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Cavs-Pistons Second Round Playoff Series

I think you forget you are going up against one of the best D's in the league after playing a team who doesn't even know what that is.

Pistons in 5. (just like my bucks)

Everybody knows how good the Pistons D is, that isnt a surpise to anyone.

The surpise is how well they shot, especially behind the arc. We didnt have a chance to gameplan, or really rest before the game. They've been resting and gameplanning since Wednesday, while we have a very emotional win on Friday.

We were pretty much in for a letdown. The only thing was the last of hustle some of our players showed...*cough* Gooden *cough*
 
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I think it may be a miracle for the Cavs to win a game in this series. They can't match up against the Pistons and the Pistons are alot faster then the Cavs. Even if LBJ scores 50 in a game i dont think the Cavs would still win a game. If Cleveland does win a game it will be a close one at home. I'm gonna take Pistons in 4.

The key for the Cavs to win a game is to get Big Ben into foul trouble. He is their defensive captain and without them they dont feel like they can stop a team on defense every time. Without Big Ben there is also no inside presence for them.
 
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I think it may be a miracle for the Cavs to win a game in this series. They can't match up against the Pistons and the Pistons are alot faster then the Cavs. Even if LBJ scores 50 in a game i dont think the Cavs would still win a game.

I think this is a little too negative. I think it will be very difficult for the Cavs to win the series, but I honestly think they'll take a game or two. Sure, today's game was bad, but keep in mind that we were coming off an emotionally-draining series that just concluded on Friday; couple that with the fatigue factor (we had one full day of rest while the Pistons had three I believe) and the home court advantage, and I'm not that surprised today's game was so one-sided. Trust me, although we may not win game two, it will be muich more of a contest than today was.
 
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I've been a big Piston's fan all my life

I'm going Tuesday night, I'm pumped for game 2 because I knew game one was going to be scary for the cavs, but game two should be interesting. I expect the Pistons to win but it will be under double digits. Game 3 I expect the cavs to win and game four will be real tight. If the Pistons win game 4 the series will be over in 5.

Cavs just doesn't play tough enough defense to give the Pistons too many problems. Also they sometimes take questionable shots which lead to easy opportunities for the Pistons transition game. These aren't your Larry Brown's Pistons.
 
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As bad as it is to hear on TV... I hope you bring earplugs, 'cause all you're gonne hear after leaving the Palace is the echo of Mason: "DEEEEEE-TROIIIIIIIT BAAAAAASKET BAAAAAAAALLLLLLLL!"


I know pistons fans who hate that sounds... must really suck for the opponents...
 
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Pistons shot lights out, cavs didn't really have much in em tonight. Z didn't play well ... shot too much, didn't pass the ball when he was out of position. Z NEEDS to pass the ball back out when he's got bad position and not force the turnaround 25 footer. Other than that, though I can't say that the cavs played especially bad tonight. Nothing you can do when the other guys shoot 60% through 3 and are up nearly 30.

Cavs have got to focus on getting a win in game 2.
 
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As bad as it is to hear on TV... I hope you bring earplugs, 'cause all you're gonne hear after leaving the Palace is the echo of Mason: "DEEEEEE-TROIIIIIIIT BAAAAAASKET BAAAAAAAALLLLLLLL!"


I know pistons fans who hate that sounds... must really suck for the opponents...

haha doesn't bother me too much, the thing about mason that bothers me is when someone on the other team makes a basket, he says their name like: "Lebron.................................................................James". by the time he finishes their name, Billups is already past half court with the basketball.
 
