Last I checked, the Pistons are the team on a mission and the team desperate to have HCA. The Spurs are a game back and STILL aren't playing their best basketball.
The pee-pee dance in Detroit has begun!
lol Detroit isn't underestimating us, that's for sure, but I wouldn't say they're exactly quaking in their boots over us. We're two teams who are extremely closely matched. I can easily see this year's Finals going to seven games again.
What you think, Hass - is Tay overpaid or not?
Ok trade schedules with us and we will catch up to you guys.
and thats the problem. if this year's game 6 and 7 are in detroit and not SA, detroit's gonna win it not us. HCA is gonna be a bigger factor than you guys think. yes you have to win on the road, but the ONE game we won over there, we barely did it had it not been for detroit's heroics. we had a chance to close them out in game 6 last year on our own court but due to being typicaly mentally soft we couldn't seal the deal. so game 7 in auburn hills is going to go to detroit and with a battered TD and a hungrier than ever Detroit, i'll be amazed if it even goes to 7
I don't understand the purpose of that pistons fan to start this thread.
But there is one thing I agree with him/her: The pistons have been playing like lately. ^^
They are losing their defensive iden y. They have a soft coach this year. So if the spurs get the HCA this year... They sure will win.
If it doesn't go 7 games HCA in the finals doesn't matter, so I don't know what you're so worried about.
If I was a Pistons fan I would be worried about my team right now - they have rarely played at the level of any of the first half of the season since the all star break.
Especially right now Detroit ought to be figuring out how to stop D. Wade and an inconsistent but still dangerous S. O'Neal first before they take them the 7th game again.
Right now I don't believe the Heat have any fear of the Pistons - nor should they - if Miami gets some outside shooting, they can give the Pistons all they can handle.
If Detroit gets through that landmine and the Spurs go through the tougher West it will be a real matchup and the Pistons, while deservedly confident, cannot count on an easy season vs. the defending champs.
If the champs can steal one of the first two games (if it is Detroit after all the work Pistons did to get HCA) things could get very interesting fast.
true but if you're saying that in the spurs favor, do you think even with a hobbled TD (I have a very hard time believing that he'll be completely healthy come playoff time) we can beat detroit? I know we did it last year with ankle injured TD but manu played out of his mind. TP is doing great this year but Detroit will be good at keeping him out of the lane. I know i'm one of the most negative boardies on here and would LOVE for the spurs to defend their le, but if its detroit against us in the finals and we dont have the hca, i can't see this series going less than 6 games where the final one will be in auburn hills
Honestly I'm a natural pessimist myself, but I try really hard to fight it, at least on this board. I just think if the Spurs lose against Detroit, it won't be HCA (or the lack thereof) that did them in.
In terms of their actual matchup with the Pistons I can't really disagree with your outlook. The Pistons biggest strength is interior defense and if you were building a team to beat the Spurs, that's where you'd start. SA's three best players are all at their absolute best when they're getting into the paint and scoring, and with the Wallace bros down there that's going to be really hard. The Spurs are going to have trouble scoring against Detroit, so their only hope is to try to lock up the Pistons themselves (and do a much better job on the glass). If they can do that (as they did effectively last year in Games 1, 2 and 7) then they just might be able to grind their way to another le. It's not going to be pretty, but it's possible.
Stop calling yourself a spurs fan please.
The truth hurts sometimes. I agree with Amuseddaysleeper.
hahaha Pistons fans who cry about refs are so funny
what makes u think refs wont help us this year as well? since it's obvious the whole world plus the media plus the NBA wants us to win it
Pistons goal isn't to create fear but to get wins and they're 22-5 against the West this year. Mission accomplished to this point.
same goes for Spurs to this point.
"Mentally Soft" would best describe the one calling the THREE TIME Champion Spurs mentally soft. LOL!
sorry but look at 2004. won SEVENTEEN straight games and HIT A WALL losing FOUR straight to the lakers in one of the most pitiful performances in playoff history. or how about the other time in 2001 i believe when we went to the wcf only to lose by an average of 20 points to the lakers and getting SWEPT after we had the #1 seed. I love my spurs, and just becuase i'm not a blind homer and over rate them on every little thing doesn't make me any less of a fan than any of you. i just look at them realistically. spurs need to close out games much much better and destroy a team when their down. everyone and their mother knows no team has blown more big leads in the playoffs then the spurs. I just hope this team can get healthy before its too late
When Casey said "Statistics are the biggest liars" in baseball, he might have just as well have been talking about all the hype on the importance of HCA in the NBA Playoffs.
Who is the better team, not HCA is the determining factor on who advances and in the end, who wins in the NBA. Stat hounds get confused because the better teams most often seperate themselves from the compe ion and thus have the HCA most of the time.
But there are several examples where a team entered the playoffs better than its record indicated and HCA did nothing to prevent their greatness. Playoff seeding can be harmed by injury or perhaps by lasting effects from past years championship funk. It can also be elevated by teams who focus greatly on seeding thinking it will give them an easier pass to the le.
