the bench is playing with much more energy and excitement than the last two seasons. i don't know if they are loose because LB isnt' there anymore, but guys are just making plays.

Delfino is making awesome dribble penetration to the basket.

Darko's got a new lease on life.

Dupree is making the SF battle an even tougher decision.

Dice is finding is jump shot groove.

unfortunately, Arroyo has been playing mediocre. maybe it's because the other reserves are playing so well, i'm not sure. but with our depth at SF and our backup PG playing so-so, it makes me wonder if Arroyo's expendable in JoeD's mind.

DARKO with 6 blocks!!!!

a vicious block on a dunk attempt

10 of 12 from the stripe, too. Maybe he could give Ben some pointers. Nice to see Darko playing well. His confidence has to be building with each swat.

Ben was used slicing to the hoop. He is actually an offensive force used this way creating havoc for their defense. Sheed was used beautifully today, just beautifully. Defino needs to have the ball in his hands (I was wrong about this guy and will gladly eat crow). Rip is deliberately not scoring. Interesting, I believe Flip is proving to the starters that they can be an offensive force even without Rip.

Joe pulled no punches calling last year's offense "stagnant." He said that we need to open it up and used the term "offensive philosophy" in an underhand reference to Larry. He said that we need to "put pressure" on people. I think we now know what went on in those talks after the playoffs.

FINAL: Detroit 91, Minnesota 80.

First off, Minnesota is Kevin Garnett and a bunch of chuckers. When he was in (guess about 20 minutes), they had an inside presence and a force on the boards. Otherwise, nothing. Trenton Hassell shot well and McCants could repeat Ben Gordon's feat last year, but the rest of the team really doesn't like going into the lane. Heck Richie Frahm played like one of their toughest guys.

This turned out to be good, because the game was more of a struggle than the score indicates.

The Piston starters started slow, seeming to fight Flip's offensive and defensive schemes more in this game than in the first couple ... lots of missed defensive assignments and some half-hearted matchup zones from the looks of it, and Minnesota applied backcourt pressure with some success. It was 10-6 Wolves at the first TO and the Pistons were down as much as 10, but Sheed really came on hard (fired up by, you guessed it, a dramatic technical foul after being called for an illegal screen on ... well, nobody) and sparked the team to a closing 9-0 run at the end of the first while Garnett sat on the bench resting his knee.

Prince, who again missed some makeables, came out for Delfino, who actually made a couple of nice defensive plays (a steal and deflection) to get the break started. Dupree came in as well and played like a house afire ... fighting for his own offensive boards, dunking, even popping the J. Then Delfino scored on a spectacular double-clutching scoop from that big paw of his as the quarter ended, and the Pistons had stolen the lead in a subpar quarter, 25 to 23.

Dupree (4 out of 5, 8 pts by halftime) and Delfino continued to star in the second with Arroyo, Dice and Darko rounding out the mix. Delfino was super aggressive, driving hard to the hoop and picking up fouls. He's good in this offense because he likes to drive the middle of the lane, which opens up space on the wings. Dice was better integrated in the offense this game, popping jumpers off a couple of nice flairs with Arroyo, who seems to have his best chemistry with Antonio. Carlos cito shot well in the quarter but again insisted on making some easy passes into the extra crispy variety, too hot to handle for anyone but the first row patrons. Still the overall defense was pretty good for the unit.

Darko was the poorest player in the second, looking disinterested and losing some rebounds out of play. He lofted two really bad looking jumpers that would have put him on Devil's Island under Larry. A highlight was a brief chance to defend Garnett, and he did pretty well. On the first exchange KG got to the middle and banked in a six footer under good pressure from Darko; on the second, Darko poked the ball away from KG when he held it overhead on the left wing, breaking the play up and forcing a later jumper that missed. Darko's only real highlights came when he blocked Eddie Griffin's deep jumper on a great closeout, plus a couple more blocks against Madsen and some other stiff that forced a 24-sec violation.

Both teams were in the low 40s just before the half, when I gave in to my wife and went to dinner. (The rogon josh was very good.)

In the third, Detroit pulled ahead to a 67-59 lead. Chauncey really played pretty blah, jacking up some ill advised long shots before the team had gotten set. Rip Hamilton continued to carry out his game-long mission of making every pass an alley-oop to Ben, no matter how many guys Ben had to jump over even to touch the ball. It worked two or three times, giving Ben a pretty good offensive game when added to a nice mid-lane jumper and a very nice fallaway earlier in the first.

Anyway, the Pistons had more interest in rebounding and defense than the Wolves, leading to a 16-5 run or so marked by some effective full court pressure.

The fourth quarter was ... THE DARKO SHOW! Maybe somebody lit into him about his crappy play earlier, or maybe they simply decided to emphasize the low block more, but Darko scored all 10 of his points in the fourth and I think they all came on free throws. He started taking the ball to the hole, spinning way faster than Eddie Griffin was prepared to move without a personal firearm, and also grabbing some offensive boards with considerable zest. Soon the T-Wolves were in the penalty and Darko kept marching to the line, where I believe he was 10 of 11 or 12. Meanwhile he was swatting shots -- another from Eddie Griffin (who returned the favor later), and yet another in a very heady sequence where he put a block and a steal back to back. His line for the evening: 10 points, 6 rebounds, five blocks.

Meanwhile Delfino was seriously balling ... a spin move for a layup, a feather-light bounce for a Dice basket. Dupree was still bouncing around like a pogo stick on speed, and Arroyo took advantage of his defenders with regularity. Minnesota, in contrast, just kept taking longer and longer jumpers while falling further and further behind.

Eventually, with 2:45 left, four new Human Victory Cigars were lit in the form of Maxiell, Acker, Johnson and Glynidiakis. Maxiell scored on his first shot, a Dice-like wing jumper and added a free throw. AJ and Glyni both got rebounds. (Andreas really isn't that bad a mover, though it looks awful. He plays with some aggression and seems to get frustrated with himself, sort of like Memo did.)

Near the visitors bench, Kevin McHale shuffled around with his weird shoulders and thickened body, looking strangely like Andre the Giant in an Old Navy cable knit pullover. He appeared wan and tired, probably because his team is even more of a soft-centered donut than they were last year. McCants looks awfully quick and dangerous anywhere on the court, but this team really needs inside players in the worst way. Which is the kind they currently have.

great summary, LanierFan!

Great summary of the game! I feel like I watched it now.

Yeah, Darko really went up aggressively when Bracey Wright saw an open lane and went for the posterizer. He didn't get a lot of it, but he sure jousted after it hard.

The most productive players in this game overall were Sheed, Delfino and Dupree. Looks like the bench could be a real strength this year because it's so deep. We'll probably give Davis only spot duty, but Minnie could use him as a starter.