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NBA Loud - by Travis

I’d like to post about the previously finished NBA Draft. A lot of trades were completed/proposed making this years draft exciting and noteworthy. In this first post I will be going through the top five picks and thereafter with updates and all you need to know up to the minute stats and transactions.

Let’s get this post draft analysis going with the first overall pick for the Chicago Bulls DERRICK ROSE. Rose out of Memphis has a solid NBA body and can take the punishment as a player in the paint. He will mold himself into whatever type of player his team needs him to be as evident by the video below. He is one of the most ready-type players to enter the league. A truly solid addition to any team, kind of makes me think of the miss of Jay Williams. In which whom the Bulls took as the savior type PG years ago before he had his motorcycle accident stifling his promising career. With this pick Chicago puts themselves back into contention for a playoff spot in the East.

This video shows how Rose can affect the game as he will become a solid NBA-PG.

# 2

Undoubtedly the Miami Heat selected MICHAEL BEASLEY out of Kansas State. This PF needs no introduction to basketball fans as his huge wingspan makes up for any negativity about his height at the four spot. One of the perfect teams for Beasley to go to, I think his character issues would only become apparent if he were to have to battle with a solid proven veteran for his starting spot. He will be going in battling Udonis Haslem who has seen his stock drop as he needs to create more of his own offence. The heat I am sure are not finished in tweaking their team for the 08/09 season. Marion though will alleviate any concerns of the rookie being overmatched down-low as he is almost like an extra PF out there sometimes with his rebounding efforts and hustle in trying to make the right plays.

# 3

Minnesota at the third spot went with OJ MAYO, who I have seen and been hearing about for a good number of years. Mayo will be a solid two as at 6’4” 200lbs he is limited in selected positions, but this guy is just a born scorer and if he ends up in Grizz-town, look for him to team up with Rudy Gay as Mike Miller was moved with Memphis making the choice to let him go after he admittedly carried the Grizzlies last season at times. In return Minnesota looks to get #5 Kevin Love. I am in love with this deal as the T-Wolves send Antoine Walker also to MEM. Minnesota gets the scoring they desperately need and character guys, to build around. I know what fans may be thinking and no this isn’t the second coming of Wally World, Mike Miller is a gamer playing all three spots from 1-3 for the Grizz and did whatever was asked, as he became a versatile and proven scorer, unlike streaky Szczerbiak.

# 4

Russell Westbrook a surprise at number four as the top three had virtually been decided weeks beforehand. Westbrook though an unexpected pick is an explosive guard that will do well in this league especially when Seattle gets all the parts and can continuously run up and down with Durant and Green. The Sonics clearly want a guard that can break down the D and get up and down the court at breakneck speeds. They have found that guy with Westbrook. People want to compare him to NBA champion Rajon Rondo and maybe Monta Ellis, he is long and skinny and extremely athletic, time will tell if he can make the right passes for a long career with Durant by his side.

# 5

Care of NBADraft.net

Memphis picks Kevin Love at the number five spot and in turn will be sending him to Minnesota in the deal outlined in the third pick paragraph. Love is solid, not an athlete like the Grizz love at the four spot, but the T-Wolves just need ballers in which Kevin is for sure. Down-low he will be helped by Al Jefferson for sure on defense. Also he will have a great passer in Mike Miller to get the ball to him in good spots. I like Kevin Love on a solid team a rebuilding team he may flourish or sink as he’ll need to create his own offence and may struggle with the speed of the NBA at first.

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Playoff Officiating

May 29th 2008 20:54

After watching game 4 of the LA-San Antonio series, I thought it was time for me to address the issue of officiating in the playoffs, or just officiating in general. I'll start off by saying that Brent Barry was indeed fouled on that last second play by the Spurs. I'm a huge Lakers fan and even I felt a bit cheated after that play. I'm all for my team winning, but I don't want to hear any nonsense about how we only won because a foul was (or in this case, was not) called. With that said, the foul on Barry was not a shooting foul, so he would not have iced the game with his three free throws. Don't remember if LA was over the foul limit though, so it might have been two shots.

