# Game Thread: Game #27: Miami Heat @ Detroit Pistons



## Lope31

<center>*







vs.







*

*Miami Heat (17-12) vs. Detroit Pistons (23-3)*

*Thursday, December 29, 2005
The Palace of Auburn Hills
8:00 PM*

Probable Starters:






































Shaquille O'Neal l Udonis Haslem l James Posey l Dwyane Wade l Jason Williams





































Ben Wallace l Rasheed Wallace l Tayshaun Prince l Richard Hamilton l Chauncey Billups

Pistons Roster 
Heat Roster</center>

*Shaquille O'Neal does not have a picture. He's not that important anyway. Damn BBB :curse:


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## Brian.

This is the game where Brian will single handily pay for tayshuan princes new contract drinking 8 dollar beers. A disclaimer to Chriswojo and Detbnyce Darko probably won't play but if he does and he plays bad you are going to hear me ***** and the same for Arroyo. Most importantly though we have the Heat. They have been playing better with riles of course its more Shaq coming back then anything else. My main concern is with Hunter out I don't know if we have someone to stop Dwade. A great late christmas present would be a few Antoine Walker 3 point airballs.


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## ChrisWoj

Has Shaq lost some weight? He's looking a little pale, must have been under the weather when they took the photo... And I can't believe how old the guy is, no wonder he regularly shaves his head, all those gray hairs! Ridiculous!

And Brian: Just as long as you don't mind my overt fanboyism and awe at being at an NBA game!


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## Midnight_Marauder

Shaq? ha ha


But seriously....this is the 2nd must see game for me this season so far...the first was the Spurs game....that I forgot to watch because of a little too much to drink....I really think Miami plays them close....But I will always bet against a team that has Antoine Walker...always


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## Lope31

Hahah I'm convinced that's the next closest thing to Shaquille O'Neal on the internet. 

I wish I could go to the game, but unfortunatley I am 5 hours away. I'm sure it's gonna be a great one, how much did you end up spending on tickets? Where are they?


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## DetBNyce

I'd boo Arroyo just as much as you. Anyways I'll see you guys there at about 7, 7:30, or whatever time we talked about meeting up.


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## Copper

Miami is playin some hot ball right now, this will be a measuring stick game for them more than us. I dont think our guys are gonna overlook this game...but I dont think our guys will be as pumped up as the Heat. I think the record is starting to show in the players and they are getting a little too much swagger and may start to believe a little too much in their ability to take the game away from teams in the 4th instead of playing hard all game. Miami is gonna come in here tryin to show the league something and if our boys dont buckle down and play the entire 48 like they want it? we could be lookin at L#4


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## Lope31

I predicted it in the Heavy Weight Holiday thread, I see us squeaking by with this one. Just because it is such a huge game and I'm sure our players will be pumped for it. Of course by "squeak by" I really mean it, I don't plan on having a convincing win by any means, just enough to get us the W. If we win tonight and again on New Years (which I predicted a loss) I don't know where we will end.


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## xPAGANx

DetBNyce said:


> I'd boo Arroyo just as much as you. Anyways I'll see you guys there at about 7, 7:30, or whatever time we talked about meeting up.


Why would you boo Arroyo?

I think he is playing better this year. He tries hard and creates some excellent plays. Sure he makes mistakes just like every other player, but I really enjoy watching him play. 

I don't think it would make the other Pistons happy if you boo'ed their teammate. It simply isn't nice.


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## -33-

Should be a good one in the palace...I honestly wish I was back home so I could drive up for the game. 

We're playing pretty well right now, Riley is starting to get his system in, and our health is improving and chemistry is building. However, my honest opinion is we're not at your level just yet. I think we're still heading for another war in May, but right now, we're still adjusting things, while you're busting people up. Just remember though, almost a year ago to the day, Dwade walked into the Palace and dropped a triple double in a Heat victory (I was there)...

OT: The Shaq picture is our head trainer, Ron Culp, from................B-G-S-U!


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## IbizaXL

although i feel a tid bit more confident with the Heat since Riley and most importantly the starting 5 he envisioned are FINALLY playing together(Willams, Wade, Posey, Haslem, Shaq), Detroit is just too tough, Pistons know eachother like brothers and are playing at home. I agree with someone else here who mentioned that the Heat will be more pumped up for this game than the pistons. Pistons dont have to prove nothing to anybody(a champoinship, 2 consecutive NBA Finals appearances, and now a 23-3 record to boot). Heat in the other hand want to prove it can compete with the elite, and also have the burden to live up to ppls expectations with a roster full of big names. Pistons have the better chance to win of course, but you never know what might happened in any given NBA night.

