Halftime in game one. Great game thus far. If Dooling hadn't gotten all of those lay-ups swatted away Miami would have at least a 5-point lead, but it's a 1-point lead for Detroit instead. Wade played a good first half as a point guard, he let Shaq ease into a game setting yet again, and he fed the ball well down low. Eddie Jones was spectacular this first half, hit some big shots made some key defensive plays and was hustling throughout. Great job from Eddie Jones. Haslem had some good passing opportunities that he missed and hasn't been up to par. Rasheed Wallace has been fantastic offensively, he's hit some huge shots. All the while Rasheed has come up big defensively - forcing players to adjust their shots effectively. Rip has been off, shooting 3 of 10 thus far. Good first half, I look forward to a great 2nd half.
What an ugly half. 44-43. The game started out great, both teams shooting well and scoring regularly. Somethin happened after that, goin into the 2nd quarter, and it became a typical boring eastern conference suckfest where nobody can make a shot. I'm sure the Pistons like that though.
After the third Miami is down by seven, 74-67. Haslem continued to disappoint and he picked up a technical foul. I liked Stan Van Gundy's decision in putting Shaq and Mourning on the floor together, trying to get the crowd into it and in attempt to pump energy into Miami's offense. Dooling played well towards the end of the 3rd, he was a real spark-plug. Wade's offense hasn't been what Miami fans were hoping for, an atrocious 6/19 shooting, Detroit is really getting to him. Looks like Wade is starting to slow down, some may attribute that to the sweep and all the time out of a game setting but it looks like Detroit is taking Wade and bringing him out of his comfort zone. Detroit played great basketball in the 3rd, they showed why they're the defending champs. They're looking very good right now.
The Pistons extended their halftime lead in the 3rd quarter doing more of the same. Eddie Jones is keeping the Heat in the game offensively and the Heat are now shooting over 50% against the mighty Pistons defense. Van Gundy experimented with Shaq and Zo on the floor at the same time, after Haslem re-injured his dislocated finger. Keyon Dooling has played a lot of minutes in this game and Damon Jones has been on the bench. The 4th quarter just started, and the Rip Hamilton cardiovascular course has just begun.
Does anyone else think some of these calls the refs are making are rediculous? Things that haven't been call the entire season all of a sudden are being called, its pretty much bs if you ask me.
Sheeeeeeed! With the defensive play of the game so far with a rejection ... Pistons lead by 5 with 1 and 1/2 minutes to go.
Wade 7-25, as mentioned before the looks he had in the previous two rounds are gone. The Pistons defense was great in the last 5 minutes. Still needs to be played for the full 48 minutes but they got stops when It mattered late. Sheed was huge so was Mr big shot. Pistons take back homecourt straight away.
Game over. Detroit takes it by nine, 90-81. Sheed was defensively superb, played a great game offensively as well. Sheed was 7/10 shooting and had 20 points with 10 boards. Eddie Jones was the one who kept this game remotely close. Defense won the game, Detroit's defense was simply sensational, allowing only 14 points in the 4th quarter (even though they scored 16, they already had a good lead). Ben Wallace played a good game, 13 points and 13 boards (four offensive) with two blocks and three steals. Damon Jones only played 27 minutes and was shut down by the defensively sound Pistons as he scored only five points with 2/6 shooting. Jones did, however, have 5 assists in those 27 minutes. Not too bad for limited action, since Detroit did a good job of covering men and forcing Miami to make tough decisions passing/shooting wise. Wade really suffered tonight (as mentioned in my prior post, and in others').
The key was the Pistons ability to defend the Heat straight up at every position. Ben Wallace guarding Shaq and Tayshaun staying with Wade without getting into foul trouble, or too, tired to be effective on the offensive end. The Heat had their chances in this game, but the Pistons put them into 'lockdown' mode the final 5 minutes. The Pistons take back homecourt advantage from the get go. I expect the Heat to be far more aggressive in Game 2. They only got to the line 10 times in the game. Shaq and Wade usually get to the line 10 times alone in most games. This all happens if the Heat step up on defense. The Pistons scored fairly easily all game long and the Heat struggled playing from behind.
Remember, the Heat hasn't played in 9 days, the rest is there.....but still 9 days is a long time. This is only game 1, no worries, game 2 should be a better game for the Heat.
Shaq was a non-factor in this game....well,knda...and Prince shut down Wade...and now,people are comparing Wade to last tyear's Kobe(vs.Detroit) but then again,it's just one game and i don't thnk theyll be down 0-2...I'll still go with the heat on this one...
