The Official DETROIT vs INDIANA thread!!!!

[furious1]

Well Indy Should have won that series last year (just like the Spurs should have beat the Lakers last year).

The mental game is so underrated. Everyone assumes that because the Spurs play the most fundamental ball and the Pistons are the world champions that they will win. That is just not true.

The Boston Celtics proved that the mental game is just as important not once but twice when they beat the Lakers as underdogs. The Knicks proved it when they beat the lakers without their star center.

The Pacers have had adversity heaped on them this season and they have responded by winning.

Some say that they are not as good since they lost defensive star Ron Artest but fail to realize that they acquired NBA champion Stephen Jackson in the off season. Jackson may not fill the void left by Artest but he sure has a better shot at it then Al harrington.

The Pacers are deeper and dare I say more talented than the Piston. In addition the Piston Players are still celebrating their championship while the Pacers are looking at the last year of Reggie Miller as thier swan song.

The coach of the pacers was the coach of the Pistons and knows their weaknesses while the the Pistons coach Larry Brown has by all appearances lost his appetite for the game.

Now if (and I have predicted since before these playoffs even began) the Pacers win this series the question becomes can they beat the Miami Heat. I say yes and I will tell you why I say that.

Number one Shaq is not the Shaq of 2001. His age is showing just as the Lakers management predicted.

Number two: The Heat have faced nothing but teams that are soft in the middle. This is not the case with the Pacers.

Number three: Larry Bird is a winner as is Rick Carsile and as I said Reggie is retiring after this season so the motivation is there. Do not doubt the impact these guys will have.

Finally: Wade has had it easy so far. He has yet to run into a shot blocking team. And if you say anything about the Pacers you can not deny their post defense.

Anyway I could be wrong and will be the first to admit it but to all the people that think I'm crazy for picking Indy to win not only the ECF but also the national championship I submit to you these thoughts.

Again we’ll see soon enough.

[air gordon]

good post furious. though:

indiana's post defense is average imo. c'mon...al jefferson made a name for himself against the same defense. eddy curry had almost scored 30pts against them in 3 qtrs. the pacers big men can be physical but that doesn't qualify them as good defenders. see washington's frontcourt of brenda haywood, etan thomas, etc

shaq destroyed dale davis in his prime, he'll have no problem doing the same to an aging davis even with a bad leg. and who's going to cover wade? and just like ginobili, he won't stop attacking the rim.

regardless, i'll be cheering for the pacers

[cyanide]

I'm really surprised that Pacers took two games, and have the series lead. I'm impressed with how Carlsie is taking this team to amazing heights. Man, if Artest was playing... I wish Stern gave him the chance to return to the playoffs.

[furious1]

Thanks for the kind word on my post AG.

I see what you are saying about Dale Davis and how badly Shaq beat him down in 2000 and 2001 but my suggestion is based on the cornered animal vs the well fed animal theory.

The well fed animal becomes fat and lazy while the cornered animal fearing death is immanent becomes dangerous. .

Anyway we’ll know in a few days if I am wrong and everyone is free to rub it in if I am wrong.

Edit: By post defense I mean the ability to keep guards out of the paint. Something that the Pacers are specialists at doing.

[-BHZMAFIA-]

The Pacers have the same chance of winning this series than the Pistons do. The Pistons may come out of their two loss slump, but the Pacers will always give them a fight. They have kept Big Ben on lock on the offensive end which is what should be happening to a guy that shouldn't have the type of offensively ability he displayed in Game 1. Until Sheed learns to post up in the paint and not take all those outside shots like he was taking in Game 3, the Pistons will have a hard time beating Indy. Billups and Rip will also need to shoot better than what they have been shooting, so I can't say if it's the Pacers defense or the Pistons bad shooting. I love Jeff Foster's hustle game and he owns on the offensive rebounding.

[Indy]

Cy- I don't want to hear if only Ronnie was playing again. I don't want to hear that from anybody. We don't have Ron, we have to live with it, and not even think about him. Stephen Jackson is doing a phenomonal job defensivley to make up for Rons abscence.

I think the Pistons will be tougher then the Heat, but I'm not even going to touch the Heat right now, because we still have two more games to win. So far we have been better, but we need to win game 4. If the Pistons win game 4, we are going to be in a brutal dogfight. If we can take the 3-1 lead we will win the series. If we go back to Detroit tied 2-2, its going to be tougher. But, don't underestimate us playing on the road.

I like where we are right now, but its no reason to open the Champaigne yet. This is about where I expected we would be in this series, now we have to end the prime-number theory and win game 4!

(Prime number theory: That the pacers would only win prime-numbered games in the playoff series, held true in Boston, and is continuing to hold true.)

[cklitsie]

I think Indy has broken Mafia's old record for the amount of times the word "we" is used while refering to their favourite team

With the latest post he has doubled the record.
I'm rooting for the Pacers too though, it's basically the only team still playing that I appreciate, maybe Seattle too.

[Indy]

I think Indy has broken Mafia's old record for the amount of times the word "we" is used while refering to their favourite team

With the latest post he has doubled the record.

[Riot]

Yo, dat Jeff Fosta guy iz mah boi ya heard?