Anyway, this game will be fun. ill watch every minute of it.
Heres to a good game fellas` :cheers:


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## Lope31

Shaq_Diesel said:


> Should be a good one in the palace...I honestly wish I was back home so I could drive up for the game.
> 
> We're playing pretty well right now, Riley is starting to get his system in, and our health is improving and chemistry is building. However, my honest opinion is we're not at your level just yet. I think we're still heading for another war in May, but right now, we're still adjusting things, while you're busting people up. Just remember though, almost a year ago to the day, Dwade walked into the Palace and dropped a triple double in a Heat victory (I was there)...
> 
> OT: The Shaq picture is our head trainer, Ron Culp, from................B-G-S-U!


Hey Shaq_Diesel, in response to your avatar, Latrell Sprewell on the HEat is great and all, but won't Antoine Walker be pissed that he stole his jersey?


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## Brian.

Shaq_Diesel said:


> Should be a good one in the palace...I honestly wish I was back home so I could drive up for the game.
> 
> We're playing pretty well right now, Riley is starting to get his system in, and our health is improving and chemistry is building. However, my honest opinion is we're not at your level just yet. *We are headed* for another war in May, but right now, we're still adjusting things, while you're busting people up. Just remember though, almost a year ago to the day, Dwade walked into the Palace and dropped a triple double in a Heat victory (I was there)...
> 
> OT: The Shaq picture is our head trainer, Ron Culp, from................B-G-S-U!


Fixed your post


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## STUCKEY!

Lope31 said:


> Hey Shaq_Diesel, in response to your avatar, *Latrell Sprewell on the HEat is great and all, but won't Antoine Walker be pissed that he stole his jersey?*


Head case galore! :banana: :banana: :banana:


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## STUCKEY!

My prediction for this game is Billups and Hamilton will each have 20 point games and Shaq will have 30 points but Dwanye Wade will have 18 points on 5/18 shooting 8/10 FT. We win by heat mistakes at the end!


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## DTigre

> http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/13504939.htm
> 
> LACK OF CREATIVITY
> 
> Outside of O'Neal and Wade, the team had no one else capable of consistently creating a play when the team needed it most. That's why players such as Jason Williams and Antoine Walker were added. And the matchup at point guard was problematic because Billups could take over a game seemingly at will, and he also took the Heat's starting point guard, Damon Jones, out of the game by simply sticking by his side at all times.
> 
> *That's why Gary Payton's addition could prove beneficial, to help contain Billups while also varying the Heat's offensive options at the position.*
> 
> Riley said his offseason moves weren't specifically designed to defeat the Pistons. But he does see more evenly matched teams.
> 
> ''If I did it perfectly, I probably would have gotten a couple of other guys,'' Riley said. ``I'm happy with what we did. You can't specifically look at a team and go, `OK, I'm going to do this, and he's going to match up with this guy and he's going to match up with this guy.'
> 
> *``I do believe at the end of the summer, we got very fortunate to get Gary, because I think Gary will have the moxie to play against Billups and maybe Rip [Hamilton], and the experience. And I think maybe in a big-game situation defensively, he can shut people down. When we get to that time when we're going to need that kind of defense, then I think we have enough. And if we don't, then I'm going to keep looking for it.''*


I don't understand this. Doesn't Riley remeber what Billups did to Payton during their Finals matchup?


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## IbizaXL

DTigre said:


> I don't understand this. Doesn't Riley remeber what Billups did to Payton during their Finals matchup?


Heat rather have GP than Damon Jones when it comes to matching up with billups. Not necessarily mean Payton is going to dominate Billups, but Payton is 10 times the player damon jones will ever be.
Also, Paytons trash talking is legendary compared to Jones lol :biggrin:


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## Lope31

> After starting the season 11-10, Miami coach Stan Van Gundy stepped down Dec. 12, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family.
> 
> Since then, the Heat has gone 6-2. But new coach Pat Riley can't get all the credit for that, not knowing that Shaquille O'Neal, who had been out five weeks with an ankle injury, returned just in time for the coaching switch.
> 
> The Pistons have five big men to potentially rotate on O'Neal, including newcomer Dale Davis, who has played little this season. That could change tonight, when Saunders said using a variety of defenders was the key to dealing with the game's biggest specimen.
> 
> Saunders said he might use Davis, Antonio McDyess and even Darko Milicic off the bench, depending on how O'Neal was playing.
> 
> "You have to try to change up how you defend him," Saunders said. "You can't play the same way."
> 
> As for the Heat's other superstar in guard Dwyane Wade, that will likely be Richard Hamilton's defensive responsibility, at least to open the game. Small forward Tayshaun Prince also figures to get some chances to try to keep Wade out of the lane.
> 
> "You've got to mix it up," Hamilton said. "He comes at you on every possession so you just have to mix it up on him."


