He did win the Pistons recent half court shooting contest. Seriously

PistonsNationBlog.com » Blog Archive » Amir Johnson; half-court specialist

They're paying him $4M a year to ride the pine. Ironically, the same amount they gave Darko before sending him off to his dismal destiny.

I dunno about anyone else, but I seriously believe Joe & Flip are not on the same page. And FWIW I'm becoming as skeptical of Joe as I am of Flip.

Hunter or Flip Murray could have just as easily chipped in those extra points that we needed. Perhaps a key steal by Hunter in transition at just the right time could have turned the game around.

I am all for player development but these guys have to start hitting some shots. They are guards, guards are supposed to be able to shoot - thats what they do.

This would not have been a good game for Amir. It was too close and he has not played in a while. Flip should have started bringing him in during that winning streak. Throw him out there for 6 mins when we are up by 15 in the 3rd, see what he can do.

So should I watch it on my DVR or just pass on it?? I mean I did the movie marathon and saw Cloverfield, Mad Money, and 27 Dresses....yeah I took my wife...as I can't make her watch crappy Pistons games with me all the time and not take her out to the movies.

Looks like all of the teams that were supposed to win today won with the exception of the Mavs, Warriors and Pistons. So tell me the bottom line..did our players get out played or was Flip out coached again...if so he is very close to winning NBA Choke of the Month for January... Joe please help

Orlando showed up to play more than us chocking. It was an entertaining game to watch. Knowing how it will end though, I don't know. I have a hard time watching games if I already know they lost.

Random thoughts after watching the game...

- I hate the fact that Sheed only shows up for about 8 minutes a game.
- Why in the hell is Primoz Brezec still on this team? Doesn't Joe know that if he keeps a bad player on the roster, Flip is bound to play them? No way in hell should he be out there in any situation over AJ (whose days in detroit are numbered). Why can't Joe force Amir over Brezec/Herrmann like he did for Stuckey?
- Jarvis Hayes.... ugh. If you're gonna brick shots, at least only take good shots. Nothing is worse than forcing it time and time again when you're not hitting. Does Flip encourage that crap? And defensively, he is a nightmare. The "in-your-face" style of D only works when you can actually react when the offensive player makes his move.
- It was nice to see a glimpse of the real Rodney Stuckey. For 2 or 3 possessions in the 4th, Flip actually allowed him to attack off pick-and-rolls. He looked damn good doing it. Getting into the lane with ease for a wide-open layup, and getting Max another wide-open layup (which he missed). Doesn't Flip see that every time he goes to isolation basketball with the bench in the game they fall apart? Most coaches would have picked up on this after 2 stints, but Flip just insists on pounding that flex offense into them. His "system" is bigger than his players apparently.
- Tayshaun was good, but it was all jumpers.
- Max was a beast, and should have been in the game throughout the 4th. Dice wasn't playing a whole lot of defense, and we don't need another guy out there building a wall of bricks from 20 feet.

I decided to watch the game and will add my late notes for the early morning folks to comment on.

First some interesting meaningless stats:
Only 14 assists for the Pistons
Magic Bench 27-Pistons 15
Magic control the points in the paint 42-28. (including 20 in the paint in the first qtr when the Pistons were still getting off the bus. Pistons scored only 4 points in the paint in the all important 4th qtr as we saw wide open long range jumpers go long and short.

But the lingering question for 2008 is WTF happen to our interior D??? OK sorry for that question..we have been asking that question ever since Big Ben hopped on I-94 west.

Turkolu penetrated at will believing no Piston could stop him and they obliged by providing him an open lane to the hoop. With 26 pts and 8 dimes, he reminded me of how Pierce was able to the same two weeks ago when he penetrated and either scored or dropped it off to Big Baby. Once again no defense against the pick and roll.

Pistons blow another second qtr lead getting outscored by 10, and hitting only 6-20 shots. In fact after Billups sat, the Pistons managed to hit only one out of their next nine shots. Like Magic announcer and former NBA coach Matt Goukas said at least three times "Flip was crazy for leaving Hayes and Stuckey out there in the second qtr for so long with both Tay and Billups on the pine for almost 8 mins." (Joe was seen later asking for his BB e-mail address in case he needs to offer him a job this summer.)

Now we all want CB to get some rest, but some how or another our offense seems to go in the old Hunter mode with Stuckey out there. Those early season injuries are turning into beottch in terms of developing AJ and Stuckey. How many games dating back and including the Boston game on 1/5, have the Pistons blown double digit leads in the first qtr or beginning of the second?

I am thinking somebody, either Rip, Tay or even no d Dice need to come off the bench to anchor the second qtr with the youngsters at least for a spell while we get this drop off cured and get Hayes, Stuckey and Max in a cohesive mode. AA and AJ need to get some minutes too just so their development/growth is not stunted.

Everyone has an opinion. Some just flat out wrong like this one by Goukas. Stuckey should have played more than he did. Hayes was the problem.

And Stuckey should be getting 20 minutes a game, not 8 like last game. Remember that rythm he is trying to find? Saunders won't let him find it. Goukas does not understand what is going on. And far worse for us, neither does Flip.

ok i'm out of the country at the moment so seeing no game action just get to follow along online..... talk about wanting to throw a laptop thru the window these days....

the question i have for you watching everybody keeps saying max is playing so well, but his plus minus seems to be the worst on the team these days. So is it his bad luck to be on the floor at the wrong times or are folks not watching him as closely as they are when they are ripping dyss? (who seems to always be in the plus)

FP22 i agree with a lot of your post, except the part about sheed only showing up for 8 minutes a game...the guy dropped 15/15 with 5 steals and defended howard extremely well in the 4th quarter.

i don't think max had a *great* game but he did play well, and i also think dice did better on howard than people (don't) give him credit for...it was his pick-and-roll defense that was bad.