Serena...oh Serena...

Rodrigo

Lucky Member
Well, nurse, as you are doing better, it’s time to talk about
Something, NBA Finals, yeah !!!!
Who would believe that our teams would play against each
Other ??
On this first NBA Final after I have “met” you on the net,
Our two teams are playing for the trophy...
And the question is, are ya gonna support the Lakers as you
Told me or your heart will dominate ??? 

Too bad I can’t go there and watch it with ya, it would be fun !!

Well, have a nice rest, and good luck to your Detroit dogs !!!

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Rodrigo
 

yudansha

TheGreatOne
Not a fan of NBA since Jordan left but I've liked Lakers the most since...

By the way, did any of you watch that 52 greatest moments in NBA on Spike? ... Amazing stuff! Jordan ofcourse was featured more than anybody else ... Larry Bird what a player!

For me, right now, NHL finals are more important ... we Canadians have been waiting for Stanley to return to Canada for 11 years! ... GO FLAMES. ... and it's not that hard for Tampa to pack up and start their golfing season, it's Florida.
 

ORANGATUANG

Wildfire
yudansha said:
By the way, did any of you watch that 52 greatest moments in NBA on Spike? ... Amazing stuff! Jordan ofcourse was featured more than anybody else ... Larry Bird what a player!

For me, right now, NHL finals are more important ... we Canadians have been waiting for Stanley to return to Canada for 11 years! ... GO FLAMES. ... and it's not that hard for Tampa to pack up and start their golfing season, it's Florida.

Hey Yudansha, you havent stirred me up about schumacher winning again ?..gee your abit slow huh?....At least he didnt win in Monte Carlo...Heather.
 

Serena

Administrator
Rodrigo said:
Well, nurse, as you are doing better, it’s time to talk about
Something, NBA Finals, yeah !!!!
Who would believe that our teams would play against each
Other ??
On this first NBA Final after I have “met” you on the net,
Our two teams are playing for the trophy...
And the question is, are ya gonna support the Lakers as you
Told me or your heart will dominate ??? 

Too bad I can’t go there and watch it with ya, it would be fun !!

Well, have a nice rest, and good luck to your Detroit dogs !!!

2574746.jpg


Rodrigo

Rodrigo, oh Rodrigo :D--I thought about you when the Pistons won that ugly final game. But believe me. The press will always bad-mouth a Detroit team, no matter how good they are. It's just always been that way.

As to who will I cheer for. Hmmm. You and the Lakers or a team I never much cared about in my least favorite sport. Hmmm. :confused:

Sorry, Rodrigo. Got to stay with the Pistons. Just don't ask me who I THINK will win. ;) :D

Good luck, kiddo! :)


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yudansha

TheGreatOne
Come on now think!

Hey Heather ... I had this whole thing prepared ... and what do you know ... the site wasn't up for me to go on about it ... but never be in doubt of Ferrari or the great Schumacher ... you know what happened at the Nurburgring so don't even question the abilities ... as far as I'm concerned, it's Montoya who was dumb enough to try and overtake the race leader while the pace car was out (which is against the rules) ... the rules say that the leader is in charge and that the cars behind have to watch out and watch the person in front ... NOT the other way around ... so, as Michael warmed up the wheels (which is quite a routine procedure during such situations), Montoya did not break and forced Michael into the wall ... Montoya should've been penalised (what a coward) and he knew it as he had no harsh words for Michael for the first time in their history together after the race. You know Schummi is the greatest pilot and it won't be any time soon that you'll see an Aussie champion such greatness.

Anyways, I'm with Lakers all the way ... as our Raptors were a disgrace, and I think Vince Carter is shopping for a new team as I think his such frequent seasonal injuries were scammed most of the time.
 

Serena

Administrator
Rodrigo....Oh, Rodrigo....

Of course, there's still a long way to go, and anything can happen, but still......WOW! :eek:, eh? ;)
Even Larry Brown says he's shocked! :D


NBA Finals: Pistons fire on all cylinders to demolish Lakers
Chris Broussard NYT Friday, June 11, 2004
AUBURN HILLS, Michigan

Within only a few minutes of play in Game 3 something as astonishing as Kobe Bryant's 3-pointer in Game 2 happened.

The Los Angeles Lakers - they of the three championships in the previous four years, they of the future Hall-of-Fame-filled roster, they of the fate-changing buzzer beaters - looked like the underdogs.

