BAMAPHIN 22
FinHeaven Elite
Sitting in his office Sunday, Pat Riley could hear joyful strains echoing from the Miami Heat locker room.
And why not?
The Heat have a 2-1 lead over Detroit in the Eastern Conference finals, could go up two games by winning at home Monday night in Game 4, and have two superstars the Pistons simply cannot seem to slow down in Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal.
Yet there's this factoid about Detroit that cannot be forgotten: the Pistons have proven repeatedly in recent years to be at their best when their season is hanging by a tenuous thread -- which it might be now.
"That's just us. Just the heart of a champion," Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace said. "Yeah, we're down right now 2-1, but we think that we can overcome any deficit that is put in front of us."
Detroit's track record backs that up, something Riley stressed to his team -- as if it needed a reminder.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/basketball/nba/specials/playoffs/2006/05/28/heat.pistons.ap/index.html
And why not?
The Heat have a 2-1 lead over Detroit in the Eastern Conference finals, could go up two games by winning at home Monday night in Game 4, and have two superstars the Pistons simply cannot seem to slow down in Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal.
Yet there's this factoid about Detroit that cannot be forgotten: the Pistons have proven repeatedly in recent years to be at their best when their season is hanging by a tenuous thread -- which it might be now.
"That's just us. Just the heart of a champion," Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace said. "Yeah, we're down right now 2-1, but we think that we can overcome any deficit that is put in front of us."
Detroit's track record backs that up, something Riley stressed to his team -- as if it needed a reminder.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/basketball/nba/specials/playoffs/2006/05/28/heat.pistons.ap/index.html