Though Detroit’s latest 101-83 win came against the scuffling New Jersey Nets, any road victory in the NBA is a cherished one.
With that as a backdrop, the Pistons showed plenty of reasons in New Jersey as to why they’re the class of the Eastern Conference.
Why the Pistons Will Cruise to the Eastern Conference Finals
The Pistons offense showed remarkable balance.
All five starters were given equal opportunity to showcase their scoring abilities, whether it was Antonio McDyess’ midrange jump-shooting, Rasheed Wallace’s reverse-pivot fadeaways, or Chauncey Billups' filthy pull-up jumper.
Only Tayshaun Prince struggled when his number was called, missing several layups. But his unselfishness as a passer (six assists) more than made up for his inability to put the ball in the basket.
The Pistons were unstoppable when running set plays. On three straight third-quarter possessions, Detroit ran Rip Hamilton off a baseline screen before having him pivot and run all the way back around a baseline screen on the other side of the court.
No Nets defender was near Hamilton as he nailed three straight midrange jumpers.
Other impressive play calls involved Prince curling around a mid-paint pick en route to a catch-and-layup, and a nifty give-and-go between McDyess and Hamilton that led to an easy jumper.
When Flip Saunders allowed his charges to iso, post up, or freelance, a number of Pistons made impressive one-on-one plays, including impossible-to-defend fadeaways in the post by Rasheed Wallace, effective screen-rolls by Billups and McDyess, and aggressive attacks on the basket by Jason Maxiell.
Billups was strong and smart. On one possession, a screen left him matched up one-on-one with Sean Williams at the top of the key. Billups drove at him and then away from the basket along the baseline, before pivoting back to the hoop and netting an un-blockable reverse layup.
Billups also showed great timing when going up for layups in traffic, knowing when and how to avoid blocked shots.
The Piston reserves went Saran Wrap in the fourth quarter, blanketing the court and making simple basketball plays like wing passes and screen-rolls ineffective. Jarvis Hayes, Lindsay Hunter, Jason Maxiell, and Rodney Stuckey probably tipped more passes in the fourth quarter than the Detroit Lions secondary has all season.
That nonstop disruption and defensive energy will be a nightmare for opposing second lines all year, and was one of the most impressive aspects about the team.
The Pistons nearly had as many assists (27) as the Nets had made baskets (30), and the Pistons' execution was just about flawless.
Wallace’s rotations were perfect, and while his basket defense only yielded two blocked shots, his presence altered countless others. Also, his desire to show on the nether side of screens thwarted many New Jersey screen-rolls.
Most shocking of all was the fact that on a questionable foul call against Wallace in the first quarter, he raised his hand and accepted responsibility.
Rasheed not going after the throats of the three blind mice? Say it ain't so!
18 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Mike Zeldis about 1 year ago
Lindsey Hunter played the point for 6 minutes in the first half. The Pistons scored 4 points while he was in. Barring an further injuries to Billups or Stuckey, Hunters minutes on the court will disappear and so will most periods of scoring droughts by the Pistons
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Erick Blasco about 1 year ago
Hunter's still a really good defensive player who makes life miserable for opposing point guards. I'm still more comfortable giving minutes to Hunter than to Stuckey.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
Depends on what's needed. If we need to pester an opposing guard and stop a run, put in Hunter. If we're going cold from jumpshots, put in Stuckey for his offensive energy and difficult cover.
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dan fisher about 1 year ago
The Celtics are the Pistons "biggest area of conern?" Giggle.
The Celtics have NO ONE off the bench who can handle the ball.
The Celtics have NO BIG off the bench who will be able to do anything against talented bigs in the postseason.
The Celtics have to play Perkins....a lot....and he is just not good enough.
The Celtics have Doc Rivers as their coach and he is just not good enough.
The Celtics have to play Rondo and his small size leaves him helpless in guarding Billups, let alone the fact that Rondo has ZERO postseason experience.
Pistons absolutely have to worry about Cleveland. Cavs took Detroit to 7 games in 2005/06 and beat them in 6 last year.
Z gives you 14 and 10 everynight.
Gooden gives you 13 and 9 everynight.
Pav and Hughes size and energy ALWAYS slow down Billups and Rip.