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ABJ

5/7/06

Pistons come out firing; 3-pointers destroy Cavs

By Brian Windhorst

Beacon Journal sportswriter


<!-- begin body-content -->AUBURN HILLS, MICH. - Sunday afternoon was painful and embarrassing for the Cavaliers, though it did have the redeeming quality of being relatively short.
They can only hope it wasn't a jagged harbinger of the series.
The Detroit Pistons slapped them 113-86 to gain a 1-0 Eastern Conference semifinal series lead, one they look uninterested in relinquishing.
When tip-off came, it had been roughly 36 hours since the Cavs touched down at Hopkins International Airport after their playoff victory over the Washington Wizards.
They breathed a heavy sigh and started to prepare for the ol' Dee-troit Basketball, as they refer to it in these parts, grinding physical half-court defense making for ugly, low-scoring affairs.
Instead they got the nuevo style, the sharp-shooting, high-scoring and gassing version. The Pistons averaged 107 points in their first-round series with the Milwaukee Bucks, hinting at the offensive flair that they developed during the season. Sunday, they played one of their best offensive games in their extensive playoff history, and it meant curtains for the wine and gold.
The Pistons made 11 of their first 12 3-point attempts, and 15-of-22 in all, and shot 60 percent in the first three quarters.
Knowing that the Cavs would have some fatigue to deal with, the Pistons pressed the issue.
They used crisp passing, step-back jumpers and offensive rebounds, always leaving their opponent looking a step slow.
``We came in extremely focused knowing the job at hand,'' Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. ``We knew a team that comes in on a high like that can go one of two ways: They run off that high or you can jump on them and make them inquisitive about what they're doing.''
The Cavs were questioning everything during the second quarter. They shot 71 percent and scored 32 points, a veritable bevy against the usually tight Pistons defense. LeBron James scored 22 points in the first half on 9-of-14 shooting, with no sign of the famous Piston roughhousing.
Yet, instead of going to the locker room on a high, they were numb after the Pistons scored on 18-of-21 possessions, including 7-of-8 on 3-pointers. They set a franchise record with 43 points in the quarter, basically ending the game.
The Cavs shot 50 percent in the first half, committed just six turnovers, won the battle of the boards and scored more points in the paint. They were still behind by 21 points.
It wasn't even the All-Stars leading the charge. It was little-used backup Lindsey Hunter, who made 4-of-5 3-pointers, and Antonio McDyess, who made 5-of-6 shots.
``This team already has a lot of confidence, and when they go on runs like that, they tend to pounce on you,'' Cavs coach Mike Brown said. ``We're obviously going to have to do a better job of contesting those shots. We've got to do something about it when they hit four or five in a row.''
After halftime, the Pistons decided to play a little defense and started denying James driving lanes by tilting their defense to his side. He became passive and didn't score in the third quarter, taking just two real shots. A third shot came on a heave at the end of the quarter, then he sat out the fourth.
``If they shoot like (that) from the 3-point line, they are going to sweep the whole playoffs and win the NBA championship,'' James said. ``I was able to hit some tough shots in the first half. In the second half, the game was almost over.''
Of course, the All-Stars did show up. Richard Hamilton had 20 points, Chauncey Billups had 14 points and 10 assists, and Ben Wallace had 11 rebounds and four blocks. Tayshaun Prince trumped everyone, including his opposite number, James, with a game-high 24 points.
All of it left the Cavs promising to fight another day, a refrain so commonly heard from the visitors' locker room at the Palace of Auburn Hills there should be a sign on the wall.
``It's only one game; we've got to believe in ourselves,'' James said. ``We made it to the second round for a reason.''
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ABJ

