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[Box score] The Pistons will be playing in their sixth consecutive Eastern Conference Finals (opponent TBD) after dispatching the Orlando Magic in five games. The Pistons conference finals streak is the longest since the Los Angeles Lakers went to six straight Western Conference Finals from 1984-89.

Last night’s game five was a tight one, although many numbers pointed towards a Piston’s blowout. The Magic seemed to hit just enough shots to stay within striking distance, but in the end the Pistons just out muscled the Magic’s hopes of extending the series.

The Magic are a young upcoming team but right now the Pistons are too strong physically and mentally for Orlando to take the next step with their current group. They’re sure to have a busy off-season with a plethora of free agents on the roster, but they’ve got a nice nucleus with Howard, Hedo, and Lewis to build upon.

The Magic woes last night included committing 21 turnovers (12 off Pistons steals), 27 personal fouls, 57.1% free throw shooting, and again Dwight Howard being almost completely neutralized. Like I said, it’s amazing this game wasn’t a blowout.

Another game without Chauncey Billups gave a chance to further the maturation of Rodney Stuckey. Rodney came up big with clutch assists and drives late in the game. Stuck scored 15 points and dished out a team high 6 assists. Rodney also committed ZERO turnovers. The Pistons as a team actually set a new playoff record with a mere THREE turnovers the entire game, and none after the first quarter.

Tayshaun’s playoff defense legend continues to grow. Tay blocked a Hedo Turkoglu drive with under 25 seconds to play to help secure the series. The impressive thing about the block is that it wasn’t Tayshaun chasing down Hedo from behind. It was a straight face-to-face mano e mano mid air swat. The timing was a thing of beauty.

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The Pistons can close this thing up on Tuesday, but do we want it to? Sounds like this thing is starting to get a little testy. Familiarity seems to be breeding contempt. Could get entertaining like the old days (1980’s).

You remember the ealry stuff with Theo and Rashard Lewis after game one? Well, there’s a couple new wrinkles.

McDyess had this to say about tangling up with Dwight Howard: “I threw him to the ground. Get it right,” quipped McDyess. “I felt that he was trying to bully me, so I saw him trying to throw me down. So I said, ‘I’m not falling by myself. He gotta come with me.’ So I kind of grabbed him along with me when I was falling backwards.”

If that wasn’t enough Detroit News’ beat writer Chris McCosky nearly threw down with Orlando radio host Jerry O’Neill. I guess Rasheed wasn’t just giving lip service when he let be known that ‘we ain’t no punks!’

No Chauncey looked to be a big problem in the first half. The offense didn’t have much flow. We also missed Chauncey on the defensive side of the ball. Rodney Stuckey, who started for Billups got himself into foul trouble early not being able to react quick enough to the more veteran Magic guards.

Luckily for Stuckey there’s a 14 year veteran PG who was activated for the game. Lindsey played really well when you consider his age and just how much he hasn’t played this season. He was tenacious as ever and helped to keep the Pistons in the game.

It kind of looked like with out our floor leader we were going to have to concede a second loss to the Magic in Orlando and prepare to go back to the Palace and hold serve.

Things started to turn around in the second half. The Pistons started the third down by 11(44-55), and not too long into the quarter the deficit grew to 15. That’s when the team that Pistons’ fans love emerged. The Pistons defense started clamping down. A 15-0 run put Detroit even with Orlando at 63 and we again had ourselves a ball game.

The Pistons were able to contain Dwight Howard all night. The Piston defenders did a great job of pushing Dwight away from the basket and not letting him get any close looks. Howard scored a personal playoff low 8 points, with no field goals after the first quarter, to go with his 12 boards.

The fourth quarter was a good old fashion playoff battle with the lead going back and forth. Rasheed (16 pts) who was invisible in the first half combined with Rip (32 pts) and Tayshaun (17 pts) to help carry the Pistons.

