Right now I'm watching Scottie Pippen in an interview with Ahmad Rashad.
Scottie must read this blog, because he's biting the same points I made a little while ago. The least that negro coulda done was give me credit for it. Anyway, he said the Pistons simply isn't shooting the ball well and they need to get off to a good start from the start to have a chance to win. He picked the Spurs to win, though.
More coming up...
All I got to say is thank God that Bill Walton isn't in the announcing booth this year. Hubie Brown is like a breath of fresh air, and I like the chemistry he and Al Michaels have. Brown knows his stuff. Walton jumps into the world of hyperbole
way too much.
9:12: Lord. They done dragged Stevie Wonder's ass on the court to do the national anthem on the harmonica. It wasn't bad, but I'd have rather hear him sing.
They're doing starting lineup introductions. I dunno who they booed worse; Duncan or Ginobili. But really, some of that sounded canned.
Detroit comes out with some Kid Rock music. Ha! Actually it didn't sound too bad. Both arenas need to work on their PA work, though.
9:22: Ginobili collided with someone's leg, so he's out of the game rather quickly. He'll probably just need to take a breather. Mohammed's has his second foul before the 10 minute mark.
9:29: Biggest flop in history by Ben Wallace. Kat flopped like someone hit him with a sledgehammer, and the refs fell for it. Ha.
Anyway, Detroit's starting out fairly well, getting a decent start from the Wallaces. Sheed's having 9:4an easy time posting up Horry, who came in for Mohammed, and Ben is now on defense against Duncan, and he had a great block to start off the game. However, they're going to have to put some points on the board before Mohammed and Ginobili comes back. Detroit's up 9-6 with 7:00 in the 1st.
Ginobili's back in the game.
9:35: Wallace is a beast on the defensive glass. With the exception of Duncan, nobody is making anything under the glass, and Duncan isn't having an easy time at it either.
The Spurs are still having success with on the arc. Bruce Bowen's three cuts the lead to one with three and a half remaining.
9:40: Wallace continues to dominate on the defensive glass....when he's on two feet. However, he can't get his teammates to collaspe and help, which means once he gets off balance after making a block, nobody's there and San Antonio gets the put back. If Detroit is to win, one person can not dominate the game for them at one time. Spurs up by 1.
9:44: Ben Wallace's line: 3-5, 7 pts, 5 blocks. The Finals record is eight, which has been met five times but not broken. Kudos to Michaels for that tip.
9:45: I understand the Pistons have made some big defensive plays, but the Spurs are leading by six, and Duncan sat for a couple of those minutes.
And the way they're killing them is the Spurs' guards are constantly driving to the basket, the players are collasping on the slasher, and all of a sudden the Spurs make a wild pass from the paint to the open man on the arc. Either he's going to take that shot, or he's making another pass to another open guy that's in the paint. Killer. That's what happens when you place substance over style. 27-21 end of the 1st quarter.
9:55: Tayshaun Prince starts off big at the second quarter, scoring six of Detroit's seven to start it off. Duncan was given a technical foul after complaining about a call, which it was pretty obvious that he fouled Prince from behind. Duncan's not letting it affect him though. Spurs lead by one.
10:03: Ha. The Detroit crowd yells "Sheeeeeed" everytime he gets the ball. I think Sheed is actually letting that get to his head and he tries to post up Duncan. However, Ginobili is getting hip to it, and forced Sheed to turn over the ball. A couple of baskets however gives Detroit the lead by one with six and a half left.
10:15: After a cold spell by both teams, Rip gets the Pistons going again with a good mid-range jumper, followed by a great post-up fadeaway by Sheed. No doubt this is the most productive Sheed has been in this series. Ben continues to make defensive plays as well. But the Spurs keep the game close with Bruce Bowen's three, which is the Spurs fourth of the game. Game is tied with 2:48 before halftime.
10:22: That's why they call him Big Play Rob, folks. Horry makes a spectacular block on a lazy layup, then goes to the other end and sinks the three. You can't tell me that kat doesn't want his sixth title.
Tony Parker is down after being laid out. He's alright, and he's going to shoot his fts. The Spurs better watch it because the Pistons are really physical. Detroit scores on the other end with Billups, and the Spurs cannot score before the buzzer. The Spurs take a one point lead to the locker room. Halftime.
