive buckets at one point, but otherwise very predictably had a terrible 2nd half to match a not so great first half. And that 3 he took when we were down 6 and desperately needed a 2 point bucket - that was pure "bad Sheed." What was he thinking.</p>


<p>Tay had his moments, but was outclassed by Pierce. Funny, but our bench never helped at all as far as trying to wear Pierce out. You know, we actually have Hunter as the guy playing to spell Tay. What a huge dropoff. Boston must be laughing right now, thinking why not send the local highschool team out at us next time if that is all we got.</p>


<p>Dyess had a good first half. Too old though. Nothing in the 2nd half.</p>


<p>JMAX hit a jumper, had some nice bounds, not much else.</p>


<p>Rip hit some shots, and turned the ball over some.</p>


<p>Hayes did not play. Amir was dressed. I assume that Samb, Dixon, and Herrmann are the guys not dressed.</p>


<p>One more point. With Stuckey in and Billups on the bench, we pulled this thing to within 6. In comes Billups. Why? Just because he is a vet. Not a good reason. Flip, do better. One, start Stuckey next game. Two, sure play Billups, but minimally. Three, do not play Hunter. Too old. Next, play Afflalo and Amir. Pretty simple. Get over your "fright" of playing young players. Do not label players. Just play your best ones.</p>
After tonite, i apologize for ever disagreeing with u this year...and I'm man enuf too admit..i'm sorry!

Lee I agree with you on a couple of points. We did play better with Stucky in there. If I were Flip I would have started Stucky in the 3rd and then brought in Billups off the bench. If he was still struggling, then give AA 3-4 mins to shake up the flow..couldn't hurt..after all he was dressed and ready. Even if Billups game was off, he should have been able to deliver more than 2 assists

Did anybody notice the points in the paint differential?? 44-22 in fav of the celtics of course. . Stuckey was the only player to attack the basket more than 2 times. The only time we seem to attack the rim was in the second qtr and relied to many jumpers the rest of the game.

I only saw two of the three regular season games against Boston (both losses), but it seemed in those games that the Pistons had trouble rebounding. I didn't check the final stats, but they were headed in that direction again.

I'd like to think the young guys could help, but I'm not so sure in all cases. But when things are going as they were it couldn't hurt to throw Amir in there for a few minutes to change the pace. He would probably pick up a foul per minute guarding Garnett, but he may get some of those boards. I'm not sure about AA. I'm not expert, but they need offense and he seems more focused on "D" (not a negative thing, just not what they were lacking). Max still seems inconsistent. I don't know if that's due to his assignments, play calling, or just streakiness.

How are these two things even related?



If the Pistons use the "We were rusty" argument, I'm going to scream. Celtics come off two back-to-back 7-gamers, are ripe for the picking, and Detroit comes out with little heart. I'm not discouraged, but I do think an opportunity has slipped away.

Rust had nothing to do with it. It was a one point game after one half. If it was rust, it would have showed up in the first half. It was bad coaching, specifically playing Sheed pretty much the entire first half, leaving him nothing left for the 2nd half. I got news for anyone who thinks this is ok coaching - Sheed is 33, a big guy who was sucking wind in the first two minutes of the game, and a guy who is wearing a knee brace. Hello out there? Anybody home? This is not ok coaching.

Flip did manage not to overplay his starters too badly in that first half other than Sheed, but Sheed is a very key player in this series. He needs to come out for regular breathers, or he is going to continue to do poorly in this series.

Oh, and to answer your question, yes, if all the fans holler for the same thing, yes, it is listened to. Dumars and the Pistons organization are not deaf to the fans voice. You get a divided fan base though, and it gets much less effective.

I don't even think i have much to say anymore. Pretty much exactly what i expected with this rotation. No Amir, No AA. Entitlement min. Tay playing damn near the whole game. No one really spelling him. Opposing players waltzing into the paint at will.

Rondo going 5-9 with 7 assists.

Flip just doesn't have it, and it always shows once we get to the point where the talent disparity b/w the two teams isn't there anymore (and sometimes even when it is).

Chaunce looked bad.

LH playing in the ORL series was one of the worst things that could've happened to this team. AA is just 10x better than him at this point.

Flip won't learn. He says he's going to play Amir, then puts him on the IA list. He relies on Tay/Sheed way too much. If this is how the team's going to be coached, why the Pistons are paying Flip is beyond me. I'm sure you could get the guy selling hot dogs to do it.

It's just rinse and repeat every year. I'm over it.

Rust had nothing to do with it. It was a one point game after one half. If it was rust, it would have showed up in the first half. It was bad coaching, specifically playing Sheed pretty much the entire first half, leaving him nothing left for the 2nd half. I got news for anyone who thinks this is ok coaching - Sheed is 33, a big guy who was sucking wind in the first two minutes of the game, and a guy who is wearing a knee brace. Hello out there? Anybody home? This is not ok coaching.

Flip did manage not to overplay his starters too badly in that first half other than Sheed, but Sheed is a very key player in this series. He needs to come out for regular breathers, or he is going to continue to do poorly in this series.

Oh, and to answer your question, yes, if all the fans holler for the same thing, yes, it is listened to. Dumars and the Pistons organization are not deaf to the fans voice. You get a divided fan base though, and it gets much less effective.

I agree with you on the rust thing, but not the fan thing. Dumars and Co. don't care what the fans think as long as they keep filling the Palace. Lee, if you want to lodge a protest, don't go to any more games. Seriously. And if you do, at least make a sign that shows your distaste for Flip or your support for AA and Amir.

I agree with you on the rust thing, but not the fan thing. Dumars and Co. don't care what the fans think as long as they keep filling the Palace. Lee, if you want to lodge a protest, don't go to any more games. Seriously. And if you do, at least make a sign that shows your distaste for Flip or your support for AA and Amir.
Lee, I agree with gazoo. You should protest.

If you write an angry fax, I will send it to the Palace non-stop and we can create a paper shortage.