With the Detroit Pistons looking quicker, hungrier, tougher, better coached and more confident, an observer without knowledge of the clubs' records and reputations would have thought Los Angeles was overmatched.

As the Lakers roamed around the Palace appearing old and confused, the Pistons finished alley-oops, scurried for offensive rebounds and exhibited a swagger worthy of Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal and Bryant, in better times.

Of course, the Lakers are not overmatched, but perhaps one of the greatest upsets in National Basketball Association history is in the works.

Shaking off whatever distress that was supposed to traumatize them after their give-away loss in Game 2, the Pistons routed the Lakers, 88-68, on Thursday before a loudmouthed crowd of 22,076. It became so one-sided that Darko Milicic, the Pistons' little-used rookie, played in the final minutes.

"I'm shocked," said Larry Brown, the Detroit coach, who is two victories away from winning his first NBA title. "I'm really proud of the way we played."

Detroit, which has outplayed the Lakers for three straight games, leads the best-of-seven-game series, two games to one, and the next two contests are in its building, a raucous den that must have the Lakers feeling claustrophobic. In their history, the Lakers are 0-7 when trailing a finals by 2-1.
 

Rodrigo

Lucky Member
Larry Brown is a great coach, tv commentators always say good things about him, at least here in Brazil, he is the best when defense is involved, I'm also surprised cause I thought the Pistons were not so good on defense... :(
 

Serena

Administrator
Rodrigo said:
Larry Brown is a great coach, tv commentators always say good things about him, at least here in Brazil, he is the best when defense is involved, I'm also surprised cause I thought the Pistons were not so good on defense... :(

They may say good things about the coach, but never the fans. Did you see what he called them? "Loudmouthed crowd". :rolleyes: :D
 

Rodrigo

Lucky Member
If the Lakers had dropped that 2nd game, I could have kissed good bye by now..

I don't think the Lakers will lose the title, but it will be very hard, and will take 7 games... just like those end of the 80's ....
 

Serena

Administrator
Well, Rodrigo. Sorry, but it ain't gonna make it to seven games. Looks like Tuesday may be it, especially as they're home. As it says here--no one saw it coming--especially not me! :D And, since no team has ever come back and won down three games to one in the playoffs, well.........the nurse will have a tissue waiting. ;) :D

NBA FINALS/GAME 4: Dream 1 win away

Shaq runs wild, but supporting cast flops as Detroit pulls within one victory of NBA title.

COMMENT By MIKE LOPRESTI
Gannett News Service
The Associated Press

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Now it seems to be a matter of when, not if, the Detroit Pistons will clinch a championship that no one saw coming, and for the sun to set on the tottering dynasty of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Game 4 of the NBA Finals last night brought a monster game from Shaquille O'Neal, but no relief to the beleaguered Lakers.

Just another night when Detroit had too much defense, too many free throws and too many fearless scorers with rings in their eyes.

All parts of an 88-80 victory that leaves the Pistons ahead 3-1 and on the brink of the first Eastern Conference NBA title since Michael Jordan wore a Chicago Bulls' uniform.

"We just need to find a way to win one more game," said Ben Wallace. "And we can all realize our childhood dreams."

Said the Lakers' Kobe Bryant, "I think everybody is a little down right now. But the important thing is, we have to win the next game ... by any means necessary. And then just go from there."

Sensing they are close to the kill, the Pistons survived a tense trial by fire, a game that included 18 ties, 18 lead changes and 36 points and 20 rebounds from O'Neal.

But from a 56-56 tie after three periods, the Pistons crushed the Lakers with a 32-point fourth quarter, mercilessly finishing off a team they have grown completely confident they can outwill and outscrap.

"We let one slip away," said O'Neal.
 

yudansha

TheGreatOne
... Shaq is making a joke out of himself ... and he doesn't realize it...

Shaq is saying that Lakers are great and will win, and that nothing is standing in their way of doing just that ... always coming up with lame excuses for why they didn't win instead of pointing out the areas where they should be improving on; while the rest of the team acknowledges their losses and says that they'll try to fix the problems and do better next time.

Plain and simple: optimism will not win you games ... especially when you're down 3 games to 1.

