# Round Two, Game One: Detroit Pistons vs. New Jersey Nets



## DetBNyce

<center>*Eastern Conference Semifinals
Game 1*</center>

*<center>New Jersey Nets vs. Detroit Pistons*



<center>*







vs.







</center>*






































*vs.*









































</center>*







Bench:*

*F* - Rodney Rogers 
*G* - Lucious Harris 
*F* - Aaron Williams 
*G* - Brandon Armstrong 
*F* - Brian Scalabrine 
*G/F* - Tamar Slay 
*F* - Zoran Planinic



</center>*







Bench:*

*G* - Lindsey Hunter 
*F/C* - Mehmet Okur 
*F* - Corliss Williamson
*G* - Mike James
*F* - Darvin Ham 
*F/C* - Darko Milicic 
*C* - Elden Campbell

The real playoffs begin now...


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## DetBNyce

Well I'll start the convo off... The obvious matchup that sticks out to me is at the small forward position between our very own Tayshaun Prince and the Nets' Richard Jefferson. RJ has definitely gotten the best of Tayshaun in their matchups so far, the major edge he has on Tayshaun is his strength. His athleticism sometimes negates Prince's extraordinary length that he usually can count on to at least bother the shot of most small forwards. But... Prince has greatly elevated his play so far this postseason and it'll be interesting to see if he can keep that up. If not we could see LB use Darvin Ham on RJ to take away the strength he has on Tayshaun.


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## Brian.

I guess we won't know till tip off but will Ben guard Kmart? For anybody that saw the last game who primarly guarded kenyon? I think a key to this series will be the NJ bench. Hopefully Hunter and James will be able to reak havoc against the nets backup guards. I expect this to be a close series. I don't see any team winning it before game 6. I was dead on the last prediction (pistons in 5) so I will venture to make another prediction

Brian's official prediction for the nets/pistons series is :meditate: nets in si.. wait no pistons in seven. You heard it here first take it to the bank i have yet to be wrong these playoffs.


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## PacersguyUSA

Best matchup should be Martin Vs. R. Wallace.

New Jersey has the advantage of starters, but it is close and Detroit has the huge adavantage of the bench.


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## zeebneeb

How does NJ have a better starting group? On what planet?



LOL.

I suppose Indiana has a better starting group then Detroit to, right?


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## RollWithEm

Hmmm... Richard Jefferson vs. Tayshaun Prince... Where have I seen this before?


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## PacersguyUSA

> Originally posted by <b>zeebneeb</b>!
> How does NJ have a better starting group? On what planet?
> 
> 
> 
> LOL.
> 
> I suppose Indiana has a better starting group then Detroit to, right?


New Jersey vs. Detroit

Kidd >>>>> Billups
Kittles << Hamilton
Jefferson > Prince
Martin > Wallace
Collins <<< Wallace

3 is greater than 2, therefore Nets have the better starting lineup.

Pacers Vs. Detroit

Tinsley < Billups (barely)
Miller (playoffs) = Hamilton
Artest > Prince
O'neal > Wallace
Foster < Wallace

Starting lineup is tied and coach is tied, but the Pacers have the superior bench.


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## jvanbusk

This is going to be a <b>tough</b> series. I'm going to abstain from making any predictions, but I will say this: The Nets absolutely owned us in last year's playoffs and they just got through owning the the Knicks. If we are going to win this series, we need to play alot better than we played against the Bucks. This team likes to get up and down the court quickly and get easy baskets. We need to try to limit that and keep our turnovers down. Also, no breakdowns on the glass will be allowed. New Jersey is going to get their share of easy buckets, so we can't be giving them a bunch of second chance hoops. Ben, Rasheed, and Memo need to be strong and keep Collins, K-Mart, and Scallapeepee off the boards. Make them a jump shooting team. Let's see Jason Kidd beat us with his jump shot, because I don't think he can do it. It's going to be a very exhausting series, and I certainly hope that we can come out on top. But, all bets are off.


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## froggyvk

> Kidd >>>>> Billups
> Wallace >>> Collins


Yikes. 

