The Pistons pummeled the Chicago Bulls 95-69 in game one of the second round. The Pistons, led by Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton , looked sharp from the tipoff and controlled the tempo of the game. Detroit, who went on a 13 to 2 run in the first quarter, took the early lead and never relinquished it.
Key Points:
- The Palace was electric, I couldn’t hear myself think. It was so loud that you could barely hear what Mason was saying on the PA.
- This was just the kind of game the Pistons needed to start off this series.
- The Pistons defense was classic, they locked down the Bulls like they were prison guards in Alcatraz.
- The Pistons held the Bulls to just 69 points, which is an all time playoff low for Chicago.
- I know the rest of this series probably wont end up like this game but it was nice to see The Bulls look like deers in headlights.
- Early foul trouble sent Ben Gordon to the bench.
- You know me, I am not one to call out referees, but Bennett Salvatore did his best to keep The Bulls in the game. The first half whistles he was blowing were more than suspect.
- Rasheed was simply SHEEDTastic, not only did he knock down some key three pointers, but his defense was stifling.
Photo by D. Lippitt/Einstein/NBAE via Getty Images
- Every single Piston on the floor in this game played their part and played it well.
- Nocioni talks big but he was a non factor. In fact Chicago’s bench missed all of their 12 shots in the first three quarters, finishing the game just 3-for-30.
- Since 2003, four Pistons are in the top five among playoff games played and the fifth is Ben Wallace.
- Speaking of Ben Wallace, The Palace crowd didn’t let down. He took an early seat on the bench in the rout.
- The Pistons held the Bulls to 32% shooting.
- Detroit out rebounded Chicago 46 to 38.
- Webber, who played just 20 minutes looked great. He pulled down 7 rebounds, with 2 steals and 5 points. This specific dunk was spectacular, he got mauled by Nocioni on the play, but didn’t get the call.
Photo by D. Lippitt/Einstein/NBAE via Getty Images
- I am still riding the high of this game, the whole experience was a blast. The Pistons actually seemed to feed of the the energy of the crowd and vice versa.
- The Pistons bench was clutch.
- They played a really good Pistons – Bulls retrospective video before the start of the game that really got me going. Bad Boys, Pippen, Dumars, Jordan, Laimbeer, Chauncey, Rip, Sheed and Ben Wallace as a Bull… It was classic.
- You have to love the energy and power Maxiell brought. I think he feeds off of playing against Ben Wallace. Maxi not only threw down some thunder dunks, but he made some jumpers that I didn’t know he could even hit.
- Lindsey’s D was fantastic as usual.
- Tay did a great job on Luol.
- You know it’s going to be a good game when McDyess knocks down his first shot like it’s nothing.
- The Pistons had 12 steals and 4 blocks in the game.
- Detroit shot 44% from three point range.
- Rip scored 20 points with 4 rebounds, 2 assists and hit his only three he attempted with a second left on the shot clock.
Photo by D. Lippitt/Einstein/NBAE via Getty Images
- Though everything seemed to be going right for the Pistons, they had a hard time scoring in the third quarter. It didn’t matter though because they stepped up their defense and didn’t let Chicago get back in the game.
- Delfino was solid in his 11 minutes. He had a nasty dunk in the fourth quarter.
- McDyess is a rebounding fool lately.
- Maxiell’s 12 points is was a playoff high for him.
- The Bulls turned over the ball 22 times.
- “We’re not sitting up here gloating over this victory,” Rasheed Wallace said. “We know it took a lot of hard work to get it. It’s just one victory.”
- The Pistons were making things look easy at times, but you have to credit their hard nosed defense in this one.
- I truly love the Pistons focus.
- The calls weren’t going the Pistons way, but nobody lost their cool.
- The Pistons sent a nice statement.
- Mr. Big shot was in control of this one. Chauncey scored his 20 points in just 27 minutes.
Photo by D. Lippitt/Einstein/NBAE via Getty Images
- It was a good day for Detroit sports. The Pistons, Wings and Tigers were all winners on Saturday.
- Rasheed and Tayshaun each had 13 points.
- Lindsey Hunter had 6 assists and 3 steals.
