Empty the Bench

A few thoughts about last night’s opener of the Eastern Conference Finals:

From Detroit’s Perspective:

- Were they passing out sedatives instead of bobbleheads to the fans as they passed through the gates? That was one of the quietest home crowds I’ve ever heard at the Palace during the postseason, and they did little to nothing to help spur their team on (and god knows they needed it). Here’s hoping that the corporate shills didn’t buy up *all* the tickets for the whole series, because there’s nothing worse than a bunch of businessmen sitting on their hands and quietly sipping on a plastic cup of wine during a playoff game.

- For the first 42 minutes or so of the game, Chauncey Billups played no better than Eric Snow, uncharacteristically letting the ball slide out of his hands like they were covered in grease and looking slightly panicked whenever the Cavs double-teamed him at the top of the arc. Clearly, he wasn’t expecting (wasn’t prepared for?) that, and I fully expect an adjustment to be made for Game 2 and beyond. Billups’ poor play until they needed him most, in crunch time, is one of the many reasons the Pistons are lucky to have won.

- Rasheed Wallace registered 7 blocked shots, a career playoff high, to go with 15 points and 12 boards, and perhaps just as importantly never really lost his cool. He can improve on his boxing out on both ends of the court, but very hard to quibble with his overall performance. When Sasha Pavlovic tried to wrestle the ball away from him, sending ‘Sheed to the floor in the process, I knew that would get his attention, and sure enough it did. Leaving Donyell Marshall wide open in the corner for the potentially game-winning shot with a few seconds left was bone-headed, though; visions of Robert Horry in the 2005 NBA Finals must have gone through every Pistons fans’ head before Marshall’s shot clanked off the rim.

- Rip Hamilton was just fantastic on offense, wasn’t he? When he’s on, there’s something about the rhythm and ease of his shots that seems to just deflate the other team. Loved that set late in the fourth quarter when he basically ran two laps around the Cavs’ defense, coming off a few picks and screens, with Pavlovic trying in vain to keep up. Hamilton didn’t even get the ball, but it definitely planted another seed of doubt in Pavlovic’s mind that he’s out of his league when it comes to matching up with the Pistons’ all-star shooting guard.

- Jason Maxiell’s box score is anything but spectacular–1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 block–but he was huge in the fourth quarter. This might be the first time I’ve ever seen him on the court late in the game with the outcome still to be determined. That vote of confidence from Flip Saunders had to make him feel good.

- That was, without question, one of the worst postseason performances I’ve ever seen from this core Pistons group. That they *still* won the game either speaks to their immense talent level, or the laughable ineptitude of the Cavaliers. You make the call.

- Antonio McDyess needs to remember how to shoot, and fast. The Pistons can probably get by in this series w/o Dice’s scoring off the bench, but if they make the NBA Finals it’ll be another story. I haven’t seen the vet go through a prolonged shooting slump this late in the season since he joined Detroit, and while I keep saying he’s bound to snap out of it any game now, he doesn’t have that confident body language of a guy who’s feeling good about his shot. The rebounding boost is nice, but he needs to get these kinks worked out on offense.

- Nice job by Dale Davis, who’s played very little this postseason, to stay mentally prepared and make tangible contributions in his early 5 minutes of action. With Webber picking up 2 fouls in the first few minutes, Davis came in and recorded 5 points and 3 boards while going to the line twice. Incredible that this guy’s NBA career began when I was in middle school.

- Finally, don’t expect Tayshaun Prince to go through another 1-11 FG night. His scoring is probably going to be down this series (read: guarding Lebron can be tiring), but he was missing some gimme’s and no-sweat’s that he normally can hit with his eyes closed. Kudos, however, for establishing a new high with 9 assists on the night. And, of course, we all know how well Lebron did himself on offense….

From the Cleveland’s Perspective:

- There’s been a ton of hoo-ha made today about whether or not Lebron made the right decision by defering to Donyell Marshall instead of taking it himself on the drive with the game on the line. Here’s the thing: the guy was having an absolutely awful night from the field. His head just wasn’t in it–the biggest charge I saw him bring was when he oddly flung the ball at two women sitting courtside on a side-out play (anyone else catch that? TNT sure didn’t). Coming out of the timeout, I thought that Cleveland should draw up a play to get an open three-point shot and go for the win. On the road, with your team struggling to hit the broadside of a barn, I really think that was the way to go. And they did it. And the shot didn’t fall. But with Marshall wide open, you have to live with it.

- Sasha Pavlovic didn’t exactly have a memorable night. While the rest of his teammates were doing an admirable enough job containing their man, Rip Hamilton was running free and nailing jumper after jumper. As for his offense, Pavlovic was 4-14 and 0-2 from the line. He also got ripped a new asshole by coach Brown after he gave up on a play and let Billups calmly knock down a wide open three-pointer late in the game. TNT was nice enough to play it back a few times, including once in slow motion. Sasha also got Billups’ attention with an “inadvertent” elbow that blooded Billups’ nose; Mr. Big Shot had words with him right in front of the Cleveland bench.

- Do the Cavs feel good about the fact that they almost won the game with their leading man playing like a D-League benchwarmer, or feel awful about the fact that they probably played their best defensive game and still couldn’t win? The Pistons are not going to play any worse than they did last night, and that was the best chance for the Cavs to steal one in Detroit.

- Anderson Varejao is a big pain in the ass, isn’t he? In 26 minutes of action, the Great Brazilian Flop recorded 13 points (almost all of them on point-black putbacks), 8 boards, and 2 steals. It’d be nice if McDyess/Webber/Wallace tried to block him out from time to time, but give the guy some credit for putting himself in excellent rebounding position.

- I will pay Drew Gooden $20 to shave that silly patch of hair off the back of his head. Drew, if you’re interested in taking me up on the offer, just leave your personal cell phone number in the comments section. We’ll talk.

- Poor Damon Jones. Not only does he rack up the countless “DNP – Coach’s Decision” games these days, but Yahoo! Sports doesn’t even list him in the box score as earning one.

- Despite being in the Conference Finals, this team is still in rebuilding mode, or at least should be. Unfortunately, I don’t think Danny Ferry and the rest of the front office sees it that way. Take a look at their roster: outside of Lebron, Ilgauskas, Gooden, Larry Hughes (I guess), and probably Varejao (who’ll be a free agent this summer), who else would you *really* want to keep around past this season? Okay, maybe the rookies Daniel Gibson and Shannon Brown (who never plays). But, really, I see a lot of teams around them getting better and better, and contrary to popular belief the Pistons aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. How long do you think Lebron will deal with a very average supporting cast?

- The Cavs have no answer for containing the Pistons backcourt. The double-teams on Billups worked magically last night, but Saunders and Billups will huddle and make an adjustment and it won’t be nearly as effective moving forward. Unless Pavlovic and Hughes suddenly transform themselves into world-beater defenders, this will prove to be the Cavs’ undoing in this series.

Game 2 is Thursday night at 8pm on TNT.

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