I fell asleep randomly yesterday so here's my delayed comments. I also watched a little bit on TV when they replayed it, and you get a much different feel from actually being at the game heh.

Some quick notes...

Dice missed some open shots today but they weren't from his usual spot on the baseline. He got open jumpers on the corners of the paint by the free throw line, and that just isn't his shot. Not worried about him though.

I felt this was one of Arroyo's better games. Yes, he (and the rest of the offense) were guilty of trying too hard pushing the ball up the court for quick baskets, which instead resulted in turnovers at halfcourt. However, he ran the offense much better moving the ball around, and did especially well when he was put in with the other 4 starters.

Darko played well despite the foul trouble - some of which I thought were bogus. Igor Kokoskov was interviewed after the game and said he might be *too* aggressive trying to constantly block shots now that he's seen he is leading the league. He also said he believes that Darko is the Pistons' best pick-and-roll defender (including the starters) because of his length and quickness.

I was not happy with Mo Evans today, because he was trying too hard to score. It's not that he missed a ton of shots that bothered me, it's that he took them playing 1 on 1, or early in the shot clock, or when not receiving a pass from another teammate...just dribbling himself and shooting. He had a Chauncey moment (pull up a J on a fast break when no one else is around) that was completely unnecessary. That said, he was still solid on D and finished a few fast breaks.

Delfino continues to impress, not only with his ability to slash and finish around the basket, but also with his excellent court vision and passing ability. He was comfortable running the point. Sheed was excellent again, and Ben generated a lot of offense purely from his defense. Acker...well again his minutes were limited, but I haven't seen anything from him that stands out. Unless he starts raining 3s constantly, there's NO way he'll overtake Hunter this year.

And finally, it was fun to have a preseason game come down to the wire for once. What was impressive was how well the 2nd unit handled themselves. You might expect them to make mistakes or try to do too much down by 6 with 1:30 left, but they were composed and forced Dallas into mistakes. Darko and Maxiell got to the line which stopped the clock, and the team got 2 steals in the final minute to come very close to victory. Well done.