• Hi, I am the owner and main administrator of Styleforum. If you find the forum useful and fun, please help support it by buying through the posted links on the forum. Our main, very popular sales thread, where the latest and best sales are listed, are posted HERE

    Purchases made through some of our links earns a commission for the forum and allows us to do the work of maintaining and improving it. Finally, thanks for being a part of this community. We realize that there are many choices today on the internet, and we have all of you to thank for making Styleforum the foremost destination for discussions of menswear.
  • This site contains affiliate links for which Styleforum may be compensated.
  • We would like to welcome House of Huntington as an official Affiliate Vendor. Shop past season Drake's, Nigel Cabourn, Private White V.C. and other menswear luxury brands at exceptional prices below retail. Please visit the Houise of Huntington thread and welcome them to the forum.

  • STYLE. COMMUNITY. GREAT CLOTHING.

    Bored of counting likes on social networks? At Styleforum, you’ll find rousing discussions that go beyond strings of emojis.

    Click Here to join Styleforum's thousands of style enthusiasts today!

    Styleforum is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

Nba conference finals

gqelements

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2003
Messages
123
Reaction score
0
Any thoughts on Pistons vs Pacers?
I kind of enjoyed it. The "phantom of the opera" was certainly entertaining.
 

NavyStyles

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2002
Messages
505
Reaction score
1
I'm hoping and praying the Pistons take it from the Lakers.  They say defense wins championships, and it's true.  Let's hope it holds up in this case.
 

gqelements

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2003
Messages
123
Reaction score
0
i'm a Pistons fan as well, so let's hope. lakers have been too flamboyant.
 

LA Guy

Opposite Santa
Admin
Moderator
Supporting Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2002
Messages
57,336
Reaction score
36,174
The Pistons have really got to step up their offense and play the best defence they to be anything more than a quick casualty (remember the Nets).

On the defensive end, the Pistons are going to have to find a way to neutralize the power and pure dominance of Shaq under the boards, Malone's experience and inexhaustible bag of tricks, and Kobe's sheer basketball genius to have a prayer against my Lakers.  And even then, they have to pray that not even one of the Laker's role players get their shots off throughout the entire series.  

On the offensive end, remember that the Lakers are no slouches at defense - Shaq alone is a formidable defensive presence; and the Pistons don't have a super fast point guard, which (in the first two games with the Spurs) seemed to be the most effective way to score on the Lakers.  Unless the Pistons can suddenly up their offense by at least 20 points a game (Ben Wallace sinking three-pointers?), they are going to end up knee deep very early in the games.

Finally, the Pistons haven't had the benefit of being tested in the West, where any one of half a dozen teams (Minnesota, Sacramento, the the Spurs in particular) a dozen teams could handily beat any team in the East.  Don't get me wrong, the Pistons are my favorite team in the East; but I love the Lakers, and I have a lot of confidence in them in this series.  

I say that the Pistons get spanked in 5 games.
 

gqelements

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2003
Messages
123
Reaction score
0
It would be interesting to see if B. Wallace can step up to Shaq in the offensive and R.Wallace on the defensive end... still a great size difference though.

Pistons definitely need some coherent defense [which they are famed for but seemed to stumble in the 4thQ of the Indiana game. Prince can't pull off miraculous game-saving blocks every game.

Hamilton : Bryant match up will be interesting as well [although I would use Prince to guard Kobe on the defensive...
 

LA Guy

Opposite Santa
Admin
Moderator
Supporting Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2002
Messages
57,336
Reaction score
36,174
It would be interesting to see if B. Wallace can step up to Shaq in the offensive and R.Wallace on the defensive end... still a great size difference though.

Shaq has 100 lbs on Ben and 110 lbs on Rasheed, and height on both, so I really don't see this happening. Ben has great defensive instincts, but he is just not going to be able to intimidate or block on Shaq the way he can on so many other players. And Rasheed on Shaq? With Malone, Kobe (who, remember, is a great defensive player as well as beast on the offense) *and* Shaq on D, I don't see how Detroit is going to score much.

Pistons definitely need some coherent defense [which they are famed for but seemed to stumble in the 4thQ of the Indiana game. Prince can't pull off miraculous game-saving blocks every game.

Yeah, if they had trouble with Indiana, imagine how tough it is going to be to defend the Lakers, who have a huge presence in Shaq, dribble penetration and from Kobe and Payton (if he shows up) and the passing and court controlling abilities of Malone, not to mention that guys like Derek Fisher, who can make outside shots that the leaders will create.


Hamilton : Bryant match up will be interesting as well [although I would use Prince to guard Kobe on the defensive...

Yes, it will be interesting, but I think that Hamilton is going to find himself playing in a whole other universe than the one he is used to.

