San Antonio vs. Detroit - NBA Finals

[4cwebb]

Pistons come out with a rush in the 2nd quarter, but Spurs answer with a 9 - 2 run (and the Spurs are in the penalty with 5+ minutes left in the second, and only have two team fouls). Lead down to 9 from 17 for the Pistons.

 

[loopymitch]

Not looking too good for the Spurs so far but I'm confident they'll pick it up in the second half.

 

[4cwebb]

Pistons take a 15 point lead into the break (51-36). To this point, almost nothing has gone right for the Spurs, and the Pistons have to know that such trend cannot continue entirely in the second half. They will need to play with more energy and fire in the second half to withstand the run the Spurs are sure to produce to get back into this game 4.

 

[loopymitch]

this series is pissing me off. Can we have one competitive game? 4 blowouts is not my idea of a fun series. I wish it was over already.

 

[4cwebb]

Other than the first three quarters of game 3, I'd agree with you. I'm surprised that the Spurs have played this poorly in this game 4, and the dynamic duo of McDyess and Hunter have matched Duncan and Manu as far as points for this game. Going to be tough for the Spurs to win in any instance where that happens.

 

[Nikos]

Spurs are choking this series away. As usual every season, mentally shaky.

The only constant over the years has been Pop and Duncan? Does Pop simply not know how to instill confidence in his team ala Phil Jackson?

Pop always overemphrasizes the negative and wallows in it. Gives way too much credit to the other team and downplays anything positive his team does. No wonder the Spurs are so mentally weak and shaky every season come playoff time.

 

[Bibby_Is_Clutch]

WOOT WOOT!!! GO PISTONS!! Defense wins championships and when you have the best in the league its hard to lose. Great bench play, great ball handling, GREAT GAME. Win one more at the Palace and put the pressure on the Spurs to win at home and guarantee a 7th game with a win this Sunday.

If the Pistons keep rolling and playing D which they didnt play in games 1-2 which is evident and if they can play great D in SA they may win in 6 but I expect the Spurs to pull out game 6 but the Pistons to win game 7.

 

[4cwebb]

Pistons with an incredible performance in game 4. Wonder if they can keep the pressure on themselves to continue to play as if they've been disrespected and take game 5 as well. I think it's a must win if they want a shot at the title. I don't think they can win two games in a row in SA.

 

[sono]

I thought there's no stopping the Spurs the way they run over the Pistons in the first 2 games. Well, I was wrong.

 

[Bibby_Is_Clutch]

I thought there's no stopping the Spurs the way they run over the Pistons in the first 2 games. Well, I was wrong.

And thats what us Piston fans think now but the tides my change back in SA.

 

[quick dog]

The Kings have never, even with Chris Webber in the modern era, played defense like the Pistons did tonight. I believe that our guys are incapable of taking over the paint and the game like Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace. Big Ben does it a lot. However, tonight, Rasheed was single-handedly denying Tim Duncan the basket. What an awesome display of aggression, athletic ability, and effort.

 

[albeitrue]

This is just NOT how I saw this series unfold...I really thought the matchups would be more even and that these games would be consistantly closer.

The first two games belonged to the Spurs in totality, the 2nd two to the Pistons. Now it's a best of 3 series, and who can predict who will show up? Home court seems to definitely be dictating in this series, unlike other series' where homecourt wasn't a deciding factor. Guess all the rules changed for the Finals. I was hoping for a couple of good games to cap off the year. The Spurs looked more like a Harlem Globetrotter opponent tonight than an NBA team! Ben Wallace picked Duncan's pocket four times tonight, three in the first five minutes.

 

[ImaDougaholic24_7]

*applauds the Pistons* that was just beautiful

 

[Bibby_Is_Clutch]

Its not home court. Its defense. The Pistons played ZERO defense in San Antonio but when they decide to play their game they will beat any team, even the Spurs. Their defense is just too good and if they can keep playing it in SA they will in the next 2 easy. They are on a roll. Always think its a positive for the away team that comes off home victories because they have momentum and confidence going into the opponents court.

 

[albeitrue]

Its not home court. Its defense. The Pistons played ZERO defense in San Antonio but when they decide to play their game they will beat any team, even the Spurs. Their defense is just too good and if they can keep playing it in SA they will in the next 2 easy. They are on a roll. Always think its a positive for the away team that comes off home victories because they have momentum and confidence going into the opponents court.

Well.....why couldn't they play defense in S.A.? Are they toying with us?

 

[albeitrue]

And for the record, I think the 2-3-2 schedule definitely favors the team without HCA way more than the 2-2-1-1-1 does. You're right, if the Pistons can take Game 5 they have a very good chance of taking the troph. I still think the Spurs have some fight in them, and they DO have the winningest record at home.

 

[slugking50]

What an Egg the Spurs have played the last 2 games... Disgusting. Wheres the freaking effort????

 

[Bibby_Is_Clutch]

Well.....why couldn't they play defense in S.A.? Are they toying with us?

Of course. Rasheed is right; the NBA is crooked. They want a 7 game series because they make more money. No fun with a sweep.

 

[Just_Lurkin]

d*mn, does airport security not allow these guys to pick up their game at baggage claim? all these games have so lopsided. ah well,I guess that's not important..... since detroit is winning.

 

[Ryle]

My god these finals have been atrocius. Every game is pretty much a blowout.

 

[4cwebb]

Still three games left for these two teams to salvage these finals, so to speak, if such games are competitive. It will be interesting to see which team will come out with the energy is game 5.

 

[loopymitch]

I'm sure NBA wants it to go 7, all about the money, and ratings are down big time b/c the games have been so one sided. NBA doesn't like that. I'm sure Emperor Stern is not real happy at this point. He should be more concerned about the lockout than how many games the series goes. Only 2 weeks left to save the next season and that's worrying me.

 

[Bibby_Is_Clutch]

Images from Yahoo' Sports

Hard to hold in the tears eh Spurs?

 

[thesanityannex]

here manu, let me get you a tissue.

 

[Bibby_Is_Clutch]

here manu, let me get you a tissue.

Maybe their eyes are just bloodshot becuase they got sweat in them.

 

[loopymitch]

I'd be crying too if I was beaten that bad in the finals. poor Manu.

 

[VF21]

I'm not about to talk crap about either team.

Why? Because they're THERE!

 

[Bibby_Is_Clutch]

Who wins tonight?

DETROIT! Why you ask?

Because this game is a lot more important for Detroit than SA. SA is forced to win 2 games on their home floor (that'll be hard) and Detroit can afford to give up game 6 if they were to play a bad game.


GO PISTONS!!! You need to blow out the Pistons tonight and mentally hurt them.

 

[4cwebb]

Pistons with a 4 point lead in the first quarter at 19-15, and shooting the ball pretty well. Spurs shooting poorly, but have 6 offensive rebounds to help make up for it. Just tuned into the game (and I'm listening to the espn radio broadcast, so no bias, supposedly), so haven't heard how this game started (whether they are allowing Detroit to play physical, or whether they are calling a fair number of touch fouls).

 

[4cwebb]

Spurs with a nice run here in the second quarter to take a 3 point lead (but Rip is on the line to complete a three point play as I type this). Spurs' offense working much better, and Pistons aren't shooting too well in the second quarter. Parker and Ginobli both playing pretty well.