Terry Foster: It Was Not The Pistons Moment. It Was Not The Pistons Time.
By Terry Foster
@TerryFoster971
Auburn Hills – Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson was in the team dressing room, throwing his leg into the air and contorting his body to demonstrate how Kyrie Irving fouled him at the end of the game.
Many believed it was not a foul, even Pistons fans who hoped Jackson sank that game-winning three ball and sent this opening-round game to a Game 5 in Cleveland.
Jackson did not make the shot and the officials did not make the call and the Pistons were swept by the Cavaliers, 100-98 Sunday night at the Palace.
Here is the bottom line. Officials were not going to call a foul unless Jackson's left eyeball was dangling out of his socket. It was not the Pistons moment. It was not the Pistons time.
There was also a Justin Bieber concert that would need to be rescheduled in Cleveland if there was a Game 5. The world wasn't ready for the Pistons to be anything but good sports that fell short.
You knew that from the incredible shots made by Irving to the Cavs seizing every moment to stay a step ahead of the Pistons in all four games.
You knew it from the growing pains of a new team that made incredible plays during games but became confused and listless late in games.
On Sunday the Pistons hung to the bitter end and made plays that could have yielded one win, but it seemed as if fate was against them.
Later Jackson sat at the final post-game podium of his season when I asked how he felt about this not being his moment or his time. He paused for such a long time I have expected him to shrug and walk off the stage. But he didn't.
"Honestly is pisses me off," he finally said. "To hear it is not your time, it is not your moment; it can go one of two ways. You think you played well enough. You take it as outside, inside sources. It seems like it is not necessarily made for you to win. You've got to find a way to run through the wall, get over the hump.
"You've just got to find a way to continue to play, play hard and find a way to win. Despite it is your team against the world, not just everybody around the world. Everybody. Y'all can read into that how you want."
There is a pecking order in the NBA. When it is not your turn strange things happen.
The Pistons were part of that before. There was the phantom foul by Bill Laimbeer during the 1988 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.
There was Adrian Dantley and Vinnie Johnson banging heads against the Boston Celtics in the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics.
When the Chauncey Billups and Ben Wallace led Pistons tried to create a dynasty Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and even Robert Horry got in the way limiting this team to one title during a run of six straight Eastern Conference appearances.
In all cases, it led to Pistons frustrations. It happened to Jackson too who asked for punishment for officials when they do not do their job properly.
"The referees need to have some type of system in line, fines and suspensions," he said. "The same thing happens to us; make bad plays, questionable you are not really being productive to the sport. They should have consequences as do players."
Here is my best piece of advice.
Reggie Jackson should have just taken the ball to the basket and tried to tie the game. Forget all this behind the back dribbling. The lane was open, take it. It is easier for officials to call fouls at the cup than 28 feet from the basket.
Hang onto that anger through the summer and use it to your advantage come fall. The Pistons have been down this painful road before when they were not good enough and were forced to wait their turn.
LeBron James does not have to wait his turn, at least not to a lowly eighth seed like the Pistons. He was guaranteed a quick rubber stamp even though the Pistons did their city proud and hung with them. But the bottom line it is what the basketball Gods demanded, a four game sweep.
The Pistons are on vacation and the Cavaliers are resting for their next series. This is the way things were ordained from the beginning because of a gap in talent, experience and destiny.
Yeah Jackson was ticked off. He must rekindle that anger next season and pass it along to teammates.
And next time take it to the hole.
(Foster can be reached at Terry.Foster@cbsradio.com)