I don't even think i have much to say anymore. Pretty much exactly what i expected with this rotation. No Amir, No AA. Entitlement min. Tay playing damn near the whole game. No one really spelling him. Opposing players waltzing into the paint at will.

Rondo going 5-9 with 7 assists.

Flip just doesn't have it, and it always shows once we get to the point where the talent disparity b/w the two teams isn't there anymore (and sometimes even when it is).

Chaunce looked bad.

LH playing in the ORL series was one of the worst things that could've happened to this team. AA is just 10x better than him at this point.

Flip won't learn. He says he's going to play Amir, then puts him on the IA list. He relies on Tay/Sheed way too much. If this is how the team's going to be coached, why the Pistons are paying Flip is beyond me. I'm sure you could get the guy selling hot dogs to do it.

It's just rinse and repeat every year. I'm over it.

Please hang in there. Its not over yet. By the way, I appreciate very much having a like minded poster like you on the forum. Thanks. - I know, you think I'm the like minded poster. Well, I know many who share our opinions, just not as vocally as others.

Please hang in there. Its not over yet. By the way, I appreciate very much having a like minded poster like you on the forum. Thanks. - I know, you think I'm the like minded poster. Well, I know many who share our opinions, just not as vocally as others.


Hey what about me??? I always agree with what you write.. :confused:, I even wanted you try out for assistant coach when we got swept by the Nets in 2003:(

It seemed like the Pistons were not mentally ready for this game, while the Celtics were. I expected the opposite. But the Pistons are predictably unpredictable, and they can still bounce back with a great game on Thursday.
I expected the Pistons to come out a bit flat, but not tired. The guys just looked winded - especially Sheed - in the early going IMO.

Please hang in there. Its not over yet. By the way, I appreciate very much having a like minded poster like you on the forum. Thanks. - I know, you think I'm the like minded poster. Well, I know many who share our opinions, just not as vocally as others.

Your posts are great (and i'm not just saying that b/c i agree w/ most of them!)

I'm not giving up on the team, just tempering my expectations (to a much lower level). This team is a little schizophrenic as is Flip. He'll show you a flash of the best rotation, and the players will show you some grit, and then next game it's gone.

We are not going to beat BOS playing this slow down 1/2 court game with them. They are too good at it. We need to push the pace, run, attack, put pressure on them, and we have the players to do it. But at this point it has about an 0.01% chance of happening.

Also Chauncey looks about 50% which initself is pretty discouraging.

we made KG and PP play like it was their birthday :(

we made KG and PP play like it was their birthday :(
Well Kevin Garnett's birthday was in fact yesterday:party2::gift:

If there was ever a game to overplay starters, it was this one. We were coming off a ton of rest and they are in the wake of a tough 7 game series that was all defense. Instead, we go with the Lindsey/ Ratliff duo??? When Boston put their bench in, I would have punished them with the starting 5. Wear Boston out completely.

But we got a couple sorry performances from CB and Sheed. Chauncey was rusty and Sheed was overmatched. You know it's bad when your 2 point guards combine for 2 assists in a playoff game. In fact, Sheed was the leader with 4. I'm pretty sure most of those were handoffs to Rip.

Anyways, despite all that, we still had a chance and put up a fight late in the game. If we steal game 2, we're in the driver's seat. If not, then it's gonna be tough.

They played a horrible game, and barely lost to Boston.

We can so beat these guys. All the Celts did was hold serve.

I would like to pick up on this thought. The Pistons were clearly out of sync and no one played well. Dyess was on and this is a good sign for the rest of the games. Yet, they were never out of the ball game.

Boston did not look good and I definitely think the Pistons will win one in Boston. This looked like a tired ball club. I have changed my mind. Pistons will win this series.

The Pistons need to run them and they looked much better on fast breaks than Boston, which is another tell-tale sign that Boston will get slower.

Flip is heading the combination of Stuckey and CB toward the right path: pressure on going to the middle of the paint and to finish once in a while to keep Boston honest. Rondo is very weak when defending one-on-one. CB and Stuckey can take him easily in any direction. Both of these guys must get loud marching orders to drive,drive, drive and more drive. If this happens, the Pistons will win this series.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel confident after this loss.

79 points. This is the only statistic that really matters to me. Watching UM play hoops would have been more entertaining from an offensive standpoint.

I would like to pick up on this thought. The Pistons were clearly out of sync and no one played well. Dyess was on and this is a good sign for the rest of the games. Yet, they were never out of the ball game.

Boston did not look good and I definitely think the Pistons will win one in Boston. This looked like a tired ball club. I have changed my mind. Pistons will win this series.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel confident after this loss.
I know we all like to kick the team when they don't live up to the expectations of a team that played 20 years ago but this is reasonable. We historically play crappy after a layoff. I feel good that we'll bounce back and steal 1 game and hold our home court.

If some of you think that unused benchplayers can turn things around then , please stop smoking whatever you are smoking.

Both PJ brown and Perkins just could have scored vs. AJ (there is no point to put him in "maybe he can rebound") and AA's D is good vs. dribblers but pierce is just too big for him or allen was insignificant anyway. We needed SCORING FIRST.

Yes I know: AA/AJ HoF-ers answer to this that, we do not expect them to save world but they contradict themselves: play good D vs. Lewis/Howard/KG/Pierce, take key rebounds, close lanes, force TOs, hit shots - all these and even more has demanded from AA/AJ club. Pretty big things, huh? Even starters cant play so well...

We do not have San Antonio level bench - it is so good that they didnt find time for Scola and Udrih. Imagine, how good such bench is.

Am I only one who do not look for answers for all starter's woes
from bench?


Billups had play, regardless of what: giving plenty of PT is the only way to shake off rust from injury.

I agree, it wasn't our bench that lost this game, not at all. It was bad turnovers down the stretch and both Rip and Sheed laying eggs.