Another interesting referee-related issue regarding the Lakers-Spurs game 4. One of the refs in this game was veteran official, Joe Crawford. For those of you who don't remember, Crawford was suspended last season by the NBA after he and Tim Duncan got into a little argument. Nothing physical, but Crawford must have done something completely uncalled for for him to get suspended. The league is always quick to side with the refs so I found that one rather comical. But anyways, the issue being discussed prior to the game was whether or not Crawford should have been allowed to officiate the Spurs series. Even if there is no resentment or hate towards Duncan, there can always be that small hint of subjectiveness if a call is close. I don't know who botched that last call in game 4, but it would make my day if I found out it was Crawford.

There were also a few controversial calls in game five of the Detroit-Boston series. I believe a flagrant 1 was called against the Celtics in what I believe was a good playoff foul. We all know that the intent of the foul was to prevent the basket and there was no act of recklessness involved in the foul. It was a clean foul... there was nothing malicious about it. This is the playoffs and with the series tied at 2 apiece, you've got to expect that players are going to play hard to win the game. Later in the game, a similar foul was made and no flagrant was called. Inconsistent? Probably; but that was the right call to make in my opinion.

Overall, officiating in the playoffs have not been all that great. I'm not going to bother going into details. Instead, I'll offer some suggestions. When officials have really bad games, they should be punished. A suspension or something would suffice. Just to let them know that game-changing mistakes will not be tolerated. Currently, these guys fear nothing; they need something to keep them on their toes. Officials are supposed to be invisible; they should not impact the outcome of a game. They're supposed to make the calls and enforce the rules to the best of their abilities. Sometimes the refs let their egos get in the way and refuse to admit their mistakes when consulting with fellow officials to determine the call. With that said, these guys are pros and are doing their job better than any of us could do it. I criticize and offer up and opinion, but the bottom line is, they are human and humans make mistakes. We have the benefit of replay and slow motion when watching the game on tv. Refs don't have that when they're making the call on the court. But hopefully, the officiating improves in time for the Finals; we don't want to see a repeat of the '06 series featuring Miami and Dallas.

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Posted By: Travis - Category: The Playoffs, Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs

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Preview: Pistons vs. Celtics

May 19th 2008 00:50

This is the match-up everyone has been talking about since the midway point of the NBA regular season. Could the Celtics beat Detroit in a seven game series? Is Detroit the one team that Boston should be afraid of? Well, all of these questions will be answered as the two teams look to square off in a few days. My opinion on this matter has changed since the season ended, and since I am now enlightened, I will tell you why the Pistons will beat the Celtics in the Conference Finals.

Let me start off by saying this. The Pistons match-up better against the Celtics from a defensive standpoint than any other team in the league. If I were to guess off the top of my head, I would say that the Spurs are close behind in terms of best match-ups. So already, the Pistons have the defensive advantage in this 7-game affair. Rasheed Wallace is a great defender and although he won't shut down Garnett completely (who can?), he should be able to do a good enough job to give Detroit an edge. Rasheed is no stranger to the mid-range game, so I think he should be able to effectively guard Garnett out there in addition to holding him off down low. We're all aware of Teyshaun Prince's spectacular defense. Although Garnett won't be shut down, I think there is a possibility that Paul Pierce will be rendered obsolete in this series. Prince is coming off a great defensive effort in the Orlando series and I look for that to continue through to this round. Neither Rip Hamilton nor Ray Allen play great D so look for those two to put up some good numbers throughout the series. Their teammates will be looking for them to score the big points since they themselves are tied up in tough defensive match-ups.

I think the PG battle might be the deciding factor in this series. Chauncey is just so much more polished an experienced than Rajon Rondo. That alone puts Rondo at a disadvantage, and to be honest, I think he will get ripped by Billups. These are two of the best defensive guards in the league and although I know Rondo can keep up with Billups, I just think he'll get outsmarted and posted up down low. Chauncey has the size to overpower Rondo with relative ease, and I don't know if Rondo knows how to guard a PG that likes to post up every once in a while. Rondo will have to use everything he's got on defense is he hopes to stop Billups. On the other hand, I think Billups can and will contain Rondo rather easily. He's been here before, and when it's a seasoned veteran versus a very young PG, I have no problem admitting that experience and knowledge plays a big part in the outcome. I expect to see more of Cassell in this series so Rondo can get the rest he needs to go 100% for the minutes in which he is playing. I like Stuckey off the bench for Detroit, and I think he'll capitalize on opportunities if he is put on the court with a tired Rondo or an older, slower Sam Cassell.