- “Our bench was great,” Billups said. “We depend on those guys to come in with a lot of energy, especially against this team that plays with a lot of energy for 48 straight minutes. We feel like when our starters go sit down, we’re not losing anything We believe in our bench. Today they came and they showed they’re capable of doing this.”
- Poor Dyess, he missed 3 putback dunks that he looked like he had. The way he has been playing lately makes him look like he never had any injuries in his career. He’s got a new found pep in his step.
- There was a kid in front of me that was wearing his Pistons Ben Wallace jersey that he made into a Rasheed Wallace jersey by taping a 6 next to the 3. Gotta love it.
- Maxiell scored six straight points on Ben Wallace in the second quarter…. The changing of the guard happened right before our eyes Pistons fans. And I think even Ben knew it.
- Game 2 Monday at 8 PM, I can’t wait.
Hell yeah dudes. Wat a game, oh and by the way i did my first dunk on full height on Friday (i am 5″9). Now all my friends call me Spud (After Spud Webb) which kinda sucks but can i get a congrates!
Nat,
great coverage as USUAL! I have talked to you in the past and just to update, your site is the BOMB. Great bullet points for Game 1. It is obvious you went to the game (totally jealous) but watching the game from home (as I now reside in CHI {BOOOOOO}) I observed some great things from watching the game via TNT.
Not sure if you TIVO’d the game, but the TNT announcers used the term ‘deer in headlights’ for chicagos play (nice bulletpoint).
U highlighted Webber’s dunk…but please highlight that Webber gets NO CALLS WHATSOEVER!!!
The Bench (capitalize it from now on) was not clutch, but HUGE!!
Nice coverage for MAXI, freakin’ amazing! We have such depth!!
Most important, Billups took control of the game from tip off, it was so amazing to watch! He toy’d with his defenders, had them in foul trouble immediately!!!!!! I can’t even explain to you how surprised I was to watch BaBaBaBillups took complete control of the game from the start, that never happens!!
**Bulls TO’s (22) will not be as high for game 2 and beyond, even tho they had 300 more TO’s in the season…this will be a huge factor in the series!
Oh, the fan that turned #3 into #36 RULES…be aware the city of Chicago has many Pistons Fans sporting Pistons gear!
MAXI Dominated; I believe he was dominating Ben in 05/06 practices, from what I hear??? (I have brought this up to DBB and they agreee) Ben won’t even look at him in the eyes (TNT had a great shot of Maxi trying to hug Ben at the end of the game; Ben didn’t look very enthused to see Max!)
Great Link:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2007/columns/story?columnist=sheridan_chris&id=2861655&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos2
And the last point that has not been brought up much this season…we are hungry…Webb wants nothing more to win the ‘ship, Sheed is as focused as I have ever seen (AWESOME). Dyess is and has been so focused on winning the ‘Ship. The whole bench understands they are key to getting that ‘ship. Flip S. has something to prove (that he can win that ‘ship!) Pistons fans all over the USA should be pumped as hell!!
nat u got a typo right before the pic with webber’s dunk “but or course didn’t get the call.”
and the game was amazing i knew we were going to win but this it was just insane, looked much easier than magic series
that was an amazing win, they brought everything to the floor, they straight kicked the Bulls azz last night, that’s the only way to put it, the Bulls were looking lost and confused the whole game, the Pistons are hungry guys, and they want that championship, I don’t think that Bulls saw that coming, that was just out of this world, everybody that played tonight had a great night, all the steals, great 3pt shooting,and that defense was just smothering to the Bulls, that’s a game that I could watch over and over again, I know that this is just the first game of the series but with the way they dominated last night, I don’t think that the Bulls can handle them, this win has got to have the Bulls thinking today “what the hell happened?” This was the Pistons at their best and when that are running on all cylinders like that my question is “who gonna beat them?” I loved it!!! Way to work it, Pistons. I got that mad love for the team, and right now at this moment I am a Proud to be a Piston fan!!!
