It's nice to see a team win the ultimate team game for a change. Like many, I loathed the Lakers this season -- the arrogance, the sense of entitlement, the lack of fundamentals, the personalities, the hype.
How did the Pistons do it?
Everyone points to their defense, which is part of the answer, certainly. They took good advantage of the new rules that enable a team to truly play team defense, but they also made a commitment to guarding all of the Lakers and using lots of bodies -- long, quick bodies. Their defense was at core man to man, not the Riley-inspired double teaming gimmicks that have dominated for the past two decades.
But another key, that seems to get overlooked is that they out rebounded the Lakers, and hence were able to run on the Lakers, further tiring out Shaq (who remember is likely closer to 400 pounds than he is to 300).
But defense and rebounding, as key as they are, are not the whole story with the Pistons -- they actually pass the ball on offense, playing a true team offense rather than the isolations that have been the hallmark of the NBA since Jordan and Phil Jackson won their first championship.
The way to beat the Pistons is to beat them down the floor with a fast break -- the one thing the Lakers as currently constructed could not do on a consistent basis: they are simply too old, slow, and short on bench strength. Plus Shaq hates running -- if you weighed 375 lbs you would too. And when Shaq gets tired, he gets ineffective (just eight rebounds tonight). That was the one thing I don't think other coaches realized when employing the hack-a-shaq: you slow the game down, give Shaq a breather, and allow him to play at a pace that is perfect for his bulk, while also giving him a chance at free points.
Great to see team basketball win again. Hopefully, this should lead other teams to start attempting to defend and attack as teams once again.
11:00:46 PM 
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