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No doubt about it!
We're rounding into form, we beat the snot out of the Heat 87-66!
Shaq, not surprisingly since we play him straight up, scored 28 in 30 minutes. On the flip side Big Ben grabbed 15 rbds in 25 mins.
And here are the relevant stats;
Let's see, new Heat stud Walker - 2-10 for a grand total of 4 pts.
New Heat stud #2 Williams - 30 mins, 2-9 also 4 pts...
Not so knew Heat stud Wade - 32 mins, 4-11, 9 pts.
The Glove, Payton, once again didn't fit - 29 mins, 1-5, 3 pts.
Wayne Simien, the rookie the Heat fans were touting as the steal of the draft - 4 mins and...well, no points, zero, nada.
The starters other than Shaq were 9-35.
Heat 0-11 on 3 pointers.
The game was on a channel I can't get (yet) so I didn't see it but I recall some Spurs fans saying that Maurice Evans was going to be our "Wade Stopper". Not sure who guarded him but someone did a nice job.
There were a lot of skeptics last year about Flip's coaching abilities and I had my own doubts but so far so good. He said the defense would remain the same and it has. Throw in a much deeper bench and we should make a strong run at another NBA Finals appearance.
No doubt about it!
No doubt that the Pistons remain contenders.
But I certainly wouldn't base that determination on anything that happens in a preseason game.
^ of course you wouldn't, the Spurs are like 1-6
Just kidding...
I'm hoping for big things from Rasheed. I think he's got the potential to go for 16-9 under Flip. I'm hoping, for my fantasy team's sake, anyways...
Preseason games become more of a determining factor as to how the season may go as they near the regular season.
When starters for both teams are averaging 26 - 30 minutes a game, even though it's preaseason, it's time to put some stock in how their doing.
It has to be a boost for the winning team when 2 preseason Eastern Confernece Champions play each other.
Preseason games= ..
Except for people trying to make the roster or new guys in general..
You look for improvements, you can't get excited over a win.
Unless you are a Pistons fan. They are already in the Finals and Darko's already in the hall of fame.
Piston fans look for improvements and enjoy the win thrown in with it. When you thrash a team of Miami's caliber and note that the starters are getting close to the minutes they'll be getting once the regular season starts, it's time to get excited. Of course I can get excited over wins. I am a fan, not a neutral observer!
If we only had "a" win (1-6) I wouldn't be excited either.
The Spurs are solid favorites to win the West so I understand that you can look at 1-6 and disregard it. Like all NBA fans we know what the deal will be once your season starts, almost assuredly another West Championship.
On the other hand we have two thoroughbreds in the East in Indiana and Miami with Miami being picked by many to represent the East in the Finals, so when we throttle them in a preseason game it absolutely gets us motivated and gives us confidence going into the reg. season.
It's been a great feeling having knocked Shaq led teams out the the playoffs the last 2 seasons. I take great joy in any sort of victory over one of the NBA's most loudmouthed, y players. I hope that we "devastate" him again this season.
Last edited by jochhejaam; 10-23-2005 at 09:33 AM.
Sure.
My point is that almost every reasonable NBA observer would still believe the Pistons to be in the East's Big 3 for the coming season, even if they had lost by a large margin to Miami in a preseason game. It certainly doesn't appear that anybody is looking at last night and wondering if the Heat are overrated.
This does remind me, though, of Flip's long-standing propensity to burn his players out early in a season, in an effort to build up an impressive record, only to have his teams collapse late. We'll see; maybe he's learned.
Moreso than Larry Brown???? I don't think that's possible. Flip said he wants to run a 9-10 man rotation this year. I think maybe the players were "burnt out" is because they (Cassell and Spree) were old as dirt. Plus, they had no depth behind KG, so he always had to play insane minutes. We, on the other hand, have good depth at every position. Especially behind the guys who are getting older (Wallace X2 @ 31).
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Novana Residence Condos Pattaya
Last edited by FreshPrince22; 09-12-2011 at 02:07 PM.
I saw the Pistons get run out of the building for two straight games in the Finals and they managed to take the Spurs to seven games. Some of that was the Spurs, but some of it was the Pistons. I have a really hard time thinking that a preseason game means ANYTHING to a finals caliber team like Detroit.
Regarding the Flip conversation, the concern should be more with Flip's coaching style IMO. It always seemed like the Timberwolves got chippy and started fights in big games instead of keeping their cool and playing their game.
[QUOTE]It may please the fans more than the players, I don't know.
And one blowout is exactly that, one blowout, I'm sure the players have a good understanding of that. I was going to post the same thought that the first 4 games of out series last year were rather lopsided wins and it still turned out to be a highly compe ive series overall.
