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who do you want to win?

doesn't matter who you want to win....it matters who's going to win.

Lakers...

thats not fact yet.

Pistons

Karl Malone didn't come to Southern California to make it this far...only to be shut at the door.

you can "play the right way" all you damn well please. It still isn't going to save you.

keep talkin.....knowing that malone and payton moved to la for a ring and than to get shut down is gonna make this that much more sweeter

Frist of all the pistions have alot for GOOD players like hamalten,big ben billups,prince,darco,etc we just have to much good talent in Detroit

Pistons! Michigan rules

darco? too soon to tell if he has any talent...and i think its pretty safe to say were not gonna see him in this series but i agree with the rest....detriot baby detriot!

bahhahahahahaha!!!!!!

oh jesus.....calm down link...you'll have a stroke.

ok...ok. Detroit does have good players I'll grant you that much.

Unfortuneatly the Lakers have GREAT players.

the Pistons have 3 chances to win this series...

1. Larry Brown
2. Slim
3. None

See you guys Sunday!

i want the pistons to win but i think the lakers will win

The longer the series goes the more chance the Pistons have at winning the series. I think the series is going to be decided on how dominate will Shaq be. If he only averages 20 points the series I think the Pistons have a great shot. But I just think the Lakers are to talented to lose; Lakers in 6.

thats funny thats exactly what laker fans were sayin in 89 except they only gave us two choices back than..slim and none.....and detriot won that series just like there gonna win this series...

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! The poll question says "Who will take it all" so I put LA, but then your question as a post says who do you want to win. DAMN IT! Wouldn't it be nice if Kobe tries to do everything to get MVP resulting in his screwing over the Lakers? I'd be happy.

oh man...sweet like chocolate coated sugar cubes. with frosting on top. and a side of sugar.

if Shaq only scores 20 a game then i'd still say the Lakers had a pretty damn good chance of winning the title. They've been winning when he goes 20+...it's those sub 15 nights...and he's a quite a few....that really kill him.

but your center is 5'9 and your power forward...well he's Rasheed Wallace. A good shot blocker, but I don't see him keeping Shaq out of the paint. Emet Okur or however you spell it...that guy's a good advantage with his shooting ability, and the size to push Shaq.

Gonna be a great series...

you forgot to mention that are center is a two time defensive player of the year (very easily coulda been a third) that can curl 200lbs with one hand

detroit's center is 5'9?? what the hell have i been looking at this whole time?? i surely thought Ben Wallace was at least 7'. do i need a new prescription for my glasses?

he's 6'9....that musta been a typo

im from L.A but i think Pistons DESERVE to win.

as for hockey...both Tampa Bay and Calgary deserve the cup. Iginla really deserves it for Calgary.

Ben Wallace gets defensive player of the year because he's smaller and guards big guys, and because he mainly focuses on help defense, but he's only guarded THE big guy 2x this year. I don't care if he can curl 300lbs...don't mean crap when you have a guy 1/2 a foot taller than you and 80+lbs heavier than you leaning up against you. Simple fact, you can't jump with someone leaning on you. And that's all Shaq does.

Karl's going to ruin Rasheed like he did KG and Tim Duncan. Sure they got the better of him overall, but Karl played them both straight up, and he forced them to have atleast 2 bad games each for each se ries. If the Lakers win the championship...sorry, fandom faded for a second, WHEN the Lakers win, Karl should get a lot of props for stepping up against the former and current MVPs

what? are you saying he only wins defensive player of the year coz he's smaller than other centers...i'm sure its got nothin to do with him averaging like 5 blocks and 15 rebounds a game and thats just in the post season alone.....so what if he's only gaurded shaq 2x this year whats that gotta do with anything, they split the series...i mentioed the curling just to show how strong he is, if your gonna want to contain shaq your gonna need strength and thats exaclty what big ben has

the thing about rasheed is that he plays just as dirty as karl..so those elbows arent gonna throw rasheed off his game coz he'll just throw his right back

yah but just like with Hamilton and Artest....it's not usually the guy who starts it, but the guy who retaliates that gets the Technical.

As for Wallace....He just isn't big enough to guard Shaq. Strength is one thing....sheer size is another. Having to double team Shaq throws off anyones "dominant" defense.

Shaq has trouble with the smaller centers anyway. He is so big the when he posts up and pushes back, he throws the smaller center to the ground, usually getting called for the offensive foul.

regular season....yes

post season....hasn't been seen yet. Shaq's offensive fouls count has been wayyyy down since the begining of the playoffs.