LBJ and Varejo just keep getting better. Detroit has never had the answer for those two and have shown nothing to say this year will be any different.
Daniel Gibson is the all-time career leader in 3 point shooting %...ie. he shoots the 3 MUCH better than Ray Allen.
Cavs are a legit 7 deep. Maxiell has improved so the Pistons are a legit 6 deep. If Stuckey is able to dominate off the bench, IN THE POSTSEASON, like we know Daniel Gibson can, the Pistons have a good shot at getting to the finals. Jarvis Hayes is waaay too streaky. He helps as much as he hurts Detroit.
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Erick Blasco about 1 year ago
Doc Rivers is a decent enough coach. He's had a bad rap the last few years when he's had garbage to work with, but he knows how to instill unselfish basketball in his teams.
The backup point guard is a legit concern. Hunter can pressure House into making mistakes, and Billups will do the same to Rondo. The Pistons have a huge edge there. Down low, the Celtics have Glen Davis' wide body to throw up against Maxiell and Scott Pollard will hold his own on the glass.
Perkins has actually impressed me so far with his activity on the offensive glass, and his ability to simply find holes in defenses when teams load up on Garnett, Allen, and Pierce.
I wonder if Daniel Gibson's small size left him helpless in guarding Billups last year...
I wonder if Daniel Gibson's ZERO postseason experience left him unable to play well against Detroit last year...
And the first game between the Celtics and Pistons was a 2-point classic won by Detroit, not a Pistons blowout. I like the Cavs, but you have to remember how much firepower the Celtics have on their team, and how much more athletic they are than Cleveland at every position except small forward. Plus it took LeBron going insane while the Pistons sleptwalked for the Cavs to win those series' and that would probably have to happen again for the Cavs to knock off either Detroit or Boston in this year's postseason.
I actually think the Cavs are the third best team in the East right now when it comes to having a team ready to compete in the playoffs, but it isn't Pavlovic and Hughes energy and size slowing down Detroit. Flip Saunders penchant for posting up and isolating players doesn't play to Detroit's strengths, and doesn't exploit defenses as well as a more fluid offense would.
When Larry Brown coached Detroit, the whole offense ran through Rip Hamilton running around screens and blasting mid-range jumpers in opponenets faces. Saunders would rather have Hamilton iso from the wing to create his own shot, which isn't his strength.
Lets see how each team fares against the other as the season progresses. It will be a fun indicator to see which Eastern Conference teams are best fared to get to the Finals.
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dan fisher about 1 year ago
You don't watch the Pistons do you? Billups and Rip have struggled against a ton against Hughes and Pav. You are in denial or blind if you can't see that. Too ASSUME Stuckey or Rondo has a realistic shot of playing the way Gibson did in the postseason last year is ridiculous. You just tried to insinuate that Davis or Pollard will be able to hold his own against Maxiell.....giggle. If Boston can get any kind of a big before the deadline both of those two may play 0 minutes against Detroit. Boston has NO ONE who can handle the ball off the bench. Won't that be fun to watch when the volume on postseason defenses get turned up.
Seriously, you gotta let the Boston thing go. Cleveland goes 7 deep. Z, Gooden, Pav., Hughes, LBJ, Varejo and Gibson. All legit, all postseason tested, all have won the EC. Boston is not close to having a roster who can handle them in a 7 game series. You think Boston can rebound the ball well against Gooden, Varejo, Z and LBJ? Giggle. You think KG or Perkins is going to stop Z or Gooden from getting their numbers? Not a chance.
Per possession, the Piston's are the number 1 scoring team in the NBA. Flip is not the best coach but he must be doing something right do ya think?
He is certainly a better coach than Rivers or Brown.
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Erick Blasco about 1 year ago
I never said Billups and Hamilton played well vs. Cleveland. I just want you to look deeper as to why they play so poorly. Pavolvic is a decent defensive player and Hughes is an above average one. But how has Detroit decided to attack Cleveland in those games? An iso? A screen/roll? Is that the best Detroit can do? Maybe they'd post Billups against Hughes which wont work because of Hughes' length. If Detroit had some weak-side action, and a lot more movement, they'd put a lot more pressure on Cleveland's defense than using standard NBA plays.
