Another thing that makes me mad is our defense on Ben Wallace. The guy is a poor offensive player and we let him score 13 points. If we had held him to 4 or 5 points we would have won the game. Alonzo and Shaq' have to guard him. A couple of times last night he was wide open at about 10 feet and hit a jumpshot. Shaq' and Alonzo need to get a hand in his face. Wallace also scored in the post. This shouldn't be happening. Our defense should be aggravating the crap out of Wallace to the point that he can't get a shot off. I can expect Rasheed to score but for Ben Wallace to score 13 points? That's bad defense in my opinion.
Ben Wallace is not a bad offensive player anymore. He has created quite a few post moves inside which is why he averaged around 10 points per game in the season, 13 points per game in round one and nearly 12 a game for the whole playoffs. Saying If the Heat held him to 4 or 5 then they would of won the game is laughable. If Ben wasn't giving the Pistons offense then someone else would of. You can easily say If the Pistons played their normal defense in the middle of the 3rd and half of the 4th then the Heat would of never been in a position to be in the game, nevermind having a chance to win. Pistons should of never let the Heat back In the game. They lose focus sometimes when they have games under control.
Yeah man, Big Ben has turned into a guy that can create his own shot. He can probably average 10 for the series.
^ I don't know if it's losing focus, but throughout the season, and even in the playoffs, the Pistons have always had these offensive droughts they go through. They have a period of 2+ minutes where no one on the team is hitting anything and they seem incapable to produce any offense. The good thing last night was that when that happened, Miami was also not able to capitalize, I think the score was 84-81 for like 5 posessions. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">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."</div> Yea, that is definately true
The Pistons were far worse last year with offensive droughts, they had them far more than they do this season. Most of the time when they have them this year they still manage to get stops. When their offense is not always clicking, they step It up more on the defensive end. Which showed in game 1. The Heat need to make the right adjustments for game 2, they must get to the line more. They are settling for jumpshots which just plays into the Pistons hands. Obviously It will be tough to get to the line as the Pistons not only are their so tough defensively the amount of fouls per game is very little. All this talkabout Wade not being what Kobe was last year in the finals but he looked no different. Prince is a nightmare match-up for Wade and most swingmen but just settling for the jumper will keep your shooting % low throughout.
wade just had a bad game but next time look for him to use his jumper and get more assists. i dont think he'll be scoring a lot inside with Tayshaun and the Wallace brothers down low
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting AA13:</div><div class="quote_post">Another thing that makes me mad is our defense on Ben Wallace. The guy is a poor offensive player and we let him score 13 points. If we had held him to 4 or 5 points we would have won the game. Alonzo and Shaq' have to guard him. A couple of times last night he was wide open at about 10 feet and hit a jumpshot. Shaq' and Alonzo need to get a hand in his face. Wallace also scored in the post. This shouldn't be happening. Our defense should be aggravating the crap out of Wallace to the point that he can't get a shot off. I can expect Rasheed to score but for Ben Wallace to score 13 points? That's bad defense in my opinion.</div> ben averaged about 10 ppg in the regular season and 11 ppg in the post season. 13 pts isn't out of the ordinary for him. if he put up 20 pts, i'd understand your frustration.
Wallace <div class="quote_poster">Quoting iamme:</div><div class="quote_post">ben averaged about 10 ppg in the regular season and 11 ppg in the post season. 13 pts isn't out of the ordinary for him. if he put up 20 pts, i'd understand your frustration.</div> I'm frustrated because I know that our post defenders can play much better defense on Wallace and limit his scoring. the thing that frustrated me so much during Game 1 is that he was getting his points by beating his defender. He usually gets his points on offensive rebounds or by another teammate setting him up. He shouldn't be able to score on Shaq' and Alonzo like he did.
