When the starters fall flat we have no one to go in to pick up the slack this year. Need somebody to help out Dice until he regains his shot

Trades anyone ??

mcdyess has been getting his shot back though, and he was 5/7 tonight. it's comin along.

I think they were/are just passing, especially John Stockton.

The only leader I see is Lindsey. How he's going to be physically when he returns...who knows? He had tenacious D, he was a good floor leader...and he was a little suspect as a scorer. But he's the only guy I see on the bench as having the heart to make the rest of the bench better...AND make the starters comfortable leaving the floor knowing that the game is in good hands.

Of late...Arroyo's looking far more comfortable on the floor, Dice looks like he's getting his shot back, Delfino's been a pleasant surprise to me, Evans is on & off...but has the hustle. Yet none of them impresses me as a player the starters can fall back on.

IMO...you're right...the bench needs a trade to be competitive late in the playoffs.

I've said it a number of times before...Arroyo, Evans/Delfino & Darko for Mike James & Mo Pete.

I'm a broken record Someone...please tell me to shutup!

...AND offer a better solution

The starters do get big heads. Just look at the whining and techs they get every so often. It isnt a Kobe big head, but a we are ridiculously good (true) and deserve the benefit of the doubt on each call.

He has to figure a formula for the back to backs. If we are going to lose like this, obviously we need more bench. It could be that they just relaxed with the lead and the momemtum couldn't be recaptured. But still, Flip has to figure out a better formula for minutes and he will. Davis could have got us some rebounds: Delfino could have got us some points.

We get beat by Stackhouse, Chucky and Memo.

Pistons lost because they gave up 17 offensive rebounds and were outrebounded 55-27. Dyess had 2 rebounds off the bench to Collins 14. Ben 6, Sheed 8 to Kerilenko's 12 and Okurs 12.

Pistons lack of rebounding is in the scouting report. Teams are bringing in these 3rd string PF/C type of guys who slide into the paint whenever a shot goes up for the offensive board. Its getting to the point now where other teams expect to own the boards. Even in winning you could see this as something to tweak and now it blew up in the Pistons face.

If something is wrong with Ben Wallace then get him out of there and get it fixed. Dyess has not been getting it done on the glass either. Maybe try some other options like Davis or Jmax. Can Maxiel rebound? Get him in there if he can.

I like Max's take on it. Tonight we didn't need a sixth man, we needed first through fifth men. Way too many second shots and long rebounds we didn't even get close to. Ben is a lot more easily neutralized these days than he used to be, and only part of that is his health. The other guys need to drop the "let Ben do it" attitude and take up the slack for him. We don't want the loose balls enough.

Meanwhile, I guess we fans have to guard against greediness. Sweeping West Coast series and winning every game isn't something you can take for granted. When you're winning five out of every six, you have to live with the occasional lemon.

Lanierfan. True you will get the occasional Lemon. I would not mind if the shots were not falling or the team had a few misques. This rebounding thing is has been going on for the past 7 or 8 games. Whatever the Pistons were doing in the 1st 10 games or so on the glass they need to get back to. I hate seeing every 6'11" scrub from the opponents team thinking they own the glass against the Pistons. That has to stop.

A lot of that is Ben Wallace. Obviously he has not aged enough in a month's time span to point to anything else than somekind of injury. Its too early in the season ( way too early ) to have a key guy out there playing injured. Great opportunity for some other guys to contribute. If not Darko then Maxiel or Davis. Davis is a pro and you know he will be ready and I would love to see what Maxiel has. Something tells me he would have had something to say about Collins, Okur and Kerilenko running over the Pistons last night.

Great early season success so far. Have to love it. But if the team needs to take a step back and correct some things and get Ben Wallace healthy even if it means a temporary lull then so be it. Goal is still to be playing 100% come playoff time.