It worked for them last year because our inept head coach pulled Wallace as a result and we had no more defensive and/or rebounding presence to assist us in actually keeping control of games. It actually made it harder for us to control games and insured MIA's victory.
It worked for them last year because Rasheed Wallace was playing on a bum ankle and Chauncey Billups was in dire need of some nap time. If Ben shot FTs for us last year the way he has this year, people wouldn't be intentionally fouling him.
Also remember that Miami's role players, collectively, were WAY better in last year's playoffs. JWill was something like 10-11 from the floor in the clinching Game 6 for them last year against the Pistons. Against the Bulls this year? Not so much.
Yeah. Riles gambled that all those schmucks would be able to produce when it counted. Winning it all was vindication for his strategy, but the downside is that it fell apart immediately afterwards, leaving them stuck with a bunch of "old-ass cats" who can't get it done anymore.
I sort of thought the Bulls looked sloppy with the ball in game 3, but they came out tonight and only had 5 turnovers... 1 off of the NBA playoffs record of 4 (set by the Pistons twice). This feels like the prelude to a great boxing match. Except for the Spurs, we haven't really played any opponents in the past few years that I thought could beat us fair and square. The Bulls CAN. This series will have nothing to do with marketing, bad whistles, pathetic vets trying to get a free ring, etc. It's all about game-planning, execution, and hunger.
Skiles has often pulled Ben at the end of games and will do it again if he becomes a liability. He did not do it yesterday because it was working for him. Ben shot around 20% from the line for us in last years Miami series, I think that was a record.
We'll be at this until the end of time.... You think Ben's a liability I think Ben's an asset. We don't agree.
Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, it's just a matter of which team will be able to bring their respective strong points to the forefront while preventing their weaknesses from being exploited. Right now I'm not as convinced that Chicago is as adept at hiding Bens weaknesses while exploiting his strengths as the Detroit Pistons had become, and in no way do I make that statement to disparage Ben Wallace. He brought a Championship to our town, and I'm fairly convinced Chicago will get at least one before Ben is done. Just not this year.
He is not a liability. I am just not going to root for someone who is one a team we are facing in the 2nd round of the playoffs. Skiles does pull him sometimes. Ben is ok with it this year - thats the way it is.
Well, I feel Ben has gotten a bit more negative response than he deserves...I'm here to "balance it out." The big difference here is, Skiles pulls Ben when someone else is having a great night or Ben's having a bad night, or when he needs a bucket at the last second...not just when other teams decide to employ a strategy that never works and ONLY works when you react to it by pulling Ben thereby removing your strongest defensive/rebounding presence.
Point is Skiles is doing many of the same things Flip did that Ben went ballistic over. Its good for him that he has checked himself, bad for us because it did not help in the playoff run last season. That was last season.
It's a little easier to make sacrifices for the team when you are locked in to a long term $60 Million contract. Ben paid his dues with Detroit and started to feel a little unappreciated by the coach toward the end. And when you are in a contract year, you don't want some Johnny-come-lately coach to screw with your stats and your reputation.
Very true. If Flip would have tried to implement a no headband rule last year....he may have gotten "The Spreewell" from Big Ben
Key word stats. All of the players for years had been saying how much of a team the Pistons were and noone cared about individual stats so long as the wins were coming. Ben went totally against that, and tried to disguise his desire for great stats entering contract negotiations as concern for team and team only. In the end both sides told stories that I believe were squarely on either side of the facts at the time.
A smaller insult can become intolerable when it's part of a trend of mistreatment. Skiles probably gets leeway because his and Ben's basic basketball philosophies are in agreement in a way Ben's and Flip's never were, but in any case Skiles has not yet removed him from an entire quarter of playoff basketball. Never happen.
Plus it's harder to play the same song you played last year without looking like the malcontent for certain second time around. Either way we are sort of in agreement that Ben put stats and $$$ above the team in a very unPistonlike way. I don't blame him, but I will always contend that Ben played conservatively during last years playoffs in order to avoid injury.
