# ECF: Game 5: Detroit Pistons vs. Miami Heat



## Brian.

<center> @ 
*(1) Miami Heat (H: 35-6 R: 24-17) vs. (2) Detroit Pistons (H: 32-9 R: 22-19) *

*Thursday, Jun 02, 2005
8:00 PM
TV: TNT*<center>

<center>*Series is tied 2-2*</center>

<center>*Probable Starters:*



*Shaquille O'Neal l Udonis Haslem l Eddie Jones l Dwyane Wade l Damon Jones*

*vs.*

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

Click on Picture to View Profile</center>








Team Roster l Team Stats 







Team Roster l Team Stats

*Keys to a Detroit victory*

1. EC and Lindsey defense on Shaq and Wade. If those guys can make things difficult for Shaq and Wade on defense we are in very good shape

2. Billups and Prince need to take advantage of their matchups offensively against DJ and Wade.

3. Sheed needs to take it inside some against Haslem and Laettner and not just settle for 3's.


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## Lope31

Tonight is going to be a great game, I get off work at 9. There better be good news waiting for me. Tonight is pretty much do or die. I know people have come back, we have come back, from down from 3-2 but do we really wanna? Go Pistons.

And also, during down times in the game follow my sig and vote for the "BBB.Net's All Time Video Game Nominee's"


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## kamego

If we keep our act together and repeat our play from game 4, tonight will be another victory. If Miami loses tonight I would say it's over for them, I wouldn't got that far for us since the next game is in Detroit either way.


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## maswe12

I dont think tonight is do or die for either team. Both teams have the competitive drive to keep the series going and both teams have won on the other team's floor. I can easily see the loser of tonights game winning the final 2 games of the series.


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## ian

Make Wade shoot jumpers and limit his free throws, Pistons win

Easier said than done


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## DetBNyce

I have the same keys as I had for Game 4. Mainly I'd like to see plenty of Elden if Shaq starts to go off, Rasheed get to business, and to take advantages of the mismatches we have on offense.


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## BlackNRed

We're at home in a must win situation. I like our chances. :biggrin:


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## Kirk20

Detroit must play D on Wade like they did in Game 4 to make sure he doesn't have a huge game.


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## kamego

This is a must win for Miami. You can't lose two games at home in a best of 7 against Detroit and expect to win. Not a knock on Miami or anything but this is a must win for them.


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## Midnight_Marauder

Pistons win tonight.......then win again on Saturday to close it up....I said Detroit in 6...So I have to stick with it


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## -33-

kamego said:


> This is a must win for Miami. You can't lose two games at home in a best of 7 against Detroit and expect to win. Not a knock on Miami or anything but this is a must win for them.


 this game is just as important to you, you HAVE to win a game in our place to win the series...


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## kamego

Yes we have to win a game in Miami but it doesn't have to be this one. Down 3-2 or up 3-2 the Pistons can win game 6. Miami going back to Detroit down 3 to 2 is done and dead thats why it's more important tonight for Miami.


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## mippo

Why can't the Heat win game 6 in Detroit? Not sure what your logic is behind that thinking when both teams have won on each others court multiple times this season.


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## -33-

mippo said:


> Why can't the Heat win game 6 in Detroit? Not sure what your logic is behind that thinking when both teams have won on each others court multiple times this season.


 exactly...Pistons fan logic. We can't win in Detroit, but they can win in our house. Doesn't match up. 


We're getting it done tonight....so....that's not gonna be the issue


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## Darth Bryant

I think I game seven in Maimi is not a good thought. Pull one out tonight and Saturday and you wont have to worry about it at all.

Play the defense you played in game 4, leave the wade coverage the same, and let Eldon post up on Shaq, and I think you could have a repeat of game four. Good luck.


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## kamego

Because how many times have you seen the Pistons lose a close out game in the playoffs? If we are up 3-2 we will win game 6. Stats don't lie 84% of the time the winner of game 5 when it's 2-2 wins the series. The Pistons haven't lost a close out game in years which game 6 would be if we win tonight.


