Detroit Pistons Weekly Watch: Making Do Without Rip Hamilton & Tayshaun Prince

During the second week of the 2009-2010 season, the Pistons have gone 1-2 and are 2-4 overall at the moment.

They began with an 85-80 home victory over the visiting Orlando Magic minus both Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince, who’d come down with an unexpected lower back strain. Prince’s injury ended his streak of 496 consecutive games played and league-leading mark of 439 consecutive starts.

The loss was the Magic’s first of the season and their 20th to the Pistons in 24 games going back to the 2006-2007 season.

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Detroit Pistons Weekly Watch: Team Concept, Healthy Rip Hamilton Needed

At the end of the first week of the 2009-2010 season, the Detroit Pistons are 1-2.

The new look Pistons opened the season with a 96-74 victory at Memphis, then lost at home to Oklahoma City 91-83 and at Milwaukee 96-85.

The road victory was a complete team effort in which the Pistons moved the ball on offense and defended the Grizzlies in transition and the low blocks. Richard Hamilton led all scorers with 25 points and Ben Gordon came off the bench to score 22, but the victory was marred somewhat when Hamilton stepped on O.J. Mayo’s foot and twisted his ankle in the closing minutes.

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Opening Week Preview for 2009-10 NBA Season

Kobe Bryant jumps in the air, giving a sweet vision back in time to Jordan’s celebration after knocking down the buzzer-beater that put a dagger in the heart of Karl Malone and Jazz fans alike. Watching was a sea of blue and white disappointed fans.

Yes, the Lakers were 2009 NBA Champions as they finished off the Orlando Magic in 5 games. What an incredible season.

A season that included LeBron finally being able to crown himself the best in the 08-09 season with a much deserved MVP award. A season where Dwight Howard showed us REALLY how to play defense, as he stole the 08-09 season’s Defensive Player of the Year. A season where Dwyane Wade put on a show nearly every night in Miami.

Yes, the season was great even for Knicks, Jazz, Hornets and all NBA fans alike…because regardless of how your teams performed, the individual performances were spectacular.

But that season is over.

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4/21/09 Game 2 NBA Playoff Betting Odds and Predictions: Cavs-Pistons, Rockets-Blazers, Lakers-Jazz

The games below are obviously already over, but I’m still seeing traffic come in from search engines. If you’re looking for the updated lines and odds for games after 4/21, here you go:

BetUS Sportsbook
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Game 2: Detroit Pistons @ Cleveland Cavaliers

Pistons vs Cavaliers odds: Cavaliers -11

The Detroit Pistons had no answer for LeBron James in Game 1 and it’s hard to fathom what kind of strategy they’ve concocted between games to slow him down. In Game 1, they practically tried every possible approach.

They used several different defenders on him, which failed miserably. Tayshaun Prince’s length didn’t help as James ran right past him while Richard Hamilton’s speed didn’t help as James outmuscled him. When James was double-teamed, he quickly found his teammates, which led to four of them hitting double-figures in scoring.

The Pistons see the white light and they aren’t resisting. The Cavs should protect their home court again tonight as the series heads back to Detroit.

Online betting pick: Cavaliers

Game 2: Houston Rockets @ Portland Trail Blazers

Rockets vs Trail Blazers odds: Trail Blazers -6

The Houston Rockets stole home court advantage in their Western Conference Quarter-Final by handing the Portland Trail Blazers their worst loss of the season. A number of the Blazers were making their playoff debuts in Game 1 so expect them to be far more poised in Game Two.

The Blazers starters were outscored 94-43 and head coach Nate McMillan ended up benching them for the fourth quarter.

For the Trail Blazers to come up victorious tonight, they’ll have to find a way to contain Yao Ming, who carved up both Joel Przybilla and Greg Oden for 24 points and nine rebounds. Yao didn’t even miss a shot from the floor (nine for nine), which further indicates just how dominant he was.

NBA betting fans know that it’s unlikely that the Rockets shoot 58.5 per cent from the field in back-to-back road games and it’s unlikely for the Blazers, who won 34 of 41 home games in the regular season, to lose back-to-back home games. Look for the Blazers to even things up in Game Two.

