Jameer Nelson has not won the respect of Pistons fans.

Some Detroit Bad Boys readers noted in the comments section of last night's game thread that they think Jameer Nelson intentionally took down Chauncey Billups last night. As best I can tell, "Other Matt" was the first person to posit the theory (warning: language). Here's the video, courtesy TrueHoop:

Take a look at the second replay, from about 00:14 to 00:17. Jameer has right foot wrapped around Billups' left foot when Billups' left leg comes out from under him, causing him to split. From my perspective, it seems unlikely that Jameer's foot got in that position accidentally. Henry Abbott agrees, but says, "This is no great scandal. It's hardly the most evil basketball play ever. It's just a little garden variety playoff feistiness." Matt Watson, who runs Detroit Bad Boys, disagrees, saying he "still lean[s] toward it being incidental."

Intentional or not, there's no question that Billups' health -- even if he's able to play as soon as Saturday, there's no way he'll be at 100% -- is a key factor in this series. Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel has gone so far as to guarantee the Magic will win the series as long as Billups doesn't come back "close to full strength."

Me? I'm not ready to say that just yet. The Pistons still lead the series, 2-1, and they have the depth and talent to compensate for Billups' 17 points per game.

[Note by Ben Q Rock, 05/08/08 7:37 PM EDT ]:

DBB commenter Rob G has an amusing, if not disconcerting, take on the situation:

On purpose or not - why can’t we knock the hell out of him the next time he drives the lane anyway?

Jameer better be careful. He's already had 2 concussions this year, and the last thing we need is our 26-year-old Point Guard of the Future sidelined with a serious injury while our backups try to pick up the slack.

• Dwight Howard joined Kevin Garnett, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Chris Paul on the All-NBA First Team. Dwight was a Third-Teamer last year, so it's nice to see him make the leap. It's also nice to see that he finished ahead of Amare Stoudemire of Phoenix, who went nova after the Suns acquired Shaquille O'Neal. But Dwight dominated at center all year, and Amare dominated at power forward for half the year. Advantage: Dwight.
• Tim Povtak reports on Chauncey Billups' hamstring injury in the Orlando Sentinel. It sounds like it hasn't gotten better or worse, so there's still no indication if he'll play Saturday or not:

  "I'm sore. It's still sore," Billups said from the sideline Thursday. He walked slowly into Amway Arena with no energy in his step, but showing no signs of a limp. "I don't know (if he could play Saturday). I can't honest say either way at this point."

• John Denton has this perspective from the Pistons' trainer, Arnie Kander:

  "Most hamstring injuries that you are really fearful of are speed-related. They happen off fast movement. This was the slowest hamstring (injury) you're going to see," Kander said. "This was like a dancer who tries to do the splits and isn't ready for it. They get sore but they don't usually have any lasting effects. He's going to go through about 90 different treatments in the next couple of days and my goal is to get him ready for Saturday."

• Austin Kent of Hoops Addict says the Magic will only go as far as Dwight Howard takes them. He admits that this conclusion "isn't advanced neuroscience by any means," but the article is thoughtful and worth a look. (HT: EtB)
• Vegan Fish Tacos (yeah, I don't know either) has its latest mock NBA draft up. It has the Magic taking Jason Thompson, a center from Rider, with the 22nd pick. "If the Magic take a player who is not a big, their GM needs to be disembowled." (Another HT to EtB)
• Elie Seckbach, the embedded NBA correspondent, has a video interview with former Magic forward Trevor Ariza up at FanHouse. It's a nice interview, and features a cameo from Trevor's favorite Magic teammate (and one of my favorite players). Check it out, yo.
• Did I really just say that? I am so sorry.

Don't forget to weigh-in on the Fran Vazquez situation or on last night's big win over the Pistons. And wish Keyon Dooling a happy birthday, while you're at it. Have a good one, folks.

I hate to clutter up the main page with posts (which I scheduled last night; thanks, SB Nation tech wizards! I love 2.0!), but we'd be remiss if we didn't acknowledge Keyon Dooling's 28th birthday. Dooling's played the best ball of his life this season, leading all Magic reserves with 8.1 points per game while shooting career-bests from the field (46.8%) and from the foul line (84.5%). He's also played great defense on opposing point guards. Case in point: this swat of Jannero Pargo's fast-break layup attempt on April Fool's Day was the best defensive play of the year by any Magic player, Dwight Howard be darned.

So, happy birthday, Keyon. Thanks for your fantastic play and effort this season, and we hope to see you back in Magic blue next season.

