I have something to complain about. The Magic are now under .500, but they're still in no danger of falling into the lottery with our pick. Get it together Nets and Knicks!

Webber again. But really that is not a contender there in Orlando. I mentioned this early in the season. So we can't get too excited about this win. We still have real work to do. We have to impose our will against the contenders.

Orlando is too inexperienced. They have trouble scoring and many other problems. Hey, they are not my team so I am not going to dwell on them. They are about on the level of the Clippers. So we will get about a 15th pick.

I wish Dice could finish around the hoop but his animated play and sweet jumper are fine. Can Hunter have found his shot at age 36? I still want Joe to make a move to help that second unit. Maxiel needs work. Dale is still tough.

Ok. Darko. I won't make a lot of this game or a game where he plays well either. He just wasn't a number 2 pick then and still not now. He will play better.

44 points from the bench...I'm impressed. None from Flip jr despite playing over 8 minsutes for garbage time. I wonder or hope that this may be the last time we see Flipjr or Nazr in a Piston uniform? I guess we will know in 24 hours.

Also what's with Rip and Sheed with the technical fouls? Sheed is 1 under the limit...where is Rip at this point. We could have both these guys sitting at home at crucial times especilally with the difficult schedule in March.

Anyway good game by all and hopefully the Pistons duplicate the effort Friday night when I am in dahouse down here in O'town, I will be there with my Sheed jersey rooting them on....

Shhhhhhh. Be vewwy vewwy quiet. I'm hunting Dahko hawl of famehs.




I say ol' chap...which way did they go?

Lol what a crack up. They were here just a minute ago me thinks....

Great win by the way. Lets see is there is any change in a couple of days. Me thinks not.

That win was easy, almost too easy. Did not even seem like the Pistons played that great and still walked away with it.

Nice to get the next game, great to demolish them again and take away some confidence. They would be 27-29 and when when you consider the hot streak they started the season with they have been playing losing ball for some time now.

Anyway, very entertaining game except for the D-league ref crew. Hopefully some of those techs will get reversed, not sure why they were even given. Very choppy game at times but you have to love how the Pistons manhandled them defensivly.

Hunter made a big difference in one of his very offensive games. Gives a sneak preview of how deadly this team can be with some help off the bench so hopefully Dumars can make something happen tomorrow.

Darko's big return, whatever. Arroyo actually got a small splattering of applause when he entered the game.

Had to go to the UIC Flames game, so just watched the Pistons on DVR.

Why do we not play Dale Davis more? It's mystifying. He's a tough SOB. 3 blocks in 11 minutes? There's our interior presence.

Overall, Sheed and Tay disappeared, but it was the best night our bench has had in quite a while. On a per minute basis, it was spectacular.

Darko- I thought it was a pretty bad performance by him. He got some good looks, but was obviously forcing it. The biggest factor was that Sheed and Webber kept him too far from the hoop for his hook shot to be reliable. On defense, he was good inside, but wasn't respecting Dyess's shot.

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"I’ll just say this: We’re not talking to teams about their second- or third-best players." Joe Dumars talking about his plan to get other teams' 4th best players.

Sprocket says…

Tonight was either a work of art or perhaps the ugliest basketball game seen in these parts in a while depending on your point of view. The Pistons blow the Magic out of the building with some extraordinary individual and team performances while giving up 39 free throws and allowing the Magic to shoot 47% for the game.

Starting the game for the Magic, Darko shoots two for nine from the field (one for seven in the first half) and three for eight from the line. He does have seven boards, two assists, two steals, two blocks, with one turnover and three fouls, so sad to say, no resolution to the ongoing Darko debate.

The game starts slowly with neither team playing particularly well, ending in a 22-22 tie at the two minute mark. The main bright spot for the Pistons in the first ten minutes is a good stretch from Dale Davis who boards, blocks a couple of shots, roughs Howard up a bit, and gets a dunk.

The game turns in the last two minutes of the first with a Pistons run that extends to the eight minute mark of the second. Hunter has seven points in the stretch as the Pistons outscore the Magic by eleven to push the lead to eleven. Things hold even for a while but the Pistons finish strong, outscoring the Magic by seven to push the lead at the half to nineteen. Prince falls awkwardly towards the end of the period but stays in the game after Arnie provides a magic pill on the sidelines. Thanks to Hunter, Dice, and Delfino, the Pistons bench outscores the Magic boys from the pine twenty-five to nine in the first half.

The Magic start the second half hot, hitting six of eight shots over the first eight minutes of the third. The Pistons however shoot seven for eight in the same stretch and push the lead out to twenty. The minutes before and after the quarter break again prove decisive for the Pistons. They outscore the Magic eighteen to five in the stretch led by Webber and Hunter to take a thirty-one point lead at the ten minute mark of the fourth. Webber only misses one shot in the third, a beat the clock jumper, on his way to fourteen in the period. From then on it’s extended garbage time to the final score of 110-88.

Dwight Howard pours in twenty-six with fifteen boards, but the one man show isn’t enough against a balanced Pistons attack. Webber shoots eight for ten, Billups six for eleven, and Hamilton five for ten to join McDyess and Hunter in double figures. Wallace shoots poorly for the game (two for eight), but plays a strong floor game particularly on the defensive end. Continuing the streak, Prince has another forgettable night on his way to eight points and somehow, no boards. Delfino leads the Pistons in rebounding with seven.

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"But first, are you experienced? Or have you you ever been experienced? Well, I have."
Jimi

darko was nervous i think. i went to the game and didn't like the response from the crowd. darko never did anything to the fans. but he gets a chance to redeem himself on friday. orlando might have traded for a new guard by then. orlando's backcourt sucks.

well, despite Darko putting up a laugher, Sheed managed to still be outplayed by him with his nice 4 points and 6 boards on 25% shooting.