A possible Outright Regular Season Big Ten Championship on the line tonight for my beloved Spartans, so of course my focus is turned to ESPN. Then the time for Tip-Off drew closer. Much to my surprise I found myself pondering and focusing on the weight of the Pistons game. The D's beloved point guard comes home, well not really home, the other D is his home. Anyway, Chauncey made his return, and many fans focused on this game for a couple reason. One reason was to as Sheed put it, "Pay homage," and the other to see how the Pistons would play. A possible 3 game win streak sparks some interest.
If the Pistons had not beat the Magic and Celtics on the road as apart of that streak I imagine that whole Denver team would have felt like it was return "home". A Palace full of jerseys with the number 1 on them, but with Billups stitched above it and jerseys with number one and Iverson would be missing, just like A.I. I had to listen to the game so I wasn't able to see but I am sure there were plenty of Billups jerseys none the less.
This game meant something, the Stones just beat 2 of the top 3 teams in the East and on the road (yes, in the lost to LeBron and Wade early in the week). Now they are home, where they were under .500, to play against the West's 3rd best team (standings). A game that would be full of emotion, for a team that lacked that for a long time.
So, to me this was a big game for the Stones. Would they show up to make a statement they can win without their leader and against him? Would they show up and win 3 in a row? Could they win at home? Could they win 3 in a row against 3 top teams in the league? Would they regain confidence in themselves and with their fans?
Well, not only did they answer all those questions with a win. They overcame a 10 point deficit at halftime, which showed guts that had been missing. As I listened more closely after the Spartans grabbed another banner, I got a the sense that the fans were in it also, something I hadn't heard and seen in the last few games.
Now, hopefully the Stones can take this confidence into the next few games and make another mini-statement . To do that they can't sleep on a bottom dweller in the West, Golden State. Then they need to come down here to ATLANTA for a meaningful game against the Hawks (wow, I just said meaningful game against the Hawks). Win here and go back home to play the Magic again, now we are talking playoffs more seriously!
To say they "have" to go 3-0 in that span is a little much, but they should go at least 2-3. By the way that 2-3 needs to be wins against Atl and GS.