We'll see.
 

gqelements

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2003
Messages
123
Reaction score
0
It would be interesting to see if B. Wallace can step up to Shaq in the offensive and R.Wallace on the defensive end... still a great size difference though.
Shaq has 100 lbs on Ben and 110 lbs on Rasheed, and height on both, so I really don't see this happening. Â Ben has great defensive instincts, but he is just not going to be able to intimidate or block on Shaq the way he can on so many other players. Â And Rasheed on Shaq? Â With Malone, Kobe (who, remember, is a great defensive player as well as beast on the offense) *and* Shaq on D, I don't see how Detroit is going to score much. Â
Well, Rasheed and Ben are arguably the best in the league to take on the task of holding off Shaq. We'll see what happens.
 

matadorpoeta

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
Messages
4,324
Reaction score
1
to me, the championship series was between san antonio and the lakers. now that the spurs are out of the way the pistons represent a step down in class. barring any serious injuries this series is a formality.

navystyles, if defense wins championships, my money is on the lakers.
 

matadorpoeta

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
Messages
4,324
Reaction score
1
d'oh.
angry.gif
 

Ambulance Chaser

Stylish Dinosaur
Supporting Member
Joined
Mar 7, 2002
Messages
13,911
Reaction score
9,964
I'll admit that I was one of the people who thought the Pistons had as much chance of winning the NBA title as William Hung had of becoming the next American Idol.  Apparently, the impact of Payton and Malone has been vastly overrated.
 

LA Guy

Opposite Santa
Admin
Moderator
Supporting Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2002
Messages
57,336
Reaction score
36,174
68 points? 68 points? I am not a happy camper... Yes, the Pistons played good D, but my Lakers just didn't decide to show up last night (the crowd probably didn't help.) And there were just amateurish mistakes on both sides, like that Corliss Williamson pass that missed and went into the backcourt. The last quarter was embarassing for *both* teams. Maybe I ought to show up for training camp next year and see if they'll put me on the bench, if not to start. Certainly, I couldn't do much worse than Gary Payton so far. Man oh man oh man. I hope that Phil Jackson gives his guys the reaming of a lifetime (how do you not go through Kobe on the offense?) and that the Lakers can tie up by winning one on the road. Maybe Gary Payton will decide he doesn't feel like sucking and will actually score in the double digits? Arghhh...
 

Steve B.

Go Spurs Go
Joined
Mar 2, 2002
Messages
10,286
Reaction score
134
The Lakers seem to be in big, big trouble. Of course that's what we all thought after the second game in San Antonio, too. IMO here is where Phil Jackson needs to work his magic...
 

matadorpoeta

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
Messages
4,324
Reaction score
1
i said before the season began that both malone and payton were too old and that all this "dream team" stuff was just nba marketing hype. malone has surprised me though. he is still a great defender and passer when healthy. payton has been the biggest disappointment. i think the series is hanging on whether he can get his game together; he's not going to suddenly shut down chauncy billups but he can at least start making some shots.
 

esquire.

Distinguished Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2004
Messages
1,290
Reaction score
2
I think everyone is being too harsh on GP. Yeah, he's sucking it up, but you can't blame it all on him, as some have been wont to do recently.

First of all, he just doesn't fit into the triangle offense. Phil Jackson is overated- he doesn't adapt to the strengths of his players. He handcuffed GP in the San Antonio series until they were down 0-2. Then, he let GP play, and he did better. Unfortunately, this won't work with Billups who's much stronger and taller than Parker.

But, yeah, GP has been a dissappointment in defense. He's always getting beat. Remember, Derek Fisher also gets beats a lot in defense when defending speedy guards too. But, with the pick and rolls, that's not always GP fault.
 

LA Guy

Opposite Santa
Admin
Moderator
Supporting Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2002
Messages
57,336
Reaction score
36,174
I really don't think that it's the Pistons playing exceptionally well, (although they are playing great D), so much as the Lakers being increasingly inconsistent. I mean, I can understand Karl Malone's problems (even a samurai warrior can't move so well when he has a hurt knee), and that Gary Payton has problems with the bigger guarding Chauncey Billups; but he should not be being held to a couple of points a game. And certainly, there is no other logical explanation for the lack of play going through Kobe except that the communication on the offense was terrible. 68 points is *not* attributable to the Pistons D - it is an indication that LA had better figure out that they want to win.
 

Featured Sponsor

How important is full vs half canvas to you for heavier sport jackets?

  • Definitely full canvas only

    Votes: 45 40.5%
  • Half canvas is fine

    Votes: 44 39.6%
  • Really don't care

    Votes: 5 4.5%
  • Depends on fabric

    Votes: 18 16.2%
  • Depends on price

    Votes: 25 22.5%

Forum statistics

Threads
504,455
Messages
10,574,014
Members
223,711
Latest member
Swissy
Top