Fran Vazquez, the Spanish power forward whom we drafted 11th overall in 2005, only to stare in disbelief when he announced he was not ready for the NBA, has decided he's ready to make the jump. From the Orlando Sentinel:

The Magic say that former lottery pick Fran Vazquez of Spain wants to play for the team next season, but the roadblock is the $7-million buy-out in Vazquez' contract with European powerhouse FC Barcelona. His deal doesn't expire until after the 2008-09 season. "The kid wants to come over and play for us," Magic General Manager Otis Smith told the Sentinel on Wednesday after shootaround before the club faced the Detorit Pistons in Game 3. "But . . .it's the buy-out. It's pretty substantial."

Smith indicated that Vazquez could try to reach a settlement with the club. NBA teams can only contribute a maximum of $500,000 toward a buy-out.

So, given our lack of depth at power forward -- remember that Tony Battie and Brian Cook are the only fours we have with guaranteed contracts for next season -- should we consider helping Fran with his buyout and letting him join the team? I'm not convinced. By all recent accounts, he's a horrible player. From Ian Whittell of ESPN.com (January 2008):

"He is a real enigma," says one European-based NBA scout. "You never know what you are going to get with him. I saw him in one Euroleague game this season score 10 points in the first half, all on dunks. If you did not know who he was, you would have been blown away by him.

"Then, the next time you see him, he might play five minutes and not score a point. The bottom line is, I don't think he's a real smart player."

[....]

In the 11-game Euroleague season, he is averaging 5.5 points and 1.6 rebounds in 11 minutes, modest numbers given how dominant Barcelona (8-3) has been in many games.

More worryingly, in the domestic Spanish ACB League, Vazquez averages 5.2 points and 1.8 boards in 14 minutes. In Sunday's surprise 95-82 defeat at lowly Murcia, he had no points and one rebound in 5 minutes.

I went on-the-record in January as saying, "Let him sit at the end of Barcelona's bench. I don't care about him anymore. Can we move on, please?" and I haven't wavered from that opinion. Let Battie and Cook man the four-spot, or see about acquiring a four via free agency. We can probably get a proven NBA role-player, one more effective than Battie, anyway, and not have to worry about Vazquez's learning curve.

But what do you think? Is Vazquez worth taking a flyer on? Or should we look elsewhere?

Rashard Lewis celebrates after drilling one of his five three-pointers in the Orlando Magic's 111-86 rout of the Detroit Pistons. Lewis scored a career playoff-high 33 points.

Photo by Doug Benc, NBAE/Getty Images

The Orlando Magic came out blazing against the Detroit Pistons tonight, jumping out to an early 24-8 lead in the first quarter, and staved off a third-quarter run by the Pistons to clean their clock pummel them by a 25-point margin, 111-86.

First, I have to encourage us to curb our enthusiasm: it's only one game. When some Pistons fans left my section late in the fourth quarter, Magic fans taunted them unmercifully, but one Piston fan held up two fingers on one hand and one on the other to symbolize the Pistons still have a 2-1 lead in the series. Further, Detroit was without its best player for all but the first 3 minutes of the game, as Chauncey Billups left with a strained hamstring and did not return. Last, this Pistons team has a poor record in Game Threes, as Orlando Sentinel writer David Whitley mentioned after the game.

But...

The Pistons still got 19 points from Billups' backup, Rodney Stuckey, and got 24 points from their best scoring threat, Richard Hamilton. When Stuckey left after acquiring his second foul, Tayshaun Prince ran the offense well as a point forward and the Pistons played the Magic essentially evenly, outscoring them 16-15 until Stuckey checked back in to run the point. Most importantly, Billups would not have changed the Pistons defense -- or lack thereof -- on Rashard Lewis, who saved his best offensive night for the Magic's most important game of the season. Lewis was simply unstoppable, scoring 33 points on 15 shots (!), taking only what the defense gave him and not forcing the issue. Stan Van Gundy called plenty of isolation plays for him, more than any other game this season, and Lewis converted with a variety of drives. He also had the signature shot of the game to start the fourth quarter. Matched up at the top of the key with Rasheed Wallace, a great defender, right in his face, Lewis jab-stepped a few times, faked, fired, and drilled a three to give the Magic a 76-69 lead. That shot, moreso than the three-pointer Keyon Dooling hit just moments later, sealed the game as a win for us, at least as far as I'm concerned.

But the Dooling three was pretty tremendous. The circumstances around it are as follows: a Dwight Howard missed free throw caromed out long to the right wing. Stuckey grabbed the rebound on the sideline before losing his balance and falling out-of-bounds right in front of Detroit's bench. Initially, official Joe DeRosa signaled for the Magic to get possession. But after Pistons coach Flip Saunders said a few words to him, DeRosa changed the call to a foul on Hedo Turkoglu. On the ensuing (and wrongfully awarded) possession, Rasheed Wallace missed a long two-pointer. The Magic got the rebound and pushed the ball ahead to Dooling, who hit the shot to give the Magic an 80-69 lead.