Online betting pick: Trail Blazers

Game 2: Utah Jazz @ Los Angeles Lakers

Jazz vs Lakers odds: Lakers -11.5

The Utah Jazz are starting to face the music and it doesn’t sound so good. They have lost 10 straight games at the Staples Center but the bigger concern right now is that they have lost eight of their last 10 games overall.

The Jazz might again be without starting center Mehmet Okur, who is a game-time decision for Tuesday’s contest.

Hoops betting fans know that the Lakers didn’t even play a full game on Sunday and still drilled the Jazz. The Lakers were up by 22 at halftime and took their foot off the pedal, which resulted in a 13-point win.

The Jazz just don’t have the rhythm they had last season, and that was when they lost to the Lakers in six games. Now that they’re coming apart at the seams, it appears this series might not even make it that far.

The Lakers should have a 2-0 series lead after tonight’s contest.

Online betting pick: Lakers

2009 NBA Playoffs Betting Preview: Matchups and Odds

The post breaks down the opening odds and lines for the first round matchups of the 2009 NBA Playoffs. Follow the link to view the complete NBA playoffs first round TV schedule.

Eastern Conference Playoffs Series Odds

No. 8 Detroit Pistons @ No. 1 Cleveland Cavaliers

The Detroit Pistons have been sinking ever since their trade of Chauncey Billups and are a paltry 18-31 since January 7. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers are the best team in the NBA and are extremely dominant at home. The Cavs have the best player in the league and the best home-court advantage, which will make this a very quick series.

Pistons vs Cavaliers odds: Cavaliers -3800

(Editor’s note: For a detailed preview and ticket information, follow the link to the MSF Cavs-Pistons preview and tickets post.)

No. 7 Chicago Bulls @ No. 2 Boston Celtics

What should have a been a walk-in-the-park for the Celtics now becomes a bit of a tricky first round matchup now that Kevin Garnett has been ruled out of the series.

The Celtics still have Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and a wealth of experience. The Bulls are young and raw, including their first-time head coach Vinny Del Negro. Even without Garnett, look for the Celtics to make quick work of the Bulls.

Bulls vs Celtics odds: Celtics -600

No. 6 Philadelphia 76ers @ No. 3 Orlando Magic

The Magic do and will miss their All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson but the loss won’t be noticed in this matchup.

The Magic are one of the league’s best perimeter teams while the Sixers are the league’s worst. That figures to be the downfall for Philadelphia, who will have a tough time consistently generating enough offense to keep up.

Magic vs 76ers odds: Magic -1200

No. 5 Miami Heat @ No. 4 Atlanta Hawks

The four-five matchup in the East will be interesting because of the contrast of styles. The Heat are a one-man show with Dwyane Wade while the Hawks are built on balance and depth.

The Hawks have six players who average double-figure scoring and, with home-court advantage in tow, hoops betting fans should expect the Hawks should get past the Heat in a seven-game series.

Heat vs Hawks odds: Hawks -145

Western Conference Playoff Series Odds

No 8. Utah Jazz @ No. 1 Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers disposed of the Utah Jazz in six games during the 2007-08 Western Conference Semi-Finals and it’s hard to envision the result being different this time around.

The Lakers won the series without the services of Andrew Bynum and, with him around, the Jazz will now have one more problem to deal with.

The Jazz won just seven of their final 21 games while the Lakers lost just seven of their last 30.

Lakers vs Jazz odds: Lakers -2000

No. 7 New Orleans Hornets @ No. 2 Denver Nuggets

On paper, the New Orleans Hornets seem to match up very well against the Denver Nuggets. The problem is that the two squads are at different ends of the momentum spectrum, which should be the difference. The Hornets have lost four of their last five, six of their last eight and are 8-10 in their last 18 games. Meanwhile, the Nuggets won 14 of their last 17 games and are playing their best basketball heading into the playoffs.