That was seriously the most fun I have ever had at a game! That crowd was electric and just knowing that we let Ben have it made it even better! The Bulls will come back ready to play so I hope our boys are ready… But this game was just simply awesome. 🙂
omg best game everrr!!!!!!!!!
i didnt sit down during the game at home 🙂
So I figured since Nat was nice enough to provide us a link…which by they was isn’t recipricated…to the “blogabull.com” website. That is some of the funniest reading I have ever had. Totally hilarious. If you read the comments from yesterday’s post you will notice the progression. The very firsts comment says something about wanting Tyrus Thomas in the game. And then about halfway down you can tell they are just getting their backsides handed to them. They are just so ticked off!! It really is some funny, funny reading. Oh by the way there is a mention of Need4sheed in one of the comments. But Nat you still have THE best website for talking basketball on the web.
i can summarize this game in a few statments ::
– BENCH IS THE SHIT
– J MAX IS KEY
– STARTERS READY TO GO
– PiSTONS WITH FULL ENERGY
– BLOWOUTS ARE BEAUTIFUL [especially when painted red white & blue ;]]
simple as that :]
Boo-ya-sha-kah! It’s only one game, but the smug Bulls and their way overconfident fan base got what they deserved last night. I was getting really, really sick of the media coverage of this series all week, with the Bulls basically being anointed as the second-coming of the Jordan Years.
Awesome effort by the Pistons. Let’s hope they can duplicate it tomorrow night. Can’t wait! Nice writeup, too.
I think I’ll stop worrying about Chicago when the series finishes. I don’t believe Chicago will let that happen again, but hey, I was pleasantly surprised by the energy of Detroit, their bench, and the accuracy of their jumpers. 3rd quarter was sloppy, but this was the best I’ve watched Detroit play probably all year . . . more of this focus, energy, and smart basketball, please!
this a good game the fan stayed in this one until the end. usually when they biuld such a big lead the crowd gets quite but not last night the palace was rocking all the way until the end. I know all the games can’t be like this one but I hope they are as intence as this one. I love how focused everyone one is, they really want it this yr. I think seeing the mavs get knocked out and the heat being sweeped but the bulls really woke up the pistons.
i absolutely ♥ our bench so much !
bulls bench – 3 for 30… damnnnn :]
AMAZING game from the bench!! the bulls just got owned! and Nocioni’s talkin crap… i hope he realizes he had like 6 turn overs in like 3 min! HAHA GO PISTONS!!!
its all about the Red White and Blue Baby :]
.. but seriuosly im watching this cavs game and it annoys me how much material they jock from the pistons.. can they not come up with their own stuff?!?! next thing you know theyre gonna be yelling cleveland basketball and their guard is going to be wearing a face mask :[
^^ hah i know like the way they yell that guys name when he touches the ball like we do with sheed..
but y’already know who claimed that one! DEEETROITTT BASKETBALLL !!!!
1:09
they *did* yell cleveland basketball at one point…
I want to know if they are mic’ing the crowd differently in the Palace than they used to.
4 Years ago The Palace used to sound the way The Oracle does for Warriors games on TV. On TV now it sounds like Piston fans are just run of the mill fans instead of the loud 48 minute die-hards there used to be.
Cavs fans…ick!
Kudos to the boys for keeping poised when the officiating was a bit shitty. And hats off to them for proving they really can play after a long layoff. I wasn’t sure they could bring the energy they had talked about the whole week leading up to Game 1 but oh man, they done brought it and it was b-b-b-beautiful!
Justin,
Just checked out the comments on Blog A Bull, that was pretty enjoyable.
Feruw,
The Palace was ROCKING, don’t be fooled by watching it on TV. It was loud from the tipoff, before most of the crowd had even filed in.
Amy,
All I have to say is I totally agree.
Brian,
Thanks
Roscoe30,
Great points and you are right on point, they are not even hungry, they are starving.
By the way, thanks for leaving your names, I like to know my fellow Pistons fans!
Whoever asked for the Maxiell video highlights, that’s not going to happen because for some reason my DVR only taped half of the game….very odd.
yo this natalie girl is an idiot…she has no idea wat shes talking shes really dumb when it comes to sports
i second that and the graphics on this site really suck and the videos…..who made this shitty website……it looks like kids made it
^^^jealous much? &&we all know this is the same person both times!