And since you love numbers, here are the stats from the Detroit 87-85 win over Boston earlier this month.
Detroit FG%: 40% Boston FG% 49 %.
Looks like Boston's defense did a solid job slowing down the Piston's offense.
Detroit's bench went 5-15 in the game.
Looks like the Celtic bench did a good enough job of slowing down Detroit's second unit. And since the Celtic bench will be counted on more for defense than for offense, I consider that pretty impressive.
Jason Maxiell played 20 minutes, shot 1-3 from the field, 1-2 from the line, grabbed 4 rebounds (3 offensive) and scored 3 points. The Celtic backup big men (Pollard and Davis) combined for 17 minutes and 5 rebounds without yielding a basket.
Looks like the Celtic bench defended Maxiell just fine. And while the offensive rebounding numbers are impressive, Maxiell was outrebounded while playing less minutes.
And let's not forget, the Celtics were a missed wide-open three pointer by Ray Allen from winning the game.
And where is Cleveland going to get the firepower needed to match the Celtics scoring? The last time Cleveland faced a team with three dynamic scorers in the playoffs, the Spurs destroyed them in the NBA Finals. Where does Cleveland get their offense from besides James? You don't think the Celtics will exploit that by Having Pierce and Posey sag off of James forcing him to shoot jumpers? If he drives, the Celtics will have Perkins and Pollard and Davis use all of their 6 fouls to put him on the line.
Yeah, the Celtics don't have the defensive rebounders to keep Ilguaskus and Varejao and Gooden from feasting on the offensive glass. But who do the Cavs have to defend Garnett? Drew Gooden? Giggle. Who do the Cavs have to defend Pierce? LeBron? Giggle.
The Cavs have enough problems right now with their mismatched roster to place them ahead of Boston and Detroit in my eyes. I still need to see them play at the level they played in last year's playoffs before I accept them as the cream of the East.
And what has Saunders accomplished in the playoffs? If he's such a good offensive coach, why can't he call a creative play in the postseason? Like Rivers and Brown he has his strnegths, but like Rivers and Brown, he has his weaknesses. And those weaknesses are on full display when his offense is stalling against Miami and Cleveland.
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dan fisher about 1 year ago
You seem to be caught in talking about one game. Im talking about the postseason. That said, Pistons shoot 40%......and still beat Boston......in Boston. Once again, who is coming off the bench to handle the ball for the Celtics?
I am talking about a 7 game series in May. Boston doesn't have the roster to compete with either Detroit or Cleveland for 7 games.....and you know it.
You are in over your head.
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Sean Crowe about 1 year ago
Are you kidding me?
Seriously?
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Erick Blasco about 1 year ago
Actually, no...I don't know it. Boston's played just a handful of games vs decent teams, but I think they have enough to compete with the Pistons and Cavs in a 7 game series.
And you know what, who do the Cavs have to handle the ball? Larry hughes and Daniel Gibson, neither of which is a true point guard. Neither is Eddie House, but if that's the point you keep harping back on as to why the Celtics are a flawed team, then the Cavs have the same exact problem.
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Sean Crowe about 1 year ago
Detroit and Boston are the class of the East. Orlando and Cleveland are nice teams, but they won't win in the playoffs.
Both the Pistons and the Celtics have some issues... If the Celtics sign a backup point guard like Cassell (if he's bought out) or Peyton they actually have a better bench.
Flip Saunders vs Doc Rivers....clash of the nitwits. That's why one of these two teams probably won't make the Eastern Conference finals.
Detroit plays better as a team right now, but Boston has better players. If the Celtics stay healthy, they'll beat the Pistons in a 7 game series.
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Erick Blasco about 1 year ago
Cleveland isn't off the radar Sean. They still have great rebounding and they play good defense. They have a lot of positive qualities which translate into successful playoff runs. I just think that they're the third best team because their lack of offensive creativity, their lack of athletes, and their complete reliance on one player hurts them more than a team like the Celtics.
And nitwits is harsh. Saunders just trusts his players too much and gives them too much freedom to freelance. He's actually one of the better coaches in the league. It's just that his reluctance to get creative with the offense really hurts the Pistons, especially against defenses that wont cave in to the Pistons by default. When the Heat and the Cavs played the Pistons on equal terms the last few years, Saunders never put his players in a position to get good looks instead of having them iso and post up.
