Kori - Opinion Column

[wsdp]

Kori,

What happened to opinion column you were going to write for woai?

[Kori Ellis]

I was just going to put together a conglomeration of Pistons and Spurs fans thoughts. I'll probably still put it up before game time.

[WayDowntownBang]

I was just going to put together a conglomeration of Pistons and Spurs fans thoughts. I'll probably still put it up before game time.

Here's a thought, as I'm leaving in about 10 minutes, and you won't see me on again until late after the game.

Whoever wins this game tonight DESERVES to be champions.

Whoever loses this game will STILL be the #1 contender come next season.

[Jimcs50]

Here's a thought, as I'm leaving in about 10 minutes, and you won't see me on again until late after the game.

Whoever wins this game tonight DESERVES to be champions.

Whoever loses this game will STILL be the #1 contender come next season.


# 1 contender and $1.65 at Starbucks will get you a cup of coffee.

You can have that title for your Pistons, thankyou.

:)

[combs84]

My Writer wrote an opinion Piece on Game 7...I can't put it up as I just redid the design to not include Opinion pieces anymore. If anybody wants to read it I will paste it below, I think the dudes a pretty good writer myself.

AN ENEMY THAT WON’T DIE

Nate Kemp

Like some horrific, ferocious monster from a cheesy B-movie horror story the Detroit Pistons simply…will…not…die. They keep getting buried to the point that you think they aren’t coming back. But like the Jasons, Freddies and Michaels that have dominated fright flicks, these demons from Detroit keep rising from the grave.

The San Antonio Spurs must feel as if they are trapped in an extended nightmare. After running away from Detroit in the first two games, they presently find themselves being closed in from every corner.

Turn left and they face the imposing presence of Ben Wallace who blocks all of their attempts to pass through. With his large frame and blown out fro he is able to give people chills just with a glare. Turn right and the Spurs have to contend with the savvy and clutch Chauncey Billups who keeps attacking and attacking until his opponents wither away. Spin in another direction and they come face-to-face with the skeleton-like figure Tayshaun Prince who is capable of killing opposing teams’ chances in a variety of methods. Then there’s the masked man, Richard Hamilton, who comes out of nowhere from the rear to shoot down foes from long distances.

Its no wonder San Antonio has very little breathing space and even less room for error. Tim Duncan and his teammates must be in a state of high anxiety. They now go into a Game Seven with the momentum back in the Piston’s corner and with all the pressure in theirs. An elimination game like the one coming up Thursday night is not something they are accustomed to, but its something their current opponent lives for. The Spurs must go out and prove themselves to a skeptical sports media and viewing audience that have come to doubt their competitiveness and resolve. That is something that would have been unthinkable at this time last week.

If the Pistons are the Bad Boys does that make the Spurs the Good Guys? If the answer is yes then from that perspective that makes Detroit the villains in this little drama. And there is usually a way to eliminate the villain. Firing a silver bullet into the body. A stake through the heart. Severing a head. Actions like these tend to rid you of the beast.

However these days in modern storytelling getting rid of the problem tends to be more complicated. The threat doesn’t simply go down for good from the first successful strike made against it. Or the second for that matter. Like a storyline out of a corny Roger Corman motion picture, this tug of war is pretty predictable in that the danger posed by Detroit is never quite over. Some of us viewing these games shift uncomfortably in our seats before leaning towards our TV screens to shout at the Spurs “Don’t turn your backs! They’re not dead!” Of course like so many protagonists the Spurs appear a little slow of mind and foot before they finally understand what they are up against.

After coming away comfortably victorious the first two games, the San Antonio Spurs, whether they admitted it to themselves, appeared to have this series in the bag. It must have seen business as usual as they were once again in a position to close out a series very quickly and collect their hardware.

But they couldn’t shake the Pistons.

More than that they definitely couldn’t have truly expected what was waiting for them at Detroit’s house. Not even a clairvoyant could have foreseen the awful beating they were going to take during the initial two contests at Auburn Hills.

Then came Game Five. Perhaps the biggest miracle win play-by-play man Al Michaels has called since Team USA vs Russia in 1980. The Spurs, in what was the first great game of the series, got an instant classic winning shot from scene-stealer Robert Horry. Spurs were up 3-2, heads high as they headed back to Texas for the remainder of the series.

But they couldn’t shake the Pistons.

