The real NBA season has began. Enough of that regular season monotony! After clinching the top overall seed with a win over Orlando back in mid-April, the Pistons were again set to face their southeastern foes. Featuring Dwight Howard, Grant Hill, and Darko Milicic, the Magic are usually an entertaining opponent, however they have not provided enough resistance against the Pistons, who cruised to victories in game one, game two, and game three. As I write, the Magic lead the Pistons by eight midway through the second quarter of game four.
- Along the way to the 3-0 lead on Orlando, Rip Hamilton passed Joe Dumars to become second on the Pistons’ all-time playoff scoring list. Hamilton now sits behind only Isiah Thomas, who, with 2261 points, still has nearly 500 points more than Hamilton.
- Former Piston Darko Milicic does not mind the boos that are being directed towards him during games in Auburn Hills. He says in his country, people used to throw baseball bats at him! Despite playing on a sprained foot, Detroit’s former second overall draft selection was averaging nearly 12 points, 4 rebounds, and a block in the first three games of the series off the bench.
- Speaking of former Pistons, Grant Hill has been pointing some fingers at the medical advice that led him to continue playing on his destroyed ankle towards the end of his tenure in Detroit. Still, it’s tough not to love Grant Hill — he was not only a great player, but also a class act both on and off the court. A great man and a great player, he still is a major piece of the Magic despite his age, as well as his prior trouble with injuries.
- The coach who led the Pistons to their 2004 Championship, Larry Brown, has interviewed with the Memphis Grizzlies. The man who preceded him, Rick Carlisle, has been let go from the Pacers after the team failed to make the playoffs. Carlisle headed the Pistons when they went back to red, white, and blue jerseys, leading the team to consecutive 50-32 regular seasons before being replaced by Brown.
- Tim Duncan does not enjoy the company of referee Joey Crawford. Crawford allegedly challenged the Spurs superstar to a fight, and Duncan also was wrongfully ejected from the game. After one technical foul, Duncan was on the bench when whistled for a second for laughing, presumably at a joke from a teammate that was unrelated to the officiating. Strangely enough, the NBA blames both — they fined Duncan $25,000 and suspended Joey Crawford indefinitely. Here’s an interesting look at how the Pistons get along with the refs.
- Pistons fans are among the top five trashiest sports fanbases. How about falling loyalty? While the Pistons may be selling out their playoff games, never have I seen more empty seats during a playoff game in Detroit than I have during this series against the Magic. Flip Murray has himself quite the fan, after being the intended victim of a drive-by shooting shortly before the beginning of the playoffs. Three shots were fired, though Murray was uninjured.
- The Nuggets’ Marcus Camby has been named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year after leading the league with 3.3 shot blocks per contest. He also posted 11.7 rebounds and 1.24 steals (highest among centers) during this 2006/2007 season.
1 Comment
April 28, 2007 at 6:31 pm
I picked Detroit in 5.. looks like I’m gonna be wrong