While Detroit may have the defensive edge, I don't think there is any doubt that the Celtics have the advantage on the offensive end. My opinion is that Detroit's defense is more of an asset than the Celtics' offense, which is why I chose Detroit to take the series. I'm gonna stay true to the home-court advantage phenomenon that's been taking over and say that the series will go to seven games. Obviously, Detroit will have to win game seven in Boston, so the home team will have to lose at least one game in this series if my prediction is to come true.

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Posted By: Travis - Category: The Playoffs, Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons

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Scottie Pippen Needs Two Ladies to Handle His Six Footer.

January 4th 2008 11:17

All-Star game balloting has never been fair. Let’s face it, in the years that Vince Carter was a perennial starter, most of those seasons he shouldn’t have been in the starting five. Injustices still abound in this current climate with Steve Nash not getting anywhere near a starting spot behind an oft-injured, Tracy McGrady for crying out loud!

With our justice hats on, we here at NBALOUD would love to lobby voters to give at least one

All we are saying, is give Rip a chance. (Photo by Steve Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)

Detroit Piston a starting spot. Yes, we know that this is a futile proposition at best – but give Chauncey Billups or Rip Hamilton a go!

How sad is the state of affairs with the fan voting? Gilbert Arenas who has not played at all this season has garnered more love than Rip or Mr. Big Shot. It’s hard to believe that this is the same Agent Zero who sat in a Foot Locker stuffing the ballots for himself back in the day.

Detroit are only behind the hot, hot, Boston Celtics in terms of wins in the East, and is one of the only two legitimate teams out in that side of the States to have a real shot at unseating the San Antonio Spurs for the title.

The sad fact is that the prettiest girls will always get invited to the school dance at the expense of the cute, smart, interesting and personable girl in your biology class. Rip is resigned to the fact once again that his participation in the mid-season classic is up to league coaches – even if Hamilton is playing some of the best basketball of his life: “It doesn't surprise me, because every year it's the same old thing…I just think the way that I play ... I'm an old school player. There ain't too many flashy moments. Every now and then, I'll get up and dunk on somebody or something like that. But it doesn't surprise me at all.” (Blakely, mlive.com, 2008)

And, he plays for the Pistons.

Speaking of weird occurrences, Isiah Thomas, the dead man walking coach of the New York Knicks has recently claimed that his team is capable of winning a championship. Excuse this writer for being a little sceptical of Zeke’s sanity. Or, he has been hanging around Towelie for too long.

Here is the exact Thomas quote. Be prepared to choke on either your breakfast, lunch or dinner. Better yet, you can choke on all three meals by reading these words over and over again.

“My belief and what I see and where I believe we can go as a team and an organisation, I believe one day that we will win a championship here and I believe a couple of these guys will be a part of that," Thomas said before the Knicks were walloped at the Garden by the depleted Sacramento Kings, 107-97. "I believe I'll be a part of that.”

Blame this delusion on Towelie.

Today’s video is a cracker of a clip featuring Chicago Bulls legend, Scottie Pippen trying to sell sub sandwiches. The best part of this is not the woefully inadequate acting of Pip, but these immortal lines: “This is one six-footer I can't handle by myself. Ladies, let's have a party.” Geez, Pip is packing a cannon there!

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Posted By: Stanley - Category: All Stars, Detroit Pistons

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New Years Eve NBA Games Sets Off Some Fireworks.

January 1st 2008 12:04

Hedo Turkoglu game winning shot against the Chicago Bulls.

Hedo Turkoglu...shoots...he scores! Game over! (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

We here at NBALOUD wish all of our wonderful readers a Happy New Year and hope that with a fresh 365 days upon us that it’ll be prosperous and righteous. Although, it’s the eve of a fresh year, doesn’t mean that pro-hoopsters get a night off. Well, they do, but a lot of players still have to put on their safety hats and get to work during the afternoon. Afterwards it’ll be Cristal and groupies.

Let’s begin with MVP candidate, Dwight Howard whose Orlando Magic played an exciting game against the Chicago Bulls. Although, Howard might be getting all the MVP love, Hedo Turkoglu his teammate is also quietly putting together an all-star calibre season.

Hedo actually had a game that was marred by turnovers and poor decision making, but he came good when the Magic needed him the most – crunch time. With 0.7 seconds left in the overtime period, Turkoglu hit a fadeaway jump shot over defensive beast, Ben Wallace to seal the game for Orlando. Well, done big fella. We can bet he’ll have a rocking new year.

