Playoff Game #5 | Cavs @ Pistons | 5/17/2006

[West Remy]

Game 5


Cleveland Cavaliers (2-2) @ Detroit Pistons (2-2)

Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Time: 4:00pm PT, 7:00pm ET
TV: TNT
Radio: WTAM 1100
Location: The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan

HEAD COACHES


PROBABLE STARTERS



CLEVELAND CAVALIERS’ BENCH


DETROIT PISTONS’ BENCH


CLEVELAND CAVALIERS’ NOTES

• LeBron usually follows poor shooting games with solid, high-scoring affairs. Whether LeBron scores a ton of points or not isn’t the issue. Cleveland fans should just rest assured knowing the odds of LeBron shooting 8-of-23 two games in a row isn’t high. James should snap out of it. Cleveland now has the confidence in themselves that even if James struggles, they can still beat the Pistons.

• Anderson Varejao continues to amaze. His play and timely moments have been nothing short of phenomenal. Cleveland is witnessing another player developing right before their very eyes.

DETROIT PISTONS’ NOTES

• Continue to trap the pick-and-roll but beware of Cleveland attacking directly off-the-dribble without an oncoming screen. Cleveland snuck that play into their offense on a few occasions to catch Detroit off-guard.

• The Pistons have to stay confident. Rasheed Wallace promised the Pistons would win Game 4 but they wound up losing. Previously 3-0 in his Guaran-Sheeds, now he is 3-1. That said, Detroit still needs to feel like they’ll win Game 5. If the veteran team loses their championship swagger, the Cavaliers will be waiting to eat them up.

OVERVIEW

For the second straight game, Cleveland matched Detroit’s rebounding output. The Cavs are going to The Palace, which is a hostile environment for visitors. The team has to continue playing strong, passionate basketball. The Pistons are going to want to bury Cleveland early, much like that in Game 1. When Cleveland lost the first two games, they were trying to prolong the series and prove they could take a game from the Pistons. After winning the first game, Cleveland wanted to prove Rasheed Wallace wrong, playing for respect. Now Cleveland needs to change their goals again, aspiring for something higher. Now the Cavs need to play to win this series, sending Detroit home. Go all-out in Game 5, even moreso than in Game 4.

CLEVELAND!!!

Even when nobody else believes...

CLEVELAND!!!

 

[bob2the2nd]

I have a GREAT feeling about game 5 like I did about game 3 after game 2. Im going to jinx the cavs, but right now the team with the pressure is the pistons, i think the cavs can make one heck of a knock out attempt on wed. I think the pistons will give the cavs everythign they have on wed early in the game, and I think the cavs can take it, assuming the pistons dont shoot 11-12 from beyond the arc again. If the cavs can some how find a way to win game 5... I woudl give anythign to be at game 6 in cleveland, the Q will be bouncing an hour before the game.

 

[KingJamesMVP]

How amazing would it be if the Cavs could take the LEAD in the series?

 

[blackmagicGTI]

- We need Hughes back for this one. Yes we have won 2 w/o him but defensively Hamilton abused Snow/Jones tonight. However, if Larry needs more time, so be it, this is only basketball.

- We need to start playing some better offense. How we have managed to beat Detroit with our stand around offense late in Game 4 I have no idea. But that is not going to work again. We need some points. From LeBron and from others. LeBron has not been shooting jumpshots very well this series and I look for that to change.

- Need solid contributios from Z and Gooden. They were invisible in Game 4 but we need some serious play from the post from someone not named Varejao. Regardless of whether we aren't hitting 3's we need to use the paint
to our advantage.

- REBOUND! Too many defensive rebounds given up/dropped to the Pistons. Box out and rebound. Two chances for the Pistons = one too many.

- The pressure is on the Pistons since they have home court. Play loose, for fun, and try to run up and down like we tried to early on tonight.

GO CAVS!

 

[Flippin #2]

Can you imagine if we took game 5, brought it back here to cleveland and wrap it up? This city would go insane...it'd be a riot after game 6.


WOW, i want the game to start now!!! it would be so amazing

 

[The George]

BELIEVE BABY

JUST GOT TO BELIEVE


screw the haters and non-believers

the whole world is not giving us a shot to win in Detriot

everyone is saying "ohh nice job winning 2 but it will be overin 6"]

one more time LeBron show the world wrong

JUST BELIEVE

cause I sure as hell do

 

[Cleveland56]

didn't want to make a new thread on this, but thought I would post the article here even though it doesn't really belong.


http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/play...r_john&id=2446683&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos1


What's wrong with Ben Wallace?

This is why it's always best to put away a team when you have a chance. Detroit had the Cavs on the ropes in Game 3, but let them squirm off the hook. Now what looked like an easy cruise to the conference finals suddenly looks a lot more interesting. The Pistons find themselves in a best-of-three series, and Guaran-Sheed looks questionable for Game 5 thanks to a gimpy ankle.

While most of the Game 4 focus was on that Wallace, my eye was on the other one. Ben Wallace had his usual exceptional regular season, adding another Defensive Player of the Year trophy to his mantle, but Big Ben hasn't been chiming in as often in the postseason.

