Tayshaun Prince blocks Hedo Turkoglu with the game on the line

Image details: Orlando Magic v Detroit Pistons, Game 5 served by picapp.com

Hard to believe it came down to Hedo Turkoglu at the top of the key and Tayshaun Prince guarding him with the game on the line.

In game 4 you will remember that Hedo Turkoglu went to his left after a jab step to the right and found his way blocked by Jason Maxiell in what looked like a charge. It was later noticed on tape that Maxiell had a foot on the circle and that would make it a foul on Maxiell. Turkoglu missed the shot and the Pistons won by 1 point.

This time with the playoff series on the line, Hedo went to his right on Tayshaun and there was no one waiting. The Pistons were up by 3 and Tayshaun was going for the block. It looked like Hedo was going to score the basket and get the foul. That would give him a chance to tie the game.

So Prince rose inch for inch with Turkoglu, as if taped to his body, and he pinned the would-be jam against the backboard and off the rim. It caromed away, the game was safe, and moments later, the Pistons were headed to a familiar place, the Eastern Conference finals, for the sixth straight year.

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Defense.

Defense by the Pistons won the game.

At halftime the Orlando Magic were shooting 54%. You do not lose many games if you shoot 54%. By the end of the game the Orlando Magic were still shooting 48%. This did not include the multiple fouls on Dwight Howard taking away a lot of his misses and moving them to the foul line where he shot 6 for 15. That is right, 6 for 15 at the line.

Detroit only shot 36% for the game.

The Detroit Pistons missed 64 percent of their shots and had a rookie filling in for an All-Star at point guard.

It didn’t matter.

Detroit set an NBA playoff record with just three turnovers and made just enough shots and stops to advance to their sixth straight Eastern Conference final with a 91-86 win Tuesday night over the Orlando Magic in Game 5 of the second-round series.

Richard Hamilton scored 31 points, made victory-sealing free throws late in the game and Tayshaun Prince had a key block to help Detroit eliminate Orlando.

The Pistons are the first franchise to play in six conference finals in a row since the Los Angeles Lakers went to eight straight in the 1980s.

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Rasheed Wallace made some huge shots and played excellent defense. Antonio McDyess was on fire with 17 points on 6 of 9 shooting mostly on set shots from the foul line extended.

NBA Playoffs Rip Hamilton factoid Rip became the all time Piston playoff scorer taking over that spot from Isiah Thomas.

With his 11th point, Hamilton broke Isiah Thomas’ career playoff scoring record of 2,261 points and he did it in 110 games—one fewer than Thomas needed to set the mark. “That’s a great honor because Isiah is Detroit basketball,” Hamilton said. “To pass one of his records is crazy because I haven’t been here that long.” … Hamilton is four games away from breaking Bill Laimbeer’s franchise record of 113 playoff appearances source

Now Chauncey Billups can heal up for the winner of the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers.

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Without Chauncey Billups there will be more pressure on Rip Hamilton

Image details: Detroit Pistons v Philadelphia 76ers, Game 6 served by picapp.com

Chauncey Billups plays or does not play. He plays well or does not play well. Why, some even think he should not play.

What?

Not play? What are you talking about?

The Pistons can beat the Magic in a best-of-seven series without a fully effective Billups, but they’ll have no chance against Boston or Cleveland in the next round unless he performs at close to 100%.

And if Billups comes back too soon, allowing a nagging injury to derail the Pistons before they reach their championship destination, it will worsen the sting of the last two seasons, when playoff runs were halted in the conference finals.

Opportunities wasted are opportunities lost.

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Now your intrepid author does not pretend to know everything, but it seems to me that too many fans are taking the Orlando Magic and Dwight Howard a little too lightly. Victory over the Magic without Chauncey Billups is anything but insured, in fact, it may mean certain doom. Sorry Rodney Stuckey, but Chauncey is special to this team.

Will Chauncey even play at 5pm today?

All the work has paid off, to a degree. Billups said his strained muscle felt “a little better” Friday, and he planned to test it a bit on the court with some light shooting. The team won’t make a decision about his playing status until close to game time today.

The trainer Arnie Kander had this to say.

But Kander said the fact Billups felt better — especially at the 10:30 a.m. practice — was a big step toward getting back on the court.

“Any time you feel better in the first 24 or 36 hours, that’s your worst time,” Kander said. “That’s where all the chemical reactions occur for muscle strains. And early morning. As you know, all of our bodies don’t feel great first thing in the morning.”

But Kander wasn’t shocked that Billups didn’t share his optimism. “If he was chirpy or happy, I’d wonder how he is that way,” Kander said. “He’s frustrated, he’s irritated. But at the same time, he’ll be OK.”

If Chauncey Billups does not play, then the Magic will be working more against Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince offensive sets. They will be ready for that.

If Billups is missing today an awful lot will be told about this series and the Pistons.

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Chauncey Billups is the leader

Image details: Orlando Magic v Detroit Pistons, Game 2 served by picapp.com

Now Orlando winning game three of the Detroit Pistons / Orlando Magic series was no surprise. They almost and probably should have won game number two in Detroit.

Orlando Magic 111, Detroit Pistons 86

The Pivotal game will be game 4 in Orlando. Should Orlando win that game convincingly and Chauncey be playing below par, then this series will change momentum and Orlando will be the favorite, even though the series will be tied 2 – 2.

Chauncey hurt his hamstring in the game.

Point guard Chauncey Billups played only four minutes Wednesday before straining his right hamstring in the opening quarter. After slipping under his own basket, Billups stayed down for a few moments before he stood and went to the bench, where strength-and-conditioning coach Arnie Kander assessed the damage.

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Chauncey is the player that brings the confidence for Detroit.

“Losing Chauncey was huge for us,” said Richard Hamilton, who scored 24 points. “He means so much to our team. To not have him out there made a difference. We fought back, but we just couldn’t get the win.”

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Chauncey does have a backup and his name is Rodney Stuckey. He is actually a pretty good player.

Forced to take over the primary point guard duties, Pistons rookie Rodney Stuckey played 34 minutes, scoring a playoff career-high 19 points. At one point in the third quarter, Stuckey orchestrated a 12-2 spurt that cut Detroit’s deficit to three. He scored six of those points, drew Magic point guard Jameer Nelson’s third and fourth fouls and made four free throws.

Orlando gained confidence in this game. Even though it was a game 3, a game the Pistons typically lose in any 7 game series.

So you could make the argument that Wednesday night was just the Pistons fighting off a collective yawn. Or you could argue that the Pistons’ oil light is starting to flash and the air bags are about to deploy.

I don’t see a complete crash in their immediate future, but this suddenly looks like a six or seven-game series. A lot will depend on Billups, who limped to the locker room with a towel over his head in the first quarter.
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Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis came up big.

Nelson seems to be maturing into a consistent point guard before our very eyes. He’s done that before, only to revert back into Jameer. But he’s never played this well for this long.

Then there’s Lewis. Welcome to the playoffs, Money Man.

The Magic are paying him $118 million to take them to the next playoff level. He’d made 12 of 52 3-pointers before Game 3, when he hit five-of-six. The biggest came when Detroit had cut the lead to 67-64.

The series just may hinge on Chauncey Billups and his hamstring.

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