game 1 post game

[pt1gard]

gotta love it, will be a series now ... In fact things i have suspected might eventuate came thru ... I say it's 50-50 now at least, leaning to Deet ... took deet +8, wish i woulda hedged my Lakers to win it all +150 with Deet +500 ... but its well worth it if LA loses ...

Shaq (13-16 fgs) is far the best player in nba and it showed once again with his incredible game as compared to Kobe's fallaways (10-27)--when they needed his charge late in game he musta missed 5 straight shots which cost Lakers any chance to win ... team was 16-57 minus shaq ... Kobe's D was great on Hamilton giving him his due

Deet's D proved the best Ive seen in decades and this is why I gave them legit shot to win it ... Deet has youth and spring in legs to cover perimeter, and LB pedigree from NC overplaying which he infused in in ABA and as college coach sure shone tonight


congrats to all the backers with balls to ML them tonight and for series ...


gl, gregg

 

[MrChristo]

Oh yeah!

I was super impressed with Detroit too...Like you wasn't thast sure they could win Gm. 1 SU, but am sitting on a nice little +926 ticket for them to win. :tongue ...Took it a while back when it became fairly clear they were going to win the East.

Love the job Tashaun does defensively...hit a couple of big shots too.
Considering they missed 8 FT's in the first half, and Rasheed hardly played at all in the first half, it really was a huge win!!

Definately time to hedge some now, but will hoping flat out for a Pistons win.

 

[maverick2112]

Definately time to hedge some now, but will hoping flat out for a Pistons win.

I am not so sure its not better to wait and hedge ..............the line right now is

LA-240
Det +200


If Detroit happens to steal game 2 then they become the fav and even if they lose game 2 but win game 3 then odds will be better to hedge...........the only way we can get hurt is if Detroit loses 2 in a row........which is possible but if they can win 1 of the next 2 the price is better.

One thing is for sure............Detroit now has hm court adv until they lose a game at home.

 

[pt1gard]

ur right

ur right

missed some FT in Fh and some huge bunnies I thought might haunt them down stretch ... + Rasheed sat out ... Chauncey hitting some shots proved huge

IMHO the series line should be pick 'em now

gl, gregg

hope U collect the big tick

 

[ticali24]

The Pistons came out, executed and played a near-perfect basketball game, and yet they were only 6pts better than the Lakers last night for most of the 4th quarter.

Malone and Fisher are the 2 key role players and both shot a combined 3-18! Remember, all of Malones jumpers were "open" shots and most of Fishers shots were open as well. Not the Detroit defense making those guys miss, they just were off their game. Zero pts were scored by Rush and Medvedenko. Payton shot only 1-3 as well. And Detroit was only 6pts better than the Lakers for most of the 4th quarter????

Lakers bench only scored 4pts in the whole game and yet Detroit was only 6pts better than the Lakers for most of the 4th quarter.

Detroit also got 2 huge 3pt shots Wallace made to open both halfs. Lets also not forget Prince's 3pt bank shot from the side with 1 sec left in shot clock. Or the huge 3pt shot Hunter made. All things "likely" not to happen again for Detroit for the rest of the series. That was 12pts Detroit scored and yet Detroit was only 6pts better than Lakers for most of the 4th quarter.

Prince shot 5-10
RWallace shot 3-4
BWALLACE 4-8
Billups 8-14
Campbell 2-5

It will be VERY tough for Detroits players to shoot this well again. They didn't do this once against Pacers and I do not think they will do this again against Lakers. Expecially when the Lakers step it up on defense like they always do when their backs are against the wall. It is not "likely" these players will all shoot this well as a unit again, just like it is not likely Hamilton will struggle so much again. (although Hamilton seems to struggle against Lakers and he has KOBE on him) I think if Lakers want to play defense or are forced too, they can stop the Pistons offense. Lakers were forced to play defense in the 4th quarter and for the most part stopped Pistons (or gave themselves chance to win it if they made more shots) and they will be forced to play defense in game 2.

Lakers lost game 1 against Browns Sixers in finals and went on to win the next 4. Lakers lost games 1 & 2 against Spurs (who are a much better team than Detroit) and went on to win the next 4. Lakers simply excel when their backs are against the wall and now the Pistons have the Lakers attention.

Lakers used this game to feel out Detroit. Lakers always seem to make great adjustments to their opponents and playing 3 straight at Detroit will not be difficult for these experienced Lakers. I think the Lakers play just as good on the road when their backs are against the wall. If Kobe was on fire last night and made some of his treys, Lakers would have won the game. Or if one role player stepped up, Lakers would have won the game. I don't think Pistons will get the whole Laker team (excluding Shaq and Kobe) to give zero production again in this series.

Look for Kobe to drive to the basket more and will open things up big time for the role players. Prince did very good job on Kobe on ther perimeter but he cannot defend Kobe taking it to the basket. Both Kobe and Shaq are excellent in creating offense for the role players and I expect the role players to step up for the rest of the series. Or just get 1 role player to step up and Lakers should win.