This was a great post over at *RealGM* by _iamme._

Through the first round, Chauncey has maintained a 4:1 assist to turnover ratio. Among those who have assist/to ratios close to Billups, no one can touch his 18.2 PPG. 

Damon Jones: 4.11 (9.8 ppg) 
Gary Payton: 4.00 (8.4 ppg) 
Steve Nash: 3.40 (11 ppg) 
Andre Miller: 2.60 
Baron Davis: 2.60 
Tony Parker: 2.60 
Jason Williams: 2.60 
Steph Marbury: 1.86 
Jason Kidd: 1.80 
Steve Francis: 1.80 
Mike Bibby: 1.50 
Sam Cassell: 1.40

Another good point by _somarilnos._

You omitted a player (not a PG), with a solid AST/TO ratio that can touch Chauncey's ppg: 

Tayshaun Prince: 3.00 (17.4 PPG).


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## froggyvk

> Originally posted by <b>PacersguyUSA</b>!
> 
> New Jersey vs. Detroit
> 
> Kidd >>>>> Billups
> Kittles << Hamilton
> Jefferson > Prince
> Martin > Wallace
> Collins <<< Wallace
> 
> 3 is greater than 2, therefore Nets have the better starting lineup.
> 
> Pacers Vs. Detroit
> 
> Tinsley < Billups (barely)
> Miller (playoffs) = Hamilton
> Artest > Prince
> O'neal > Wallace
> Foster < Wallace
> 
> Starting lineup is tied and coach is tied, but the Pacers have the superior bench.


You are saying Kidd is 5 times better than Billups, yet Wallace is only 3 times better than Collins? It's gotta go both ways. Kidd is better than Billups, but that's not a greater difference than Wallace is over Collins.

So you say Miller in the playoffs is equal to Hamilton. Okay, let's be fair then: Miller (playoffs) < Hamilton (playoffs). Rip steps it up in the playoffs too. He's better than Miller. O'Neal and Foster are the equivalent of Wallace x 2? O'Neal could be equal to one Wallace, but the other is far and away greater than Foster.

The last time we had the bench debate was the Sunday we played each other. The Pistons bench outscored the Pacers bench 34-19.


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## froggyvk

*Bulletin Board*

I hope an assistant coach or something has this up on the board for the whole series.



> ``They're not better than us,'' New Jersey's Kenyon Martin said. ``They had a decent ballgame today, and we had some careless turnovers, but they're not better than us by any means. Hopefully we'll see them down the line and show them who's the better team.''


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## DetBNyce

I think getting Game 1 is a must for this Pistons team. Like LB said the Nets haven't lost an Eastern Conference playoff game in what seems like forever, so it would be good to start them off in a series with a loss and also give us a victory to get over that hump of beating the Nets in the playoffs. A loss could have the Pistons doubting whether or not they can beat the Nets in a playoff game let alone a series.


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## PacersguyUSA

> Originally posted by <b>froggyvk</b>!
> 
> 
> You are saying Kidd is 5 times better than Billups, yet Wallace is only 3 times better than Collins? It's gotta go both ways. Kidd is better than Billups, but that's not a greater difference than Wallace is over Collins.


No, because they are two different situations. Kidd is way better than Billups on both the offensive, defensive, and inangible area (you could argue the intangible I suppose). Ben Wallace is way better than Collins on defense, but only moderately better on offense.



> So you say Miller in the playoffs is equal to Hamilton. Okay, let's be fair then: Miller (playoffs) < Hamilton (playoffs). Rip steps it up in the playoffs too. He's better than Miller.


So Hamilton stepping it up is getting ejected?



> O'Neal and Foster are the equivalent of Wallace x 2? O'Neal could be equal to one Wallace, but the other is far and away greater than Foster.


O'neal is much better than R. Wallace, B. Wallace is better than Foster by a considerable amount, but not as much as I think you think.



> The last time we had the bench debate was the Sunday we played each other. The Pistons bench outscored the Pacers bench 34-19.


In that game Billups scored 10 points. Is he that bad? In that game Prince had 2 points. Is he one of the worst players in the league?


