Cross-Over

Wade tonight:shot 35% from the field, 20 points, 4 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 5 turnovers.

Coming into tonight, he averaged 27 ppg on 46% shooting, 5.2 apg, 4.4 rpg, 1.80 spg, and 2.4 turnovers per against the Pistons this series.

Shaq had 27 and 9.

Those numbers are average for Shaq, he averaged more than that as the overweight Laker's center in last year's finals.

Not “great games”, and no, they did not put up the “same numbers”.

powerclown

Dear god, what a win!!!! Decided in the last 5 minutes. You have to admit Nimbletoe, if you were rooting for the Pistons they sure made you suffer through this series. Some awful games. Detroit would have never lived down a defeat by an injured starting 5 for Miami. This series should have been over in 5 maybe 6. Billups H-U-G-E in the last minute, hitting 4 straight free throws to finish the Heat. With Shaq out of the way, hopefully Big Ben can re-assert himself in the paint. Hamilton played excellent the last 2 games. HELL YEAH!!!!!!!!

Spartak

Oh god, the cries of "we are underdogs" come from the Pistons yet again.

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Nimbletoe

27 points is way above any average for Shaq this year. Last year doesn't matter, this year he wasn't averaging that much. 27 and 9 was a great game for Shaq offensively for the numbers he's been putting up recently, and Wade played great for his injuries. And you can cry me a river, that's what teams get for DEPENDING on two players.

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powerclown

It's been the hallmark of the Piston's success for the past 2 years. No superstars, no run in the national press, no love in the all-star game. No one rates them too highly, no one talks much about them the entire season, it was The Miami Heat Show. Under the radar. Midwest mediocrity. Just the way the Pistons like it.


"MONEY DON'T FAZE ME"!!! - Sheed

Kurant

They may "depend" on those players, but Detriot is no different. You take 2 of those guys away, and that team isn't what they were. Take Rasheed and Hamilton out, and you have one of the worst offensive teams in the leauge, and you've become very average on defense, simply brought by those guys' energy.

You think the Pistons are just as good without those 2 guys and are still playing in the NBA finals? Your dillusional. Don't forget somthing, Rasheed changed that entire franchise when he was brought into Detriot midseason. They were still playoff bound, no question, but champions, playing in their second NBA finals before they had Rasheed? No way. When Rasheed was brought in, they went from good, to just, well, they speak for themselves.

Obviously it's not the significance that Wade and Shaq's impact has, but it's still the same thing. But, Detriots 5 on the floor vs Miami's without Shaq/Wade and Hamilton/Wallace, would still beat Miami.

Kudos to Detriot, and while the Spurs wait in limbo for Thursday, I still think the Pistons repeat.

Mojo_PeiPei

Nice victory by the pistons, I didn't know if they could do it.

But to me it doesn't matter because San Antonio is going to run Detriot.

San Antonio in 5.

Duncan/Manu/Parker/Bowen + Big shot Horry + overall better bench + better offense + equal if not better defense = Victory.

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SAM821

What can I say... I knew it was over when Wade didnt play game 6, Once I saw him take the ball in game 7 in the beginning of the game, I thought "Oh no... its over"... He was running 1/2 speed. Then somehow we have a 6 point lead with 5 minutes left and I thought if we can just hold on a little more, we could.....

nope, it wasnt our luck... I give the pistons ultimate respect for winning, and I hate making excuses, but what if wade was 100%???

I think Miami may have pulled it off... oh well, always next year...

Kudos to you piston fans... good luck

SAM821

PS: Miami still have the best looking cheerleaders, anyone disagree???

Palamidian

I concur on the cheerleaders, I was looking at them dance during the game 7.....damn

Spartak

Our good friend Paul Shirley reckoned they were out of work strippers I think http://www.nba.com/suns/news/shirley_blog.html

Spurs in 6. My boy Tim Duncan to be the finals MVP.

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Nimbletoe

I honestly don't care that people think we're the underdog. Everyone thought that last year too. Now, i'm not going to kid myself and say that last year's Lakers are better than this year's Spurs, but I really think that it's an even matchup.

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dlish

if it goes to 7 games, i rekon duncan will get mvp regardless if the spurs lose. but i still rekon spurs in 5.

