# Eastern Conference Finals: Game 1: Detroit Pistons vs. Indiana Pacers



## DetBNyce

*<center>
Venue: Conseco Fieldhouse
Pistons @ Pacers
May 22, 2004
8:00 PM</center>*

<center>*







vs.







*</center>


<center>*Detroit Pistons vs. Indiana Pacers*</center> 


<center>



































</center>
<center>*vs.</center>*
<center>



































</center>










Corliss Williamson
Mike James
Lindsey Hunter
Mehmet Okur
Elden Campbell
Darvin Ham
Darko Milicic










Jonathan Bender
Al Harrington
Austin Croshere
Anthony Johnson
Kenny Anderson
Scot Pollard
Fred Jones


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## Brian.

Like I alluded to in the last thread I think the pacers are a great matchup for a healthy pistons team. I think the pistons struggle the most when other teams play an uptempo game against them. The pacers don't so as long as Rasheed can be somewhat healthy the pistons should wrap this up in 6.


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## fear the fro

Indiana hasn't lose on their homecourt this postseason, so a win in Game 1 would send a big message. I think we are going to need Tayshaun to step it up or else find someone else to handle Artest, because he has really become the Pacer's go to go on offense. Maybe (hopefully) Corliss will be able to handle him if Tayshaun can't. And we can't leave Reggie and Tinsley open from the perimeter. Neither one of these guys can really create their own shot but to let them beat by leaving them wide open from 3 (like Scalabrine) is just stupid. If we consistently play tough on defense and smart on offense we will be able to beat the Pacers.


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## DetBNyce

3 hours till gametime and one thing they can heavily be in our favor is guard play. Much has been made of Rip and Chauncey's poor shooting against the Pacers during the regular, but that was back when the offense ran solely through them. Baskets are much easier to come by not that Sheed has opened up things a little more on the inside and I expect Rip to have a big series. I gotta believe Chauncey will play better too.


Matchups:


PG: Pistons

SG: Pistons

SF: Pacers

PF: Pacers

C: Pistons

Bench: Even

Coaching: Pistons

*Preview of Matchups from the Indy Star via Detroit News*


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## PacersguyUSA

I'm nervous on every possesion.


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## Lope31

This is a pretty nice game so far. Billups is doing well and Wallace and Wallace are looking like what they were in the regular season.


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## Aurelino

I am rooting for you guys.


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## Lope31

If Artest is such a good defender then why does Miller guard Rip as much as he does?


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## PacersguyUSA

> Originally posted by <b>KABI</b>!
> If Artest is such a good defender then why does Miller guard Rip as much as he does?


Cause then Reggie guarding Rip would give up a bigger advantage.


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## D.Spartan

> Originally posted by <b>PacersguyUSA</b>!
> 
> 
> Cause then Reggie guarding Rip would give up a bigger advantage.


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## DetBNyce

> Originally posted by <b>KABI</b>!
> If Artest is such a good defender then why does Miller guard Rip as much as he does?


Noone can "guard" Rip. He runs around too many screens for someone to actually get to defend him, so all they would be doing is tiring out Ron and risk getting him in foul trouble. 


Adjustments at half:

1. Cut down on the TO's -- Way too many turnovers in the first half.

2. Establish something down low -- We were lucky to have Billups and Rip hitting their shots in the first half.

3. Al Harrington -- Scratch Elden or Corliss guarding him it's not working. Use either Ben, Sheed, or Memo.

4. Try using the big lineup and maybe going to a zone. All of Indy's baskets are coming from the inside. Even though LB hates it a zone may be most effective.

5. Get some of those layups to drop -- Not really an adjustment, but we can't afford to continue to miss so many layups.


And all these fouls called on us when our hands are straight up need to stop, Indy is getting free points off those fouls.

EDIT: We also have to go back to our big guns more. I understand using our depth, but not so much when the starters are playing so well. I want to stress that someone has to get going down low. 