5/7/06

Nightmare over, time to wake up

By Terry Pluto

<!-- begin body-content -->AUBURN HILLS, MICH. - By the end of Sunday's 113-86 loss to the Detroit Pistons, most of the Cavaliers looked like they had arrived home to discover someone had stolen their cars, burned their houses and killed their favorite pets.
All they could do was stare at the floor, trying to convince themselves that this was just a playoff nightmare. They'd soon wake up, and everything would be OK.
That's first-year coach Mike Brown's job right now -- to restore his team's confidence, to convince them that the men in Pistons red, white and blue don't also wear Superman capes.
Not that Brown asked, but here are 10 suggestions:
1. GET PERSPECTIVE: I'm borrowing this from Hubie Brown, a Hall of Fame-caliber coach and perhaps the greatest NBA television analyst. Brown said: ``It's up to Mike (Brown) to convince his players that they lost only one game.
``You didn't lose four games today; you just lost one.''
2. GET A GOAL: Pistons coach Flip Saunders said: ``One play can change a game; one game can change a series.'' He used that to motivate his team to jump on the Cavs early, then keep jumping until they begged for mercy. It holds true for every team. A series can change with one game, one shot, one injury.
3. GET OVER ANY PLAYOFF HANGOVER: To Brown's credit, he refused to acknowledge the grueling six-game series against the Washington Wizards as a reason for the disaster Sunday. His team had less than 48 hours to recover and prepare to play at Detroit, where the Pistons were 37-4 this season and had been resting since Wednesday. It's doubtful that the players gave much thought to the Pistons until Saturday night. Now it's time for a serious film session. Brown should have their attention after what happened Sunday.
4. GET READY FOR THE CHARGE: Most playoff games work like this: The home team is inspired by the energy of the crowd, the comfort of their own arena. They often bolt to a quick lead. It will probably happen to the Cavs again in Game 2 at the Palace of Auburn Hills. In the opener, the Cavs scored only 16 points in the first quarter, which was bad. Then they gave up 43 points in the second quarter, which was worse. They had absolutely no resolve, as the Pistons stole their confidence and any semblance of hope by the middle of the second quarter.
5. GET TO THE PERIMETER: The Pistons never will make 11-of-12 shots from 3-point range to start a game again. It's doubtful they can do that in pregame warm-ups. But they can shoot. In the regular season, they shot an Eastern Conference-best 38.5 percent from behind the arc. In the Milwaukee Bucks series, it was 43 percent. If you just stand and watch them -- as the Cavs did Sunday -- it will be better than 50 percent. The Cavs' Larry Hughes, LeBron James, Drew Gooden and Flip Murray are quick enough to stay with their men outside when motivated. Eric Snow can play solid defense. When the Pistons start making outside shots, why not crowd them and force their guards to drive? It can't get any worse.
6. GET JAMES TO PLAY SOME DEFENSE: James says he's the leader, and he wants to lead. Staring at Tayshaun Prince taking jumpers from the corner is not leading. Nor is refusing to help crash the boards. It's very possible James was just plain tired after playing 53 minutes in Friday's overtime victory in Washington. He could have been exhausted -- even at age 21. But his teammates look to James, and Brown needs to get that message across that James can be the key to the defense. After the game, James said, ``You play defense for 22 or 23 seconds and a guy hits a 3 at the end of the shot clock.'' Brown needs to break out the tape and show James that wasn't what happened. The defense broke down early and often.
7. GET TO THE LINE: James didn't take a free throw until 1:42 remained in the second quarter. The Cavs took zero foul shots in the first quarter and had taken only eight by halftime. Yes, the Pistons will block shots, but they also can commit fouls, if you drive to the rim. The Cavs have some players athletic enough to do that.
8. GET HUGHES OUT OF HIS FUNK: Larry Hughes is 7 of 30 in the past two games, mostly on jump shots. He's shooting 31 percent for the playoffs. No one is going to confuse him with Jerry West or Rip Hamilton when it comes to shooting from the outside. How about trying something different, like a drive to the hoop?
9. GET TO Z: I don't know what's going on with Zydrunas Ilgauskas, but he looks like he doesn't believe anything he shoots will go in. It doesn't matter if it's against the Wizards' Brendan Haywood or the Pistons' Ben Wallace, the Cavs' 7-foot-3 center appears timid under the boards and shaky with his shot -- inside or outside. He looks like he's worried all the time, barely awake. Like most big men, he is very sensitive. Brown somehow has to reach him. Ilgauskas is shooting 41 percent and averaging 10 points and six rebounds.
10. GET MOVING: If the Cavs are going to run their ``Give The Ball To LeBron And Watch'' offense, they'll have more games like this one. The Pistons will double-team James very hard, but they'll do it at the last second. There will be room for someone to cut to the basket for a pass -- which James can deliver -- but someone has to do it, and for the most part, Brown's offense has been rather stagnant this season.
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ABJ

