VS Series: 0-0Date: Saturday, April 21stTime: 7:30 PM ETTV: ESPNThe Palace of Auburn HillsStarting LineupsPG: Chauncey BillupsSG: Richard HamiltonSF: Tayshaun PrincePF: Rasheed WallaceC: Chris WebberPG: Jameer NelsonSG: Grant HillSF: Hedo TurkogluPF: Tony BattieC: Dwight HowardInjuriesNone to report.Darko Milicic: (sprained right mid-foot) is day-to-day.Key bench playersAntonio McDyessCarlos DelfinoFlip MurrayLindsey HunterJason MaxiellTrevor ArizaCarlos ArroyoDarko MilicicKeyon DoolingPat GarrityWhat the Pistons have to do1. Win the boards2. Keep Dwight's dunks limited, make him shoot outside3. Take it in side for heavens sake, and play some physical ballWhat the Magic have to do1. Check Rip coming off screens2. Don't let Billups get his way down low against Nelson3. Control the tempoMy PredictionPistons 91Magic 84
I also think the Pistons will win by a considerably large margin..I just don't think Orlando has enough experience and they are overmatched at pretty much every position...Detroit is gonna take this gameI think this series has sweep written all over it
ITS PLAYOFF TIME! :yahoo: We really need to rebound well, which didn't do well at all the last time we played them. Control the amount of dunks they(more like Dwight) get. Lastly, if we have a fairly large lead, we need to pull away, another thing we didn't do well last time.
I think Orlando could possibly steal one game (at home) in this series, but it's definitely a potential sweep. Detroit will clearly win the series, in fact most people (including me) have them winning the East, as they should. Detroit is by far the best team in the East.
I think Orlando is going to keep this game one close. They have played Detroit close in every game this year, except one, and while having not actually won a game, was in the drivers seat and had the potential of winning a couple of those games they played. They had the lead going into the fourth quarter in two of those games, and the lead at half time in 3 of the 4 games.They play a good enough team defense to keep every game close, and allow them to have a shot at winning every game. With a young team, that will boost their confidence and make them think they can take it from the Pistons. The Magic are also a good rebounding team, and will keep the pressure on the boards, as well as defensively. This will help them to keep the Pistons to only one shot on offense, and hopefully get them more oppurtunities on offense. When it comes to bench play, is where the Magic are going to have an advantage to. The Magic have a very skilled bench, that has better perimeter defensive players on it than the starters have. They bring hustle and energy to every game, and have been a strong point for the Magic all year. Them being able to keep the pressure on, when the starters are out of the game will help this Magic team to keep every game of this series close. I think the Magic keep game one close here, and keep the pressure on the Pistons. As for the series, I think the Magic will be able to steal two wins, and have the series go to 6 before the Pistons win it.*Good write up Captain, but Battie plays the power forward spot for us, and Howard actually plays the 5 spot for us. In the Magic offense there is a big difference between the two positions.
Detroit started off great, nailing everything. Sheed's feeling it right away from the back-down position or from 3 and Rip is playing pretty well. Orlando looks too jittery, they need to calm down and play their game. I think they'll catch on as the game progresses, but I still think Detroit will definitely win the game. Dwight needs to be a powerhouse for Orlando.
Pretty solid 1st quarter for us. Everyone's playing well, especially Sheed. Dwight with 7 rebounds already, as we got outrebounded 10-8 in the 1st quarter. Our defense looks good too, with the Magic having 7 turnovers already.
Orlando is 5-18 from the free throw line. That is just atrocious and inexcusable. They need to start knocking those down or they have absolutely no shot at keeping this one alive. In the second half, I hope they can knock those down, continue to play solid defense, and make this one interesting. Dwight is doing great on the glass, but he really needs to do something offensively. He's getting to the line a little bit, I know that, but he can't knock any down. He needs to get it together offensively, as does Jameer (Jameer needs to be more aggressive altogether). EDIT: Wow, what an acrobatic play by Ariza to close out the half!
Delfino played VERY well in the 2nd, with 7 points, 3 rebounds, and good defense. Maxiell and Davis gave some solid minutes with Sheed not playing much in the 2nd . We let them cut the lead to eight with two bad offensive possesions, with a bad shot by Rip, followed by a turnover by Chauncey. We're passing the ball well, with 13 assists on 21 field goals, and only 5 turnovers. The Magic are getting inside pretty easily, but luckily they can't hit anything at the line. In the second half, Chauncey and Tay need to get involved more in the offense. They've only taken 7 shots combined so far, but we know Chauncey will step it up in the second half as he always does.
