I would rather play an elimination game every game.
- Rip Hamilton

The Detroit Pistons ripped the Miami Heat 91-66 last night to force a Game 7 on Monday night in Miami.

The Super Bowl and elite championship boxing matches have that power. So do college football and basketball title games. For some, it's the Kentucky Derby and the Masters.

And in the NBA, it's a Game 7 in the playoffs.

The most highly anticipated NBA Game 7 in three years, since Lakers-Kings in 2002, is in the Eastern Conference finals, Monday night in Miami. It's the reigning champion Detroit Pistons versus the team with the East's best record in the Miami Heat. As they say, win or go home.

-Marc J. Spears, for ESPN Daily Dime

...or they might say it:
We're going home, and we've been good at home all year long. You know, win or go home. And I don't fish.
-Damon Jones, Heat guard (and former, as in last year former Piston)

Dwayne Wade watched in street clothes and, after a strong 1st quarter, Shaquille O'Neil got little help from the rest of the Heat.

This is how this basketball brawl must end, and this is how Dwyane Wade's legacy must begin. If he wants to be Russell Crowe in Gladiator, a weary and wounded Wade has to not only slay the defending champions Monday night, but he has to do it with a knife in his side.

Man, this is going to be really, really cool to watch.

-Dan Le Batard, Miami Herald

Basketball fans can be a bloody-minded bunch.

This is a great series (at least between the shooting droughts). The Pistons and Heat are evenly matched, and both teams are playing hard. Monday night should be a fantastic game, even if Wade doesn't play (but you know he will).

There are storylines aplenty. You have a hobbled Shaq, an elemental force, nearly impossible to stop when he decides to be unstoppable, calling out NBA Defensive Player of the Year Ben Wallace. And then you have Ben responding by stopping him. You have Rasheed Wallace, a great talent whose passion for playing often gets the better of him, invoking the secret masters of the NBA and drawing a $20,000 fine after the game 5 Piston's loss. You have Heat President Pat Reilly, who has coached game 7s and won championships versus Pistons President Joe Dumars, who has played in his own (losing one in Game 7 against Reilly's Lakers) and won his own rings. You have Wanderin' Larry Brown, who has been flirting with other teams all season (even during the playoffs) but who is also one of the all-time best facing Heat coach Stan Van Gundy who, though he looks like a hockey coach, has done a great job of directing his team.

As an added bonus, you will not have Bill Walton on the sidelines to bewail the lack of wide-open shots and low scoring that will almost certainly be part of Monday's game. Instead, TNT's team of Doug Collins (ex-Pistons coach). Steve Kerr (ex-Chicago Bull, ex-San Antonio Spur, Top 10 All-time NBA Clutch Guy Off the Bench) and Marv Albert with his signature "Yes!". All three appreciate tough, physical, playoff basketball and will make the game interesting even when it isn't.


It's true that sports aren't real life. They probably don't warrant a passion equal to many other pressing concerns. Still, watching players and coaches (and even referees) who are very, very good at what they do and care very much about the final score will be a special treat indeed.

Game 7, bring it on...

Read all about it in ESPN's Daily Dime (a great "basketball in one page" page)

Dan Le Batard's column (new window, free subscription required)

Read More (external link) »