The Pistons teach the Bulls another lesson
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by user Leslie Monteiro
The Bulls were going to be hard-pressed to win the series against the Pistons, who are motivated to beat them.
Now, one has to wonder if they are going to win a game in this series.
This has a making of a sweep on Sunday afternoon. This statement can be made because there are questions whether or not a young team can recover from blowing a 19 point lead in the third quarter, which resulted to an 81-74 loss at the United Center.
Maybe the Bulls can recover against a neophyte playoff team, but the Pistons are another story for that team.
The Bulls showed their inexperience in the third quarter. They had no idea how to handle a big lead and they had no idea how to handle adversity when the Pistons made that run.
With 6:43 remaining in the third quarter, the home team had a commanding 55-38 lead.
The Pistons go on 12-0 run to cut the lead to 55-50 thanks to the Bulls making mistakes and the play of Chauncey Billups and Tayshaun Prince, who combined to score 44 points to lead the Pistons to win Game 3.
The Bulls were turning the ball over, missing shots, making questionable shot selections, and giving up easy layups.
It also seemed that they were waiting for the refs to help bail them out by making calls against the Pistons.
Those are the symptoms of a young team that is trying to find its way in the playoffs.
The Bulls were able to respond to the Pistons run by scoring several points, but the third quarter ended with Rasheed Wallace's three that cut the Bulls lead to one, 61-60.
Detroit finished the third quarter by scoring 32 points.
This paved the way for an exciting finish.
There is nothing like the money quarter, which is the fourth quarter. This is where heroes and goats are created.
This was an opportunity for the Pistons to continue their excellence and the Bulls to start creating their own excellence.
The Pistons showed how it was done.
Everytime Chicago would make a shot, Detroit would answer right back.
The Pistons were just shooting the ball very well when they had the ball.
Billups's three gave the Pistons a 69-66 lead and then Rasheed Wallace's three basically put the dagger on the Bulls. It was a 72-67 lead that the Pistons would not look back again.
The thing about great teams is that fans admire how they get the job done. It is always fun to see a great team perform under pressure. There is nothing better than seeing the Pistons do their thing in tight games.
Fans can always count on Billups making threes, Wallace shooting jumpers or scoring from the paint, Richard Hamilton finding ways to make a layup, and Prince stripping the ball to score or pass it to his teammates so that they can score.
They can also count on the Pistons for being proactive on defense. They do such a good job of fighting for the loose balls, blocking shots, and forcing teams to make mistakes.
This is basketball at its finest. They Pistons may not be as exciting as Phoenix, but they are not as boring as the Spurs, who thrive themselves for being goons and floppers.
This is something that the Bulls can learn from. They are going to have their day in the sun, but now is just not their time.
Right now, it is going to be tough physically and mentally for the Bulls to come back.
The Pistons probably wore their opponent down with so much pushing by their defense.
The Bulls young players are clearly fragile right now after a horrible experience of the first three games of the series.
The Bulls did played much better last night than the last two games. They played well in the first half.
They had a good lead heading to the second half.
It is just that they have to play 48 minutes to beat a very good team in the Pistons, who are playing like that they want to be 16-for-16 in this year's playoffs.
All that is left for the Pistons to do is to sweep the Bulls.
