Pony car or ready for the glue factory?
Playoff Opponent File
Detroit
Pistons
The Pistons play in the The Palace at
Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, MI. Here's the Detroit
Pistons Roster.
Local Paper:
Detroit
Free Press
Detroit
News
Team Pages:
CNNSI.com
| Pistons
ESPN.com
| Pistons
NBA.com | Pistons
The
Sporting News | Pistons
Sportsline.com
| Pistons
Head Coach: Rick Carlisle
2002 Draft: Tayshaun Prince, SF (Kentucky),
selected at #23.
New Players: Chauncey Billups, G (Miami,
Free Agency). Hubert Davis, G (trade from Washington). Richard Hamilton,
G (trade from Washington). Don Reid, F (trade from Denver). Pepe Sanchez,
G (Argentina).
Season Goal: Convince the rest of the NBA
that defense is beautiful and you can go deep in the playoffs without
superstars.
Record vs. Nets: 2 - 1
Game 24: Pistons
101, Nets 91
Game 27: Nets
100, Pistons 92
Game
47:
Pistons 106, Nets 84
Central
Division Standing: 1st.
Conference Seed:
1st.
Regular Season Record:
50 - 32.
Round 3, Game 1: May 18, 2003, 1:30pm EST - The Palace at Auburn Hills
Breakdown Lane
Put away the keys to the Porsche. It's time to grab the F-250 keys and get rolling to the Detroit/New Jersey Eastern Conference Final series. A series that promises to be more about staying power than horsepower, more about four-wheel drive than racing slicks. There'll be more stops than starts, more grease than gas, and perhaps most of all, plenty of breakdowns. Offensive breakdowns.
The Pistons absolutely thrive on the defensive end. How else do you explain Detroit closing out their second round series against the Sixers while shooting 34%? It was scrappy at best, ugly at worst, but the Pistons wore down the Sixers, and they did it with defense. Not so much a checkered flag, but more like winning the race under the caution flag.
The Nets will have to figure out a way to get their motors running and off to the races, especially since the Pistons have the home court advantage. With Detroit being the very definition of a "better than the sum of its parts" team, it's up to the Nets Big Three of race car drivers – Kidd, Martin and Jefferson, with plenty of help from the role players like Kittles, Harris, and Rogers – to find a way to go full throttle and run the ball. Since the Pistons don't shoot terribly well, it's up to the Nets to get involved on the boards, find Kidd with the outlet pass, and drag their way down court for transition buckets.
Easier said than done, with a guy like Ben Wallace working the boards. Wallace, who is content to rebound, block shots, defend and score the occasional garbage points, must be neutralized by a combination of Martin's hops, the center-by-committee's energy, and Kidd's determination. If they can do that, then it's easily a green light for New Jersey. But if the Pistons find a way to foul the Nets' spark plug, Kidd, with lots of sticky defense, then look out for the wreck that is New Jersey ahead.
Oh, this one will be at times painful to watch. But it's gonna start out like a dragster competition, and end up like a demolition derby.
Keys To The Series - For the Pistons, Richard Hamilton is the best offensive weapon, but look out for Chauncey Billups. Billups virtually dismantled the Sixers on Friday night in overtime all by himself, and has become the Pistons' go-to scorer. Keep Billups from shaking free for the long toss and you improve your chances for success against the Pistons dramatically (shades of Paul Pierce's demise in the Celtics series). Ben Wallace will also have a hand in what takes place. If the Nets are forced to play half court, and Wallace can take away Martin's ability to get inside and score (and draw fouls), the Nets will be in serious trouble.
For the Nets, the key will be how much room the Nets are given to operate by the Pistons' defense. Control the Nets tempo, and you control the Nets (the half court offense has been better, but still often looks like one of those "agony of defeat" car wrecks from the old Wide World of Sports). In addition, the Nets absolutely need to keep the rebounding statistics close to feed the nitro-powered funny car that is Jason Kidd. If Kidd and Kenyon Martin can be that motor speedway one-two punch, the Pistons will be forced to commit all kinds of fouls to slow the Nets down. Watch Ben Wallace's defense on KMart – this ain't no Antoine Walker we're talking about here.
