Detroit Pistons Fan Community - PistonsForum.com - View Single Post - Detroit at San Antonio

MotownPride · #58 (**permalink**) 01-13-2006, 12:36 PM

Motown's 10 point run

Sheed takes charge ~ Rahseed set the tone of the game early showcasing his inside and outside game as well as proving why the Pistons frontline is so formidable defensively. Tim Duncan did not look comfortable on offense for practically the entire game. Tim's (and the entire Spurs's team) troubles at the line made it difficult for the Spurs to make any substantial run.
Efficient Offense ~ Another big story of the game was ball movement. This is perhaps where we have visibly improved the most this year. Lots of open shots on offense. In contrast, Tony Parker finished with a dismal O assists for the night. The only negative marks on offense for us this game were Chauncey's bad shot selection, 4-14 from the field (some were down right ugly!) and Chauncey's poor decision making (6 uncharacteristic horrific turnovers). Most nights when Chauncey struggles this badly with his decision making we struggle, but C-Note still managed double digit assists and the rest of our starters had very solid games.
No Carlos, No Problem ~ One of the subplots of the game was the absence of Chauncey's backup, Carlos Arroyo, due to Los's untimely suspension early this week. How did the Stones compensate? Quite well. We saw Tay take over some of the point guard responsibilites. Wow! Shades of the classic Orlando series. The end result was a big lineup that created severe matchup problems for our opposition. I wouldn't be suprised if Flip took advantage of this stragey again in the future as a nice change of pace. On defense, we saw Rip and Chauncey take turns on Parker to keep Chauncey out of foul trouble. Another smart move by the Flipster.
Classic Going To Work Defense ~ The Pistons showed they can still play championship caliber team defense for 48 mins when they want to. Probably our best defensive showing to date. Detroit did an excellent job controlling dribble penetration and eliminating second chance opportunities all night. Although Detroit was not getting the whistle this game, they still played agressively and prevented the Spurs from getting into any type of offensive flow. Impressive, considering that the Spurs are a team that can normally score points with ease when they need to. Two games holding our best opposition for the crown down to 70 points is awesome and gives us a definite mental edge should we meet again during the playoffs.
Rip shakes off Bowen ~ Lee hit it on the head with his analysis regarding Rip's play tonight against Bowen. Flip's offense appears to be one or two screens too many for the defensive specialist to handle. 22 fairly easy points by Rip tonight.
Free Agent Hype ~ The Spurs' free agent acquistions, Finley and Van Excel, had virtually no impact on this game. A combined 3-11 from the field.
Maybe next time ~ Looks like Acker had his mom set up the VCR for no reason tonight. Although the Pistons were winning by a large margin on numerous occasions, it still did not translate to an Acker appearance. This was perhaps his best opportunity to get some clock this season as Arroyo is only out for a game. Oh well, he's a gym rat so I'm sure his opportunity to step on the court will eventually arrive. I like this kid. Great attitude.
Oh, my ankles ~ Rip..Rip...Rip. I'm surprised you can still walk. Tony Parker put a move on Rip that turned his legs into noodles and sent him to the floor. You know you got shook when the entire arena goes, "WOOOOAAAAAHHH". That's okay bro. You walk away with the win.
Undisputed #1 ~ This last convincing victory makes it apparently obvious to even the staunchish critic that our Pistons are the team to beat this year. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the league adjusts to our style of play in the second half of the season. Hmmm....How much longer until talks of 70 wins begin to resurface?
Lee's Evans obsession ~ Evans was hardly the story of this game. I have never seen so much biased criticism focused toward a player in my life. In my opinion, Delfino clearly outperforms Evans every night...but that does not mean that Evans is the source of every scoring drought or defensive lapse. Give it a rest dude.