Both teams like to get out and run, which benefits the Nuggets, who haven’t passed the first round in recent seasons because they have faced defensive-minded half-court teams. Hoops betting fans should look for the Nuggets to advance after a long series.

Hornets vs Nuggets odds: Nuggets -210

No. 6 Dallas Mavericks @ No. 3 San Antonio Spurs

Neither the Dallas Mavericks or San Antonio Spurs are the Championship threats they were just a few years back as both teams have aged quickly.

Tim Duncan is past his prime and he’ll be without one of his sidekicks, Manu Ginobili, for the series. For the Mavericks, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Jerry Stackhouse and Dirk Nowitzki are all past their primes too, which hardly makes them a threat.

The Spurs should get by on the strength of their home-court advantage.

Mavericks vs Spurs odds: Spurs -155

No. 5 Houston Rockets @ No. 4 Portland Trail Blazers

The Houston Rockets haven’t been out of the first round of the playoffs in the Yao Ming-Tracy McGrady era but they’ll finally have a good opportunity.

The Rockets lost their home court advantage at the last minute but they are facing a team without much playoff experience. Without McGrady, the Rockets have been cohesive and successful, and hoops betting fans won’t be surprised if they get over the hump.

Rockets vs Trail Blazers odds: Trail Blazers -125

Cavs-Pistons Tickets, TV Schedule, and Preview

The top seed in the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers, take on the #8 seed Detroit Pistons in the first round of the 2009 NBA Playoffs. LeBron and the Cavs are obviously favored, and I would be pretty shocked if this series goes longer than 5 games. As we know, the #8 seed beats the #1 seed only in the most rare of circumstances — and none of the few #1 seeds who have lost had LeBron James on their team.

If you are thinking of attending any of the Cavs-Pistons games in either Cleveland or Detroit (and why wouldn’t you — the NBA Playoffs are FANtastic!) here are some links to help guide you to the best ticket deals available anywhere:

Cavs-Pistons Playoff Tickets

• StubHub: Cavs-Pistons First Round Playoff Tickets
• StubHub: Pistons-Cavs First Round Playoff Tickets

And if, for some reason, you just don’t like StubHub, here are links to RazorGator for Cavs-Pistons first round playoff tickets:

• RazorGator: Cavs-Pistons First Round Playoff Tickets
• RazorGator: Pistons-Cavs First Round Playoff Tickets

Here is the tale of the tape for the Cavs-Pistons first round playoff series. As you can see, and would expect, the advantages are all Cavs:

• Season record: Cavs 66-16 | Pistons 39-43
• Conference record: Cavs 40-12 | Pistons 26-26
• Home record: Cavs 39-2 | Pistons 21-20
• Road record: Cavs 27-14 | Pistons 18-23
• Last 10 regular season games: Cavs 7-3 | Pistons 4-6
• Head-to-Head: Cavs 3-1

And few links to the team website and the typically long and drawn out first round schedule:

Cavs official website: Cleveland Cavaliers

Pistons official website: Detroit Pistons

Complete NBA Playoffs First Round Schedule: 2009 NBA Playoffs TV Schedule

At least one Cavs fans is not happy at all about Mike Brown’s decision to rest his starters in the final regular season game: Way to make history, dipshit — (Cleveland Frowns)

Cavs-Pistons TV Schedule

• Game 1: Pistons @ Cavaliers – Saturday, 4/18 at 3:00 ET on ABC
• Game 2: Pistons @ Cavaliers – Tuesday, 4/21 at 8:00 ET on TNT
• Game 3: Cavaliers @ Pistons – Friday, 4/24 at 7:00 ET on ESPN
• Game 4: Cavaliers @ Pistons – Sunday, 4/26 at 3:30 ET on ABC
• Game 5*: Pistons @ Cavaliers – Wednesday, 4/29 at TBD on TBD
• Game 6*: Cavaliers @ Pistons – Friday, 5/1 at TBD on TBD
• Game 7*: Pistons @ Cavaliers – Sunday, 5/3 at TBD on TBD

* – if necessary

Enjoy the series. Something tells me it will be a short one, unless Allen Iverson comes ready to play and the Pistons can dig deep for that “heart of a champion” type effort they used to be known for.