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## GM3

I just wanna say that i really dont like the pistons, but you guys deserve to repeat, i dont want to see the spurs win another title, and in my opinion you guys are the only ones that can beat them in a series. Plus i wanna see whose defense is better, good luck and ill see you all in hell.


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## kamego

Very nice start for the pistons. Sheed getting a fast foul isn't good but the first 6 points in the paint are nice


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## kamego

that was a ugly 24 seconds and a bad 3 by prince but the dunk he just made makes up for it 8-7


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## kamego

Shaq gets called for the offensive foul his first foul


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## kamego

bad call foul on billups they should just let them play wade didn't even have the ball anyways


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## kamego

ben to the line for 2 foul called on wade
if we can keep getting foul calls we will have no probelm tonight


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## kamego

ben spilts the pair of free throws 9-9


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## kamego

billups with the pull up 3 12-11


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## kamego

pistons down by 4 LB calls the quick timeout with 5:52 to go


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## kamego

bad looking shot by billups


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## kamego

better looking layup by billups 14-16


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## kamego

Wade now has 2 fouls  with 4:49 to go in the 1st


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## kamego

billups goes glass 16-18

delay of game warning on billups


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## kamego

billups is fouled by damon jones while shooting


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## kamego

Billups hits both 18-20

Dice in for Rasheed


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## kamego

Ben hits a layup and is fouled by Shaq 20-22
with a free throw coming up

Shaq now has 2 fouls just like Wade with 3:23 to go in the first


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## kamego

ben misses the free throw rebound goes to miami


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## kamego

pretty pass from ben to rip for a layup 22-24 so far the pistons have 16 in the paint


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## kamego

timeout with 2:18 to go Pistons down 4 with the ball


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## kamego

arroyo is in for billups


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## kamego

ben with the monster dunk over zo 24-26


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## kamego

dice with the put back jam 26-26


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## kamego

prince called for his first foul non-shooting foul


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## kamego

End of the 1st Miami 28 Detroit 26

Wade/Shaq with 2 fouls apiece


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## kamego

Very sloppy play by the pistons right now. Arroyo and hunter playing together didn't work well there

billups hunter rip dice rasheed now in for the pistons


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## kamego

dice gets a loose ball foul and sits down on the bench


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## kamego

billups is fouled going to the hole by butler

pistons haven't scored in over 3 minutes


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## kamego

billups misses the first free throw and then the 2nd


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## kamego

EC came in for Dice and slows down Shaq on the first attempt


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## kamego

Hunter for 2
Det 28 Mia 32


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## kamego

offensive foul on hunter


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## kamego

offensive foul on rasheed 28-34 with 6:46 to go


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## kamego

Larry is up and screaming

to say this is getting sloppy is an understatement


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## kamego

Larry Brown is hit with the technical foul


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## kamego

Eddie Jones hits the tech 35-28 with 6:46 to go in the 2nd


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## ChrisWoj

To say Wade flopped there is an understatement... he's a great player, no doubt... just proved he's an amazing actor as well. Bravo, Dwyane... Bravo.


-Chris.


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## kamego

Shaq hits the hook over EC 37-28 with a tv timeout. LB needs to get his players under control here. We hit a drought and aren't getting the calls right now.


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## kamego

ChrisWoj said:


> To say Wade flopped there is an understatement... he's a great player, no doubt... just proved he's an amazing actor as well. Bravo, Dwyane... Bravo.
> 
> 
> -Chris.


I didn't see the replay on tv but I would guess he had part of a foot in the restricted zone anyway. Horrible call, if anything just let it go.


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## -33-

sucks when every call goes against you huh?

this is how we felt on Tuesday....


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## kamego

Sucks when the calls are wrong. Tuesday most of the calls weren't wrong neither has most calls tonight.


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## kamego

10 footer missed by Billups things are still pretty ugly here


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## kamego

Billups to Prince for the ally oop 30-37 5:30 to go


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## kamego

rip hits the layup and is fouled 
37-32 with a free throw coming for Rip


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## kamego

Rip hits the free throw 37-33 with 4:45 to go


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## kamego

ben is called for a foul his first team's 4th


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## ChrisWoj

Shaq_Diesel said:


> sucks when every call goes against you huh?
> 
> this is how we felt on Tuesday....


