Miami/Detroit Game 1
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by user Kj68day
Now |'m sure not many people watched Game 1 of the Heat/Pistons series due to the "lull everyone to sleep" Pistons, but those that did saw something intriguing.
First of all, anyone that watched the game realized that this one was much worse than the final score indicated. Miami was in control the entire game thanks to their 11-0 start. Detroit had to know they were in trouble when their first basket came from Ben Wallace. Some troubling things for Detroit unfolded as the game progressed. The Pistons had 9 fewer turnovers than the Heat. Dwyane Wade and Shaq both played less than 30 minutes because of foul trouble. And the Heat player that played the most, Udonis Haslem, contributed 0 points. All of that and the Heat still cruised to victory in Detroit!
What is worse for Detroit, Flip Saunders was far and away out done by Pat Riley. The tactic Riley used to take away momentum from the Pistons, fouling Ben Wallace intentionally, was brilliant just wait to see how Flip combats that one. Riley may have just made it so Ben Wallace can't play down the stretch in close games whether they are behind or ahead, because unlike Shaq Big Ben doesn't hit them when it counts. Perhaps that most troubling sign for the Pistons is the winning percentage of Conference Fnals Game 1 winners. If I'm not mistaken, since 1990 the team that took Game 1 in the Conference Fnals has won 25 out of 28 series.
I know it's only one game, but the Pistons have every reason to be nervous and not too many reasons to be positive. And for the rest of us that enjoy the NBA we have every reason to be thrilled, and not many to doubt that the Heat will be advancing sooner rather than later.
Date
Wed 05/24/06, 8:26 am EST