Corliss, Corliss, Corliss....:no:


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## ian

Adjustments at half:

LARRY BROWN STOP MAKING BAD LINEUPS


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## irishfury

thank goodness for rip


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## froggyvk

Tayshaun for three! Pistons by two, 1:40 left. Now that we've come this far, we've got to pull it out. Stealing one of the first two on the road is huge.


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## froggyvk

Miller for three, Pacers up three, and he trots back like he's having a good game.


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## irishfury

why leave reggie open on the three line why oh why?


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## ian

Such horrible officiating :upset:


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## froggyvk

> Originally posted by <b>ian</b>!
> Such horrible officiating :upset:


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## ian

> Originally posted by <b>froggyvk</b>!


O'Neal held Wallace from getting a loose ball, obviously, and there was no call.

Reggie pushed off on that last three.

Watch the game tape


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## jvanbusk

> Originally posted by <b>irishfury</b>!
> why leave reggie open on the three line why oh why?


After watching the replay, they certainly didn't "leave" him wide open.

In my opinion, there are four reasons why the Pistons lost this game.

1) Turnovers.

2) Gave up too many second chances.

3) Hometown cooking.

4) Playing Elden Campbell for extended minutes in the first half.


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## reHEATed

> Originally posted by <b>froggyvk</b>!
> Miller for three, Pacers up three, and he trots back like he's having a good game.


you expect the guy who just hit the game winning shot not to celebrate?


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## froggyvk

> Originally posted by <b>wadecaroneddie</b>!
> 
> 
> you expect the guy who just hit the game winning shot not to celebrate?


Up to that point he had 2 points. It was a big shot, but not the game-winning shot at the time. Just go to your bench and get some high-fives.


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## DetBNyce

Tough, tough pill to swallow, but we kept it close and had a chance to win it in the end. As a road team in the Conference Finals that's all you can ask for. A couple bounces here and there and the outcome could've been different. We lost game 1, but we showed we have what it takes to take the second one. Indiana was the better team tonight, let's aim to do that Monday night.



1. Turnovers -- Not to single anyone out, but Corliss was a walking, talking turnover tonight. It was pointed out to me that he was only credited for one turnover, well it seemed like he had a lot more than that. Or at least was the cause of many more than just one. I usually defend him, but I can't tonight. He played horribly defensively and offensively. Sheed could stand to turn it over fewer times also.

2. Lack of low post presence -- Outside of Ben and Okur (played ok in limited action) I'm dissapointed in our big men. They played like crap and our inability to establish a low post presence was our downfall. Rip and Chauncey, although great tonight, can only get you so far.

3. Second chance points -- There is no way a team that shoots 33% should outscore us, but with 16 offensive rebounds you allow the opposition a chance at at least 32 points. Not a formula for winning at all.


Positives

1. Guard play -- much was made of our subpar guard play against Indy during the regular season. I think what we saw tonight out of our guards is what will be the norm for the remainder of the series.

2. Tay on Artest -- Earlier on in the game it looked like Artest's strength would take Prince out of the game and it did. But after halftime he did a pretty job of making some adjustments and making it tough for Artest.

3. We still have a chance at getting one in Indy. As the road team you want to get one from the home team and we're still in a positon to do so.


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## SpADeD

> Originally posted by <b>froggyvk</b>!
> 
> 
> Up to that point he had 2 points. It was a big shot, but not the game-winning shot at the time. Just go to your bench and get some high-fives.


Reggie can do whatever he wants to do after that shot. He made a decisive 3 in the closing seconds of the game. Trotting back like he had a good game? He knows he doesn't have to have a good game, he's just getting the crowd into it. Hell when you have made that many big shots in your career, you can do whatever the hell you want to after a shot like that.


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## DetBNyce

Rasheed on Game 2:



> “They will NOT win game two. You can quote me on the front page, on the back page, anywhere you want. They will NOT win game two. (On key to the game) They will NOT win game two."
> 
> What will you do differently to win game 2?
> "They will NOT win game two. That’s it.”


