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Detroit wants the Pacers

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  • #1

    Detroit wants the Pacers

    Well, all but McDyess, anyway, who is afraid of us.

    Most Pistons prefer Pacers to Celtics


    BY MICHAEL ROSENBERG

    Knight Ridder Newspapers

    DETROIT - (KRT) - In the buzz of the Pistons' locker room Tuesday, with the
    76ers
    vanquished and Detroit pumped full of pride, a thought popped into Antonio
    McDyess'
    head:

    Let's go, Celtics!

    Naturally, McDyess' teammates thought he was crazy. The Pistons had just won a
    playoff
    series. To hell with the Celtics. Go Pacers!

    Perhaps I should clarify: The Pacers and Celtics are tussling for the right to
    play the Pistons
    in the second round. The Pacers host Game 6 on Thursday night with a chance to
    advance;
    if the Celtics win, Game 7 is Saturday.

    "I said I would rather play Boston, but they said they would rather play Indiana
    because it's
    so much fun," McDyess said.

    Why the split? Well, here's one theory:

    McDyess is in his first year as a Piston. His first Pistons-Pacers game was that
    one when, in
    a misguided attempt to assist Palace security, Ron Artest strip-searched a
    random fan. It
    did not go well.

    And every Pistons-Pacers game since then has tested Detroit's pain threshold.
    Besides the
    ultra-hyped first game after the brawl (I vaguely recall the headline: Will
    Somebody Get
    Maimed This Time?), there was the bomb-threat game at the Palace, when one of
    our
    nation's finest brain donors decided to torch whatever was left of Detroit fans'
    reputation.

    McDyess said he doesn't want to face the Pacers because "they always play us
    tough - they
    really play us tough."

    True. But he has also never experienced the fun side of the rivalry. The other
    Pistons
    remember when this was the best grudge match in the NBA.

    It was just last year. The Pistons beat the Pacers in the Eastern Conference
    finals.

    And while McDyess gets used to the deep end of the pool (he has never made it
    past the
    first round), the other Pistons are so confident, they don't think it's a
    question of which
    team they play.

    To them, it's a question of which team they beat.

    And beating Indiana sounds like more fun.

    "They look up to the challenge," McDyess said. "That's what gets us up. These
    guys, they
    look forward to be playing games like that. It doesn't matter, really, because
    we're going
    to try to win regardless."

    Some of us view a Pacers-Pistons series with three words: PLEASE, GOD, NO. No
    more
    brawl talk. No more bomb threats. No more Pacers fans blaming the Pistons fans
    for
    ruining their season. But the truth is, it would be a more interesting series
    than Pistons-
    Celtics.

    The Celtics are a fun team to watch, unless you cheer for them. Then they could
    drive you
    to a multi-state felony spree. Look at some of their stars: Antoine Walker, who
    seems to
    think he gets paid by the shot; Ricky Davis, a guaranteed first-ballot inductee
    into the
    Knucklehead Hall of Fame; and Gary Payton, who celebrated the 2003 playoffs by
    getting
    in a fight at a strip club, then followed up in 2004 by complaining about his
    team's
    offense, his number of shots, the media_everything but the room service.

    The Celtics love to run, which is nice, because the Pistons would send them home
    quickly.

    The Pacers, on the other hand, would grind the Pistons into misery. Oh, the
    Pistons should
    still win the series. But the Pacers' methodical play could put a scare into the
    Pistons_and
    prepare Detroit for the tougher road ahead.

    "Kind of boring," McDyess said of Indiana's style. "Kind of puts you to sleep.
    They slow
    down every play. And I think Boston gets up and down_it's a much more exciting
    game.
    Indiana kind of lulls you to sleep and gets wins."

    As for the brawl rehash? Doesn't bother the Pistons. They welcome any hype they
    get. And
    the tension between the teams is not nearly as bad as the tension between the
    fan bases.

    "That's overrated," said Chauncey Billups, who said he is friends with virtually
    everybody
    on Indiana's team. "I don't think there is bad blood with nobody."

    Let's hope not. Let's hope that if the Pistons face the Pacers, everybody
    behaves. The
    Pistons really should beat whomever they play in the next round. And if it's
    Indiana, we
    only have one request.

    Basketball. Let that series be about basketball.