Glad you enjoy the company here more than the company over on the Heat board, they are rather immature, aren't they? ;o)

As for this game... all good calls so far, the call against Hunter was a good one, he barely planted the feet but he had them there... I have noticed good calls all over tonight, the Pistons simply aren't executing.

On the replay, watch Sheed wasn't leaning that way, he was leaning away. His elbow seemed to barely touch Wade... but hey, one bad call in a quarter and a half? I'm fine with that... good percentage there.


-Chris.


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## kamego

billups hits the 15 footer 41-35 come on pistons


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## kamego

EC fouls Shaq before the shot attempt


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## kamego

EC's 3rd foul
Ben has 1 foul
Rasheed is on the bench with only 2


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## ChrisWoj

More important number: Sheed on the bench with only one... shot attempt.


-Chris.


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## kamego

To add to my foul update Dice has 2 fouls also

Shaq misses the first and makes the 2nd 42-35


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## kamego

Rip goes to the hole for a layup
42-37 timeout Miami with 2:42 to play


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## kamego

ChrisWoj said:


> More important number: Sheed on the bench with only one... shot attempt.
> 
> 
> -Chris.


Well atleast he's not in foul trouble so he will have every chance to produce in the 2nd half. I believe he's our best matchup against the Heat and he will be big if we are going to win tonight.


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## kamego

Big block by ben on Shaq. Nice to see someone stop him for getting an easy dunk


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## kamego

Piston basketball. Pass hits dooling in the hands and goes out of bounds.


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## ian

The officiating has been decent (if too often) but that foul on Sheed stands out as horrible. If that's the only horrible call of the night I'll be happy


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## kamego

rip hits the shot of the glass and is fouled by jones
rip misses the free throw
42-39


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## kamego

Shaq hits the hook shot 44-39


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## kamego

Rip turns it over
Damon Jones hits the layup 46-39


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## kamego

rip goes glass and misses
billups fouls miami 2 free throws coming

what a horrible end to a quarter of cutting the lead down to 3


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## kamego

48-39 ewww


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## kamego

hunter misses the 3
ben misses the put back
miami ball


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## kamego

wade is fouled by hunter going to the hole

2 free throws coming up


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## kamego

Wade makes the first and the second

50 - 39


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## kamego

Rip misses the 15 footer


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## kamego

20 second timeout by Miami


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## kamego

Butler hits the step back 3

53-39


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## kamego

Halftime Score Miami 53 Detroit 39

ends on a 11-0 run by Miami


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## kamego

Things aren't as bad as they look as long as the Pistons can stop these long dry spots. We had two periods of over 4 minutes without a point. You can't win in any round of the postseason doing that.


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## ChrisWoj

That tre... was ridiculous in terms of backbreaking. That was the exact way the Pistons didn't need to end this half.

But... I'd say the last 20 seconds symbolized the first half perfectly.
Miami has a crisp play run for a three by Butler.
The Pistons play sloppy and end up throwing it at the basket from the floor.

(sigh)


-Chris.


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## kamego

Let's see what Larry Brown backs with. The start of the 3rd quarter will be the game. If we come out slow and Miami runs, the game will be over. If Detroit comes out smart and Rasheed helps we can get the lead down. 14 points at half isn't the end of the world but another 11-0 to start the 3rd would make it 25 and kill this game.


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## Copper

Man this is tough to watch, We are not playin well at all. The bogus foul on Sheed really hurt having to sit him the entire second. I was glad to hear Collins comment on the bail outs of Wade by the officials. I was startin to think I was alone. I mean sure a foul is a foul but when the guy is outta control and tryin circus shots and is bailed out with a whistle? thats a pain, hes not MJ yet folks. Butler is drivin me nuts with his droppin the 3s from damn near everywhere and over everyone.


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## kamego

The rumor online was the refs were making sure this series went 7 games. I wasn't putting any stock into that one but the more I watch, the more I see the ref's calls change drastically game by game.


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## rpoulos

The second half was terrible. The 'stones settled for the outside jumper too often and were too impatient on offense. Not getting the ball into the post and taking fading or leaning jumpers with hands in the face. 

good lord...if we play the second half like we did the 1st quarter, we should be ok...fingers crossed


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## kamego

Let's see how Rasheed responds to start the 3rd. He will be key for us cutting down on this lead.