10:30: My thoughts on the first half: despite the Spurs leading at halftime, Detroit has the momentum. They've been the ones making the big plays, and they're really punishing Parker and Ginobili through this game to slow them down. But the bottom line is, there is more pressure on the Pistons than the Spurs. San Antonio is still leading despite Ginobili only scoring four points and he was out for quite a bit during the first quarter. They cannot let Ginobili get hot in the second half.
Ben Wallace has been the leader of this squad so far. He's produced on both sides of the court, and that is what keeping them in this game. He's camping out in the paint and that's causing problems with the Spurs's slashers and he's constantly giving Duncan trouble in the paint. So far, he's the game's MVP, and they're going to need his energy if they plan to pull out a win tonight.
10:50: Second half starts, and they trade threes; first by Billups and the answer by Bowen. Bowen has been the X factor for the Spurs tonight. Duncan catches his third foul early in the game. Hamilton gives the Pistons the lead, but Duncan gets fouled on the other end and his fts gives them back the lead 47-46.
10:57: The Pistons are starting to feel it. Rip already has six points in this quarter, and Bowen is having problems keeping up with him. Billups is coming up with some decent looks too. The Spurs are going to have to find some kind of success in the paint. Detroit has their biggest lead since early in the second quarter, 52-47.
11:05: Just as it seems the Pistons are about to grab a good lead, here's the Spurs bouncing right back. It's like the Pistons miss shots at the wrong time, and the Spurs take advantage of it. Ginobili gets one of those slashing layups of his, and Parker compliments it with another layup on the next possession. The Pistons simply have to start making shots. The Spurs cut Detroit's lead to one.
11:09: You knew this would lead to Sheed complaining. After being called for a moving screen, Sheed whines about that. On the other end of the court, Sheed keeps jaw jacking and gets popped for a tech. Now he's on the bench.
Billups comes on the other end and hits a buzzer beating three that gives them the lead. Parker gets fouled, and hits the 2fts to give them the lead again. 58-57 Spurs.
11:18: The Spurs's ballhandling abilities have broken down in the last minute and a half. Three steals in that time, and they converted two of them. Detroit's energy is still high, and they are hustling more than we've seen in this series. Horry (again) hits a shot with 2 seconds left to cut the lead to five. End of the 3rd quarter.
11:29: Billups is now trying to take over the game. He knocks down a three pointer and then makes a circus trick to put Detroit up by nine. Still no signs of Ginobili tonight, and Mohammed has blown several plays in this game.
11:37: Yeah. The Spurs look like they've given up on this game. Tim Duncan is off, Tony Parker is missing free throws, and the Pistons are looking like the Phoenix Suns. Robert Horry has as many minutes as Ginobili has, and only has one point less. The Pistons have their biggest lead of the series, and they're looking like they've finally shown up to play basketball. 84-69 (the final score of game 1) with less than seven minutes remaining.
11:48: The Pistons continue to roll, while the Spurs spin their wheels. Rip drills a three to beat the shot clock, and the Spurs have not been able to count on the inside presence that they have relied on for the last two games. The best thing for them to do is sit Ginobili and Parker down, and chalk this one up. They've been banged around enough for one night. Pistons up by 14 with 3 mins to go.
- Well that's it. The final score: Detroit - 96, San Antonio - 79.
The Spurs didn't play a spirited contest, and it seemed as if they slacked off a bit in the second half. Parker and Ginobili got beat up, and while Parker played pretty well tonight, Ginobili was terrible (2-6 for 7 pts). Because Ginobili never got anything going, that left the front court to concentrate on Duncan, which brought down his production (5-15 for 14 pts). In the fourth quarter, the Spurs seemed as if their hearts weren't really into it, and they only shot 5-14 from the field.
I think Ginobili's thigh is bothering him more than what he's owning up to. We'll see in Game 4. It's possible that the aggressive defense by the Pistons tonight will make the two slashers think twice about driving in the lane so recklessly, and will force them to shoot more jumpers. Ben Wallace was definitely the key for this win because it was his enforcement of the paint that kept the Spurs so off balance all night.
That's it guys. See ya Thursday night for Game 5.