Well, in any case, this is going to be a good series.

yea but look at the people who guarded shaq....yao, nestorvic, irvin johnson, and madsen....all not exactly known for there defense excpet maybe madsen but you cant compare b wallace and madsen....well you can try if you want to look like a fool

I think putting Ben Wallace on Shaq would be a bad decision...sort of. If you leave him on Karl Malone, then he's free to come and help double, he gets to crash the boards, and he can pick up some blocks against Shaq if he comes from the help side.

It'll be a really good series, but I don't think Detroit is as good as San Antonio...and LA beat them.

yup thats what everyone is saying....detriot aint as good as minnesota, detriot at as good as san antonio, detriot is in the east, blah blah blah i just wish the series would start already so detriot could shut these people up (or shut me up, could go either way)

as for as guarding shaq i'm expecting to see the wallace boys rotate

Rasheed's always played well against Malone but he's also been known for not stepping up when needed. The Pistons have Big Ben, Campbell (size), and Okur to through at Shaq which is better than what other teams have had against the Lakers. However, the matchup problem I see is between Kobe and Rip. Both of their offenses tire their opponents. So 'if' they wear each other down, the Lakers can survive without Kobe scoring, but the Pistons are screwed if Rip is tired.

Btw: Here is to good hopes.

i dont see rip guarding kobe... i think LB will put Prince on him...Prince is a very underrated defensive player...last year when the pistons were down 3-1 against the magic they put Prince on mcgrady and he shut him down pretty good....mcrgrady still played good but he didnt play like mcgrady

i saw that pic in the OTF....its a masterpiece

Prince is a good defender. That might be a good idea.

for the love of god GO PISTONS!!!!!

whatever the result is. I just gotta. say, i love you pistons fans. Sticking by your team is freaking sweet, and you guys would do the Pistons organization proud.

Enough shit talking and analysis until after the game....which i'm sure will be quite a doosey.

I like Pistons but I'm more of an Anti-Laker than a Piston fan... soooo.... GO PISTONS!

Btw: I like to analyse before and after.

its hard to believe that would be coming from a laker fan..if more laker fans were like this they probly wouldnt be hated as much

Oh man, the game's today. i can't wait.

Big game tonight. I'm pulling for LA since they've always been my fav.

SMX

Exactly.

i was a NJ Nets fan and you would think i'd go against the pistons but my hate for the Lakers is to great, tonight i will give all my cheer and love of what i had for NJ for detriot, GO PISTONS

yea, same here. i am a NJ fan first, and an anit-laker second.

I'm a Blazer fan 1st
Laker fan 2nd
and a former Pacer fan but currently roots against them because I hate Jermaine O'Neal.

Pistons 1st anti-laker 2nd so i'm either gonna be really happy or really pissed when this is over

Cool, they used the Kill Bill theme for the intro.

I really like how this game is going. Lakers scoring 100 against the Pistons? not in this series.

7 point Detroit lead with 3:30 left.

Holy crap. Shaq has scored at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, and over 50% FG in every NBA Finals game that he has played. Thats amazing. This is his 5th Finals series too.

87-75 DETROIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YES!!! YES! YES! YES! The Pistons just stole homecourt advantage. This would be so sweet if Malone and the Lakers get so close yet lose unexpectedly to the east. WOOO HOOOO!!!!

Btw: Nobody but Shaq or Kobe scored over 5 points for the Lakers. That is awesome.

what!....detriot what!...detriot baby detriot!...i think detriot just proved whos got the best D and its not san antionio...and yea we can score without rip and that game was awesome.... detriot pretty much dominated that whole game with there defense...the had the lead for like the whole game

\/ \/ \/ \/ \/

^

this is going to be so fun....

lets go Detroit !!!!! kill the Lakers

yes go pistons not only did they shut down the entire laker team - Shaq and Kobe they dominated and took one of the most important games, their defence was great, but i do suggest not to match up hamilton and kobe.

GO PISTONS

WOO just take game 2 and bring back to detroit

am i the only one that saw Shaq get his way with Detroit???

I mean, yah they shut down the rest of the Lakers, and D'ed up Kobe something vicious. I just wouldn't consider Shaq's 19 point 1st half as any sort of shut down or dominated.

Props to L.B. for his coaching....

i would consider 19 points in a half, 25(i think) in the whole game, from Shaq, keeping him down pretty well. if he really tried, Shaq can score 50 points a game, and we'd be feeling a deja vu of the old Wilt the Stilt days.

i haven't seen him hit jump hooks and bank shots like he did in Game 1 all year long. The only reason he didn't go scoring 30+ is because Kobe generally gets the nod from Phil to run the show in the 2nd half. That would explain why he had a 10 point 1st half and his second half was more productive.