I've said it before, and in an earlier post, Sheed will be the key player this series...he is a big mismatch for Miami...I too agreed with what shapecity said earlier how the pistons can play defense straight-up on miami, without doubling...that is HUGE, since the Heat, aside from Shaq and Wade, are primarily specialists (i.e. Haslem (rebounding, putbacks, open dunks), DJones (3s), EJ (3s) Laettner (spot-up shooting), Mourning (defense, putbacks, open dunks))... oh, well, like ive said before as well...pistons in 6, maybe even 5 if they keep their focus...
Pistons defense was just overwhelming. They showed why they're champs Wade should figure out how to overcome Prince's wingspan and D jones to figure out how to get free.
<font color="Red">Wade</font>'s game one performance was very uncharacteristic of him. His decision making just wasn't sharp like usual. He was not attacking the basket even when guarded by Lindsey Hunter. He was out of the game mentally at times. Settling for bad shots several times. Wade only shot 2 Free thows the whole game. 7 of 25 from the field. Tayshaun Prince was a very difficult matchup for Wade on both ends of the floor. <font color="Blue">Detroits Defense</font> was outstanding. And Sheed had a great night. 4/5 from 3 point range and 7 for 10 overall. Wade statistically has shown to comeback from tough games with very strong performances. The key for Wade is his assists. He is at his best when he's a Playmaker and gets others involved. Damon Jones' bad game has to do with Wade not driving and dishing like usual. He only had 4 assists tonight, well below his average. It was nice to see <font color="Red">Shaq</font> play well early on. He is definitely not as bad as I thought. The Heat apparently needed this wake up call after winning 8 Straight. With that said, I expect Miami to bounce back and <font color="Red">take Games 2 & 3.</font>
That game goes out to all the people that were taking Detroit for granted. Yes, I'm going for Miami, I'm a huge Wade fan, but all these people picking Heat in 4 and 5, making it seem like Detroit is the Nets or an injured Wizards team might have had their eyes opened. Wade will adjust for Game 2, but their's only so much adjusting he can do. The Pistons are a smart team, a good defensive team, have smart players, and have a smart coach, that's why I was laughing when I saw some people predicting things like the Heat in 4 and 5. Shaq's health is the X-Factor, the Heat need him playing 40 minutes or close to it or they'll be hard pressed to take this one. Shaq only played 33 minutes in this game, and had 1 foul, so you know that's not right. Wade made some terrible decisions in the game IMO. That last three was just stupid, first of all, they didn't need a three, he is not a 3PT shooter, and Eddie Jones was on fire from outside and Damon Jones seemed to be getting some groove. You either take that at the defense or give it to Shaq for a 2, or drive and dish and get a three. Also Wade took too many outside jumpshots, his head wasn't in the game today, he was taking some shots he wouldn't normally take and just wasn't doing things right. Detroit really played well, they forced Wade to bad shots, got him frustrated a little too, going at him defensively with Tayshaun, though he did do a good job on Tay. They really played their game, and didn't have their usual offensive droughts till the end of the game, but the Heat were also on a drought at that time. They also did a great job going to the best mis-match of all, Damon Jones vs Anyone, and the anyone was Chauncey Billups.
Boy, did Dwayne Wade suck last night or what? He needs to get his head on straight and play like the dominating force he is. Even with Shaq' not at 100% we have a chance to win if Wade plays like he is capable of. Wade took to many mid-range jumpshots when the Heat could have worked for a better shot. He also couldn't finish around the rim. I noticed on a few occasions he got by his man only to miss a layup. He just needs to relax and take better shots and make sure he hits those good shots. Now for Shaq'. We don't know if he is at 100% or not. He had 20 points and played 33 minutes but I'm still not convinced that he is anywhere close to 100%. We need to establish Shaq' in the post early in the game so the defense wil begin to sag back which will open things up for Wade. We definatly need to win Game 2 and steal a game in Detroit.
That game was for everyone on Wade's nuts. He got owned by Prince and Co. hardcore. I loved seeing Wade cry to VanGundy like a lil beeatch. Wade: "Coach, Coach they're fouling me really hard and nothing is being called!" VanGundy: "Stop crying like a lil baby and get out there and take it like a man, Lebron or Melo wouldn't be crying over this."
Man, I would be suprised if Damon Jones got one open three the whole series. They could put Darko on that guy and make him look stupid. This game definately knocked Wade down a notch, and showed people that the Wiz and the Nets really ARE that bad defensively.
The Pistons continue to play championship-caliber basketball. They are primed for the Finals and have thrown the first punch in this heavyweight match. "Tested" has beaten "rested" in game 1. Now, the Heat must show their mettle. They have not played a team that can defend AND score like the Pistons can. I expect them to get off the mat and punch back by freeing up Wade with double screens. I expect them to find Shaq more often in the paint by spreading the floor and with dribble penetrations. This will be a 7-game series, and basketball fans everywhere will enjoy every moment of it.