<p>Three, do not play Hunter. Too old. Next, play Afflalo and Amir. Pretty simple. Get over your "fright" of playing young players. Do not label players. Just play your best ones.</p>

Um. Does "<p>" imply sarcasm? I'm pretty sure Lindsey was a huge positive out there tonight. Amir would get torn to shreds by KG and wouldn't stand a chance holding it down in the post against Perkins. Flip is a good coach, you're just overreacting. Most of you are.

Analysts did say that Sheed has a trey that KG does not. Sheed couldn't hit any of them. KG did once or twice enough to make it matter. Sheed again was inconsistent in hitting fades and rebounding, KG was not. Game difference.

I expected the Pistons to come out a bit flat, but not tired. The guys just looked winded - especially Sheed - in the early going IMO.

Yep, and looked like a team that hadn't played in a while. I'd take that rust if Billups had been able to come back strong, but that didn't seem to pan out either.

For me the loss comes down completely to offensive execution. The Pistons didn't have any. All they ran was iso's (especially in the second half), and that's the worst play in their book.

I used to think Tay just didn't want to throw the ball into a post man. Now I realize that he doesn't know how to set up in order to be able to execute the pass. He always puts himself in the position where his man can both guard him and drop back enough to deny the post pass. Someone should have a little session in practice with him.

Yep, and looked like a team that hadn't played in a while. I'd take that rust if Billups had been able to come back strong, but that didn't seem to pan out either.

I expected them to be slightly sharper in the first, and then we'd get our rhythm in the second half and they tire, nope, they finished stronger just like all 3 regular season games (sans 1 second).

Y'all are underestimating the Celtics. I think objectively, they are the better team. They had a better season, they have home court, they have been dominating on home court, and the odds are in their favor that eventually they will win a road game.

They have a very deep roster, as deep if not deeper than the Pistons.

Based on the last 6 years, we might be the better franchise and team, but clearly not this season.

Now does that mean we will lose? Heck no.

But people who were thinking we were going to go into Boston and steal game one, and then afterwards get upset that we didn't pull of a small miracle are being unrealistic.

Oh, and GOOD MORNING PISTONS FANS!

Well, I've been lurking on your site for years, and finally signed up a few months ago. I was living overseas for the past 8 years, and found your site an interesting supplement to the normal coverage. I suppose now is as a good a time as any for a first post after checking out the chat. It's funny how many have come to expect this type of performance. I know I did. That's the frustrating thing about this team. You write them off, they come on strong. You expect success, they shoot blanks.

The offense seemed out of sync. Not enough assists. Too many turnovers. Holding the ball too long (what was with the repeated Tay against the world plan early in the game?). I suppose Billups coming back into the fold after a layoff didn't help, but it's not like he is new to the team. Did he seem tentative, or is he still injured? Boston's "D" is good, but the Pistons seemed to stop themselves as happens so often.

I suppose now that I've come out of the forum closet, I'll have to post once in awhile....

Excellent post, welcome aboard, hope I'll be able to hold my tongue long enough to stick around here. Getting close to blowing my stack...

Based on the last 6 years, we might be the better franchise and team, but clearly not this season.

Now does that mean we will lose? Heck no.

But people who were thinking we were going to go into Boston and steal game one, and then afterwards get upset that we didn't pull of a small miracle are being unrealistic.

Oh, and GOOD MORNING PISTONS FANS!

I believe we were +4 in Vegas. I don't think that is a small miracle.

That's not stealing a game when you have a week to prepare (at least half your coaching staff), and rest.

Boston held serve. If anything, we showed that with a barely effective Billups, and a wildly erratic Hamilton, and a woefully slow Wallace, we could grind with these guys and stay within single digits on the road in their house of pain.

Jump, Jump, Jump up and get down!

I like our chances to steal game 2 or 5. We just have to hold serve at home.

I agree, it wasn't our bench that lost this game, not at all. It was bad turnovers down the stretch and both Rip and Sheed laying eggs.

Stuckey plus 5, Hunter plus 8, rat plus 4, the only bench player that wasn't in the plus was max... who still seemed to lack a bit of energy, but he doesn't play with the same energy on the road.

As bad as sheed played he still was the best starter in the plus minus, at minus 6.... Billups really was the deciding factor though, not playing a game for 2 weeks against a team that as game tested as possible playing at home.... I have hope that game 2 will be a game we can steal.

Game 2 is were we see if flip should be here next year or not... does he make the adjustment to fix things or does he try the same game plan again and just hope to make the shots.... we have seen what they plan to do to us, now how does he adjust.

i'll be watching...

Boston held serve. If anything, we showed that with a barely effective Billups, and a wildly erratic Hamilton, and a woefully slow Wallace, we could grind with these guys and stay within single digits on the road in their house of pain.


Must have been the tights

I agree, it wasn't our bench that lost this game, not at all. It was bad turnovers down the stretch and both Rip and Sheed laying eggs.

I agree that subpar games from Sheed and Rip (including, I believe, three turnovers by Rip) were the main factor in this loss. I guess the question is whether, in light of those performances, Flip should have given our best bench players more of their minutes. I do think Flip should have done that, at least when things began unraveling in the third.

Must have been the tights
Hey man, those are pantyhose! ;) :D

Boston held serve. If anything, we showed that with a barely effective Billups, and a wildly erratic Hamilton, and a woefully slow Wallace, we could grind with these guys and stay within single digits on the road in their house of pain.

Jump, Jump, Jump up and get down!

I like our chances to steal game 2 or 5. We just have to hold serve at home.

Agree. My bet is on game 2.

As long as the offense manages to average more than one pass per possession. :)

Boston held serve. If anything, we showed that with a barely effective Billups, and a wildly erratic Hamilton, and a woefully slow Wallace, we could grind with these guys and stay within single digits on the road in their house of pain.

Jump, Jump, Jump up and get down!

I like our chances to steal game 2 or 5. We just have to hold serve at home.

I agree with this. I think the biggest reason for the Pistons loss was the Boston Celtics. Pierce, Garnett, and Rondo played exceptionally well. 26 assists on 36 made baskets is excellent team ball. I think the Pistons did a great job of hanging with a team that was on fire.

