| Pistons Begin Tough Test Of Title Defense Authored by Daniel Sonnenberg - May 23, 2005 - 3:13 pm
The Detroit Pistons truly begin defense of their NBA and Eastern Conference titles tonight with Game 1 in Miami tonight.
The Heat are Detroit’s most formidable opponent since last year’s Lakers team and that team barely put up one game against the Pistons.
The series against Miami, which begins tonight, is fairly similar to last year’s Finals with the exceptions coming in the form of Miami’s role players. Damon Jones, Eddie Jones, Keyon Dooling, and Alonzo Mourning are a far cry better than last year’s Lakers’ no shows of Fox, Fisher, and Kareem Rush, but the outcome may just as well be the same.
The match ups favor the Pistons. Udonis Haslem will have his hands full guarding either Ben or Rasheed Wallace leaving Shaq to come on a double team which will allow the Pistons to grab a lot of weak side rebounds.
Tayshuan Prince is another player that will give the Heat a rough time on both offense and defense. Look for Prince to score between 17-20 a game against the weaker matched Eddie Jones or Rausal Butler. Prince will more than likely defend Dwayne Wade. Last year Prince made life difficult for Kobe Bryant with his long arms and look for him to do the same to Wade.
Rasheed Wallace will also be a force against Udonis Haslem. Chauncy Billups will also have a good time on offense as he will more than likely work the post. The Miami Heat will have their hands full. The Pistons will concede points to Shaquille O’ Neal, but they will not concede points to Dwayne Wade or any of the other Heat. The bench will be the key and Antonio McDyess was hired for this work.
Look for the Pistons to extinguish Miami’s flame, starting with Game 1 tonight in Miami. |
