Pistons Vs Heat

[The-Wizz]

Im thinking it will take around 6 games for the pistons to take them because wade is a streaky player but wade i think he will get like a 45 point night in one of the games
how many games do you guys predict?

[FreshPrince22]

Depends on how fatigue factors in.

[The-Wizz]

i think the pistons should do what the bulls did to shaq get your guards and run into him make him in foul trouble and then try and defend wade

[ABDENOUR POWER]

It will either be Pistons in 7 or Heat in 6. I'm leaning towards the latter.

[1Parker1]

Dealing with Lebron in this series will definitely help you guys out against Wade :)

[PistonsFan]

eh i dont know.
but what i do know is that us pistons need to keep our mouths shut and not say anything about how we're going to win by 20 points and how it'll be a GARANSHEED. like last time when we lost.
hopefully pistons will come out strong and win.

[The-Wizz]

The pistons are gonna stomp the heat by 100 points make big shaq daddy look like a little boy whos icecream dropped on the floor its a GARANSHEED

lol

[1Parker1]

What was the regular season series outcome? 2-1 Pistons?

[The-Wizz]

yeah it was 2-1 i jsut checked for the pistons

[Slomo]

eh i dont know.
but what i do know is that us pistons need to keep our mouths shut and not say anything about how we're going to win by 20 points and how it'll be a GARANSHEED. like last time when we lost.
hopefully pistons will come out strong and win.That's a wise approach for any team and their fan base. Shit can happen really quickly in the NBA.

[The-Wizz]

take the lakers vs phnx for exsample down 3-1 coming back and winning it anything is possible

i think they should have tried to get kobe in foul trouble jsut get ppl to flop around him and see if they make him get some fouls lol

[1Parker1]

i think they should have tried to get kobe in foul trouble jsut get ppl to flop around him and see if they make him get some fouls lol

:wtf What?

[DisgruntledLionFan#54,927]

Detroit won the season series 3-1...

[1Parker1]

Detroit won the season series 3-1...

They played 4 times? Why? They're not in the same division...

[The-Wizz]

they won i 4-1 sorry i forgot to keep scrolling down the page

[Bruno]

A question for Pistons fans : what will eb the defensive matchups for Detroit ?
I think at :
Rip on Williams
Billups on Wade
Prince on Walker
Wallaces² on Shaq/Haslem

[1Parker1]

I asked this in the other thread, but no one responded, so I'll try here:

How confident are you guys in Flip Saunders after the series against the Cavs? Seems to me his inexperience coaching in big games showed its ugly side in that series...

[1Parker1]

A question for Pistons fans : what will eb the defensive matchups for Detroit ?
I think at :
Rip on Williams
Billups on Wade
Prince on Walker
Wallaces² on Shaq/Haslem


I would think they'd try to put either Rip/Prince on Wade.

[The-Wizz]

i think:
Ben wallace on shaq
sheed on haslem
tayshaun on wade
billups on williams
rip on walker(im not sure about this one, cause tayshaun is a really good defender but walker is also to big for rip to cover but walker isnt that good hes only good for a deep three once in a while so tis okay)

[The-Wizz]

i dont get all the talk about coaches i think its more up to the players about the outcome of the game then the coaches i think hes getting used to the pistons and starting to know there abilitys he wil get better the more time that goes by all the way up to when they win the championship :D

[1Parker1]

i dont get all the talk about coaches i think its more up to the players about the outcome of the game then the coaches i think hes getting used to the pistons and starting to know there abilitys he wil get better the more time that goes by all the way up to when they win the championship :D

Coaches play a big part in big games. See Pop vs. AJ in Game 6.

[The-Wizz]

actually i didnt and i dont know who they are :D but sure i agree 8-)

[1Parker1]

actually i didnt and i dont know who they are :D but sure i agree 8-)

Are you a Mavs fan, pretending to be a Pistons fan? Because that would explain a lot :lol.