How many games will it take the Cavs to dispose of the Pistons

• 4
• The Pistons will pull off the upset
• 6
• 5
• 7

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NBA Playoff Picture Begins to Clear For Cavs, Bulls, Pistons, and (ugh) Pacers

The 2009 NBA Playoff picture is now cleared up.  View the NBA Playoff TV Schedule and Matchups.  The Playoffs start this weekend. Follow the link for great deals on Cleveland Cavaliers Playoff Tickets from StubHub

We have not done a whole lot of regular season NBA coverage here at MSF, but that is about to change now that the NBA Playoffs are almost here and Cavs playoff tickets are about to become the hottest commodity in the Midwest.

I certainly do not consider myself a die-hard NBA fan by any means, but I love the playoffs. And while I am not officially a Cavs fan (I grew up a Bulls fan, but that love faded when MJ retired), they are the team I watch and root for over any others. Obviously, this year’s NBA playoffs are shaping up to be pretty exciting for fans of the Cavs and LeBron.

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A few quick dates and links of note, and then we’ll break down the playoff matchups if the season ended today.

• April 15: Last day of NBA regular season
• April 16: Playoff rosters set
• Start Date: NBA Playoffs begin on April 18
• Up-to-date playoff picture at NBA.com
• NBA season calendar
• StubHub: NBA Playoff Tickets
• StubHub: Cleveland Cavaliers Playoff Tickets
• StubHub: Chicago Bulls Playoff Tickets
• StubHub: NBA Playoff Tickets

Once the final playoff seedings and the schedule is announced, we will post an in-depth NBA playoff preview. For now, here are the matchups if the NBA Playoffs started today. Season series in parentheses:

Eastern Conference Projected Playoff Matchups:

– #1 Cleveland Cavaliers v #8 Detroit Pistons (Cavs 3-1)

– #2 Boston Celtics v #7 Chicago Bulls (Celtics 2-1)

– #3 Orlando Magic v #6 Philadelphia 76ers (Magic 3-0)

– #4 Atlanta Hawks v #5 Miami Heat (Hawks 2-1)

Charlotte is currently 2.5 games behind Detroit for the final playoff spot, while the Pacers are 4.0 games back. Neither is eliminated yet, but their odds are obviously very low.

Cleveland, currently 4.0 games up on Boston, is looking solid for the #1 seed and home court advantage in the East, and also is 1/2 game up on the Lakers for home court advantage throughout the playoffs.

Only one game currently separates the Celtics and Magic for the 2nd spot, and the Bulls and Pistons are separated by only 1/2 game for the 7th spot; so both of those slots are still very much up for grabs with most teams having four or five games remaining as of today.

Western Conference Projected Playoff Matchups:

– #1 Los Angeles Lakers v #8 Dallas Mavericks (Lakers 3-0)

– #2 Denver Nuggets v #7 Utah Jazz (tied 2-2)

– #3 San Antonio Spurs v #6 New Orleans Hornets (NO 2-1)

– #4 Houston Rockets v #5 Portland Trail Blazers (Rockets 2-1)

The Lakers, with their 10 game lead over the Nuggets, have the Western Conference #1 seed wrapped up. Only 5.5 games total separate #2 from #7 right now. With 2.5 games separating current #2 Denver from current #5 Portland, there is still a lot of jockeying that could take place in the upper half of the Western Conference seeding. With Dallas up 4.0 games on Phoenix, their spot looks pretty solid.

In the end, as we all know, the cream almost always rises to the top in the NBA Playoffs. If anyone but the Lakers emerges from the West, it will be a huge upset. Cleveland, Boston, and Orlando are obviously the heavy favorites in the East, with most people thinking the Cavs are a Finals guarantee because they have the best player in the East (and maybe the entire NBA), while Boston is fighting age and injury and Orlando still lacks deep playoff experience.

