Posted: Tuesday, April 22, 2008, 7:38 PM | 40 comments |
 

Sixers Have The Pistons Attention

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AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- One gets the feeling from spending time with the Detroit Pistons the last few days that they are both surprised and annoyed at losing the opening playoff game to the 76ers.

Both emotions are understandable. The Pistons gave away a game they had full contol of and give the Sixers all the credit in the world for taking it away.

Because they are smarting from the loss, the Pistons will likely come out smoking on Wednesday and it has nothing to do with the ridiculous pre-game fireworks.

So watch for Detroit to try to stomp on the Sixers early and then try to kick them when they are down.

The only question is whether Detroit can actually accomplish this feat?

The Pistons seemed to be taken back by the Sixers athletic ability and resiliency. They will never admit it, but once the Pistons led by 15 points midway through the third quarter, they thought the game was over.

And as we know, now it wasn't. What is interesting is that the Sixers are saying all the right things and one can tell they really believe what they are saying.

Instead of saying that they will come out of this with at least a split, the Sixers are talking about the importance of going up 2-0, although they are making no predictions.

Coach Maurice Cheeks confirmed what we all knew - that winning Game 1 gave the Sixers a ton of confidence.

The Pistons have talked about how difficult it has been to have two full days off between games. The loss is really bothering the Pistons, but most of all, the Sixers have placed even the smallest bit of doubt in the back of the Pistons minds.

If the Sixers can hold off the initial rush of the Pistons in the first quarter, then Game 2 should be very competitive.

And no matter what happens in Game 2, the Sixers have Detroit's undivided attention. Before the series, many Pistons talked about how tough the Sixers were. We're not sure if they really believed that, but if not, they sure do now.

