NBA '08 Playoff Thread

Well I think for the most part it is looked at as a negative. That's the way I see it anyway.
But I mean it's not like he's had a complete dud of a career here, I don't want to sit here and defend the ridiculousness that is Rasheed Wallace, but he's not Derrick Coleman. Coleman was never really more than a bit player at best on sub par teams. Wallace's teams have been a fixture in the playoffs year in and year out for the most part. And yeah, it's a crying shame that a lot of those teams never reached their full potential, but it's not like he hasn't been around winning teams.

 

Well the Pistons looked angry before the game started -- result -- 10-0 start.

This team is infuriatingly frustrating.

 

How did they not come out like this in G3?

 

Because they're the Pistons. Come on Boobie, this is what they do. I liked Van Gundy's dubbing of their philosophy as "if it's not rough it's not right." Hilarious, and absolutely ridiculously true.

They beat Boston in Boston and I promise you they came back to Detroit saying -- hey, this is in the bag ... they can't play with us.

It's a pathetic mindset to have but that's exactly what it is. Ridiculous.

 

Boobie, as a fan of this team for a long time -- it gets to where you can literally tell during the introductions if they're going to come out and actually give a shit for the first 20 minutes. The other day I could've told you they'd were going to have a bad first half before it even got started. It was a different look today -- the look of an actual series basketball team who is in a conference final -- not a team playing Charlotte in November.

 

C's are lucky as hell to only be down 5. Blame dumb fouls (and great FT shooting by Boston) for the relatively small gap.

 

Bill Simmons is 100% right that Rivers gets such a pass from the media because of the way he treats them. That was kind of funny how he commented on how nice Tafoya looks, but it's also things like that makes it tough for the media to go after him. Now he may generally be a real good guy -- I've never heard otherwise -- but I'm sure he knows that being nice to the media can only help.

 

Man, the Celtics have ZERO flow offensively right now, or all night. They're lucky to be hanging around, but this has the looks of a 20-point loss if they don't turn things around after the break.

 

Rajon Rondo seems to have a little of that Pistons attitude to him, but there's absolutely no reason for him to not bring the energy every night. He just picked it up in the last few minutes, and not surprisingly the C's have looked sharper.

And let me raise yet another point that has been completely overblown this postseason: the Detroit crowd. This is a must-win and they've been in control throughout yet the place sounds absolutely no different than any other arena in the league. A lame "We will rock you" is actually playing as I type this. Bottom line there is homecourt advantage in the NBA but it has very little to do with the crowds.

 

So, how lucky are the Celtics to be down four at halftime?

I'd like to be watching, but our basic cable package inexplicably doesn't include ESPN.

 

Did he get a free pass last year when the media questioned whether he should be fired, or whether it was a mistake to keep him? It sure didn't seem like he got much of a free pass a year ago.

 

He did not get criticized nearly as much as most coaches who go whatever the hell they went last year.

Hey, I like Rivers and I'm not saying he's nice to the media with that as his only intention. But in the middle of a big playoff game it seemed a bit forced to repeatedly tell Tafoya how nice she looked, that's all.

The fans may have been critical of Rivers (still are), but I'd love to hear about the media killing him last year because I sure didn't see it.