In the end, the spoils always go to the victor, with not always to those with HCA. Combined, the Rockets, Lakers, Pistons and Spurs own all of the last 19 NBA les. Many of these 19 squads had to win games on the road to overcome a lack of HCA. Each of these teams won because they were the better playoff team. None won just because they had HCA.
Detroit is no doubt a strong opponent, strong defense + strong offense = unbelievable team, but there are some factors that work for the Spurs as well.
1. The Spurs have strong defense as well.
2. The Spurs have a strong offense as well.
3. Flip Saunders has always been known to be a regular season coach. He is also known as a genius on offense, but not much on defense. In the postseason, defense > offense. Now, the Pistons are still a strong offensive team because of the players, but then in the post season, game to game adjustment is extremely important, and that is the job of the coach.
4. The Pistons have been relatively healthy, at least to their starting five so far, the Spurs haven't, and yet the Spurs are only 1.5 games back in the much tougher WC.
5. The Spurs have been terrible in b2bs. Remove them, the Spurs have a better record. I am not arguing the Spurs are thus a better regular season team, because b2bs are part of the schedule, and in fact, the Spurs have the least b2bs of all teams this season. What I am trying to say is, the postseason doesn't have a lot of b2bs.
The most worrisome thing for a Spurs fan would be the two games that were played earlier in the season, and yes, they were embarrassing. I will see if the Spurs have any tactics against that.
sorry but if TD still has the PF problem if we get to face the pistons then we are ed simple as that. he has barely any list whatsover and YES people even if TD was 100% he'd still have a ridicously hard time against sheed cuz there is no player in the league who gives timmy a harder matchup. manu also needs to wake the up cuz if healso doesn't get fully healthy and plays out of his mind like he did so well in last years playoffs we arne't going anywhere. its great to see TP step up big time but with the pistosn interior D, if parker's outside shots arne't feeling he'll be virtually useless against the pistons. the pistons offense is better than our offense but I'd like to believe that our D is better than theirs. thankfully, defense wins championships, but if we arent totally healthy and on top of that fact that games 6 and 7 will be in auburn hills, i think it's gonna be a real uphill battle for us to win it all. we were a horry shot away from losing the championship last year and even though the best teams have to win on the road, it'd be hard to argue that playing game 7 on the road is incredibly tough and a disadvantage
If you have not figured out that hoops is a games of streaks yet, I am sure I can't help you. If you also don't understand the game is all about adjustments, you are clearly lost.
Hint: 2006 has nothing to do with 2004, or 2003, or 2002, or 2001 or ... or ... or ... unless you did not make any adjustments AND your team got no older. Since neither has ever happened with any team in history, your talk is mindless chatter.
The Spurs great loss in 2001 was to pretty solid and peaking Laker squad. After DA wen't down, it was clear the Spurs did not have the perimeter quickness and athleticism to hang. Only the undersized AD had a decent series. AJ, Smith and Ferry were mostly useless against the suddenly quicker, faster and more athletic Lakers perimeter.
I do not say the above to take credit from the great Lakers of 2001, but to point out that Pop both recognized and made adjustments to quickly correct the obvious problem. Between 2002 and 2003 Tony, Bowen, SJax and Manu changed this matchup and changed who prevailed as champions.
In 2004 the Spurs getting beat by the Lakers had nothing to do with being soft. It had to do with the Lakers making some solid adjustments AND the Spurs not overcomming .4 to allow the Lakers to steal the series. Considering the Lakers had a core that was three time NBA Champions and had added HOF support in Malone and Payton, I don't think the soft arguement flies.
After 2004 the Spurs again made adjustments that helped them seal the deal in 2005. Tony and Manu were given even bigger roles while important support was added in Barry, Beno and Nazr. And the 2005 Spurs became tougher as a unit, perhaps because they knew in their hearts they had let one slip away.
Tim's play is starting to elevate from his February funk. And although Pop said he did not want Tim to shoot up too much for the PF because of side effects, he did not say they would not consider additional treatment as the playoffs near.
Tim played with 2 bum ankles last year, and still delivered enough to earn his 3rd MVP as he delivered the Spurs to ring #3. I am less concerned about the PF than playing with the 2 bum ankles. As Tim gets a little better, learns to play with it, learns to play through it, and gets some additional teatment to help with the pain as the playoffs near, he and the Spurs will be fine.
Cool. The refs want the Spurs to win. REPEAT, BABY!
anytime you're up 2-0 i dont care who its against and you lose the NEXT FOUR straight its cuz you're soft. that ws totally inexcusable. spurs should've taken care of business and also failed to make adjustments when the outside shots aren't falling. yes 2006 is different than 2005 but tim is playing much worse with his PF than he was with 2 bum ankles. spurs should have more than 3 championships
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