Free Press


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## Lope31

> Asked Wednesday whether he and his teammates noticed as national sports pundits nearly unanimously picked the Miami Heat to finish in front of the Pistons before this season, Chauncey Billups stuck out his chin and nodded slowly.
> 
> Asked whether that would be in the back of his mind tonight, when the Pistons and Heat meet for the first time since the Eastern Conference finals last season, the Pistons point guard quickly switched gears and shook his head no.





> "Does this game matter coming up?" Mourning told reporters in south Florida. "You're damn right it does. It does matter. It matters a lot to us, but we have to continue to focus on getting better."





> "I don't think there's any other reason for them to change," Billups said. "They won (59) games and the only team they struggled with was us, so I figured they were trying to make changes to get past us."


Free Press


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## IbizaXL

> Riley, who orchestrated the changes, denied that in a sense this week. He also said he would add some finishing touches to his makeover if he could.
> 
> "If I did it perfectly, I probably would have gotten a couple of other guys," Riley told reporters in south Florida. "I'm happy with what we did. You can't specifically look at a team and go, 'OK, I'm going to do this, and he's going to match up with this guy and he's going to match up with this guy.' "


http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051229/SPORTS03/512290515/1051


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## BlackNRed

Good luck tonight Pistons, should be a good one. Could be a small preview of the ECF this year. :cheers:


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## -33-

Hey Flip!










End of 1st

Heat 26
Pistons 27


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## El Pistón

A bad overall game by Chauncey (other than his 3's) this first half, but at least a good one by Arroyo off the bench.


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## TM

Wade looks horrible tonight. How many more times is he gonna jump up in the air with no where to go?


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## TM

:laugh:

anyone see those sumo pictures with Barkley's head? boy did i have a good laugh.


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## Lynx

TM said:


> :laugh:
> 
> anyone see those sumo pictures with Barkley's head? boy did i have a good laugh.


:rofl: Yeah, I needed that too.


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## TM

i really really need that video they were showing

and did you see rick mahorn!?!?! Yikes!


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## -33-

TM said:


> Wade looks horrible tonight. How many more times is he gonna jump up in the air with no where to go?


 He looks fine outside of the last 3-4 mins where he kept leaving his feet looking to pass....you teach that to 6th graders, he's gotta look for his shoot first if he's going up....

he'll be alright though, good game so far...


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## TM

ya, forget what i said. that was an impressive block. and he's gettin going offensively too.


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## El Pistón

What's wrong with Billups? He had Prince there in that pick and roll.


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## -33-

here come the Heat....Pistons made a run to end the quarter, now we're answering...

down 2 w/ 9:10 left


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## Pasha The Great

Mad Props to the Pistons


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## TM

Billups is simply amazing


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## MiamiHeat03

Pasha The Great said:


> Mad Props to the Pistons


yes Billsup killed us and props to Rasheed also.

good Win!


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## BenGordonsDefense

Took Detroit long enough to get interested. Halfway through the third I guess they finally decided to stop just going through the motions.


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## -33-

good win......

I'm satisfied to know we can play with you. I don't think we played very well, especially defensively, but I don't think you'll say you played very well either.

I think we're heading towards another war in May though...should be fun


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## Lope31

We don't have TNT in Canada...at least where I live. I noticed by the box score that neither Davis, nor Darko got in the game. Who was guarding Shaq all game?


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## Diophantos

Lope31 said:


> We don't have TNT in Canada...at least where I live. I noticed by the box score that neither Davis, nor Darko got in the game. Who was guarding Shaq all game?


A lot of Ben, some Sheed, a little Dice.

Anyways, good game. Like S_D, I'm glad to see we can hang with you guys. We made some mistakes down the stretch and Chauncey made us pay. That's really Chauncey's gift--if you screw up, he'll make you pay. In any case, I think it could have gone our way, and that's cause for some optimism for me.

Should be another good series if we meet in the playoffs.


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## Brian.

It was a great game to be at. Good meeting some of the fellas from the board. Glad the game didn't go to overtime otherwise we might have had a homicide on our hands. Detbnyce was about to kill the kids in front of us. :biggrin: 

I don't think the Heat played there best game but we definetly took one of there best shots. Dwade was on fire and Shaq had a good game. The pistons played Dwade the best you can. We took away his strength of driving to the hoop and made him take jump shots. He just happened to hit them all tonight or at least it seemed. I rag on Arroyo all the time but he did play pretty good tonight. I thought Delfino was a real spark off the bench in the third quarter also.


