Dice is still playing to many minutes...we have Max, Theo and Amir and they got a total of 28 minutes compared to his 33.5 mins. You think those legs are tired now, just think what they will be like in May.... and Jon Hammond says that he will start for the rest of the season...

Experiment game for the coach so won't hold him to it.

Plus/minus stats are way overdone. Theo's block showed what he is capable of giving us. Wait and see...Theo's role will be crucial to us winning deep into the playoffs...

Forgot the link: PISTONS: Philadelphia 83, Pistons 82

Sheed was playing fairly well, but he is still injured. Looks like Flip already knows people are gonna ask about Amir. No one's gonna see me ask why Theo hasn't played, though.

Still had fun, even though we lost. Darn nice seats.


Dyess could not hit an outside shot, not even within a foot of it going in. He could not hit a free throw to save his life. It took him the whole first quarter just to warm up. Hey, Flip, maybe you are overplaying the guy. But still, Dyess helped us tonight, because he went inside over and over and ended up drawing quite a few fouls. If others had done the same, this would have been a win.


Another coaching loss. By choosing to let Dixon play. By choosing to use Theo as the first big off the bench. Nope, we don't have to get these guys ready to play for the playoffs. We need to get Stuckey, Afflalo, JMAX, and Amir ready for the playoffs.


I asked several people, and sorry Dixon, you are a nice guy, but as a basketball player, every Piston fan I talked to anyway was making fun of you. Nobody appreciated anything you did on the basketball court tonight.


Afflalo got into the game for just 3 minutes. Guarding Philly's star, Iguadala. We did not get any further behind with him in. Maybe one hoop. Then Dixon got the rest of the backup minutes to Rip. Pretty horrible stuff. He fumbles the ball more than he manages to dribble it. He can't even begin to stay in front of anyone. And as everyone noticed, he way too short. But hey, he is a vet, so Flip don't care about any of the above.


Hayes made a couple of nice plays.


Rip got very little rest in the 2nd half, and of course gave us the corresponding production in the 4th quarter. Very little. Missing 2 free throws when he came back in with too little rest should have been Flip's first clue that he is clueless. Afflalo should have come in for Dixon. Sure, it would have shown up a vet. A vet that just got on the team. A vet who has not earned a single minute of playing time.


Theo had the one block. Probably a goal tend. Still impressive. But his total lack of anything on the offensvie end for us was almost shocking. No inside presence from him at all. No shots taken. Nothing. No posting up. Nothing.


Maxiell barely got to warm up. Amir neither.


Stuckey did not do much. Got enough playing time. The one thing Flip consistently is doing right.


Billups had a so so game. Drew some fouls. Sheed shot outside too much. Played way too much on a bum ankle. They took him out after 6 minutes, and us fans thought he would play sparingly in this one. But injured or not, he is vet. And since young full of energy guys can't possibly be let to play for this team, Sheed had to of course log major minutes, bum ankle of not. The knee brace is off though. (I am guessing that is because Sheed thought he would just be playing light minutes.
Tay did some impressive work here and there going to the basket. No outside shot though. What do you expect with the minutes he has played of late?


The highlight of the night was a major dunk by Maxiell. We were right near that hoop too. Good view of it. More of that would be nice. Maybe they can let Maxiell warmup at least in the next game before they put tired, old, injured vets back in.


I predicted exactly how this game would go before it started. Exactly what rotation Flip would use. Exactly what excuse he would use after the loss. Being right though is hardly anything that makes me happy. A win would have made me happy. The Pistons getting ready for the playoffs would make me happy. What I saw tonight just makes me sad.
Bottom line, will Flip Saunders keep playing this rotation, as we lose game after game from here on out? And lose in the first round. Just to spite everyone who keeps telling him to play our youngsters? Will Dumars stand for it? Here is a hint for you Joe. Whether you fire Flip now or at the end of the season, it will cost the organization no more money either way. An interim coach, like Porter, can take us the rest of the way. The difference: You can win a championship with Porter. Vs. a first round exit coming up with Flip. Your choice Dumars. And if you are forbidded from your management to make the change, resign. I am sure a lot of teams could really use an excellent GM.

I've watched a lot of Juan Dixon play when he was with the Raptors this year and he's a rally killer and just pretty worthless in so many ways. Flip loves his veterans and he's probably a typical coach in that way because the young-uns make mistakes. The only thing is late in the season your rookies are much more steady and battle tested. Aaron Affalo isn't really a rookie he's got 4 years of college under his belt and he played for UCLA which is one of the best pro finishing schools in the country.

The Pistons are sitting pretty in 2nd place and why is Flip so hung up on playing his vets until they drop or get injured? Now's the time to get everyone healthy and let the younger legs get some prime time and show they are important pieces in the championship puzzle.

Not liking that Theo Ratliff is heading to the spot of first big off the bench. That honor should go to Maxiell or Amir Johnson and Ratliff should be a situational player only. I would only play him 8-10 minutes in spurts.

Is Lindsey going to be activated at some point before the playoffs or is he going to end his career wearing a nice suit?

Lee, your hopes, that AA, AJ etc, etc should be ready for PO-s are merely wisful thinking. Developing is not a deadline process and it cannot be somehow hurried. Why? Because everyone would use it instead of talking like this draftee is a three year prospect.

I had a feeling this was coming. The starters plus Stuckey, AA, Jarvis, Max, and Amir was a great group. Now that Flip has 2 more vets he seems fine with ruining a good thing just to play the vets. When will Joe learn that he can't give Flip options and expect him to make the right decisions on who to play when and where.

To be honest, I think we are easily a better team with Flip Murray and Primoz on the Inactive list than we are with Dixon and Ratliff in the rotation. Dixon is just terrible. He's a veteran who makes more bad decisions than both of our rookies combined. Ratliff is decent for what he is, but the team is better with Amir on the floor, and that is who he's taking minutes from. Amir was forced to take the hard way and bust his ass every minute before he even got a sliver of opportunity. Now, Ratliff comes in off the streets and is immediately handed his minutes. So much for the "earn your minutes" company line.

The fact that we have 5 quality bigs on this team (6 if you count Walter), and Flip still can't get Dice below 30 minutes is mind blowing to me. It really is. Flip's got to find some twisted satisfaction with the fact that his teams consistently flameout in the playoffs, yet he manages to keep his job.

Define ready. Its irrelevant. They are already better than playing guys like Hayes, Dixon, and, Theo. Much better. And they are much better options than playing Dyess beyond the 18 to 20 minutes he is capable of.

The game wasn't that bad- except for the usuals; Sheed taking too many 3s, Tay playing way too much, AJ and AA hardly playing at all and Mc Dyess refusing to do anything inside.
The last play was terrible, CB wasn't even trying to force a foul- also, Tay and RIP were uncovered right beside him and he refused to make that damn pass. He turned Mr Bighead once more.

You predicted Flip would use all 12 players in the first 14 minutes? Wow, you are good.