It's time to see if Flip can make a few defensive adjustments and come back strong against the C's.

Sheed, Chauncey, Tayshaun, Stucky, and Rip need to hit their shots. :hoops: The Pistons got decent looks, but half of their shots rimmed out or were just off the mark. Gotta fix that.

Lindsey was amazing. I'm would like to nominate myself as the new President of the Lenz Huntah Fan Club!

We'll get the next one. Go Pistons!

Yep, and looked like a team that hadn't played in a while. I'd take that rust if Billups had been able to come back strong, but that didn't seem to pan out either.

For me the loss comes down completely to offensive execution. The Pistons didn't have any. All they ran was iso's (especially in the second half), and that's the worst play in their book.

I used to think Tay just didn't want to throw the ball into a post man. Now I realize that he doesn't know how to set up in order to be able to execute the pass. He always puts himself in the position where his man can both guard him and drop back enough to deny the post pass. Someone should have a little session in practice with him.

Actually the problem with that play was 1. Pierce was playing good D. 2. Tay had a bad angle...BUT the main reason for the bad angle was that the man in the post was pushed out too far from the Block. He needed to be lower to create a better passing angle...but the good D in the post (or the bad positioning by the player) made it difficult.

Chauncey has been our plus/minus leader for a few seasons straight now. And not just marginally, he dominates that stat and is up with the league leaders. That is why it is so rare for him to be the worst on the team, which he was last night. If Mr. Big Shot would have played in that game, we probably would have overtaken them.

KG had a very nice shooting night and Sheed looked frustrated. We're going to need that mismatch to level out a little bit. A litte here and a little there, and we'll be winning.

On the positive side, Dyess was really hitting his shot last night. And Stuckey and Lindsey did a pretty good job in relief. And yes, Afflalo could be very useful here. He can shadow Ray Allen and has the versatility to help out on Rondo/ Pierce, etc. I would bet that Flip wants to play him, but didn't feel like it was right last night.

i think everyone (fans, pundits) was expecting the following scenario: pistons steal game 1 against a tired celtics team, lose game 2, hold serve at home, and win the series at home for game 6. so that didn't happen, but guess what, we can still win game 2 and put ALL of the pressure on boston.

i have to wonder if some of you are watching the same game, complaining about theo and lindsey. guess what, we outscored boston when they were on the floor! theo got physical with garnett and picked up some fouls to get him out of his rhythm, while lindsey played great defense and even hit a 3 that we needed badly at the time. what would AA give us? sure he's a little taller and you could put him on pierce, but he can't hit the 3-ball and he doesn't get the respect of the refs. if anything it's a wash.

maxiell isn't playing poorly but he's not giving us much of a spark, either. at least he starts plays with a pass though.

simply put we lost this game because of chauncey, rip, and sheed. chauncey wasn't aggressive when he could've owned rondo, rip tried to generate too much offense by himself and turned it over, and sheed was just atrocious, terrible offense combined with slow and horrible defense. what were the tights for? why couldn't you stay with garnett? why did they get so many open shots? you guys can complain all you want about the minutes he played in the 1st half, but he was far better in the 2nd which kind of negates that point. rip, what the heck was that pass to tayshaun halfway upcourt that got promptly swiped? i'm all for pushing the ball but don't be an idiot about it.

it's scary when dice is our most mentally composed player on the floor. great game from him. tayshaun wasn't lockdown but at least he had a good offensive game. stuckey was spectacular - garnett cannot and won't block shots like howard because he respects sheed's outside game too much to cheat. we need to exploit that. and flip, when your guys are playing well, leave them in there. and stop with the 'dribble in one spot for 12 seconds and then make a move', or the 'isolation backdown where absolutely no one but stuckey makes cuts and tries to generate movement' - that's not a good offensive strategy. and starters, take notes from the bench because they ALWAYS start offensive sets with some ball movement. and what's with that high pick-and-roll that we run? instead of it being effective, our big just stays far out on the perimeter while our guard gets double teamed and we gain nothing from that whatsoever.

i hate when we get a lot of FTs in the 1st half because it means we're getting no calls in the 2nd. some of their 'steals' were clear hacks and reach-ins, plus when pierce PLOWED over stuckey that was an OBVIOUS offensive foul and it never got called. but that didn't decide the game. rondo's steal on wallace in the post was unacceptable because no one yelled to him that rondo was coming around and that he should watch out.

either way, it was a winnable game and the killers were blowing the 39-35 lead and letting them go on a 6-0 run, the atrocious 3rd quarter, and the complete lack of hustle on the defensive end. starters, you're going to have to do better than that. let's hope game 2 is better.

I don't think I'd call Stuckey's game spectacular since he had 0 assists. But at least he was aggressive. I was actually a little baffled when Flip put Chauncey back in the game when we cut it to 6 with Stuckey leading the comeback. But instead of switching Stuckey out, he moved him to the 2 and actually yanked Rip.???

I agree that Stuck could have got that charge call. Similarly, the play where Lindsey took a charge at about mid-court was perplexing. It looked like he took the hit AND never touched the ball as it went out of bounds. Not sure how Boston got that ball back. Sheed also had a nice block that got a bad whistle.

Actually the problem with that play was....

True some of the time last night, but I don't think Tay's hesitation to throw the ball into the post is a one game thing. It's a pattern.

KG had a very nice shooting night and Sheed looked frustrated. We're going to need that mismatch to level out a little bit. A litte here and a little there, and we'll be winning.

Yes. I think a lot of Sheed's offensive success comes off his defense. Getting blocks and steals gets him fired up on offense too. Last night, two steals and no blocks. In fact, only one block for the whole team, and way too much flailing as Pierce as he rolled to the hoop.

Still, as you say, a defensive adjustment or two, and a little bit more CB and they split in Boston.

If some of you think that unused benchplayers can turn things around then , please stop smoking whatever you are smoking.

