mlt@mb2c.UUCP (Mark L. Tompkins) (05/07/85)
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Note: the following opinions may be slightly tainted with bias, due to
living in close proximity to both the Pontiac Silverbowl ( oops! Silverdome )
and Joe Louis Arena.
Well, it looks as if the Detroit Pistons finally decided to show the NBA
what they are made of by taking 2 straight from the Celts this past week. I
have followed this team closely all season, and had the feeling that if they
ever decided to play like they are capable, they had the potential to pull
off "upsets" of this magnitude. Many people don't realize that this team has
4 starters who currently are or who have been NBA All-Stars: Thomas, Tripucka,
Laimbeer, and Roundfield. But these 4 are not the entire reason this team is
where it is now: the bench has turned in some great performances, most notably
Terry Tyler's 3rd quarter in Game 3 against the Green and Vinnie Johnson's
incredible 22 point fourth quarter in Game 4. But they are not the only ones:
Earl Cureton, who had 2 great games against Moses and the Sixers this year;
Kent Benson turned in some solid games while Roundfield was injured;
Major Jones, who had an excellent night against the Sixers in a Piston
victory at the Spectrum ( the first in 22 games there ); and,
Brooke Steppe, who Detroit rescued from the armpit of pro ball ( the CBA );
he almost singlehandedly won a game for Detroit back in February against the
Pacers. That game was maybe the most important of the year ( playoffs exclu-
ded ); the team was on a bad slide at the time, and if they had lost that game,
who knows...
As far as the rest of the playoffs:
-Pistons and Celts go 7, with Boston winning a fairly close one at home to
wrap it. Even though I'm a diehard Piston fan, I can't see them winning a
seventh game at the Garden.
-Philly beats the Celts in six. As another posting predicted, Toney will
eat Ainge's lunch; 'Drew is probably playing the best ball of his life right
now. Moses has the fire back in his eyes-Parish does NOT stand a chance. The
Sixers sweep of Milwaukee did not surprise me that much; even though the Pist-
ons did not fare all that well against them this season ( I believe they split
3-3 ), I was not all that impressed. Their definite weakness is in the middle.
I don't care about "combined" stats of their 3 centers-all that says is they
have 3 very average centers who can play for short periods before they get in
foul trouble against a good center ( eg. Moses ).
-Lakers will dust off Portland and whoever wins the Utah-Denver series.
-A classic championship series awaits; 7 games, with the winner being:
The SIXERS! ( maybe )
No cerebral signoff,
Mark Tompkins
MBT Co.
epsilon!mb2c!mlt