Another word on Wallace: he was not at his best tonight. He got in foul trouble, jawed with the refs, and the Amway Arena crowd rewarded him with the most vociferous booing it's given any other opponent this season, louder than even the one it gave former Magic players Shaquille O'Neal and Grant Hill in their returns with new teams.

But as big as Lewis was, the difference in the game was Dwight Howard. He had "only" 12 rebounds, but dominated defensively and proved to be, as one in-arena sign termed it, "Pystonite." His six swatted shots discouraged further Pistons penetration, forcing them to take midrange shots, some of which they still managed to convert. Still, I'd rather Detroit score two points via a contested jumper than via a layup, so I can live with those makes.

So, which team should we favor to win Game Four? I'm undecided. On the one hand, our offense has improved in each game and the Pistons might be without Billups, who won't be at 100% even if he does play. On the other hand, this thumping may have woken the Pistons up, and they could come out looking for blood Saturday and effectively end the series with a win. Additionally, as Brian from Empty the Bench points out, the Pistons made a game of it late in the third quarter even with all the odds (no Billups, foul trouble for Wallace, no offense from Jason Maxiell) stacked against them:

And, still, the Pistons whittled the Magic's lead down to just 3 points by the end of the 3rd quarter. Orlando rattled off a 9-0 run to the start the 4th, however, and the Pistons never recovered

 

All the credit in the world to Orlando for their Game 3 win. They deserved it. [....] I'm not convinced they [The Magic] will [win Game 4] though. And I'm not convinced they'll win another game in the 2008 playoffs, period.

Anyway, let's savor this win as best we can tonight... and savor our free donut tomorrow morning.

Eastern Conference Semifinals
	@
Pistons Lead Series, 2-0
Amway Arena
8:00 PM
TNT
Probable starters:
C. Billups	PG	Jameer Nelson
R. Hamilton	SG	Maurice Evans
Tayshaun Prince	SF	Hedo Turkoglu
Jason Maxiell	PF	Rashard Lewis
R. Wallace	C	Dwight Howard
Series Central

The only thing the Pistons have done so far in this series -- apart from win, yes -- is defend their home floor. If the Magic can do the same thing tonight and Saturday night, the series heads back to Detroit for Game Five with the teams even. Let's not worry about the fact that, in losing the first two games of the series on the road, the Magic face long odds to advance. Right now, all they can worry about, and all we can worry about, is winning tonight. Forget about the blowout in Game One. Forget about the clock malfunction in Game Two. Forget about the team plane needing to make a precautionary landing in Cincinnati after Game Two.

Just. Win. Tonight.

How? Hitting threes and free-throws would be a start. In their two wins against the Pistons this year, the Magic shot 21-of-37 (56.8%) from three-point range and 46-of-60 (76.7%) from the foul line. In their four losses, they're 29-of-86 (33.7%) from three-point range and 75-of-115 (65.2%!) from the foul line. Combined, that's a 16-point differential per game, and their losses have come by an average of 14 points.

A loss tonight and we're done. A win tonight and this series will go the distance. The Magic haven't given any indication that they intend to give up. And that's all we can ask for: their best effort.

And now, for your consumption, some Four Factors-y goodness for both teams. The splits show puzzling results. The Magic fare better against the Pistons when they rebound poorly? Um, what?

The NBA said its referees acted appropriately in awarding Chauncey Billups a three-point basket that should not have counted. Wait, what? Via Brian Schmitz, here's Joel Litvin, the NBA's President of Basketball Operations, commenting on the play. Emphases mine:

"After reviewing the video of last night's Pistons-Magic game, we determined that the play that concluded with Chauncey Billups' three-point field goal at the end of the third quarter took approximately 5.7 seconds. Because there were only 5.1 seconds remaining in the quarter when the play began, the shot would not have counted had the clock continued to run.

"The referees followed proper procedure in addressing the clock malfunction by estimating the elapsed time and using their judgment as to whether the shot was taken in time. Under NBA rules, the referees did not have the option of using instant replay and a timing device to determine exactly how much time had elapsed, nor do the rules allow for a re-play after a clock malfunction is discovered. The NBA Competition Committee was scheduled to discuss the possible expanded use of instant replay at its meeting at the end of the month and we will raise, for the Committee's consideration, the use of replay in situations like this."

The apology doesn't help us any, but if nothing else it highlights the absurdity of the replay rules as they currently stand.

Note: I wrote this post before last night's Game Two between the Magic and the Pistons.

