Good start. Nazr had 16 points, 8 boards, 2 blocks, and 4 steals. He didn't get as many boards as Ben would, but Sheed put his mind on rebounding as well as he got 8 as well. Tay looking at the boxscore didn't do too well, but he was more agressive. The bench did great. A possible 10 man rotation.

I don't believe that I missed the chat last night, I got so tied up in the Tigers game, I simply forgot. I was really, really. looking forward to our first official Pistons chat.

From what I can tell by the news reports, Nazr came to play, good offensive moves, tighter team defense, zone caused a lot of turnovers and JMax is coming into his own.

I am really geeked about the upcoming season, contrary to what others may be feeling, the Pistons are for real this year, good things are going to happen. In the words of my grandmother, "If you don't believe my smoke, just look at my fire".

GO PISTONS

We kind of just proved that our 2nd unit can open a can of whoopass on their 3rd unit. Kapono in the house!! Gotta give props to my fellow Hawaiian.

Still, they showed that given the opportunity, they can take advantage of it and not step on their own foot so to speak.

delfino is the man. he is a great rebounder. he will provide lots of spark and glue from the bench this year.

nazr made me forget who that other center we used to have was.

Loved that Nahzeeeee. It seemed so nice to have some scoring under the basket. And how about Naz scoring over Shaq?

First off, this was a preseason game, between two teams with no starting positions up for grabs, mostly set rosters and nothing to prove.

I'd hesitate to take anything from the score because the Heat didn't try to win, basically protecting their starters.

We saw a lot of zone, particularly in the second half, and to be honest it looked decent. Against a team like the Heat, this could be an effective change of pace. In fact, I'd like to see it against a team like the Cavs during a "must score" situation.

The halfcourt offense of the Pistons looked to be much of the same, with a new emphasis on feeding the post. Perhaps they wanted to make a point about Nazr replacing Ben, and perhaps it was simply an exercise i developing that portion of the playbook. If it was about making a statement regarding Ben Wallace, it was ballsy and successful. Nazr answered the bell.

No, he's not the second coming of Wilt Chamberlain. But he worked hard, got physical, fought for the ball and showed some serious touch. And on defense he played much the same. As linwood put it, "He's no Ben Wallace, but he's OUR no Ben Wallace".

The other standouts were Chauncey with several slick moves and passes, Tayshaun showing a very solid jumper with what appears to be a faster release, and Will Blalock running the offense well particularly the break.

McDyess, Sheed and Rip all floated, not really contributing and from my vantage point, played to avoid injury.

Jason Maxiell was the youth movement standout of the day. His free throw shooting is bad, but not Ben Wallace bad. It seemed that almost every time he touched the ball on the baseline or low block, a foul was drawn. The fouls were initiated by JMax, but he got the calls. The irony of Dwyane Wade sitting on the Heat sideline was not lost on me.

Flip Murray showed the mid range, slash and attack game he's known for. Working his way into the paint, dancing laterally for pull up jumpers and running the break, he's fast, aggressive and if his jumper is falling (it was a little spotty last night), very dangerous.

Delfino was very effective slashing to the hoop and running the break. His jumper is still suspect, and with teams likely to pack into a zone to test the Pistons' shooting, that will have to be corrected this season. Carlos was the best rebounder on the night. That and the transition game is where he will have to make a consistent mark.

Flip Sr. looked very stoic on the sidelines, and Dave Cowens made a serious bid to be the hallway coach during an interview with Eli Zaret. He sounds a lot like Ray Romano's brother on Everybody Loves Raymond, Robert Barone (Brad Garrett).

You must mean that guy from Serbia, right?

At the risk of being branded a kool aid drinker, I have to say I enjoyed Nazr's offensive skills. And his rebounding.

The Brahma is just too much fun too watch. I'm pulling for him on every free throw. He wasn't atrocious in college, right? So maybe this will improve as he settles in (to a situational role off the bench perhaps?)

I fell asleep during the 3rd quarter but I wasn't unhappy to see, as Slippy put it, our 2nd unit open up a can of whoop ass on their 3rd unit because getting the 2nd unit comfortable seems like a smart use of preseason time.

The three major concerns were being addressed:
Agressive trapping defense
Feeding the post
Playing the bench

Not that all three will transend to the regular season but at least these concerns are being recognized.

While its true that bad opponents make your team look GOOD, this a good starting point for the new guys. At least they didn't trip over their own feet when they got out to run (figuratively).

If we have a defensive focus and its zone, I'll be alright with that. Its better than no defensive focus at all. It seems as if flip and delfino are the same type of player...penetrating, break running, streaky shooting...It will be a nice change to the mid range jumpshooting offense. Hopefully when flip or delfino penetrate, they can kick it out to billups or rip instead of each other. flip drives...kicks to delfino...that defeats the purpose really.

At least this time around we are not fighting over darko's work ethic. I wouldn't say Nazr vs. ben but nazr vs. darko. I like darko but I feel more comfortable with Naz in there -lower ceiling and all.