MW: Does it feel good having them on verge of elimination, or is that ancient history?
GD: "Well, I don't think about it, I just play the game. Whatever happens, happens. The draft is a day that most people get disappointed. It's a business and I totally understand it. But things work in mysterious ways. I'm playing in the Eastern Conference Finals with a team that's contending for the [championship], and ... to play against Detroit, you know, things just fall the way they fall."
MW: It's pretty ironic.
GD: "Yeah, it's ironic. But things happen -- you can never be shocked. Things happen."
Antonio McDyess is both the oldest Pistons starter as well as the only one without a championship ring. Not surprisingly, he always seemed to have the greatest sense of urgency. After being eliminated by the Celtics last night, he sat in his locker and quietly answered every last question, including whether he thought Joe Dumars might make serious changes to the roster this summer.
"He probably will because there's no more excuses," said McDyess. "Ain't no excuse why we didn't go back to the Finals this year. And I'm pretty sure he sees that. ... He's not blind and the fans are not blind." He added, "What went on this year, I can just say we didn't give it all we got."
McDyess was brutally honest in criticizing his team's effort. "It's like, you get pumped up, the whole season we played as well as we do, and we go through the first round, the second round ... Get to the third round and we don't give it like we normally give it. It's like we step out there like zombies sometimes."
Notes from a trip to the NBA Playoffs. P.J. Brown, who came out of semi-retirement in the middle of the year to join the Celtics, has waited 16 long years to reach the NBA Finals. So how was he celebrating in the locker room after last night's win?
By sitting in front of his locker wearing an "Eastern Conference Champion" t-shirt and hat while munching on a pita sandwich. Gives a new meaning to being hungry for a win, I suppose. Between bites, he answered a few questions. Is this what you had in mind when you got here midseason?
PJ: "You have it in mind, but until it actually happens, you don't really believe it. It's unbelievable, man, to be here, to be in this moment. I've always wanted to put this cap on and wear this t-shirt, man, so I'm excited, I'm jacked up. ... Three months ago I was at home, tossing and turning, wondering should I do this? And now it's all come true, man, and I'm grateful, I'm appreciative and I'm looking forward to the opportunity coming up next week."
Notes from a trip to the NBA Playoffs. Will losing in the Eastern Conference Finals for the third straight year cost Flip Saunders his job? He was asked about his job security just two questions into his post-game press conference last night, but he was in no mood to discuss it.
"That's not a question to answer right now," he said. "[I'm] just thinking about the game and the loss. I'm sure that's something Joe [Dumars] and I will sit down and evaluate."
For what it's worth, Flip has at least one influential supporter in the locker room as Tayshaun Prince deflected some of the criticism frequently directed at the coach, saying that tonight's game was "a prime example" why it's not always his fault since Saunders put his players in position to win before they failed to execute down the stretch.
As you can see, Stephen A. Smith talked with Lindsey Hunter yesterday. The whole interview is pretty interesting, but what lit up the local sports talk radio phone boards today was his story (last 30 seconds of the video) about how he and Rip Hamilton complained to Rasheed Wallace about Wallace being too nice to Kevin Garnett.
Several Detroit talk radio hosts (whom, I should add, are rarely actually in the locker room) tried to insinuate from Hunter's story there was some serious discord in the locker room. From the sounds of some of the callers, it set off a mini-panic among fans, or at least those fans who didn't see the clip for themselves and understand the lighthearted context in which Hunter's comments were made.
After suffering a sprained elbow in the final minutes of Game 5, Rip Hamilton's status for tonight's game was uncertain. But after getting a bit of advice from his dad and testing it during this morning's shootaround, he told reporters that he was ready to go. From Dana Gauruder of the Oakland Press:
"I talked to my dad and he said, 'Man, just spit on it. You're all right.' We're at war right now. You ain't go no choice to sit down or anything like that. I feel all right. I feel good enough to go out and play."