Both PJ brown and Perkins just could have scored vs. AJ (there is no point to put him in "maybe he can rebound") and AA's D is good vs. dribblers but pierce is just too big for him or allen was insignificant anyway. We needed SCORING FIRST.

Yes I know: AA/AJ HoF-ers answer to this that, we do not expect them to save world but they contradict themselves: play good D vs. Lewis/Howard/KG/Pierce, take key rebounds, close lanes, force TOs, hit shots - all these and even more has demanded from AA/AJ club. Pretty big things, huh? Even starters cant play so well...

We do not have San Antonio level bench - it is so good that they didnt find time for Scola and Udrih. Imagine, how good such bench is.

Am I only one who do not look for answers for all starter's woes
from bench?


Billups had play, regardless of what: giving plenty of PT is the only way to shake off rust from injury.



Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity.

They shot 52%.

Udrih sucks. With Scola there was internal drama with his contact in Europe.

Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity.

Sounds like golf to me.

Yep, and looked like a team that hadn't played in a while. I'd take that rust if Billups had been able to come back strong, but that didn't seem to pan out either.

For me the loss comes down completely to offensive execution. The Pistons didn't have any. All they ran was iso's (especially in the second half), and that's the worst play in their book.

I used to think Tay just didn't want to throw the ball into a post man. Now I realize that he doesn't know how to set up in order to be able to execute the pass. He always puts himself in the position where his man can both guard him and drop back enough to deny the post pass. Someone should have a little session in practice with him.

And before the series, all was being preached was how we have to move the ball, even better than we did in any other series. We folded against the Celts defense.

edited to add;

The Celtics bench is deeper than us b/c we don't use ours.

Warthog:

That is the game I saw--the one you wrote about.

I am not happy. Yes, we were in it but it is not that the Celts played that well either.

It was a bad game considering its the finals and we had so much time off. No flow in the offense is one thing but where was the quickness from fresh legs. And did they scout this team on defense?

I don't agree with some that Garnett had a good shooting game. He was wide open on most of those shots. If he is let that open, he will always shoot well. Garnett must be slowed down...

And before the series, all was being preached was how we have to move the ball, even better than we did in any other series. We folded against the Celts defense.

Agree. Gosh darn execution thing.


The Celtics bench is deeper than us b/c we don't use ours.

Not to be excessively curmudgeonly, but the Celtics bench played 47.9 minutes while the Pistons bench played 56.8. If CB had played similar minutes to the other starters the bench contributions would have been about even. (Which isn't to say that the Pistons bench isn't better nor to imply that they should not play more then the Celtic's bench.)

It would be nice to have a defensive gameplan that focuses on taking away KG's sweet spots. He has a couple favorite zones and likes to fall into a pattern of J's. We need to dislodge him from those spots.

He seems to be able to shoot over any defender (Ben Wallace and Sheed in his last 2 games especially). When we put Amir on him, KG was smart enough to muscle him down low.

The only thing that I can think of is to poke him in the stomach when he shoots.

Anyone complaining about the bench not seeing more minutes in this game obviously won't be convinced by any more arguments the other way, but I'll just point out that on the road, in the playoffs, the best you can realistically hope from your bench is to equal the other team's production. Even the best teams count on their role players to play better at home while knowing they aren't as likely to produce on the road. It really is that simple.

Bench stats in Game 1:

Pistons: 14 points, 9 boards, 3 assists, 1 turnover
Celtics: 15 points, 8 boards, 5 assists, 0 turnovers

That's about even, which effectively means "advantage Pistons," since the game was in Boston. The starters have to put you over the top, which obviously did not happen last night.

It would be nice to have a defensive gameplan that focuses on taking away KG's sweet spots. He has a couple favorite zones and likes to fall into a pattern of J's. We need to dislodge him from those spots.

He seems to be able to shoot over any defender (Ben Wallace and Sheed in his last 2 games especially). When we put Amir on him, KG was smart enough to muscle him down low.

The only thing that I can think of is to poke him in the stomach when he shoots.

Ben did a fantastic job of this.

Agree. Gosh darn execution thing.




Not to be excessively curmudgeonly, but the Celtics bench played 47.9 minutes while the Pistons bench played 56.8. If CB had played similar minutes to the other starters the bench contributions would have been about even. (Which isn't to say that the Pistons bench isn't better nor to imply that they should not play more then the Celtic's bench.)

Let me rephrase that, we don't play the right players on the bench.

Ben did a fantastic job of this.

Poking him in the stomach?

Anyway, I think you're right. When the Celts went to KG in/near the post three or four times in a row against Ben Wallace in the 4th quarter the other day, Ben stopped him from scoring everytime by getting into his body and taking his legs away. If KG can jump, he can shoot over anybody. If you take his legs away by bodying up, he (and all other big men) becomes mortal pretty quickly. Of course, that assumes he provides the opportunity for the defender to get close.

If the jump shot is falling though, he is pretty tough to defend since all he does is hang out at 17 feet and wait for his man to help elsewhere. Pretty much the way Dyess scored last night.

Taking his legs away sounds like a job for Maxiell.

Taking his legs away sounds like a job for Maxiell.

I was just going to say that. You'd think Flip would be aware of this coaching KG all these years.

Also, apparently Joe D sat down with Flip before the series, and told him to activate Amir which is great and useless all at the same time.

I didn't watch last night. I checked over here to see if there was an "X" over number 9....and nope, there wasn't.

First things on my mind were "lemme guess.... lack of ball movement, half step short on defensive rotations, lousy effort led to uncontested shots for the Celtics. We took jumpers while they took it to the rack."

Sounds like I was right. It's not because I'm good, it's because thats what these current Pistons are all about.

I keep reading about what these Pistons do "Historically", or what the "Trend" is.

Lets be realistic folks.


Historically, the Pistons won't likely win a championship.

The Trend is...they lose in the Eastern Conference Finals.