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[Box Score] The stars were all aligned for Orlando last night. Chauncey slips, does some crazy splits and strains his right hamstring just four minutes into the game. Rasheed Wallace is limited to just 28 minutes because of foul troubles. The Magic find their home court very conducive for their shooting touch as they hit 54% from the field, including 46% from beyond the arc. Rashard Lewis comes alive after two subpar games at the Palace scoring a game high 33 (5 ast, 6 rbs).

Even though the Pistons fought hard it was just too much at once to overcome.

From what I’ve read the Pistons are hopeful Mr. Big Shot will be able to go in game #4, but will be listed as day-to-day. Chauncey’s status is most likely going to lead to the activation of Lindsey Hunter or Juan Dixon, or possibly both. It’ll also be the perfect spot for Rodney Stuckey to really step up and make a name for himself. Tayshaun Prince (22 pts, 7 rbs) would also be a guy to keep your eyes on because of his propensity for increased production when we’re down a starter.

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At half time it looked like we were lining up the Magic for a second straight blow out victory but a flurry of three pointers in the third quarter got the Magic back into the game.

The game was tied at 29 at the end of one, but then the Pistons turned up the D and started to pull away in the second holding the Magic to 11 points in the quarter and taking a 10 point lead into half time.

Orlanado got back into the game in the third by going to their bread-and-butter, the long ball. After connecting on just two of their fifteen three point tries in game one the Magic hit eleven of the twenty-six they attempted in game two, seven of them coming in consecutive fashion in the third.

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The Pistons and Magic continue their best of seven second round playoff series tonight at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The Pistons lead the series one game to none. Game tips at 7:00 EST and will be a nationally televised TNT game.

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Plenty to look forward tonight after the game one drubbing the Pistons gave the Magic. The two teams have begun taking some verbal stabs at each other. That’s what it’s all about. That’s the pride and competitiveness kicking in. We didn’t get that in the first round because Philly knew they were good, but not as good as us and we in turn respected them because they played so hard. Now, you’ve got a team in Orlando that feels they’re ready to take what the Pistons have.

For the Pistons tonight the recipe has to be the same. Crowd their 3-point shooters and stay tight on Howard down low. Speaking of Howard I’ve not heard anything else about his bruised thumb so I assume he’s ok.

For an Orlando slant check out Third Quarter Collapse

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When reading over the game quotes it seems like the Pistons were in the collective heads of the Orlando Magic. It’s only one game in and they’re already whining about how physical Detroit plays. Reminds me of the politicking Phil Jackson and the Bulls did in 1991.

Here’s Dwight Howard on the Pistons D:

“We know they’re going to be physical, pushing and holding, and we have to expect that.

Stan Van Gundy on the the Pistons defense of Howard:

“They play him the most physically of any team, it’s hard for him to get great position, he always has bodies on him, they are always pushing him and he has contact on every play which kind of takes him a little off balance. They did a very good job of this tonight, and I also think they do a pretty good job of keeping him off the glass particularly in the second half.”

Hedgey also said something to the effect that the Pistons have been playing this way for so long and they’re allowed to get away with a lot of things when he was interviewed by Pam Oliver at the half. Didn’t he do a lot of complaining back in ‘05 as the Heat’s head man as well?

I think it’s a mistake for them to start with the Detroit is too physical talk. As savvy as the Pistons are you don’t think they’re going to play on the Magic’s frustration? The Pistons will have this young Magic team trying to prove they’re not soft more than they’ll be trying to prove that they’re not the same team they broomed last year.

That’s the kind of cerebral intimidation the Bad Boys thrived on. It’s a Pistons tradition.

Photo by D. Lippitt/Einstein/NBAE via Getty Images

What a start to the second round. I was a bit concerned in the first half that we were playing so well but not able to pull away, but it turned out it was just the Magic doing whatever they could just to stay in the game and they would eventually wear down under the pressure of the Piston’s defense.