We got our Lakers-Celtics Finals last season, which satisfied the appetite of NBA traditionalists. This year, I’m hoping for Cavs-Lakers so we can see the two best players in the world go mano-a-mano for what undoubtedly would be a hotly contested, competitive, and highly entertaining six or seven game series.

We’ll see how the next week shakes out and be back next week with our official NBA Playoffs preview post, and then breakdowns of the individuals series. Until then, what is your Finals prediction? Do you think anyone other than the Cavs and Lakers have a prayer?

The comment section awaits…

NBA betting – Thursday Night Picks – March 26, 2009

Los Angeles Lakers (56-14) @ Detroit Pistons (34-36)

If the Detroit Pistons win on Thursday night, it might be a March Madness betting like upset. The Pistons are a big home underdog and, as the Western Conference’s best team comes to visit, the Pistons have too many problems coming to a head at one time to really put faith in them.

For starters, the Pistons haven’t been very good at home this year to begin, sporting just an 18-18 mark. Secondly, and more importantly, the Pistons should be fairly shorthanded for Thursday night’s contest.

Allen Iverson is out indefinitely, Rasheed Wallace is expected to miss Thursday’s contest, as is Richard Hamilton, who is dealing with a groin injury.

Sportsbook odds have the Lakers as an 8.5-point favorite and they are too strong to stumble against the Pistons’ backups.

Miami Heat (38-33) @ Chicago Bulls (34-38)

The first game of the NBA TNT double-header will be going head-to-head with March Madness betting as the Connecticut Huskies and Purdue Boilermakers will be playing at the same time.

The Chicago Bulls have had all sorts of problems with Miami this season, going 0-for-3 in the first three meetings this season.

The problem for the Bulls has been containing Dwyane Wade, who has gone crazy on them in each outing. Wade, who is the NBA’s leading scorer at 29.8 points per game, has averaged 33.3 point per game, 7.0 assists and 3.7 rebounds in the first three matchups.

The Bulls are beaten up heading into this contest but they are expected to have Derrick Rose, who is dealing with a wrist injury, while Tyrus Thomas will be a game-time decision. The Bulls are already missing Luol Deng from their lineup, who is out indefinitely.

Look for the Bulls to somewhat salvage the season series with the Heat and get a win tonight.

Phoenix Suns (40-31) @ Portland Trail Blazers (44-27)

While a few March Madness betting sharps will be solely focusing on college basketball tonight, a number of hoops betting fans will be flipping back and forth as the late game on the TNT twin bill has plenty of playoff implications.

The Phoenix Suns have caught fire of late and have won six straight games to get themselves back into the playoff conversation.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is that five of those six wins came at home and now they have to find a way to win on the road at the Rose Garden.

The Portland Trail Blazers don’t lose at home very often, but they are coming off a tough home loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. That was the Blazers’ first game home after a six-game East Coast trip and they were dead tired by the fourth quarter.

Now that they’ve had two days off between games, they should be more than capable of handling a feeble Suns team.

The Suns are without Amare Stoudemire and Leandro Barbosa for tonight’s game while the Blazers’ Brandon Roy is probable tonight while Travis Outlaw is questionable.

The Demise of Isiah Thomas – What happened Zeke?

I recently blogged on the topic of Pistons GM Joe Dumars, a former guard for Detroit, and the perception that he is a genius. This got me to thinking about his partner in the backcourt for those Pistons championship teams of the late eighties….the great Isiah Thomas.

As you know, in October of this year Isiah Thomas was taken to a New York hospital after being founded unconcious in his home. The incident was ruled as a “accidental overdose of a prescription sleeping pill”. This was just another scar on the post NBA career for Thomas. The real surprise in this particular incident is that he insinuated that his 17 year old daughter was actually the patient. Why he would try to throw his 17 year old daughter under the bus when it could easily be proven otherwise? Furthermore…what the hell happened to Isiah Thomas?