    Got it?
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: Detroit wants the Pacers

    Those sissys, they're saying that trying to fire up Boston. They don't want nothing to do with us.
    "He wanted to get to that money time. Time when the hardware was on the table. That's when Roger was going to show up. So all we needed to do was stay close"
    Darnell Hillman (Speaking of former teammate Roger Brown)

    Comment

    • #3
      Re: Detroit wants the Pacers

      Originally posted by aceace
      Those sissys, they're saying that trying to fire up Boston. They don't want nothing to do with us.
      LOL. And McDyess doesn't know how to play that game since he's never been out of the first round.....that's actually a plausible theory. Although I doubt that's really the reason...

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: Detroit wants the Pacers

        Pistons need to face Pacers

        Series with nemesis would give Detroit added adrenaline and gauge team's mettle.

        By Bob Wojnowski / The Detroit News
        Clarence Tabb Jr. / The Detroit News

        Ben Wallace could face Jermaine O'Neal again.

        Bring on the Pacers

        With the Pistons moving on to the second round, would you like to see them play the Pacers? Why or why not?
        Yes, it'll be a great series.
        No, it'll be a security nightmare.

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        Clarence Tabb Jr. / The Detroit News

        Piston Chauncey Billups faces Pacer Reggie Miller in March. The teams' lingering bitterness over The Palace brawl would stoke a playoff matchup.

        Comment on this story
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        AUBURN HILLS --If you missed the footage the first 890,713 times it aired, fret not. If the Pistons meet the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the playoffs, you'll get to snuggle up on the family couch and watch highlights of the infamous Palace brawl an estimated 890,714 times the next two weeks.

        That's why, after careful reflection that took 11 seconds, I've determined we don't need Pistons-Pacers. We don't need Indiana, leading 3-2, to beat Boston tonight to wrap up that series and head to Auburn Hills. We don't need more social commentary on the Cup Tosser, the Chair Tosser, The Beer Tosser and the Career Tosser (Ron Artest), and any others who participated in the Nov. 19 ugliness that stained the city and the sport.

        The NBA doesn't need Pistons-Pacers either, although the TV networks wouldn't mind. But can we be honest for a second? We might not need Pistons-Pacers and all that nutty drama, but secretly, sheepishly, don't we want it?

        Here's the other twist: Maybe the Pistons, as a team, need it.

        The champs need someone, or something, to test their emotional limits, to push them harder than Philadelphia pushed in a sluggish five-game opening series.

        The Celtics wouldn't do it. In technical NBA terms, the Celtics are garbage, a collection of streak shooters and lazy defenders. The Pistons would beat them and still have no idea if they're prepared for the next step, probably against Miami and Shaquille O'Neal.

        The Pacers aren't as good as they were last year, when they had Artest and were the East's top seed. But with Jermaine O'Neal's right shoulder getting healthier, and point guard Jamaal Tinsley returning from injury, the Pacers would be dangerous, and the series would be an important test for everyone, from the Pistons to the fans to the league.

        The Pistons won a six-game slugfest against Indiana a year ago, a series that convinced them they were title-worthy. Right now, they look like a team needing that boost again from their biggest rival, to sharpen their focus and bring out their best.

        The Pistons were excellent closers against the 76ers, but also were sloppy, and at times, oddly placid. They turned the ball over too often and the bench didn't contribute much. Allen Iverson was wonderful, almost too wonderful, because Detroit-Philadelphia was more a lovefest than a slugfest. Rasheed Wallace and Chris Webber displayed friendly respect. So did Larry Brown with Iverson, and almost every other 76er.

        You don't need hate to have a great series. But some deep-seated resentment sure would stir the ol' competitive juices.

        "We have a lot of work to do," Chauncey Billups said afterward, echoing the sentiments of the team. Yes, there's a lot of work to do, three more rounds if the Pistons are to defend their title. There's also more-consistent effort required, something the Pacers would draw out of the Pistons, no matter how nasty it got.

        And it would get nasty. Beyond the overwrought national debate on whether Pistons fans should be sequestered in cages, the storylines would be juicy (woo-hoo!) and continuous. And we'd gobble it up with moderate guilt, as if it were a box of Krispy Kremes.

