Pistons 79, Cavs 76
I attended my first Pistons’ playoff game and even though the play itself was ugly on the court, I really enjoyed myself. As a Wings’ fan, I couldn’t help compare the playoff atmosphere from the Joe to the Palace of Auburn Hills. I enjoy the hockey games themselves more, but I definitely enjoy the basketball game atmosphere more.
First off, the Pistons actually have a real pregame show instead of the Wings who sometimes have acrobatic gymnasts perform before the game. I’m not saying those girls aren’t talented, but how in the world is that going to pump anyone up for a hockey playoff game?
Prices were more affordable all around and parking was $5 cheaper than the Joe. Even though I bought my ticket far below face value, it was valued at $85. I was sitting in the first row of the upper bowl in the ECF. To sit in the last row of the upper bowl at a Wings’ WCF game, it’d cost be $100.
If I was a Detroit sports fan who didn’t really prefer one team over another, it would be an easy choice to go to a Pistons’ game because they work to entertain the fans during the game. Plus their music is so much better.
The Pistons may be technically selling out, but there were a ton of empty seats around the arena. Since there are more seats at the Palace than at the Joe, I think the Wings still had more empty seats, but there were plenty of empty chairs at the Pistons game. It’ll be interesting to see how the Lions’ ticket sales do in this upcoming season.
All in all, this was a ridiculously ugly game, living down to the worst expectations of those who would deem the NBA playoffs already over. But you know what? Aesthetics don’t count for jack — a win is a win is a win, especially this far into the playoffs. As the Pistons learned against the Bulls, there’s no bonus points for blowing out your opponent. LeBron should bounce back in Game 2, but so should Chauncey and Tay and McDyess. I’d argue that more went wrong for Detroit than the Cavs in this game … and yet Detroit still won.
There was sweaty-palmed drama at The Palace Monday night, as if everyone was waiting, waiting for LeBron James to rise up, waiting for the Pistons to show up, waiting for anyone to make a shot. James never really arrived but the Pistons did — barely — and edged Cleveland 79-76 in a bare-knuckle opener to the Eastern Conference finals.
The Pistons were not going to let James beat them. They just weren’t. Nope. Uh-uh.
So he didn’t. But his teammates nearly did.
By the end, Chauncey Billups had blood dripping from his nose and the imagery was appropriate. The Pistons took a healthy shot from the upstart Cavaliers and found a way to pull it out. Billups’ three-pointer with 1:52 remaining put Detroit ahead and James had no response — his fate most of the night.
“I’ll tell you what, we played bad enough to lose this game, no question about it,” Billups said. “I think the sign of a really good team is you’ve got to win ugly games, no matter what.”
Related Posts
One Response to “Pistons 79, Cavs 76”
Leave a Reply
May 22nd, 2007 at 9:24 am
[…] Christy over at Behind the Jersey went to Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals to see the Pistons play the Cavs. She has a writeup on the big Pistons win. Matt over at On the Wings has his Gameday post up. Anaheim Ducks NHL Playoffs Red Wings […]