This was the last great rivalry in the NBA. Apparently the fans in Indy HATE the Pistons. Don't get this one on TV. :(
Looks like the Pacers will be minus Stepehen Jackson maybe. He blew up at Carlisle on the bench during the Bulls game and was asked to go to the locker room by Carlisle. Amazing how quickly this team has went from favored to win it all, to a group of thugs and injury proned wannabees!!!!!!!
Jermaine O'Neal is probably out (hamstring & flu) Al Harrington missed last game (flu) Marquis Daniels missed last game (flu) Stephen Jackson is questionable (idiot) However, we all remember which short-handed team beat us last time (Hornets) If the Pacers are missing guys again it will be interesting to see the backcourt matchup Billups - Hamilton v Tinsley - Armstrong Ouch!
I think the Pacers really miss Johnson (in Dallas now) He was the one guy that could defend Chauncey.
That is a good one. He is too much of an imbicile to be considered a malcontent. Idiot works. Anyway. Too many things can go wrong in a game like this. Pistons should win and I want to say they will win. Pistons 98 Pacers 87 - Assuming no one is trying to work the on-off switch deal.
Hey, where is everyone? ArmyGirl and me were the only ones in chat all the way through the first quarter.
Quarter by quarter thoughts: First quarter Nazr staying on the floor, no fouls until more than 5 minutes in...2nd foul at 3:20. Stupid turnovers for the Pistons in the first few minutes, bad passes thrown out of bounds. Good transition offense off some Pacers turnovers. Pacers fouling a lot, Pistons get the line and make 10 of 10. Harrington gets hot late in the quarter, 12 points, mostly in the lane. Second quarter Bench can't score in the first few minutes. Rip only starter out there in the first half of the 2nd quarter, can't make anything. Bench gets into the penalty after only 5 minutes. Disastrous quarter for the bench, giving up 7 points off the lead in the first 6 minutes. Starters come back in and cut it back down to 5 at halftime. Darrell Armstrong hits a 60 foot heave, but waved off, just after the buzzer. Refs call tons of fouls in the first half, Pistons 18-18 at the line, Pacers 14-15. Third quarter Pacers hitting, Pistons missing, not much else to say. A lot fewer fouls and free throws in this quarter. A slight run at the end...bad quarter but Sheed hits a lucky fadeaway 3 at the buzzer to keep the Pacers lead at only 5. Fourth quarter Horrendous start, 7-0 Pacers run in the first two minutes. Pistons respond with a 9-0 run, good defense, steal by Flip, crazy long 3 by Sheed. Fino and Flip blow multiple chances to cut the lead down further with turnovers and bad shots. Pacers start scoring again, build the lead back to 8. Jermaine takes over in the last few minutes. Pretty bad loss tonight. Pistons defense wasn't good, and neither was the Pacers' D, but the Pistons missed everything and couldn't take advantage.
Turns out it was the perfect excuse. Yet another example of this team losing a very winnable game on a lot of rest.
The difference in this game was O' Neal, and our inability to guard him. <<Ben Wallace>> Also Flip's subsitution patterns suck, and we have no presence at the rim. Nobody is scared of us anymore. I was actually yelling at everybody to pass the ball to Sheed every single time he was open 4 three. That seemed like our best option. Defense was awful most game. Zone sucks. Small ball sucks. We suck. God, I really hate the Pacers.
Oh well. A game where the Pistons appeared to be just going through the motions tonight. Probably to long of a lay off between the those impressive back to back wins over the Mavs and Magic. Now we have another two days off before Saturdays home game vs the nets. A lot of forced shots by Rip and Billups and not enough shots by Prince and Sheed. Even the two 3's that Sheed hit seem like an afterthought for him. All that talent in Sheed, Tay and Dice and we get only 30 pts in the paint. O'Neal dominated our bigs and Tinsley seemed to penetrate at will and Jackson and Granger got key baskets when needed. Dice and Delfino shoot 1-10 from the floor and 6-6 from the FT line. We fall to a tie with Cavs as they hold off the Bobcats and only percentage pts behind the magic as they lose their second in a row falling to the raptors. A win tonight by Pistons would have put them at the top of the EC standings. We are 0-2 within our division and the Pacer announcer indicated that this was the first time the Pacers had topped 100 vs the Pistons in 24 straight games. Is the defense that has held the Pacers at bay for the past 4 years finally crumbling now that ben as left the building?? Lets hope not.
why did flip put the starters back in when the subs were making a run??? why did flip murray stay on the floor when he was sucking it up??? why does he deserve 4th quarter minutes yet delfino doesn't??? to some of you posters who included fino in that mess that flilp was throwing up. delfino's shots came at the end of the shot clock mostly. we need to trade flip murray or negotiate a buyout or something.
Indiana is a better team than their record. Once they get everyone healthy and on the same page they should be able to make a decent run for a top seed. I actually like Indy's chances better than Orlando's. In this game, you have a few Pacers comming off injuries and the flu wheras our team was well rested and the Pacers outplayed them. What would it have hurt to throw Blaylock, Maxel for extended mins or even activating Johnson for games like this for some energy. I would not expect Blaylock to take over the game but maybe he could have inspired the starters to bring it more when they came back in. FLip had to see this comming, happends everytime after a long break.