Rasheed usually doesn't know when to shutup but it's almost directed at the refs as opposed to the other teams players. I don't see the rest of the Pistons acting out the way Garnett, Spree and Casell did.Regarding the Flip conversation, the concern should be more with Flip's coaching style IMO. It always seemed like the Timberwolves got chippy and started fights in big games instead of keeping their cool and playing their game.
I think being a cog in a winning machine will help Rasheed avoid the trouble that his fuse has gotten him into, but my concern is that Flip encourages it in his players, which might be a bad combination for 'sheed. Spree and Cassell weren't on the Timberwolves team in the '99 playoffs that managed to piss Robinson AND Duncan off.
But they were on that team that had KG getting backed down by Manu.
Still, it proves the point, I think: Flip's teams (whether because of him or because of them) have had a consistent tendency to resort to chippiness that works against some teams but can really backfire against others.
Any money Sheed will go for one tech a game. He wants to get techs. It is wierd. My sleeper pick for technicals is Hamilton, only because he is the one on the team that can rival Sheed in ref talk.
On yesterday's game though. We had our 3rd string in the game, Miami had 1 starter, 2-3 second stringers, and 1-2 3rd stringers(forget how many 2nd/3rd stringers they used), and we still manhandled them. Darko was bodying up Shaq pretty well.
And the players will last longer through the season, as Brown only used 2-3 bench players a game(Hunter, Arroyo, McDyess), and the Starters consistently logged 40+ a night. Flip hopefully will use Arroyo, Evans, McDyess, Delfino and Darko consistently.
[QUOTE]I don't know what year it was but I remember KG about 6 inches from Duncans face screaming trash with his head bobbing all around and Duncan not responding, walking away wide eyed with a little smirk on his face.But they were on that team that had KG getting backed down by Manu.
Are you including some college coaching in the "teams" comment? I think Minn is the only NBA team he's coached.Still, it proves the point, I think: Flip's teams (whether because of him or because of them) have had a consistent tendency to resort to chippiness that works against some teams but can really backfire against others.
If Minn is his only NBA team then we have to see how the Pistons respond to him before labeling him as a coach that incites his players.
I still think the fact that he had some rough players to coach was most of the problem but time will tell. A little chippy is okay but too much can hurt the team.
[QUOTE=jochhejaam]"Teams" to me means different groups of players from year to year. The difference in the rosters of the 'wolves, along with KG's track record, suggest to me that the coaching staff was the catalyst of the team's demeanor. Of course we'll have to wait and see, I just mentioned it as a potential concern.I think Minn is the only NBA team he's coached.
If Minn is his only NBA team then we have to see how the Pistons respond to him before labeling him as a coach that incites his players.
I still think the fact that he had some rough players to coach was most of the problem but time will tell. A little chippy is okay but too much can hurt the team.
Okay, that explains the teams thing, thanks.
Flip's last year in the CBA, his team pulled a huge choke job in the playoffs as well.
Lets see, Flip was amazed at the cohesion among the det. players and Casey was saying the wolves weren't in good shape when they came to camp.
Meaning? Flip doensn't push the players to be at top shape and doesn't know how to deal with chemistry. Your defense is going to suffer greatly bc of his emphasis on offense. Not only that but his systems relies heavily on spot, jumps shots and passing. None of those players on the starting lineup are exceptional shooters. Some are good to ok but athletiscim is the way to run that offense. I'll take my chances of Rip running around like Reg around screens allday and Tay shashing and drawing defenders for a Wallace throwback then four swing pass's to turn the Pistons strenght, into a weakness. Namely not drawing fouls from the slashing and not pulling opposing paint defenders away for rebounds.
Also, the Pistons are a team that will start stronger then they will finish IMO. They are mainly all back, and Flips lack of defense hasn't had the time to let the leaders of that team forget it. KG mentioned how impressed he was that Casey has the balls to sit him down and not wear him out. Do you remember what it was like when Rasheed doesn't respect his coach? Meanwhile Miami definatly is going to have to let its players take time to figure it alll out.
As for preseason games meaning much.
Dante Cullpepper was lights out in preseason.
Miami is the third best team in the east. Detroit and Indiana are about the same.
KG said that without having played so much as one regular season with Casey as coach? A bit premature I'd say.
You've never experienced watching KG in practice and how his motor is %100 all the time have you?
Marc Stein wrote an article about this a while ago, and it makes sense. Flip doesn't condone that behavior as much as refuse to prevent it. In other words, he lets his players walk all over him.
SickDSM has spoke the truth about Flip for years forum please.
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