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Nimbletoe

Not blaming the calls for the way that game went, but that Ben Wallace blocking foul call on Ginobli was the worst call in this years playoffs, by far. We were just starting to build momentum too, gah.

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powerclown

The utter destruction of the Pistons would be much harder to take if the Spurs weren't playing so phenomenally well. They are deeper, more talented at just about every position, and they're hungrier. The Pistons aren't even giving themselves a chance. Ben Wallace has been a complete bust in this and the last series. He can't buy an offensive rebound, he can't score, he can't block, and he can't even foul hard. His disappearance, to me, has been the story of the playoffs for the Pistons. They were extremely lucky to get by Miami.

The problem with Detroit is that they don't have a team leader. Rasheed Wallace is the best player on the team, but he'll never be a team leader. Richard Hamilton is a great player, but he's not a leader. Same with Billups, same with Prince. There is no go-to guy that can take over a game, like a Duncan or Ginobili. The Spurs are a hell of a team, and they'd be doing the same and worse to Miami, so all the credit to them. Be nice to see it go at least 5.

Cross-Over

San Antonio is the better team. They had the better record during the regular season and have played better and won more in the playoffs against tougher opponents. Detroit is a good team, but their lack of consistency is what I think has plagued them the most. Even during last years playoffs it was evident. They struggled to win in 7 against a NJ team led by an injured Jason Kidd, but played brilliantly against a very good L.A. team in the NBA finals. Their struggles against NJ last year meant nothing since they went on to win the title, but this year they have struggled throughout the entire playoffs.

I heard Larry Brown complaining about the free throw disparity in his post game interview, but Detroit (who was the aggressor last year) outshot L.A. at the line during every single game during last year's Finals. LB can't have his cake and eat it too, he needs to quit bitching.

San Antonio is executing better and working harder. Detroit gets three straight games at home though; it’s their turn to what they're supposed to.

dlish

looks like the series is wrapped up with only 2 teams in history ever coming back from 2-0 down to win the series.

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powerclown

Exactly. And it's strange because 1) Detroit had the best record in the NBA after January, 2) Detroit won a league best 11 (!) straight games going into the playoffs. ELEVEN STRAIGHT. After the Philly series, they stopped playing with any consistency. My theory is that Larry Brown most likely leaving after the season has killed their confidence. Brown was the guy responsible for turning Ben Wallace into a decent scorer the last half of the season, where he regularly, regularly scored in double figures, scoring 29 on one occasion.

Now, he hardly ever shoots. He had 30 double-double games in the regular season, and was 2nd overall in the NBA blocked shots. In the playoffs this year, Lindsey Hunter (guard), off the bench, has more blocks than Ben!! That is fucked up. Since Philly, the intensity that made him defensive player of the year is completely gone. Vanished. It's been mentioned in the press that one of his good friends from back home died, and one of his brothers had surgery recently, so who knows. I tend to think that Larry Brown's leaving is the main reason for much of the inconsistency all the Pistons have had. The whole organization, the fans, the players, all love Brown.

Nimbletoe

DAMN my boys had me scared going into tonight. I said to myself before the game if we don't win this one big, series over. Even if we squeek out a win, it means San An could keep up with us playing our best. Thank god we can at the very least make this a series!

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sixate

I predict Nimbletoe is crying his eyes out after this one.
Horry is awesome. I loved him when he was in Houston, he was great for LA, and now he's up to his old tricks again. Easily one of the greatest role players of all time. Hard to believe he's gonna have as many rings as Jordan Tuesday night.

Nimbletoe

What are you talking about? IF the Spurs win this series, it will be thursday night, not tuesday night.

And damnit, that shot was sick. Motherfucker should have retired last year, he's like 53.

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Spartak

As I recall you only need 4 games to win the series. Hence Tuesday. Hence Spurs in 6.

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Nimbletoe

Duh. I was disagreeing. I really hope, after two years of fighting back, that you don't think the Pistons will just lay down and die in the finals.

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powerclown

Stone cold killer, that son of a bitch Horry.

We had that game in the bag. Duncan choked his ass off. But it was the Pistons fault for doubling the wrong fucking guy on the in-bound.

Not over yet.

powerclown

Hey Nimbletoe, you enjoy that as much as I did?

jasonresno

" Hence Spurs in 6."
Hence, you are wrong.

