I think you're right on all three points (Flip's control of team; Joe's failure to anticipate Darko's attitude issues and trade him for a player like Harrington when Darko's trade value was higher; and the need for a player who can come off the bench and play inside and hit three's).

Yah sick of the schedule issues being an excuse.O went 6+ minutes end of 3rd into the 4th without scoring.Every team brings their A+ game against us we are the bigboys and everyone wants a swing.Well it's getting time to show these posers what a punch is. We aren't intimidating anyone anymore.Time to start building up for a run and jacking tons of 3's when your not hot isn't the way.

We need to attack the paint and shut it down on D.All pretty simple points everyone has made,but the team needs to start and soon.

__________________

I take it we lost. Here's the problem when the 3 is a big part of your offense......by this point in the season they start falling short. Can we please have a game against a playoff caliber team, where we win the board war and score more pts in the paint......That's how a champion gets crowned.

I agree with being sick of the excuses for losses. Indiana has been riddled with injuries and suspensions the past 2 seasons and they've managed to win games no one expected them to win.

Back to Backs would be less of a problem if we played more than 6 players every game.

The Lakers also played the night before... no excuses.

WE have an inside advantage anytime we want on most nights... Sheed down low is usually a mismatch (almost unblockable shot)
Chancey could back down any PG not named Kidd.
I'll go back to one of Flip's comments... "we haven't nearly shown our full arsenal"...
I don't think it's wise to keep the full compliment under cover when you're chasing home court but I do believe there's gonna be some new weapons come playoff time.

Correction. We have an inside advantage anytime SHEED wants - which is far too rarely.

As much as I appreciate the fact that we have a big that can shoot the 3, I'd like to see a bit more of a balance between the two.

The problem is, Sheed falls in love with the 3 and then completely abandons the inside game. Leaving us with one less body - leaving only the undersized Ben - inside to fight for a rebound.

Sheed is tied for 16th just at the PF position alone, in the league at 2.3 FT attempts per game.

When the shot drops, its great. When it doesn't (which is 63.3% of the time), not so great.

Its not surprising that we're out rebounded in our losses. When the ball goes in, we win, and there aren't any rebounds to worry about.

__________________

This is my first post to the forum, and I want to preface my comments by saying that I am a long-time Pistons fan. I like watching the Pistons more than any other sport, but this last month or so has really got me scratching my head.

Flip's coaching and rotations are quite the mystery. Case in point, during the 18-0 run last night, it seemed like he was purposely not calling a time out because he wanted the players to work through their offensive struggles. Well, check the ego at the door, call the TO after the first 8 consecutive points, draw up a "sure-thing" play and stop the run. Nope, didn't happen.

I think that Flip needs to put a hard limit on the minutes for the starters from here on out. If he doesn't they will not enough left for the playoffs. Play the bench (Delfino, Evans, Hunter, Dice, Davis) mixed in with the starters, but stick with the bench players to give them a chance to get into a flow. Build their egos now when the pressure isn't so great.

The thing I noticed about this West Coast trip and other games from the last month or so is that their defense is not nearly as consistent when they need it the most. I know that statisitically they are nearly identical to last year in terms of PPG, but I think that is misleading. The dribble penetration by opposing guards and the offense rebounding they give up are really make it hard to get the stops they need. They are also doing a lot of whining to the officials instead of just shutting their pie-holes and playing. Sheed's ball-don't-lie crap and all that is getting tired.

Tayshaun's shot really sucks lately, too. Forget the outside crap and take it to the cup! Same thing with Sheed. Ball-don't-get-to-Roscoe unless Roscoe is less than 15 feet away from the basket.

T

Nice job tictac, and welcome!

Welcome tictac!!!

Excellent Recap HERE

"Ugh. It was just plain ugly. I thought it was clear the Pistons were battling fatigue (Ben Wallace had just five rebounds!) not to mention a stretch of bad luck where the refs simply swallowed their whistles — (Rip was simply mobbed a few times trying to drive the lane, and Delfino appeared to have the ball knocked away on the baseline by Kobe Bryant swinging his warm up jacket from the sidelines when he wasn't even in the game!"

only 2 things really bothered me in this game:

1. flip wouldn't call a timeout
2. TP's 2 retarded long shots (with long rebounds) helped the lakers' run.

i wonder what was going through flip's brain, but i also wonder what was going through TP's brain for those 2 shots. the first one he took a few steps and basically shot on the run, and the 2nd was from the same spot...really weird considering he usually shoots only when he has a good look and isn't generally aggressive.

just a poopy game all around.