This is everything I was afraid would happen coming to fruition. This squad (historically) gets just far enough for fans and GM to think the Pistons are still in the upper echelon of the NBA. The major changes needed to put this team back in the NBA finals are once again ignored, and by the time Joe Dumars develops a true sense of urgency our core players have lost the trade value they had just a few years ago when Joe should have started pulling the trigger.

All the Coach Brown fans should know what I'm talking about here. He saw this on the horizon, and his warnings fell on the deaf ears of Dumars and Davidson.

We lost Ben Wallace for nothing at all 2 years ago. Don't think that the summer before we couldn't have turned him and Tayshaun into Paul Pierce, or him and Rasheed into Garnett. Or him and Rip into Iverson, or him and whomever into (heaven help us) a lottery pick. I'm not pushing for any of those players in particular, just filling in the blanks with an identity. To break this down into why each one of those guys "wouldn't have worked out" would be missing the point, which is that our "team without a superstar" is about to get trumped by one of three other "superstars that play as a team".

Joe had the chance to turn two all-stars into a superstar, which in hindsight today (had he included Ben in the trade) would have equated into swapping only one of our current all-stars for a superstar player. He passed on this opportunity, and it is apparent what we are left with everytime the Pistons fail to score for "X" minutes in a row, or struggle to score "X" amount of points in a game, or in the fourth quarter for that matter.

I know most people don't want to hear this. Alot of you seem to be happy for ECF appearances, well, not me. I see no difference between us and Chicago or Miami, no difference besides the fact that those teams have a better chance of improving by next year, and we have a better chance than they do of being worse.

Of course, we can keep clinging to the past successes and in the end have nothing to show for any of these players as they get older and fade out of NBA relevance. On the other hand, Joe can start rebuilding this team right now, while some of these players are still considered assets.

I know what I'd do. I have a feeling of what Joe is going to do this summer after Boston knocks us out of this round convincingly.

The problem is, Joe is most likely a few years too late. Two of our "all-stars" really isn't worth the same as it was 2-3 years ago.

Get ready to be rooting for ping pong balls in a few years folks. I'll save you all a seat.

You are right in a lot of your points Cloudwalker, but I am thinking this should have been posted if or when we are ousted...

I am not happy with last nights results, but as our fearless leader (Microscoe) indicated, the celtics had the best record in the league, the second best home record and although we eeked out or stole the first matchup on their court in November they have owned us defensively now for three straight games...

Both teams finished 1 & 2 in most of the defensive categories, and all four games have been a struggle. However in the end their so called inexperience has trumped our experience down the stretch as our guys have either not stepped up or their guys have save that extra energy that we seem to be missing. It has been our vets who have folded in the end:yellowprison:..but that's who Flip goes with no matter how bad one of them might be lame, slow or winded....

I am sitting here now watching the replay on NBA TV and here in the 4th qtr we have gone to the same play (Sheed backing down Perkins) 4 times in a row. The Celtics finally figured it after a time out and cause two straight TO's.

It's hard to move the ball against good defenses. Trying to force ball movement usually results in turnovers.

The Celtics were having a hard time against us as well.

The home teams were like 23-2 in the 2nd round or something like that. No shame in losing a road game to the team with the best record in the NBA.

One thing I for got mention was media hype. With the Celtics going thru two seven games series a lot us got caught up in the they will be tired-we can steal game one syndrome.

We may not have been prepared for their energy level and will need to exert more ourselves by trying to win it in the first half and not trying to wait until the end to turn it on. Let them play catch-up in the second half by delivering the knockout in the first. (10-12 pt haltime lead should be enough)

This game was close , but clearly they won the battle of Garnett oever Sheed and Rondo over Billups. Rip and Allen cancelled each other out and as did Dice and Perkins. (Dyess had the points and Perk had the boards and the scowl)

No shame in losing a road game to the team with the best record in the NBA.

It will have to be a shame at some point soon or it will be fishing time.

When is the last DET won a road game in the ECF? Have they ever won one with Flip here?

I missed the 1st half flying to Hawaii. I am not surprised to hear that thye gave up a 6-0 run to end the half. There are things good teams do and things bad teams do and trend-wise DET is the latter.

Flip says they're starting there sets with 12 seconds left on the shot clock and need to get it going quicker. This has been going on for 3 years now and this is the first I've ever heard him say it. I will not be holding my breath for any miracle adjustments any time soon.

They open the 3rd qtr running a play(s) that has Sheed standing 35' from the basket on the weak side. They would pass the ball 3-4 times for a total of 8'. I am not sure what the purpose of this is, but it seems to end with Rip or CB going meekly at bigger defenders hoping they get a call or the tradmark contested jumer as the clock winds down.

Once again, they start going in to Sheed when they get down big and start getting at least a flow. BOS came to double. Maybe they could get some (Gasp!) open shots from this. Why can't they start out like this?(Can't really fault Stucker here for not calling out the double team. He was probably focusing on spreading his arms like an airplane so he could get called for a weak and 1 on D.)

They highlight a play where Pierce drives to the middle against 5 defenders and kicked it out to KG for a jumper during the 3rd quarter run. You could look at that and say, 'Wow, look at the Piston D collapse!', but the beauty of this play is that despite abandoning the other 4 players on the court, Pierce was 6' from the hoop and could have easily scored if he chose to.

The TO's were rust related, but there is more going on here. The C's can cover DET 1 on 1 but DET can't turn the tables on them. This could be overcome if their offense wasn't so bad. To think I was seriously considering not going to Hawaii so I could watch this. I got problems.

Y'all are underestimating the Celtics. I think objectively, they are the better team. They had a better season, they have home court, they have been dominating on home court, and the odds are in their favor that eventually they will win a road game.

They have a very deep roster, as deep if not deeper than the Pistons.

Based on the last 6 years, we might be the better franchise and team, but clearly not this season.

Now does that mean we will lose? Heck no.

But people who were thinking we were going to go into Boston and steal game one, and then afterwards get upset that we didn't pull of a small miracle are being unrealistic.