        But it doesn't have to be a bad thing. Maybe, just maybe, Pistons-Pacers would bring closure to the brawl, because it sure didn't happen the last time Indiana played at The Palace. That game featured a 90-minute delay while bomb-sniffing dogs prowled the Pacers locker room in response to a telephoned threat.

        This rivalry does bring out the idiocy in some people. But we can't avoid it forever, and we can't let the stupid actions of a few spoil our hunger for the competition, can we?

        There are confrontations we want to see, none of them in the stands. You'd have Indiana's Rick Carlisle coaching against the team that fired him after two 50-victory seasons. Both sides have moved on, but you can bet Carlisle would use every emotional edge.

        The fallout from the brawl damaged the Pacers far worse than the Pistons, as it should have. Artest was suspended for the season. Stephen Jackson missed 30 games, O'Neal 15 and Anthony Johnson five. Legal charges are pending. The Pistons' Ben Wallace was suspended six games.

        Some Pacers have had trouble concealing their bitterness. O'Neal attempted to justify his fisticuffs with fans in a Sports Illustrated interview, and later directed blame at Ben Wallace for riling Artest.

        Reggie Miller fumed loudly after the March 25 bomb threat, saying, "We've been penalized so much this year, and nothing has ever happened to the Pistons or The Palace or even the city of Detroit."

        Whiney? Absolutely.

        But the Pacers also are understandably chippy, a chippiness that could play well in a physical series.

        It would be up to the Pistons to match that edge, and that's what we want (but don't need) to see. We saw it with the Red Wings and the Avalanche, who agitated the blood out of each other, but pushed each other. Two of the Wings' three Stanley Cup championships were sparked by playoff victories over Colorado.

        There is a difference, of course. The NHL needed Wings-Avs, and the fierce clashes were confined to the ice, not the stands. I'm guessing NBA commissioner David Stern would rather not deal with the dredged-up discussion of player-fan violence, which would serve as the prelude to Pistons-Pacers.

        So we get it. We understand why people would root for the Celtics and avert the showdown. If that loopy guy who tossed a coin at Iverson pulled that stunt with the Pacers, we'd see the National Guard.

        No need to take that risk.

        Except that Pistons-Pacers could be fascinating competition, which is still the point, near as I can recall.

        It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

        Division Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
        Conference Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
        NBA Champions 1989, 1990, 2004

        Comment

        • #5
          Re: Detroit wants the Pacers

          That is a good article, Piston flavor but showing respect to the Pacers. I am not overlooking Boston. I repeat I am not overlooking Boston. I repeat I am not overlooking Boston, I repeat I am not overlooking Boston, I repeat I am not overlooking Boston, I repeat I am not overlooking Boston. I repeat I am not overlooking Boston. I repeat I am not overlooking Boston
          "He wanted to get to that money time. Time when the hardware was on the table. That's when Roger was going to show up. So all we needed to do was stay close"
          Darnell Hillman (Speaking of former teammate Roger Brown)

          Comment

          • #6
            Re: Detroit wants the Pacers

            I'm worried that we might be overlooking Boston.
            This space for rent.

            Comment

            • #7
              Re: Detroit wants the Pacers

              Originally posted by Kstat

              Whiney? Absolutely.
              Kiss my ***.
              Don't ask Marvin Harrison what he did during the bye week. "Batman never told where the Bat Cave is," he explained.

              Comment

              • #8
                Re: Detroit wants the Pacers

                BRING EM ON!!!!!

                Comment

                • #9
                  Re: Detroit wants the Pacers

                  Originally posted by Anthem
                  I'm worried that we might be overlooking Boston.
                  Who?
                  The poster formerly known as Rimfire

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Re: Detroit wants the Pacers

                    I would not actually look forward to this series. Despite how we have played against Boston there is still no questioning the injury and fatigue factor. A physical series like this will really bring that to the forefront. I think it would be too much to expect for us to be anything other than competitive.

                    But it's all been gravy to me anyway.
                    The best exercise of the human heart is reaching down and picking someone else up.

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Re: Detroit wants the Pacers

                      I say give 'em what they want!................

                      It just might be the Pacers' turn to ruin their season.........
                      PSN: MRat731 XBL: MRat0731

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Re: Detroit wants the Pacers

                        Let's finish off the Celtics and make a statement to Detroit...

                        You want us, YOU GOT US.....


