Pistons Regular Season Game 1
November 2nd, 2005, 8:00 PM EDT

http://www.pistonsforum.com/img/resources/team/PHI_817.gifhttp://www.pistonsforum.com/img/resources/team/at.gifhttp://www.pistonsforum.com/img/resources/team/DET_3079.gif


Philadelphia 76ers
http://www.pistonsforum.com/img/resources/sixers/allen_iverson.jpghttp://www.pistonsforum.com/img/resources/sixers/andre_iguodala.jpghttp://www.pistonsforum.com/img/resources/sixers/kyle_korver.jpghttp://www.pistonsforum.com/img/resources/sixers/chris_webber.jpghttp://www.pistonsforum.com/img/resources/sixers/samuel_dalembert.jpghttp://www.pistonsforum.com/img/resources/sixers/maurice_cheeks.jpg

Starting Lineup
PG - Allen Iverson
SG - Andre Iguodala
SF - Kyle Korver
PF - Chris Webber
C - Samuel Dalembert
Coach - Maurice "Mo" Cheeks

[Merc] Here's the injury report from Philly:

Allen Iverson (http://fantasybasketball.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.asp?sport=NBA&id=3094) G Out Oct 27 knee Day-to-day
Samuel Dalembert (http://fantasybasketball.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.asp?sport=NBA&id=3534) C Out Oct 27 quadriceps Day-to-dayhttp://fantasybasketball.rotoworld.com/images/clear.gif
Michael Bradley (http://fantasybasketball.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.asp?sport=NBA&id=3529) F Out Oct 14 knee surgery Return mid November
Shavlik Randolph (http://fantasybasketball.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.asp?sport=NBA&id=3992) F Out Oct 11 foot Return early Novemberhttp://fantasybasketball.rotoworld.com/images/clear.gif
Jamal Mashburn (http://fantasybasketball.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.asp?sport=NBA&id=1275) F Out Sep 29 knee Out Indefinitelyhttp://fantasybasketball.rotoworld.com/images/clear.gif
Willie Green (http://fantasybasketball.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.asp?sport=NBA&id=3744) G I.L. Aug 16 knee surgery Out Indefinitelyhttp://fantasybasketball.rotoworld.com/images/clear.gifhttp://fantasybasketball.rotoworld.com/images/clear.gif

Looks like we will start the season off on the right foot...:thumb:

I have to admit...I am excited to see how this team (Philly) plays with Maurice Cheeks. I don't think Maurice ever got the respect he deserved over there in Portland. That scene from a while back where he helped the little girl sing the National anthemn when she forgot the words showed tremendous class.

This should be a good test as Philly plays pretty agressive defense. I would love to see Detroit match and surpass their intensity opening night, especially since defensive intensity under Saunders is one of the many questions to be answered this year.

The 76ers will definately make the playoffs this year. If Webber can stay healthy, I see them taking their division. The Pistons know how difficult it can be to play this team. Korver pretty much fell under pressure during the playoffs, so he may have a chip on his shoulders coming out. Both teams have a lot of repsect for each other and both have a statement to make being the first games of the season. I would love to see a Darko/Dalembert matchup as well as the Flip/Mo Cheeks match up. Should be very interesting.

Philly has a tough start thay have to vs Detroit, Indy, and Dallas in 3 of there first 5 games.

Should be a good game. Will be interesting to see if it is a close game or a lop sided victory.

pistons 99, sixers 91....chauncey 6 points (will be too tired chasing round Allen)....leading scorer will be Mc Dyess off bench with 18, Prince and Rip with 16...Iverson leads with 28 ponts.:yo:

It is nice to stat off the season with games against Sixers, BOS and Toronto. BOS and TOR are 2 of the worst teams in the league. But its a hectic start with 6 games in 9 days including a 3-game West coast trip.

I swear the NBA wants this team to lose they have 20 SETS of back to back games! That is the most in the NBA, but this is the toughest team so they'll manage.

Detroit has to very careful in this first game vs. Philly. We have a tendency to get very overconfident at times in our home openers and end up losing at times. I anticipate that we will come out very aggresive especially at the defensive end. Though I do worry that our offense will struggle in the early part of the season as we will get adjusted to Flip's new offense. No need to fret though as the same thing happened with LB and looked what happened.

