Manu20
05-27-2005, 11:34 PM
Pistons, Spurs not flashy, but winners Mike Kahn / Special to FOXSports.com
Posted: 4 hours ago
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/3645892
All you had to do was listen to Miami Heat coach Stan Van Gundy talk about the spectacular play of his second-year guard Dwyane Wade to understand the difference in the 2005 NBA conference finals.
"Well, Dwyane was great ... we knew that," Van Gundy said. "Then again, I'm not really watching the film to see how impressive Dwyane was. That's not really my focus. Obviously he was extremely impressive.
"That doesn't really give me any coaching points."
In other words it doesn't take much basketball acumen to conclude that Wade was great Wednesday night when he scored 20 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter in the 92-86 Heat victory to deadlock their Eastern Conference finals series with the Detroit Pistons at 1-1.
The same goes for young Phoenix Suns center Amare Stoudemire averaging 39 points in the West finals while his team has fallen behind the San Antonio Spurs 2-0. He and Steve Nash have some spectacular statistics.
But we have to consider the other two teams, where individuals get buried under the swarm of unassailable team focus.
The mentor and his protégé — Pistons coach Larry Brown and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who happened to be Brown's assistant on the Spurs from 1988-92, do not bend from this cliché of the 21st century — playing the right way.
To be sure, the Spurs are more athletic and are playing faster this season than ever before. But the style and priorities are obvious. Value possessions, move the ball and lock down the opposition with team defense.
The boxscores tell the story of why the Pistons and Spurs figure to meet in the finals.
In the two games combined, the Spurs have had 10 players in double figures. The Suns have had seven.
Even in Game 2, with Dwyane Wade on fire and Detroit turning the ball over most of the night, the Pistons were still within two in the final 20 seconds. (Elsa / Getty Images)
Over in the East, the Pistons have also had 10 players reach double digits; the Heat, six.
It's conceptual, reflective of the success Brown and the Pistons had on the way to the title last season beating the ultimate two-man team — the Los Angeles Lakers, starring Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. This season, it's O'Neal on the Heat with his new sidekick, Wade. They finished the regular season with the best record in the East and got homecourt advantage, but the Pistons went down to Miami and popped them in Game 1 to regain the homecourt.
Even in Game 2, with Wade on fire and the Pistons shooting 35 percent and turning the ball over continuously most of the night, they were still within two in the final 20 seconds.
Nonetheless, the perception is still there that the Heat are the favorites, despite O'Neal's bruised thigh and the Pistons still holding the championship trophy. Actually, that helps the Pistons maintain that bunker mentality.
"I don't know that we got the same respect that other champions have gotten in this league," said Pistons guard Chauncey Billups, last year's finals MVP. "But we use that as motivation, that's why we always play with that chip on our shoulder. Miami is getting that respect before this series started, and they should have because they really dominated our conference the entire season with the new acquisition of Shaq and a couple of other guys. They dominated, so they deserve everything that we have gotten, but we won the championship. We brought back most of our same team. We don't really worry about not getting respect. I think that the teams that we play against respect us more than the outside world."
Nobody would expect the Heat to be disrespecting the Pistons.
The Spurs are deliberate when they need to be, and if you don't defend, they'll gladly take the open lane. (Elsa / Getty Images)
And the Suns, that newfangled fun bunch that scored more than 110 points a game during the regular season and fashioned the top overall record at 62-20, aren't going to take any shots at the Spurs either.
With Tim Duncan immersed in post play, while guards Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili run rampant over the Suns doormat defense, it shouldn't be so surprising that the Spurs have averaged 116.0 points in the first two games. They are deliberate when they need to be, and if you don't defend, well, they'll gladly take the open lane. And when you have a playoff icon like forward Robert Horry, good things are bound to happen.
Essentially, it comes down to recognition. Basketball wisdom, if you will.
"They have done a good job getting into sets, knowing what we want to do, who we want to go to and also who else might be available on the court at the same time," Popovich said. "Sometimes we'll make that mistake, but we're learning and getting better in that regard. They did have good poise and pretty good execution down the stretch, timeouts and in the half court. Again, we're just fortunate because we made a couple of shots."
They make the shots because there is an understanding of what needs to get accomplished. Individual talent is paramount to any team. The galvanizing effect of all being on the same page is stronger.
It's why the Pistons won the title last season and are in position to make a return trip.
It's why the Spurs are in a dominant position heading into this weekend, with their third trip to the Finals in seven seasons likely to happen.
Brown and Popovich are on a collision course. The sub-plots are endless and the prospects are exciting for the two close friends to face each other in the postseason for the first time. Although their style off the floor isn't similar, they certainly are a match on the court. Love it or hate it, there is a sense of inevitability building here.
