Michael AngusAhhh Yessss
April 29th 2008 04:56
On Sunday night I finally had the time to watch an NBA playoff game. Watching the first half of the Piston Sixer game was nauseating and infuriating to say the least. I finally began to realize for myself what all of the sports radio characters had been saying all series. Philly is an athletic team with a nice blend of young and old players, hungry to take down the best team in the East for the last 5 years or so. And the Pistons just play around until things get difficult. The Pistons have come to enjoy flipping the play hard switch on and off at their leisure, much to the chagrin of the fans. I finally saw it in game 4 on Sunday, with the Piston’s backs against the wall, down ten at halftime in Philly, the Pistons played like the team the fans wish they would see more often come playoff time, especially against teams they’re clearly better than. But this is largely a veteran team, they can't afford to play more games than they have to. It could catch up to them.
Coming out in the 2nd half the Stones took an aggressive, no nonsense approach to the court. They made crisp passes, finished down low, drained deep 3’s, rebounded the heck out of the glass, and made Philly take bad shots late in the shot clock. Now the question remains, was it the players themselves who sparked the turn around, or was it a locker-room visit by Piston’s GM Joe Dumars. Us Piston fans sure know that Flip doesn’t deserve any credit for the inspired play they showed. Rip Hamilton was asked by the TNT sideline reporter after the game about whether or not Dumars paid a visit to the team at half. Rip’s response was “not at all…” Not exactly a sure bet answer eh? I’d bet my college tuition that a visit was made by Dumars. Why do you think Dumars was down so close to the Piston’s bench at the start of the 3rd quarter? I'm praying to every God possible, hoping the 2nd half performance is a sign of the play we're to see from the Stones the rest of this postseason.
The star of the game was Antonio McDyess. He had a broken nose, wasn’t expected to play much and had a not so great history of wearing nose protecting masks. Well he grinded it out and played superbly, scoring 10 points and keeping a lot of balls alive on the offensive glass. He was the lone bright spot in the first half and basically kept the team afloat.
As for the other series, well, they haven’t exactly turned out like I thought. LA is currently, as I’m writing this (midnight, Tuesday morning) up 10 at halftime. LA in 6 doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. George Karl should get fired. A team with all of the depth and talent they possess shouldn’t be in position to only slide into the postseason barely.
The Hornets look to be in total control. I like Avery Johnson a lot, but it seems Mark Cuban will hold him responsible for the mess the Mavs have become.
The Spurs in five pick looks to be dead on. The Spurs vs. the Hornets should be a sensational series. Paul vs. Parker... oh man, I'm salivating already. Or does Bowen check Paul from time to time? Either way it will be must see T.V.
Utah should beat Houston in game 5. It’s too bad that Yao is injured because the Rockets aren’t that far off from winning a playoff series. It will happen, but not this year. Hopefully T-Mac will get it done.
Deshawn Stevenson is a prick. The Cavs will be there in round 2 to give the Celts all they can handle. Cleveland’s defense is very consistent and always dependable; they just need West, Wally or Z to provide scoring night in and night out. Mike Brown is a solid young coach the players respect.
The Magic Raptors series ended up just like I said it would.
On the other hand, the Celts are having quite a time with the young and athletic Hawks. The Hawks seem too young and dumb to know that they were supposed to be swept in this series. Al Horford is a stud. But I still feel like the Celts win this series, but in 7.
Happy playoff watching!
Coming out in the 2nd half the Stones took an aggressive, no nonsense approach to the court. They made crisp passes, finished down low, drained deep 3’s, rebounded the heck out of the glass, and made Philly take bad shots late in the shot clock. Now the question remains, was it the players themselves who sparked the turn around, or was it a locker-room visit by Piston’s GM Joe Dumars. Us Piston fans sure know that Flip doesn’t deserve any credit for the inspired play they showed. Rip Hamilton was asked by the TNT sideline reporter after the game about whether or not Dumars paid a visit to the team at half. Rip’s response was “not at all…” Not exactly a sure bet answer eh? I’d bet my college tuition that a visit was made by Dumars. Why do you think Dumars was down so close to the Piston’s bench at the start of the 3rd quarter? I'm praying to every God possible, hoping the 2nd half performance is a sign of the play we're to see from the Stones the rest of this postseason.
The star of the game was Antonio McDyess. He had a broken nose, wasn’t expected to play much and had a not so great history of wearing nose protecting masks. Well he grinded it out and played superbly, scoring 10 points and keeping a lot of balls alive on the offensive glass. He was the lone bright spot in the first half and basically kept the team afloat.
As for the other series, well, they haven’t exactly turned out like I thought. LA is currently, as I’m writing this (midnight, Tuesday morning) up 10 at halftime. LA in 6 doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. George Karl should get fired. A team with all of the depth and talent they possess shouldn’t be in position to only slide into the postseason barely.
The Hornets look to be in total control. I like Avery Johnson a lot, but it seems Mark Cuban will hold him responsible for the mess the Mavs have become.
The Spurs in five pick looks to be dead on. The Spurs vs. the Hornets should be a sensational series. Paul vs. Parker... oh man, I'm salivating already. Or does Bowen check Paul from time to time? Either way it will be must see T.V.
Utah should beat Houston in game 5. It’s too bad that Yao is injured because the Rockets aren’t that far off from winning a playoff series. It will happen, but not this year. Hopefully T-Mac will get it done.
Deshawn Stevenson is a prick. The Cavs will be there in round 2 to give the Celts all they can handle. Cleveland’s defense is very consistent and always dependable; they just need West, Wally or Z to provide scoring night in and night out. Mike Brown is a solid young coach the players respect.
The Magic Raptors series ended up just like I said it would.
On the other hand, the Celts are having quite a time with the young and athletic Hawks. The Hawks seem too young and dumb to know that they were supposed to be swept in this series. Al Horford is a stud. But I still feel like the Celts win this series, but in 7.
Happy playoff watching!
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