Speaking of Ben Wallace, his old team the Detroit Pistons battled the Milwaukee Bucks and slaughtered them 114-69. This was massacre of epic proportions. Kind of like the Brazilian national football team playing against the Solomon Islands.

It was Detroit’s biggest victory win since 2003 when they crunched the pre-Garnett Celtics by 52 points. The ‘D’ is looking threatening for the Eastern Conference title.

Performance of the Day.

Have you our wise and wonderful readers seen the Golden State Warriors play yet? Well, if you haven’t do it now! Do it, because it’ll enliven your lives. Seriously, this writer was once blind, but now can see due to watching the Warriors play. Oops, the scam is up, but the team from G-State are gold.

The Warriors, who aren’t from Coney Island, took out Houston, 112-95. What was most impressive about this victory was Warriors coach, Don Nelson actually got tossed out of the game in the second quarter for arguing against the refs.

Luckily, for G-State, Baron Davis took control of the game scoring 23 points and dishing off seven dimes. It was a masterful display of dominant basketball.

Today’s video is of the top 10 dunks for 2007! Some righteous jams here.

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Posted By: Stanley - Category: Games, Detroit Pistons, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets

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Golden State are so Hot, they Make the Scoreboard Catch Fire.

December 3rd 2007 11:42

The G-State Warriors light up the scoreboard, literally. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

The marquee match-up between the two leading lights of the Eastern Conference didn’t turn out the way many would expect for such a big game. Firstly, LeBron James was still missing through injury. Also, a mid-afternoon start saw both a listless Boston crowd and Celtics performance combine for one unappealing package. In an uninspired game the Celts beat the Cavs, 80-70.

Ray Allen paced Boston with 20 points, but Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce each scored under 10 points! It must be stated that it is a very impressive effort that the Celtics still won with two of the big three firing blanks. On the flipside, this also illustrates how desperately the Cavs need King James in uniform as well.

Boston remains undefeated at home this season, thus far, and has notched up their 14th win as well. Why would this seemingly benign stat be of any importance? Well, it took their 56th game last season to win their 14th game. What also must be remembered is that there are 82 games in an NBA season. So it took over half of the basketball year to reach the milestone they have notched up so quickly this time around.

Last year’s team would also have been blown away by a LeBron-less Cavs. How times have changed.

Backcourt running mates, Richard Hamilton and Chauncey Billups both blew up for the Detroit Pistons, scoring a combined 37 points on 12-of-19 shooting. When the two Piston all-stars are playing such good ball, they don’t usually lose, and today was no exception as they crushed the New Jersey Nets, 118-95.

Both Hamilton and Billups have been hampered by injuries in the first month of this season and it has been a rare sight for the two guards of the ‘D’ to play such beautiful basketball. Unfortunately, for the Nets they combined wonderfully today.

"It's fun to play like this," said Billups. "We're moving the ball well, and that's the key for us."

Like, Dr. Claw in relation to Inspector Gadget, the Nets will be seeking revenge on the 'D' next time they meet. (Image from wikipedia)

(AP, 2007)

New Jersey’s triple-threat also played inspired basketball, but the Pistons proved to be far too kick ass on this occasion. In the words of Dr. Claw: “We’ll get you next time, Detroit. Next time!”

Speaking of teams that got their behinds handed to them on a platter, the struggling Miami Heat was annihilated by the Denver Nuggets, 115-89.

Any semblance of a contest was thrown out the window when Carmelo Anthony, Kenyon Martin and Allen Iverson did whatever they pleased to the Heat. To make matters worse for Miami, Shaquille O’Neal had a season-low six points.

Shaq scoring six points was once unimaginable. Now, the nastiest baller on the planet isn’t as frightening as he once was.

Performance of the Day.

In a rarity for the prestigious NBALOUD performer of the day, we’re handing out this plaudit to the whole Golden State Warrior team! Not only did they utterly humiliate the Seattle Supersonics 109-96 in their home. G-State was so hot, that they literally made the scoreboard catch on fire!

How many teams can boast that? Well, the Warriors probably can’t be held accountable for a spotlight on the main scoreboard lighting up, but their hot performance may as well contributed to the maiming of the scoreboard.

Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington led the way for the Warriors with 20 points apiece. Whilst, Baron Davis chipped in with a solid 14 point, eight rebound and nine assist performance.