Last week, Ellen of the Cavaliers blog And One posted this thoughtful rundown of mental toughness in sports using a 2007 article from The Sports Psychologist as a backdrop. As the Magic face the Detroit Pistons, a team famous for playing mind games with its opponents, in these playoffs, it seems pertinent to discuss the Pistons' mental advantage: other than skill, what sets them apart from the Magic?

The Sports Psychologist article which Ellen referenced breaks-up mental toughness into this framework. Refer to the scans at And One for the full explanation of each sub-category:

1. Attitude/Mindset
   • Belief
   • Focus
2. Training
   • Using long-term goals as the source of motivation
   • Controlling the environment
   • Pushing yourself to the limit
3. Competition
   • Handling pressure
   • Belief
   • Regulating performance
   • Staying focused
   • Awareness and control of thoughts and feelings
   • Controlling the environment
4. Postcompetition
   • Handling failure
   • Handling success

The branch in which I have the most interest is "Attitude/mindset." How do the inexperienced Magic, in just the second year of the Dwight Howard Playoff Era, compare with the veteran Pistons, which have made the Eastern Conference Finals in each of the last five seasons with the same core of players? One of the tenets of "Attitude/mindset," as the article explains, is "Having and unshakable self-belief as a result of total awareness of how you got to where you are now." Consider that, then examine this quote from Pistons guard Chauncey Billups, courtesy John Denton:

"That's what we do. We play physical and we feed off other teams when they try to be physical on us," he said. "It's like somebody coming to you house and doing exactly what you wanted. They feed right into what you wanted them to do. (The Magic) play hard, but they don't play as physical as us, but they shoot that three-pointer. If they can do that, they have a chance. But if they want to rough it up, it's going to be tough."

Of course, the Magic know what they have to do. Here's Keyon Dooling, from the same Denton article:

"More so than getting caught up in their physical game, we've got to take care of us," Dooling said. "We've got to make our shots and do what we've been doing all year."

Another tenet is "Having an inner arrogance that makes you believe that you can achieve anything you set your mind to." If there's any single word that describes the Pistons' demeanor, it's "arrogant." Heck, it sure didn't take long for Pistons center Theo Ratliff, who's been with the Pistons for fewer than three months, to adopt Detroit's trademark swag:

"Look at the [veteran big] guys we have. We've already played against the greatest who ever played -- Hakeem [Olajuwan], [Patrick] Ewing, David Robinson -- there is nobody we haven't seen or guarded," said Pistons backup center Theo Ratliff. "Sure, Dwight is an imposing player, but it's not something we're really worried about."

The Pistons aren't worried about containing Howard, the Magic's All-Star center and overall best player? Well, why should they be? His attitude in this series leaves much to be desired. Let's set the scene with two quotes, the first from Pistons forward Jason Maxiell, one of the four different Pistons who defended Dwight in Game One, telling reporters explaining how he and his teammates held our Superman in-check:

"You pretty much just have to get underneath him [Howard] and you're OK," Maxiell said. "He has really strong, broad shoulders, but you get down low and take his legs out from under him. He's not very powerful down low because his legs aren't very strong. There are ways to play him."

When informed of these comments, Magic coach Stan Van Gundy agreed with Maxiell's assessment, saying that Dwight needs a "stronger base." But Dwight himself disagreed, saying flatly, "That's not true. Trust me." So Dwight says he believes in himself, but does that sound bite actually convince you of anything? If anything, it sounds like Dwight's trying to convince himself.

But it gets worse. After the game, Howard said, "I don't think I even looked up at the scoreboard for a while. It's disappointing." Those are disconcertingly weak words for a guy who dominated the first round of the playoffs by having three games of 20-plus points and 20-plus rebounds in the series. Where are those performances? Where is the intensity he showed in the first round when he earned a technical foul after getting in Carlos Delfino's face after Delfino tried to hack him on a dunk attempt? Maybe Rasheed Wallace was right when he likened Dwight to his "intern." Dwight can't be afraid to man-up against Wallace or any of his teammates.

It should go without saying that Dwight Howard is the Magic's key to success, now and in the future. He must get himself back on track after a disastrous Game One in which he scored 12 points and grabbed 8 rebounds -- well below his averages. The Magic have no chance to win this series with Dwight struggling so mightily, especially when Tayshaun Prince shuts-down Hedo Turkoglu, the Magic's other big scoring threat. "Superman" must punish Maxiell, Wallace, Ratliff, and Antonio McDyess -- the foursome which RaptorsForum dubbed Detroit's "Legion of Doom" -- by attacking the basket as soon as he receives the ball and by being more active on the offensive boards. The Pistons are a great team, to be sure, but they aren't invincible. Dwight can be, when he wants to.

Advantage, Magic.