I agree the defenders weren’t better than, nor the schemes. so that was unclear on my part, sorry. I’ll take that back and simply assert that when there’s less scoring, the scoring you have is more meaningful. I think some of that is the incentives and some of that is the rule book.
but hey if you can’t enjoy that Pistons pacers game 2 from 2005, you’re missing out. that was incredible basketball.
It’s much tougher to play defense now, just like the NFL. The game is designed and officiated to allow for more offense.
Ethical scorer iyam
Draymond misses an open layup to tie the game at the end of OT. Warriors go to the Play-In Game.
Thats what HOF players do
It’s fun when K-Stat makes a UMHoops forum appearance.
Saturday 6pm Pistons-Knicks ESPN game 1
It will be an interesting matchup, NY obviously ended up 2 points better in net margin (a not-insignificant mark) but I’d wager that since Christmas it’s much closer (if not Detroit better). I don’t put much stock in March/early April hoops because it’s garbage time, but the Pistons obviously spent a decent amount of time prior to that playing really well too.
I tend to think experience isn’t the be all/end all but when one team has a pretty considerable amount and the other has basically zero it may matter?
Coaching is tough - both these guys have had their playoff shamings (though Thibs probably handed JB his most signifiant shaming)
Seems like a big spot for Stew? I’m not a big believer in KAT generally (he can be really good but also can just completely remove himself from games with alarming frequency) but he’s obviously a really tough guard, and Stew seems way more equipped to handle him than Duren does.
Offensively, some of these mediocre-ish vets are going to have to step up because given Thibs’ proclivities, this seems like a “load up on Cade and see what some of these other guys can do” series. I assume he’ll start with Bridges or Hart on him but also see his share of doubles.
It’s more than nostalgia. I’ve watched a lot of NBA since 2004. Haven’t seen anything like this since.
Yes surely it’s not nostalgia
Obviously Knicks have more playoff experience. The only Pistons with playoff experience are Harris/Schroeder/Beasley/Tim Jr and Bball Paul??? Can’t just get bombed game 1 due to lack of experience. Every game matters.
The Knicks have to be the favorites but I wouldn’t be stunned if the Pistons pulled off the upset.
We’ll see how the series is officiated. Will Brunson’s whiplash moves be rewarded? Will Cade get a somewhat comparable whistle without the head jerks? Can Stew stay on the good side of the line he’ll be pushing?
Just break the playoff win drought please. One game. Preferably two so they can bring a third playoff game to downtown Detroit.
This is really simplistic though.
Like, you can phrase it how you want, but Cade is not good at drawing whistles, we can call it ethical or whatever but it’s part of the game and if you want your good players to be better, it’s a really obvious thing for him to improve. It’s not that refs don’t like him, because uniformly he doesn’t get that whistle, Brunson does. And Brunson was not always All-NBA Brunson. SGA doesn’t get whistles because he cheats, he gets whistles because he constantly beats guys 1 on 1 without a screen and people chicken-wing him, etc. We just, like, yesterday, largely praised the changes the league made to how they call hand-checking - Shea is a massive product of that change!
There is no mass conspiracy to prevent former #1 overall pick Cade Cunningham from actualizing.
There is SOME track record of whistles dropping in the playoffs, but last year, Brunson got to the line for 10 FTs a game in round 1 and 8 in the conference semis.
Brunson’s most common method of getting a whistle (to my eye) is creating an advantage by getting ahead of the defense, so his man is trailing him, then stopping dead and going into a shot motion so the guy barges into him. Is the intent, to draw a foul? Sure? But don’t get beat!
It’ll be interesting to see how NYK handles Cade. Cade has had big games against them. I wonder if Thib will put in OG on Cade because Mikal has shown that he couldn’t guard Cade one on one.
Also, I think Thib would be more inclined to play Mitchell and KAT together like the Wolves did with Goebert and KAT. That makes it an interesting matchup at the 4 because Tobi is their reliable player at that position and no depth behind him.
I doubt they guard him one on one.