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## ChrisWoj

Brian said:


> It was a great game to be at. Good meeting some of the fellas from the board. Glad the game didn't go to overtime otherwise we might have had a homicide on our hands. Detbnyce was about to kill the kids in front of us. :biggrin:
> 
> I don't think the Heat played there best game but we definetly took one of there best shots. Dwade was on fire and Shaq had a good game. The pistons played Dwade the best you can. We took away his strength of driving to the hoop and made him take jump shots. He just happened to hit them all tonight or at least it seemed. I rag on Arroyo all the time but he did play pretty good tonight. I thought Delfino was a real spark off the bench in the third quarter also.


The signs are the worst damn invention... EVER. Hell of a game right there. Wade was hot, Shaq was solid, even J-Will was looking strong (and streaky) as ever. Nothing really the Heat fans can complain about, we beat them fair and square in a good battle 

Darko didn't play, I was sad. Arroyo played decently, as I've said before he isn't too bad... just doesn't fit. Delfino didn't play enough. He was a spark, yeah... but damn he needs more minutes out there.

Oh... and Palace to my doorstep in Toledo: 1 hour 29 minutes.

I <3 the understaffed Michigan Highway Patrol 

-Chris.


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## IbizaXL

at least we didnt lose like no punk either! lol :banana: 
id say its a good measuring stick ha! :biggrin:


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## -33-

ChrisWoj said:


> The signs are the worst damn invention... EVER. Hell of a game right there. Wade was hot, Shaq was solid, even J-Will was looking strong (and streaky) as ever. Nothing really the Heat fans can complain about, we beat them fair and square in a good battle
> 
> Darko didn't play, I was sad. Arroyo played decently, as I've said before he isn't too bad... just doesn't fit. Delfino didn't play enough. He was a spark, yeah... but damn he needs more minutes out there.
> 
> Oh... and Palace to my doorstep in Toledo: 1 hour 29 minutes.
> 
> I <3 the understaffed Michigan Highway Patrol
> 
> -Chris.


 hour and a half? I can get back to BG in right about that time........pick it up!


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## ChrisWoj

Lynx said:


> :rofl: Yeah, I needed that too.


Its 5am and your avatar almost put me to sleep... hypnotism :eek8: 

OH... and SHAQ_DIESEL... I don't know how fast you went, but I went 85 straight through, outside of the crazy curves in Detroit, plus I am counting time spent in parking lot. From the time I turned on the car to the time I turned it off in the driveway.

On a side note... BGSU sucks. GO ROCKETS!


-Chris.


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## DetBNyce

Brian said:


> It was a great game to be at. Good meeting some of the fellas from the board. Glad the game didn't go to overtime otherwise we might have had a homicide on our hands. Detbnyce was about to kill the kids in front of us. :biggrin:



Yea even the kid with the sign couldn't mess up what was probaly the best Pistons game I've been too. He did make it tough though, he gets a pass just because he was a kid, but if he was older I may have made a mistake and spilled my nachos on him. :wink: The only one game that comes close is the playoffs game 1 a couple years ago against the Nets where we blew them out, but this one was better and more entertaining because of the outcome.

I think we were all impressed with Wade in person. Of course I've seen him play plenty of times on TV, but he's really a treat to see in person. Billups was his usual self this season, Rip played well after a slow start, and Sheed's baskets seemed to all drop at the right time.

Highlights of the night:

Meeting the fellas, we have to d it again before the season is out.

Seeing the Pistons play... it's always fun.

Seeing Shaq play in person... now I can cross him off the list and move on to wanting to see oher players and teams in person.

Seeing Sheed/Delfino in the pre-game... I don't think I saw Sheed take one serious shot during the the entire pre-game layup drills or shootaround. And there was a point where Delfino made about 8 threes in a row and six at another time during warmups.

I had fun.


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## Copper

I agree it was a good game to get under the belt, I was dissapointed at times that they looked to just be going through the motions and doin a tonne of standing around. It scares me how they continue to play just hard enough to keep it close and then just crank it up in the last few to get the win. This will come back to bite us ...one of these times the opponents are gonna hit the miracle shot and we'll lose a game we got no business losing. Although I like the confidence...it can be a "SHARP" double edged sword.
I loved the Dyess facial for Mourning, Delfino has got to get more minutes out there..


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## froggyvk

ChrisWoj said:


> On a side note... BGSU sucks. GO ROCKETS!


Die.


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## Lope31

Copper said:


> I loved the Dyess facial for Mourning


I gotta say, seeing those highlights was a great way to start the day.


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