Atrocious first half.

Murray returned to his normal self. Couldn't run the offense and couldn't guard Law. Flip needs to get this guy out of the lineup.

Nazr 4 useless minutes.

No one to block out Horford on the glass.

Unfortunately I think that this is going to be the rotation until Hot Rod returns which at that time will at least get Murray out of the rotation. I think AJ will need an injury by one of the other bigs to get any real minutes.

Some of our guys played a decent first half, in particular Rip and some real hustle play by Maxey.

Bottom line, terrible.

Hopefully we will do better the second half

I didn't see any of the first half, but I did see the great comeback in the 4th quarter. Pretty much everyone who was in there contributed to the 32-point final period: JMax and Flip near the beginning of the quarter, then Rip, CB, Jarvis hitting a couple of big shots, Dice keying some big plays, Tay scoring as well. Pistons almost blew it in the final minute, letting Johnson hit two straight threes and then Sheed leaving his feet to give Josh Smith 3 FTs to tie the game, but then we got exactly what the doctor ordered on the final possession: CB driving to the rim, drawing the foul, and hitting the game-winning FT. Close call, but a win is a win.

The middle 2 Qs were regular old stodgy Pistons basketball. Much lower tempo.

I stand by my question, that we might need to move one of our perimeter starters to the bench.

Boxscore
NBA.com: Hawks at Pistons Game Info

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The Pistons did tonight what they have done in their first two games...shut down the opposition in the 4th qtr. The difference this time is that they were behind to start the 4th and really needed to shut down the Hawks and then score themselves.

The Pistons looked listless out there in the 2nd and 3rd qtrs and were lucky to be in striking distance when the 4th started. They were getting outhustled and the Hawks were shooting cover 50% in the third quarter. With J-Max leading the way to begin the 4th, the Pistons mounted a comeback with their second unit on the floor (plus Rip) and once they got the lead, Flip sr brought back in most of his starters to close out the game. Rip fouled out shortly there afterwards, but Pistons built a six point lead 88-82 with 1:38 left in the game and I posted in the chat room that the first team to 90 would win. Well most of us thought the game was over, but two 3 pointers by Joe Johnson and BS call for 3 ft by Josh Smith and lo and behold, we were tied

Well finally Flip draws up a play that he could have run for the past 2 seasons: drive to the hoop and see if CB get's bailed out like Kobe, AI, Magic, Wade, Jordan and Rumeal Robinson, have done a thousand times and win the game at the line...afterall, you have been in the top 5 FT% wise the last six years...Last year this play would have been some ill advised 3 point bomb, that would have missed and we would be in OT.

I will wait for the official Leecap and Hogblog for the in game excitement!!!

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"Once you go Barack, you never go Bak" Mario Cantone 2008

Atlanta is going to be very good. We all know that Woodson is competent and now he has some real horses on that team. Gotta find out when they play Golden State, that'll be fun to watch.

This team is deep and versatile, Flip is going to have to burn the midnight oil this season. There are so many possibilities with this team that it's scary, Flip is going to really have to do an outstanding coaching job this year, especially if Stuckey and Amir can deliver what of what we overhyped-up pistons forum fans expect.

Pistons bench is looking good this year. Jarvis Hayes impresses the most. Does he remind anyone of Corliss Williamson? He just looks like he means business out there, like Corliss did for this team. Plus he scores from the post, which this team needs, as Sheed is too inconsistent and tempermental. R. Flip Murray...what an enigma this guy is. Some nights he shows extreme talent, other nights (like tonight) he can't stop dribbling the ball off his foot. JMaxx...I worry about this guy. I think he needs to turn it down a notch to be more effective and avoid injury. He's at 120% all the time...missing dunks, hitting the floor, busting his hands up...dude is gonna wear himself out or get hurt. McDyess playing great defense but not much else...guess he is adjusting to being a starter...Lil Bo Peep on offense. I sooo wish he would start driving to the basket.

I liked the flow of the games when Tayshaun was being more aggressive and scoring like he was with Rip out...good things always happen when Tayshaun is aggressive. He's a wild card imo...he needs to play big this year. He could be a top 10 player if he played to his potential consistently. Not impressed with Sheed's 'new attitude' thus far...same old inconsistent player. I think he's the best defensive player we have, but offensively nonchalant and detrimental teamwise.

Everything looked good from the beginning until the subs came into the game. Murray was his usual erratic self, Nazr couldn't keep up, and Hayes couldn't hit his shots. The starters returned but couldn't stop the snowball effect and the deficit kept growing. Also, they didn't play good D allowing Atlanta uncontested layups and wide-open shots. The defense got better in the second half, but offense was stagnant. Then for some reason when Hayes and Murray came into the game (less Nazr) for the second time they played a lot better. They gave the main guys the rest and closed the gap somewhat. Then the starters came in and finished the deal. Everything started with playing D. That got the offense going as well. J-Max was the guy who kept the Pistons reasonably close with his boards and blocked shots and chipped in offensively as well.
Things I didn't like:
- when reserves came in in the first half the offense just stalled
- Tay played too many minutes in the 1st half and his shots were coming up short
- Sheed shot a bit too fast instead of taking his time while posting up
- Dyess was useless on the offense in the first half
Things I did like:
- The D was good in the 4th
- JMax made another case for more playing time
- Starters ended up with more manageable minutes than I've expected after the 1st half
- Hayes looked good playing with starters, I think that's where his main strength is going to be since if he's on the court with starters he's not going to be heavily guarded
- Murray played a lot more under control in the 2nd half and contributed
- The final play - a drive to the basket instead of a forced 3-pointer (looks like Pistons are learning after all)

Pistons ended up with 1 more point than Hawks and it's all that matters. I just hope that starters will get their minutes reduced a bit.

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I think the Washington Wizards have got to be the dumbest team in the history of civilization. - C.Barkley

Totally agree.

I wish people would realize that Sheed is not, never has been, and never will be an offensive force. I know it's frustrating because he has soooo much talent- but that's just not his game. Sheed is at his best when scoring 13-17pts. Tonight dude was just OFF, but he was clearly one of our better defensive players on the floor tonight, as per usual.

This is a game where Tay and Sheed were flat out OFF!!! Chauncey's shot and decision making were suspect at best tonight. Now that's 3 of our 5 starters not on top of their offensive game tonight and another (Dyess) playing like a scared little u-no-wut on the offensive end for 3.75 qtrs. And we're playing a team that for the last two seasons have been giving us fits and L's. But we won, I know some are mad we didn't blow out a lottery team. I am seeing a win that we would not have gotten at all last season. I am seeing how playing a young'n, adding a new young'n (Hayes) and playing the bench helped us get this win. 4/5's of the starters playing shaky and we still win, that's what depth and youth will do for you.

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Play hard, Play smart, Play together, share the ball, have fun....Play the right way!!!!!!