I'm still rooting for Lakers, but at this point it doesn't look good. However, Phil Jackson has experienced many close calls that turned out to be successful while coaching Jordan's Bulls. You just never know what's going to happen next ... I mean look at what Michael Schumacher is pulling out of his hat ... started 6th ... won the race! What a man! I'm thinking that Schumacher is now reached the point where his domination of his sport has exceeded that of Michael Jordan ... LOL ... what's with these Michaels ... there was Jackson, Jordan, now there is Schumacher (the first letter's of Arnold's last name begin with 'Sch' and so do F1's Michael's ... great people have great similarities). Coincidence? ... I think not! :D (don't believe me?)

Go Lakers Go! (do basketball players go playing golf after they lose?)
 

Serena

Administrator
Nice plug for Schumacher.

Nice to see Detroit get some recognition. Most articles I've read would rather say how lousy L.A. is doing, rather than ackowledge how well the Pistons are doing.

History awaits
Pistons poised for biggest upset in almost 30 years
Sports Illustrated
Marty Burns
6-14-2004

DETROIT -- Are the Pistons on the verge of the biggest NBA Finals upset in 30 years? No team has ever come back from a 3-1 deficit in the Finals, the situation the Lakers face heading into Tuesday's Game 5 at Detroit. If the Pistons can hold on, they would win their first NBA crown in 14 years. They also would make a strong case that their victory is the biggest upset since 1975. The '75 Warriors, the '77 Trail Blazers, the '91 Bulls and the '95 Rockets make up the short list of teams generally considered upset champs over the past 30 years. One could argue, however, that none was as overlooked going into the Finals as this year's Pistons.

Let's start with the '95 Rockets. While they won just 47 games during the regular season, they had Hakeem Olajuwon and were the defending NBA champs. Even against a Magic team that had 57 regular-season wins and featured Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway, the Rockets' four-game sweep was not exactly shocking. The '77 Trail Blazers? Yes, they surprised most of the experts by beating Dr. J's Sixers 4 games to 2. But Portland had Bill Walton in his prime, and the series was closely contested. Some viewed the '91 Bulls as underdogs against a veteran Lakers team led by Magic Johnson and James Worthy, but Chicago had done enough during the season to make its resounding five-game victory somewhat expected. Plus, the Bulls had Michael Jordan.

Of all the upset teams, perhaps the only one that comes closest to the Pistons would be the '75 Warriors. Few gave upstart Golden State, led by high-scoring Rick Barry, much of a chance against a Washington Bullets team featuring Wes Unseld and Elvin Hayes. But Barry and Clifford Ray led a dominating 4-0 series sweep.

Detroit entered this year's Finals as a decided underdog to the Lakers, a team featuring four future Hall of Famers in Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone and Gary Payton. With three NBA championships in four years, L.A. was viewed as vastly more experienced. Though Detroit boasted an excellent defense, the Pistons had trouble scoring points all season. Taking into account the expectations (many pundits predicted a Lakers sweep) and the results (the Pistons' only loss so far has come as a result of a Bryant miracle 3-pointer), it's hard to argue with the assertion that a Detroit victory in Game 5 would cap the biggest Finals upset since '75. As Pistons guard Chauncey Billups said, "We felt we had a chance to win this series, but nobody else felt that. We knew we were the only ones who believed in us."
 

Serena

Administrator
Congratulatons, Pistons!

DETROIT PISTONS
2004 NBA CHAMPIONS!​

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Detroit Pistons Chauncey Billups holds the NBA MVP trophy at the Palace in Auburn Hills, Michigan, June 15, 2004. The Pistons defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 100-87 to win the series in five games. Pistons' Mehmet Okur is at right.

Sorry about your Lakers, Rodrigo. But you have to admit, the Pistons played their ASSES off!!!! :D I hope they get the credit they deserve for how well they played, instead of hearing how poorly the Lakers did--the kind of respect Detroit teams don't always get.

Congratulations, Pistons! Well done!!

An article by Mitch Albom, the best sports writer in the country, with the awards and respect of his fellow journalists to prove it.

Detroit guts over L.A glitz for NBA title
June 16, 2004
By Mitch Albom
Detroit Free Press Columnist

They attacked all night, the way you attack a fire, the way you attack an enemy hill, no counting on luck, fate or chance, just sheer will and your own pounding lungs, drive the rim, drive the lane, until finally, the horn sounded to end their eight-month shift, which began in October and ended one week shy of summer. Rip Hamilton was jumping in place, a ball of energy. Mehmet Okur was hugging Tayshaun Prince. Ben Wallace took the spray paint and marked the last game with a big old "X." The team whose motto is "Goin' to Work" had put in a little overtime, and the once-mighty Lakers hadn't just been defeated, they had been stomped and crushed like Italian grapes. The Pistons didn't just beat L.A., they reduced it to a single letter: "L," as in loser. And as the music soared at the Palace the Pistons soared right with it.

