--ESPN BOX SCORE

Here we go!!!

Radio Recaps from our resident Savant lee356 (as posted on the Detnews and copied here by his request). I'll keep updating it as I have time.

Wally World triples. Rip upfakes and gets Hassel to foul him. Makes 2 at the line. Dale cleans up miss by Olo. Sheed triples. Yaric drives and scores on Arroyo. Rip misses. They miss. Dale keeps it alive for us. Tay misses hook. Foul on Rip guarding Wally World. 5-5. Hassel misses. Arroyo drives Yaric. Side out after foul. Tay misses 3. Dale offensive rebound. Sheed misses. Arroyo draws offensive foul.

Rip hits on feed from Arroyo. Skita misses. Tay rebounds. Rip misses hook. Wally hits.7-7. Rip misses. Dale pokes it away from Olo but is called for reach in. Olo hits over Dale. 9-7.7:24. 3 without guarding. Rip makes tech. Arroyo crossover and sets up Sheed for stuff. Pistons 10-9. Swipe by Dale, hits Rip on fast break score. Wally cuts and hits hook on run. Arroyo drives, shot too hard. Foul on Sheed. Yaric 2-2.

Dale misses. Skita blocked by Dale. Dale gets dunk off pass from Arroyo. Arroyo has five assists. 5:18, 14-13 Pistons. Timeout.

Yaric gets another offensive foul called on him, drawn again by Arroyo. Minny in zone. Sheed misses. Davis misses jam tap. Olo misses hook, but Dale is called for foul. 1-2. Skita fouls going for bound. Sheed fingeroll fed by Tay. Serbiak misses. Rip misses. Carter misses. Foul on Arroyo going for bound. Penalty. Wally 2-2. Arroyo runs up hook and hits on fast break. Wally gets to rim and hits. 3 left in first. 11 for Wally. Rip misses long one. They miss. Skita misses tap. Sheed hits triple with assist from Arroyo. Hassel is rejected out of bounds by Davis. Timeout. 21-18

Darko in. Darko blocks. Pistons ball. Evans also in. Tay misses hook. Offensive goal tending on Evans. Madsen,Wally World, Carter, Griffin, Hassel. Sheed gets bound. Sheed drives, loses it. Sheed blocks but is called for foul. Arroyo, Evans, Tay, Sheed, Darko. McCants now in. Wally 2-2, 21-20 Pistons. Sheed hits long two. Dozen for him. Griffin triples. 23-23. Arroyo hits. Shot clock was running out. Clock runs out for first quarter. Rip has 7. Arroyo 6 assists and 4 points. Its 25-23 at end of 1 quarter. Arroyo has generated 18 points of offense of our 25 between his own points and assists.

Tay misses. Arroyo steals. Arroyo has pass to Evans swiped. Sheed fouls, his third. Dale in for Sheed. Carter 2-2. 25-25. Darko, Dale Davis, Tay, Evans, Arroyo. Mo jams. Offensive foul on McCants. Delfino about to check in. Evans has scoop rejected. Foul on Darko. 2-2. 27-27 10:38. Carter. Evans misses triple. Davis bound. Delfino misses. They triple (Frahm-sp). Foul on Carter. Side out. Evans misses shot as clock expires. Evans fouls going for bound.

10:00 Delfino steal off errant pass. Offensive foul on Delfino. 30-27 Wolves. Griffin, McCants, Frahm, Carter, Madsen. Madsen scores inside. Delfino has shot rejected inside. Dale digs out bound. Arroyo draws foul. Timeout. 9:00 32-27 Wolves.

Darko called for traveling. Evans fouls. Griffith misses 3. Darko bound. Evans hits triple off assist from Arroyo. Darko gets rebound off their miss. Darko goes inside and draws foul. Acker in for Arroyo. 7 assists now for Arroyo. Side out. 20 second time out. Acker, Mo Evans, Darko, Delfino, Delfino misses. Dale Davis gets rebound and hits 14 footer. 6 boards for Davis so far. Carter misses. #7 for Davis. Darko misses 14 footer. McCants hits over Evans. Wally World back for Minny. Olo too. Darko gets hook blocked. Dale Davis gets foul. 3 on him. Timeout 5:44 34-32 Minny

misconnect between Arroyo and Evans. They walk. Acker brings it up right side. 3 in lane without guarding. We make the tech (Evans). Pistons foul to stop fast break. (Acker.) Bracey Wright at line. Hassel in for McCants. 1-2 Delfino bounds. 4:33. Acker misses 2. Darko gets offensive bound and is fouled by Olo. Darko 2-2 at line. 3 boards and a block for Darko so far, and two points. Skita misses with Darko bothering the shot. Olo fouls on rebound shoving Dale. Dale at line. Misses first. Hits next. One point lead for Wolves. Wally World misses 3. Skita, Hassel, Wright, Delfino hits triple, assist Acker. Darko knocks away, steal, jams. (Took it from Skita, runs down length of floor and jams.) Olo walks. Mo Evans hits rainbow three, another assist by Acker. Mo Evans has 9. Darko fouls Skita going to baseline.

time. 2:31 until half.