Did some thinking last night, after the hockey game, you know....if the Lakers lose this home game tonight and go down 0-2....i hate to admit it, but i think LA would lose in 5. They better win tonight...

F*ck yea i've been thinkin that! .....If Detrioit can get the D goin and get some big points from billups, rip, and sheed, than the lakers are in deep shit and i'm gonne very very happy

Dam you took the words right out of my mouth wuTa

butttt....

I also am of the belief that if the Lakers win by ANY significant margin tonight. Then they are going to take 2 of 3 away from Detroit at home.
I know you don't wanna hear it or believe but.....hey I'm still a Laker fan.

Game 1 got me excited. I hope they bring their D game tonight.

i just hope Phil can find some sort of weak spot in Detroits game that can be exploited.

Relying on Kobe to throw up 40 points is gonna make for a very very long summer...

True, but i havent seen many teams blow out Detroit, other than teams with amazing offense that starts with great defense, New Jersey is one. The Lakers dont respect any team, and that will be their downfall. their lack of defense comes from their arrogance.

Who's Detroit even played this year in the playoffs? Every team in the East this year has been a joke. NJ would be sweept by LA just like in the past and something similar would happen to Indiana.

Unlike the other teams in the East....Detroit matches up well against the Lakers.

they palyed indiana who had hte best record in the league.... at the begining of the playoffs i thought indiana had a better chance to make it to the finals but as i soon as i saw detiort come back in the nets series i had no no doubt they were gonna beat the pacers...i'm sick of all this talk about how the west woulda blew by any team in the east besides nobody knows that for sure and now that the pistons have proved that an eastern team has the potentially to win it all people still down play them coz there from the east

look at their records from the season. The Lakers , Kings, Spurs, and Grizzlies all had better than 20-7 records against the East. LA never lost to Indiana in the regular season and was something like 25-6 against the East.

Wait...i hold my tongue! I DO recall a loss to Indiana.

Los Angeles lost by 13 points to Indy...at Indy...without Malone. With Malone and in LA the Lakers won by 22.

and their record against the East on the season was 25-5

so i guess coz LA didnt have malone indy wouldnt have a chance right? gimme a break...i dont care about that 20-7 stat...some of those eastern teams that the spurs, lakers and grizzly beat werent even contendors...the top teams in the east beat LA, the spurs , and the grizzlies and you can downplay there wins coz LA had some injuries but the best team in the east (detriot) split the serios with the lakers in the season...but not of these season stats dont even matter its what you do in the post season that matters

too true!

So whatcha drinking tonight WuTa? The Captain n coke are keeping me company while i watch my Lakers beat your Pistons.

i'll probly just tip a few beers but your gonna neet that coke and captain morgain to ease the pain when this game is over...detriot baby detriot!

i;m outta beer ..but the 1st just ended...pistons couldnt buy a bucket there only down by 2 so hit some shots damn it!

nnoooo Kobe you bastard crybaby

Rasheed's 3rd quarter barrage was impressive

Rip Hamilton's is meaner than Reggie with a pick because he can put the ball on the ground.

Ben's late minute toughness made me lose hope for the Lakers....but

Kobe Bryant is the most amazing basketball player I've ever seen.

Great job by Luke Walton...he was the reason the Laker's stayed in it.


Detroit deserved this game....but I couldn't be happier.

damn that was a crazy game....lakers barely pulled that out....detriot gave that one to LA.....up 6 with under a minute left with the best D in the league and you cant make a couple stops and you know Kobe is gonna take that 3......the lakers didnt have anyone in double digets besides kobe and shaq again but detriot still stole one game thats all we really needed...i'll tell ya one thing if i was a laker fan i would be pretty worried espicially if malone dont heal up lakers dont have anyone that can guard sheed and malone can only do a good job if he's healthy plus the pistons stole home court

i;m so pissed i cant get that shot outa my head

On the Kobe three there was a couple terrible moves and non moves by Brown

1. Why didn't the Pistons have Prince on Kobe instead of Rip. I don't understand this Prince is bigger and has long arms to contest Kobe's shot. Kobe might still make the shot but it wouldve been a tougher shot.
2. UHHH Larry did you know that Shaq and Malone were on the floor, maybe a double team on Kobe might of helped to free up Shaq and Malones amazing three point ability .
3. I know coaches don't like to foul, but there was a chance with 5 second Kobe was still dribbling. If you foul it becomes 1 point game but the Lakers wouldn't have a timeout so there would pretty much be a half court heave for the tie or win.

