Game 28: Detroit Pistons (21-5) vs. Dallas Mavericks (10-17)

[michaeltex]

The last quarter felt like a rugby match broke out at an NBA game. I think DET go PO'd after Thompson got tossed (it was deserved, you don't body up a ref) and started playing with extra aggression and emotion, but the refs didn't want to escalate it any more than they had to. So you ended up with the scrums in the paint for the rest of the game. Definitely helped DET get back in the game. Felt a little like the "Bad Boys" were reborn.

But let's not forget that DAL was up 6 when Thompson got tossed. Or that DET is currently leading the East with the 2nd best overall record, leading the NYKs by 1.5 games. There's some fight in this team. Even AD seems to be buying in. They may not be a contender, but if they can get some scoring back (Kyrie) then DAL could be a hard out in the playoffs.

It also means some hard decisions between maxing competitiveness vs maxing trade value for the next few months.