This is an early must win in the series for the Heat. They definitely do not want to go to the Palace down 2-0, like the Suns and Spurs. Wade needs to compromise and make better the decisions with the ball. If Shaq is healthy enough to play and be effective, then the Heat should be making a bigger effort to get him the ball down low. You already know their plan, you have to just think smart and find a way to get him the ball, he'll do the rest, even if he's not 100%. He'll create oppurtunities for the shooters (The Jones') and give Wade easier paths to the basket.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The Heat are down 1-0 to the Pistons, and O'Neal wants to help even the series. "We know what we have to do, offensively and defensively," O'Neal said. "I told the guys that I've been in this situation many times before, I've been down before. "And not to worry about it. We've just got to fight. It's not going to be easy. It was easy in the first two rounds, but it's not going to get any easier. "We've just got to fight. And the team that fights the most is going to win it." O'Neal took only three shots in the fourth quarter, coinciding with the Pistons' increased defensive pressure. He said there's a way to counteract that. "Just get me the ball," he said. "Get it in to me. Tired or not, bring it in to me. I should have had the ball more.</div> Source Feed the big man, although Shaq better do more work on the glass.
^ I completly agree with Shaq'. If Wade isn't shitting his shots I say give it to the Big Fella every possession. He's good for at least 30 points maybe more. Wade and the shooters just need to hit their open shots. The shots will be there due to Shaq's dominance. He'll open the game up for other players. <u>Key to Victory:</u> 1.Give Shaq' the ball 2. Wade, Hit your shots!!!
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting AA13:</div><div class="quote_post">Wade and the shooters just need to hit their open shots. The shots will be there due to Shaq's dominance. He'll open the game up for other players.</div>What leads you to say that? They are clearly not leaving shooters open. This is a real defense that doesn't need to double or triple team Shaq and leave Damon Jones and company open.
...and like I said, Wade adjusts, so it's stands, Wade is not Kobe. The Pistons played their defense, and did their thing, but Wade played his game today, he got to the line, went at the basket, was making his shots, and just had an amazing game. This series has just gotten interesting.
Ahaahahh... need4sheed you crack me up. You expect Wade to play down to Melo's calibur like in game 1 every game??? Jokes on you bud, 40 points 9 boards 6 assists. Wade just burned your precious Pistons. This series is gonna be TIGHT!!
Man this was a great game. Wade drops 40 and shows the Pistons whose boss. Hopefully Wade can keep it up and keep his scoring up so the Heat can win this series.
Nice comeback performance from Wade, looks like its gonna be a good series. I think game 3 will be another close one with miami coming out on top.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Mr.Wade:</div><div class="quote_post">Ahaahahh... need4sheed you crack me up. You expect Wade to play down to Melo's calibur like in game 1 every game??? Jokes on you bud, 40 points 9 boards 6 assists. Wade just burned your precious Pistons. This series is gonna be TIGHT!!</div> LOL yeah where's need4sheed now? He hops on bandwagon from team to team and now he disappears that the Pistons lost. lol We still can't relax tho, it's da pistons. I won't take em for granted and Pistons are a great team no doubt but some fans of Pistons are.......
What a game! Great comeback effort by Dwayne Wade. I hope he can play like he did in Game 2 at Detroit. We need to win a game in the Palace to regain homecourt advantage. Wade had a great game but I think the key to this win was Alonzo Mourning. He got some crucial blocks nd rebounds down the stretch. If it wasn't for him the Piston's would have scored on numorous occasions. I also noticed that Laettner gave us quality minutes last night. He was taking charges, rebounding, playing good defense and hitting the open shot. I'm going to end on a negative note, Shaq' choked at the line. He needs to make every free-throw possible, expecially his free-throws in the fourth quarter.
Props to the Heat, Wade had a great game and the Pistons poor overall shooting couldn't been overcome but they were in the game entering the last 30 seconds and really better FT shooting and this game could of been different. This series heads to Detroit, where homecourt must be taken care of. And with the next two games being at the palace, I expect the Stones D to step up.