But on the rest of the series, even though Kobe's shot hurt the Pistons mentally this game, but I don't see it carrying over. The Pistons are built on defensive and any lasting thoughts coming over to the next game won't hurt their defense and really I think momentum is overrated. One last thing, as the series goes on I think the Pistons have a better and better shot, because they have pretty much out played the Lakers for two games and with Malones and Fisher's injuries and Payton acting more and more like a baby who needs a pacifier the Lakers will pretty much be reallying on their two stars because I don't know if Luke Walton will give them that kind of game again, but who knows they are the Lakers.

weep Thats all I can say.

Ummmm.....we'll try this one on for size.

1.) Prince was guarding Kobe before the ball was inbounded. If you watch the replay, Shaq sets a pick for Kobe making it so that Prince had to switch with Hamilton. If there wasn't a switch Kobe would have had an open three pointer from the top of the key instead of a 28 footer from the wing.

2.) Brown didn't say anything about fouling Shaq because honestly....as a pro, some things should be understood by all players without saying. Who would you have double team Kobe? Sending either Wallace out to double Kobe would result in Kobe pump faking, the big guy jumping, Kobe drawing a foul and then getting 3 free throws. (always a possibility with Kobe)

3.) When exactly were they supposed to foul Kobe? He never had his back turned to the basket, so he could have flung up a three pointer at anytime. What if fouling him results in a 4 point play? then you don't go into overtime....you just lose the game.

I think Detroit did the right thing by not fouling Kobe. He's shooting like 24% from 3 point land in the 4th quarter of this years playoffs. He launched a missle of a three pointer in the closing seconds of the game and got a pretty damn lucky make. As a coach, I'd rather have Kobe heaving 28 footers than shooting 3 free throws. If Detroit screwed up anywhere it was by not fouling Shaq, but who really expected him to get the ball anyway?

Besides...the refs gave LA the game when they were down by 6 because Rasheed Wallace DIDN'T foul Shaq on that 3 point play. But oh well, you don't hear me complaining. Go Lakers. I still say you take this in 6.

And as a Laker fan, I'm not worried about this series at this point at all. Actually I think Detroit is still at a disadvantage because the Lakers won't lose to them 3 games in a row regardless of whether it's home or away. Staples Center isn't much of a home court to LA anyways. Everyone at those LA games is just a fake fan, a huge number of people from the crowd left the game with 45 seconds left because LA was down 6. Who the hell dishes out hundreds if not thousands of dollars for seats only to leave because you "didn't want to hit traffic"???? for christ sakes...it's the finals.

That all said. Detroit doesn't stand a chance of winning the finals. Yes Detroit is good enough to compete with the Lakers, and yes they are good enough to beat the Lakers. But I've come to the conclusion that God is a Laker fan after watching Kobe and Fisher hit shots like they have in this years playoffs. The divine presence can't be stopped by any defense.

i guess those are good points by both you but thats just a bunch of "what ifs"...thats pretty far fetched that kobe would draw a 4 point play...its possible but not likely....and with the way those refs were callin that game i wouldnt foul either they probly woulda did some stupid like call a flagrant when it wasnt but again thats just another "what if"

i think it is very possible and likely that detriot can beat LA 3 times in a row at home they almost beat them 2 times in a row on the road....but detriot only really needs 2 outta the 3 games at home and like i said before i looooove there chances

I will say this...

I was very very disappointed in how Detroit ran their offense against that weak excuse for pressure exerted by the Lakers. In the 1st half it was LA's defense that was whooping on Detroit this was because Phil Jackson set up a great gameplan after their game 1 loss. But to his credit as another great coach, Larry Brown made some great adjustments to counter Phil.

That and it doesn't hurt that Rasheed keeps taking himself out of the game early.

yea this is huge....this pretty much could decide the series if sheed can get his shit togethor and play 4 all quarters i love his emotion he brings to the game but damn brother get your shit togethor

thats Detroit for you BUT don't let this make you happy the Pistons wil come back just like game1 last night was a fluke the game last night was a bad game. the pistons will run over the lakers like EVER BEFORE!
There is a darkside if I may call it thats when you think (wtf) just ahppen like agance Pacers. So don't be happy for long.