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## MLKG

> Originally posted by <b>PacersguyUSA</b>!
> 
> So Hamilton stepping it up is getting ejected?


He had already fouled out, so it was irrelevent.

http://www.nba.com/playoffs2004/prime_time_performers.html

Rip at #3 now, and was #1 before these playoffs started and Dirk and Daniels padded their scoring against Sacramento. Reggie is at #7.


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## froggyvk

> Originally posted by <b>PacersguyUSA</b>!
> So Hamilton stepping it up is getting ejected?


Yeah, let's base it all on him fouling out of one game...

Playoffs:

Richard Hamilton: 20.2 ppg (44%), 3.6 rpg, 4.2 apg
2002-03: 22.5 ppg (48%), 3.9 rpg, 2.6 apg

Reggie Miller: 9.8 ppg (35%), 1.5 rpg, 4.0 apg
2002-03: 9.2 ppg (28%), 2.3 rpg, 2.3 apg 

Your comparisons continue to baffle me.


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## PacersguyUSA

> Originally posted by <b>froggyvk</b>!
> 
> 
> Yeah, let's base it all on him fouling out of one game...
> 
> Playoffs:
> 
> Richard Hamilton: 20.2 ppg (44%), 3.6 rpg, 4.2 apg
> 2002-03: 22.5 ppg (48%), 3.9 rpg, 2.6 apg
> 
> Reggie Miller: 9.8 ppg (35%), 1.5 rpg, 4.0 apg
> 2002-03: 9.2 ppg (28%), 2.3 rpg, 2.3 apg
> 
> Your comparisons continue to baffle me.


You based the Piston's bench off of one game. Not saying it's right so go ahead and give Rip over Reggie. Your link didn't show anything by the way, it says to click on a column, but there are no column.


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## PacersguyUSA

And there's no point of arguing for the Pacers against the Pistons on the Pistons board so I'm done (unless I see something incredibly wrong).


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## froggyvk

Well that post looks oddly familar.

4/20/04



> Ok, thanks. Good luck against the Bucks, I'm officially out the Pistons board.


Comparing Reggie Miller is equal to Richard Hamilton is completely different than the benches. For a long time now Miller has been declining. He hasn't averaged over 10 ppg in the last two player years, while Rip has been over 20 while shooting a much better percentage. The benches is something that can be reasonably debated and can go either way. I just gave one example. But I gave two years worth of examples for the SG's (that's how many times Rip's been in the playoffs) and it clearly shows Reggie is no where close to the Energizer Bunny.


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## MLKG

> Originally posted by <b>PacersguyUSA</b>!
> 
> Your link didn't show anything by the way, it says to click on a column, but there are no column.


Patience. Let it load.


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## DetBNyce

> "We had home-court advantage (last year), and the first two games went to the wire, and they made the play at the end to win," Detroit's Tayshaun Prince said. "We can't let that happen this time. We've got to really get off to a good start and we can't play catch up. We have to make a statement in Game 1."



Good to see payback is on the Pistons minds. The Pistons need to take this series personal. We're going to need that type of energy to win this series. The Nets haven't made two consecutive finals appearances by luck, they're going to be a hard out. Hearing this statement coming from Tayshaun, the most low key player on the team, is great. The rest of the team must be fired up.


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## jvanbusk

Nice avatar froggy.


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## PacersguyUSA

> Originally posted by <b>froggyvk</b>!
> Well that post looks oddly familar.
> 
> 4/20/04
> 
> 
> 
> Comparing Reggie Miller is equal to Richard Hamilton is completely different than the benches. For a long time now Miller has been declining. He hasn't averaged over 10 ppg in the last two player years, while Rip has been over 20 while shooting a much better percentage. The benches is something that can be reasonably debated and can go either way. I just gave one example. But I gave two years worth of examples for the SG's (that's how many times Rip's been in the playoffs) and it clearly shows Reggie is no where close to the Energizer Bunny.