Isiah Thomas has some staggering statistics as a player. He attended Indiana University for two years under Bob Knight. He was on the 1981 National Championship team and was named the Most Outstanding Player for the NCAA tournament that year. He then left and was drafted with second pick of the 1981 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons. He was a force right away as he made the NBA all rookie team. He continued to dominate at the point throughout his career and even lead the Bash Brothers teams to two championships in the 1988-’89 and 1989-’90 seasons. Here is a rundown of some of his statistics from Basketball-Reference.com:

- NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player (1981)
- NBA All Rookie Team (1982)

- 12x NBA All Star (every year from 1982-1993)
- 3x All-NBA First Team (1984-1986)
- 2x NBA SEcond Team (1983,1987)
- 2x NBA Champion (1989,1990)
- NBA Finals MVP (1990)
- U.S. Olympian (1980…never played because of the boycoot, but, was named to the team)
- J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award (1987)

He also scored 18,822 points had 9,061 (9.3 pg) Assists and 1,861 Steals in his career. He is the Pistons career leader in the following categories: games played, points, steals and assists. He is fourth all-time NBA in assists.

These are staggering statistics that led to him being chosen as one of the top 50 players of all time for the 50th anniversary team. He was also named to the Basketball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

He retired as a player in 1994. This was when his career did a 180 and took a turn for the worse.

First, he bought in to the expansion Toronto Raptors franchise becoming a part owner and VP. He was run out of town over disagreements with management. He then tried a forray into broadcasting.

The real trouble started when he bought the CBA in 1998. The league later went into bankruptcy and no longer exists. Isiah Thomas has been given a lot of the blame for the leagues demise. The big reason for this is that he turned down a profitable offer from the NBA to turn the CBA into a development league for the NBA. Thomas declined. The NBA later created the NBDL as a farm system for the NBA which basically made the CBA obsolete.

Thomas was then hired on to replace Larry Bird as the head coach for the the Indiana Pacers. This was Isiah’s first try at head coaching and he was given a stacked team. The Pacers had just won the Eastern Conference title and were poised for more success. But, Isiah never got them out of the first round of the playoffs. They had the talent, but Isiah just wasn’t experienced enough for head coaching. It’s hard to believe that he couldn’t get a team with young talent in Ron Artest and Brad Miller and a veteran leader in sharp shooter Reggie Miller out of the first round of the playoffs. This led to him being replaced in Indiana as head coach.

In 2003, he moved on to destroy the New York Knicks franchise, where he was named President of Basketball operations. He also became head coach in 2006. By the time he became head coach in New York he had helped them amass the highest payroll in the entire NBA…..and the 2nd worse record. On top of that, there were allegations of sexual harrasment and racism by a Madison Square Garden employee.

To me, not many have fallen harder than Isiah Thomas after his career as a player ended. I think bad decision after bad decision may have finally taken its toll. He has won chamionships as a player, dazzled fans with his insane ball-handling abilities and could get to the hoop like no other point guard of his time. But, he fell from an NBA All Star (and personally one of my favorite players) to the the brink of death.

He ripped apart franchises and even destroyed an entire league. All of this finally culminated this Fall with him throwing his 17 year old daughter under the bus for his “accidental overdose”. This is a tragic epilogue to an exciting and dominating NBA career, and it should be a warning sign to current NBA players to not bite off more than you can chew when your playing career is over.

[tags]isiah thomas, nba[/tags]

2008-09 NBA Season Preview

Just so everyone knows. The NBA season starts this week…and not in February as is commonly assumed.

The off-season free agent period was pretty boring except for a few moves. But that’s okay considering the next two are going to be bloodbaths.

Some playoff teams in the East (Cleveland and Philadelphia) got a little bit better in the off-season free agent period. Some (Detroit and Boston) got older.  The West looks to be just a tough and grueling as last year.

Some of the bigger questions this year:

1. Can Boston repeat? (sure…they could)…or are they too old (probably)?
2. Is Kobe still the best player in the NBA? (nope).
3. Will the coaching changes in Dallas and Phoenix take them to the next level? (No)
4. Will Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley win the Rookie of the Year award? (No)

Here is my top 8 in each conference and my pick for postseason conference champions and the NBA champion:

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