Himat, I can't disagree with the grades you have given to Flip and Larry. I think that it was unrealistic for Joe D. to think that an offensive-minded coach who had never succeeded in the playoffs was the right coach to succeed Larry. On another subject, I thought that Van Gundy really rubbed it in last night on the broadcast when he said (and I am paraphasing), "The Cavs have to realize that this isn't Detroit they are playing."
Biggest difference so far is that the Spurs stars i.e. Manu, Duncan and Parker are playing at a high level. CB and Tay pretty much went AWOL. can't have 2 starters MIA the way the Pistons are constructed.
During the post game, John Hollinger kept trying to get the Cavs to say something about how the Pistons were lesser opponents than the Spurs. Neither Mike Brown nor LeBron took the bait.
The interesting thing is that (with the exception of Ben and LB), the Pistons and the Spurs have the same core they had two years ago when the two teams squared off in a very close championship series. Is it overly simplistic to conclude that the loss of Ben and LB is the major reason we are not playing SA again this year?
But does he have us scoring more points on an inflation adjusted basis? The whole league is scoring more points because of the rules. One thing that I know is that the Pistons scored more points per possession under Flip Saunders when Ben Wallace was with the team... when we were forced to play 4 on 5.
While I think LB could have gotten them to the Finals, I don't think the Pistons would have won. The big difference is that SA have the best big man in the game and a shoo in for the HOF. The team was built around Duncan.
This series is getting harder and harder to watch, just seeing how easy it is to beat the Cavs. And knowing it was also this easy last week. I'm not sure the Pistons would have beaten the Spurs, but they would have made it competitive.
You make a great case for getting Garnett. This team needs an offensive star (although some have argued that Garnett does not really play near the basket anymore or never did, which I concede) that demands double teams consistently and plays near the basket. Tay doesn't count when he's getting double teams. He gets doubled too far from the hoop.
Two more games to go and this nightmare will be gone forever. I can't believe the Piston lost to a team like the Cavs the way they played last night that I read about.
The Spurs attack inside on the offensive end, unlike Flip's Pistons. We only shoot jumpers after jumpers...
True dat, jz. I watch Bill Laimbeer's Shock team yesterday. This team attacked the paint, I felt. It was not always pretty but BL understands something called the "interior pass." I thought Webber would bring that dimension and he did in the regular season, but not the playoffs.
Pistonloyalist, Used to be, the ref. would not bail out a guy who went in wildly into the lane. You just wouldn't get the call. No way, no how. The greats were seperated from the ordinary because they could finish, they could get in position to get a call. Nowadays, it takes little skill to fly in wildly and throw your body at someone. The Cavs coach told his team after Sheed's 7 blocks in game one that you need to throw your body at him to make the refs make a call. This is circus ball and is detrimental to the game.
The Spurs move the ball around. They shoot a lot of jump shots but with guys in their spots after receiving a pass. The Pistons offense is just dump the ball to someone and let them go one on one. Easy to defend.
It's not as simple as that- LBJ got much better and got some better teammates too. Besides, the Pistons have stagnated, not gotten worse- while the Spurs improved slightly in all areas and on a constant basis. Also, the Spurs fit the Pistons way of playing better than the Cavs. Sheed's probably the best player in the NBA to defend Duncan.
Exactly, which makes Flip even worse since he was hired to "invigorate" the offense. Our offense was better under Larry Brown. I'm so upset Joe D said he's staying.
KG is not a post up PF like Duncan. He'll be shooting 14 foot jumpers ala Drew Gooden but from the high block. At what he costs, I think he's one of the worst deals on the market.
I agree. However, surrounded by the right players, he would be worth it. Now, who and where those players are is the great mystery......
I remember somebody ask to post the ratings for Game 2 http://http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070611/SPORTS13/70611051/1048/SPORTS NEW YORK — Game 2 of the NBA finals took a hit in the TV ratings, and the series finale of “The Sopranos” was the prime suspect. The San Antonio Spurs’ 103-92 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night drew a 6.9 overnight rating on ABC, down 24 percent from last year’s 9.1 for Game 2 between the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat. Ratings for “The Sopranos” finale on HBO were not immediately available. Overnight ratings measure the 55 largest television markets in the United States, and each overnight rating point represents about 735,000 households. National ratings were expected Tuesday. The ratings for Game 2 were better than Game 1. The opener of the Spurs-Cavaliers series, drew a 6.3 overnight rating. It was the worst-rated opening-game of the NBA Finals in prime time. ---------------------------
