now that darko is turning into a shot blocking machine over there in europe. Is anyone else mad that lb didn't give him a shot to do just that in game 7 of the finals?? all our bigs in foul trouble and lb decides to go small. all we needed was 3 minutes from him. darko didn't just learn to block shots in the last couple of days. i'm sure he was doing that in practice these last 2 years.
It's still a big stretch from the European scrimmages Darko is participating in this summer to the NBA Finals. Especially when the game is on the line. I'm happy to see that Darko may just be able to provide some of the shotblocking Ben Wallace does. Now can he learn to rebound like a man possessed?
Not to sound mean but...are you crazy?!?! Put Darko in Game 7 CRUNCH TIME and hope he lifts us to the title??
yes. it is crazy to insert a power forward/center to check the other teams power/forward center. lets just slide our slim small forward over and let him check the other teams power forward/center. but lb had a better idea lets put 3 guards in and slide our small forward over and hope nobody notices the mismatch. yeah i guess i'm crazy yes i would have liked to see darko get a shot. after this season many people will be wondering if the finals out come would have been different if lb chose to use a 7 foot shot blocker to check the other teams bigs. hindsight is 20/20
Darko in Game 7 I'm angry that Tay was covering Duncan for three minutues. Is that the three minutes you were talking about?
even if darko becomes an all-star that doesn't mean he would have done well in that game. he has no NBA experience, and you're talking game 7, nba finals, late in the game. now if you said put mcdyess in and ride his hot shooting until he fouls out, i'd be fine with that. if you said put in elden who still had decent game and loads of experience, i'd be fine with that too. but to say darko should have been the 1st option over mcdyess and elden, i think that's just nuts.
I actually agree with you Jay. It was a bone headed move by LB to have Prince even try to check Timmy. (A wet towel on a bull comes to my mind....okay..okay..maybe not that bad but you get my point) No doubt that you have got to at least match up in that situation. He undoubtedly should have gone with Big Easy at that time and if not him then Darko should have gotten the nod. I think Darko would have helped as well as hurt us had he got the call though. When you consider the magnitude of the game along with the lack of respect from the whistles for Darko I think he would have picked up fouls with the quickness. But, his length definitely would have come in handy.
I'd have to agree that putting Tay on Duncan was a bad move, I would have much rather seen Campbell, McDyess, or Darko covering Duncan. At least then we would have matched up better, and even if they fouled Duncan I would take Duncan from the free throw line anyday over him right in front of the basket.
Shoulda never come to that As some of us were saying most of the year, people like EC, DMC, CA, and CD should have been getting minutes here and there during the season so that LB would know who to put in when and where and under what circumstances. They would also have had the confidence to contribute should they be called. Of course DMC would not have starred and saved the day, by himself, but he certainly could have contributed toward keeping TD and his classmates from having their way with the Pistons for a few minutes. Had the bench been allowed to work with the regulars at times, they would know each one's good and bad points. At the very least, LB should not have kept our bigs on the bench for that long a time, all at once. Give is a chance and let them go down swinging. Chances are the the refs would have let them play, anyway, rather than fouling them out and openly giving the game to SA.
These were mostly qualifiers. The real tourney with (I assume) real stats kicks in shortly. I think max or merc listed the games on the forum calendar.
For the record Tay was not guarding Duncan. He was assigned to Horry, but got caught on a switch, more than a few times (Good job Pop).
I've ranted about this before... we were up by like 12 points, and by the time the run was over we were down... the last 5 or so minutes of the 3rd quarter. Tay was stuck playing at a spot that he shouldn't have been playing. Not only did LB ride him into the ground, he made him play the 4 spot. With EC and Darko riding the pine... Yeah, it is a big difference between summer league, Euro league... whatever... but if he would have put Darko in there... how could it have been any worse?!! That's my take.
Game 7 Prior to joining the Pistons LB had a total of 1 win in the Finals. I know he has made a lot of players better but as far as coaching in the big games LB did not have the experience. Should DArko have played? If he had gotten more time during the season. But what about EC?
anger I'm not angry that he didn't play Darko in game 7. I'm more angry, or should I say disappointed, that he pulled Antonio out when he picked up his fourth foul. I was very perplexed at the time of his decision why he pulled him out with only a quarter to go. I think that decision may have cost us the ship. I also am a little angry over how LB mishandled Darko if what Billups said is true. Many of us believed all along that Darko was mishandled but it appears we now have some inside proof (at least from an NBA MVP). Can't fault LB for giving us one ship though. To that I am grateful. With a little less stubborness, we may have had two.
That left me scratching my head as well, buckeyes. I'm with those that look back to that as quite possibly being the one move that cost us the back-to-back. I always hated the way LB sat players (especially Sheed) for the entire first half the moment they picked up 2 fouls, but that's one thing. Pulling Antonio, in that situation, when he was playing so well, is quite another. What was he saving him for? It was game 7, with the trophy on the line, and while most coach's would be pulling out all the stops, here's LB playing conservatively, in game 7! I'll never understand it I have to say, for all the great things he accomplished in those 2 years here, he sure had his share of moments where it looked like the first signs of Alzheimer's settling in.
Fouls lesson please Duncan was using us in the post. He was also Shaqing it at the line. I would have lined all our bigs up and let them one by one hack Duncan to death. Would some one explain fouls to me. Were they can help and were they are penalty.
Darko was in the right spot >at the end of the bench But as someone said yesterday and back in June. LB sat players with fouls too long, instead of inserting them back in with the hope that they would at least provide some scoring as oppose to picking up the quick foul. I know it was supposed to be Timmys night an NO fouls were supposed to e called against him, we had a chance to win this game if key players had not been sitting on the bench with only 2 fouls.