Sure, we're not expecting Wallace to become the focal point of the offense, but this is getting ridiculous. He's only averaging 3.3 points a night, and his averages of 33.3 percent from the field and 32.0 percent from the line are one reason the Pistons have had so much trouble scoring the past two games. Monday night he scored one point in 43 minutes, putting incredible pressure on Detroit's other players to make up for it. With 'Sheed limping and Chauncey Billups once again blanketed by Eric Snow, Detroit mustered a lame 73 points and missed a golden opportunity to take command.

Biggest playoff decliners in PER (Min. 150 minutes)
Player Team Season Playoffs Change
Carmelo Anthony Nuggets 22.08 11.06 -10.98
Zydrunas Ilgauskas Cavaliers 21.89 12.27 -9.62
Kobe Bryant Lakers 28.11 20.17 -7.94
Smush Parker Lakers 13.36 6.31 -7.05
Ben Wallace Pistons 17.52 10.81 -6.71


Overall, Wallace's postseason PER of 10.81 is a far cry from his regular-season mark of 17.52. A very far cry. As the chart shows, only four other players have seen their PER drop by as much in the playoffs. It's to Wallace's credit that one of them is his opposite number, Cleveland center Zydrunas Ilgauskas. But Ilgauskas didn't enter this season with "win championship" as the No. 1 item on his to-do list, and even if Detroit survives the Cavs, Wallace isn't going to be able to check that item off unless his play improves significantly.

Unfortunately for Detroit, Wallace's struggles aren't the only a dilemma for the next month. Big Ben is a free agent after the season and the Pistons are expected to step up with a near-maximum contract. Wallace is 31 years old, however, and if these playoffs are part of a larger decline for Big Ben, then the Pistons are going to deeply regret giving him a $60 million to $70 million deal. While his performance over the past four seasons has been monotonously stable, one wonders if Wallace's playoff slump will make Joe Dumars a bit more hesitant to sign the check.

 

[ChicagoCavFan]

^^^^nice little read there. Surprising on the PER numbers, especially Carmello and Kobe. I like it. :chuckles:

We are due for a game where we are all on fire. Gimmie 60+% from the field and let me relax Weds nite.

 

[Maximus]

We need Lebron to bounce back from last nights game intense and pissed off. No playing cards with the Pistons tonight....no hugs tomorrow.
Do it for Justin & Larry.

 

[crazedcav333]

Any word on if Larry will be back this series or playoffs? I wouldn't care. I haven't lost anyone that close and if he takes the rest of the playoffs off I would understand. That's not something you can bounce back from easily. But how great would this be.

Game 7. NBA Finals. Cleveland Cavs against Dallas Mavericks or anyone. Larry's first game back. 3 seconds left Cavs down by 2. LBJ takes it out, passes it to Larry in the corner, LARRY HUGHES hits the game winner. I think most of Cleveland would be crying. And I'm actually just starting to as well. I'm being a wuss I know but that would be amazing.

But let's get this one first.

 

[Maximus]

He is not "out"....but "doubtful".

 

[blackmagicGTI]

We need Lebron to bounce back from last nights game intense and pissed off. No playing cards with the Pistons tonight....no hugs tomorrow.
Do it for Justin & Larry.

That's what I said for game 4. No smiles. They won but they didn't exactly play pissed off. Beggars can't be choosers so as long as they win again I don't care.

However, if once, only once, they would come out with a killer attitude (especially LeBron) I can't imagine how good this team could be.

 

[The One]

With LeBron on our team I believe this team could do anything. It would be awesome to beat the Pistons.

 

[highplainsdrifter]

This game is soooooooo huge. I really hope the Cavs understand what a win tonite would mean, giving them the chance to close it out in Cleveland. The Pistons will be VERY TOUGH to eliminate. The team the Cavs beat in 3 & 4 are not the REAL Pistons. And the Cavs better be ready. If the Cavs think they're gonna play the same team like in 3 & 4, they will lose.

Even Rasheed said that if he hadnt sprained his ankle, the Pistons would have won. And I really cannot dispute that. Its not like the Cavs played their A-game in game 4. LeBron was off. And they barely won. I do feel a little lucky for winning game 4, but the Cavs cant rely on luck at the Palace. Only their A-game will do.

The pistons are gonna come out fired up, and the Cavs better match them, which i think they can now. They have Confidence they didnt have the last trip to the Palace.

The Piston player to watch IMO is Billups. He's the PG, the one that controls the flow. He will be ready....

"I know as I go, we go, as far as our (offensive) aggressiveness," Billups said. "I set the tone for this team. If I'm not aggressive, the rest of the team usually isn't, either. I know that. I think you will see a different story (tonight)."

I think the Pistons realize the Cavs are for real, that the Cavs WILL fight them, and they're not afraid of Detroit. Like Kenny Smith said after game 4, the Pistons' antennas are up now...

"We're not concerned at all," Billups said. "But we definitely (heard) the alarm bell."

I still believe the Cavs can beat the Pistons, but i also know it wont be easy, and Detroit will be very focused tonite.

The Cavs must be focused as well, and play strong for 48. Giving the ball to Bron and watching him will not git er done. I seriously hope Coach Brown and the Cavaliers understand what its gonna take tonite. The Pistons will be ready. Will the Cavs?

With Bron on our team, and the confidence they now have, I believe they WILL be ready! Should be an awesome game tonite, and im expecting it to get physical. Bring it Detroit!!!!!!!!! :heated:

 

[KingJamesMVP]

Rasheed says there's "No way in hell" the Cavs win the series..

How bout they prove him wrong AGAIN..That would be sweet..