The second half was all Pistons as they outscored the Magic 48-30 leading the way to a series opening blowout win.

The Detroit defense was exceptional. We did a great job of crowding them on the perimeter. The Magic averaged over 30 3-point attempts a game in the first round vs. Toronto, but last night they only got off 15 and made only 2.

Props to the Pistons big men for making Dwight Howard (12 pts, 8 rbs) look less like Wilt Chamberlain and more like, um I don’t know, just someone who isn’t nearly as dominant. I was surprised to see the Pistons open up with Jason Maxiell on Howard and Sheed out on Rashard Lewis since Rasheed is the noted Superman stopper. Maxy more than held his ground though, I was impressed. I like how Flip threw different defenders on Howard. The combos of Maxy, Dice, Sheed and later Ratliff seemed to really bother Howard. Even though Howard was unable to extricate his game from the Pistons bigs the Magic still need him to have a shot at the series so you know Magic fans are sweating his thumb he bruised (somehow) in the third quarter.

Chauncey Billups, as expected, played a great game overpowering . He really motored the Pistons early scoring 14 and dishing out 5 assists by halftime. Mr. Big Shot finished with game highs in points (19) and assists (7) in just under 33 minutes none of which were in the 4th quarter.  Richard Hamilton combined with Billups to give Detroit’s starting backcourt a 36-11 scoring advantage over Orlando’s Nelson and Evans.

The Pistons have now won 8 straight playoff games against Orlando dating back to the opening round of the 2003 playoffs.

[Box score]

The Pistons and Magic start their best of seven second round playoff series tonight at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The game tips at 7:30 EST and will be a nationally televised TNT game.

The first round took us all by surprise. Hats off to the 76ers, but I’m glad we got our act together after halftime of game four and finally started playing some Detroit Basketball. Let’s hope it’s here to stay so we don’t have to deal with the drama that goes along with the Pistons playing below their capabilities.

Now, on to round two where we’re set to play the Magic who dispensed the Toronto Raptors in 5 games.

I’m really confident about our Pistons in this round. We matchup much more favorably than we did to Philadelphia’s runners. Despite the season series being split at two games a piece we have a history of having Orlando’s number which includes sweeping them out of last years playoffs.

Rasheed Wallace plays his best against the best. Dwight Howard has been the best. He averaged 22 points and 18 boards against the Raps, but don’t expect him to do that against Wallace who plays perhaps the best D on Dwight in the league.

You also have to like our backcourt of Billups and Hamilton against Orlando’s Jameer Nelson and former Piston Maurice Evans. With the way Tayshaun has been playing it doesn’t bode well for the Magic’s Hedo Turkoglu, although Hedo gives Tayshuan a much different defensive look than Andre Iguodala did.

Looking into the crystal ball I’ll take our guys in 6. GO PISTONS!

• Round 2 schedule
• Jason Maxiell will continue to start, bringing Antonio McDyess off the bench

The Pistons (39-13) will host the Magic (33-21) at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Tip off is 7:30 pm est and can be viewed locally on FSN Detroit.

Magic Snapshot
Road record: 19-10
Last game: 2/13 (Weds) W 98-109 Vs. Denver
Last 10: 6-4
Injuries: Tony Battie (torn left rotator cuff)
Last meeting: Jan. 25th Magic (93) @ Pistons (101)

With the All-Star weekend in the rear view it’s time to get back to games that mean something.

The last time these two teams met it started to get a little chippy near the end of the game. I suspect Orlando, who hasn’t won at the Palace since ‘04, has grown tired with being pushed around by Detroit and would probably love to end the Pistons 10 game winning streak on the Palace floor. Orlando is one of the better up-and-coming teams in the East and they’re looking for respect.

This is the 4th and final regular season meeting between the two teams with Detroit up 2-1. The Pistons are a 7 point favorite.

