Can't argue with 1. tho JVG was an excellent 'consolation' prize. Huh? On 2. Where did that come from??? Rasheed will be why the Pistons do NOT repeat. Repeat: do NOT repeat. Repeat: do NOT repeat. Repeat: do NOT repeat. A team might win with him once (and did) but he doesn't tend get to get prettier prettier prettier.
The finals exposed Phil Jackson as a lucky boob who rode MJ and Shaq's back for rings. He was clueless during the finals on how to counter what Detroit did to his team.
A commentator said last night that a full house beats a pair! Interesting I thought, what does that say about the Rockets picking up TMac to pair up with Yao? If the role players are strong, then maybe you have a full house, otherwise you have a pair of Aces, and that my friend, in the poker world always loses to a full house.
No, this one actually predicted a Detroit's win. BTW, his remark about a full house was in reference to the raucous capacity crowd in the Arena. I just twisted it
If Malone was as hobbled in the first round of the playoffs, I think you very well may have seen us advance to the 2nd round. I hate to give Malone any kind of props, but sadly without him the Lakers were an average team.
what the finals revealed to me. Kobe is overrated. Shaq was a monster (unstoppable) but Kobe wasnt pulling his weight .. (in terms of field goal percentage) and overall scoring. Jordan rules really hurt Kobes game. Shaq was a monster.. he was unstoppable. But it was weird not seeing Detroit double team him. I think LA like the Rox and Spurs are so accustomed to running the offense through the big man and feeding off the double teams. Because they didnt double team Shaq it gave the Lakers offense fits. I think we are a young team in the Lakers mold. If we get TMAC we will be Lakers lite (pretty damn good though but maybe not championship caliber until we get the right role players and Yao develops more) The Lakers seemed lethargic out there.. they couldnt keep up with the Younger, faster Pistons. It was interesting to watch the Piston PG's not turn the ball over during the Lakers full court press. almost strange. J
That we have a dumb collection of players. Heartless as well. Other than that, nothing was really revealled.
It is surprising how easily Billups abused Fisher, and how badly Fisher was able to get inside Steve's head. There were times when Steve got personal fouls from pushing Fisher off of him, and times when Steve got technicals for complaining about the pressure defense.
I noticed that too, LA was really slow with their defensive rotations, and Payton almost always went around picks on the pick and rolls. I'd almost say that it's the Laker's lack of defensive intensity that did them in rather than Detroit's defense. The amusing thing, though, considering how poor LA's transition D was, Detroit blew a TON of fast breaks, especially when someone had to make a pass. Kinda gives me some hope for the Rockets.
I don't think you can really apply any lessons learned from watching these Finals to the Rockets. Because 1. There's more than one way to win a championship. Just because Detroit's system worked for them doesn't mean we should copy them. 2. All that Detroit really proved was that their system got them past the Pacers and Lakers (and whatever EC scrubs they played before that). It doesn't give you much indication on how they would have fared playing against the Spurs or Twolves, for example. Why build a team to beat the Lakers when the Lakers won't be back next season? 3. The strategy the Pistons (and every team) used was tailored to their personnel. They may have been good at single coverage or bad at double-teaming or whichever. Just because a strategy works for one team doesn't mean it'll have the same results for another.
What the finals revealed was that ... the Rockets were not playing in it. In seriousness, among all the flaws we have, what ticks me off most was the stupid, unforced turnovers and the blown 2 on 1 , 3 on 2 fast breaks. If we can keep doing all the things we are doing well and eliminate these flaws, we will be allright.
Man this is getting rediculous ... I agree that our collection of players may not have come together as well as we liked, but I think the Rockets played anything but heartless in the playoffs. Yes they made some stupid plays and might not play well together, but heartless?? I think not
Francis needs to protect the ball, especially under pressure defense. Otherwise he's better than the final MVP.
After seeing the performances, I really have a feeling that the Rockets would have a chance of defeating the Lakers in the finals, if Rockets were in Pistons' shoes. But unfortunately, we met them in the first round....
Pistons looked like all the foreign teams which beat Team USA two (?) years ago, and Lakers looked as lost as that group did.
As Billups said after he got his first, maybe the only one he can get, Final-MVP, team first. I don't if Billups is smarter than Steve, or his teammates are smarter than Steve's. There were few forced tough shot for Pistons, since they could always find a open shot, either a entry pass to the cut inside or to the perimeter shooter. In other words, the teammates are always at the right place for the decision-maker. They did play smarter than us, in my opinion. Still count the days before the new season. Such a long summer