I don't know why you infer that I was leaving the Pistons board for good. I left for a couple hours and then came back. I never said I wasn't comming back. In fact, I believe I've already stated this in the topic. Anyway, yes it is the same thing. Basing off of one game still basing off of one game no matter what you are comparing. Furthermore, you continue even though I said go ahead and give Rip the advantage. :sigh:

And yes, I considered your post incredibly wrong.


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## DetBNyce

Alright that's enough with the back and forth on Miler and Hamilton. Everything doesn't have to turn into a Pacers - Pistons argument. This thread is for the Pistons vs. Nets and while the subject may get off course every once in a while, the majority of the conversatin should be reserved for Nets and Pistons talk. Half of the posts in this thread are talking about the Pacers and Nets, it really looks bad. 

Pacersguy, there was no need to bring in Pistons/Pacers matchups and froggy you've mad your counter argument, now move on fellas...


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## PacersguyUSA

> Originally posted by <b>DetBNyce</b>!
> Alright that's enough with the back and forth on Miler and Hamilton. Everything doesn't have to turn into a Pacers - Pistons argument. This thread is for the Pistons vs. Nets and while the subject may get off course every once in a while, the majority of the conversatin should be reserved for Nets and Pistons talk. Half of the posts in this thread are talking about the Pacers and Nets, it really looks bad.
> 
> Pacersguy, there was no need to bring in Pistons/Pacers matchups and froggy you've mad your counter argument, now move on fellas...


Always good to have a mediator...

Any predictions on the series? I really can't make a call, but I think it will go to 7 games.


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## fear the fro

I think winning Game One is going to be crucial after getting swept last year and after the Nets have won 14 straight EC playoff games. We are a much better team than we were last year but until we prove it when it counts it doesn't matter. We can't afford to be missing layups and giving up offensive rebounds against the Nets. We could pull that against the Bucks and get away with it but it will definetly come back to bite us if we get sloppy against the Nets. Another thing is going to be Tayshaun-he was the MVP of that series but has really struggled against New Jersey. He needs to stay hot for the Pistons to win.


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## nmuman

*Why I think we will win*

Everyone seems to be talking about Detroit and the Pacers and that's why all this talk (nationally and locally) about the Pistons/Pacers matchup scares me. I hope our guys aren't hearing that and thinking too far ahead, because the Nets are no joke. This will be as difficult, if not more, than the Pacers for us.

Here's what I see:

1) Our style. I'm no fan of Larry's lineups, but he has made this team play ball better and more instinctively. Previously if the play broke down on offense or defense, we looked lost. Now, our players seem to communicate and actually know what they're doing rather than just doing what their told. That will go a long way in this series against a team that likes to keep you off balance.

2) We were 1 basket (I think) away in each of the first two games from having that series at 2-2...even with Billups injured and the inferior team we had last year. That says a lot to me.

3) Our defense: The 2 biggest problems I saw with the games last year was our D on Martin and Kidd by Robinson and Atkins. Robinson allowed 14 points to Martin in the 4th of one of those games, and Atkins was a joke EVERY time he stepped on the court against Kidd. This year, we have Sheed, Hunter, and James. There's no free ride for Kidd and Martin. Slow Kidd and you can stop NJ. Our harassing guards are going to really get into him.

4) Exprerience. We obviously have more experience this year than last year and have (hopefully) learned from some of our mistakes.

5) I'll cheer harder 

That said, I am very worried about this series. If we don't bring an A+ effort every night, we will not make it past the Nets.

I also wanted to note something that Kenny Smith (TNT) touched on the other night when they were previewing this matchup. He said that the only time the Bucks beat us (and the formula for beating us) is running the court and spreading the floor with good jump shooters, and good outside shooting is NOT something NJ has. That clicked with something I really noticed during the Buck's series...when a team is fast breaking on us, we collapse in the lane. That's not good against against the Bucks who take outside shots on the break, but against NJ it will be great because they take the ball to the rim with athletic players. That feeds right into our interior defensive strength. Basically, what Kenny was saying (and I agree) is that it's going to be tough to beat the Pistons without spreading the floor, and thus the defense, with awesome outside shooting. You're not going to do it inside, on the break or not.

