By: Dustin Chapman

The Detroit Pistons have advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the sixth straight year, as they closed out their Semi-Finals series against Orlando on Tuesday night. Sans Chauncey Billups, who sat out the final two games of the series nursing a strained right hamstring, the Pistons pulled out the 91-86 Game 5 victory to complete the series 4-1.

Detroit’s Game 5 win was a bit of an “ugly win,” but in the playoffs, a win is a win nonetheless. Orlando suffered greatly on account of their sloppiness, as they turned the ball over 21 times and failed to execute in the closing minutes of the game. Detroit, on the other hand, played with tremendous care, committing just three turnovers throughout the night.

Perhaps the biggest factor to Detroit’s 26-18 fourth quarter advantage was the energy difference. With the Magic resembling the true meaning of the term “butterfingers” came frustration. With that frustration came lack of focus, thus throwing off their late-game concentration and looking as though they were playing with an irregular heartbeat. Detroit took advantage of that by coming away with multiple hustle plays, acquiring second-chance opportunities, and showing just why they are the more experienced team with annual postseason success. Antonio McDyess, in particular, was a huge energizer for Flip Saunders’ club. The 12-year NBA veteran put together a monster fourth quarter, where he scored 11 points and gobbled up six rebounds to give Detroit a major lift.

Rip Hamilton struggled with his shot in the second half, but despite his perimeter shooting woes, was able to lead his team in scoring. Nineteen of Hamilton’s 31 points came in the second half, and the masked man iced all 16 of his free throw attempts to help give his team a +12 advantage in free throws made (28-16).

Alongside Hamilton in the backcourt for Detroit was rookie Rodney Stuckey, who started in place of the aforementioned injured Chauncey Billups. The first-year guard out of Eastern Washington may have had his best postseason performance to date, as he tallied 15 points, six assists, three rebounds, two steals, and remained controlled by not committing a single turnover. There were multiple times where Stuckey shifted into his second gear, which often left the Magic defense in the dust and gave him a clear path to the basket.

The Piston defense limited Dwight Howard, holding him to just eight shot attempts and forcing him to earn his money at the free throw line. Similar to last season’s first round series, he failed to do so, as he hit just six of his 15 attempts from the charity stripe in Game 5. He did, however, manage to make his presence felt by grabbing 17 rebounds and block three shots.

Regardless, Howard’s defensive activity was not enough to extend the series and play another game in front of his beloved fans at Amway Arena. Stan Van Gundy’s crew should not be ashamed of their season, as they added 12 wins to their 2006-2007 regular season total and got the opportunity to advance to the second round.

While Orlando is fishing, Detroit will be waiting anxiously for their Eastern Conference Finals opponent, which will be the winner of the Boston-Cleveland series that is currently knotted at 2-2. Stay tuned.

Leave a Reply