Pistons/Magic 2nd round game 1, May 3 7:30PM tv: TNT Local: WMYD Orlando Magic to face nemesis Pistons in 2nd round -- OrlandoSentinel.com Orlando Sentinel - 10 Ways Magic Can Beat Pistons by
A totally different opponent. The defense will have to play well for the Pistons as Orlando has multiple offensive weapons. It will be important to contain Turkey Glue. Sheed should be able to slow down Howard.
I didn't get to see any of the 4 games we played just saw the boxscores online as I was out of the country...... how did we match up for the most part on D? who did prince take and how did the other forward get guarded.... Max on Lewis seems like a mismatch against us, if thats how the match ups go... but not sure mcdyss would be anybetter... Sheed will have to bring his A game on howard, but we should have an advantage with the guards slots.... lets hope things follow the wings 4-2 in the first round and a sweep in the 2nd...
You would think that Howard will get Sheed and Dyess in foul trouble at some point and Ratliff will come in handy.
I think Max might be semi-effective against Howard. The goal is to keep him as far away from the basket as possible. He doesn't really have post moves per de. Also Hermann will be extremely useful in this series. Sheed is going to have to punish Lewis on the block. Luckily, he seems to want to do that lately.
Tonite it didn't matter who Tay covered. He was smooth as silk. And team D was cohesive - lites out, baby.
My memory may be failing, but it seems to me the Pistons have done extremely well in the 2nd round the last couple of years.
Your probably right. Pistons better come out swinging. ORL has been waiting for us since last year. They're hungry.
chicago last year 6 games cleveland 7 games year before indiana 6 games year before that new jersey 7 games (year we won the title down 3-2) phili 6 games (first year to the ECF) so by winning the series you'd be right... by getting thru them in a timely fashion to be fresh for the ECF's i would say its a mixed answer.
I meant getting through them in a timely fashion...so that means my memory totally failed me. For some reason I thought we crushed Chicago. Plus I totally forgot about Cleveland. Thanks for the info.
I'm predicting a by the numbers series win in 6 games. The usual collapses...the usual hair pulling...and the usual wins. I thought philly was our worst opponent. The magic are ascending but they're not quite there yet.
Wow, didn't realize this game would come so quickly. I expected it would be at least Sunday before they started up again. Good thing the starters got some rest in the 4th quarter against Philly tonight.
I would have predicted a longer series but I thing the switch is stuck in the "ON" position. Look for the Pistons to win in 5 games. They appear to be on a mission to make sure Flip coaches again next season. Getting to the ECF after a five game series can't hurt his chances.
I am not sure if it was a switch as much as it was just being out of practice. Billups summed it up in his post-game comments in that the starters were playing less than 20 mins for most of April. Same thing happened to Boston when they were resting. Both teams just rested too much. Right now though. The Pistons are playing about the best that I have seen them play all year. Good news comming into this series. May have to get Amir involved though, Ratliff just looks old.
Ratliff may be an option against Dwight. Though I do think AJ should get a look against guys like Rashard Lewis @ PF. I worry about Dice/Sheed being able to recover quickly enough when Shard is shooting J's, and stay in front of him when he's driving to the rim.
I think you start Tayshaun on Lewis and put Rasheed or Maxiell (depending on who else is on the floor with them) on Hedo. Hedo doesn't much like the length of taller players and he isn't a fan of getting banged up either. The thing I like about our new starting lineup is the forwards should be able to switch with each other on everything. Seeing as how Howard will probably command a quick double show depending on the situation this could at many times apply to the entire front line. Esp if Amir gets PT. Personally I like this series from a defensive standpoint (everywhere but the 5) much much more than I liked Philadelphia.
That seems to be the way Detroit has handled DH in the past. He's still young, and he seems to feed on confidence as much as anything else. The Pistons make a concerted effort to prevent Howard from watching his shots go through the basket. They will go out of the way to goaltend shots after the whistle, and they definitely try to foul him rather than give up easy confidence building layups and dunks. Howard doesn't take well to it at all, and it doesn't really help his confidence any when he gets to the line. One thing to watch with Dwight is how he handles his first few FT attempts. Whether they go in or not is usually a good barometer of how he shoots them (and how much he is frustrated by the Pistons tactics) the rest of the game. Confidence.