During his pre-game press conference, Flip Saunders indicated he didn't think the injury would slow Hamilton at all. "Most guys, I'd worry a little bit," said Saunders. "Him, when it comes to shooting, he'll find a way to get it off, so that doesn't concern me nearly as much."
Doc Rivers was asked if the Celtics will prepare for Hamilton differently knowing he's coming off an injury. "Our motto is, if he steps on the floor, he's 100 percent, and that's how we're going to play," said Rivers. "If he shows us something different, then maybe we will do something different. But as far as I'm concerned, if Rip gets an open shot, you'll be amazed how healthy he looks. That's the way we look at it; you're on the floor, you're fine."
Did the Pistons reach into Red Auerbach's bag of tricks for Game 4? That's what some of the Celtics were left wondering after the game. From Julian Benbow of the Boston Globe:
[Sam Cassell] was one of a few players to notice that the visitors' locker room in The Palace of Auburn Hills felt like a sauna before Game 4 Monday. The temperature didn't drop much after the Celtics lost, either, which got Cassell to start pointing fingers, particularly at Pistons president Joe Dumars, a Bad Boys-era Piston.
"I told Joe after the game, 'You can put the air conditioning back on now,' " Cassell said. [...] "It wasn't hot like that in Game 3," Cassell said. "It was hot in Game 4."
I was at the game and in both of the locker rooms, and while it was generally warm everywhere, it was absolutely sweltering on Boston's side. It doesn't help that the visitor's locker room is pretty cramped to begin with, and the steam from the showers made things even worse. After the game, I was literally worried about dripping on Kevin Garnett during his post-game interview, and I eventually had to put my glasses on top of my head because they were starting to fog up.
The Pistons set the tone against the Celtics last night when they rattled off 10 straight points before the visitors could even get on the board. How did they maintain control the entire game? Doc Rivers admitted during the post-game press conference that his team was simply outworked and out-muscled.
"Give them credit because I just thought they were much more physical than us the entire game, in every way," said Rivers. "They bumped us up the floor, they bumped us, every cut we made there was body. Every time we had a chance to get to the basket, they threw us down. They had a no lay-up rule, clearly tonight, that's why we laid on the line a lot. Even though we got to the line, they were the more physical team by a long-shot."
Antonio McDyess turned in a monster performance (21 points, 16 boards) for the Pistons, but after the game Flip Saunders praised his leadership as much as his statistics.
"I am so proud of him," he said. "Yesterday we had a film session. After the film session he was there talking with Chauncey [Billups] and with Juan [Dixon], and Juan was very emphatic, almost like a preacher, that we're okay, we're going to be okay, everything is all right. Dyess said, 'hey, we've been talking that everything is all right. We've got to make it happen. We can't talk about it; we've got to make it happen.' "
Added Saunders, "I've never seen him with the emotion he has. ... It's like he's got a new personality. He's definitely been hungry, I know that. He has just been huge for us and basically carrying us."
McDyess hasn't been so vocal in the past, but as he explained, disgust with how the last couple of seasons have ended prompted him to take on that role this year."Since I've been here, we kind of have had excuses why we haven't won another championship ... and I feel that if I don't say anything vocally that we would have an excuse this year. I don't want us to have an excuse," he said.
Notes from a trip to the NBA Playoffs. On the left is Kevin Garnett in Game 6 of the second round in Cleveland; on the right is KG last night in Detroit. Doc Rivers was asked during his pre-game press conference last night is there was a reason behind the team's decision to go back to the classic green and white uniforms instead of the alternate green, black and white ones the team wore in the first two rounds.
"If you hadn't asked that question, I would not have known," he said. "I didn't know we had more than one road uniform, and I'm honest, I really didn't. I didn't notice the change. I don't care, I never ask. I don't care what they wear. They can wear white, blue, I couldn't care less."
White and blue unis might make things a little difficult since those are Detroit colors, but I get what he's trying to say.
Notes from a trip to the NBA Playoffs.
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