I'm very sure the everyone in that lockeroom learned they had to take every game seriously after Game 7. I mean we only had 5 less wins than the Spurs, and we lost to teams like Charlotte twice,Bucks twice, Orlando twice, and we got blown out at home by the Hawks. Now if we take EVERY game seriously we should get the best record in the league.

My daughter just returned from a business trip to Poland and found four tickets to the game in the mail. She had sent in her entry into that lottery before she left, and there they were when she got back.

That is some good luck!! :laugh:

My daughter just returned from a business trip to Poland and found four tickets to the game in the mail. She had sent in her entry into that lottery before she left, and there they were when she got back.

That is some good luck!! :laugh:

Am I that far out of the loop? Lottery? Is that just for the first game or have the Pistons sold out for the entire season and only set a few hundred seats aside to be sold by lottery to the general public? That just seems highly improbable to me, but I thought I'd ask. :confused:

But I think it is. It was just for the first game, I believe. I saw it and entered but did not win. They had people send in their credit card numbers with the entry and you could tell them the number of tickets you wanted, up to four.

I did hear tonight, though that the NBA had release several hundred tickets so that they could be sold by the Pistons. I didn't hear whether if was for the season or each night, but I guess they do not want to come and watch the Pistons win it all, again.

Hope this helped.

Am I that far out of the loop? Lottery? Is that just for the first game or have the Pistons sold out for the entire season and only set a few hundred seats aside to be sold by lottery to the general public? That just seems highly improbable to me, but I thought I'd ask. :confused:

with 41 home games and a ton of people getting the 20-game packages, that leaves one game extra...i believe they raffled off whether those season ticket holders got the first game or not...somethin like that

but as I told you earlier, my daughter got four tickets for the Phillie game Wednesday, the season opener. Well, she and I are going and she did not know anyone else that wants to go, so if anyone wants to buy the tickets (or one of them), let me know. They cost her $50. each. We wish she could just give them away but she can't do that. I think she might discount them, though, if someone wants both of them.

I am leaving Saturday AM, driving down to her place in Livonia. If anyone wants the tickets let me know through the Detroit News forum, or here, and I will meet someone in the Detroit area to exchange the money for the tickets Sun, Mon, Tues or Wed.

Sorry we can't give them to someone. They are in Section 223, Row 4.

I hope I didn't break a rule but I did not know how to let everyone know.

Alright.. finally some real ball!!

I think we're catching Philly at the right time... A.I. and Dalembert have missed most of the preseason... they're just now coming into shape... Cweb has also been slowed some.

We should be able to take advantage of this team in the 4th QTR when they run out of gas.. they're weak at backup PG and backup center.

I'm predicting a blowout.

...when the 2-time eastern champs run wild on uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!Sicksers are very overated...I'm changing my score as flip unleashes the beast..pistons 111-89!:yo: my bruddas!

what will be most interesting to me. is what rotation flip uses. will the bench still continue to log heavy minutes. will he continue to bring them in as a full 5 man unit.

With Dalembert missing the first couple weeks... we should be able to do some damage inside.
Darko should dominate... after Steven Hunter (starter?) they don't have anyone over 6'10"

Hunter played really well in the preseason. I think he could be a weapon for the Sixers. Don't sleep on him...

I swear the NBA wants this team to lose they have 20 SETS of back to back games! That is the most in the NBA, but this is the toughest team so they'll manage.

More opportunity for the bench to get its act together as a unit for the playoffs.

I liked Hunter when he was in Orlando.. just didn't get the PT... even more in Phoenix... but it looks like he'll be forced into a starting role to start the season... their backup 5 is weak at best.... Hunter will also get in foul trouble by being over agressive.

No more pre-season. Using the bench has to be implemented in the context of a W. That is going to be Flip's task. No Hunter to help on Iverson. Interesting to see how we defend him.

No more pre-season. Using the bench has to be implemented in the context of a W. That is going to be Flip's task. No Hunter to help on Iverson. Interesting to see how we defend him.

Lindsay Hunter's defense has to be the most OVER-RATED aspect of any player I've ever seen. He does a good job on D but he isn't ALL-WORLD or ALL-NBA. I think the fact that L. Hunter can't do ANYTHING other than play defense makes some people think that he superior to almost any other defensive guard in the league.

