Cavs Close Pistons' Window
The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Detroit Pistons Saturday night 98 to 82 to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in Cavs' history. The Cavs' victory closed the window on the five-year run by this current group of Detroit Pistons.
The Pistons advance to the Eastern Conference Finals five straight seasons; but, they only won two of those five series and one NBA championship.
Throughout this series, the Cavs were younger and hungrier than the older Pistons. A lot of media kept harping on the Pistons' previous playoff experiences and the fact Detroit has "been there before" and "been through the wars" as reasons cited for still picking the Pistons to win game 6 and then game 7. However, at some point, the better team will win a seven-game series; and, that is what the Cavs did Saturday night in front of their home crowd.
The Pistons' organization needs to decide who returns and who should go. Forward Rasheed Wallace is a talented player; but, he still cannot (nor does he want to) control his emotions. Wallace cruised the regular season; and, his "light switch" mentality to turn his game on for the playoffs had a definite impact on the rest of his teammates.
Chauncey Billups is a free agent; and, he'll probably re-sign with Detroit. However, Billups began showing signs of diminishing returns in the series versus the Cavs.
Richard Hamilton was solid but unspectacular versus the Cavs. He fouled out in game 6; and, it was pretty telling to me, Hamilton spent more and more time defending Cavs' star Lebron James.
Tayshaun Prince struggled throughout this series. While James is clearly a stronger and better player than Prince, Prince was unable to generate any consistent offense versus James and the Cavs and force James to work on defense as well as cause James to get into any foul trouble during the series.
Chris Webber is a free agent; and, his best days are clearly behind him. Webber no longer has the foot speed and lateral quickness to be a good team defender.
Antonio McDyess has to be one of the most disappointed players for Detroit because he was not part of the team which won the NBA title in 2004; so, McDyess did not pick up a championship ring.
Since the team did not "win it all", head coach Flip Saunders has to take some heat as well. For two straight seasons, the Pistons were blown out in the decisive game 6 which ended their collective seasons -- Miami in 2006 and Cleveland in 2007. Saunders has never taken a team to the NBA Finals; and, it seems the players have lost confidence in him and / or his coaching staff.
Currently, the Pistons own two first round draft picks in the upcoming 2007 NBA Draft; those draft picks should officially begin the opening of a new window for the Pistons -- the players and the coaches.
The Pistons advance to the Eastern Conference Finals five straight seasons; but, they only won two of those five series and one NBA championship.
Throughout this series, the Cavs were younger and hungrier than the older Pistons. A lot of media kept harping on the Pistons' previous playoff experiences and the fact Detroit has "been there before" and "been through the wars" as reasons cited for still picking the Pistons to win game 6 and then game 7. However, at some point, the better team will win a seven-game series; and, that is what the Cavs did Saturday night in front of their home crowd.
The Pistons' organization needs to decide who returns and who should go. Forward Rasheed Wallace is a talented player; but, he still cannot (nor does he want to) control his emotions. Wallace cruised the regular season; and, his "light switch" mentality to turn his game on for the playoffs had a definite impact on the rest of his teammates.
Chauncey Billups is a free agent; and, he'll probably re-sign with Detroit. However, Billups began showing signs of diminishing returns in the series versus the Cavs.
Richard Hamilton was solid but unspectacular versus the Cavs. He fouled out in game 6; and, it was pretty telling to me, Hamilton spent more and more time defending Cavs' star Lebron James.
Tayshaun Prince struggled throughout this series. While James is clearly a stronger and better player than Prince, Prince was unable to generate any consistent offense versus James and the Cavs and force James to work on defense as well as cause James to get into any foul trouble during the series.
Chris Webber is a free agent; and, his best days are clearly behind him. Webber no longer has the foot speed and lateral quickness to be a good team defender.
Antonio McDyess has to be one of the most disappointed players for Detroit because he was not part of the team which won the NBA title in 2004; so, McDyess did not pick up a championship ring.
Since the team did not "win it all", head coach Flip Saunders has to take some heat as well. For two straight seasons, the Pistons were blown out in the decisive game 6 which ended their collective seasons -- Miami in 2006 and Cleveland in 2007. Saunders has never taken a team to the NBA Finals; and, it seems the players have lost confidence in him and / or his coaching staff.
Currently, the Pistons own two first round draft picks in the upcoming 2007 NBA Draft; those draft picks should officially begin the opening of a new window for the Pistons -- the players and the coaches.
posted by Kris Gardner @ 1:33 AM
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