5/7/06

No defense for Cavaliers in Game 1

By Tom Reed

<!-- begin body-content -->AUBURN HILLS, MICH. - The Detroit Pistons looked as indefensible as the actions of John Wilkes Booth on Sunday afternoon.
The Cavaliers offered precious little resistance in stopping them. It wasn't a case of character assassination before a national TV audience and a sellout crowd at the Palace. It was only one game -- a 113-86 loss to the Pistons.
As the Cavs step up in playoff class, however, one thing is abundantly clear: If you don't play both ends of the floor against the Pistons, you will be embarrassed.
That's the hard lesson from Game 1 of this series. The Cavs got throttled because they didn't compete defensively. They shot 50 percent in the first half and committed six turnovers -- and trailed by 21 points.
Someone might want to remind LeBron James and the Cavs that they are no longer in Washington and that these aren't the Wizards, an opponent you can beat by simply outscoring.
The Pistons put up 43 points in the second quarter.
They made 15-of-22 shots from beyond the 3-point arc.
They finished with six players in double figures.
Pistons coach Flip Saunders wouldn't confirm it, but the next person off the Pistons' bench was Kid Rock.
``We're going to have to do a better job of digging down and contesting those shots,'' Cavs coach Mike Brown said. ``We're going to somehow, some way make them miss and also try to stop them from getting to the rim.''
Brown and James deserve credit for not using fatigue or an emotional hangover from beating the Wizards as excuses. There probably is a little validity to each.
But to fall behind by as many as 37 points? To need seven late points from Ira Newble to avoid your worst playoff loss in franchise history? At one point, a heckler yelled for Brown to ``put your seniors in.''
``I thought we had our legs, but you lose your legs quickly when guys hit threes in front of your face,'' James said. ``Honestly, the fatigue factor never came into play.''
The Cavs aren't expected to win this series. It's all about learning from an opponent that has played in the NBA Finals the past two seasons.
James got an education on Sunday. He was schooled by Tayshaun Prince, who not only outplayed, but outscored him. Prince took the ball right at James. He drove on him. He shot over him. He converted 4-of-4 3-point attempts with James barely getting a hand in his face on several occasions.
Being a true leader means setting the example at both ends. James is 21 years old. That part of his game will evolve because he has too much pride to let performances like Sunday's become habit.
Prince led all scorers with 24 points. James finished with 22 points in 36 minutes.
``When you play Detroit, you think about the defense, and then they come out and hit all these threes,'' James said.
That's just the point. Great teams aren't one dimensional. Neither are great players.
James was brilliant in the series against the Wizards, leading all playoff scorers by averaging 35.7 points. Competing against the Pistons requires another level of brilliance, a more well-rounded portfolio of talents.
Brown is a defensive-minded coach, but his roster is filled mostly with offensive-oriented players. That's why the Cavs figure to struggle in this series and why general manager Danny Ferry will have a better idea what needs tweaking by the end of it.
The Pistons aren't going to shoot 68 percent from the 3-point line every game, but it helps when nobody contests the shots. The Cavs treated the 3-point arc like it was an Invisible Fence that dogs refuse to cross.
The Pistons were 10-of-11 from long distance in the first half. Inexcusable.
``This is not the football playoffs where you lose one bad game and go home,'' James said. ``We've got to believe in ourselves. We made it to the second round for a reason.''
It certainly wasn't for defensive efforts like the one Sunday.
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The first game in the San Antonio-Sacramento series was just as bad (122-88 for the Spurs). They then won the next game at home only because Brent Barry had a 3-point shot from the corner go in by sheer luck, hitting the rim and then the backboard before dropping. The Spurs then dropped both games in Sacramento and had a tie score in game 5 with about 2 minutes left.

Teams can recover from blowouts. The 1985 Finals started with Boston waxing the Lakers 148-114, in a game dubbed the Memorial Day Massacre. The game wasn't as close as the score. The Lakers then won the series in 6, winning the next two games played in Boston (games 2 and 6).
 
