The '04 and '05 Pistons (and probably the '03 Pistons too) would not have allowed one player to singlehandedly beat them this way. This team has really never been the same as a playoff team since Larry Brown's departure.
I'd say it is not just Larry Brown. The rules of the game changed, and Pistons are not allowed to do what they used to do to defend. They can't bump anyone, they can't be physical. That is why you see players going to the stripe 50 times a game.
m73, I would tend to agree, but you don't see that issue with the Spurs. That's why Ben's greatest talent might not be the blocks and rebounds, but his ability to play 40 minutes of tough defense and only accumulate 3 fouls. You need to have someone who can defend that P&R by showing hard and recovering. Maybe it will be AJ.
Agree roscoe..we were up 5 or 6 at the time, but just knew that losing Dice would change the game. Sideshow Bob contributed to this just by being there adding his flop to the fall. Expect Stern to call Stu and tell him to exercise his demons. In otherwords let bury the Pistons now and get the Labron - Longoria series started.
First, the team did play gutsy. I guess that is all I can ask. We won the game a bunch of times and lost it. The problem is that the Cavs are beating us. The Le Bron factor and the rules are going against us. We don't have penetrators and we don't have youth (Maxiel is not quite ready) and the rules play to those factors. Le Bron was unreal but the few calls he got driving the ball set up his jumper show. Yes, the Dysss thing hurt. But how many shots has Varejao hit really? You don't put him on the line anyway. Not a smart play. But Dyss is not the quick inside guy that would really help. The team has been run too low with lack of additions for too long. We went down but we went down hard at least. The layups bother me but I think that the guys were just tired. Finally, our coach is average but we needed better than average. I hope that we play with fire if we have anything left and play loose next game. No, it doesn't look good.
The difference with Spurs is that they can actually score. Duncan can post, Parker can drive, and Ginobili, well, he is Ginobili... If we average over 90 points in this series, the series is not in question.
hogcap later, too tired and p'ed off to type one up. but anyway, does anyone have the TNT postgame on their Tivo or anything? if you watched, during the TNT postgame they panned to 2 guys in the stands, sitting with their legs over the chairs in the row below and probably disgusted looks on their face, and one was playing with his gum. well that was me and my buddy...i was on the right. i was wondering if anyone could screencap that and post it or send it to me? i'd appreciate it!
Yep. Tough evening. Tough night. Tough morning. Pretty clear why James is a max salary player and CB isn't. He scored, the Pistons couldn't score more, end of story. Maybe he is better than Vince Carter. At least in game 5. The Pistons only won three more games than the Cavs all season. This isn't supposed to be easy. These are evenly matched teams. Blah, blah, blah. I guess the good news is that the Cavs made mistakes in games one and two and the series isn't over. Anyway, I'll be back on the couch on Saturday night. Saturday night is all about heart. We'll see who the real tin men are.
u too?...i wanted to go 'el kabong' on my girl and 'she was asleep'!...'ka-bonnnng!...sending me to the couch, did ya?.....ah, here's to quix draw and baba-looie.. whatever happened to the days when a horse could be a superhero too?.... .....also, i cant watch any sports news for two days. i refuse to be 'made' a witness by a 22 yr old unless its christina milan...... ...did u know that the little girl who used to be on Family Matters(Urkel's house) is dabbing in adult entertainment?.....so is Screetch, though,....ehhh! ...im in need of therapy . when the team is in this state , i tend to dabble on about nothing......:nerd2: ...i think sandy duncan was an excellent guest on the scooby doo shows.......
i saw that!!!!!!! I have it on DVR and I'll review tonite, Ol friend!that actually makes my day... a little...
wanted to repost my quote from two days ago...after watching the last qtr and the ot's, does any disagree now?
Still can't get over the layup drill exhibition. Isn't it fundamental for the defense to fould hard and not allow free passage to the net? CB is off his game, even though he scored points the ball movement is not there and the offense is stagnant. Cavs are much more athletic and agressive in their help defense. Pistons look sluggish. Why the heck was CB on Lebron? Why the heck didn't the Pistons drive to the hole with 4 odd minutes remaining in the 4th and an 8 pt lead in place? Why didn't CB drive to the hole on the last possession of regulation? Way too much respect for LBJ on the defensive end, can anyone drive at him and make him foul?
Lebron was magnificent but the team still made those little mistakes that left the door open for a team with heart and determination to exploit. Unfortunately, we are not that team. I spent the whole season watching this 'off-switch' basketball just for this moment when the team would execute down the stretch. Right now, I'm tired of wondering how this team will blow it once they've managed some degree of success.
I can't believe the Pistons played a weak zone with Chauncey guarding LeBron for that last posession. All of the Cavs other shooters had fouled out, and there was absolutely no question that LeBrizzle would take the last shot. Pistons should have triple teamed him at half court. Of course, probably shouldn't have come down to 2 OT when James was the only one shooting.
Piss poor strategical game from Flip...nothing new. With Lebron sitting on a tech for a good part of the game, the Pistons shoulda stepped in and given him a couple hard fouls. Instead, they actually BACKED AWAY on many of his drives. Too bad Dice got the F2 for clothes-lining mopflop...I think he was the only Piston in the arena last night with the DNA. Even with Dice out, we had the big man depth to step into James Lane and give him second thoughts on his next drive...and maybe give him a shot at tech 2. Did the Pistons draw any charges last night? Mahorn, Laimbeer, Daly, Rodman and Salley had to be shaking their heads last night...just like the rest of us. I miss Ben & LB...again, nothing new. hog...that camera shot said it all for every Piston fan...I bet it gets replayed in the pre-game tomorrow
Well said detteam I tossed and turned all night with nightmares seeing Labron drive for dunks while our guys hi-fived him on the way to the bucket. Why we failed to step in the lane and stop him is beyond me. It was evident that no one else was going to take a shot in crunch time. Even Hunter would have fouled him above the three before he got into the paint. All of the great defensive rep we established over the years fell to the wayside as the King methodically picked our defense apart. Even Ben Wallace was yelling at his former mates to stop LBJ from where ever he was. Hasek was in the house, and I don't think he would have been as passive as our guys were the 2 OT's. I mean how can you let one man beat you when the other guys were just out there to run screens??
