0305010503
DETROIT FREE PRESS
030501
Thursday, May 01, 2003
METRO FINAL CHASER
1A
Photo KIRTHMON F. DOZIER/Detroit Free Press;Photo JULIAN H.
GONZALEZ/Detroit Free Press
Detroit's Chauncey Billups drives on Orlando's Jacque Vaughn on Wednesday
night at the Palace. Billups scored 15 points in the Pistons' 98-67 victory in
Game 5.
P>Game 6 is Friday at Orlando.
A fan at the Palace holds a sign rooting for the Pistons to win three straight
games vs. Orlando to take the first-round series.
MITCH ALBOM Free Press sports writer
Copyright (c) 2003, Detroit Free Press
PISTONS FINALLY GO TO WORK
In the end, they were counting down the seconds to the next game. Six. Five.
Four. Mehmet Okur, with nothing else to do, threw the ball at the basket.
It swished.
It was that kind of night.
So it's May Day instead of "Mayday!" Thanks to a 31-point blowout -- final
score 98-67 -- there will be a Game 6 in this first-round playoff series.
Basketball lives in the Motor City. But while the Pistons gave the Palace fans
lots to roar about in Wednesday night's survival -- and when Ben Wallace
blocks a Shawn Kemp shot into the stands, you're gonna hear a roar -- the
truth is, they didn't answer many questions with their win.
They did, however, raise a few.
First question: Was this about survival or identity? The Pistons played
intense, jaw-grinding basketball from the opening tap, with three slams in the
first period by Wallace, aggressive shooting by Rip Hamilton, and stick-to-em
defense by both starters and subs. But was the motivation to avoid an
embarrassing playoff exit at home, or was this really who the Pistons are --
and can be in Games 6 and 7?
"I'd say this was about pride," Chauncey Billups said after the win. "We
worked too hard all season to be a No. 1 seed that loses to a No. 8 seed in
five games. No way. We weren't gonna let that happen."
Second question: Was this Orlando's "A" game, or was the Magic cruising on a
cushy lead? Orlando missed an awful lot of open looks. Drew Gooden played like
a rookie. The entire squad was subs by the end of the third quarter. And the
Tracy McGrady of Game 5 sure didn't look like the Tracy McGrady of Games 1
through 4. As he goes, so goes Orlando, and, let's face it, there were times
Wednesday night when T-Mac looked like T-O, as in Time Off.
"I think he tried to get the other guys involved too much," Orlando coach Doc
Rivers said. "Detroit was more aggressive tonight. It's funny, in our shoot-
around we were so focused. Then the game started and boom -- it was over."
Third question: Is Tayshaun Prince an answer or an accident? Prince entered
the game early, after Michael Curry got his third foul in less than nine
minutes. Prince, the Kentucky rookie with the body of a pogo stick and the
wing span of a 747, didn't so much stop McGrady as ooze on him. But T-Mac
didn't score much with Prince defending him, and Prince provided some springy
offense as well. He was a crowd pleaser and a welcome new force.
"I didn't have a clue I would be playing tonight," Prince said, after logging
33 minutes.
Friday will tell if he's a weapon that can be reloaded.
Can more changes work?
Fourth question: Has Rick Carlisle finally made some significant adjustments,
and can he do it two more times? The knock on the Pistons' coach was that he
seemed to be coming in with the same game plan, loss after loss, rather than
make the chessboard maneuvers more common in the postseason.
But Wednesday, Carlisle stayed with Prince a long time, kept Corliss
Williamson on the bench, changed little things like the in-bounding pattern,
and had an offense much more fluid than in previous games. This time, the
other players didn't stand around while Billups tried to get breathing room.
Hamilton was more aggressive in finding his shot, getting into the lane and
popping quickly for six- and eight-footers.
Was this newfound flexibility by Carlisle? Or was it simply the old Pistons
way of doing things -- but doing them effectively? Carlisle said, "When we
play good defense, our offense comes easier." It sure didn't hurt that the
Pistons hit 43.8 percent from the field -- their best in the series -- while
holding Orlando to 32 percent, and McGrady to 19 points.
Doesn't McGrady start every game with 19 points?
Fresh Prince inspires
Back to Prince for a moment. He was the story of the night, if only for the
fresh look he brought the Pistons. He had youthful exuberance, string bean
moves, and some inspirational moments. He stretched to save an out-of-bounds
ball and scooped it underhand 20 feet to a teammate. He took a lob over the
head of a defender, turned and laid it in. He took a nice feed and banged in a
three. He finished with 15 points, six rebounds, and, at least for one night,
a draw with McGrady.
"The way he was playing," Carlisle admitted, "it was hard to take him out."
At the final buzzer, Prince was shaking a fist. Wallace was nodding. Jon Barry
was yelling, "Yeah! Yeah!" And the team exited to a hopeful ovation that said:
"Thanks. Make sure you come back Sunday."
We'll soon see. The Pistons, as Billups said, showed pride in this game --
pride, determination, focus, good defense. But these are things they should be
showing all along. This is the result you're supposed to have when a No. 1
seed plays a No. 8 at home.
Now they have to do it again. Friday night will be a much tougher test. The
Pistons haven't won a postseason road game since Carlisle took over as coach.
But that's Friday. For now, it's May Day not "Mayday!" and we take solace in a
playoff victory -- a rare thing so far this Detroit spring. We're also
grateful that at least one query Wednesday got an earnest reply.
Question: Do we have to start watching baseball?
Answer: Not yet.
Contact MITCH ALBOM at 313-223-4581 or albom@freepress.com. Catch "The Mitch
Albom Show" 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WJR-AM (760).
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