Arroyo gets ragged on non-stop for his defense, but few people give him credit for being a great passer, a decent shooter, a pretty good penetrating PG and his greatest talent is his ability to "force up-tempo" basketball. When Arroyo is in, the Pistons score and force tempo. When Hunter is in, they SPUTTER. I would have preferred cutting Hunter and keeping BOTH ACKER and DUPREE. However, since Joe landed a 2nd rounder for our "last cut" I think he did pretty well.

GO PISTONS !!!!

Lindsay Hunter's defense has to be the most OVER-RATED aspect of any player I've ever seen. He does a good job on D but he isn't ALL-WORLD or ALL-NBA. I think the fact that L. Hunter can't do ANYTHING other than play defense makes some people think that he superior to almost any other defensive guard in the league.
If you can't see what Lindsey brings to the defense, you need a better TV. When AI says that no one defends him better than Hunter, I'll take his ovservation over yours. AI is a former MVP and perennial contender for the scoring title.

Lindsay Hunter's defense has to be the most OVER-RATED aspect of any player I've ever seen.

Booooooooooooooooo!!!!

(MotownPride throws tomatoes at Jackattaq)

Lindsay Hunter's defense has to be the most OVER-RATED aspect of any player I've ever seen.

No, that title goes to Iverson's "will to win" ... which includes the willingness to do everything but allow another star to shine on his team.

In the NBA, no defensive player can really lock down everybody. But Lindsey is absolutely relentless in pressuring ballhandlers, and he'll do that every night. It's an ideal complement to Chauncey's strength and Tay's length, and it's unique on the roster we have right now.

I would acknowledge that our offense tends to sputter when LH is in. He actually has a number of weaknesses as a player-he is only an average ballhandler and playmaker and, at this point in his career, a well below-average shooter. He is also something of a 'tweener with no real defined position.

However, his defense is top-notch. His D on Wade last year in the playoffs was phenomenal-he absolutely gave him fits. And yes, as Micro noted above, Iverson has called him the toughest on-the-ball defender he's had to deal with.

I think he was over-used last year, but as a situational substitution he's a huge asset to the team.

So some folk can't see what Lind does on defense.....sad....just sad. As LanierFan said in this league NO STAR can be totally shut down, although Rip did his best to prove that theory wrong in the finals by allowing Bruce Bowen to get into his head:doh: But lindsey is one of the best on the ball defenders in this game, if not the best. find me another PG that moves their feet that well on D and stays in front of their man, and often can turn their man as a result, PUUHHLEEASSE.

Anyway, I feel like I am 6 yrs old and it's X-Mas eve. I just can't contain my excitement. Jus like a little kid I wanna go home from work right now and go to bed so tomarrow can hurry up and get here.

Perdiction for Tonight.

The Pistons will win 93 to 81. Philly will be without Dalembert and he is Key for them in shot blocking. Detroit will come out like game 1 of last year playoffs little slow, and Philly will have some energy and once the game settle in Detroit will show that there a better team.:eyebrows:

Perdiction for Tonight.

We don't suit up until tomorrow.

Perdiction for Tonight.

The Pistons will win 93 to 81. Philly will be without Dalembert and he is Key for them in shot blocking. Detroit will come out like game 1 of last year playoffs little slow, and Philly will have some energy and once the game settle in Detroit will show that there a better team.:eyebrows:
Yeah, I was thinking almost exactly the same thing for tomorrow. Philly is kinda banged up. Plus it's in Detroit. Detroit will be pumped, I think.

Detroit 96

Philly 85

We don't suit up until tomorrow.

lmao!

I'm predicting the Pistons will shut out their opponent tonight...unfortunately they will go on a scoring drought that will leave them scorless the entire game as well.

lmao!

I'm predicting the Pistons will shut out their opponent tonight...unfortunately they will go on a scoring drought that will leave them scorless the entire game as well.

That, my friend, is a solid prediction!

I'm still a little iffy myself. You know, new coach and all, and with it being the first game. :laugh: :P

lmao!

unfortunately they will go on a scoring drought that will leave them scorless the entire game as well.