Cross-Over

Win or lose in Game 7, Detroit is a much better than I ever gave them credit for. They play at a higher level in pressure games, similar to the most recent L.A. Lakers championship teams. I thought they had weak opponents the first two rounds of this year playoffs, but as the number 2 seed in the east, they deserved those matchups. They're playing to win, and going into a game 7 with a lot of confidence.

Sensei

Two great games after the four snoozers to begin with! I was worried that the Pistons would blow this one too since I had notched in a W for them when they had possession and a 2 point lead with 15 secs to go. I'm not particularily partial to either team though if the Spurs won, every single one of my series winner predictions (waaaaay back in Post #1) will have been right.

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Nimbletoe

5 straight when facing elimination. Still think the Pistons are going to lay down and die?

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powerclown

Depressing game.

The Pistons played horribly, particularly Billups. He looked like he was smoking crack out there, just going round and round in circles doing nothing. Didn't take one 3-pointer. Sheed should have got the ball more, Hamilton 6-18, Hunter blah, Prince blah. Big letdown.

The Spurs deserved the win. Tim Duncan was The Man.

dlish

i did predict that the spurs would win in 6 (post #65) but i guess i was wrong huh. but of course my prediction for duncan being mvp was without question but thats a no brainer.

now i can wear my 14 year old spurs hat with pride for another year ... usually it sits on my drawer cos its too frail and tattered, but im sure its gonna get a working in the coming weeks and months

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Cross-Over

Pistons shot poorly from the field as a team, but Billups didn't have a bad game, its just he didn't assert himself. He hit 3 out of 8 shots, got to the line a lot and sunk his free throws, and dished out 8 assists to only 1 turnover. He didn't shoot a lot, which was atypical for him, but up through the third quarter when they were up 7, him shooting less and passing more was working out for them. He actually did shoot three shots from 3-point range, most notably, the one Bowen blocked in the final couple of minutes. Hamilton and Prince shoot poorly from the field, and what I don't understand is why Lindsey Hunter jacked up as many shots as Billups did, in half the playing time. I guess he had one good offensive game in Detroit, but I would rather have 5 other guys shooting shots than him if I was a Pistons fan.

I will reiterate what I said in my last response. The Pistons are a damn good team, and they played well enough to win this series. Kudos to the Spurs and especially Ginobili. Parker and Duncan both struggled from the field in game 7, but Manu shot over 60%.

powerclown

Jesus was that one painful to watch...Lindsey Hunter was driving me nuts too. To put it in perspective, Billups took 16 shots in game 6 and 26 in game 5.

He took 8 shots in game 7.

Oh well, Detroit had a great series. Winning 2 games by 20 and 30 pts, then winning game 6 on the road was strong. If it weren't for Horry's fluke shot in game 5, things would have been different. I'm still a Billups fan, the guy has been money in so many games, wouldn't trade him for anyone. Same with the rest of the Pistons. It was another great season for Detroit.

Cross-Over

I agree with you 100%, except for one thing. Fluke shot? Definitely not. Horry has:
Hit clutch three pointers in the playoffs and NBA Finals since 1994
He was wide open, got his feet square
Horry was hot, had hit 4/5 from downtown already

I know as a Detroit fan, you want to say fluke, but as SA fan, one could say Duncan fumbling the ball out of bounds on a normal pass in the post and then missing in a wide-open put back to win the game is a fluke too. It is all a matter of perspective, and I just wanted to give you a hard time

powerclown

Heh, tis true unfortuantely. Duncan really should have put away that tip-in for the win. Karma's a bitch, I guess. And I did watch Laker Big Shot Bob sink (I forgot what team?? Spurs?) with that 3 at the buzzer, so Spur Big Shot Bob really isn't a fluke you're right. I guess I meant fluke in the sense that it had to come down to the hail-mary situation, instead of the Pistons being up by 10 at that point.

dlish

horrys' shot is definately no fluke. he's done it time and time again. everyone knows the the go to man in that situation. its like calling michael jordans buzzer beaters flukes. when u hit em more than u miss, its no fluke. im pretty sure horry hit one in the finals against the lakers too did he not?

but yeah id agree that had the pistons won that game, it could have well been over for the spurs. but spurs are hard to beat at home two games in a row.

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An injustice anywhere, is an injustice everywhere

I always sign my facebook comments with ()()===========(}. Does that make me gay?
- Filthy