I'm only saying that the last guy I want shooting the three is Kobe. Throw the 24% out, because when the game is on the line Kobe can make any kind of shot anywhere which is why I would rather want a role player take the three instead of the clutchest player in the league.

I'll just say that last night was NOT a fluke.

Aside from shooting 14 or 16 freethrows in the 3rd quarter, the Pistons pretty much got whooped most of last night. That 3rd quarter put LA in a pretty huge hole and they were VERY lucky to get out of it.

a guy at work was sending this around to all the Lakers fans and haters.

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/8479/destiny2.jpg

the 2.4 isnt that impressive its been totally done before, yet the .4 by fisher was just, unbelievable, i was soooooooo pissed when i saw that, but for detroit i'd be really happy, you came out of LA tied, you beat the best team that hasnt been beaten at home in the playoffs this year and now you go home for 3 games as i said tied, the first game you brought them down, second game took them to O.T. and didnt even loose in double digits. Detroit has a very good chance, as good of a chance to win as LA does.

I hate to admit it, but i have to agree. They have every chance that LA does if not more. But I still think you Detroit fans are on crack if you think LA is gonna lose 3 in a row in Detroit.

This series is definitly coming back to LA. Who will be up 3 games to 2....well your guess is as good as mine.

you think they will win 2 in Detriot? well, you are a Laker fan, you won't say that they will lose.

Detroit will win 2, not 3 at home, Lakers will probably just take the first game, and then the atmosphere of the crowd might get to them. this series is going to 7 games, definitly.

i'm like 90% sure this is directed at me.....i never said there gonna take all 3 i said there is chance they can take all 3..if detriot can take the 1st two games than there up 3-1 and lakers have never been in a 3-1 deficit they've been in a 2-0 deficit goin back home but if your down 3 to 1 and still gotta play that game 5 in detriot there the lakers are gonna be sweatin...for you to say that there is NO CHANCE that could happen is waaay more cracked out than me sayin it CAN happen

IF.....IF they are down 3-1, then there is more than a chance...there is almost a certainty.

But I'm a complete CRACK HEAD so i'm saying there is no chance the Lakers are going to be down 3-1 to the Pistons. I can definitly see them being down 3-2, but i don't see the Pistons winning both of their first two home games....personally, my crack head self just doesn't think it's possible.

I don't think either team will sweep in Detroit.

Pistons, just b/c the Lakers (aka Shaq) is getting on my nerves AND 'cos they knocked off Minnesota

Wtf? Malone just poked at one of the fans (who was heckling him) in the face before the game.

Damn I love the fact that they have been using the Kill Bill theme for the intro to the games.

man i love the pistons just listen to that crowd....good hopefully the fans will get in his head so he'lll have to deal with that and his inury

is it just me, or do basketball's team and player introductions get cornier and cornier?

Omg I do not like that announcer though. GO PISTONS!

i'm use to him but when i first heard him i was like wtf was that?...lets go to work...... detrioit baby detriot!

i had to turn on my computer and come on here just to say how incredibly stupid the intro was to this game. National Anthem sucked...I loved the booing....then that guy that intro-ed the Pistons was just too much for me to take. All 5 of them don't need little gimmicky nick names to be cool. He coulda just dragged their name like Rasheeeeeed WALLACE! and not sound quite as ridiculous

wow. Lakers are still at 0.

I like the way the Pistons have bounced back so far from the last game.

1 point for Bryant. YAY! Keep it up Pistons.

i like they what i'm seein from the defensive but if detriot can get that offensive goin in the 2nd half they will be golden....malone wa pretty impressive when he was on the court.....did anyone see that stupid behind the pass williamson try to make and brown yank his ass outta the game...i loved how the whole detriot bench was laughin about that.... it cracked me up plus it shows how loose they are and that game 2 didnt f*ck with them mentally

WOW what a game so far.

You know things are going well when Campbell gets a fast break.

The Lakers are getting torn apart. I love this game.

whos winning so far and what period?

Holy shit, the Lakers are getting raped. 72-52, 8 min left, 4th period SeptemberRain

YES YES YES, go detroit!

HOLY SHIT DARCO IS IN THIE GAME!

THEY WON BY 20!