Did I miss something? Is Larry back? :laugh:

Pistons 105 Sixers 89

More scoring this year so why not start with a 100 point game? Star of the game? Carlos Arroyo with a near triple double....14 points, 10 assists and 9 turnovers.

Carlos Arroyo with a near triple double....14 points, 10 assists and 9 turnovers.

Ouch, good thing LB isn't here anymore. 9 TO will get you the seat of honour in LB's dog house.

Pistons 105 Sixers 89

More scoring this year so why not start with a 100 point game? Star of the game? Carlos Arroyo with a near triple double....14 points, 10 assists and 9 turnovers.
:laugh: might be at this game too. i predict we start off the season with a commanding victory. no dalembert so they have nobody down low (good way for rasheed to start), and if tayshaun plays korver he absolutely annihilates him.

I don't predict a blowout, but a good win ecause philly has already played a game in the season. We still have a good sized win though i think.

lmao!

I'm predicting the Pistons will shut out their opponent tonight...unfortunately they will go on a scoring drought that will leave them scorless the entire game as well.

Hey, The Pound is gone!:eyebrows:

Did my own game preview. Thought I might post it here

Philadelphia Sixers (0-1) @ Detroit Pistons (0-0)


When Wednesday 2nd November
Time: 8.00 ET
Location: Detroit, Michigan
TV: WB20 Detroit, ESPN

Probable Starting Lineups:

http://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3094.jpghttp://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3826.jpghttp://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3754.jpghttp://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/1272.jpghttp://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3525.jpg

PG- Allen Iverson
SG-Andre Iguodala
SF- Kyle Korver
PF- Chris Webber
C-Steven Hunter

http://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/coaches/30023.jpg

Head Coach- Maurice Cheeks


http://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3174.jpghttp://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3330.jpghttp://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3621.jpghttp://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3006.jpghttp://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3149.jpg

PG- Chauncey Billups
SG- Rip Hamilton
SF- Tayshaun Prince
PF- Rasheed Wallace
C- Ben Wallace

http://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/coaches/30016.jpg


Head Coach- Flip Saunders


Starting 5 match-ups

http://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3094.jpg Vs http://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3174.jpg

This match-up promises to be a good one. As It always is when these two quailty guards match-up. Allen Iverson is coming off a 35 point night in the Sixers season opening loss to the Bucks. Chauncey Billups leads the Pistons this time under new coach Flip Saunders and you can expect a far more loose Billups. He will get the chance to play his natural offensive game this year, maybe more than in the past few years under Larry Brown. It is always a good battle when these two meet, expect the same again.


http://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3826.jpg Vs http://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3330.jpg

Andre Iguodala goes up against one of the best mid-range shooters in the game in Rip Hamilton. The one known as "Iggy" is a very talented and very well rounded player who can not only score, rebound, pass but also play pretty good defence. He is certainly one of the future stars in this league. Although he did struggle a little in the Sixers season opener. The sky's the limit for Iggy. He will however have problems chasing Rip round those screens If Mo Cheeks does infact put Iggy on Rip. Who is a tough guard for the best of defenders. Rip is coming into this year again depended on having a big season. He keeps on improving every year with his rebounding and assists numbers always improving.


http://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3754.jpg Vs http://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3621.jpg

Kyle Korver had alot of problems when he had to face Tayshaun Prince in the playoffs last year. He could barely buy a bucket and was held to career low shooting %. Prince is one of those guys who is a really tough player to score on when you strickly depend on shooting jumpers. Tay who recently signed a contract extension worth 47 million will be looking to impress and show the world why he deserves the deal he got.


http://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/1272.jpg Vs http://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3006.jpg

Chris Webber seems to be getting back to the form he had a couple of years ago and showed plenty of promise in the Sixers season opener last night. Webber finished with 32 points, 14 rebounds and 4 assists. He showed alot more lift in those legs than we have seen for a number of years. He seems to be a new man. Like wise does Rasheed Wallace who lost 20 pounds in the off-season and seems committed to being the man. He has alot of motivation after his mistake of leaving Robert Horry open may of cost the Pistons the repeat. He has worked as hard as ever to get back into the right shape and the right frame of mind. He has been demanding the ball alot more in pre-season. If Sheed is indeed motivated and wants to be an all-star again like he said. Then league watch out


http://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3525.jpg Vs http://espn-att.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3149.jpg

Steven Hunter gets the start to go against Ben Wallace due to an injury to Sammy Dalembert. Who will be out for up to two weeks. Hunter had a decent start in his Sixers debut last night with 11 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocks. However going up against the reigning defensive player of the year will be a totally different challenge. Big Ben looks focused to add another DPOY to his tally and to try and get his rebounding title back also.


