Nets, Pistons post lowest-scoring first half ever

This is what happens when you draft HS players.


AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- New Jersey and Detroit played the lowest-scoring first half in NBA playoff history Monday night, combining for just 62 points as the Pistons held a 37-25 lead at halftime.

The old record of 63 combined points had been reached three times, most recently in Game 3 of the NBA Finals last June when San Antonio led New Jersey 33-30 at halftime.

New Jersey shot just 9-for-33 from the field (27 percent) and committed nine turnovers, scoring 14 points in the opening quarter and 11 in the second period. Starters Kenyon Martin and Richard Jefferson were both 1-for-5 from the field, and reserve Rodney Rogers was 0-for-5.

Detroit shot a respectable 47 percent (15-for-32) but committed eight turnovers, including three 24-second violations in the first quarter.


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/basketball/nba/specials/playoffs/2004/05/03/low.score.ap/?cnn=yes

I think this is more of a typical game for the Detroit Pistons, more than anything else. NJ plays well when they run, and apparently Detroit didn't allow them to do that. In half-court sets, NJ has only Kenyon Martin as a viable post player, while Detroit has Rasheed Wallace with Ben Wallace picking up the trash inside.

And also the guys leaving college early.

about defense?

I like good defensive basketball too, and the Pistons are a good defensive team. (Defense is all "want to" and they have several guys that want to.)

But, the Nets were just horrible and it wasn't because the d Detroit played. They were just plain awful. Detroit was poor offensively, too, but just nowhere near as bad as the Nets.
The Professor

I don't care if it's basketball, baseball, football, you name it.

Hey, here's a thought. Maybe these two teams actually play defence with passion.

Nothing bores me more than the old West Coast game of running and gunning.

That was BAD, BAD, BAD basketball. They didn't miss those shots because of great defense. (Good in spots, but not great.) The Nets wouldn't have hit the water if they were sitting in a canoe.

It was a dreadful game, played terribly, and grossly overcoached.
The Professor

High school players leaving early is more of a problem for the NCAA than it is the NBA.

The problem for the NBA is that the Western Conference has had freaky luck in picking the best players from the draft in the past few years.

Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitski, ect.

The East got stuck with Kwame Brown, Mike Miller, Darko Milicek, ect.

The balance of power shifted, as did the balance of big men all to the same conference.

But things could be interesting in the future because my sources (yes, I have sources) have indicated that the Lakers will be trading Shaq over the summer to an Eastern Conference team.

I don't know of any high school players on either teams that play a huge role. Kenyon Martin stayed for all 4 years with the Nets and I'm not sure about the other players. Detroit shut down New Jersey and that was a result of great defense. Detroit runs one of the best defensive schemes I have ever seen. If you really anaylyze it, it's brilliant imo. Alot of the best players in the league today made the jump from high school, Lebron, Garnett, Kobe, O'neal, etc. and just recently have players made the transition quickly. Look at the last 2 years were the ROY was a no college rookie. 78 points is not much but it isn't bad either, alot of teams score in the low 80's every night(regular season). I think the bigger focus is the Nets were 2 points away from the playoff low and that was a result of great shut down D. The Pistons shot 47 pecent which is very good.