Update

Double techs called on Acker and Olo. Seems he is keeping up with the Arroyos.

Skita hits 2-2. Piston lead by about 5. Evans sticks it from 17. 46-39. Good guess. Wally hits. Acker right, to Evans, nails it. 49-41 Pistons. Delfino called for foul. Wally Sczerbiak at line. 2-2. Acker up left side. On right. To Darko. To Davis. Ball is poked away off Pistons. Wright, Skita, Madsen, Wally, Olo. 3 second call on Wolves turns it over. Acker misses. Delfino taps it in. 20 second timeout.

3-5 on triples for Evans. 14 points. Maybe I will change my mind on this guy. Gee, he can shoot up a storm. Wright against Acker. Acker foul. 1-2. Rebound Darko. Evans hits triple with time expiring. 17 point quarter. Amazing. Off glass, and I am sure he called it. 54-44 Pistons.

[micro] I'll start a new post for the second half.

i have trouble reading it that way, so i'll just say WOW @ evans, 17 points in the 2nd quarter including 4-6 from 3 pt. range (including one at the buzzer)

cool. thanks for the update. i'm guessing chauncey and ben aren't playing tonight?

More from lee - start of the second etc...

Ok, what am I seeing here? Evans can thrive amid two guys like well, either Acker or Arroyo along with Delfino to do the ball handling. Evans is getting set up left right and center and nailing those shots. If he is consistently this good, and he does lead the NBA in the preseason on 3 point percentage, we truly got a steal.

Darko is simply not getting scored on. Forget anything else about Darko. His defense alone means he will play a ton. Dale Davis can rebound and play some D. Man we are deep at center and power forward this year.
Pacers down late by 10. Always love to hear the Pacers are losing.

Anyone notice not a single starter was out there for us. And Dyess has not played either. Nor Maxiell. We have played a simple three man rotation at big man. Acker is not making any mistakes and is as usual an assist machine. On defense, Acker is not showing any problems.

No Dupree. The rumors posted at the other place about Dupree being the one to be cut look very real. Again, nobody, especially after tonight, can ever see Dupree gettng any minutes over Evans ever. And Evans, surrounded by good ball handlers, is not a liability at all with his own lack of ball handling skill.

Arroyo has been another bright spot tonight. The ball is not getting turned over by him and he has dished 7 assists, while also confidently hitting his shots. But its Acker I want to see play most of the 2nd half. I like Arroyo plenty, but I want to see Acker get every op to earn minutes. Having two good backups is better than one.

Arroyo, Delfino, Darko, Davis, and Evans start 2nd half. We miss. They miss. Arroyo misses. Evans steals. Dale misses hook. Olo bounds. They miss. Darko bounds. Arroyo drives, makes,and gets the and one. Misses free throw. Davis taps out rebound. Evans gets feed for Jam. Arroyo steals. Evans misses. 3 second call on Olo. 2nd delay of game as Olo throws ball. Evans misses tech. 58-44 Pistons. Arroyo palms. Olo hits.

Evans tries to pass it inside, they knock it out. They steal. Hassel steps out of bounds. Arroyo misses. (clock running out.) Offensive foul on Olowokandi. Tech on Minny coach. Arroyo hits tech. Tech on Jaric.

Carlos makes 2nd tech. 60-46. Arroyo gets stripped. Skita misses bunny. Olo hits. Delfino misses. Olo bounds. Wally hits. 60-50. Timeout. 11 turns and 13 assist for the Pistons. Evans hits triple. 22 for Evans. 5-7 on 3's. Swipe by Arroyo. Delfino gets fed by Arroyo for fast break jam. Jaric is fouled by Arroyo, his 2nd. 2-2. Arroyo throws it away driving in on Skita. Jaric is fouled by Evans, his 3rd. 2-2. Darko runs down lane and throws it away.

Dale blocks Skita. Delfino reverse jams on fast break. 9 for Delfino. Acker in. Delfino bounds. Acker misses 14 footer. Dale misses. Acker bounds. Acker misses. Wally gets rebound. Foul on Evans. Four. Griffin for Skita.

McCants in. Olo hits and draws foul on Davis. Maxiell in for Davis, who has 9 bounds. Olo makes his free throw to complete the 3 point play. 67-57 Pistons. Delfino down the lane for a scoop and is fouled. Sideline out. Maxiell called for offensive foul. Jaric, Olo, Wally, Griffin. Delfino, Maxiell, Acker, Evans, Darko. Delfino drives in and scores. 69-59 Pistons. Dupree in. Wait, is this rumor bogus? Timeout.