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Dang, hope the series isn't over before they come back to the Q Saturday night when I will be in attendance. :roll1:

Really what it came down to was Cleveland was still coming off the high from Friday. And Detroit hitting everything from 5 feet beyond the 3 pt arc.

The sick part is during the first half the Cavs didn't play all that bad offensively. They were getting good shots and scored almost 50 pts. The problem was that Detroit was in the zone and when they came out hot in to start the 2nd half you could tell the Cavs just gave up.

But I still think the Cavs will win one and I am hoping they take 2. No one expects them to win, but they have to learn something so they can improve for next year.
 
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The first game in the San Antonio-Sacramento series was just as bad (122-88 for the Spurs). They then won the next game at home only because Brent Barry had a 3-point shot from the corner go in by sheer luck, hitting the rim and then the backboard before dropping. The Spurs then dropped both games in Sacramento and had a tie score in game 5 with about 2 minutes left.

Teams can recover from blowouts. The 1985 Finals started with Boston waxing the Lakers 148-114, in a game dubbed the Memorial Day Massacre. The game wasn't as close as the score. The Lakers then won the series in 6, winning the next two games played in Boston (games 2 and 6).

I know the 85 Lakers, and the Cavs are no 85 Lakers.
 
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Is it just me, or does the Marshall quote not look very good.

http://cbs.sportsline.com/nba/story/9426349

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The Cleveland Cavaliers plan to make a lot of adjustments for Game 2 against Detroit.
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They better.
After being blown out 113-86 by the Pistons in Game 1 of their second-round series, Cleveland wants to contest more shots aggressively to help them get LeBron James rolling with dunks and layups in transition.
Ultimately, however, Cleveland reserve forward Donyell Marshall expects the postseason-neophyte Cavs to be overcome by the playoff-tested Pistons.
"Detroit has the knowledge from winning a championship two years ago, and going to the championship last year," Marshall said Monday. "I think their knowledge is going to overtake our youth right now."
Game 2 in the best-of-7 series is Tuesday night in suburban Detroit.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=180 align=left><TBODY><TR><TD width=180>
img9426421.jpg
</TD><TD width=15></TD></TR><TR><TD width=180>Is Donyell Marshall predicting a loss to Detroit? It sounds that way. (Getty Images) </TD><TD width=15></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The Pistons have had four of the same starters since the 2003 playoffs, and their entire starting lineup is together for the third straight postseason.
From firsthand experience, they know the Cavs will try to alter what they do in the hopes of splitting the series before it shifts to Cleveland.
Detroit also figures that if it plays with effort at both ends of the court, what the Cavs do is irrelevant.
While the Pistons were breezing past Milwaukee in the first round, coach Flip Saunders said they were not playing against the Bucks, they were playing against themselves. Saunders said the same is true versus the Cavs.
"They're going to do some things, but we worry more about ourselves," Saunders said.
Following their wide-open, defense-optional series against Washington, the Cavs knew facing Detroit's swarming defense and balanced offense would be a much different experience.
"You go from playing a contender to playing one of the best teams in the NBA," James said. "It's like night and day."
The Cavs had a tough turnaround before Game 1 -- playing about 40 hours after eliminating the Wizards in overtime on the road -- in their first second-round game since 1993. Their fatigue likely led to the lopsided game, which allowed James to rest during the fourth quarter after scoring 22 points in the first half and being held scoreless in the third quarter.
Cleveland coach Mike Brown said he and his assistants analyzed the game for about five hours on Sunday night, and they dissected each of Detroit's 10 shots from beyond the arc in the first half, along with nearly every other play in the rout.
"We have to do a better job of challenging shots, even though they hit some tough shots," Brown said. "But we have to do a better job, then hope they don't hit the same shots they did."
Brown expects better defense to lead to fast-break points, but Saunders countered by saying that's easier said than done against the Pistons.
"If we don't turn the ball over and are efficient on offense, they're not going to be able to get into transition," Saunders said.
AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service
 
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