Pistons-Magic Recap Game 3 and Preview Game 4
May 9, 2008
By now you all have seen other articles about Game 3, so I’ll try to keep it short. Obviously, losing Billups was a huge blow for Detroit. The Magic were already fired up because of returning home, and they blew Detroit out once Chauncey left. But there’s a lot more to this story than just Billups.
What surprises me is that on paper at least, losing Billups was not a huge loss. Rodney Stuckey came in and shot 5-13…but went to the free throw line 9 times. That’s very impressive for a rookie pushed into the rotation, who isn’t going to get many calls. He scored 19 in all, although I’m sure a lot of those points were in garbage time.
No, what really hurt Detroit was the play of their vaunted big men. Maxiell, Wallace, Ratliff, and McDyess went a putrid 4 for 20 from the field. I’m sure part of that was the absence of Chauncey to deliver the ball–Detroit managed only 12 assists for the game. But that is still awful.
Ok, time for my obligatory gushing about Tayshaun Prince and Stan Van Gundy. Tayshaun slipped a little, “barely” shooting over 50% and “only” shooting 100% from the foul line on his way to 22 points and 7 rebounds. If he keeps this offensive production up, people might stop talking about Detroit missing out on Carmelo in a year or two. SVG, on the other hand, got his team to bounce back for Game 3 in a big way. Sometimes teams tend to relax when an opposing player is injured early, thinking they have the game won; but the Magic kept the petal down and crushed the Pistons. I don’t want to sound as if SVG plays point guard or something, but I get disappointed when people pretend as if he’s just a pudgy clipboard holder while the likes of Dwight Howard and Shaq dominate inside.
So what’s next for this series? What has really surprised me so far is the scoring of Jameer Nelson. He’s raised his average nearly six points a game in the play-offs, making teams pay for double-teaming the Magic big men. His assist to turnover ratio is terrible, though, which is ridiculous because he has Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis on his team. It may be wise for the Magic to play Carlos Arroyo or Kevin Dooling a little more if their big men are struggling.
In the end, I’m still holding to my prediction of Detroit in 5. In some weird way, I think the injury to Chauncey will help wake up the Pistons as they rally around him. But the Pistons seem determined to rush Chauncey back for Game 4. Why? They had a good chance of losing Game 4 in Orlando, anyway, and they can certainly win the three-game series if the series goes back to Detroit tied 2-2. This seems short-sighted at best.
However, I change my prediction if Hedo Turkoglu starts playing a little more like the guy who won the Most Improved Player award this season. It’s not all his fault; I believe Tayshaun Prince has been guarding him for much of the series. But without a dose of Hedo-mania, there will be no return to Orlando. Hedo, get your game face on!
Um, yeah, so I still stand by Detroit in 5.
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5 Responses to “Pistons-Magic Recap Game 3 and Preview Game 4”
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Don’t you get lonely over here while everyone comments on the other posts?
i dig the svg love. this guy needs to be saluted. what other coach would be able to change his entire game plan midway into the season, adapt to injury problems and develop a three-ball offense? you know he’s cringin everytime they hoist, but he also knows it’s their best way to win. that’s some flexible coaching.
Rodney Stuckey will be ready to go even if Billups isn’t. Too bad for Jameer Nelson that Stuckey is even bigger and presumably stronger than Billups. Stuckey should be able to score on him at will if Saunders gives him the green light.
SVG is a good coach, he’ll have a long career in this league. Now that he has a star player who doesn’t publicly question him and undermine his authority (*cough*Shaq*cough*) he should do well in the future.
The best chance the Magic have to defend Stuckey is if they can use Mo Evans on him and let Jameer try and guard Rip. When you have 3 6′-11″ players on the floor, i think help can arrive anyway.
Also this injury might be helpful as Jameer could light up Billups. I like Billups, but he’s not up to the task of defending Jameer because he’s too slow.
Motown shaq wasn’t SVG problem in miami it was that slick haired pimp Pat Riley. You know Mr. I get the credit and want to be the coach when the team is good but as soon as they are bad I want to take my @ss back to management.