| further review of game
First, I counted the number of times Billups got beat by an opposing guard, resulting in points for Orlando. 14 times. Yep, CB was Orlando's favorite target in this game. Mind you, he got beat more than that, I am only mentioning the number of times they scored. Rip got burnt 7 times. Tay a few, but always by Hill. I don't know if that even belongs in a discussion about guard really. Thought I would throw it in though.
One guy who actually well on stopping Nelson from driving in. Delfino. Just one time, but it was impressive. Nelson dove in, lightning quick. Delfino reacted perfectly, coming right back with him. So Nelson thought he could pull up. Delfino had kept his balance and was rigth back up on Nelson, making Nelson pass the ball off. Delfino continues to impress me of late. I kind of think that knee was still bothering him earlier this season, or at least he did not trust the knee fully yet. I see him getting more lift around the basket, and he seems to be moving better in general. (Not that I have looked at that all that closely before this recent stretch where Flip is all the sudden putting Delfino on the likes of Wade and James.)
Ok, so I was wondering why the Pistons quit scoring toward the end of that brief shift from Arroyo. Well, the first few times down, four times, Delfino got the ball early. Very successful. Then Flip went to a bit of experimenting, trying to get Evans involved in some plays. These all went badly. And Evans did not come back into this game.
Another thing about that brief shift from Arroyo. Some complain that Nelson was not contained by Arroyo. Billups got a few turns at trying to contain Nelson in this game too. It was not pretty at all. CB ain't containing Nelson. Thats a team effort right there. Mind, you, all those times CB got beat, only a few were Nelson. Mostly Franchise. (a couple Stevenson, one Hill.)
To keep a guy like Nelson from scoring, it takes good defense of pick and rolls, which includes some defensive rotation. All five guys on your team must know what they are doing. One guy who does not know his stuff kills your defense.
Rip Hamilton was just on in this game. Overshadowed by what CB did, but very impressive none the less. Especially when you consider that Rip scores for us so consistently. We Detroit fans have been very spoiled over the last several years. Starting with Stack, who game after game provided scoring. Now Rip. I miss Stack less these days, as Rip has really learned to take that ball to the rack quite effectively. Still not doing it relentlessly and fearlessly at the end of games like Stack use to do. But I bet he gets there. |