To sum up our winning the series is dictated on two fundamental principles:

1. Our Shooting

If we shoot anywhere near how we did aganist the Bucks then the Nets are in trouble. As long as the basket goes in the hoop they don't have fast break opportunities. If they don't have fast break opportunities then they are toast.

2. Our Rebounding

I was not impressed with our board work during the series against the Bucks. We should have killed them on the boards every single night. Joe Smith had a terrific series against us in the scoring, offensive and defensive rebounding departments and Joe Smith is no Kenyon Martin. We have to grab the boards.


Prediction.......Pistons in 5 maybe 6.


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## DetBNyce

> Three matchups pop out in the upcoming Pistons-Nets playoff series...
> 
> And no, the Rasheed Wallace-Kenyon Martin battle isn't one of them, although it will be fun to watch two of the most demonstrative and aggressive big men in the game go at it.





> Larry Brown vs. Lawrence (Ralph Malph) Frank is one of the key matchups.
> 
> ...Brown has the experience, pedigree and expertise to make the proper adjustments as this series evolves. His predecessor, Rick Carlisle, hardly made adjustments while the Nets were sweeping the Pistons last year.





> The second matchup worth close attention is Tayshaun Prince vs. Richard Jefferson.
> 
> Prince is coming off an outstanding series against Milwaukee, but Jefferson has dominated him in recent games. During the regular season, Jefferson averaged a team-high 21.5 points against the Pistons. He also averaged seven rebounds. Prince averaged just 5.3 points against the Nets.
> 
> At times, Prince seemed unable to deal with Jefferson's athleticism and aggressiveness. It's safe to say he has to triple his scoring output in this series for the Pistons to have a chance.





> Then we come to the guys who control the ball: point guards Chauncey Billups and Jason Kidd. They hold the keys that start ignition at both ends of the court.
> 
> Kidd punished the Pistons in last year's playoffs, when Billups was hobbling with an ankle injury. Kidd averaged 10 rebounds, which is eye-popping for a point guard, *but even more so considering 6-foot-10 Cliff Robinson got four rebounds total in the four-game series.*


I had to bold that. That is sad...

Complete Article


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## TheHeff

That is REALLY sad! I'm glad we don't have to worry about him chokin the playoffs this year! I think Detroits gonna be so fired up to beat the Nets that N.J. is gonna have trouble stayin with us from the tip off. I'm not trying to say that N.J. isn't a good team cause they are, but I'm so fired up for this series that I have to imagen the locker room is going crazy. I'm gonna say Pistons in 5.


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## froggyvk

> Larry Brown vs. Lawrence (Ralph Malph) Frank is one of the key matchups.
> 
> ...Brown has the experience, pedigree and expertise to make the proper adjustments as this series evolves. His predecessor, Rick Carlisle, hardly made adjustments while the Nets were sweeping the Pistons last year.


I remember the lineups used last year. By the third round Prince had already proven himself good enough to be the starting SF. But Carlisle stuck with his boys Michael Curry (eck!) and Cliff Robinson (over Okur). So we had two scoring options, Rip and Chauncey, who was on a bad ankle. Instead of Chauncey, Rip, Curry, Ben and Cliff, the lineup the whole series should have been Chauncey, Rip, Tayshaun, Ben and Memo. I'm glad we have Larry Brown as coach now -- I don't always agree with his lineups, but at least he starts the right people and knows when to make the appropriate changes. 



> The second matchup worth close attention is Tayshaun Prince vs. Richard Jefferson.
> 
> Prince is coming off an outstanding series against Milwaukee, but Jefferson has dominated him in recent games. During the regular season, Jefferson averaged a team-high 21.5 points against the Pistons. He also averaged seven rebounds. Prince averaged just 5.3 points against the Nets.
> 
> At times, Prince seemed unable to deal with Jefferson's athleticism and aggressiveness. It's safe to say he has to triple his scoring output in this series for the Pistons to have a chance.


What we here at BBB.net have been asking Tayshaun to do all season is be more aggressive. He is a smart player, but just now we are seen him be more aggressive, both on the boards and on offense.