                        Despite whatever has been said about wanting/not wanting this series, this season has been hurling headlong toward this matchup all season.....We all knew it would happen, even if it was deep down in our wildest dreams/fears......



                        RESIDENT COUNTING THREAD PHILOSOPHIZER

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Re: Detroit wants the Pacers

                          Originally posted by DisplacedKnick
                          Who?
                          BOSTON!
                          Don't ask Marvin Harrison what he did during the bye week. "Batman never told where the Bat Cave is," he explained.

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            Re: Detroit wants the Pacers

                            Here is a good article with some quotes from J.O.


                            http://www.boston.com/sports/basketb...ould_be_a_hit/

                            Motown series would be a hit
                            By Michael Vega, Globe Staff | May 5, 2005

                            INDIANAPOLIS -- Another Throwdown in Motown? There was anticipation yesterday of a potential second-round matchup between the Pacers and Pistons after Detroit closed out its best-of-seven, first-round series against Philadelphia, 4-1, on Tuesday, the same night Indiana took a 3-2 lead in its series against the Celtics with a 90-85 victory at the FleetCenter.

                            ADVERTISEMENT

                            The Pacers can wrap up a berth in the second round opposite the Pistons with a victory in Game 6 tonight at Conseco Fieldhouse.

                            "The Celtics aren't going to come in here and lay down," said Jermaine O'Neal. "It'd be ridiculous to even look past the Celtics, when we haven't finished them off yet. Those guys are going to come in and create havoc, and we're going to have to match that energy."

                            But if the Pacers were to advance? "If there is such a series [against Detroit], I think it's going to be great for [TV] ratings," O'Neal said. "I think everyone's going to watch that."

                            Indiana would be forced to return to the Palace of Auburn Hills (Mich.), site of an ugly brawl with fans Nov. 19. It resulted in the suspension of five Pacers, including O'Neal. Indiana's Ron Artest was banned for the remainder of the season.

                            Given their history, though, O'Neal said, "There's no real bad blood between the two teams.

                            "We've always had respect for each other's teams. It's just unbelievable. Even if you look at the games we played after the brawl, both teams always came and shook hands [afterward]. It was never an issue between the players.

                            "Obviously, Ron [Artest] and Ben Wallace got into it a little bit, but that part of our lives is over. But we want to go on and we know if we're supposed to get to the ultimate level, we've got to get past those guys. We know it's going to be another tough series. In order to win a championship, you've got to play the best and, hopefully, we can get past a tough Celtics team and play a tough Detroit team."

                            O'Neal didn't understand why it was ever portrayed that the Pacers and Pistons didn't like each other.

                            "In the playoffs, I don't really like any other team," O'Neal said. "As a basketball player with the Pacers, I don't like any other team that doesn't wear my jersey, but it's not personal. I don't like them during the 48 minutes, but at the end of the day I can always find somebody on each team and say, `Let's go and have dinner.'

                            "But I think it would be ridiculous to even think about the Pistons right now when we have a tough Celtics team standing in front of us."

                            Chance meeting
                            The Pacers have a chance to make history tonight if they are able to close out the Celtics. It would be the first time in franchise history Indiana would have won a series after losing Game 1, snapping an 0-for-13 skein. "I'm not too big on making history," said Stephen Jackson. "I'm big on winning and playing basketball. But history is cool. As long as we win this series, I think everybody's going to remember that." . . . O'Neal on the prospect of tonight's game possibly being the last at Conseco Fieldhouse for retiring guard Reggie Miller: "We don't want it to be our last home game. We understand the situation at hand. This Celtics team is a very tough team. I think they're an underrated team, and they're extremely deep and extremely talented and well coached. If we don't come out and play at the same level, if not better, as we played [Tuesday] night, we're going to be in for a dogfight." . . . Momentum has been a fleeting thing in this up-and-down series. "I don't know if we have to convince ourselves [of what can happen]," Miller said. "Losing by 30-plus in your home building last time we were here should be a reminder of that. Nothing is really sacred. We just have to jump on them like we've done at their place. We just have to bring the intensity that we've shown on the road back to Conseco."

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                            • #15
                              Re: Detroit wants the Pacers

                              "But I think it would be ridiculous to even think about the Pistons right now when we have a tough Celtics team standing in front of us."


                              I think we should end this thread here...

                              game at 6pm

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