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## rpoulos

Oh, I forgot to mention the sick officiating on Wade.

At least we get Magic's sweet commentary at halftime. :laugh:


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## The Enigma

Larry Brown never fails to get me scratching my head.

It is great that he saves all of his players in the first half when they get two fouls...

…But

What is the use of them having 4 fouls in the second half if the team is in a hole? I liken this strategy to a fighter eating multiple punches round after round in hope of staying fresh for the stretch run (perhaps even landing that big shot). Never minding that the onslaught may destroy them before they ever reach that point.

--------

In such a big game you cannot afford to spot a team points. Saving a player with 3 fouls is one thing but hindering your team to protect players with 2 fouls (in such a big game) is a bit hard to understand.


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## kamego

I won't question LB's ways yet. It's only one half of basketball. Let's see if it pays off soon here.


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## kamego

Alright time to start the 3rd lets see what happens


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## kamego

Rip starts the 3rd quarter with a layup 53-41


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## kamego

Shaq is fouled by Ben two free throws coming

Ben's 2nd foul


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## ChrisWoj

kamego said:


> The rumor online was the refs were making sure this series went 7 games. I wasn't putting any stock into that one but the more I watch, the more I see the ref's calls change drastically game by game.


Well, you could attribute that to the fact that it has been a different crew EVERY GAME. They haven't had a crew call two games yet... so things are bound to be inconsistent, bound to keep the teams off balance.

The Pistons are just doing a horrible job of adjusting to it tonight. Don't put any stock into those bogus rumors and don't start complaining about officiating, if you do I'll call you a Heat fan ;o) hehehe


-Chris.


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## kamego

Shaq misses the first and the 2nd
rebound Rasheed


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## kamego

Prince hits the jumper 53-43 now running a flex offense


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## kamego

57-43 need to get somehting going here


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## kamego

Billiups misses rebound rasheed
Dunk by Ben 57-45


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## kamego

foul called on Billups while trapping Damon Jones


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## kamego

Kerr calls it a bailout call


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## kamego

wade hits the layup 59-45


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## kamego

Rasheed misses the deep 3


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## kamego

Haslem hits the jumper 61-45

LB timeout


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## kamego

It's make or break time here


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## kamego

turnover by Rip


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## kamego

Wade misses the layup out of bounds off of Miami


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## kamego

ben misses the 5 footer


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## kamego

tip in by haslem 63-45


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## kamego

billups hits the fadeway 63-47


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## kamego

jones misses the 3 rebound by ben


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## kamego

offensive foul on rasheed


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## kamego

rasheed didn't get up until the trainers made it to him


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## kamego

Rasheed has 3 fouls and was boo'd off the court


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## kamego

This is a good time to mention atleast the Tigers had a comeback win today


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## Blaze_Rocks

How do the refs miss those 2 fouls on Shaq???


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## Blaze_Rocks

I'm pulling for Detroit btw.


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## kamego

put back by eddie jones 65-47


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## kamego

miss by billups

67-47


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## kamego

rasheed with the foul again


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## Blaze_Rocks

I give up on these refs....What horrible officiating.