I think Lakers win this series in 6.

 

[pt1gard]

good analysis

good analysis

but hope ur wrong ...

as far are the fossils, GP & Mailman, lemme tell you being +40 and playing ball myself for over 30+ years it ain't the same as being 32 anymore ... Mailman hasnt hit the wide open 14-18' basically all playoffs and GP has been a ghost ... Besides the thing that kills ya is not being able to play D anymore, foot wise they just dont respond--again trust me, I have gone thru the embarrassing and frustrating experience hehe

You said LA stayed within six in 4q despite this and that, lets look at this closer ... #1 Shaq wont play any better, Rip wont play any worse ... In the 1q Deet missed app. 4 layins they prob wont miss again and assorted FTs, shoulda been up 10 if they were more relaxed ...

Chauncey carried the day, his shots were easier on whole compared to Pacers series, who played much better D than LA showed last nite ...

Kobe better look to drive and dish, he shot his typical 38% again on some horrible shots and if he doesnt break down Deet on perimeter no one else will; even so he will have some legit Bigs to contend with, not the softies Minny and Spurs trotted out as papier mache 5s ... thats the 9th straight game Kobe's has failed to hit more than 1/2 his shots ...

One more amusing thing was the quitter psyche in the LA crowd, they sat and in non proactive bent and watched their beloved take an outhustled ass whupping; Jack might wanna get his ax out from The Shining and get busy with some motivation.

It's hard to say what will happen in this series, and Ive watched the Finals avidly since Willis limped out in Game 7 and Clyde had 36 beans and 19 dimes; but i do know this, Lakers havent played a team like Deet all year and never in finals--they ain't going away and will claw and play the lanes like no tomorrow and possess youthful legs and desire and second effort for long rebounds that the Lakers had no will to chase down yesterday... Defense wins championships and can muck with your head; does Deet have enuff O to capture 3 more Ws?--that is the question. And i definitely disagree that at this moment in time, the Spurs are much better than Pistons; Im a huge Spur fan and I am convinced Detroit is superior so using that as a barometer (not to mention conflicting matchup scenario litmus) doesnt hold.

So far as "feel out game one," did that include a laissez faire gut check and concentration level? Do you think that was PJ's MO going in? Did he tell the troops in pregame locker room, "Hey, guys, listen up. I'm not sure what Detroit is gonna do, so we'll try to win the series in 6 games down 1-0 once me and the staff get a feel?"

One more thing, LB is primed, eager & poised right now--that was apparent as Light in a tunnel in the closing moments--he friggin came 10' on the court to exhort his boys; PJ looked shellshocked, disinterested ... he'd better crank it up b/c LB has fire and desire in his watch pocket and it might just carry the day

ticali, UR right abut this: IF the lakers have another gear they'll get back in the series; if their apparent achilles is exposed like last nite the Gold ball will go to ole man Davidson ... And Like i said earlier, if Fisher doesnt come contribute big, the Lakers are in for a long series.



gl
gregg


ps Ticali? I take U got the lakers big in the series?

 

[Bombs]

If you think the Detroit defense wasnt the reason the Lakers scored 75 last night, then you are simply hopeless.

 

[Bombs]

NBA players can make wide open shots. Wallace will get his shot at will against Malone, he simply can't guard him on the perimeter. No one on the Lakers can guard Billups, and Williamson is a matchup nightmare for the Lakers off the bench. And Prince's bank shot was only for 2. The Lakers were handled completely last night. Whether they won by 12 or 20, it doesn't matter, there was no serious Laker run and they were in check all night. I don't see how this is going to miraculously change.

 

[Bombs]

And the Spurs are not better than the Pistons. This Spur team blew, it was not the same team as last year.

 

[ticali24]

Bombs it was not Detroits defense that made Malone miss those open jumpers. All the role players missed open jumpers as well as contested jumpers. Think your giving the Detroit defense too much credit. Lets see how good the Detroit defense is tom. night.

You mentioned Wallace and how the Pistons can make open shots. I watched that Indiana/Piston series very closely (i had money on Detroit) and Detroit players missed a ton of open shots in that series. They made the shots in game 1 vs Lakers, but will they do it again? If Pistons do make their shots, they better pray none of the Laker role players come to play again and Kobe doesn't go on fire. Then they will be ok. It also be nice for Wallace to make open treys to start off each half. Wallace missed ton of open treys the whole playoffs up until last game. So I think it is unlikely we see a repeat of that performance again.

As of right now I disagree with you and I think the Spurs are better than the Pistons. Pistons have only won one game, thats it. These are the same Lakers who won eight of the last ten vs. Min/SA show. I like their chances a lot.

