Passing Grades

Payton:

(Tonight)'s even tougher. You're going against the champions and they're not going to let you get 100 points. It's going to be a lot different. I think these younger guys are going to understand what basketball is really about (tonight). Chicago is trying to rebuild, but I think (tonight) will be a better test.''

Well, he was right and wrong. It was a tougher task, but we did crack 100 points. Even had a 10 point lead before Doc put in the rookies for the end of the game. West played with poise, but Marcus and Tony missed free throws and the Pistons made some clutch baskets to win it. Great move by Doc to give the rookies a test late in a close game when it doesn't really matter. They failed the test, but got some valuable experience in the process.