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## kamego

67-49 and wade is in the locker room


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## kamego

Rip is fouled by butler
miami team foul number 1


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## kamego

rip hits the first free throw and the 2nd
67-51


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## kamego

turnover by miami
billups layup
67-53


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## kamego

shaq dunk
69-53


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## kamego

billups hits the 3
69-56


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## kamego

offensive foul called on Shaq his 3rd foul


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## kamego

Only a ten point game now 69-59 

Miami timeout


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## kamego

Wade has a back injury


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## kamego

Offensive foul on Eddie Jones


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## kamego

illegal screen out of bounds called on dice


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## kamego

haslem called for a loose ball foul


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## kamego

jones with the layup 71-59


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## kamego

offensive foul called on rip


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## kamego

73-59 what a bad time for another slump


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## kamego

Billups hits the 3 second in the key tech
73-60


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## kamego

prince misses the floater


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## kamego

73-60 at the end of the 3rd


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## kamego

Wade is still in the locker room and Eddie Jones is now hurt


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## kamego

Wade has a rib muscle strain


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## kamego

rip hits the 2
73-62


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## kamego

butler for 3
76-62


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## kamego

foul on Dooling his first


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## kamego

turnover by Rip again again again


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## kamego

foul on dice


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## kamego

Zo misses both free throws


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## kamego

Dice is fouled by Zo his 1st


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## kamego

Prince misses the 3 Miami ball


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## kamego

Butler called for a foul


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## kamego

wade is headed back to the locker room


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## kamego

hunter misses the layup


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## kamego

haslem for 2

78-62


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## kamego

Dice is fouled by Zo his 2nd
miami now has 4 team fouls


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## WSU151

Might as well start off with officiating...Pistons have had more bad calls go against them than the Heat, but both have had some. 

Pistons aren't shooting nearly as well as Game 4 it seems like, while the Heat have had a few more buckets go in. I know, call me Einstein. The flow and the momentum seem to have done a 180 since Tuesday.


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## kamego

hunter misses another shot


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## kamego

hamilton is fouled while shooting

LB is getting pretty active


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## kamego

Can we trade LB to cleveland right now? lol He can take the ref's with him too lol


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## kamego

78-64


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## kamego

80-64


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## kamego

hunter with the deep 2
80-66


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## kamego

buzz beater 82-66


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## kamego

hunter is fouled by shaq


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## kamego

ok my play by play night is over i have to go throw something

it looks like the refs were against us tonight for sure though


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## Lope31

Oh God. I predict a guaransheed coming.


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## The Enigma

Rasheed Wallace is a real deal joke in this game. I have come to two conclusions. He is either point shaving or playing high as a bird (take your pick).

He is walking around. He is reaching and fouling whenever he possibly can. He is failing to ceil his man on post ups (leaving his guards in tough situations on the entry pass attempts). He is playing extremely lazy on defense in the second half. He is also setting weak screens in both high pick and roll and down screen sets.

This performance is absolutely ridiculous.

_...He should be replaced in the starting lineup for Campbell next game (IMO)._


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## -33-

kamego said:


> ok my play by play night is over i have to go throw something
> 
> it looks like the refs were against us tonight for sure though


 *yawn*


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## The Enigma

There are bad games, and every player (at all levels) has them, but that was not a bad game (IMO).

That was something else.


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## rpoulos

Yes, Sheed was the difference. If I told you Shaq would have under 20 pts and Wade wouldn't play the entire 4th quarter, and we would lose like this, would you have believed me?

I love Sheed, but what was that? It's like once he picked up 2 fouls, he ran back into the locker room to hide. Unbelievable, I don't recall him having a dissapearing act like this...ever.

I was sick just watching. Somebody needs to whup his butt.


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## the wall

Shaq_Diesel said:


> *yawn*


Just wondering why that's necessary? It's not adding anything to the conversation, you're just gonna end up starting another argument over whose fanbase cries about refs more. You guys outplayed us tonight, see you in game 6.


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## -33-

the wall said:


> Just wondering why that's necessary? It's not adding anything to the conversation, you're just gonna end up starting another argument over whose fanbase cries about refs more. You guys outplayed us tonight, see you in game 6.


 that's all I want to hear....

I, for one, have never blamed the refs for any of our losses this series. We lost b/c we didn't execute. I commend you for your comment, b/c you are one of the few that can take a game and understand what happened.

Game 6 is gonna be another battle...


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## rpoulos

It's as simple as this: Offensive execution. 

Miami had it, Detroit didn't.

How many times did you see Miami hitting shots as the shot clock expired or was in single digits? too many

How many times did you see the Pistons taking fading and leaning jumpers in double teams with 15 left of the clock? too many


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## The Enigma

The Enigma said:


> _...He should be replaced in the starting lineup for Campbell next game (IMO)._


All Rasheed speculations aside I really think this needs to be done. Ben Wallace on Shaq must be eliminated (as much as possible) if the Pistons want to win this series.

