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Throughout the playoffs the Pistons have
displayed great defense. Besides the 127 points the New Jersey
Nets scored on the Pistons in triple overtime of game five, the
most any team has scored on the Pistons in the playoffs is 94
points, also by New Jersey during game four. During game four
against the Nets Rasheed Wallace only played 25 minutes, and the
Nets dominated the paint. The Nets out rebounded the Pistons 49
to 33, and outscored the Pistons 40 to 22 in the paint. The only player to really acclaim success against the Pistons front court this post season has been the Nets Richard Jefferson. Jefferson is known as a fierce slasher, and one of the best wing players currently in the NBA. Jefferson’s relentless approach towards slashing to the basket gave the Pistons front court problems, and caused them to get into foul trouble. The Pistons have very long forwards and
big men, who causes players to alter their shot, or forces teams
to settle for jump shots. Tayshaun Prince who is a lanky 6 foot
9 inch wing player has the wingspan of a 7’ 2” person.
It was that wingspan that allowed Prince to make a game saving
shot block on Reggie Miller’s open court lay up attempt
in game two of the Indiana versus the Pistons series. When you place Prince with Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace, or “Wallace Times 2” as fans like to call them, you have one of the most athletic defensive minded frontcourts in the league. Within the Indiana versus Detroit series the Pistons have held Indiana below 40% shooting the entire series except for game four at the Palace. The Pacers shot 45% and won game four 83 to 68. After game four Coach Brown said, “We can’t play any worst than tonight.” The Pacers have had trouble penetrating and scoring in the paint within this series. During the season the Pacers got into grind out games with opponents and out muscled teams in the paint. The Pistons length is overshadowing the strength of the Pacers. During the Pacers 78 to 74 game one victory over the Pistons the Pacers used their youth and athleticism to their advantage. Coach Carlisle went to the youth of his bench in game one, and showed more of an athletic team, rather than the overpowering team he normally shows. In game one Jonathan Bender scored a crucial 5 points on two of three shooting in just 14 minutes of playing time, while Al Harrington showed a very similar display of Jefferson slashing to the hole and scoring 14 points, and grabbing 8 rebounds. The athletic line up the Pacers showed in game one of Jermaine O’neal, Ron Artest, Harrington, Bender, and Jamal Tinsley has proved to be the most effective line up for the Pacers so far in this series, but it has been very seldom used in the series. After game three Coach Carlisle stated “We’re not going to invent a new wheel. We’re going to ride the horse that got us here.” Sounds very familiar to Piston fans huh? Yeah that is the same mechanical quote he said when the Pistons were down three games to one in the Orlando series, before Coach Carlisle was forced to make an adjustment and give Prince substantial playing time. Someone may need to tell him that “horse” or game plan is broke. When Coach Carlisle figures out the playoffs are about the player match ups on the court, he will learn player adjustments are crucial in the playoffs. Right now the Pacers are playing a game with the Devil. The Pacers are trying to match power for power with the Pistons, while the Pistons have consistently showed in the playoffs that they are the superior team in the NBA half court game. The only adjustment thus far Coach Carlisle has made is placing Austin Croshere in the starting line up, which makes Indiana a jump shooting team. Rip Hamilton said “they did a great job of adjusting bringing (Austin) Croshere off the bench, but there is no reason why we can’t adjust... We need to find a way to get easier shots.“ The Pacers jump shots will not always fall. The Pistons guards are much faster than most guards in the league, which makes them superior on the ball defenders. The Pistons guards do a great job of pressuring the opposition, and forcing them to there help, where they have Prince and both Wallace waiting for them in the paint. The key numbers so far in this series has been the assist numbers, fast break points, and the points in the paint, which has been the case for the Pistons so far this post season. You will not find many easy shots in the half court set with the Pistons. The more easy buckets you score against the Pistons, the better your chance of winning. Sounds simple huh? Tell Coach Carlisle that. Note: In game five at Conseco Fieldhouse
expect Coach Larry Brown to play Prince on Croshere, and if Coach
Carlisle stays with Croshere within the line up, expect to see
a lot more post players for the Pistons in the game to attack
Croshere. The Pistons are looking at game five as a crucial game.
If you do not see Mehmet Okur more in game five it will be a telling
sign of the off season... In other notes throughout the league
the LA Clippers are looking to deal the number two pick, in particular
they would like to receive a veteran point guard. Maybe Dwight
Howard does stay in Atlanta after all... It appears Allan Houston
may find a new home in Charlotte if the Bobcats want him according
to league sources... Also the one guy who may have a team locked
on him already for the upcoming NBA draft is Josh Childress with
the Washington Wizards eyeing him. Click
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