Mikey D

So I invested a lot of time into this series (I stayed up late for all these night games and still got up at 4:30) and I definitely did not get the return I wanted.

For the second straight year I'm sitting on my couch going, "Where are the real Pistons?" You know, the ones that showed their dominance against Philadelphia, and just absolutely steamrolled Orlando (even without their leader!). They are the true definition of a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde team and there's something about the Eastern Conference Finals that brings it out in them. Honestly, I don't get it.

There were many things that went wrong in this series, and it has little to do with the officiating. I know a lot of people want to pin it on the officials, but it was a poorly called series both ways. Paul Pierce's potential four point play last night that was called an offensive foul? Please. Kendrick Perkins phantom technical in Game 5? Right...Listen, some of the calls were bad for the P's, but I watched each game in its entirety, and they were bad for both squads. Boston was just more composed and handled them better. That's just the whole of it.

So I've been thinking for the past week, why is Boston the better team in this series, and what do we have to do to take control of this series? A moot question now, but I feel this series basically came down to two stats: Rebounding and second-chance points. Take a look at this breakdown:

Rebounds
Game 1: Boston 37, Detroit 37 (8-5 offensive rebound advantage Boston)
Game 2: Boston 39, Detroit 31 (13-9 offensive rebound advantage Boston)
Game 3: Boston 44, Detroit 28 (14-10 offensive rebound advantage Boston)
Game 4: Boston 38, Detroit 34 (11-9 offensive rebound advantage Boston)
Game 5: Boston 42, Detroit 25 (11-5 offensive rebound advantage Boston)
Game 6: Boston 38, Detroit 36 (Even on offensive rebounding)

We got dominated in practically every game. The Pistons did play relatively good defense throughout the series, but in my mind a defensive "stop" isn't just forcing the opposing team into a missed shot, it's playing a complete possession- tight defense for 24 seconds, good help and rotation, boxing out, rebounding, and gaining possession of the ball. We flat out didn't do the last three. As a fan it was very frustrating watching them go all-out on defense, only to let Boston get the ball back and have a second 24. And ultimately, in those close games, it ended up being the difference.

I sat watching last night, a thought dawned on me. The Pistons would be winning this series right now if we still had Ben Wallace. Okay, maybe not winning, but it would have been a little more competitive and at the very least closer. That's right, Ben fucking Wallace. The guy who couldn't hit a free throw to save his life.

But think about it. What was the one thing Ben Wallace did better than anyone on the floor? Rebound. That was his job. And when he wasn't rebounding, what was he doing? Causing havoc for offensive players- altering and blocking their shots, getting up in their faces, taking charges, etc. Throughout the series Ray Allen and Paul Pierce had a ton of drives into the lane and ended up with easy lay-ups, and after each one I was thinking back to when Ben Wallace's presence used to be enough to scare offensive players and make them think twice about driving the lane. What if we still had that? What if Ben Wallace held Kendrick Perkins to below double-digit rebounds? What if...

Like I said, he might not have made a difference in the ultimate outcome of the series, but he definitely would have made the way we played different, which with the way this series went, wouldn't have been a bad thing.

And fuck Boston. Seeing Sam Cassell hooting, hollering, and laughing it up on the sideline made me sick to my stomach. The fool comes over halfway through the year and contributes nothing to his team, but he's having the time of his life on the bench. A rookie I could see acting that way, but this veteran acts like he's made some difference in the series or made a contribution of some sorts. The only thing he did was pad Lindsey Hunter's steals per game stat. Fuck you Sam Cassell and your alien shaped head.

I think I'm just a little bitter/jealous right now...

~Mikey D