Detroit or Miami?: Why the Pistons Can Take the Heat For Now

The Detroit Pistons have held a lock on the top spot in the Eastern Conference for virtually the entire season—but even without  Dwyane Wade, the defending champion Miami Heat have been racing up the standings.

 

Sunday's matchup between the two teams was a telling barometer as to who's the real class of the East. And while both squads revealed several significant flaws, the Pistons showed the savvy and mettle required to make a run deep into the playoffs.

Why Detroit Is the Best Now

— Because the Pistons played their best basketball of the game in the second half, outscoring Miami 29-19 in the fourth quarter.

The trouble Detroit was having in generating open looks, hitting open jumpers, and preventing Shaq and Jason Williams from scoring at will resolved itself in the game's closing stretch.

— Because Flip Saunders made two key adjustments that turned the tide in the Pistons' favor.

In the second half, he decided to run Chauncey Billups off some screens from the strong side to the weak side, then isolate the stronger Billups on Jason Williams. In the first half, Billups would either receive a high screen or try to take Williams one-on-one. Neither scenario proved fruitful.

Moving Billups to the weak side forced Williams to play a lot more defense, and made things more difficult for Miami's help defenders. The result: A slew of easy layups and open jumpers for Billups.

Saunders' second adjustment was to break out a press in the fourth quarter that caught the Heat with their pants down. The press created an offensive foul by Williams and two careless turnovers by Antoine Walker. It also took Miami out of their patient half-court rhythm, forcing numerous broken plays and contested jump shots.

— Because Flip Saunders took advantage of both Chris Webber's remarkable passing ability and Jason Williams' penchant for getting lost on defense.

In the third quarter, Saunders had Webber receive the ball in the left box while Rip Hamilton curled around a double screen to the top of the key. While Williams got tangled in the mess, Hamilton used the same double screen again to cut to the basket. With Webber's passes arriving on spot and on time, Hamilton had easy layups or fouls waiting for him.

— Because the only field goal attempt Shaq got over the final 3:46 was a tough hook shot that was defended perfectly by Rasheed Wallace.

— Because the Pistons displayed great energy off the bench.

Carlos Delfino was one of the key facilitators of Detroit's press, and had his way (as did every Piston) against Jason Williams— too-soft and Gary Payton's too-slow defense. Flip Murray was the first half version of Delfino. Antonio McDyess was outstanding, knocking down his pet 18-foot jump shot with regularity and corralling seven rebounds. Lindsey Hunter knocked down a pair of threes, and Dale Davis put Shaq on the free throw line with three fouls (considering Shaq went only 5-11 from the stripe, Davis' fouls weren't a bad ploy).

Delfino and Murray combined to go 6-11 from the field and 4-4 on free throws, with seven assists and 16 total points. McDyess added 12 points, a steal, and a block to go with his seven boards.

— Because Detroit's offensive attack was truly balanced.

Five Pistons notched double figures in scoring, and two of those came off the bench. While the Heat struggled whenever Shaq or Williams was out of the picture, the Pistons could call anybody's number when they needed a key basket.

Why Detroit May Not Be the Best Come May and June

— Because the Pistons were outplayed in nearly every facet of the game until the fourth quarter.

— Because Tayshaun Prince was abysmal.

Forget his 2-9 shooting performance; whatever offense Prince gives is gravy. More damning is the fact that James Posey was able to lumber past him repeatedly for easy layups.

— Because Flip Saunders relied on isolation plays in the first quarter.

Iso's are a mistake against a staunch defensive team like Miami. Detroit only registered a paltry 13 points in the opening stanza—and one of those came courtesy of a technical foul.

— Because nobody on Detroit could stop Shaq.

Granted, stopping Shaq is one of the most difficult tasks in basketball, but Rasheed Wallace was overmatched against the Diesel's raw strength and ballerina-like baseline spins. Chris Webber's attempts at guarding the big man ranged from comical to embarrassing.

— Because Detroit couldn't stop Jason Williams from jetting to the hoop.

Rasheed picked up two fouls trying to guard Shaq and two more trying to help on White Chocolate, leaving him in foul trouble limbo the entire game.

— Because Dwyane Wade is still at home resting his shoulder.

Why Miami May Be the Best Come May and June

— Because Dwyane Wade's shoulder may be healthy.

— Because Jason Williams showed that he could become a viable third scorer when Wade returns.

White Chocolate's jumpers were on-target, and his drives into the paint were appropriately delicious.

— Because Shaq was unstoppable.

Everybody knows about his power, but Shaq looks as nimble as ever. He wasn't simply running over Chris Webber—he was putting his weight on Webber's shoulder and spinning to the hoop, leaving Webber stuck in his tracks.

Shaq was able to slip away from any double team, pass to open cutters, and consistently execute an unguardable jump hop to the middle of the paint followed by a soft right hook. He was also fouled a number of times—and would have received more calls if weren't for that ancient riddle:

—If three defenders hack Shaq on his arm and he doesn't feel it, is it really a foul?"

— Because James Posey showed nice versatility in his game, with a number of blow-by's against Tayshaun Prince.

— Because Udonis Haslem executed perfect high/low lobs to Shaq whenever Big Aristotle was fronted.

Why Miami Isn't the Best Now

— Because Gary Payton and Jason Williams weren't able to break a press and establish an offensive set.

— Because Payton and Williams are terrible defensive players in their own unique ways.

— Because while his defense, rebounding, and passing were nice, Haslem's offense was putrid (7-21 FG, 1-4 FT, 4 TO).

He was given a number of open looks and missed most of them. The one time Miami was able to beat the Pistons press and gain a numbers advantage on offense, Haslem botched an easy layup attempt.

— Because Shaq's free throw shooting hasn't improved.

— Because James Posey bricked all four of his three-pointers.

— Because Antoine Walker was utterly useless.

Aside from one open three, Walker didn't put up a shot attempt, never looked to drive, didn't play any discernible defense...and still found a way to commit four turnovers. The last two of those four—both careless out-of-bounds calls—thwarted any hope for a Miami comeback.

— Because, most importantly, Miami collapsed.

Without Dwyane Wade there to bail them out, the Heat played rushed, scared basketball down the stretch.

Make no mistake—if Detroit is the best team in the East, then Miami is clearly the second best. But second-place finishes are a hollow consolation, especially for a defending champion...and if Wade doesn't get well soon, then, well'to ad-lib a little T.S Elliot:

This is the way the season ends

This is the way the season ends

This is the way the season ends

Not with a bang but a whimper.