Comple Postgame Quotes


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## PacersguyUSA

> Originally posted by <b>froggyvk</b>!
> 
> 
> Up to that point he had 2 points. It was a big shot, but not the game-winning shot at the time. Just go to your bench and get some high-fives.


To paraphrase a Reggie quote:

You could go 1-25 the whole game but when it comes down to the last shot, the rest don't matter.


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## PacersguyUSA

> Originally posted by <b>ian</b>!
> Such horrible officiating :upset:


Are you by any chance a Heat fan as well?


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## fear the fro

Corliss was not a walking turnover tonight. He was a walking missed layup, which when Indiana gets the rebound is just as bad. He went 2-8 and missed 6 shots my grandmother probably could have put in. What a joke. Elden Campbell was even more atrocious, if that is possible. I have no idea why he shot 4 times in only 7 minutes, and how he was able to turn the ball over twice in that same period. Elden Campbell shouldn't even be getting 4 touches a game, let alone 4 shots. Sorry Larry, but that experiment is over.

I hope that this is the worst we will see from Rasheed, because he was horrible. 1-7. 0-3 from 3. He really needs to cut down on his 3 point shooting or maybe even stop altogether, because it really is killing us. He is shooting 23.9% in the playoffs from behind the arc, and that obviously will not get it done. It is beyond me why Larry Brown has not brought this up with him before. Unless you can hit at least 1/3 of your three pointers, you should not be taking any unless a)you are wide, wide open or b)the shot clock is about to hit 0. That's where Rasheed should be right now.

Check this out-combined stats for Rasheed, Corliss, Elden, and Memo- 80 minutes played, 5-21 from the floor, 0-3 from 3, 9 fouls, 8 turnovers. At least one of those guys is going to have step it up big time if the Pistons are going to win. I'm pretty sure it won't be Elden, and I wouldn't be betting on Corliss either.

Despite all that, in my opinion that was a game that we should have won and we did outplay Indiana. What worries me is that it's going to be very tough to outplay them twice in a row on their homecourt, and since we have already done it once and lost it will be even tougher on Monday. What killed us was a)turnovers, b)missed easy opportunities, and c)refereeing. We can't control the last one, but the first two have got to be fixed if we're going to pull this off.


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## fear the fro

> Originally posted by <b>ian</b>!
> Reggie pushed off on that last three.


I don't know if Reggie pushed off, but Jeff Foster did set a moving screen on Rip. But you won't get that called in Indiana with 33 seconds left.


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## DetBNyce

I want to clear up that when i say Corliss was a walking, talking turnover it's because he was the cause of much more than the one he got credited for. How many times did he pull that Darvin Ham move off where he goes baseline and jumps in the air, behind the basket, and has nowhere to go; but to make an uncatchable pass? His missed layups were terrible too. He goes in and out of these phases where he either misses every layup or makes them all. Right now he is in the "missing phase". We can only hope he snaps out soon.


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## jvanbusk

> Originally posted by <b>fear the fro</b>!
> 
> I don't know if Reggie pushed off, but Jeff Foster did set a moving screen on Rip. But you won't get that called in Indiana with 33 seconds left.


I specifically saw Reggie push off. Incidentally, Rip Hamilton was called for the same type of foul earlier in the game. And yes, Jeff Foster then set a moving screen. But, this would not have happened had Foster not outhustled <b>three</b> Pistons for the offensive rebound. Story of the night, Pacers second chances.


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## ian

http://www.detnews.com/2004/pistons/0405/23/d01-161097.htm



> While Wallace wasn’t able to deliver for the Pistons — he had just four points and seven rebounds in 36 minutes — Wallace delivered a message to the Pacers.
> 
> “They will not win Game 2,” said Wallace, who didn’t raise his voice. “I guarantee it. You can write it.”
> 
> When asked other questions, Wallace kept delivering the same message. “They will not win Game 2,” he said at least four times.


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## Lope31

"It was mini-me. He has mind-eye and he’s jedi-tricky."