Carmelo Anthony would probably have gotten the performance of the day nod if the Seattle scoreboard didn’t light up like a firecracker during Chinese New Year. However, to make amends to ‘Melo, today’s video is of his ad for the Air Jordan kicks he rocks.

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Posted By: Stanley - Category: Games, Detroit Pistons, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors

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Chauncey Billups is a Detroit Piston Big Shot.

October 20th 2007 11:07

Readers who are familiar with the Detroit Pistons and the player introductions would surely love it when the MC calls out Chauncey Billups. Who wouldn’t dig how he introduces Mr. Big Shot? C-C-C-Chauncey B-B-B-B-illups! Cool.

Well, since all the readers of NBALOUD are geniuses, it wouldn’t take you guys long to realise that today’s player profile is of Chauncey – a very much underappreciated player.

Date of Birth: 25th September, 1976.
Height: 6’3” (191cm)
College: Colorado
Draft: Third pick in the 1997 Draft by the Boston Celtics.
Average Points per Game: 17.5
Average Assists per Game: 5.8
Average Rebounds per Game: 3.5
Honours: 2006, 2007 All-Star, 2006-07 All-NBA Third Team, 2005-06 NBA All-Defense Second Team, 2005-06 All-NBA Second Team, 2004 NBA Finals MVP, 2004-05 NBA All-Defense Second Team.

Despite being a Finals MVP, Chauncey Billups still flies under the radar of most casual NBA

Chauncey Billups flying through the sky. (Image from nba.com)

fans. Yes, those in the know appreciate the game of Mr. Big Shot, but he doesn’t do anything spectacular, isn’t opinionated, all he really does is just play solid basketball. In the razzle-dazzle world of modern day sports, being a great athlete doesn’t cut it anymore.

Billups had a storied high school and college career where he absolutely dominated the Colorado basketball scene. Want proof? How about being named as ‘Mr. Basketball’ three years in high school, or being elected to Second Team All-American and First Team All-Big 12 in his two seasons at the University of Colorado.

Mr. Big Shot was ready for the big time and the Celtics appropriately bestowed Billups the honour of being the third overall pick in 1997, with the expectation that he would become another Boston great. He didn’t.

In brutal honesty, Billups early NBA career wasn’t spectacular by any stretch of the imagination. Some would actually have labeled him as a failure of sorts. Boston traded him during his rookie season to Toronto for Kenny Anderson! After that he bounced around from various teams starting off with Denver, Orlando and then Minnesota.

There were glimpses of greatness, but obviously they were few and far between with Mr. Big Shot looking anything but.

During his time with the T-Wolves, Billups was meant to be a backup for Terrell Brandon but fortune smiled when Minnesota’s number one point man was felled by injury. In the 2000-01 season, Chauncey was outstanding for the Wolves averaging career highs in assists and rebounds. Detroit came calling in the offseason and Mr. Big Shot would really earn his moniker.

The Pistons were building themselves a very nice team and Chauncey would play a major role in Detroit’s resurgence, culminating in winning both the 2004 Championship with the team, and the Finals MVP.

With is backcourt running mate in Rip Hamilton, and his penchant for making the big shots and plays for the ‘D’, Billups has become a certifiable superstar.

Today’s video is a really cool one featuring Chauncey, along with fellow NBA superstars Tim Duncan, Dwight Howard, Gilbert Arenas, Tracy McGrady and Kevin Garnett playing ball with a bunch of high school players. Really cool.

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Posted By: Stanley - Category: All Stars, Detroit Pistons

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Chris Webber May Be Doing it Greek Style!

September 30th 2007 11:01

After struggling with the flu and going home to visit the parents, this writer was inconsistent to say the least over the last week. Not to mention dealing with the s-l-o-w world of dial-up internet. How on earth did anyone ever survive back in the dinosaur ages of snail pace net connection? But I digress. It’s all about the basketball here.

Training camps are starting to open and Isiah Thomas’ future hangs in the balance for a jury to decide. Things are getting very exciting. However, the biggest news to hit the NBA world this evening is the fact that Chris Webber might be playing ball in Greece!

Olympiacos has offered C-Webb a multimillion contract that has the man mulling over a

We might have to start calling C-Webb, Zorba soon. (Image from USATODAY.com)

possible move to Greece. He will make a decision by the end of the weekend.

ESPN.com has quoted two sources as saying that an offer is on the table that would make Webber the highest paid American in Europe. So, what’s the ‘big’ deal? A tidy sum of $10 million to $12 million for two years of service.

