Pistons kicked out of the playoffs
The Cleveland Cavaliers pulled away from the Detroit Pistons in beginning of the fourth quarter and they never turned back. For the most part, LeBron James pulled attention from multiple defenders as he was sometimes double or even triple teamed on the court. He would then make an outlet pass to rookie Daniel Gibson, who scored a career high of 31 points including 19 in the fourth quarter.
Cleveland, a city that hasn’t celebrated a world championship since the Browns won an NFL title in 1964, has the next closest thing. And now the Cavs, who won only 17 games the year before James arrived from just down the Interstate in Akron, will meet the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the final on Thursday night.
James, who scored 48 points in Cleveland’s double-overtime win in Game 5, didn’t have to carry the Cavs by himself.
Gibson gave him all the help he needed.
Rasheed Wallace. He’s been the Pistons’ top player throughout the playoffs. Unfortunately, he’s run into some “technical” difficulties. With around eight minutes left in last night’s game, Wallace was given a technical penalty for an outburst after he received three personal fouls in 39 seconds. He kept arguing and yelling down on the court and was given another to give him seven technical penalties during this postseason. Once you reach seven, you earn a suspension so even if the Pistons had won the game, they would’ve played without arguably their best player.
He exploded in anger after being whistled for his final foul, yelling at the referees. He was quickly hit with two technicals and tossed from the game, but Wallace wasn’t done ranting.
“I just get so sick and tired of that cheating (garbage) out there,” Wallace said after the game. “All that flopping. They reward flopping. That’s not defense. I hope the league does something about that before the next series.”
Wallace, also very animated on court after being ejected, was restrained by Antonio McDyess on the way to the tunnel.
Wallace pointed and yelled, “(Screw) you! (Screw) all of you!” in the direction of the Cavaliers and officials still on the floor.
The fans at Quicken Loans Arena roared with happiness at the sight of the unhinged Wallace, taking it as an omen that the Pistons were done.
It would seem that the era for the Pistons is coming to a close and we’re seeing the rise of the Cavaliers to the top of the Eastern Conference Finals. I don’t think we’ll see a return of the entire starting five as I believe Joe Dumars will find it necessary to change it up. Detroit News’ beat writer Chris McCosky speculates about the changing lineup for next season. Will they go after Kobe Bryant who recently demanded a trade from LA? Will he fire head coach Flip Saunders?
Dave @ Gorilla Crouch speculated about the question of head coach:
The first decision that needs to be made is at the top. Flip Saunders has kept the team competitive but this Pistons team was supposed to compete for a championship in each of the last two seasons. That obviously didn’t happen and you have to wonder whether Saunders is really the right coach for the job. The team seemed to run hot and cold, alternating between playing great basketball at times but looking completely lost at others. While the team would go through droughts under both Rick Carlisle and Larry Brown the team never seemed to have the type of indifference or just plain confusion that has been the hallmark of the two playoff losses to Miami last year and Cleveland this year.
Natalie @ Need4Sheed didn’t have much to say after watching her team get kicked out of the playoffs and I don’t blame her:
Are the Pistons the better team? I think so, but they didn’t play that way. None of that even matters now anyway. It’s been an enjoyable season, we have plenty to look forward to. What’s in store for the Pistons next season? Plenty…. it’s going to unfold very soon Pistons fans.
I would not want to be Joe Dumars right now. Wings’ GM Ken Holland is working on re-signing some players and bringing in one or two new ones. His team believes they have a legitimate shot at the Stanley Cup next year as key injuries certainly tripped them up. I personally believe that the Wings should’ve won that series. They had it. On the other hand, the Pistons were all healthy and really didn’t “deserve” to win the first two games in the series. I thought the Cavs pretty much controlled the entire series and it was just a matter of time before they started winning (they won four straight games).
Dwil @ The Starting Line believes Saunders coached his last game with the Pistons:
But 2006-07 it turned out to be a redux. The Pistons allegedly put more emphasis on being ready for the playoffs instead of winning “meaningless†regular season games. But the Eastern Conference finals was, well, horrific. How the Pistons won games one and two by exactly the same 79-76 score in exactly the same ugly manner, no one will ever know. How they lost the next four games, everyone knows. In Game 3 they were outplayed. In Game 4 they were out-coached and out athleticed. In Game 5 - out-LeBroned.
In Game 6 they just quit.
Detroit played on half, the first. At halftime, Cavs coach Mike Brown made sure his team put all the other “outs†from the previous three wins into the second half, which Cleveland won by 16 points. While the Cavaliers did their thing, Chauncey pouted,Webber yelled then sat stunned, Rip shook his head, and Rasheed got bumped one too many times by Anderson Varajeo and got tossed before he committed hari-kari right there in front of Bill Russell and the Quicken faithful. And the 98-82 score didn’t even look that close.
And now, again, the dust.
The difference between last season and this is that the dust pile will end up right in front of the head coach’s door. When Detroit arrives home from Cleveland, the players will head home for the night. They’ll meet in Auburn Hills at The Palace tomorrow.
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