The Unsung Player Who Could Change The Series - For the Pistons, it's been Billups and Hamilton, but two guys who usually kill the Nets are Corliss Williamson and Mehmet Okur. Williamson hasn't really seen much playing time of late, but expect him to be one of the first subs off the bench and one of the Detroit players in the game at the end. Okur, who isn't exactly Shaq, has made the Nets look bad on numerous occasions this season. A-Train and new super-sub Dikembe Mutombo better know his whereabouts.
For the Nets, it's the center-by-committee: Jason Collins, Aaron Williams and potentially Dikembe Mutombo. Interior defense, and rebounding, will be critical here. Trust me on this one. If the Nets don't keep some rebounds for themselves, the Pistons will win. Conversely, if the Nets compete against the never-ending-wave of faceless Piston rebounders, the Nets stand a great chance to go home winners.
What about...? - This rookie phenom Tayshaun Prince? At some point you expect him to flame out, right? Well, not so sure about that. He appears to be a very steady player under the brilliant glare of the NBA playoffs, and he's made numerous clutch shots under heavy defense, managing to shake free of veterans to get an open shot. And make it. Expect him to give the likes of Richard Jefferson and Rodney Rogers fits.
The Coaches - Byron Scott has the Nets supremely motivated to take a run at another NBA Finals. Detroit's Rick Carlisle has done more with less once again, and this time has them on the edge of a Championship after last season' disappointing loss to the Celtics. At this point, unless Scott get seriously outcoached, there doesn't appear to be any major advantage for either team.
Quote(s) of the Series - "...With the emergence of Prince at small forward and Okur up front, these Pistons are the best team in the East. I didn't believe it all season. But after Friday, there's not a doubt in my mind. " - SI's "Piston Skeptic" John Hollinger, after the Pistons Game 6 win over the Sixers, May 17, 2003
"There were some things that were said that kind of made it personal. There were some comments made about us from Richard Jefferson, something about us being overrated. Nobody has given us a chance all year." - Detroit Piston Chucky Atkins, reaching back to a quote that Richard Jefferson made way back in the regular season for motivation, May 17, 2003
"You just have to take it right at him. I think teams try to avoid him too much. If you avoid him, he's won." - Kenyon Martin, commenting on Defensive Player of the Year Ben Wallace and how he plans on handling his defense, May 17, 2003
"I could barely sleep last night thinking about it. When I saw that stat, it was just amazing. I had to have a little warm milk and got to sleep around 4 o'clock." - The sarcastic RIchard Jefferson, when asked about the Nets' recent poor record against the Pistons at the Palace, losing 15 of their last 17, May 17, 2003
The Final Analysis - Both teams have deep benches, and plenty of veteran role players who can win a game for you. Both teams can play tight defense as well as do all the little things you need done to advance to the Finals. The Nets are full court, the Pistons half court. But the Nets are well-rested (maybe too well-rested) and injury-free, while the Pistons get a day and a half to recover from their tough, physical, overtime win against the Sixers on Friday. I'll still take well-rested over exhausted and slightly injured any day.
And perhaps most importantly, the Nets have the better offense, provided they get themselves some room to work. Make some shots, get some rebounds, and never stop running – that's been the Nets recipie for success all playoffs long. With the Nets suddenly becoming a much better road team in these playoffs, there should be no reason why the Nets can split the first two games in Detroit.
Joe's Pick: Nets over the Pistons in seven. I wanted to say Nets in six games, but there's always that offensive funk waiting around the corner for New Jersey, which Detroit can force and take advantage of. Still, the Pistons don't have as many weapons as the Nets, especially if New Jersey make some outside shots. So the Pistons will slow this series down, making the Nets crazy for long stretches, but ultimately will be unable to stop the Kidd Express from rolling through Detroit.
Champagne's Pick: Nets in six. NJ closes out a series at home for a change.
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