[The-Wizz]

lol i dont know all nicknames and stuff but yessir im a pistons fan why you making me look bad i did agree with you lol

[jochhejaam]

I asked this in the other thread, but no one responded, so I'll try here:

How confident are you guys in Flip Saunders after the series against the Cavs? Seems to me his inexperience coaching in big games showed its ugly side in that series...
I'm alright with Flip it's the players that had me worried. I think they though the Cavs were a pushover (Rasheed's foolish predictions) and temporarily lost the focus, desire and intensity needed to win in the playoffs.

[FreshPrince22]

It will be....

Chauncey - Williams
Rip - Wade
Prince - Toine
Sheed - Haslem
Ben - Shaq

Rip has shown that he has more success defending the shorter/quicker Wade than Tayshaun. I'm sure Tayshaun will see Wade quite a few times though. They will throw quite a few guys at Wade. Rip, Tayshaun, Lindsey, Delfino, and Mo will all get the assignment at some point.

[Manu20]

Pistons in 6.

[DDS4]

Pat Riley's 12th Conference final.

Flip's 1st?

[Bob Lanier]

Tayshaun Prince cannot guard Dwyane Wade. At all. Rip Hamilton will be the primary assignment. After that or in case of foul trouble, I assume Lindsey Hunter will get the bulk of possessions. Carlos Delfino has shut down Wade in both games he's played him this season, but almost certainly won't play.

Billups will take Williams/Payton and Prince Walker and Posey.

The Wallaces and McDyess will tag team on O'Neal, Haslem, and Walker. McDyess is probably the Pistons' best defender on O'Neal, for some reason, but Ben Wallace will get most of the minutes and Sheed will try to pull the chair for the odd possession or two. Dale Davis and Kelvin Cato probably will sit on the bench collecting DNPs.

The Pistons' reserve lockdown defender, Maurice Evans, will probably fill in where necessary at any position but center.

At the other end, Williams and Payton will try to guard Billups, but Wade or one of the Andersons may have to be switched onto him when necessary. Wade will start out on Hamilton, but probably won't play many possessions guarding him to conserve energy for the other end. The problem is, he can't guard Prince on the block, and I have doubts about his ability to guard Billups as well. Shandon Anderson will probably see an expanded role after Riley sees how ineffective GP is against any of the Pistons starters. Haslem will guard Sheed and O'Neal Ben. Nobody can guard Dice. At some point, Riley may go with the Mourning-O'Neal lineup, which is easily countered with Dice-Sheed raining jumpers over them, since neither of them can guard anyone outside of 10 feet from the basket.

Riley has a huge advantage over Saunders, but we'll see.

Pistons in 5.

[The-Wizz]

i was kinda thinkin tayshaun couldnt defend wade because hes 2 slow and wade is one quick sob

[Bruno]

^^ ok and you don't think Billups can do a better on Wade than Rip ?

Wasn't Dale Davis signed as a Shaq stopper ? I guess he will have playtime like Campbell against Shaq last year ?

[picnroll]

Tayshaun Prince cannot guard Dwyane Wade. At all. Rip Hamilton will be the primary assignment. After that or in case of foul trouble, I assume Lindsey Hunter will get the bulk of possessions. Carlos Delfino has shut down Wade in both games he's played him this season, but almost certainly won't play.

If you guys don't want Delfino we'll take him off your hands. You don't have any big, slow, white centers. How about Rasho for Delfino?

[picnroll]

Ben flopping is the Shaq stopper and I mean that with all respect. :lol

[Bob Lanier]

^^ ok and you don't think Billups can do a better on Wade than Rip ?
Absolutely not. Rip Hamilton is the Pistons' best perimeter defender by far, especially on penetrating guards. Chauncey Billups is better at fighting through screens, but is too slow to keep Wade from getting anywhere he wants, and ultimately too short to do anything about his jumpshot. Tayshaun Prince is far too slow, especially since Ben Wallace doesn't intimidate Wade in the paint.