With an opportunity to take Game Six and spare themselves and the city of San Antonio the stomach churning nervousness that goes along with a do or die final game, they were outclassed on their own home floor, displaying a lack of killer instincts. Detroit shot the ball better, protected the ball better and overall just seemed more mentally prepared to do what it took to win.

These Pistons are a very interesting bunch. Its as if they don’t want anything to come easily to them. They seem to relish being in these types of situations. Just ask the New Jersey Nets. The Nets were the two time Eastern Conference champions when they went up three games to two against Detroit in last season’s playoffs. Most squads would have folded at that point. The Pistons though picked themselves up and took the last two contests.

In the second round of this year’s post season, the Bad Boys found themselves down 2 to 1 to their arch rivals the Indiana Pacers with the fourth game to be played in Indianapolis. Again, no problem. Rasheed Wallace brought out the championship belt and the Pistons reminded the Pacers who were the defending champs by winning three straight.

This was followed by the match up with the Miami Heat. With the Heat having the homecourt advantage it would seem suicidal for Detroit to fall behind in a series again. Yet twice during the seven game affair, that’s exactly what Detroit did by being down 2-1 and 3-2. Once again though these Pistons did a gut check and came back. After they stopped whining and got to playing they overcame the Heat and forced another Game Seven. Yes, they did have the benefit of the Heat being slowed by injuries. But they still deserve credit playing a final game on an opponent’s home floor, being down going into the final minutes of the fourth quarter and still showing the character and tenacity to make the big plays down the stretch for the W.

Now the storyline has been recycled for this latest sequel albeit with a few different plot elements included to make it seem more fresh. Detroit was down 3-2 again, only this time the Pistons had to win two straight on the road if they were to repeat as champions. I can almost imagine the players on the Pistons’ roster relishing the opportunity to accomplish the impossible. A new challenge had been placed in front of them to overcome. It should be no surprise that they are only one game away from doing so.

Meanwhile the Spurs are like hounded, wounded prey who can’t escape the clutches of an unbeatable foe. A foe that has tracked them down back to their own homes and threatens to engulf all of San Antonio if not stopped. What a humbling experience it must be for these men of San Antonio who are so used to making short work of the threats that they come across not named Shaq or Kobe. When Horry hit that shot at the end of the fifth game, it looked like the tale was over and another championship was all but guaranteed for them. Instead it turns out that single moment was only the conclusion of Act II, with the third act and the climax still to come.

In the meantime in a span of a few days a series that looked destined to be easily forgotten, has taken an amazing turn to capture our imaginations. It was as if the first four games’ purpose was to lay the groundwork and introduce the characters and the back stories. Amazingly it was all setup for the dramatic shifts and plot twists that were to come. And along the way one thing that has been made clear, to me at least, is that Detroit is not only the tougher team but the superior team too. They have at least as strong a mental resolve as the Spurs, and they have the passion to match. The overtime loss they suffered on Sunday would have taken the fight out of virtually every team. That’s including the Spurs who lost their will to fight after their own painful Game Five defeat by way of an even more incredible clutch basket by Derrick Fisher in the summer of 2004.

In the case of the Pistons, though, that recent loss appeared only to make them stronger by putting them in a position, on the brink of elimination, they are very familiar with. In fact I could argue further it’s a position they are also most comfortable with considering proving doubters wrong is what gives them their edge. Its an odd way for a team to propel itself to championship glory but its one that works for this very unique bunch.

So the ball is now in San Antonio’s court both literally and figuratively. They can’t rely on the home crowd to cheer them to a win. Nothing less than their A game will do on Thursday evening because, as they should be aware of by now, Detroit isn’t conceding anything and will not give an inch. These Pistons will relinquish the title only, to steal from Charleston Heston, if its pried from their cold, dead hands. For the Spurs to accomplish this and conquer this nemesis they are going to have to finally take the fight to them.

If the Spurs, after all the setbacks, all the moments of self doubt, all the close calls, succeed and wound up victorious in front of an adoring, grateful crowd, it will be a storybook ending befitting any Hollywood movie.


Still, after all I have witnessed the last two weeks, I have this inkling that it’s the Pistons who will turn out to be the actual heroic victors of this story all along when the game clock finally runs out.

[geerussell]

Gentlemen, this school is about combat. There are no points for second place.

http://home.twmi.rr.com/grstuff/pistontopgun.jpg

[Kori Ellis]

http://www.woai.com/spurs/story.aspx?content_id=D843F384-9300-4C37-B631-8346177D0DFF

[Kori Ellis]

It's not my opinion, just a few excerpts of fan's opinions.