I love it. 14 points for Shaq. 11 points for Kobe. 31 for Rip.

the lakers have jus had there ass handed to them...no team nooo team has dominated the lakers like that...i've been saying if from day 1 that the pistons have the defense and talent to take it all but now everyone f that didnt give detriot a snowballs chance in hell has to say there wrong about doubting the pistons they way everyone doubted them...the only thing i didnt like about the game was seeing Eminem and Renee Zellweger at the game...thos ****ers never showed up to any other piston games leave that type of shit hollywood

i know the series aint over but the pistons have just outplayed the lakers in 3 straight games and everyone from kobe to shaq got absoutly worked by the best defense in the league and the best part was watching those stupid ass announcers who were so sure about the laker have to go absoutly speechless about the lakers and finally, FINALLY giving credit to detriot

I admit I was wrong, but I'm happy I was.

I might be wrong too with picking the Lakers in 6. Heres some of the problems the Lakers are having against Detroit at least in my opinion.
1. Shaq is not dominating Detroit as I thought he would. Shaq's still getting his points, but with almost no double team he should be dominating by averaging 30 to 40 points. Plain and simple Shaq is not as explosive as years ago. I thought the reason the Lakers would probably win would be Shaq's dominance over smaller opponents like the two Wallaces. Detroit has also limited Shaq's easy baskets mostly making him take one hand jumpers. One interesting move Brown has done is totally gone away from Hack a Shaq. One problem nobody ever talks about Hack a Shaq is it puts the opponent in the penalty early in the quarter which lets Kobe's game take to another level, because when he drives he will either be fouled or he will score.
2. Prince is giving Kobe fits. Ive always thought the perfect player to guard Kobe would be someone who is long and athletic and Prince pretty much challenges all of Kobe's shots. Also Kobe spending a lot of energy guarding Hamilton and Billups.
3. Detroit is the more athletic, younger and tougher.
4. Detroit probably has the best defense since the bad boys.

Too me, if the Lakers want to get back in the series Kobe has to carry them. Shaq will get his points but he will not dominate, because of his dumb temmates and his loss of his explosiveness , Malone looking more and more crippled, Gary is Gary and the Lakers have already had their surprise attack with Luke. Kobe's the only one who can win a game by himself in this series in my opinion.

Campbell needs credit as well. It really comes in handy that he used to have to practice with him.

Link... ur gettn ur hopes up waaayyy too high. Lakers are gonna lick the Pistons shoes at the end of the Championship becuz they lost.

He needs to be optimistic. I was trying to be during the Wolves series.

the bad boys! i remember those days....shaq is gonna get his points but he's lack of dominance isnt coz his teammates are dumb or coz he's not as explosive of years past it may look that way coz detriot is doin one hell of a job on him but its coz of big ben and company....b wallace is the only player in the league who can take over a game defensively and its not a quocidence that shaq has domintated over evey center in the playoffs but him what kobe is to an offensive is what wallace is to a defense....i'll agree with you that if the lakers want to win there gonna have to put this on kobe's shoulders but thats why detriot brought in larry brown to come up with gameplans to stop that from happenin

LoL yea exactly.

I can't even sit here and make a case for the Lakers after last game.

They can't catch the ball and they are incapable of completing basic chest passes. It's like watching high schoolers play against Division One college players. And I don't think it's because of any phenominal defense...they've been seeing stuff like this for the past 2 series.

Just realize. It's only 2-1. LA was down 2-0 to San Antonio and people were counting them out. If the Lakers win one of the next two games...they get back home court advantage.

Game 1 & 3 Detroit spanked LA, but game 2 was pretty much all Lakers except for the 3rd quarter where Detroit shot 16 free throw shots. Phil really needs to find an answer for when Detroit goes with Corliss Williamson, Elden Cambell, and Ben Wallace. Those 3 players almost require you to stop resting Karl and Shaq...and then throw Slava on the court for decent size.

What's winning this game for Detroit? I don't think it's phenominal defense. I think it's solid defense concentrated on constant ball pressure and just flat hussle. Every lose ball is Detroits. Los Angeles is still getting good looks, they just aren't making shots. Kobe needs to stop settling for 20 foot pull ups on Prince because he gets like 4 inches of room to shoot. He's been successful taking the ball to the rack, but he isn't doing it. The Lakers spacing on offense is horrible, as is their FG % on open jumpers.

But their offense will come....if...and only if....they play defense. Forcing turnovers and creating pressure is what gave them a 12 point lead in game 2, yet in game 3 LA's going under picks, staying 4 feet off Billups allowing him to choose where he wants to go, and they aren't hedging the defender on the pick n' roll. It's one thing if Rasheed and Hamilton are killing you on the pick n roll. But it's an entirely different thing when it's Ben Wallace killing you instead of Rasheed.

I think LA's just mad because they had to miss Lindsey Lohan host the movie awards last night. Yah....gotta be something like that.