Wasn't Dale Davis signed as a Shaq stopper ? I guess he will have playtime like Campbell against Shaq last year ?
Yes, although he played a grand total of 4 minutes against the Heat this season. This is one area where it seems Saunders has been unwilling or unable to implent Joe Dumars's design. Davis is actually still an excellent post defender and rebounder, but he lacks the bulk that Elden Campbell had, and would probably have been a lot more effective against Ilgauskas, Gooden, Magloire, Mourning, or even Duncan than a 300+ pounder like Shaq (although that could change depending on how Shaq is officiated). The major problems are a) that Flip Saunders lacks confidence in him for some reason God only knows, and b) that Ben Wallace doesn't get into foul trouble. Necessity is the mother of opportunity and all that.

[FreshPrince22]

Pat Riley's 12th Conference final.

Flip's 1st?

Flip's 2nd. WCF 2004 with the Wolves. Cassell went out in the 1st game and they lost in 6 to the Lakers.

[1Parker1]

If you guys don't want Delfino we'll take him off your hands. You don't have any big, slow, white centers. How about Rasho for Delfino?

:lol

Is Dale Davis injured? How come Flip doesn't use him more?

[FreshPrince22]

If you guys don't want Delfino we'll take him off your hands. You don't have any big, slow, white centers. How about Rasho for Delfino?

How bout no.

[picnroll]

How bout no.
Okay. But when somebody else grabs him don't come crying to us.

[Rip-Hamilton32]

lol...dale davis isn't injured hes just not part of the rotation...and the stones take it in 5..wade will be guarded by rip and hunter through most of the series because tay might not be up to the task of following him the whole game but rip sure can and when the fatigue kicks in they got hunter to put on him and hunter is a great defender

[Bob Lanier]

How come Flip doesn't use him more?
Because Flip is the devil incarnate. :madrun

[Rip-Hamilton32]

lol..i think hes got a case of bench rust anyways

[freedom&justice]

I asked this in the other thread, but no one responded, so I'll try here:

How confident are you guys in Flip Saunders after the series against the Cavs? Seems to me his inexperience coaching in big games showed its ugly side in that series...

I'm not completely confident in him yet, though he did make some pretty good adjustments in games 6&7 to keep lebron off balance..I dunno. gotta wait and see.

[freedom&justice]

Pat Riley's 12th Conference final.

Flip's 1st?

Nope, his second. First was with Minny in 2004.

[rep]

I asked this in the other thread, but no one responded, so I'll try here:

How confident are you guys in Flip Saunders after the series against the Cavs? Seems to me his inexperience coaching in big games showed its ugly side in that series...

Ehh, he's not so bad. I don't have all the confidence in the world but I think it's more of a player's game and if our players play the way they're capable of playing, Flip will look like a genious. As for that stat on Riley/Flip conference finals....hasn't Riley been in the game for waaay much longer??

As for the matcups, I agree with FP22 and I think even Billups will get some minutes on him. He's defended him well in the short minutes he's had on him. Like Bob Lanier said, Chauncey can get passed screens, but he has strength and is always focused when it comes to the top players. It just looks that way to me, because he never seems to give up on the play and defends them real well.

Thankfully I think Delfino will get some minutes and so will Dale. Flip mentioned it after the Game 7 and said we'll be using Delfino and Dale more. This time, he brought up on his own, unlike other times where he was only b.s.ing because some1 in the media asked him. Dale is great veteran defender and can actually give us some offense along with rebounding and Delfino is a grat defender, can score and what I love most is, he's a play maker. Hopefully he gets enough minutes to show what he can do and maybe, just maybe, he'll get more consistent PT. Then we won't end up losing him! Woohoo!!

Pistons in 7. This is one great rivalry. Ya'll ever notice the animosity they have for us? Shaq and D-Wade are always bitching about us? Once Shaq said, the Pistons do foul, the refs just don't call it. We all know all the times he's called out Ben. Don't even get me started on D-Wade. I just love how they hate us. I think it makes the game much more fun and entertaining. I am sooo looking forward to it. Hopefully the Pistons don't let me down and advance to play the Spurs! ;)

[Horry For 3!]

