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Dumars, now the Director of Basketball Operations for the Pistons, never wanted to talk about the Jordan Rules back then, and he certainly doesn't want to talk about the plan for Howard now. But coach Flip Saunders said something vaguely familiar.
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"You've got to change it up against Dwight," said Saunders. "You can't guard him the same way every time."
Howard has faced a Motown full of different defenders, none of whom are shy about hacking him, whacking him or giving him a headache.
"We can't let them take us out of our game," said Howard, probably speaking for himself. "Mentally, we've got to keep our head."
In Game 2, Howard started with a brace to protect his injured left thumb, then discarded it early in the first quarter ("I couldn't feel my grip," he said) yet he finished with an impressive 22 points and 18 rebounds. He'll have to come up big in Games 3 and 4 because the Magic can't rely on hitting seven 3-pointers in a row as they did in Game 2.
"The Magic are maturing," said Daly, "but the Pistons have been together for five years, winning a title in 2004. Orlando might be a year away."
So how does he see the Eastern Conference finals this year?
"Boston and Detroit, just like the old days."
And how will it end?
"Whoever has home court."