Pay dirt.

"Never stop dreaming," said Chauncey Billups, the series MVP, smiling widely after the raucous 100-87 Game 5 victory that clinched the NBA title.

Never stop dreaming. But when you wake up this morning, you'll notice a new crown in town. It wasn't stolen. It didn't fall from the sky. The Lakers didn't squander it, and the referees didn't conspire it. The Pistons -- write this verb down -- won it. Got that, Phil? Got that, Shaq and Kobe? They won it. They captured it. They grabbed it right from Game 1 and owned everything but 11 seconds and one overtime period, in what some are referring to as the NBA's first "five-game sweep."

Along the way, they broke the mold of NBA championship teams. In the final, crowning, 48 minutes Tuesday night, Detroit ran dynamite under the Lakers' ego and blew it to shreds. From Billups' game-opening drive to a late Ben Wallace put-back slam, the team-oriented Pistons slam-dunked the superstar era, ripped up conventional wisdom and threw a bucket of paint on the portraits of four future Hall of Famers, who, for this season, only will be remembered as all the things the Pistons were not: greedy, selfish, whiny and discombobulated.

The Pistons, meanwhile, were five bodies and 10 hands at a time. And all their hands are on a trophy now. Detroit is back atop the basketball world after 14 years.

"I'm very fortunate to coach this team," a humbled Larry Brown said. "They play the right kind of basketball."

Pay dirt.

A perfect first half
What's left to prove? For pete's sake, they led at one stage Tuesday by 29 points! And from the tip, the Pistons showed maturity beyond expectations. Long shots were passed up. Short shots were passed up. If it wasn't a lay-up or a slam, they didn't want it. They scored more than half of their points (52) in the paint. On one play, Prince leapt twice for a loose ball and was already moving to the hoop before he even had control. He finished with a slam. That was typical. The Pistons shot 61 percent for the first half and had 55 points.

So much for the moment overwhelming them. They made the Lakers look old and slow. The fact is, the Lakers' best attitude came from Jack Nicholson, who played trash talk with the big screen. Unfortunately for the Lakers, Jack's only slightly older and slower than the rest of them.

Some will call this the biggest upset in the history of the NBA. How amazing is it? Well, remember, the series was preordained as the Lakers versus "the other guys." The Pistons were supposed to be mindful of their station. "Forget what happened before," pundits kept saying. "This game, you'll be put in your place."

They said it before Game 1, at the Staples Center, which the Pistons won by 12. They said it before Game 2, when the Pistons were supposed to collapse but didn't. They said it before Game 3, which Detroit won by 20. They said it before Game 4 -- another Pistons victory -- and they said it before Game 5, which was over by the third quarter. "This game, Pistons, you'll be put in your place."

They were. Their place is on the victory stand.

Hey. Maybe the Lakers were the "other guys" in this series.

Rings to everyone
Fingers, please. Who gets a ring?

Ben Wallace gets a ring. The big man with the big hair who was the locomotive of this chugging train finally will be a champion. He wasn't drafted, he was traded twice, but there he was Tuesday night, grabbing 22 rebounds, scoring 18 points, including a solo fast break that saw him leave the ground somewhere past the top of the key, a feat of both enthusiasm and gravity.

Chauncey Billups gets a ring. The point guard who wasn't good enough for the smaller stage in Boston, Toronto, Orlando, Minnesota or Denver was great enough for the biggest stage in the game. He takes the MVP award by averaging 21 points and 5.2 assists. But the best part? He wouldn't have cared who won it. "We don't play as a bunch of individuals," he said. "We're a basketball team."

Catch that, Shaq and Kobe.

Richard Hamilton gets a ring. He was everywhere in this series, racing off of screens, pulling up in the lane, curling to the baseline and rising to the backboard. A lot of people expected a certain shooting guard to be a star in this series; nobody figured it would be this one. Plastic masks are being marketed as we speak.