The premier match up tonight will be down low where Dwight “Superman” Howard tries to leap the tall building known as fellow All-Star, Rasheed Wallace. In the past three games vs. Orlando Sheed has put on a clinic on how defend the Dunk Throw the Ball into the Hoop Champion Howard. Dwight too will be committed to d-ing up after being called out for his lack of basket bulwark by Coach Van Gundy last week.

The Pistons need to be leary of falling asleep on Hedo Turkoglu who’s having a career year (19.5 ppg / 6.1 rpg / 4.6 apg) and is probably feeling a little salty after being passed over for All-Star squad. The game the Pistons lost to Orlando was in large part to being unable to find Turk off the pick and roll in the 4th quarter.

For a Magic P-O-V check out Third Quarter Collapse.

Although Rip didn’t do so hot in the 3 Point Shoot Out and Team Detroit couldn’t repeat in the Shooting Stars comp, all was not lost if you’re a basketball fan on All-Star Saturday. Dwight Howard, aka Superman, was pure entertainment winning the Dunk contest (which actually should have been his second straight IMO).

[Box score] If the Pistons were a little soured by losing to the Magic down in Orlando on a Rashard Lewis buzzer beater it showed right from the start as the Pistons jumped all over the Magic at the Palace.

The Pistons hit a couple of “Magic” numbers that more times than not spells victory for them. There were 25 team assists and they hit the century mark scoring 101. They also killed on the boards 49-31.

By the end of the of the first quarter the Pistons were up by 21 points, 39-18. The 39 points is a season high, and they shot an incredible 77%. Rasheed Wallace was the catalyst scoring 13 of 15 points in the quarter. The Pistons were +24 with Rasheed in the game. The Magic actually won quarters 2-4 but the cushion the Pistons built in the first helped them keep Orlando at arms length.

After Rasheed played the set up guy Richard Hamilton went to work. Rip scored 14 of his game high 32 points (64% shooting) in the second quarter leading the way to a 68-49 Piston halftime lead. Rip stuffed his stat line with 8 rebounds (season high), 8 assists, and 2 steals.

Chauncey Billups (21 pts, 6 ast) and Antonio McDyess (10 pts, 13 rbs) joined Rip and Rasheed as Pistons double figure scorers. From the bench Amir Johnson’s stock is rising with more meaningful minutes. Amir grabbed 4 boards and accounted for 3 of the Pistons 4 blocks in his 8 minutes of play. Meanwhile, Jarvis Hayes’ stock was plumeting.  Jarvis picked up 3 fouls in his 2:47 on the court where he shot 1/3.

The whistles were in abundance for this game. There were four technicals called with each team getting 2. Rasheed fouled out for the Pistons. The Magic attempted 39 free throw, a season high for a Piston opponent. They converted on 25.

The Pistons (30-13) will host the Magic (27-17) at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Tip off is 7:00 pm est and can be viewed locally on TV20 and nationally on ESPN.

Magic Snapshot
Road record: 17-9
Last game: 1/23 (Weds) W 112-85 @ Memphis
Last 10: 4-6
Injuries: Tony Battie (torn left rotator cuff), Jameer Nelson (strained tendon, right foot)
Last meeting: Jan. 21st Pistons (100) @ Magic (102)

Four days ago the Magic ended their 9 game losing streak to the Pistons on a last second Rashard Lewis 12′ glasser. Tonight they’ll be looking to stop a Palace losing streak that dates back almost four years. The Pistons are coming off a win where they should look to build momentum. Beating Philly isn’t something to leave a red hand print on you back about, but the ‘Stonz did look like they were getting back to the form that allowed the to run off 11 straight victories before being derailed by the Celtics.

The Pistons need to concentrate on defending Orlando’s high pick-and-roll between Hedo Turkoglu and Dwight Howard. They need to do a better job of not sleeping on Turkoglu and just letting Sheed stay home on D. Howard. Hedo is having a great season so far and it’s being done mostly under the radar. The guy is quietly averaging 19 pts, 6 rbs, & 4 ast. per game often times (like Monday) doing most of his damage in the 4th quarter of games.