Posted by Marc Narducci @ 7:38 PM  Permalink | 40 comments
40
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  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:53 PM, 04/22/2008
    The Pistons seem especially shook. They've been studying the stats and realize that two of the Sixers big guns(Lou and Dala) struggled as much as Rip and Chauncey did. Plus, the Sixers' March victory in the Palace(w/o Miller down the stretch, I might add) is not so easily dismissed. BTW, another sign that Iguodala is becoming a star; when a near triple-double qualifies as a bad game.
    — rswknight
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:08 PM, 04/22/2008
    seude (name change?), me too, I haven't given up just yet, I check this board about 10 times a day. I don't know if it's just my office, but we use IE6 at work and with this new setup I can't post, but it seems to work okay with Firefox or IE7, both of which I have here at home. Here's the head count of the regulars so far: KM, xing, gba, Statman, Jason-LOS ANGELES, JYurk. I had a little exchange with Morty on www.reclinergm.com about adjustments for game 2, and neither of us could come up with anything super-important. Basically, Iggy needs a better game, Sammy needs to rebound better, and Lou should get to the line more. The blogger of www.reclinergm.com, Dannie, thinks the Pistons should have Billups attack more. Part of me hopes I don't get what I'm wishing for here, but I hope the Pistons challenge us more in game 2, I really didn't learn anything new about the Sixers in game 1. Thad's gonna be force to reckon with in a few years. Jason plays great team defense. Sammy's tough to deal with in the low post. The Sixers were just their normal old selves, and the Pistons still couldn't handle it, jeez, so lame... Here's my take on what the Pistons should do - speed the game up against us and have better ball movement, and get as much playing time as possible for their better 3-point shooters, which includes dusting off Juan Dixon.
    — sixerzguy
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:10 PM, 04/22/2008
    No paragraphs? Come on...
    — sixerzguy
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:12 PM, 04/22/2008
    Can't believe they took away separating your ideas into paragraphs...
    — sixerzguy
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:15 PM, 04/22/2008
    I wonder... Does your post have to have certain keywords in it, like "Sixers", and if it doesn't, it gets reviewed? Iguodala Mo Cheeks
    — sixerzguy
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:23 PM, 04/22/2008
    I wrote last week that I expected them to win at least two games this series but I'm not sure they can win the series. After game one my prediction looks a little better.
    — cg
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:24 PM, 04/22/2008
    Everyone is talking about how huge of a game this is for Detroit. This is a huge opportunity for the Sixers. If Mo can get them to understand that the Pistons are going to try to run them out of the building and thus prepare to really clamp down defensively for the first 5-10 minutes of each half then we will be in good shape to pull this game out. The pressure is on them to win this one therefore the Sixers should be loosey-goosey and be able to play a strong game.
    — thurman
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 7:43 AM, 04/23/2008
    Sixerzguy, spelled it wrong, didn!t want to go through process again. Good night to play our best game of the series, take their best shot and come back at them. Probably going to be tough to score, hope our "D" is as good as possible.Expect better ball movement by Pistons and more threes attempted, guard the perimeter guys, pppplease!!!
    — seude
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:28 AM, 04/23/2008
    I love the fact we didn't play our best on Sunday night and still managed put together a great win. I really think the Sixers are going to come out loose. They know they can play with these guys and are going to come out and punch them in the mouth. It's hard to imagine Reggie replicating his game one, but I fully expect Iggy and Sammy to bounce back. How great is it right now to be a sports fan in Philadelphia these days? Young Sixers team coming together and giving the big, bad Pistons all they can handle, Flyers winning a game seven in OT, Phillies having a winning record in April, weather's getting warmer....
    — JYurk
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:52 AM, 04/23/2008
    You're right, they will try to assert themselves right from the get-go, to prove their dominance. They want to break the Sixer's will in the first quarter. Miller and Green (I wish it were Iguadala at 2 guard) have to take away the outside shot. Inside Dalembert has to get in Wallace's way- maybe double him with Evans. Thad can hold his own with Prince- I love it that Prince no longer has that length advantage over our SF unlike a few years ago. If we can minimize their starting 1,2,3, and 5(not an easy feat) we have a good chance. I still think the game is within grasp. Defense wins games, and offense certainly helps. Imagine coming back 2-0!
    — xing
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:35 AM, 04/23/2008
    In 2 of the last three games we've played against detroit have been pretty much on their terms - lower scoring, grind it out, defensive affairs. And they've lost both of them. Also, they just aren't used to teams coming back on them. They were comfortable with a 15 pt lead because that's generally plenty for them - but we've probably been down by at least that much in a good percentage of our wins this year. Not that you want to dig a whole for yourself, but its got to rattle detroit knowing that our offense is always just a snap of the fingers away from breaking out on them. They had the same problem with lebron last year - they just can't go toe to toe in terms of explosive offense. Sure, in theory there, but it's just not their game to put up crazy numbers. I think they know that, which is what really is getting their attention. We've out piston-ed them in grind it out games, and they're dont want to get into a track meet with us either. Suede, Also think you've got a great point about the ball movement - its just nowhere near as crisp as were used to seeing from detroit - maybe credit to our defense, maybe thaddeus got into their heads early by breaking up their 1st 2 possessions? tonight should answer those questions.
    — K,M
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:52 AM, 04/23/2008
    Ed Stefanski is the best GM in the league
    — T. Kurek
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:03 AM, 04/23/2008
    It seems that with the Pistons, we have the ability to really put the clamps on them in the 4th quarter. In the last two games that we played against the Pistons (not counting the one where the starters rested), we managed to hold them to under 18 pts while putting up around 25-26 pts. I think the Pistons are going to try to put us away as early as possible, given the offense that we can generate in the fourth quarter against this team. Again, aiming for Iggy/Sam/Lou to have better offensive games. I think Sam did have 4 blocks though so definitely continue the interior defense. Reggie played a crazy good game and Thad did some damage when he was out there...don't think he got too much fourth quarter burn though. But yea...doesn't seem to be as many people posting but I guess people will stream in one by one or something.
    — Mercurial41
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:18 AM, 04/23/2008
    sixerzguy, The Greek is in the house. I miss the other page though. Imaging if we win tonight and go up 2-0? Wow, that would be amazing! We need to get Thad some burn at the 3 tonight with reggie at the 4
    — The Greek
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:03 PM, 04/23/2008
    Marc, History says the Pistons are angry and will come out smoking. I would love to see the Sixers be real tough early, initiate contact, and possibly give a real hard foul early, maybe even a borderline flagrant foul, to send a message that the Sixers are certainly not going to roll over for the old Bad Boys of Motown. The Sixers have to maintain their composure and drive the ball to the basket early, possibly getting Sheed in foul trouble or for that matter, ref trouble. Sixers will give sheed his 25, and limit Hamilton And Chauncey any day of the week. Jason- Los Angels
    — JASON RINGLER


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About John Mitchell
John Mitchell is in his first year covering the 76ers for the Inquirer after joining the paper in November 2011. He covered the Washington Wizards for the Washington Times from 1998 to 2008. He's also worked at the Philadelphia Tribune, the Wilmington News Journal, Courier-Post, Trenton Times and Elmira Star-Gazette.

Born and raised in West Philadelphia - not too far from Will Smith - he graduated from Overbrook High School the same year the 76ers won their last championship. He's a proud graduate of Howard University and the proud father of two sons, Jared and Jordan.

ABOUT MARC NARDUCCI

Marc Narducci has served in a variety of roles with the Inquirer since beginning in 1983. He has covered the 76ers as a backup and a beat writer. In addition, Narducci has covered everything from the Super Bowl to the World Series and a lot in between. Narducci also has a true passion for South Jersey scholastic sports, which he has covered for many years.

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