While watching the game I noticed one thing. Campbell and Rasheed put a body on Shaq once he reaches near the block (2-3 feet out). Ben Wallace on the other hand allows Shaq to get deep position every single possession. I noticed this on two plays in which Shaq fumbled the ball and ended up a bit further away from the paint. Instead of closing the space and attempting to force Shaq to operate a little further out Ben just stayed back in the paint and allowed Shaq to regain the same deep position he began with.

My brother commented on this in the 3rd quarter and I was shocked that I did not pick up on it sooner.

Anyhow, I think that Campbell should start just so that Shaq has to go against a bigger body while he is at his freshest.

Every game in this series shows that Shaq starts fast and finishes slow. Allowing him to beat up both Ben and Rasheed while he is full speed makes little sense. 

I say start Campbell in the first half even though Rasheed and McDyess plays heavier minutes.

Billups/ Arroyo
Hamilton/ Hunter
Prince/ 
B. Wallace/ McDyess
Campbell/ R. Wallace

Coming in with both Rasheed and McDyess on the second unit may allow the Pistons to do some damage when Shaq goes out of the game and it will pull Mourning out of the paint.

It just might work.

In the second half (when Shaq typically slows down) then go with the core lineup to close things.


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## rpoulos

yeah, that could work. some of the guys on DFN were talking about that this morning...but I don't think LB will ever do that...I think he's too proud to bench a North Carolina guy.


----------



## slyder

As bad as I believe Rasheed played tonight, his performance wasn't all on him. I bet you could count the number of entry passes in the post Rasheed got tonight. It seemed that Rip and Chauncey were content on taking the game by themselves and not trying to get the rest of the team involved. Rip and Chauncey took 33 combined shots to 11 combined shots for Ben (8) and Rasheed (3). That's just not going to get it done. We've got to be looking to get that ball into the post, Rasheed should be able to go right at Udonis Haslem, and Ben needs to go right at Shaq. Neither of these items happened, and I can't seem to put my finger on why. This is an adjustment that must be made for game 6 (along with getting the ball into Tayshaun against Wade). If we can't find more shots in the post for our bigs, we are going to see a duplicate result of tonight's game. 

You would think with Shaq and Wade both picking up 2 fouls in the first quarter, Shaq only scoring 20 points and Wade only scoring 15, and Wade's night ending early with injury, we'd have been a little closer in this game. But, there was a total lack of energy on the court tonight. The Heat came to play, from the Diesel and Flash all the way down to their role players. The same can't be said about the Pistons. Seems like they were dead the entire game, and only woke up for a brief period in the second quarter and then nearing the end of the third quarter. You've got to hand it to the Heat tonight. There play was so much better than the Pistons that it's not even funny. They completely annihilated us.

I earlier said that Rip Hamilton would be the key to game 5, and I will stick by that. Although he was probably the best player offensively for the Pistons tonight, I do not believe he brought what he did defensively in game 4. Tonight, I felt Wade had a much better game than he did in game 4 when he scored 28 points. I honestly didn't expect a 20 point night out of Rasheed tonight, but then again I didn't expect a 2 point night either. I still believe that Rasheed can play a poor game offensively and the Pistons can win. However, he can't have an out of the ordinary totally non-existent game. None of the starting five can have a game like that and expect to win. 

The Pistons have just dug themselves a very large hole. Depending on what team comes out to play in games 6, and hopefully 7, then we are either going to have a chance to move on, or you can forget about it right now. I don't believe that they will lay this type of stinker, though. They simply cannot. If they can't get energized for an elimination game, than I don't know what to say. A game 4 performance may be wishful thinking, but we need to have something closer to that to have a chance to win this series.


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## rpoulos

yeah, Rip actually looked tired I think. I hope the whole Wade injury doesn't cause the Pistons to come out complacent in game 6.


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## kamego

Shaq_Diesel said:


> that's all I want to hear....
> 
> I, for one, have never blamed the refs for any of our losses this series. We lost b/c we didn't execute. I commend you for your comment, b/c you are one of the few that can take a game and understand what happened.
> 
> Game 6 is gonna be another battle...


I am not blaming the refs for a loss but I am saying they seem to play favorites. It's a shame this series couldn't be called perfectly. Other then that, I don't see any reason why we can't win game 6 if Rasheed tries to score more then 5 points....


