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Detroit 91 Orlando 86: Once again, the Detroit Pistons were able make all the plays down the stretch to hold off an Orlando team that made way too many mistakes. Orlando throughout this series has played poorly at the end of games and it probably cost them at least two games. Detroit ends up winning this series in 5 but it was much closer than that because all the games were close except for Orlando's Game 3 blowout of Detroit. Detroit has now reached their 6th straight Eastern Conference Finals, so they definitely deserve some props for that.
With Chauncey Billups out, Richard Hamilton once again picked up the scoring slack and poured in a game high 31 points including 16 of 16 from the free throw line. I still think that Hamilton should be this aggressive all the time and not just when Billups isn't playing. He has been huge in these last two games and is now Detroits all-time leading scorer in the playoffs having passed Isiah Thomas last night.
Antonio McDyess also had a big game for Detroit finishing with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Rodney Stuckey played well in place of Billups as well, so there hasn't been much drop off offensively with Billups out. Stuckey finished with 15 points and 6 assists and most importantly he had zero turnovers. In fact, Detroit only turned the ball over three times in the whole game, which is an NBA Playoff record. Orlando on the other hand turned the ball over a whopping 21 times, which proved to be costly in this game.
For Orlando, the turnovers certainly cost them because offensively they shot the ball well in this game and a few more possessions may have helped them win the game. Orlando finished with six players in double figures, led by Hedo Turkoglu who had 18 points to go along with 9 rebounds and 7 assists. Jameer Nelson also had a strong game, finishing with 14 points on 6 of 7 from the floor.
Dwight Howard finished with 14 points and 17 rebounds but he was absolutely dredful from the free throw line. He shot only 6 of 15 from the line and had he hit a few more free throws then this game may have turned out differently. Orlando clearly was hurt by their poor free throw shooting and turnovers, while Detroit excelled in both areas. These are two areas that Orlando is going to have to improve upon if they want to advance in the post-season in future years.
The Detroit Pistons will now wait for the winner of the Boston-Cleveland series. It looks like they will have a long layoff, which will help give Chauncey Billups some time to get healthy.
With Chauncey Billups out, Richard Hamilton once again picked up the scoring slack and poured in a game high 31 points including 16 of 16 from the free throw line. I still think that Hamilton should be this aggressive all the time and not just when Billups isn't playing. He has been huge in these last two games and is now Detroits all-time leading scorer in the playoffs having passed Isiah Thomas last night.
Antonio McDyess also had a big game for Detroit finishing with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Rodney Stuckey played well in place of Billups as well, so there hasn't been much drop off offensively with Billups out. Stuckey finished with 15 points and 6 assists and most importantly he had zero turnovers. In fact, Detroit only turned the ball over three times in the whole game, which is an NBA Playoff record. Orlando on the other hand turned the ball over a whopping 21 times, which proved to be costly in this game.
For Orlando, the turnovers certainly cost them because offensively they shot the ball well in this game and a few more possessions may have helped them win the game. Orlando finished with six players in double figures, led by Hedo Turkoglu who had 18 points to go along with 9 rebounds and 7 assists. Jameer Nelson also had a strong game, finishing with 14 points on 6 of 7 from the floor.
Dwight Howard finished with 14 points and 17 rebounds but he was absolutely dredful from the free throw line. He shot only 6 of 15 from the line and had he hit a few more free throws then this game may have turned out differently. Orlando clearly was hurt by their poor free throw shooting and turnovers, while Detroit excelled in both areas. These are two areas that Orlando is going to have to improve upon if they want to advance in the post-season in future years.
The Detroit Pistons will now wait for the winner of the Boston-Cleveland series. It looks like they will have a long layoff, which will help give Chauncey Billups some time to get healthy.
New Orleans 101 San Antonio 79: I really do not understand why teams playing on the road have seen such a difference in how they play. San Antonio is a great team and there is no reason why they shouldn't be able to play well on the road. It makes absolutely no sense at all. There have now been 18 games played in the second round and the home team is 17-1.
San Antonio was winning this game by 3 at half time and I thought there was no way they were going to lose this game. Then New Orleans came out and blitzed the Spurs in the 3rd quarter, outscoring them 28 to 11 and the game was pretty much their's after that point.
New Orleans was led by David West, who poured in a playoff career high 38 points on 16 of 25 shooting, while grabbing 14 rebounds, dishing out 5 assists, blocking 5 shots, and adding 2 steals. Definitely a monster game for West, who really is showing what a great player he can be in this league, as he has proved to be a serious matchup problem for the Spurs at times. Of course, Chris Paul had a strong game in this one as well, finisheing with 22 points and 14 assists. Watching Paul in this series has really been impressive, he is definitely a superstar in this league and he has been impressive scoring around the hoop.
Tim Duncan really struggled offensively in this game for the Spurs. He pulled down an impressive 23 rebounds but he shot only 5 of 18 from the floor and finished with just 10 points. I find it odd that he only went to the free throw line once though. I mean this is Tim Duncan we are talking about here and if he only goes to the free throw line one time and and shoots 5 of 18 from the floor, you have to wonder if maybe there was some contact down low that wasn't being called. It certainly didn't help the Spurs that the Hornets went to the free throw line 15 more times then they did.
I fully expect San Antonio to win Game 6 because they will be at home but the way things are going we might as well not even watch the rest of the playoffs because the home teams keep winning. It's actually pretty disgusting to me and makes you wonder if the officials have any influence over the games. I mean it just doesn't seem likely that the home team would win every game and the Detroit who was the only team to win on the road needed an Orlando collapse to beat them.
I almost don't want to watch the games because you pretty much know who is going to win. Obviously, I know that this isn't true but it certainly feels that way and takes away from the drama of the series. That being said, I still think the Spurs can win this series but they haven't proved they can play well in New Orleans nevermind win there.
San Antonio was winning this game by 3 at half time and I thought there was no way they were going to lose this game. Then New Orleans came out and blitzed the Spurs in the 3rd quarter, outscoring them 28 to 11 and the game was pretty much their's after that point.
New Orleans was led by David West, who poured in a playoff career high 38 points on 16 of 25 shooting, while grabbing 14 rebounds, dishing out 5 assists, blocking 5 shots, and adding 2 steals. Definitely a monster game for West, who really is showing what a great player he can be in this league, as he has proved to be a serious matchup problem for the Spurs at times. Of course, Chris Paul had a strong game in this one as well, finisheing with 22 points and 14 assists. Watching Paul in this series has really been impressive, he is definitely a superstar in this league and he has been impressive scoring around the hoop.
Tim Duncan really struggled offensively in this game for the Spurs. He pulled down an impressive 23 rebounds but he shot only 5 of 18 from the floor and finished with just 10 points. I find it odd that he only went to the free throw line once though. I mean this is Tim Duncan we are talking about here and if he only goes to the free throw line one time and and shoots 5 of 18 from the floor, you have to wonder if maybe there was some contact down low that wasn't being called. It certainly didn't help the Spurs that the Hornets went to the free throw line 15 more times then they did.
I fully expect San Antonio to win Game 6 because they will be at home but the way things are going we might as well not even watch the rest of the playoffs because the home teams keep winning. It's actually pretty disgusting to me and makes you wonder if the officials have any influence over the games. I mean it just doesn't seem likely that the home team would win every game and the Detroit who was the only team to win on the road needed an Orlando collapse to beat them.
I almost don't want to watch the games because you pretty much know who is going to win. Obviously, I know that this isn't true but it certainly feels that way and takes away from the drama of the series. That being said, I still think the Spurs can win this series but they haven't proved they can play well in New Orleans nevermind win there.
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