And Boston seems to have played pretty well against a good Laker team. Their ball handlers off the bench didn't seem to self destruct with Rondo out.
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Sean Crowe about 1 year ago
I think Orlando is the third best team in the NBA. I'm not convinced the Cavs are any more than 5 deep. I think they have guys who are made to look much better playing next to Lebron, but that won't fly this year in the East. Last season was a down season, even by Eastern Conference standards.
In a normal year, that Cavs team is a first or second round out in the playoffs.
Flip vs. Doc will determine the Eastern Conference champion. Let's just hope we don't have to suffer through a Detriot - San Antonio finals.... the way those teams play and match up makes for seriously boring basketball.
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Sean Crowe about 1 year ago
Meant to say Orlando was the third best team in the EAST. Not the NBA. That would be a completely insane thing to think.
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Jordan Alexander about 1 year ago
Cleveland needs some more shooting and to play Eric Snow more. I know he's not a great shooter, but he's a true PG who makes good decisions. The guy has finals experience. Gibson is the perfect guy to bring in off the bench. Once he was into the starting lineup, the secret was up.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
Dan sure likes giggling.
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Patrick Houston about 1 year ago
The Pistons are the only thing standing in Boston' way.I no longer respect the Magic because I thought they were for real.Cleveland needs to make some kind of trade.I heard they were listening to offers that would give them Kirk Hinrich and Ben Wallace for Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes.If that turns out to be true, then Cleveland would be my favorite to win the east again.
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Tim Devaney about 1 year ago
For the Pistons, it's not as much if they are good enough to make the finals, and if they have sealed up enough of their weaknesses. They have a great arsenel of positives on any given night, but that is against most teams in the league. Against most teams they have nothing to worry about and should be able to beat. There are two teams, however, that seem to have the Pistons figured out -- they have an edge: The Cavs and Celtics.
The Cavs may have a weaker team in general, but when it comes to playing the Pistons, they know what to do. They seem to have their number. The Celtics don't quite have the Pistons number, but they have a little more energy and desire to for the title. And that has been the situation with the Heat and Cavs the previous two years when they knocked off Detroit. So even though intangibles may go the Pistons way, these two teams just have an unexplainable edge.
So the Pistons can be shooting well, get the bench going, and have a ton of engery leading into those games that they have developed from other games. But when they meet face-to-face, all positives seem to hault. You will notice that no one performs on the Pistons team. The problem in the past is that the starters don't have the edge over these teams, and the Pistons tried to fix that with a good bench and high energy, but the bench that performs well in a lesser game follows the starters lead against these two teams in not performing well. So that is a problem.
Specifically, the Pistons have trouble scoring against these teams. Their defense is not all that bad. But these teams shut down Detroit offensively. So if the Pistons are going to make it to the Finals they have three big questions to answer:
1) Can they beat the Cavs?
2) Can they beat the Celtics?
3) Can they score against these teams?
If they answer them correctly, we're looking at the 07-08 NBA Champs, because I firmly believe the Pistons will have more trouble with these two teams that any team in the west (except maybe Utah). They swept San Antonio, Pheonix, and New Orleans. They split with the Mavs including their latest convincing win of around 25pts. They are better than the Lakers. Houston's a fake and won't make it out of the west. Utah could present problems, but probably won't get there. Look at the NBA schedule and the scores of the Pistons games against these teams this season. Detroit has done very well. It's not just about a better overall record. It's the fact that Detroit can play better than these teams.
In the NBA it's all abou matchups, and Detroit matches up well against the west. They just haven't had a chance to prove it for two years, because they haven't matched up well against certain east teams. This year it is the Cavs, and maybe the Celts. The C's also match up well with the West. The Cavs don't. Buit that doesn't mean you won't see the Cavs beating Detroit again. It means that Detroit wil have more touble getting out the east, and that if they make ti to the finals they'll win. But first they have to worry about the Cavs andCelts.
I plan on writing two follow up articles/columns on the two points I made in this column: 1) Why the Pistons match up poorly with the C's and Cavs and 2) Why the matchup well with the west. So I may use content from this comment in my following columns.
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