Oh, and GOOD MORNING PISTONS FANS!


I love when posters on here make statements that are objective and not emotional. Thank you Ros and Tashawn. That's why I read about 25% of all the posts on the forum becuase the other 75% are being influenced on how the poster is "feeling" as oppose to the facts. Look guys we are all disappointed that we didnt win last nite. We all thought that we were going to go in there and steal game one after all of that "rest" we accumulated. The "rest" will pay off in the latter part of the series as oppose to the beginninng. All the celtics did was hold serve in the first game of the series, must I remind you guys that there is a game 2 on thursday of which we are perfectly capable of winning. The game was very close for most of the game despite missed open shots, late defensive rotations, missed free throws, uncharacteristic turnovers, and the proverbial "rust."

We will be fine guys IT IS JUST THE FIRST GAME. There is nothing wrong in making criticisms here and there becuase that is one of the main puposes of a forum. However, if indeed you doomsayers already know the outcome what is the point in even watching this series. Support our squad win or lose, that is what being a true fan is all about. I FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN GAME 2 STEALING HOMCOURT AWAY FROM BOSTON. A RARE EXP POST.

I FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN GAME 2 STEALING HOMCOURT AWAY FROM BOSTON.

I firmly hope you are right, but can't even muster flaccid enthusiasm to match that hope.

funny picture

http://blog.mlive.com/pistons_impact/2008/05/medium_wallace20.jpg

I am sitting here now watching the replay on NBA TV and here in the 4th qtr we have gone to the same play (Sheed backing down Perkins) 4 times in a row. The Celtics finally figured it after a time out and cause two straight TO's.

Remember when everyone said the Pistons were so good at going with the hot hand - running the same play until over and over until the defense stopped it? Who know that the opposite was also true? If something doesn't work the first time, keep doing it until the game is over.

Didn't matter though, this game was over in the third. The Pistons manage to shoot 50% (39% in the first half) but allow the Celtics to shoot 53%, and turn the ball over seven times (3 for Boston) including three by Rip that pretty much negated his 5-7 shooting. A one point deficit grows to 12 and it's all over but the shouting.

Remember when everyone said the Pistons were so good at going with the hot hand - running the same play until over and over until the defense stopped it? Who know that the opposite was also true? If something doesn't work the first time, keep doing it until the game is over.

Didn't matter though, this game was over in the third. The Pistons manage to shoot 50% (39% in the first half) but allow the Celtics to shoot 53%, and turn the ball over seven times (3 for Boston) including three by Rip that pretty much negated his 5-7 shooting. A one point deficit grows to 12 and it's all over but the shouting.

Like how Rip hits 1 wide open J to start the 4th and is all of a sudden going 1 on 5 since he's "hot".

I think the reason that I'm not so stressed out is that I finally feel like we are up against a formidable foe who doesn't have the 1 superstar model. Losing to Miami and Cleveland was torture.

But against Boston, we are evenly matched and our players are playing their hardest. It's not like we forgot to turn the switch on last night. We just got beat. I can accept that.

We need to win 1 out of 4 on the road + our home games. It's just like men's tennis. Federer doesn't get all bummed out when he fails to break Nadal's serve. He just thinks to himself that he only needs to break it once per set.

Boston earned the right to not have to win on the road. We were all in agreement that we didn't want to burn out our starters chasing them all season long. So here we are. One good game can erase 82 games of Boston's quest for HCA.

You are right in a lot of your points Cloudwalker, but I am thinking this should have been posted if or when we are ousted...



If I did that then it wouldn't be called a prediction.

If Dumars was able to wait until all was certain .... being a GM wouldn't require any skill.

I've been pushing for a shakeup for years. I'm all for supporting the team; however, when the Pistons keep trying to make a cake out of catpoo I'm going to call it the catpoo it is.
There's no way I'm gonna eat it, no matter how much of a fan I am.

One thing I for got mention was media hype. With the Celtics going thru two seven games series a lot us got caught up in the they will be tired-we can steal game one syndrome.

We may not have been prepared for their energy level and will need to exert more ourselves by trying to win it in the first half and not trying to wait until the end to turn it on. Let them play catch-up in the second half by delivering the knockout in the first. (10-12 pt haltime lead should be enough)

This game was close , but clearly they won the battle of Garnett oever Sheed and Rondo over Billups. Rip and Allen cancelled each other out and as did Dice and Perkins. (Dyess had the points and Perk had the boards and the scowl)

If this continues to happen, we are screwed b/c we all know Flip won't hand over Billup's min to Stuckey when it counts.

Also to Ernie's point, closing out quarters is the sign of a good team. It was mentioned as a troubling thing in the ORL series, but we got away with it. Won't happen here.

Did anyone catch Around the Horn today?

Jackie MacMullen finally learned what some of us already knew...the Pistons don't attack the basket. Bill Plaske indicated that only 16 of the 66 Pistons shots were inside 10 ft. The rest were outside. Well how many of us besides me and The Low and a few others say that the Pistons offense is reluctant to "go to the paint" (oh by the way Celtics won the battle of the paint 44-22....and the game)

Jackie said that she spoke with some of the Celtics after the game and the Cavs played them much tougher defensively than the Pistons did last night...no wonder KG, Pierce and Rondo were able to hit so many jumpers with ease. Even Ray Allen was open, he just couldn't see the hoop:).

We got to be more aggessive on both ends of the court (in the paint) and we can grab game 2...and please take care of the ball...

Did anyone catch Around the Horn today?

Jackie MacMullen finally learned what some of us aleady know...the Pistons don't attack the basket. Bill Plaske indicated that only 16 of the 66 Pistons shots were inside 10 ft. The rest were outside. Well how many of us besides me and The Low and a few others say that the Pistons offense is reluctant to "go the paint" (oh by the way Celtics won the battle of the paint 44-22....and the game)

Jackie said that she spoke with some of the Celtics after the game and the Cavs played them much tougher defensively than the Pistons did last night...no wonder KG, Pierce and Rondo were able to hit so many jumpers with ease. Even Ray Allen was open, he just couldn't see the hoop:).