Enjoyed reading your reply Pt1gard. I disagree with you saying Malone has not hit open jumpers. In the Houston series Malone hit them, but he was off and on in the next 2 series. But in the last 2 series he had to play major defense which he did well. Malone missed shots last night because of himself, not because of the Detroit defense. Every outside jumper Malone was wide open. A lot of the role players missed open shots. So is that great defense by Pistons? I don't think so, although they did well guarding Kobe and poorly guarding Shaq. If Pistons leave role players open to shoot, is that great defense? I think it is great defensive strategy, but not SUPER DEFENSE!

I agree 100% that Payton has been a ghost. He has played horrible these playoffs. Bad defensively and offensively. Cries after every call and get Technical Fouls left and right. What a horrible aquisition.

Pt1gard, you seem to be huge NBA fan and very familiar with the league, especially the playoff teams. You know damn well the Lakes do not come to play unless they have too. Game 1 @home Lakers did not give it their best, the players even admitted the Pistons wanted it more. I was not too shocked with the Laker loss last night but would be extremely shocked if Lakers lose tom. night. Can the Pistons beat the Lakers when the Lakers put max effort? Spurs couldn't and T-Wolves couldn't either. And I feel strongly that the Spurs are better team than Pistons and give more matchup problems to the Lakers. Lets see how conistent those scorers are for the Pistons. I did not have lakers to win series but now I do at -260.

The problem is there is no killer instinct on this Laker team. They only show it when their backs are against the wall. I think you have to blame Phil Jackson for this and Malone/Payton for not providing the leadership and producing on the court (mainly Payton). I guess this is why neither has won an NBA championship.

Out of curiousity, has Vegas ever had team down 0-1 losing homecourt advantage be a -280 favorite to win the series? I think they are just as confident as I am Lakers are winning this series.

 

[ezpickin]

Out of curiousity, has Vegas ever had team down 0-1 losing homecourt advantage be a -280 favorite to win the series? I think they are just as confident as I am Lakers are winning this series.

Better question...has Vegas ever made the inferior team -700 to win a series before the series started?

The Lakers continue to be big faves for one reason...because Vegas KNOWS JoePub loves the Lakers and will bet on them until the bitter end...

 

[Scott4USC]

ezpickin

Then you must have maxed out and bet Pistons +450 to win the series, then you prob. maxed out again and took Pistons to win Series +240 now. People could make a killing if they think the Pistons should win the series. If I did, I would put half my bankroll on Piston +240 now. Easily could hedge if Pistons go up 2 games against Lakers. I don't think Vegas has Lakers -240 because of Joe Public. That would be a stupid reason becuase smart gambers with BIG MONEY would pound the crap out of Pistons +240 when they are up 1-0 and are better team. I don't think so.

I took Lakers big to win series in 7 and to win 6 games or less. I am a little worried about tom. nights game. If Lakers look sharp tom. then I think lakers win in 5 or 6. Otherwise I might of lost a lot of money.

pt1gard

Have not spoken to you in months. Hope everything is cool.

 

[ezpickin]

Scott,

Max out? What is max out? If max out is bet entire bankroll, the answer is no...there is NEVER a sure thing when it comes to betting...did I bet a significant amount of money at +500 and +550 (2 different accounts)? ABSOLUTELY...Have I already covered both these wagers with the first game Pistons +8 and Pistons ml? most definitely...given I have Pistons at +500 and +550 up 1 game to none, would it be stupid to now bet them +240? In my opinion, YES...if anything, the proper "money management" move would be to now cover my original bet with a hedge on Lakers...again, you can be on the right side of any bet...that still doesn't ensure you will win...Lakers still may very well come back and win this thing, but to say they lost G1 because they were not focused or because they weren't ready is simply preposterous...but if you happen to believe that is the reason, PJ should drop one more notch in the annals of just how good a coach he really is...btw, when he left Shaq in the first half of G6 against twolves with 3 fouls, it pretty much secured in my mind he is overrated in the first place and is the second best coach in this series......btw, I vehemently disagree with your statement smart gamblers would pound the series at +240 now, especially if they already have a significant amount bet at the original series odds - a diminishing return on your money, and if the Psitons win, you win - as I tell people all the time, "you can never go broke making money" ......again, there is NEVER a sure thing in gambling, and many many times I have been on what I believe was the "right side" and what should have been the winning side, only to see a closer give up 4 runs in the last inning, a hoops team to go on a 20-3 run at end of game to get a back door cover, or watch a football team dominate a game, only to give up an "oh by the way" TD at the end for a spreadpoint loss...do I still think Pistons the right side? yes....can they still ose this series? yes...do I still like their chances? yes...gl2u

 

[pt1gard]

took the 8 again

took the 8 again

fwiw trends ...

Just think Deet's D like ive said forever is amazing and can execute their unselfish ball movement to cover the 8


Detroit:
10-2 ATS off a SU win as an underdog
9-0 ATS off BB games allowing 75 or less points
LA Lakers:
6-17 ATS off 3+ ATS losses
2-10 ATS playing their second game in seven days


gl, gregg