Unless, of course, a few individuals from Miami and Phoenix just happen to get in the way.
Posted: 4 hours ago
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/3645892
All you had to do was listen to Miami Heat coach Stan Van Gundy talk about the spectacular play of his second-year guard Dwyane Wade to understand the difference in the 2005 NBA conference finals.
"Well, Dwyane was great ... we knew that," Van Gundy said. "Then again, I'm not really watching the film to see how impressive Dwyane was. That's not really my focus. Obviously he was extremely impressive.
"That doesn't really give me any coaching points."
In other words it doesn't take much basketball acumen to conclude that Wade was great Wednesday night when he scored 20 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter in the 92-86 Heat victory to deadlock their Eastern Conference finals series with the Detroit Pistons at 1-1.
The same goes for young Phoenix Suns center Amare Stoudemire averaging 39 points in the West finals while his team has fallen behind the San Antonio Spurs 2-0. He and Steve Nash have some spectacular statistics.
But we have to consider the other two teams, where individuals get buried under the swarm of unassailable team focus.
The mentor and his protégé — Pistons coach Larry Brown and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who happened to be Brown's assistant on the Spurs from 1988-92, do not bend from this cliché of the 21st century — playing the right way.
To be sure, the Spurs are more athletic and are playing faster this season than ever before. But the style and priorities are obvious. Value possessions, move the ball and lock down the opposition with team defense.
The boxscores tell the story of why the Pistons and Spurs figure to meet in the finals.
In the two games combined, the Spurs have had 10 players in double figures. The Suns have had seven.
Even in Game 2, with Dwyane Wade on fire and Detroit turning the ball over most of the night, the Pistons were still within two in the final 20 seconds. (Elsa / Getty Images)
Over in the East, the Pistons have also had 10 players reach double digits; the Heat, six.
It's conceptual, reflective of the success Brown and the Pistons had on the way to the title last season beating the ultimate two-man team — the Los Angeles Lakers, starring Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. This season, it's O'Neal on the Heat with his new sidekick, Wade. They finished the regular season with the best record in the East and got homecourt advantage, but the Pistons went down to Miami and popped them in Game 1 to regain the homecourt.
Even in Game 2, with Wade on fire and the Pistons shooting 35 percent and turning the ball over continuously most of the night, they were still within two in the final 20 seconds.
Nonetheless, the perception is still there that the Heat are the favorites, despite O'Neal's bruised thigh and the Pistons still holding the championship trophy. Actually, that helps the Pistons maintain that bunker mentality.
"I don't know that we got the same respect that other champions have gotten in this league," said Pistons guard Chauncey Billups, last year's finals MVP. "But we use that as motivation, that's why we always play with that chip on our shoulder. Miami is getting that respect before this series started, and they should have because they really dominated our conference the entire season with the new acquisition of Shaq and a couple of other guys. They dominated, so they deserve everything that we have gotten, but we won the championship. We brought back most of our same team. We don't really worry about not getting respect. I think that the teams that we play against respect us more than the outside world."
Nobody would expect the Heat to be disrespecting the Pistons.
The Spurs are deliberate when they need to be, and if you don't defend, they'll gladly take the open lane. (Elsa / Getty Images)
And the Suns, that newfangled fun bunch that scored more than 110 points a game during the regular season and fashioned the top overall record at 62-20, aren't going to take any shots at the Spurs either.
With Tim Duncan immersed in post play, while guards Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili run rampant over the Suns doormat defense, it shouldn't be so surprising that the Spurs have averaged 116.0 points in the first two games. They are deliberate when they need to be, and if you don't defend, well, they'll gladly take the open lane. And when you have a playoff icon like forward Robert Horry, good things are bound to happen.
Essentially, it comes down to recognition. Basketball wisdom, if you will.
"They have done a good job getting into sets, knowing what we want to do, who we want to go to and also who else might be available on the court at the same time," Popovich said. "Sometimes we'll make that mistake, but we're learning and getting better in that regard. They did have good poise and pretty good execution down the stretch, timeouts and in the half court. Again, we're just fortunate because we made a couple of shots."
They make the shots because there is an understanding of what needs to get accomplished. Individual talent is paramount to any team. The galvanizing effect of all being on the same page is stronger.
It's why the Pistons won the title last season and are in position to make a return trip.
It's why the Spurs are in a dominant position heading into this weekend, with their third trip to the Finals in seven seasons likely to happen.
Brown and Popovich are on a collision course. The sub-plots are endless and the prospects are exciting for the two close friends to face each other in the postseason for the first time. Although their style off the floor isn't similar, they certainly are a match on the court. Love it or hate it, there is a sense of inevitability building here.
Unless, of course, a few individuals from Miami and Phoenix just happen to get in the way.