> Then we come to the guys who control the ball: point guards Chauncey Billups and Jason Kidd. They hold the keys that start ignition at both ends of the court.
> 
> Kidd punished the Pistons in last year's playoffs, when Billups was hobbling with an ankle injury. Kidd averaged 10 rebounds, which is eye-popping for a point guard, but even more so considering 6-foot-10 Cliff Robinson got four rebounds total in the four-game series.


Chauncey Billups is really become a great *point* guard under Larry Brown. He is almost a shoe-in for 7 assists per game now, and he'll still get you the 16 ppg. We have to contain the Nets fast-break, which is what we didn't do last year. We have a good transition defense with Tayshaun, Rasheed, and Ben (Ham off the bench) who can block shots from nowhere. And unlike last year, we're actually looking to run, if we see the opportunity. Rasheed is a great passer off a miss. We often see Rip and Tayshaun run the floor after a rebound and they are able to finish it with a dunk. Last year, we'd expect Ben to grab the boards, have him give it to Chauncey, and we'd run a play every single time down the floor. The shot clock would be down to 4 almost every possession. Instead, this year we're seen a much faster Pistons team.


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## DetBNyce

Some metro Detroit reporters picks on the series...



> Joanne C. Gerstner: The Pistons have been waiting a whole year for this rematch. The Nets humiliated them in the 2003 Eastern Conference finals, and that harsh lesson has not been forgotten. The Pistons will be smarter and nastier this time. Pistons in 6





> Chris McCosky: If Rasheed Wallace's aching left foot holds up, the Pistons should be able to clear this hurdle. If it doesn't, the Nets have major advantages at both forward spots and the Pistons would be hard-pressed to overcome that. Pistons in 7





> Mike O'Hara: Timing is important in the playoffs, and it's bad timing for the Pistons to have Rasheed Wallace playing on a sore foot. They'll win, but in a struggle. Pistons in 7





> Rob Parker: This is not last year. The Pistons are better defensively, offensively, and are tested. Look for Chauncey Billups to play a huge role in winning this series. Pistons in 6





> Jim Spadafore: Let the trash talk begin. The Wallaces will silence Kenyon Martin, and Tayshaun Prince is ready this time for his matchup against Richard Jefferson. No doubt Jason Kidd is the best at running the break and getting everyone involved, but the Pistons can control tempo with the Wallaces. They get revenge for last year's sweep. Pistons in 7





> Bob Wojnowski: As long as Rasheed Wallace's foot holds up, the Pistons will prove to be the slightly better team. Pistons in 7


They all picked Detroit... I wonder why?




A breakdown of the matchups from the NY Daily News, including a scout's take on the matchups...


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## PistonFAN81

> Originally posted by <b>TheHeff</b>!
> That is REALLY sad! I'm glad we don't have to worry about him chokin the playoffs this year! I think Detroits gonna be so fired up to beat the Nets that N.J. is gonna have trouble stayin with us from the tip off. I'm not trying to say that N.J. isn't a good team cause they are, but I'm so fired up for this series that I have to imagen the locker room is going crazy. I'm gonna say Pistons in 5.


I totally agree heff, I mean If I am detroit and I am looking not to beat them but to crush them maybe even a sweep I am not perdicting that. I am just merely saying that If it were me that played last year, I would want to beat them bad! I mean I think that It will be a great battle to watch, very entertaining. By the way I don't think that we can perdict this series or the next series by looking at stats now, were gonna have to let them play ball the way that they were intended too!


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## ian

Pistons in 5.


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## thrillhouse

is sheeds foot problems going to be a chronic injury, or will it be able to heal the spacing of the series?

by the way i say stones in 6.


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## DetBNyce

Looks like I'll be at the game tonight.


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## irishfury

Bring us a game one victory lol



> Originally posted by <b>DetBNyce</b>!
> Looks like I'll be at the game tonight.


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## DetBNyce

> Originally posted by <b>irishfury</b>!
> Bring us a game one victory lol


I hope so... we're 2-1 in games I've attended this year. We should've probaly bought Mike tickets since they're undefeated...