We got to be more aggessive on both ends of the court (in the paint) and we can grab game 2...and please take of the ball...

I think it's always been obvious that the Cav's are a better defensive team than us, at least to me anyway. Nonetheless, this is got to be the single most depressing thing i've heard.

We are soft.

edited to add;

Defense is not just contesting, but pushing ppl out of their sweet spots, becoming their shadow; hounding them; fighting them, doing the early work of preventing the easy pass. We don't do any of that really.

I watched those Bos/ Cleveland games and the Cavs were playing some of the hardest defense I've seen. It rivaled the '04 Pistons. Cleveland could have won the series, so they are no chumps.

So, the new Cavs (w/ Ben) and the Celtics are probably #1 and #2 defensively in the NBA, and we are arguably #3. That is still pretty good considering our multipronged offensive capabilities.

Forcing the ball into the paint against Boston might not work. It might result in a bunch of ugly misses, blocked shots, and turnovers. They are good on the interior and we have a bunch of jump shooting bigs and non-traditional guards. Stuckey is our best hope of getting inside and I thought he was doing a pretty good job of it.

Sheed can beat up on average defenders in the post, but he's not going to school KG. He hit 2 face up J's in a row against Perkins, but it didn't look easy and it wasn't repeatable after that. Dyess has abandoned his post moves this year.

We need to get establish the outside first to open up the driving lanes. For that, we definitely need Chauncey to be dangerous.

I watched those Bos/ Cleveland games and the Cavs were playing some of the hardest defense I've seen. It rivaled the '04 Pistons. Cleveland could have won the series, so they are no chumps.

So, the new Cavs (w/ Ben) and the Celtics are probably #1 and #2 defensively in the NBA, and we are arguably #3. That is still pretty good considering our multipronged offensive capabilities.

Forcing the ball into the paint against Boston might not work. It might result in a bunch of ugly misses, blocked shots, and turnovers. They are good on the interior and we have a bunch of jump shooting bigs and non-traditional guards. Stuckey is our best hope of getting inside and I thought he was doing a pretty good job of it.

Sheed can beat up on average defenders in the post, but he's not going to school KG. He hit 2 face up J's in a row against Perkins, but it didn't look easy and it wasn't repeatable after that. Dyess has abandoned his post moves this year.

We need to get establish the outside first to open up the driving lanes. For that, we definitely need Chauncey to be dangerous.

Unfortuanately for us, our multi-pronged offense doesn't work against good defense.

Also, Max needs to start. He struggles off the bench, and Dice is useless defensively if he plays this much.

Unfortuanately for us, our multi-pronged offense doesn't work against good defense.


Just look at how bad the Giants' defense make the Patriots look. Defense doesn't need to "get hot". It's always there.

Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity.

AMEN.

If the starters keep F'ing up TAKE THEM OFF THE FLOOR. Yes, playing the bench DOES solve the problems of the starters if the starters CONTINUE to F it up out there.

Half the problem with getting the starters to listen to you is to PROVE TO THEM that you're serious about it, by pulling them out of games when they are helping you LOSE. I'll happily take a slightly less talented player who will do A) what we need to have done on the floor and B) what he's told over players who never have to be held accountable by a lame coach because they are "starters." Besides, they have no accountability because they KNOW hands down they will never get pulled out of a game.

Yes the bench solves the problems having to do with the starters because they WON'T BE ON THE FLOOR.

You can't fault DET not being 100% ready to play last night. They know no better. They would fold up the tents if they had played a game 7 two days earlier.

To me, BOS is always going to score easier buckets than Detroit. When BOS makes a move on offense the entire Piston D has to move to compensate. Boston has no such worries. Tay may be able to score on Pierce, but he has to score on Pierce. There is no plan B when you give him the ball. This goes for any Piston.

BOS wasn't even pressuring the ball or trapping CB last night and they still couldn't get in their offense. Doesn't DET have one of the top PG in the L?

You can't fault DET not being 100% ready to play last night. They know no better. They would fold up the tents if they had played a game 7 two days earlier.

To me, BOS is always going to score easier buckets than Detroit. When BOS makes a move on offense the entire Piston D has to move to compensate. Boston has no such worries. Tay may be able to score on Pierce, but he has to score on Pierce. There is no plan B when you give him the ball. This goes for any Piston.

BOS wasn't even pressuring the ball or trapping CB last night and they still couldn't get in their offense. Doesn't DET have one of the top PG in the L?

Do we even run plays?

I'm serious. It doesn't seem like do. It's like we have 2 plays and those are always covered so we just wing it. It's a little disturbing actually.

Do we even run plays?

I'm serious. It doesn't seem like do. It's like we have 2 plays and those are always covered so we just wing it. It's a little disturbing actually.

C'mon, it's what Flip is known for. What about the sweet pick & roll and/or pop they run where neither the roller or picker gets open?

C'mon, it's what Flip is known for. What about the sweet pick & roll and/or pop they run where neither the roller or picker gets open?

I think that was actually too sad to laugh at.

His playbook is 250 pages of plays that work great against the Milwaukee Bucks.

There are no plays that work against the Celtics. We need to out-shoot them and maybe run a little off of turnovers.

In my opinion we are not entered the match ready to play a tough race .. sheed and billups have done the rest

pistons won on six

hi Roscoe

Hate to say that, I think they will return to Detroit 0-2, grip a home game and the series will be finished at game 5 on the road.
Disappointed yes, upset not at all, because it has been written on the wall since early the season when youngs were casually played which revealed that Flip didn't think his is responsible to develop youngs. Whether the youngs will be playing in remain 4 games is no more important because they've already proven. Since we have some young guns and Flip won't be with the team no more next season, believe me, the Pistons are still fun to watch albeit the window opening is getting narrow.
Go Pistons.