UPDATE

1-2 for Olo. 3 in 3rd left. Maxiell gets blocked by Olo. Wally hits triple. 69-63 Pistons. Acker has ball punched away. We get it sideline out. Acker, Delfino, Dupree, Darko, Maxiell. Delfino gets finger roll batted away. Maxiell rejects shot. Offensive foul on Dupree. Frahm for Sczerbiac. Carter, McCants, Frahm, Griffin, Olo. Acker misses. Darko fouls McCants (3rd) Minute left in 3rd. McCants makes 1-2. Rebound Dupree. Delfino misses but Maxiell gets offensive rebound. Maxiell at line. First one in. 70-64. Made both. 71-64. Maxiell jams with sweet fast break feed from Delfino. Carter hits triple. Acker lets fly from midcourt. 73-67 after 3, and I am getting tired. Or, that is my fingers are getting tired.

UPDATE

39% to 37% on shooting in favor of Pistons. 4th quarter starts. McCants is called for offensive foul. Frahm Madsen, McCants. Darko, Acker, Delfino, Dupree, Darko misses. Maxiell could not finish. Dupree misses. Acker almost steals but they score. Just 4 point lead. Darko draws foul looking for slam. Darko makes both. 75-69 Pistons. We miss. Maxiell taps it out. We miss. Frahm misses triple but Griffin taps it in.

75-71, 10 minutes left. Maxiell almost got rebound. Carter lays it in and is fouled. Evans and Arroyo in for Acker and Delfino. 3 in lane without guarding on McCants. Arroyo makes tech. We miss. Foul on Dupree. 9:14 to go. McCants at line. Misses first. Makes 2nd. 76-75 Pistons. Arroyo, Dupree, Darko, Evans, Maxiell. Evans misses. Arroyo gets bounds. Arroyo has 10 assists. Darko misses short off sweet pass from Arroyo. Maxiell gets foul and tech. 76-75. Timeout.

UPDATE

Not a good unit in right now. With both Dupree and Evans in, not enough ball handling to help Arroyo do the job. Arroyo has 9 points and 10 assists. Dale with 9 rebounds. Darko 8 rebounds. Delfino 6 rebounds. Pistons have 3 team fouls to 1 on Wolves. Darko gets 4th foul. Teams 4th. 8 to go in game. Carter forces and fills it. 78-76 Minny. Dupree misses from 19. Carter throws it away. Carter, McCants, Griffin,Madsen. Darko gets fouled before shot. Darko hits from 20. 78-78. McCants scores. Dupree gets feed from Arroyo and is fouled trying to jam. Dupree makes. And makes. 80-80.

6:30 left. McCants walked. Evans hits off glass. 24 points for him. Pistons up 2, 5:50. McCants hits triple. 83-82 Minny. Arroyo gets to rim, blocks Arroyo and falls on him.

Arroyo makes both. 11 feeds and 11 points for Arroyo. Carter hits. Carlos out of bounds using screen from Maxiell. Pistons one point down with 4:30 to go. McCants hits runner down the lane. 20 second timeout by us.

Pistons held out Ben, Dyess, and CB. They held out KG and, and well I am tired. Their guard. Troy Hudson.

87-84 Minny. Jaric about to come in for Minny. Arroyo gets shot blocked. McCants ran over Ron Dupree. Pistons ball. Arroyo, Dupree, Darko, Maxiell,Evans. Delfino about to check in. Evans misses. Griffin hits. 89-84 Minny. Maxiell turns guns misses. Evans digs it up. Feeds Arroyo who hits. Down 3, 3:05 to go. They miss. Madsen gets bound. They miss triple. Rebound Darko. Thats nine. Darko nails a jumper on Arroyo assist. One point game. 10 and 9 for Darko. Darko fouls. Timeout. Two minutes to go. Fifth foul on Darko.

Final Update (man am I tired)

McCants misses the first. And the next. Maxiell rebounds. Los Dos out there. And Maxiell and Darko and Evans. Arroyo hits. They miss. Evans rebounds. Arroyo hits again. We are up three. 17 and 12 assists for Arroyo now. Delfino fouls. Wally makes 2-2. 1 minute left. Arroyo gets ball batted away. We get it side out. No look to Evans from Arroyo, but they knock it away. Still our ball. 39 seconds left. We have ball. And a one point lead. They have some starters in. Wally World and Jaric. Arroyo gets shot blocked. Its their ball.

21 seconds left. Pistons lead 92-91. Griffin triples. Wolves up 2. 15 seconds left. Arroyo, Delfino, Maxiell, Darko, Evans. Maxiell powers it up no. He is fouled at midcourt. Arroyo's foul. 6 seconds remain. Maxiell's shot was partially blocked in the crowd. Down 4.

Game over. 3 missed at end.

How did our bench do?

Did they win the battle at the end?

Props to Lee & Micro for the updates!

Thanks, Fingers ... er, Microwave. Way to take one for the team.

Put some ice on 'em and take tomorrow off. Next game's for real.

Arroyo- great scoring and assists combo
Darko- pretty solid too with 10 and 9? At least 1 block it sounded like.
Evans- unless these last few games were a fluke, we stole this guy!
Davis- we got what we hoped we would get, toughness and rebounds

The best of all worlds will be if the Pistons can play everyone this year and still find a way to win 60 games. I see less playing time for the starters as a way to keep them from getting bored and losing to bad teams.