NOTES:

• The Magic are on a 3 game winning streak (POR / DET / MEM)
• Orlando’s 17 road wins is tops in the NBA
• The odds makers have the Pistons as a 7 1/2 point favorite tonight
• Check out Ben Q. Rock’s excellent work over at his Magic blog Third Quarter Collapse

[Box score] Did Rashard Lewis didn’t know the Magic aren’t supposed to beat the Pistons? Like all good things the Pistons 9 consecutive win against the Magic streak ended which extened the Pistons losing streak to a season high 3 straight games. Also falling was the Pistons 18-0 mark when scoring one hundred points. But, to be fair they didn’t reach 100 until Chauncey Billups (18 pts, 5 ast, 3 stls, 4 to’s) hit a miraculous 3 pointer way behind the long line with 3.6 seconds left in the game to tie the score. Unfortunately that left enough time for Rashard Lewis to get get off a 12-foot shot that he banked in for the game winner.

The Pistons came out with more fight than they’ve had in the previous two losses but they didn’t execute up to their standards (only 14 assists). The played with a lot of energy to start the game and jumped all over the Magic, but then they let Orlando back into the game by the second quarter when they were outscored 19-29.

Even though Rashard Lewis (16 pts, 6 rbs) won the game for the Magic the game ball should go to Hedo Turkoglu (26 pts, 8 asts) who pick-and-rolled the Pistons to death with Dwight Howard (23 pts, 8rbs). Particularly in the fourth quarter. Hedo was aggressive going to the hoop off that play and burned the Pistons with 9 points off of it in the quarter.

The bench, out side of Jason Maxiell (11 pts, 7 rbs / 4 off ), continued to struggle. Jarvis went 0/4 from the field while picking up 4 fouls in 12 minutes of play. Stuckey too continued to struggle matching his point output (2) with his turnovers.

Until further notice they’re NOT the “Zoo Crew”, they’ve been playing more like the animal shelter.

Rasheed Wallace finally came to life after being dormant for two straight games. Sheed had a 15 point 15 rebound double-double to go along with 5 steals. He played as good as anyone could play defensively guarding the super freak Dwight Howard (23 pts, 8 rbs, 3 blks).

The Pistons had 6 players score in double figure led by Richard Hamilton with 2o, followed by Tayshaun with 20. Antonio McDyess added 11.

The Pistons (29-12) will in Orlando to take on the Magic (25-17) at the Amway Arena. Tip off is 7:00 pm est and can be viewed locally on TV20.

Magic Snapshot
Home record: 9-8
Last game: 1/19 (Sat) W 101-94 Vs. Portland
Last 10: 4-6
Injuries: Tony Battie (torn left rotator cuff), Jameer Nelson (strained tendon, right foot)
Last meeting: Nov. 2nd Pistons (116) @ Magic (92)

This game might be just what the Pistons need to get back on track. Our guys are 5-5 in their last 10 and are struggling to find their rhythm against sub .500 teams. The Pistons played unreal in the last meeting which was all the way back on November 2nd (the 2nd game of the season). The Pistons hit on a season high 58.9% of their shots, even without the services of their leading scorer Rip Hamilton who was celebrating the birth of their son. That game also marked the 9th consecutive win over the Magic (including playoffs). The Magic didn’t sulk though, they’ve got the third best record in the East to date.

Former Piston Carlos (Mr. Dribbles) Arroyo will get the start for injured PG Jameer Nelson. We’ll also get a look at former ‘Stonz reserve Maurice Evans who was traded by the Lakers earlier this season for Trevor Ariza.

Also see:

• Third Quarter Collapse: Tonight’s Game: Orlando Magic vs. Detroit Pistons
• Orlando Magic Blog: DET/ORL preview