Originally Posted by LanierFan

I saw the game on NBAtv, courtesy of Dish Network. Sometimes you have to check at game time even if there are no indications that they'll be televising.

Solid effort all around. Chicago came out intense and gave the Pistons a good battle, but the Bulls backcourt wasn't very effective on offense and Detroit built their lead with the starters in the first and third quarters. The second unit held its own or built the lead the remainder of the time. Sheed was excellent on offense, Rip was in midseason form, Chauncey was content to control things, Ben got fiesty early and had a gorgeous alley-oop from Rip over Tyson Chandler, who was superb at the start of the game. Tay stayed in the background and didn't hit a lot of shots. Overall the starters were very precise and blended well with substitutes at the end of quarters.

Delfino looked GREAT. Much improved over summer league, very effective at pushing the ball up the court and passing or finishing. He looks like he's put the knee injury behind him. Darko had some terrific moments but struggled a bit after the second quarter. He had a block and a beautiful backdoor pass to Sheed in the last few seconds of the first, a good strong dunk after pinning his man on the baseline and a terrific catch-and-shoot J that iced the game once the Bulls got within six. He fumbled some rebounds but did look a good deal more aggressive. Still struggles with smaller widebodies in the post, though--Sweetney scored on him several times and got him in foul trouble.

Arroyo looked comfortable with his shot, but a step slow with the groin injury. He's still feeling his way with Flip's offense, often overpenetrating and ending up with nowhere to go. Evans looked very good on the boards and scored from the perimeter, while Dupree seemed a little tight and missed some early shots. Converted a nice three-point play on the break from Delfino, though. McDyess didn't do very much, but seemed content to keep things flowing. The second unit will have to put some time in getting him his pet shots.

Refs mostly swallowed their whistles, the Pistons smothered a bunch of shots early and kept their own turnovers to a minimum. Chicago looks like it will have a big season from Chandler, but their bench looks a lot thinner now than it did last year.