Either that or Detroit is the only real professional team in the league, because every team should play D like that if they are getting paid millions of dollars a year.

I think a big factor was Detroit's bench:

1)Lindsay Hunter was pure hustle and IMO the best player of the game, his hustle forced turnovers, gave open looks to Rip, and frustrated the Lakers.

2) Corliss Williamson was beast, as was Elden Cambells great defense of Shaq.

3) Kobe's first shot made in the 3rd quarter is simply ridicious

4) Karl Malone's knee was pretty screwed.

5) Their 3 pointers were just shit.

Add them up and you have a Detroit win.

I think it's because of phenominal defense and bad shooting... because almost every shot was was contested and then since the Lakers are sometimes expecting someone to come over and guard them so they shoot to quick which is usually a miss. Then when they are free and wide open they miss so it's a combination of both.

Shaq...is killing the Lakers. And Payton is even worst.

Shaq isn't fighting for position by moving his feet quickly, he's relying on his huge size advantage over Wallace. This leads to a bit of a stalemate due to Ben's large upper body. On defense, Shaq isn't coming out and contesting Billups on the pick n' roll, so Billups can either take it straight to the hoop, or pull up behind the line. Payton's offense is crap...he's a good enough ball handler to drive and create off penetration, but instead he goes through the motions of the offense.

The one big adjustment the Lakers made against the Spurs between game 2 and game 3 was that they had the big player on the pick and roll come out to disrupt the guard for a few seconds. This was how they contained Parker and Duncan...and it will work with Detroit. Also, i think Gary Payton needs to increase the pressure on Billups so that Billups can't run around anywhere outside the 3 point line to set up the offense.

One of the biggest keys to both offenses is where they are able to establish themselves off the 1st pass. The Lakers are accepting the ball 3-5 feet behind the three point line. Detroit either has Billups dribble up to get position on the wing, or they have their guys catching the ball inside the 3 point line on the 1st pass.

Los Angeles' Offense will come together once they start stopping Detroit on offense. Until then....this series is all Detroit.

they tried to have shaq come out on the pick in roll but but that leaves the weak side wide open with malones gimpy knee he's not able to to help out and slava is too slow ... the detriots players are alot more athletic than the spurs players so its not the same as when the spurs would set up a pick and roll...detriot did an awesome job last night of denying kobe the ball...i'd definetily say this is phenomal defense

HURRAY 4 THE PISTONS THANK GOD THEY WON, THEY CAN ACTUALLY WIN IN 5 WOOOOOOOO, THAT WOULD BE GREAT!!! God that was the best defense ive seen in a long time, they shut down the lakers completely, if you deny shaq to a low score of 14 pts, and Kobe even lower than that to 11 then you gotta look and say that your defense in the best in the NBA

and again WOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOO THEY WON

i just spent the better part of lunch pondering the Lakers weaknesses. Dude, they're freaking done this year.

Malone's knee, Fisher's knee, and Horace Grants hip are all injuries that are killing the Lakers.

Karl is still decent, but that's because he's tougher than sh!t. He's physically not able to do what he could 3-4 games ago. Fisher's knee makes him too slow for Hunter or Billups. And since Detroit has like 5 guys over 6-9...they're just too big without Ho Grant.

Kobe having to guard Corliss Williamson in the post is ridiculous. And Larry Brown is just a freakin Mastermind.

He's had the Lakers playing Detroit's game for 10 of the 12 quarters so far this series. (i count game 2's 1st quarter and 4th quarter as Laker ball)

I'll hold true to my team though. The fat lady may be warming up in the back.....she isn't quite ready to be brought out yet.

this series is far from done...i have alway showed my confidence and faith in the pistons but thats come coz i'm from detriot and have been watching them all year and already knew what eveyone is founding out...but the lakers got shaq, kobe, and phil and that says it all i'm sure fischer is hurtin but alot of people dont know that sheed has an ankle injury he's playing throw and i'm sure it cant be more signficant than fish is injury

Fisher is getting knee surgery after the season. i don't know if the same could be said about Sheed. But still that's besides the point. The seemingly tireless defense of Detroit is undoubtably the best in the League. I just figured the Lakers offense would still function without much difficulty. And so far i'm pretty damn wrong.

i dont think surgery can correct it but its very similar to the type of ankle injury that kept sczebiak from playing this season but like you said thats beside the point.....its nice to see detriot finally getting the respect they deserve

Lakers are still a great team. And who knows they might pull it off. Pistons defense are just... unstoppable at the moment.