LMAO! Reggie Miller is hilarious, and amazing too. I knew as soon as he curled around up by the three point line he would drain that. Usually I am the one cheering for him but now I want to cry. It's a good thing Artest acts like he does or else I might actually be a Pacers fan. :dead:


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## PacersguyUSA

> It's a good thing Artest acts like he does or else I might actually be a Pacers fan.


It was great to see Artest just walk away in that attempted start of an altercation by Ben Wallace (or it might have been someone else like Rasheed). I guess that's what good coaching does for you.


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## DetBNyce

> Originally posted by <b>PacersguyUSA</b>!
> 
> 
> It was great to see Artest just walk away in that attempted start of an altercation by Ben Wallace (or it might have been someone else like Rasheed). I guess that's what good coaching does for you.


I've grown accustomed to you twisting things to shed good light on the Pacers, but Artest started that "altercation". Like usual the guy to retaliate got caught.

Things were progressively getting heated as the game wore on and by the end of this series and possibly the next game, things will get very chippy. That's what you get when you're in a series with Indiana - ask Boston and Miami.


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## Midnight_Marauder

> Originally posted by <b>DetBNyce</b>!
> 
> 
> I've grown accustomed to you twisting things to shed good light on the Pacers, but Artest started that "altercation". Like usual the guy to retaliate got caught.
> 
> Things were progressively getting heated as the game wore on and by the end of this series and possibly the next game, things will get very chippy. That's what you get when you're in a series with Indiana - ask Boston and Miami.


How can any Piston fan ever complain about cheap shots?......Isnt that how you won your titles in the Bad Boy era......If Artest was a Piston you guys would love him.....face it.....


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## PacersguyUSA

> I've grown accustomed to you twisting things to shed good light on the Pacers, but Artest started that "altercation". Like usual the guy to retaliate got caught.


Are we talking about the same altercation (cause I left the house at half time)? Everyone including the announcers said Ben Wallace started it.

By the way, I'm talking about the one in the beginning of the game.


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## DetBNyce

> Originally posted by <b>reisedogg</b>!
> 
> 
> How can any Piston fan ever complain about cheap shots?......Isnt that how you won your titles in the Bad Boy era......If Artest was a Piston you guys would love him.....face it.....



Face what? Where in my post did I say I have a problem with Artest? I dare you to find it... I like Artest even though he is on the rival Pacers, I have no problem with him as a player or a man. He is a good player and I respect that. Not once did I degrade or bad mouth him. You're reading into what I said way too much. I also never complained about the Artest-Wallace altercation, I simply stated that I feel Artest started it. It's basketball physical altercations happen. 

However it is not by accident that altercations happened in the *Pacers* two previous series.

And who mentioned cheap shots?


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## DetBNyce

> Originally posted by <b>PacersguyUSA</b>!
> 
> 
> Are we talking about the same altercation (cause I left the house at half time)? Everyone including the announcers said Ben Wallace started it.
> 
> By the way, I'm talking about the one in the beginning of the game.


The one I'm talking about is when Jermaine O'neal scored a basket and Artest and Wallace were entangled in each others arms. Artest was pushing down on Ben and Ben threw his arm back and I believe was called for an offensive foul. Artest ended up shooting a FT, because of the loose ball foul.


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## Midnight_Marauder

> Originally posted by <b>DetBNyce</b>!
> 
> 
> 
> Face what? Where in my post did I say I have a problem with Artest? I dare you to find it... I like Artest even though he is on the rival Pacers, I have no problem with him as a player or a man. He is a good player and I respect that. Not once did I degrade or bad mouth him. You're reading into what I said way too much. I also never complained about the Artest-Wallace altercation, I simply stated that I feel Artest started it. It's basketball physical altercations happen.
> 
> However it is not by accident that altercations happened in the *Pacers* two previous series.
> 
> And who mentioned cheap shots?


Sorry.....I put your post in quotes in accident..... but I was kind of generally talking about how everyone hates Artest when this year he hasnt really done anything wrong....