Down by 8 at the half, we should be alot closer. 6-20 from the line, including Dwight being 0-6 from the line is hurting us so far. As well as our turnover problems, we can't expect to have 11 turnovers in a half and get decent production. If it wasn't for that late flurry we would be down by alot more. Some things we need to keep doing, is keep on attacking and getting good shots. We are shooting a good percentage, which is what is keeping us in the game. The Magic need to not turn the ball over, and hit from the free throw line. That can't be stressed enough. I would also like to see Darko come in the game more, and get more looks. He seems to be playing well tonight offensively, and want to see what he can do. I would like to see him come out to start the second half, and match up with Wallace.
Orlando's FT shooting is pathetic...they would be in this game if they could hit like 75% of their shots from the line
If Orlando could tighten up on the little things, such as Free Throw shooting and stop throwing away the ball so much they could be the beast of the east like they were earlier this year. It is clearly being shown this game.
That was a great comeback by Orlando, too bad they fell short. Had they shot remotely respectably from the free throw line, they would have won that game. Detroit didn't play their best basketball, they got too comfortable. Hopefully it will send a message to Detroit not to take it easy on this team, because they always play hard.
Magic gave the Pistons a scare at the end of the 4th, but Detroit's playoff experience and Orlando's youth allowed Detroit to end up with the W. That was a nice comeback by Orlando, though.
So the Orlando youth really showed today, they looked really nervous, and if wasn't for runs to catch them back up this would have really not been a close game. Free throws and turnovers killed us, as well as some having a lack of aggressiveness offensively. Some bright spots in this game I saw for usarko showed up pretty well for us, I would have liked to see him crack 30 minutes in this game. He was scoring with will, and had a very nice night. He could have demanded the ball a bit more, but that will come with a little age, to know when to demand the ball. Turkoglu showed up well for us offensively, and was hitting his shots decently well. Grant Hill did a little bit of everything for us, scored, grabbed a few rebounds, set up a few people with nice passes, and was the only one on the team actually hitting his free throws. Howard showed up on the boards, and offensively was taking shots. He just got fouled alot, and shot terrible from the line. Shaq I don't believe ever shot that bad, but oh well, it's in the past. Just have to look forward to next game.Overall it was a decent game. Next game however, Jameer Nelson needs to get into the offense more and attack the basket more for us to be more successful.
What I got out of this game:Magic made a great run last but Pistons prevailed. We pretty much held pace the whole game, so it took alot of effort for Orlando even to make that comeback. Detroit did a real nice job on Dwight Howard, played physical with him and shut him down on the offensive side. He really did terrible on freee throws, and I think the "Hack-A-Howard" tactic will be on for the whole series.Billups had a great game, missing only 1 free throw and coming up big in the clutch. Rip had a nice game too, nailing those mid-range jump shots with ease as always.Darko had a solid first half with 8 points but he couldnt finish and that was his problem in Detroit. He got lazy if he played for a while and couldnt make a big impact with a big amount of playing time. He had I think only 2 points in the second half.So in a wrap up, Detroit played well but I would of liked to see them finish better.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (MrBigShot_23 @ Apr 21 2007, 10:05 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Darko had a solid first half with 8 points but he couldnt finish and that was his problem in Detroit. He got lazy if he played for a while and couldnt make a big impact with a big amount of playing time. He had I think only 2 points in the second half.</div>Darko had 6 in the second half, and really didn't have a problem finishing since he only missed one shot the entire game. Nor did he have a problem with being lazy, he was moving around and trying to get open on the offensive end. His problem wass that he wasn't assertive enough to demand the ball yet, when he is in the floor. That's more to due with being shy, and laid back more than it is to do with lazyness and unable to finish.
If only the Magic could make some damn free throws. I am rooting for them but if they wanted to win any more than 1 in this series this was a great opportunity wasted.
I saw a bit of the game...It's really too bad that the Magic couldn't make free throws, and that they turned the ball over a ton (especially Howard)....they were shooting an amazing percentage, and they might've been able to win if they hit free throws and were smart with the ball....Hedo Turkoglu was money from mid range, Darko had such a soft touch inside, he really did a good job in the paint....and Howard dominated when he attempted shots inside, using his strength and fairly good post moves to score...For the Pistons, I thought Rip Hamilton was the best player....He was absolutely money in catch and shoot situations...really good shooting night for Rip...also, Sheed had a really good game...He was hitting his threes tonight, and his turnaround J was also working for him....Tayshaun was also decent, although he didn't attempt that many shots...His J was solid...Chris Webber had some nice passes, and a few nice buckets...Chauncey's shot was not at it's best, but he had a really nice passing outing in my opinion..and he was able to hit some shots later on...Unfortunately for the Magic, they really have no chance against the Pistons. Pistons will rap it up in 5 at the latest...maybe even a sweep.
