One thing for certain they will throw up more threes in game 3 & 4, so we have to defend the arc better. Can't give up any more 36 point qtrs either. Despite their 11 three pointers, the Magic had 19 TO's and the Pistons picked up 22 pts off those TO's. Once again 15 point leads are not safe enough. especially with a team of 3 point artists. Should have had a 20 pt half time lead but we faded at the end of the second qtr.
Very good sign when Orlando pretty much brings their A- game ( except for the TO's ) and the Pistons still find a way to win with lets say less than perfect games from 3 of the starters. Howard had a near 20-20 game, their 3-pt shots were falling. Pistons won this on 4th quarter execution. Granted they did get some help from Lewis and Turkoglu with their carless passes but have to give the Pistons some credit for taking advantage of it. I was a little upset with some of the dirty play in the one from the Magic. Did Bogans intentionally throw himself in front of Billups causing him to trip? Kind of looked like it to me. Plus the smirk grin on Bogans face told a lot. Maybe its just me. We are going to hear a lot about the Billups 3 when the clock never started. It was a gift but you don't know how that effected the game. Maybe if the clock was running then the play would have been setup earlier or the Pistons would simply have made up the extra ground. At any rate, Magic fans can deduct it from all the crap superstar calls Howard was getting. They are still way ahead on that one. Pistons up 2-0 rack it. ESPN - Orlando vs. Detroit - Box Score - May 05, 2008
The TNT play-by-play announcers made a big deal (more than once) of the Pistons' three-pointer at the conclusion of the third quarter, which they concluded should not have counted. That Pistons possession had started with just over 5 seconds left on the game clock, which froze at 4.8 (or was it 4.1) seconds, and the refs were left to make their best judgment on whether time had really expired just before Billups fired his three. The announcers timed the possession themselves with the aid of video replay and concluded that it had expired, by a few tenths of a second. But the other side of the clock snafu is that whoever fed Billups for the three (was it Ratliff?) might have relied on what he saw on game clock when he decided to pass rather than take a two-point shot. So disallowing Billups's basket would not have been a perfect solution either, even if the refs had correctly guessed that time really had expired. In any event, it was sheer speculation for the announcer (Fratello?) to suggest that a third quarter call could have altered the outcome of the game.
What was van Gundy so exercised about at the end of the game (with his f.b. double expletive)? Was he still angry about Billups's three-pointer at the end of the third? Some foul calls at the end of the game?
On the shot clock... It's really no big deal. It's the same as any other call in the game. Phantom fouls, no calls, etc. Plus, you know, it's not like they hit the button at the exact second on every other possession anyhow. So really there may have been a few more seconds remaining. Also, had the Pistons missed the shot, it could have changed other things. I remember as a kid hanging around the hockey rink and sitting in the box with a friend who worked the time clock. The guy used to clip a couple minutes off of each period so he could get off work earlier. For example, when it would switch from like 18:00 to 17:00 he would clip it to 16:00. He never got caught. I didn't like that he did it, but you know, what could I do? Anyhow, a guy took a shot and scored and a big argument ensued as to whether time had expired. Fortunately, they decided it counted, but you know really there were two whole minutes left... Not sure what my point is, other than stuff happens...
Good point. I was running a play clock in my head and wondering why that pass was made, expecting the buzzer to go off. I thought it was Rip that passed off, but it was actually Stuckey (thanks for the correction D4E). He must have been looking at the clock figuring he had time to defer to Chauncey.
It's annoying that the national coverage is going to focus on that shot and literally nothing else about the game, but whatever. The Pistons will still have a chance to put the hammer blow down in Game 3.
Just looking at the box score the stat that jumps out at me is what Tay did tonight. He actually led the team in rebounds and assists!! Ten rebounds for Tay, wow........I didn`t realize he had 10 rebounds. He also added 17 points and 2 steals. Max also stood out going 5-5 from the floor, with three rejects........... Nice win Go Pistons!!!!
I liked how the Magic stuck to their guns and kept firing 3s. They weren't getting into the paint. All that can change in Or. cause Sheed will likely foul out. The paint will open up for them. So that means we must bring our 3s to Or.
Funny that when they started their 3 point barrage we didn't panic ans start throwing up threes ourselves and stuck to the short jumpers in the paint...other wise they could have gone up 7-8 pts. For about six mins or so we were trading 2's for their 3's.....still if I were Flip I may have called a TO to yell and twitch at someone about the perimeter defense. 36 pts%^&%
I like the fact that, as you say, Orlando brought their A- game tonight, because this was good preparation for what we are likely to see in Orlando. Game 1 was probably not a good indication of how the Magic will play at home. We may see Orlando's A game in game 3, which means we will have to turn it up a notch to come out victorious.
36 pts in the 3rd quarter ?! Were we asleep? I haven't watched yet, but from looking at the box score Tay played almost the whole game, and AA was a +8 in limited min. Makes sense to try him in at SF, lord knows our perimeter defense looked like it needed him. I read the NBA BS article. It's so stupid this is even getting media coverage. Do you know how many times there's a bad call during the game that gives a player 2 or 3 FT's? And it wasn't even in the 4th! We are going to have to play a hell of alot better in ORL. Looks like they're pissed already from the supposed "talking" and this will just add incentive. Howard had 22/18. Absolutely sick. Tay can't keep playing these minutes for ORL, and it doesn't look like Hermann is the solution ?, although i think he looked rusty and out of game shape in that 1st game.
