Bad Boys II

[Mr. Brownstone]

Well, this is a souped up version of the Bad Boys. The 80s incarnation never had the athletes that of the 03-04. But if anything, those Bad Boys of Isaiah, Bill Laimbeer, John Salley, Dennis Rodman, Rick Mahorn, James Edwards, Mark Aguirre, Vinnie Johnson, Joe Dumars, right up to bench warmers Lance Blanks were way more meaner and tougher.

No one wanted to paly them because they brawlers. They beat up teams and no one had it more tough than the Bulls.

This new jack Pistons while tougher on D than the 80s model, lacks that thug mentality. And they're fun to watch too especially with Tayshaun and Sheed playing above the rim.

Clockwork is a huge force in the middle. But he'd be more intimidating if he had his 'fro. He looks more menacing that way. Those braids just don't cut it for him.

Rip and Tayshaun. Never had I seen such scrawny guys play with a lot of hellaciousness since Pip and ho Grant. What an acrobatic shot against Kittles last night.

The Pistons have way too many weapons for the Nets to handle. While Sheed has brought in more aggressiveness (saw the way he swatted K-Mart's post ups?), I miss the quick passing that Jon Barry and Chuck Atkins brought to the team. After Chauncy Billups, they don't have anyone who can make the good inside passes. They missed a lot of cutters last night. If a team can grind them out like the Lakers and the Spurs, then they'd be in trouble. But the great thing about the Pistons is that they take teams out of their game. Like what they did to the Nets.

I think it's gonna be Detroit in 5.

[bchoter]

don't get me wrong. i like the new pistons. but the problem with these guys is that they don;t have somebody as exciting as isiah thomas. to some defense can be entertaining up to a certain point. unfortunately a lot of fans watch team score points not prevent the other team from scoring. another difference between the new and old bad boys is that the older version played up their villain role to the hilt. and a lot of fans loved to hate them. which translates to more fan interest.

if these bad boys go up against the san antonio spurs the gates will again suffer (compared to previous "entertaining" championship series).

[Mr. Baseball]

I think seeing a Pistons-Spurs in the NBA Finals is a way for Dennis Rodman to "get back" at how the Spurs have treated him. Rodman really loves Detroit and hates San Antonio because of all the crap he got - something I know about.

[Mr. Brownstone]

yeah. that's cool. dennis was in the highlight reel a few weeks ago when i think the team he's playing for won the championship.
he can still play. the man's in condition. he should go to the Bulls. they need him coz they're a woeful rebounding team.

[Mateen Cleaves]

Originally posted by Mr. Brownstone
I miss the quick passing that Jon Barry and Chuck Atkins brought to the team.

Nice to see Chuckie and Uncle Cliffy at the game last night. But I'd take Hunter/James over Atkins/Barry. The original Alternatorz would pump up the crowd with their 3s and helter-skelter play. Unfortunately, they were too streaky and too small (Atkins) or too slow (Barry) on defense.

I love the way the defensive intensity picks up when Brown sends in Hunter and James together. And they're not bad outside shooters either. Because of these two pit bulls, Jason Kidd is hardly going to see the bench this series. The Nets can't afford to have anybody else handling the ball when Hunter and James are on the floor.

[Mr. Brownstone]

the game against the nets was an incredible game to watch from a defensive standpoint. this was probably the best i've seen since the bulls wipeouted the jazz in game 3 of the 98 finals.

and yes, that was real classy of cliff and chucky to show support for their old team.

clockwork needs to show the nets his motto, "fear the fro."
bring back the fro. not since pip donned his supafly persona in '94 has someone come down the lane with the fury of an avenging angel.

go, clockwork!

[Mr. Brownstone]

and hey, crazy is this. darko is the fan fave.

[Mr. Brownstone]

man, the nets are gonna halfway done.
incredible game by the pistons. the impact of rasheed wallace on this team is just huge!
although the nets played well for a half, the pistons just revved up their offense and blitzed them for treys and monster putbacks.
but despite the pistons breaking defensive records, they won't be anything but a footnote unless they win an NBA title.
i wonder what isaiah thomas and mark aguirre feel about this new team. former motown heroes like rick mahorn, bill laimbeer and chuck daly have been following this team with great interest. imagine if this team had carmelo anthony instead of darko milicic?
but then again, portland took sam bowie ...

[Mateen Cleaves]

With the way he plays (or doesn't play) defense, no way that Melo would get more minutes than Prince in a Larry Brown team. More than Milicic, for sure, but not Rookie of the Year minutes.

Better to ask what this team would look like with Chris Bosh, because that's the only other guy they looked at, other than Milicic.

Also, consider this (since we're playing woulda-coulda-shoulda anyway). Assume that the Pistons select Carmelo knowing that their big need is in the post. Dumars would have had to go out and get a free agent big man at the beginning of the season. In that scenario, Rasheed Wallace doesn't come to town.

[Mr. Brownstone]

mateen, that's right.

when coach john thomspon interviewed joe dumars the other day (prior to game 3 against the nets), he asked about any regrets when he got darko instead of melo.

joe d said that if he had to do it all over again, he'd get darko (coz did anybody know better). but joe d admitted that there were nights when he'd go "man, what if..."

the reason nga why didn't get melo was because they had tayshaun prince. they really needed a big man to complement clockwork. unfortunately, darko hasn't worked out. but we'll see.

darko reminds me when the celt's got vrankovic. he just took up a lot of space in the middle without making an impact. but i still feel that the celts should have kept dino radja.

but back to the pistons. yes, you're right too. if they got melo, then they might have never gotten rasheed. but then again, they're not sure if sheed is staying. they might have pruged themselves of great complementary players like cliff and chucky in order to win right now.

[Mr. Brownstone]

on the verge of a third nba title, this edition of motown features perhaps the most unassuming bunch of championship players. has there been any team of recent vintage that has featured a line-up comprised mostly of non-superstar players?
some say it was the warriors team of rick barry in '75, but barry was still in his prime then and a great player. what makes this pistons team interesting is that they're mostly made up of discards from other teams.
well, sheed and clockwork are the only ones so far to play in the all-star game but they're nowhere in the galaxy of the superstar status accorded shaq and kobe.
and guess what, most people don't mind!
but maybe if kobe wasn't going through his season from hell, then it might be another story altogether. but who cares, the pistons might wrap up the title tonight!
a friend from detroit called up the other day and crazy pistons fans have also been making life miserable for the lakers at their hotel by making noise all night, hoping to keep the lakers rattled. of course, the lakers have called the cops to stop the racket.
in game 4, a fan held up a sign that said, the lakers need Dr. Phil not Coach Phil. bwa ha ha
guess it's time for eastern payback.

[easy_going]

Bad Boys?

Not by a long shot!

They dont want to play in the Olympics because of security reasons??? Chickens!

I guess its all about the money!

[Melfan]

And the bad boyd II won...

[darkoMilicic]

2004 NBA CHAMPIONS BABY!!