If Shaq is dominant most of the games, it will go 7

[rep]

^^Yea, I just like the fact that we got so many bodies to throw at him with Ben, Dice, Sheed, Dale and even Cato if we need to. That's about 30 fouls. Ofcourse Bill Laimbeer brings up a good point in how the Heat have D-Wade who can put the Pistons back court in foul trouble, then have Shaq who can put the Pistons frontcourt in foul trouble. Thank goodness we have Lindsey coming off the bench as well as Delk, Delfino and I guess Mo Evans and even Tay. We have alot of depth we can use and we'll probably have to use it seeing as how we all know the refs will respect those 2 players more than they respect our defense, especially when it comes to Rasheed...

[themvp]

Pistons in 6.

[Rip-Hamilton32]

i think pistons will win because they can contain wade and shaq better then they could lebron

[G-Money]

I want Wade to stay in good health this seris, no injurys so there is no excuses for when the Pistons smash the Heat this seris.

[PaceMonster]

why the fuck are pistons fans sooo friggin confident man....dat shit pisses me off sso much...i mean look at the reality, this is not the regular season anymore.....a no expreience cavs team was 1 little bounce from beating you in 6!!!!!!!its was lebron vs the pistons....the heat have numerous weapons to throw at the pistons....shaq will get his usual 27 ppg or around there and wade will do what he does....since the postseason, the pistons have lost all orientation whatsoever...that just annnoys the shit out of me....pistons in 5, pistons in 6 blah blah....i think the prediction for the nets-heat series was nets in 6 and the prediction for the pistons-cavs series was pistons in 5....im telling you people are underestimating the heat...and its gunna pay off

HEAT IN 6

[DDS4]

I do think the Pistons have come back to the field, sorta speak. During December/January, I thought no team (even the Spurs) could touch the Pistons in a 7-game series.

Now, they're fading a little bit and don't look as dominant as they once were in the regular season.

That said....Pistons in an epic 7 gamer.

[DisgruntledLionFan#54,927]

The refs are actually going to let Shaq play in this series...

Pistons in 7...

[JamStone]

To whoever said Maurice Evans was the Pistons reserve lockdown defender, I hope you're kidding. Evans isn't a horrible defender, but he certainly isn't a lockdown defender. And, many Pistons fans probably view him as a below-average defender. He's athletic, but he's not very quick and not very smart. Dwyane Wade would eat him up.

Rip Hamilton mostly likely will start on Dwyane Wade, but I suspect Chauncey Billups and Tayshaun will periodically mix it up and guard him to give him different looks. Lindsey Hunter will also have stretches of defending Wade when Lindsey is in the game. In cruncthtime in the fourth quarter, depending on who the Heat have on the court, Tayshaun Prince will probably spend a lot more time manning up on Wade, however if Rip does not have foul trouble and has had success against Wade during the game, he may be the first option.

Ben Wallace likely starts off defending Shaq, but Rasheed will switch on him as well to give Ben some rest and also to prevent either from getting into foul trouble. If Udonis Haslem starts making his midrange jumpshot, Rasheed might spend more time on Shaq because Sheed may have problems rotating and recovering on his badly sprained ankle.

I think some keys to this series are:

1. How the Miami big men defend Detroit's pick-and-roll. Cleveland was successful against Detroit in large part because Drew Gooden and Anderson Varejao defended the pick-and-roll so well. Miami does not have the quick, agile, mobile, and athletic big men that Cleveland has. Shaq and Alonzo must do a good job on hedging high on the pick and recovering back to their man especially if it's Sheed or Dice, because they will get a lot of open pick-and-pop opportunities if they don't.

2. Detroit's defensive rebounding. Zydrunas, Drew Gooden, and Varejao did a good job getting second opportunity baskets on tip-ins. the Pistons collectively as a team must help rebound on the defensive glass because when Ben is on Shaq, he'll have a hard time getting rebounds while he tries to box Shaq out.

