<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">SAN ANTONIO -- A Detroit Pistons player loses his cool. The team loses its focus, and ultimately, the game. Sound familiar? We've seen that side of this Pistons team before. In case you missed it before, the Pistons had it on full display early in the fourth quarter of Thursday night's 84-69 loss to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. "I didn't think we, other than the first seven, eight minutes, matched their energy," said Pistons coach Larry Brown. "Their effort was phenomenal, I thought, the whole game." The game was relatively close for three-plus quarters, which is how the Pistons like it when playing on the road. However, that all changed when Ben Wallace, switching out to the perimeter to guard San Antonio's Manu Ginobili, was called for a blocking foul. Wallace, who believed a charging foul should have been called against Ginobili, was then given a technical foul when he voiced his displeasure with the call by official Mike Callahan. Ginobili made the technical free throw, and on the ensuing possession, the Spurs scored again, giving them a 58-53 lead, their biggest of the game at that point. "I think that technical foul was definitely a turning point (in the game)," said Pistons guard Richard Hamilton. It certainly appeared that way, as San Antonio went on a 16-4 run primarily behind Ginobili, who tallied 15 of his game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter. "We were down defensively for a long time and Manu Ginobili did what you saw him do, and that was the difference in the game," said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who has a 3-0 record in Game 1s of the NBA Finals. "He was something else." Especially after Detroit went on a 10-0 run late in the game to cut San Antonio's lead to seven points. A Ginobili dunk sparked a 7-0 run that put the game out of Detroit's reach. "Things happen in a game," said Pistons reserve guard Carlos Arroyo. "Regardless of that technical foul, we could have done a better job in the second half." </div> Source
This is why this team might not repeat. They take the game to heart to much. The Pistons need to learn to clear their heads and just play ball, the refs are going to make mistakes you have to learn to play through it because a ref cannot be a strong basketball team. That's basic basketball right there, the Pistons just can't seem to grasp it at times.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">They take the game to heart to much. The Pistons need to learn to clear their heads and just play ball</div> There is nothing wrong with a player really getting into a game or "taking it to heart." In fact, all the great players in history do. You can't be successful in the NBA if you play every game passively and not give a crap about the calls, especially in the finals. San Antonio gets just as worked up about calls as Detroit. Popp is probably the most intense coach I've ever seen and blows up on the ref for every call against his team. Bowen, Horry, Ginobili and sometimes even Duncan act like they want to hit the official every time a call goes the other way. It's just the officials never T-up those guys because they're worried Poppovich will throw something at them. It seemed like Detroit got the short end of the stick on every call in game 1. Whether it was the blocking foul on Wallace in the 4th or the so-called charge Horry drew where he was clearly in the circle. Multiple terrible calls like those take the heart out of a team, and I can't really blame Wallace for getting frustrated. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"I think that technical foul was definitely a turning point (in the game)," said Pistons guard Richard Hamilton.</div> Ouch. Ben's own teammate just publically blamed him for the loss.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">There is nothing wrong with a player really getting into a game or "taking it to heart." In fact, all the great players in history do. You can't be successful in the NBA if you play every game passively and not give a crap about the calls, especially in the finals. San Antonio gets just as worked up about calls as Detroit. Popp is probably the most intense coach I've ever seen and blows up on the ref for every call against his team. Bowen, Horry, Ginobili and sometimes even Duncan act like they want to hit the official every time a call goes the other way. It's just the officials never T-up those guys because they're worried Poppovich will throw something at them. It seemed like Detroit got the short end of the stick on every call in game 1. Whether it was the blocking foul on Wallace in the 4th or the so-called charge Horry drew where he was clearly in the circle. Multiple terrible calls like those take the heart out of a team, and I can't really blame Wallace for getting frustrated. </div> That is not the point at all. The Pistons loose games because of this and other teams don't because eventually they'll cool their head and just play the game but the Pistons don't. It's caused them games at times and that is why it is really pathetic how much they complain and whine at the refs all the time. These players are professionals, and they have to learn how to play with the refs under any circumstances.
Don't buy It one bit, Pistons simply got outworked in the 4th. Even before the T you could see the Spurs had more energy, passion and were more hungry to get the win. Sheed not turning up played a part in Pistons losing the game more than the techinal..