Now, how can you say natalie doesn’t know what she’s talking about when it comes to sports? Your not the one who has a website that is one of the most popular in sports. So, I wouldn’t be talking.
This website is so not “shitty.” You need to refresh this page and make shure you are on the right website, cuz it’s awesome!!
I couldn’t say one bad thing about this site. it’s awesome! keep it up!
&&&if you think this site sux, how come you are on it?!
GO PISTONS!
-pistons_1
honestly.. get your hatin ass up outta here. your the same shit head that is forever starting that bullshit and it is just starting to piss me the hell off. you have Natlaie over here having to moderate comments because of your ignorant ass.
THIS IS THE BEST WEBSITE EVER!! STOP HATING!!!!!!!!!!!!
wow sounds like now that the playoffs are here we are getting the jealous fans from other teams. Just like last year with the cavs and the heat. If this was such a bad site then why do soon many fans come here to check out the pistons up dates. If natalie kne nothign about sports then is she being invited to do a blog on pistons.com, why does the owner of the mavs come by the site and amke comments. I know Natalie doesn;t listen to the bashers but as a fan it buggs me that there are such jealous people out there that they have to stop by and out down such a good thing. Maybe they should build there own site.
Haha that kid who was hating on the website is.. retarted. How are you going to post an ” i second that ” 2 minutes later, we all know its the same person.. what an idiot. Natalie, your site is amazing, dont let these haters tell you different. GO PISTONS!
Nick~~
are we three jessica’s now??
I think this is a good website, and this coming from a warriors fan.
The game was amazing! They looked focused and came out strong, esp. Chauncey. Our bench is so good now that the starters can get a breather and not worry about catching us up. Every player was terrific. Even watching it on tv I could tell the Palace fans were raising the roof. I missed Blaha & Kelser though.
hahaa how much you wanna bet that was a bulls/cavs fan!?
they stay hating on this site cause they know thats the best they can do to get back at the pistons since they cant do it using the team they’re for haahhh!
be proud when people hate on your site nat.. it just means youre doin a hell of a job and that the team you’re doing it for is most definitely ONE HELL OF A TEAM :]
Once again I have to hand it to my FRIENDS on this site who always seem to have my back.
Don’t worry I don’t sweat it, If I did I guess I could just delete the comment right?
Anyway…. Don’t know if it’s a Bulls or Cavs fan, seems the comment came from FLORIDA… Looks like a HEAT fan might be a little sad today.
*sniff, sniff* Anybody else smell BULLshit..?
Psht… people just hatin’ ’cause they wanna be like the fans in our base. This is one of the best fan sites on the Web (I’m crazy about Pistons.com, too ’cause I’m in love with Keith Langlois’ writing) and if they don’t like it, that’s on them. I say we just ignore the fools and continue with the intelligent conversation (i.e., Dee-troit domination). Here’s to the team, the fans, this site, and another great performance from the boys sportin’ the red, white and blue! CHEERS!
amanda.. i like that “Anybody smell BULLshit..?”
LMAOO that is hallarious
http://www.nba.com/gallery/photos/ChiDetG1_9.html
check this pic out.. =P..
look at Rasheed’s hand.. lol
^^hah hes rubbin chaunceys head for goodluck!
heyy natalie..can you tell where everyone comments from?! ahh thats soo cool!
UDEFEATED SO FAR!!
LOVE EM!
so i love how skiles’ excuse for nocioni ( the idiot who’s now eating crow for that “we’re going to beat the pistons of course, in 7” comment) is that noce plays with passion and that can pressure him into bad nights. what a lame ass. maybe noce should get advice from sheed on how to control his temper…
lol when you have to get advice from ‘Sheed on how to control your temper, you know you got problems!
…I love you, ‘Sheed!
I went over to Blog a Bull for the first time ever and man, those people are funny! Someone posted this sentence: “They (the Pistons) really wanna kick our fucking asses.”
Oh…good stuff! I don’t know about the players, but I think I speak for all us fans when I say that not only do we want the Pistons to kick the Bulls’ asses, we first want our boys to rip the Bulls’ ears off and shove them in the Bulls’ pockets so they can hear the Pistons kicking their asses!
After we beat the Bulls tonight – what day do we beat them next in Chicago?