From what I have seen, this Detroit team could just match what its predecessor Bad Boys did, and defeat the Lakes in the Finals. I can't see Kobe keeping up with Rip and then putting up 30 a night. I can't see Shaq having a walk through in the paint, as dominant as he is. I can't see Malone getting away with the stuff he does against DP's front line. If and when this series takes place, and it appears destined, I believe the Pistols will whip the Fakers. East over West. Whoda thunk it?
No way. As much hope I have for the east if the Lakers do go on to the finals, still there's no way. Detroit is inept offensively. What if Big Ben and R. Wallace get into foul trouble with Shaq, who are they gonna send against him, Elden Campbell, Mehmet Okur?? Who's gonna stay in front of Kobe? Hell, I think the T-Wolves could beat whatever eastern team got to the finals.
yeah... i disagree with you. neither Detroit or Indiana matches up well with LA. and neither will "whipp" the lakers. Detroit, I'm not sure is going to score enough points to beat L.A. Sure Ben Wallace will play good defense on Shaq... but he's not going to be able to hold his ground because Shaq is that much bigger. Rip Hamilton is single handedly bailing out the Pistons right now... Kobe will get his points, but you don't think if he used up all of his energy like you say he will shut Hamilton down? Neither of these are positive matchups for Detroit. Tayshaun Prince is pretty good, he will score against George or Fox. Here if I were the Lakers I would play Fox because Fox is a wily defender. Still, Fox has totally lost his shot, so either way that's a good matchup for Detroit. Meanwhile. I used to be a huge Rasheed Wallace fan. One of my first posts on this board was about how we should trade for Rasheed back when he was with Portland. What is kind of sad is that Rasheed has clearly hit his athletic peak and is slipping. The same kind of slippage as Eddie Jones. This becomes more evident with every 4-18 shooting night. In the playoffs he's shooting 41% and 22% from the 3pt line. He is averaging fewer points and rebounds than Karl Malone. I actually think this is an even matchup. Payton on Billups. Billups is younger and a clutch shooter, but he's inconsistent, he will not win every game of a seven game series for you. I actually think Detroit will get destroyed. Although I hope they can rally to take a couple of games.
rasheed is injured, thats why he is shooting bad. He is not having an atheltic slip or wahtever u called it.
For the record, Detroit split with the Lakers this year. They were in the game in LA but eventually lost and they beat LA in Detroit. Both games were before Rasheed and in the victory all 4 Laker HOFers played. As much as any team can, Detroit matches up fairly well with Shaq. Their big men can force him outside the paint with outside shooting, they have a ton of big bodies, and they have great help defense. You can say Detroit has trouble scoring, but so does whoever Detroit is playing. Detroit has a chance.
Oh, btw, Mehmet Okur has had some nice games against Shaq. Threw down 22 pts on him last year in one game.
Lakers won the title when they beat Spurs. barring injury, the rest of these games are just a formality. no team from the Least has a chance.
xiki- When the Lakers win in 4 or 5, I hope you are willing to eat some crow. Don't just say "at least I had the balls to say the Pistons would beat LA". You say that you don't Kobe can guard Rip... Fair enough... Who will guard Kobe? Surely not Rip. Ben Wallace won't do much being saddled with foul trouble. If he is not the one guarding Shaq, the Pistons will get drilled inside. The problem that the Pistons will have is scoring against LA. There is no one on the Pistons who will command a double team. If Malone is playing Duncan and KG straight up, there's no chance they will double Sheed. What the Pistons will need is for Tayshaun to outplay George in every game in every face to make up for Shaq and Kobe. The Pistons' inability to push the tempo will kill them against LA.
Check this out, from espn page2: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=wiley/040527 I also think the Pistons might have a chance against these Lakers. Payton is no longer quick enough to guard either Rip or Billups, and Malone won't be able to pick on Sheed (he's crazy enough to make Karl think twice before throwin' them 'bows). Big Ben, though giving up a few inches, is one of the few guys in the L with enough muscle to stand up to Shaq. And Prince, like you guys said, should be able to do more than George or Fox. So, the X-factor for the Lakers appears to be their "hero" Kobe. Hopefully he has a few court dates during the Finals so he can conveniently blow up on those days like he has every time thus far. Think that's just a coincidence? Come on Kobe, play at that ridiculous level every night--we know you're capable of it--and then the Lakers will take the series.
I give the Pistons 30% chance of beating the Lakers. Rasheed Wallace was a Laker killer a few years ago. Of course, that was when Robert Horry was their power forward. Pistons may have a shot if their front line does a good job of fronting Shaq and frustrating the entry pass. If they can bait Kobe into doing too much--which he has a tendency to do whenever the Lakers have problems making clean entry passes into Shaq--then the Pistons may have a chance. Another factor is the technical fouls. I think five Lakers got technical fouls tonight, and the Wolves aren't even as physical as the Pistons. If the Lakers get frustrated by Piston's physical play and Malone or Payton takes a swing at someone....
I'll admit that while some of it is just wishful thinking, I think that the Pistons can definitely HANG with the Lakers and maybe just beat them. As was previously stated, NOBODY matches up with Shaq--that's why he's still dominating in this league. But Detroit matches up with him as well as ANYBODY, and if Detroit plays a near-flawless series they could pull off an upset. While the Pistons do tend to be rather inept offensively, there's no denying that the team can score if things go the right way for them. Players like Billups, Hamilton, Rasheed, Prince--any of them can drop twenty in a night. Here's hoping, anyways.
Sure, I'll eat grow graciously. The Lakers keep fooling me, so the Finals could fake me, too. I just think Detroit is better than we are seeing them credited with being, and they are impressing me -- a lot.