Last season, Webber was on the books with Detroit and was a very handy player for the Pistons, but his place on the roster this year isn’t as straight forward. Although, he is signed for the veteran’s minimum, the Pistons still are wary of going over the salary cap and are reportedly willing to cut Webber loose if his contract doesn’t suit their needs. Webber was willing to wait it out for a month or so to see what would happen.

That was before some Greeks baring gifts came to the C-Webb party.

As of this moment, Olympiacos has three Americans on their roster and would have to cut one if Webber was indeed to sign with the Greek team.

The Greek basketball league is a very strong competition and the sport is apparently more popular than basketball. However, this is not to say how far Webber’s stocks have fallen in that his best offer is in Europe.

What was once a player with Hall of Fame potential, has now found that his career didn’t reach the heights that everyone once expected of him. Chris’ career wasn’t a bust by any stretch of the imagination, but it wasn’t all it could have been either.

Will C-Webb swap burgers for souvlaki? Only time will tell.

Today’s video is of Webber’s potential future team, playing the Michael Jordan led Bulls in 1997. Enjoy the Greek commentary. How exotic.

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Posted By: Stanley - Category: Player News, Detroit Pistons

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Does LeBron James Have What it Takes?

May 27th 2007 23:51

Down to 2-0 to the Detroit Pistons, questions surrounding LeBron Jame's ability to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to the promise land are starting to surface and becoming the talk of the NBA playoffs. No question LeBron is talented, but he can't seem to close when it comes down to crutch time. The Cavs lost again Thursday night by exactly the same score as game one, 76-79. LeBron had a somewhat of a better game scoring 19 points and dishing out 7 assists, but still the same result. James had some help with Anderson Varejao putting up 14 points and 14 boards, but it wasn't enough.

AP Photo/ Paul Sancya

The Pistons didn't have the best offensive performance, but got the job done. Rasheed Wallace showed up once again with 16 points, 11 rebounds and an amazing turn around jumper on LeBron which helped clinch the win. Tayshaun Prince on the other hand was a disappointment, shooting 0-8 and scoring only one point.

If LeBron wants to win championships like the players that he has been compared to, (Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson) he better figure out how to put the nail in the coffin and beat a quality team like the Pistons in the playoffs. It's time to step up and show how good he really can be.

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Posted By: Ryan Ward - Category: The Playoffs, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Lebron James

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Pistons Going to the Eastern Conference Finals, Again!

May 18th 2007 04:56

When the Chicago Bulls knocked off the defending champion Miami Heat, they showed their potential for a championship run, but they would have to get past the more experienced Detroit Pistons. The Pistons have been to the Eastern Conference Finals for four straight years making them the toughest team in the East every year, with a starting five that is absolutely sold at every position.

Chauncey Billups, PG, former NBA Finals MVP, has to be the most patient player to play the point in a long time. Billups rarely makes mistakes and is one the best free throw and clutch shooters in the NBA. Richard "Rip" Hamilton, SG, a very consistent shooter who can score up 30 points on any given night, at his best when coming off screens and popping. Tashawn Prince, SF, the league's most underrated player, the guy can score from anywhere, post, outside, off the dribble and he is awesome defender. Rasheed Wallace, F/C, biggest mouth in the league, but he backs it up with his play, good inside post player and can get 10 boards a game if needed, pretty good three pointer shooter as well. Finally, Chris Webber, C/F, the best passer on the Pistons and has good mid-range shot when needed.

Those guys were just too much for Ben Gordon and the Bulls to handle Thursday night in Chicago. The Pistons were lead by Rip Hamilton's 23 points, shooting 9 for 18. Chauncey Billups added with 21 points and 7 assists, going 14-14 at the free throw line. Rasheed Wallace was up to his usual antics recieving a technical foul in the fourth, but had a solid game other wise with 16 points and 10 rebounds. The Bulls on the other hand shot a horrible 37% for the floor and 68% at the free throw line, no thanks to former Piston Ben Wallace's 2-8 free throw shooting. All and all, the Bulls put up a valiant effort, when everyone thought they were down and out, they came back and won two straight to get back into the series, even though it was not enough to beat the power house Pistons it still shows a promise for the future and to keep a lookout because we may see this match up in the playoff a few more times.

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Posted By: Ryan Ward - Category: The Playoffs, Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons

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