3. Detroit's 3PT shooting. The Cavs pick-and-roll defense also prevented both Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace from getting too many wide open 3PT shots. Miami's pick-and-roll defense won't be nearly as good. And, Miami's perimeter defense as a whole is not that great. Detroit must hit their open 3-pointers in order to open up the offense.

4. Fourth quarter execution. Detroit was pretty bad in the fourth quarter for much of the series against Cleveland. Miami has been pretty good in the fourth quarter in the playoffs. If the game is close, both teams must be wary of executing down the stretch, hitting free throws, and not getting sloppy with the ball and committing too many turnovers.

5. Adjustments. Pat Riley has been here before. Does he still have what it takes to make adjustments on the fly and counter what the Pistons do? Flip Saunders on the other hand coaches scared against the Cavaliers and waited until game 6 to make any decided adjustments. The coaching staff that can draw up the best strategies and schemes to counter the other will likely have more success.

[mikejones99]

Reason why so many predicted Pistons is because we are flooded with piston fans in here and they do not speak in reality. Too many crack smokers from michigan. Most spurs fans know Miami can win this series and is very dangerous. Detroit is only a slight favorite because they have the home court advantage.

[PaceMonster]

Reason why so many predicted Pistons is because we are flooded with piston fans in here and they do not speak in reality. Too many crack smokers from michigan. Most spurs fans know Miami can win this series and is very dangerous. Detroit is only a slight favorite because they have the home court advantage.

i will add u to the people on this forum that i respect...i kno the heat are not favorites and i dont think they should be, but this series can go either way easily

[mikejones99]

Yes many people here seem to forget how close last years series was and how injured Wade was. Miami plays at least 9 players many times while Pistons usually play 7 people.

[Dunc]

why the fuck are pistons fans sooo friggin confident man....dat shit pisses me off sso much...i mean look at the reality, this is not the regular season anymore.....a no expreience cavs team was 1 little bounce from beating you in 6!!!!!!!its was lebron vs the pistons....the heat have numerous weapons to throw at the pistons....shaq will get his usual 27 ppg or around there and wade will do what he does....since the postseason, the pistons have lost all orientation whatsoever...that just annnoys the shit out of me....pistons in 5, pistons in 6 blah blah....i think the prediction for the nets-heat series was nets in 6 and the prediction for the pistons-cavs series was pistons in 5....im telling you people are underestimating the heat...and its gunna pay off

HEAT IN 6


Why are Piston fans confident? Because our team has been to four straight conference finals. Because we've been to the Finals the last two years. Because we've owned the Heat the last couple years. I don't think any serious Piston fans expect this to be an easy series, but of course we expect the Pistons to beat the Heat as they have been doing since Shaq came to town. My prediction is the same as it was before the playoffs started, and that's Pistons in 6, if for no other reason than the Pistons' near-fatal flaw was to take the Cavs lightly. The Pistons don't take the Heat lightly. Not yet at least.

[PaceMonster]

o yea i forgot you're correct....the pistons own the heat...the heat were a wade injury from the finals last year(this is not an excuse, this is reality)...and have all the confidence now seeing that the CAVS!!!!!!took you to 7 games.......yall fail to realize that this is a cavs team that has no other threat for except lebron...miami has a defensive specialist(ZO) and 2 superstars(shaq and wade)as well as other role players like walker(sometimes), posey,williams,and GP....o yea and a above average rebounder in Udonis Haslem....i dont understand all the overconfidence

[Dunc]

o yea i forgot you're correct....the pistons own the heat...the heat were a wade injury from the finals last year(this is not an excuse, this is reality)...and have all the confidence now seeing that the CAVS!!!!!!took you to 7 games.......yall fail to realize that this is a cavs team that has no other threat for except lebron...miami has a defensive specialist(ZO) and 2 superstars(shaq and wade)as well as other role players like walker(sometimes), posey,williams,and GP....o yea and a above average rebounder in Udonis Haslem....i dont understand all the overconfidence

I explained the "over" confidence to you. And what about the regular season games this year between the Pistons and Heat? Yeah yeah, they were regular season games, but the Pistons clearly played like they didn't give a shit (not a good thing, of course) in the game in Miami that the Heat won, and it took a superhuman performance and a total meltdown from the Pistons for the Heat to win at home. And from the celebration at the end of that game, it looked like they won the fucking championship. Tell me the Pistons aren't in their heads. Anyway, the Cavs series is a non-factor regarding this series. And I know who the Heat have on their roster, lol. You're certainly entitled to be confident yourself. Although I gotta say, after the miserable series Chauncey just had, I'm really looking forward to watching him get it rolling against Jason Williams, lol.

