Detroit Pistons

Pistons Fire Saunders; Michael Curry next? - Detroit Pistons

June 3, 2008
Pistons president Joe Dumars watched the last 10 minutes of Game.6 against Boston last Friday and saw a microcosm of the entire Flip Saunders era.
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“That last 10 minutes played out, and I looked at it and said, ‘This is the last three years right here,’.” Dumars said Tuesday. “We got a lead, we’re good enough, we’re right there … we didn’t get it done.”

Dumars left the Palace after that loss, which eliminated his team from the Eastern Conference finals for the third season in a row, and felt a surprising sense of calm. He knew what had to be done. He knew it was time for change.

The changes started Tuesday morning, when Dumars fired Saunders after three winning — but not championship-producing — seasons.
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Hamilton Questionable for Game 6 - Detroit Pistons

May 29th, 2008
The Detroit Pistons don’t know if Richard Hamilton will be healthy enough to play against the Boston Celtics on Friday.

Detroit’s leading scorer strained his right elbow in the final seconds of Boston’s 106-102 win on Wednesday night. X-rays were negative, and Hamilton’s arm was in a sling as he left the arena.

Hamilton hadn’t been re-evaluated Thursday morning when coach Flip Saunders met with media, but Saunders said Hamilton is questionable for Friday night’s Game 6.

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Pistons Rebound to Tie Series with Celtics - Detroit Pistons

May 27th, 2008
You get the feeling Antonio McDyess isn't going to let anything get in the way of his championship quest this time. Not a broken nose, not the death of his beloved grandmother, not a symphony of referees' whistles and not the Boston Celtics on Monday. With the Pistons about to be put on their backs, McDyess put them on his, willing the Pistons to a rousing 94-75 victory Monday.

He scored 21 points. He grabbed 16 rebounds. He guarded Kevin Garnett, straight up, no help, and kept him quiet for the first time in this series. "I am so proud of him," coach Flip Saunders said. Saunders told the story from the team's film session Sunday.

"Dyess was talking with Chauncey (Billups) and Juan (Dixon)," Saunders said. "Juan was so emphatic, almost like a preacher, saying, 'We're OK, everything is going to be all right.' And Dyess just said, 'We're talking that everything is going to be all right. We've got make it happen."
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Pistons Fight, Tie Up Celtics - Detroit Pistons

May 23rd, 2008
It might not be the old Garden, with the rats and the bad air and the leprechauns, but this new Garden has been magical to the Boston Celtics. Now that magic is gone. Whatever role the parquet floor played in the 2008 playoffs -- allowing the Celtics to go a perfect 9-0 -- was smashed Thursday night by the only team these days that seems unaffected by geography, or anything else for that matter.

Beat the House. The Pistons had to do it at some point if they wanted to win these Eastern Conference finals, and they did it in Game 2 the old-fashioned way: They tried harder.

Gone were the late-arriving feet of Game 1, and the wide-open shots surrendered, and the lack of help. Back came the smothering dance that Detroit likes to call "defense." Intense, hand-in-the-face, chest-to-chest defense. The Celtics coughed up the ball 10 times in the first half, one shy of their total in Game 1.
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Prince Swats Magic Out of the Playoffs - Detroit Pistons

May 14th, 2008
On Monday, Tayshaun Prince said he'd take a game-winning block over a game-winning basket anytime.
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At about 9:40 p.m. Tuesday night, he got that satisfaction. With the Pistons up by three, Prince rose and knocked away a dunk attempt by Orlando Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu, sending the ball into the lane and the Magic out of the playoffs.

Richard Hamilton then made four free throws to ice Game 5, a 91-86 capper to a 4-1 second-round series win that earned the Pistons a sixth-straight berth in the Eastern Conference finals.
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Prince Gives Pistons Boost to Give Them 3-1 Lead - Detroit Pistons

May 11th, 2008
The man known as Mr. Big Shot was on the bench in a beige sports coat, inactive with a strained hamstring. But even with Chauncey Billups out, the Pistons found plenty of other heroes in the second half of Saturday's Game 4, when they rallied from 15 back and won, 90-89.

The Magic might house the All-NBA first-team member Dwight Howard, but the Pistons had the collective experience to rally behind big plays and contributions from all over the floor.
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