Larry Brown gets a ring. The coach who had done everything but this has now done this: won an NBA championship at age 63, oldest ever to do so and perhaps the most deserving to wait this long. Brown's stubborn focus on the old-fashioned basics -- ball sharing, rebounding, group defense -- brought down a Cyborg Lakers team built for a title, and stamped him in the history books. Five games? None of the victories was closer than eight points? Give us the finger, Larry.

We mean that in a good way.

Rasheed Wallace gets a ring. The newest Piston and arguably the most influential -- sorry about the word "arguably" -- was there again Tuesday night, hitting easy jumpers, playing big-man defense. People used to describe him only as "a hothead." Now they'll have to modify that. At worst, he's "a hotheaded champion."

Tayshaun Prince gets a ring. Watching Prince defend Kobe Bryant was like watching the invention of the iPod; suddenly, everyone's going to want one. Prince's long arms and quick instincts draped a net over the NBA's flashiest star, and by the end, Kobe was merely mortal. He failed to shoot 40 percent for the series. Meanwhile, you hate to see the NBA Finals end because Prince is getting better every night. It's hard to believe this quiet, lanky man is in only his second season. It is not hard to believe he was the reason the Pistons passed up on Carmelo Anthony. Not anymore.

And how about the man who made that decision, Joe Dumars? Joe gets a ring. It means more, he says, than the two he won as a player "because this time I'm responsible for the whole team." Not too long ago, supposedly wiser general managers were advising Dumars to construct a team the way they had done it, one superstar, maybe $20 million a year, and a bunch of role players. Dumars thought about it, then said, "No thanks." He built on character, toughness and team defense. And consider this: Besides Lindsey Hunter, who went and came back, there is not a single player on this roster from four years ago when Dumars took over, yet everyone that he would want to keep for next season -- with the possible exception of Okur -- he will keep.

That's his hand in this.

Give it a ring.

Hunter gets a ring, his first as a Piston. So do Corliss Williamson and Elden Campbell, all men who are well-traveled in this league and old enough to know how rare these moments are. On the other end, Okur gets a ring, as does Darko Milicic (what a baptism!). Mike James gets a ring. Darvin Ham, too. The coaching staff, loyal to Brown, is rewarded, too.

All of the above, and all next year, will be referred to as part of "the Detroit Pistons, defending NBA champions."

How's that sound?

Shocking the hoops world
So how will history remember these Finals? Mostly for their shock value. Here's how shockingly good the Pistons were. They beat the Lakers in five, and the Lakers had home-court advantage. Remember, these were the same Lakers who knocked off San Antonio, the defending champion, by winning four straight, then knocked off Minnesota, the West's top seed. Obviously, they must have been doing something right.

But suddenly, in this series, as the losses mounted, it wasn't about the Pistons' success, it was about the Lakers' loosening their screws. This Finals series, it seemed, would only be over when the Lakers said it was. Even before Tuesday's head-chopping -- facing a 3-1 deficit that no team had ever come back from in the Finals -- the purple-and-gold superstars acted as if fate had promised them a championship.

"I'm telling you right now, we'll win Tuesday," Kobe Bryant said.

Too bad.

"We have every intention of winning this game," Phil Jackson said.

So sad.

"Got to win," Shaquille O'Neal said.

Buh-bye.

Enough already about the team upended. Can the sports world focus on the team that did the upending? If folks watching this series weren't so busy rubbing their eyes, they might have seen more of the obvious: The Pistons outplayed the Lakers in every facet of the game. Outrebounded them, outdefensed them, outhustled them, and, yes, outshot them. Hello? If the Pistons' offense is so awful, well, it scored more points in four out of five games -- so what does that make the Lakers' offense?

You know what? Who cares? "Lakers" is now just another word the Pistons have scratched out, alongside Milwaukee, New Jersey and Indiana.

Hooptown, now. There were gas stations in the Detroit suburbs selling Pistons paraphernalia out of small tents, and cars on the highways flying Pistons flags from their windows. The Motor City has big new wheels, orange with laces, and kids everywhere will be growing out their Ben Afros and nicknaming themselves "Rip."

Nothing given. Everything earned. They hit pay dirt in a way that every laborer and sports fan alike can admire. Take a picture of that final moment -- Ben spray-painting where X marks the spot -- and frame it for next year, above a modified slogan:

Goin' to Work . . .

As the Boss.



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yudansha

TheGreatOne
Who would've thought that it was going to be Pistons in 5?

I guess this makes up for the Red Wings ... :D
 
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