Darko looks like he might be mesmorized by an electric light.

Actually, he's kinda "Pavlovian" that way. In Detroit, Flip would get on a step ladder and write a tiny note at the top of the locker room wall where it meets the ceiling. He would then tell Darko that he could play when he can read the note from his locker.

Hence the wincing stare. He's not mesmerized, he's concentrating on something small (his PT).

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They are the archetype for dominance. They are the gatekeepers of the conference. They are the Detroit Pistons.

Chat is OPEN!!!

http://www.pistonsforum.com/news/853...hat-debut.html

Darko fans are welcome. If the main game room is unfriendly or Darko negative, we have another room set aside for Magic/Darko fans to use.

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They are the archetype for dominance. They are the gatekeepers of the conference. They are the Detroit Pistons.

Great disneyised photo of the Darko stare, Micro. He looks a George Bush what am I doing here stare? and who is this guy I'm hugging?

No Rip, no win! That was story of this game even though we only lost by only 2 points. Both Wallaces sat out the 4th quarter or most of it anyway as Flip tried to see if his 10 and 11th man could contribute>>Max and Davis score 2 & 4 points.

Delfino started for Rip and was 1-5 and a TO. He contributed nothing and his lack of input in the first half could have been the reason we were down by 15 at the half. Not to put everything on him though as the Wallaces had 9 pts and 11 boards between them. (for the game and did not play in 4th)

Delk was the hero in the second qtr with 14 points, but was the goat in crunch time having a shot blocked and then missing the front end of a potential tying FT.

CB who was abusing both Nelson and Arroyo midway through the 4th qtr and making 8 straight FT's went away from that when it counted in the last 2 mins when they went up by four. Should have tried it when the game was tied instead of an il-advised tree ball. Also despite CB going 12-12 from the FT line, the rest of the team went 9-19. They also got us on the boards too as Ben did not have an inspired game. (5 boards). He must have been still feeling the pains of Shaq's elbows.

Neither Tay or Evans could stop Turk until the game was over when Evans and Dice fell on him. The Pistons casts offs, Arroyo & Darko didn't actually win the game for them, but contributed 18 pts, 5 brds, 5 assts, and 1 block.

This was about Rip not being there and Flip experimenting with his bench. It almost worked out and there is no need to panic as we know we could have won this one going away if the key players had been there. Everybody should be back by Sunday and ready to win!!!

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"Once you go Barack, you never go Bak" Mario Cantone 2008

Pistons did not play at all in the first half--a give away game. Delfino does not have a consistent shot. His role will be as a spot defensive player in the playoffs. I don't care how smooth he looks. He doesn't sink his shots consistently at this stage of his career.

Delk is a major coup for Joe. He brings way more to the table than Arroyo did. And Chauncey took Arroyo to the cleaners. Arroyo's not a bad player but we would probably see those turnovers we saw tonight in key points in the playoffs.

Darko will be a decent player in about two years--probably not a star. I doubt he will ever be a double digit rebounder.

Flip Saunders post game press conference attached to this post as an MP3 file.

Interesting that both Wallaces said they "couldn't go" back into the game.

Attached Files

postgame-presser_040706.mp3 (2.31 MB, 30 views)

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They are the archetype for dominance. They are the gatekeepers of the conference. They are the Detroit Pistons.

watched the game at the bar. sheed and ben took the night off, no rip, and the 11th/12th guys played big minutes down the stretch. no biggie, although i wouldn't have minded if flip put the starters in for the last couple of minutes so we could win and further distance ourselves away from san antonio (who is currently down 4 to dallas with 5 minutes to go).

what did i take away from this game? that our bench will be just fine in the playoffs, and picking up delk was a flat out STEAL. unlike arroyo he can shoot the three, create his own shot, finish on drives, and defend, and he costs us far less.

arroyo didn't look bad (he actually made shots, a little less surprising since it was latin america night in orlando (LOL), but he was abused on defense. darko had some nice moves in the post and played a nice game, but he gets fooled by any semblance of a pump fake.

in any case, this just shows that joe made a great move with the trade. we have a better roster at a far less price. we've got our 3 starter bigs and davis/cato should we need experienced big men in the postseason.

so now the question is to all the delfino lovers...what do you make of his subpar game? nerves from starting? is he just inconsistent? does he try too hard? or did he just happen to have a bad game? i'm with lapiston - delfino will just be a spot defender for wade in the playoffs.

I'll put this one on Flip... nice to give everyone some PT... last I checked we had nothing wrapped up for HCA... I also did not like failing to call a time out when they were obviously tired with one possession left (Chauncey chucked up a wild one).

Ok, before we go handing over the Darko better than Sheed award we might want to consider the opposite scenario... Orlando coming off a hard fought physical game... Darko has already played a full shift... and we're at Detroit... nuff said.
With that I still like Darko at PF vs Center... he has a chance to dominate there.... he's at PF by default because most teams will put their 5 on Howard.
Darko's 2nd half was completely different than the first half... typical of a young player.
We'll see if this game ends up being important... if not ... nice move keeping Ben & Sheed rested... for the first time we've got some injuries to heal up.
With the Spurs losing maybe resting the bigs worked out ok (not that Flip knew this).

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With politicians the future lies ahead

I guess you're right about not getting a TO there, but going to the trap was what got the Pistons back in the game, so I give Flip credit for making that adjustment in the 3rd.