Pacas r gunna take da series fo sho now dat dey gotz da mo

[cyanide]

Riot: Your posts are incoherant. I'd rather see you as Pope Riot, than whatever the hell you are now

[Riot]

Riot: Your posts are incoherant. I'd rather see you as Pope Riot, than whatever the hell you are now

den tell dat 2 da bois who wur dissin' mah popeness

[Indy]

hey hey HEY!


don't turn the Indiana Stomping all over Detroit thread in to this!!

[Matt]

what the hell is goin on here, Indiana is up 2-1 and people already saying they are gonna win. Still 2 more games to win.

Pistons are capable of winning the next 3 just as easily as they won Game 1, but they are also just as liable to lose. That's the thing about them being erratic.

Game 4 is on.

EDIT: If i was LB, in Game 3 after Hamilton fouled out i would of subbed in McDyess instead of Hunter. Then stick Prince @ SG and Sheed @ SF.

[Bang]

I think this is a must win game for both teams. I feel it has to do a lot with Rasheed's guarantee. Rasheed guaranteed a victory last year which basically turned the whole series around. However, if this guarantee fails, it will deal a heavy blow to the Pistons psyche. (Yes, nobody takes Rasheed seriously you think, but I bet subconsciously a lot of people will think "oh...so the Pistons are destined to lose/win..) Well it should be an interesting series.

Meanwhile in South Beach, Florida.
Shaq and Wade chilling.
Shaq: When is our next game?
Wade: It's a looooooooooooong time away.
Shaq: Yea. Hope it goes to 7.
Wade: Yea. They'll be dead tired.

[Matt]

well, they'll have at least 8 days off. Dont expect them to win Game 1. If Pistons to prevail, Campbell will get off the bench maybe even Arroyo.

[Bang]

Yes I do understand that the Heat may get rusty. However, I think rest will actually be beneficial for the Heat. It will give Shaq and D-Wade a much needed rest from all those injuries and fatigue.
Dallas didn't do too well the first game against the Phoenix for having an exhausting game 7 series. They were dead tired.
So whoever comes out of the series will be worn down a lot.

[A.G.]

I think that Indiana and Detroit will play all 7 games. Perhaps Detroit has a better team but somehow I think that Reggie will make his team win. But this is probably the most interesting semifinal this year.

[jas]

the pacers are going to take this series if they keep playin like they got some sense

[-BHZMAFIA-]

I think Indy has broken Mafia's old record for the amount of times the word "we" is used while refering to their favourite team

With the latest post he has doubled the record.
I'm rooting for the Pacers too though, it's basically the only team still playing that I appreciate, maybe Seattle too.

Yes! I guess I'm off the hook with MY team.

[J@3]

If they were still in the play-offs I reckon you'd be challenging

[J@3]

Seeing asthough Indy isn't here, I'll do it for him...

We lost. We played well for a while but our poor shooting just let us down really badly. Going on that 19-1 run, I knew the Pistons had us and with Foster, or Jeff, as he likes me to call him, only grabbing 1 rebound after his prior 20 rebound effort it was obvious that we weren't going to challenge them on the glass. All in all, we missed too many shots. Not Reggie though, Reggie never misses it's just sometimes the stat keepers mess around with his shots to make it fair to the rest of the league. I think we'll win the Championship though, one way or another we are going to beat Detroit and I will be victorious.

[-BHZMAFIA-]

Seeing asthough Indy isn't here, I'll do it for him...

We lost. We played well for a while but our poor shooting just let us down really badly. Going on that 19-1 run, I knew the Pistons had us and with Foster, or Jeff, as he likes me to call him, only grabbing 1 rebound after his prior 20 rebound effort it was obvious that we weren't going to challenge them on the glass. All in all, we missed too many shots. Not Reggie though, Reggie never misses it's just sometimes the stat keepers mess around with his shots to make it fair to the rest of the league. I think we'll win the Championship though, one way or another we are going to beat Detroit and I will be victorious.

I guess you can change your screen name to IndyPacers67 now

[Indy]

Seeing asthough Indy isn't here, I'll do it for him...

We lost. We played well for a while but our poor shooting just let us down really badly. Going on that 19-1 run, I knew the Pistons had us and with Foster, or Jeff, as he likes me to call him, only grabbing 1 rebound after his prior 20 rebound effort it was obvious that we weren't going to challenge them on the glass. All in all, we missed too many shots. Not Reggie though, Reggie never misses it's just sometimes the stat keepers mess around with his shots to make it fair to the rest of the league. I think we'll win the Championship though, one way or another we are going to beat Detroit and I will be victorious.

hahahaha very good Jae

That gave me a good laugh.

Now, to the game. I was there tonight, and it was not pretty. I have to admit, I expected a loss tonight. Reggie played bad, Jermaine played bad, Jax played well. Not enough to beat the Pistons.

We have to play out of our minds game 5, and I think we're capable.

One way or another we are going to beat Detroit and I will be victorious

[Matt]

the thing about Rasheed Wallace guarantees is that he always comes out playing hard and does stuff on the court. Everyone came out to play today too!

[AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy]

Rasheed Wallace is turning into the newest version of Jamal Lewis... 2/2 guarantees and counting...