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## MLKG

> Originally posted by <b>DetBNyce</b>!
> 
> 
> I hope so... we're 2-1 in games I've attended this year. We should've probaly bought Mike tickets since they're undefeated...


:laugh: 4-0 this year alone.

I feel like it's my duty to get to some of these playoff games.


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## froggyvk

It's time.

It's time, Detroit.

It's time, Detroit, to go to work!


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## MLKG

Sheed hit early with 2 cheap loose ball fouls.


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## el_Diablo

why is ben taking 20 ft jumpers?


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## irishfury

PRINCE!!!!!!!!!!


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## el_Diablo

how is this game only 18-14, when shooting percentages are 50%-28% and rebounds 14-2 to detroit?


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## irishfury

I hate when larry does these horrible line ups


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## el_Diablo

what exactly is larry brown doing? who is going to score with this line-up?

(corliss-okur-campbell-hunter-james...)


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## irishfury

Yup cambell came out with a play of brillance :no:


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## thrillhouse

lindsay and tay playing really well right now


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## ian

must be good to be NJ and be outplayed by the Piston's bench for 5 minutes.


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## D.Spartan

Corliss & Elden should never be in the game @ the same time.


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## irishfury

> Originally posted by <b>D.Spartan</b>!
> Corliss & Elden should never be in the game @ the same time.


I agree 100%


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## MLKG

Tayshaun is playing great. 9 points 4-4 shooting, 7 boards!, and 3 assists, and RJ is yet to score on him.

Ben has also been brilliant. 4 steals in the first half, and he has been all over the floor. He's not scoring a lot, but he's drawn 4 or 5 fouls on the Nets bigs.


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## el_Diablo

did sheed really play only 2 minutes in the first half as espn's gamecast is trying to tell me?


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## irishfury

wtf pistons


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## thrillhouse

dont want to start falling asleep here


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## irishfury

prince is nasty man


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## irishfury

CARMELLO WHO?


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## Kelly Tripucka

The only question now is... will the Nets break 50? And, if they do, will they storm the court and celebrate?


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## Lope31

Jefferson shot 1-12. :drool: Please tell me this was The Fresh Prince of Detroit's doing....!


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## fear the fro

Tayshaun Prince for President!! If this kid can do what he did for the first 3 quarters every night, he will be one of the best players in the league-is there ANYTHING he can't do?
Hard not to get excited about that game, they got flat-out embarrassed. The Nets aren't going to shoot 27% every game, and we're not goint to out-assist them by 9 every game, but it is awesome when we do. 
There were a couple things that I didn't like-first of all the 16 turnovers. The Nets got 19 fast break points to our 9, which you couldn't really see because our fast court defense was unbelievably good and their shooting was unbelievably bad. But that won't happen every night. Also, it looked like Rick Carlisle had taken over the offense during the first quarter-what was up with Chauncey just dribbling the ball until there's 10 left on the shot clock and then trying to make a play? Bad. I thought Rasheed was settling for too many outside shots, and I thought Corliss should have sat that one out b/c he did not look very good and probably could have used the time to get well. Normally I would also complain about Elden getting so much time outside garbage time but he actually played pretty well, though I'm not sure that can be counted on every night either. 
Anyone else see Tayshaun got absolutely ROBBED of that insane block on RJ? That was 100% ball and a great effort by Tay. Too bad.

Gotta remember that last round we also killed Milwaukee in Game one and then came out and played horribly but still...14 straight wins? What?


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## froggyvk

We played pretty well but New Jersey has enough guys on their team that know you can lose by 22 or lose by 2 and you still only lose 1 game. We got solid games from everyone, we got 15 from Tayshaun and Rip, and 13 from Big Ben, but other than that everyone was in single-digits. I guess that says wonders about your team offense when you don't have one guy carrying all of the load, and you still win 22.

As for the defense, we challenged every single shots. Blocks came out of nowhere from Rasheed, Big Ben, even Campbell and Elden pitched in a little. Jefferson's shooting was horrid, Tay did a good job on him. What a block on Tayshaun to get back on the fast break and reject a layup! Of course they called it a foul. But we've been seeing that all year out of him.