[DisgruntledLionFan#54,927]

o yea i forgot you're correct....the pistons own the heat...the heat were a wade injury from the finals last year(this is not an excuse, this is reality)...and have all the confidence now seeing that the CAVS!!!!!!took you to 7 games.......yall fail to realize that this is a cavs team that has no other threat for except lebron...miami has a defensive specialist(ZO) and 2 superstars(shaq and wade)as well as other role players like walker(sometimes), posey,williams,and GP....o yea and a above average rebounder in Udonis Haslem....i dont understand all the overconfidence

That is an excuse, not reality.

Should be another knockdown, dragout series like last year...

[PaceMonster]

yea i think it will be a good series too....and i think its not an ecuse but w/e u say

[Dunc]

Should be another knockdown, dragout series like last year...

Agreed. Been looking forward to this one big time.

[Detroitloc]

Detroit in 7

[Mavs<Spurs]

In my view, Pistons will definitely win this series. The question is whether this is an over easy series or hardboiled.

I lean towards the over easy.

The keys for Miami to be competitive in the series are

(1) they must keep their heads on straight. Too often, at the end of this regular season, Miami mentally started to fall apart. Team disunity, Wade arguing with the officials and not getting back on defense.... If they do this against Detroit, this will not be competitive.

(2) they must shoot well from outside. I don't consider Jason Williams or Antoine Walker good outside shooters. Gary Payton is not a good outside shooter either. Miami is very vulnerable because they can not hit the perimeter j or the 3 point shot consistently. If the series is to be competitive, Miami must find a way to hit it.

(3) the refs must realize that now is not the time to begin to change the way that Shaq is refereed. I am pulling for Detroit. However, I will say that the calls that have been going against Shaq are horrible, horrible calls which are completely different than how he has been refereed for his entire career. It was about 2 weeks ago when for some unknown reason they decided to change this. I despise this change. If they call Shaq in the new way, then he can't be effective enough for Miami to be competitive.



For Detroit, we must simply not let them into the series. Run pick and roll and pick and pop against Shaq all day long. Good defense leading to easy transition. Ben needs to draw some offensive fouls against Shaq (they are bad calls but that's how the refs are calling it). Force Miami to shoot from the perimeter. They will miss a very high percentage of them. Also, we must not rely solely on scoring from the perimeter. Rasheed must score on the block. Detroit must maintain its focus and concentration.


I must in all honesty admit that if Wade (and Shaq) had not been injured during the series, Miami would have won that series in my view.

However, the offseason moves Pat Riley made in my opinion were horrible mistakes. First and foremost, he got rid of the main 3 point shooters on Miami's roster who helped spread the floor for Shaq. That was a terrible mistake. Posey can make the 3 (their only consistent threat from distance) , but this move allowed opponents to pack the paint.
Second, Pat added people who did nothing for the chemistry of the team. Antoine Walker didn't help matters any. He doesn't like to share the ball.

It would have been a much better matchup if Miami stood pat, recognizing that it was just injuries that hurt them last year. In that case, it would definitely be more competitive.

Pistons in 5 or 6.

Go Pistons!!!

[FreshPrince22]

The Pistons' reserve lockdown defender, Maurice Evans, will probably fill in where necessary at any position but center.


Flip? Is that you? :drunk

[Bob Lanier]

Did I say "when necessary"? I meant "when at all possible".

In fact, I anticipate seeing Evans on O'Neal or Mourning a minimum of three possessions in this series.

[mikejones99]

PHX vs HEat in finals might happen.