like i said before this thing is far from over...lakers got the two best players and one of the greatest coaches of all time so this series is anything but done but all you heard before the series started was lakers, lakers, lakers,...lakers got shaq lakers got kobe lakers are built for a championship....you didnt hear a thing about how rip is one of the best shooters in the league or how good a defendor wallace is or how the detriot defense is the best in the league even the announcers (al micheals and doc rivers) were so biased towards the lakers it made me want to puke

Well, people heard how good Big Ben was at defense but thats about it.

i still think that Big Ben is getting worked on defense when he's stacked up against Shaq, but Shaq isn't getting the ball enough. Shaq's field goal percentage is great against Wallace...even if you include game 3's rape-fest.

As a Laker fan, i hope for the Shaq vs. Wallace match up because that's where Shaq is most dominant. He can't be guarded by 1 man...even on the best defensive team in the NBA. Wallace is at his best when Okur, Sheed, Cambell, or Williamson guard Shaq, enabling Ben to free up for some easy help blocks, or "shot adjustments"

the one thing i cant understand is that i began to see the lakers double teaming wallace, for what reason i dont know, but was many have said the series aint over, but if Pistons take it tomorrow, which i hope they will, then i think the Lakers hope for 4 titles in 5 years is gone. As for the Lakers 2 future hall of famers, last game they were completley denied if that continues the next few games the lakers are dead, but w/ detroit's defence i find that hard for the lakers to do.

man 138 posts in 8 days, thats a hell of alot of posts

I dunno about everyone else, but personally i think we are going to see everything that the Lakers have left to offer in game 4 tomorrow. (it's 8pm saturday)

They got their 2 days off to make adjustments to what Detroit has done so far. They got a form of motivation from game 3's ass whipping. Karl and Fisher's knees both got an extra day to relax. And Shaq's stats after getting 2 days rest are almost +10 pts per game as oppose to the games when he only gets 1 day rest.

If the Lakers aren't able to take game 4 away from Detroit. Then this series is over. Being down 3-1 is just too much to come back from.

as long as LB keeps his player grounded i think detriot will be just fine.....am i the only one who noticed that link is the only laker fans that posts when they lose or in a whole.....wheres clark kent and company?...i think its pretty obvious if the pistons can pull through that this serious is done thats why thise i sooo huge phil jackson is gonna make his adjustments but if brown can countere them they jackson is gonna run out of options coz he can only do so much

wallace aint gettin worked against shaq....espicially in game 3 there were a couple of times where big ben stripped the ball or stole it from shaq...shaq is gonna get his points because he's shaq but you cant deny how good of a job wallace is doin on him...he's defintly not gonna sht him down but he is slowing him down

is the fact that i type regardless of win or loss supposed to be a bad thing or a good thing? I hope it's not bad...i try to take their loses with a grain of salt and analyze their loss as oppose to calling the games flukes and b!tching about calls. I'd think most fake-fans would do that.

I think the only thing that Ben Wallace is doing well against Shaq is getting position. He's getting Shaq farther away from the basket than most big men in the NBA, but he's not able to compete with Shaq's shot. Shaq pump fakes, Ben jumps straight up, Shaq waits for him to start coming down, then Shaq shoots a pretty open shot. He's just not hitting the 8-10 foot jump hooks and soft shots.

As long as Shaq isn't getting good position, then Ben is doing his job. That is still doing excellent defense.

wuTa- I noticed that too and was going to say something if Clark Kent didn't post by today. I know he's been here too, I've noticed under "Who's Online" so I don't know why he is hiding his face from us. Some Laker fans unlike Link can are cowards when their team is losing.

its a good thing

I can't recall the last time Shaq ever hit a shot outside of 2 feet consistently

Definitely a good thing. I respect you for that. All the other Laker fans are hiding right now.

My brother lives in LA and says he gets in arguements everyday with people since he is anti-Lakers. Must be rough for him down there.

He's got that decent jump hook but it has nowhere as good of a fg% as when he gets it lower (obviously).

yea it is, i really doubt they would be able to do that, and even if there's an LA game the pistons even put major pressure on them at home they took game 1 and made the lakers go to OT

man i cant wait for the game tonight.....i agree with you driftor but theres still 2 more things that can happen in the next two game would put more pressure on detriot than LA but like i said before if LB can keep his players grounded and counter jacksons next adjustment i see good things happening for pistons fan

BTW: the game starts at 9pm with pregame at 8:30 (east coast)

damnit, the announcer is STILL corny! damn introductions....