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## ChrisWoj

Shaq_Diesel said:


> that's all I want to hear....
> 
> I, for one, have never blamed the refs for any of our losses this series. We lost b/c we didn't execute. I commend you for your comment, b/c you are one of the few that can take a game and understand what happened.
> 
> Game 6 is gonna be another battle...


Nice pot shot, I am about to be only the second person to blame refs and even I am giving Miami credit, PLENTY understand what happened.

The Pistons lost because of sloppy play, had the officiating been even tonight, they still would have lost. I don't think there should have been a blowout in this series, this game's score IS all on the refs. Game Four? The score was on the refs. That game should have been a little closer, the Refs made some bad calls.

But this game? Horrendous. Miami WAS the better team tonight, but there is no way it should have been that much of a gap with Shaq out early and Wade out late, plus Eddie laboring... The refs had a hand in the score, but I will agree: Definitely not the result in the W/L column.

This is the first time I've complained about the officiating in this series, but I expected there to be a game refed badly anyway, when you put a DIFFERENT CREW OUT THERE EVERY NIGHT things are going to get a bit weird. I am a proponent of off-on switching, two crews switching back and forth every other game. One crew and the refs/players would start to get sick of each other, favorites would be played, enemies would result...

But I am definitely not a fan of the crew-a-night strategy that seems to be prevailing at the moment. If anything at all... it is ANNOYING.


-Chris.


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## WSU151

ChrisWoj said:


> This is the first time I've complained about the officiating in this series, but I expected there to be a game refed badly anyway, when you put a DIFFERENT CREW OUT THERE EVERY NIGHT things are going to get a bit weird. I am a proponent of off-on switching, two crews switching back and forth every other game. One crew and the refs/players would start to get sick of each other, favorites would be played, enemies would result...
> 
> But I am definitely not a fan of the crew-a-night strategy that seems to be prevailing at the moment. If anything at all... it is ANNOYING.
> 
> 
> -Chris.


I'm not trying to start an argument by saying you guys are nuts and the officiating was fantastic (trust me, the Pistons got quite a few more bad calls than the Heat)...but...I was listening on the radio for the first few minutes of the game, and right at tipoff, Dr. Jack told JD (or J-deeee if you can hear Ramsay's voice) that the three officials were by far the best the NBA has put together so far in the playoffs...and then look what happened.


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## slyder

WSU151 said:


> I'm not trying to start an argument by saying you guys are nuts and the officiating was fantastic (trust me, the Pistons got quite a few more bad calls than the Heat)...but...I was listening on the radio for the first few minutes of the game, and right at tipoff, Dr. Jack told JD (or J-deeee if you can hear Ramsay's voice) that the three officials were by far the best the NBA has put together so far in the playoffs...and then look what happened.


I don't understand the media's infatuation with Steve Javie. Seems this guy just gets by on name recognition alone, and then the public goes along with it. Honestly, he just is not a very good official. He gets way too emotional over the course of the game, and you never know what he's going to do. Although, I felt last night's game was called pretty decent, especially for a Javie game.

The only game so far in this series where I've had a problem with the officiating, was game 3. I thought the officiating completely ruined the game at the end, with way too many quick whistles. Last night, atleast Javie and company let them play a little bit more, in relation to games 3 and 4.


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## Copper

WSU151 said:


> I'm not trying to start an argument by saying you guys are nuts and the officiating was fantastic (trust me, the Pistons got quite a few more bad calls than the Heat)...but...I was listening on the radio for the first few minutes of the game, and right at tipoff, Dr. Jack told JD (or J-deeee if you can hear Ramsay's voice) that the three officials were by far the best the NBA has put together so far in the playoffs...and then look what happened.


 The officiating was lousy, but the Pistons have been letting that really get under their skin. The worst call was by far the offensive that led to Sheed sitting out the remainder of the first half. After that the Heat went on a nice run and really built confidence and got into their rythm. Butler was hitting shots that will make him an all star. Then the rest of the role players just fed off of the energy and it was off to the races. The Pistons started going one on one and that is not their style of game and it showed.


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