We shot 47% to their 27%. If we didn't know already the key to beating the Nets is to limit their fast break points. Well we did that tonight. Other than Kittles, the Nets don't really have any half-court shooters. Jefferson and Martin both rely on layups and dunks off the fast break. 25 points in the first half, great D. 

Just a heads-up, the fast break points were:
Detroit: 9 
New Jersey: 19

Detroit's line score went 18 in the first, 19 in the second, 20 in the third, and 21 in the fourth.

Pictures

Larry Brown sporting the Stevie Y. jersey during his press conference...Let's Go Wings!


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## DetBNyce

Regardless of the score and tempo that was a very exciting game. The Palace was rocking and those thundersticks are the reason my ears are still hurting one hour after the game. 

Tayshaun, Tayshaun, Tayshaun... I can't say enough good things about his play tonight. He was great on both ends of the floor. An obvious key for him was to be aggresssive and aggressive he was. 15 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 60% shooting from Tayshaun tonight. He keeps this up and he may very well end up being our playoffs MVP.

Big Ben did his usual thing on the defensive end and he brought some offense along too.

Play of the game had to be Tayshuan's and one dunk over Kenyon or was it his over the head layup plus the foul...

If we can continue to get their bigs in foul trouble early, that would be a serious advantage in our direction. It forced Frank to go with Rogers ealry at the PF position... and well all you have to do is look at the rebounding numbers. We need to decrease our number of turnovers too. I don't know how much of those were out of nervousness, but i do no a large amount of them came when LB went to that God awful lineup at the start of the second quarter. I don't want to sound like I'm complaining, because overall I'm happy with the way we played tonight. Great defensive effort out of the guys tonight. 

Now let's go out and get Game 2 Friday night.


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## -33-

I was at the game tonight and I'll say this....

If you play D that well, and Big Ben scores....you gotta be a favorite for the title...


the place was rocking and as awful of a game it was, it was still a good time....


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## DetBNyce

> “We’re not worried about what the score was,” Ben Wallace said. “We were just worried about winning the game. Now we have to build on this.”





> “We were on fire,” joked Jason Kidd, who shot 4-for-13. “We were shooting for the lowest score.”





> “They’re a good defensive team,” said Kenyon Martin (4-for-11). “But we just missed shots. Now we have to go back to the drawing board and fix what we did wrong, because it’s only one game.”





> “I think the whole Eastern Conference needed that win,” Brown said. “I think it’s unbelievable what they’ve done.”





> “With TP (Prince) it’s just KIM, keep it moving,” Rasheed Wallace said. “He had a good series against Desmond Mason, and now he has a tougher challenge with Richard Jefferson. He stepped up to that challenge.”


A couple of quotes from the game. 

I think it's imperative that we get Game 2. Whether we won Game 1 by 22 points or 1 point we're still only up 1-0 in the grand scheme of things. Losing this next game could put a tremendous amount of pressure on us going to New Jersey, because we would then have to win one of the the two games there.


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## PacersguyUSA

Pistons and Nets played last night? I would have wanted to watch that if I had known about it.


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## froggyvk




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## froggyvk




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## Lope31

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


Laugh My *** Off!!!

:laugh:


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## Brian.




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## DetBNyce

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


Posterized...

I'm sure everyone that saw that play let out a collective scream. That play when definitely be on the Tayshaun's highlight reel for the season.


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## TheHeff

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


WOW! TP made one of my dreams come true. Thanks for posting this!!!!


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## PistonFAN81

I think that his krazy shot during the foul was a lil better but it sure is nice to tay dunking on Kmart....


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## Brian.

> Originally posted by <b>Brian</b>!
> Brian's official prediction for the nets/pistons series is :meditate: nets in si.. wait no pistons in seven. You heard it here first take it to the bank i have yet to be wrong these playoffs.


If I nail this one look out for my 1 900 number to rollout sometime next week.


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## fear the fro

If that is what happens I'd be pretty impressed. A lot of people (including me) thought Pistons in 4 or 5 after games 1 and 2 and then Nets in 6 after games 3 and 4...hopefully you will be right on the money.


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