Is there a difference? (Celtics Pistons walk off)

[vidaa82]

i absolutely love the clip of isiah slapping mchales hand at 1:29. it showed respect btwn the two and it was cool. ive always loved that.

[MrJmelvin81]

The pistons are an exact reflection of the scumbag city they come from. MJ will forever be the greatest!

[BCH19821091]

theres one clear concrete answer. Isiah made it acceptable and easy for the media and to a lesser degree the players to hate him and glorify him as a degenerate thug. Some of that is 100% his own undoing but the majority is the cancerous media but its all about isiah either way. i.e. Since 90-91 James has done far worse at end of every season in leaving before the buzzer and disparaging the winning team but the NBA needs to market him positive no matter what Isiah is/was an easy scapegoat

[edscottable]

i was a bad boys fan back in the late eighties and when they fell to the bulls i used the "mahorn was gone" excuse as well. but mahorn leaving gave rodman more time and a former catalyst immediately paid dividends with 2 defensive player of the year awards. we've gotta do better.

[edscottable]

you know why! you know why! isiah says to mr. mc closkey

[mrmacross]

Why was this video only downvoted until I gave it a thumbs up? Do today's basketball fans not like learning a bit of basketball history?

Maybe Jordan was out of line for saying the Pistons were bad for basketball, but even though he felt that way in 1990 he still wished 'em luck after they knocked out the Bulls in 7 games. Go ahead and YouTube that and see for yourself.

I personally don't mind the defiant act of the Pistons. It just made the series more memorable, and we still talk about it.

[dh03grad]

Michael Jordan right before that game 4 stated that the Pistons were "bad for basketball", the Bulls deserved that reaction. Fuck them.

[Xiucoatl]

So what if they didn't shake hands. Get over with it Bull's fans

[JZ2001JC]

@Xiucoatl. We over it....6 Championships later to your watered down 2004 Championship. Your turn!!!

[mrwoods22]

Piston fans like to use this "well the Celtics did it to them" excuse. If the Celtics were so wrong, then why repeat it with the next team? Bottom line was that when the Bulls went up 3-0 on the Pistons, MJ called them a dirty team that didn't deserve to be champions. And the Pistons were butt hurt over that comment.

[kevincollins29]

When The Pistons left the court against the Bulls they were at home. Classless. Boston is on the road here and see how the court got rushed at the buzzer. No comparison. Especially in Detroit, the city has a bad rep for being extra rowdy. Put it like this.... no fan would have started trouble with Isaih or Laimber in '91 but in '88 at the palace with Bird and Mchale............come on. nice try dude.

[placeinheaven]

Isaiah Thomas' walk off and duck is a classic. I will never forget that image perhaps of either a snake, loser, or both. Perhaps, it is the perfect example of how teams everywhere need to learn to do when you are defeated--get the hell out of dodge quick.

[SONICE69]

LOL, it wasn't until I watched "pardon the interruption" on Monday that I realized this absurd event had actually happened. Pistons were a team with a lot of classless individuals. Laimbeer was dirty and Thomas was a plain weasel. I was refreshed thought to see Salley stick around and show some humility. LOL @ Jordan for standing in disgust watching them walk out with his arms folded. These guys shoulda taken their cue from McHale who demonstrated what it means to lose like a champs....

[jeffnfoxylady1]

@SONICE69 the video did not show joe dumars did shake hands

[EFunkRock]

@jeffnfoxylady1 SO true. They didn't show Dumars stopping and shaking hands with Jordan and everyone else.

[mywaydimag]

Tommy Heinsohn, "Possibly for safety reasons." God he sucks up to the Celtics no matter what they do.

[Flipper79able]

@mywaydimag Uh, actually, Tommy was right in this instance. The Pistons had just eliminated Boston in 88 the "80's Team of the East" at home with the entire crowd ready to rush the floor...and the Silverdome was known for having some very rabid and sometimes violent fans. The Bulls eliminated the Pistons at home...nobody was going to rush the floor...the crowd looked dead.

[Edd1e8]

Thanks comparo video, tjjunt. Not much of a difference. Both teams getting eliminated are losing to their respective teams that they've owned in the playoffs. I hear you about the NBA changing the rules, but you have to remember that the Pistons were already on their decline and never re-loaded guys like Rick Mahorn and the once-quick guards were losing a step.