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## PacersguyUSA

> Originally posted by <b>DetBNyce</b>!
> 
> 
> The one I'm talking about is when Jermaine O'neal scored a basket and Artest and Wallace were entangled in each others arms. Artest was pushing down on Ben and Ben threw his arm back and I believe was called for an offensive foul. Artest ended up shooting a FT, because of the loose ball foul.


What quarter was that?

The one I'm talking about is after a shot, Ben Wallace shoved Artest and started talking to him, and Artest didn't do anything and Reggie came over to push Artest away just in case.


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## froggyvk

We're talking about the time Artest jumped on Wallace's back for a piggy-back ride.


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## MLKG

I like Artest as a player and off the basketball court I like him as a person, but on the court he is a major spaz.

He is NOT Dennis Rodman. Ron Artest is a lot more talented and there is no reason for him to play like such a punk. Dennis was sneaky and dirty because he had to be just to stay in the league, Artest is good enough that he doesn't need all the extra stuff. 

Also, Rodman was frustrating to players because he was so sneaky with his dirty tricks that the refs would never see them, Artest is a lot more obvious with the stuff he does, and is frustrating to players because the refs just don't seem to want to do anything about him anymore because everytime they do they get criticized for "picking on him".


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## fear the fro

Hard to believe that Rasheed, of all people, is guaranteeing a Game 2 victory after his performance last night. He better be right.


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## ZBoFanatic

> Originally posted by <b>Mike luvs KG</b>!
> I like Artest as a player and off the basketball court I like him as a person, but on the court he is a major spaz.
> 
> He is NOT Dennis Rodman. Ron Artest is a lot more talented and there is no reason for him to play like such a punk. Dennis was sneaky and dirty because he had to be just to stay in the league, Artest is good enough that he doesn't need all the extra stuff.
> 
> Also, Rodman was frustrating to players because he was so sneaky with his dirty tricks that the refs would never see them, Artest is a lot more obvious with the stuff he does, and is frustrating to players because the refs just don't seem to want to do anything about him anymore because everytime they do they get criticized for "picking on him".


you are right about everything you said.. good post. as an avid pacer fan, i have no complaints about ron, but i know where you're coming from. but on the good things you said about ron.. you're right also.. i've met ron like 10 times, and he's a great guy off the court. he, along with reggie, is probably my 2nd favorite player in the league behind zach randolph whom i went to high school with.


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## PacersguyUSA

> Originally posted by <b>froggyvk</b>!
> We're talking about the time Artest jumped on Wallace's back for a piggy-back ride.


Oh, then that must have been in the second half after I left.


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## Brian.

> Originally posted by <b>Brian</b>!
> Like I alluded to in the last thread I think the pacers are a great matchup for a healthy pistons team. I think the pistons struggle the most when other teams play an uptempo game against them. The pacers don't so as long as Rasheed can be somewhat healthy the pistons should wrap this up in 6.


Geez guys this getting to easy


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## jvanbusk

> Originally posted by <b>Brian</b>!
> 
> 
> Geez guys this getting to easy


So whats it going to be for the next series, Brian?

Pistons in 5 games or 6 games?


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## Brian.

> Originally posted by <b>jvanbusk</b>!
> 
> 
> So whats it going to be for the next series, Brian?
> 
> Pistons in 5 games or 6 games?


I may not be the most popular person in the pistons forum after this but sadly the pistons run will end here. Its tough coming to that conclusion as a pistons fan but sometimes you just have to face facts. As good as Ben and Rasheed are they won't be able to shut down O'Neal over a 7 game series. Tay's a good defender but he had his problems guarding Jefferson and last time I checked Kobe is about 72 times better than RJ offensively. I like the Chauncey/GP matchup unforunetaly LB doesn't like his PG to score or at least make scoring his first option. Rip will be able to get his points but unless he drops 40 points every game that won't be enough to win 4 games. We do have a better bench but this is the finals Kobe and Shaq will play at least 40 minutes. So while Okur can run circles around Slava Medvedenko its only going last for about 4 minutes before Jackson gets disgusted and puts Shaq back in the game. I intially thought the Lakers would win it in 5 but I will give my pistons more credit and say Lakers in 6.


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