SAN ANTONIO, Texas, June 12 --If defense does indeed win championships, then this Pistons squad likely won't be invited to the championship parade destined to float down the Riverwalk.
Detroit's much talked about defense was nowhere to be found in Game 2 Sunday. The offense of guards Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton appeared to be on vacation, too, for the Pistons, who now face a 2-0 deficit. Of the 26 previous Finals teams in a similar situation, only the '69 Celtics and '77 Trail Blazers have rallied to win the Larry O'Brien trophy.
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Larry Brown knows the Spurs need only two wins, while his Pistons are in need of four.
Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images |
How lackluster was Detroit’s defense? Let me rephrase the question. When’s the last time you saw Robert Horry blow the doors off somebody? On plays early in the first half, the 13-year vet found a clear path to the basket, and when he got to the rim, help defense never arrived to challenge the shot.
“Robert, he had a great first half,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich after his team took a commanding series lead. “He looked like he was 26 or 27.”
Despite the early play of Horry, the Pistons post players were involved, as was prescribed, and the team was more active on the boards, however the backcourt struggled again. The Spurs were able to swing the ball around and get open looks, while their defense prevented Detroit from doing the same.
In the second quarter, when it appeared the team had figured out how to get stops, Detroit turned the ball over far too much. Billups had four giveaways in the first half alone, although he would not give the ball up in the second half.
When the Pistons weren’t turning the ball over, they were giving up far too many threes, as the Spurs hoisted 11 in the first half – some by Manu Ginobili and Horry without a single Detroit defender to be found within 10 feet. The Spurs finished 11-of-24 on triples.
While Detroit's bigs played solid defense low to open the second half, swatting away balls with ease and forcing Tim Duncan out beyond his range, the Pistons gave up too many valuable points.
As Hamilton appeared to have a routine layup in transition early in the third quarter, the ball hung on the rim and Ben Wallace slammed it home – goal interference negating the hoop. Then, Hamilton again drove the lane and finished, however, he had a few extra words with an official, earning himself a technical foul and an additional point on the Spurs side of the ledger.
Detroit would rally back, however. Late in the third and early in the fourth, the Pistons were getting stops, corralling rebounds and their guards found their stride. The lead was cut to eight with less than eight minutes to play.
“Second half, though, in both games,” Pistons coach Larry Brown said during a postgame press conference, “we got down 17 or 18 in Game 1, cut it to seven and couldn’t come up with a key rebound. Tonight we had a couple situations like that.”
When those situations arose, everything fell apart for the Pistons, who couldn’t get a shot to fall, the complete opposite of what was happening on the other side of the ball. Detroit’s frustrations were punctuated by double technical fouls on Brown and Billups with under four minutes to play.
Detroit must pull it together on its home court for Tuesday’s Game 3 if it hopes to get back into this series.
Home has proved friendly to the Pistons in recent Finals history. Last year’s team became the first since the 2-3-2 format was instituted in 1984-85 to win all three middle games at home.
“We’re very happy to be going home,” Billups said after the loss. “This team came out and took care of business. We’re down 0-2 right now. They came and they won on their home court. We’ve got to try to do the same.”
No Easy Buckets: Rasheed Wallace can't stand to see the ball go through the hoop, even if it doesn't count on the scoreboard. On two plays, Wallace swatted shots at the rim after the whistle blew. When Ginobili was fouled, in a non-shooting situation, he heaved it toward the rim anyway, to which Wallace went up and batted the ball away. A short time later, Duncan got the ball above the circle after a non-shooting foul. He hesitated and then decided to test his aim. Again, Wallace was there to bat it aside.
A Show of Sportsmanship: When Carlos Arroyo went to the floor with a twisted ankle in front of the Spurs bench, a San Antonio assistant jumped to his feet checking on him. When play was stopped, Duncan came to his assistance and supported him while trainer Mike Abdenour assessed the situation.
Forget the Alamo: With a loss in Game 2, Detroit has dropped 10 straight games at San Antonio – eight regular season and two playoff games.
-- Jeff Dengate will be covering the Pistons beat throughout the Finals.