The shortening of the 3-pt line helped the Bulls even more. That made even Ron Harper a 3-point threat.

[IceTrey310]

@Edd1e8 Nice try, but Ron Harper wasn't on the team until the second 3-peat. Got any more garbage excuses for why the Pistons showed their vaginas after that L they took?

[Edd1e8]

@IceTrey310 - I know clearly when Harper was on the team, professor. Notice my reference to the shortened 3-point line which happened AFTER the 1st 3-peat and during the 2nd Rocket championship.

btw - I'm not a Pistons fan. I'm just saying that losing (especially a sweep) is not easy to take. Heck, look at how my Lakers behaved after getting swept. A part of me was hoping they'd clotheline everyone.

To elaborate my original post, not much difference, but Boston had more justification.

[fbarron]

You can see Chuck Daly telling Thomas to stay put at 2:52...obviously he wasn't listening. Nice job Isiah ducking your head like a coward on your way past the Bulls bench

[tjhunt1976]

@fbarron I was wondering when someone was going to notice that.

[redskins2k]

@tjhunt1976 there was a lot more then just than these videos, like im sure u know , the NBA changed its rules to allow for less physical play from 1990 to 1991. the Pistons felt cheated and offended. It was almost like their style of titles was not good enough for the NBA. They feel the Bulls never beat them with 80s rules. The nba did other things to eliminate dominate player they deemed boring, like the Barkley back down, putting zone defenses to stop Shaq and AI after the 2001 season

[tjhunt1976]

@redskins2k The big bad Pistons got their feelings hurt? I don't care whether they shook hands or not, but I find it ironic that this is their reasoning.

[redskins2k]

@tjhunt1976 its competitive sports, i do not have a problem with not shaking peoples hands,i have a problem with that weird teaming up on USA and then joining each other on the same team to form super teams. I miss this era where it was mono o mono. Jordan slayed the giant, and the giant did not come and hug him and ask to join him. I LOVE THIS, ITS WHEN men were men. Now they will shake hands and whisper to get me on your team.

[FavreianVengeance]

@tjhunt1976 It's hard to defend Isiah. He's one of the pettiest people to put on a uniform. But to play devil's advocate, Jordan talked a lot of shit on the court. I'm not sure I'd really care about congratulating him either.

[klopp159]

@redskins2k

i disagree,you still have the knicks that was as physical than the pistons and the heat whan riley came...just the 2 greatest exemples but not the only of course...

[JZ2001JC]

@redskins2k. The NBA didnt change rules and if anything Defense was tougher in the 90s than 80s. Explain how those Laker and Celtic Title Teams in 80s gave up well over 100 PPG while Bulls Title Teams held you to 90 PPG and dont say pace of game because they were same as NBA is always looking to push pace. Pistons got away with cheap shots and for most part still did in 1991 series but Bulls finally kept their composure and ignored the crap and just played hoops.

[JZ2001JC]

@redskins2k. Also please dont tell me you condone the Pistons walking off the floor early like a bunch of punks in 1991?

[redskins2k]

also u notice john sally is a smart man, by not following Isiah , he ended up getting rings with the bulls and phil jackson, and the ring in 1999 2000 with the lakers and phil jackson, and all those years he was washed up. I think Phil respected him for not following the crowd. And he got more huge checks for it.

[redskins2k]

the difference is, people are storming the floor, and the other team wants to get the hell off, in the chicago vs detroit, no one stormed the floor, they could of did a shake of hands, and everything would have been fine, Its a huge difference, THE security tells u not to shake hands when people storm the court.

[manofdef]

I don't remember anyone ever giving Bill Fitch any crap for removing his starters in '86, in fact I think Dick Stockton commented that I was a good move given the fight in Game 5. If I were KC, I would have done the same thing in '88 because it's a long walk to the tunnel through all that people at the Silverdome when the game is over.

[manofdef]

The situations are different, but I think people are a little too hard on the Pistons. If there wasn't any bad blood between Isiah and MJ, then I think you'd see something similar to what you saw in Pontiac in '88. I still feel McHale's moment with Isiah, Laimbeer and Vinnie Johnson is one of the classic moments in playoff history, but to be fair I didn't remember Salley congratulating the Bulls either in '91.