Key's To The Game


Sixers
Get Iverson going early and attack the Pistons defense. Iverson gives everyone problems even the best defensive team around. Get to the line and get the Pistons starters in foul trouble.
Kyle Korver must bring something to the table. He got completely destroyed in the playoffs. He must play strong and somehow try and get free for some open shots.
How Chris Webber does on a back to back will be key, how will he hold on? It will be a true test for him. So taking It to the Wallace brothers is a must. Try and force them to do something to stop him for scoring.Pistons
Get off to a fast start and pressure the Sixers as much as possible. They are on a back to back they are bound to have some tired legs
Use the crowd to get things started. The Pistons fans are known for getting their players to going by the noise they make. Mason also helps
Get good bench play. With Larry gone the Pistons are expected to have a far deeper bench this year. New addition Maurice Evans is going to be a key guy to bring energy and offense off that bench with along Antonio Mcdyess. Pistons may well go 12 deep this year unlike last year when LB only played 7 guys.Final View

With this being the Pistons home opener and the Sixers being on a back to back anything less than a double fiqure Piston win would surprise me. The Pistons know after the finals where homecourt proved to be so important that taking kind of regular season games that should be wins is key. With Flip Saunders as coach a guy who has proven to be a guy who gets his team to play hard in the regular season, the Pistons should do exactly that. There is only so many times where you can depend to win on the road in a playoff series. Having homecourt takes away alot of pressure. If the Pistons hadn't of slacked off so much last year they may of had homecourt in the finals. Which could of got them the title once again. How the Pistons rare early on could be very important then again It depends how long It will take Flip Saunders system to suit the rest of the players. If I had to guess I would say It shouldn't take long.

Well done. That's a helluva first post, my friend.

Excellent analysis. Feel free to post your future previews.

:rockon:

The Pistons will win, and Darko will suprise more people!!!

I hope the defense doesn't suffer in the LONG RUN. Flip will have to be a master of substitution.

rip will be the odd man out in the new offence huh??

no way, rip always knows how to get his points...

looked good early and VERY stagnant late. Tay not getting any help there at the end and Philly forcing the turnover was inexcusable. Tay's three attempt at 48-36 would've put LB in a tizzy. Did Darko only play D out there? I didn't see him on O at all. Did he head to the bench when the Pistons had the ball? Thought Arroyo looked better on defense.

Looking good. I think our field goal percentage is going to be much higher this year. I think our guys will be more focused when we shoot cause they won't be wondering if they are going to get yelled at in the back of their mind. Darko needs to grab that rebound. One time his hands were on the ball and it was taken away. Still, I think he will greatly improve this year. The thing I am most excited about is Flip is going to play alot of guys instead of just seven guys. Our starters are really going to reap the benefits of that physically this year. We should really be fresh this year. I think we are going to see alot of enthusiastic Piston players in the post game interviews. No doubt Larry is a great coach but I think we will really see that Flip is going to be a very positive influence on our team without the daily soap opera. I see us winning over 60 games this year. Dumars not only has great starters, he's got alot of talented youth on that bench. It's great to be a Piston fan!

Looking pretty good so far. Good to see the bench up and moving and a Darko sighting before the 4th with 2 and 20 left.

Haven't been around in a while. The place(forum) looks great.

This team looks very tough, the bench kept up their strong play from the preseason, and the starters did their thing. All in all a solid game, only downfall was the crappy ESPN studio show and the malfunctioning shot clock.

Did I miss it, or did the Pistons go through an entire game without a scoring drought?

Clearly, the shadow of LB is no longer looming large over Arroyo, Delfino and Darko. Those guys all looked at ease. Arroyo and C-Note had 18 assists between them. Arroyo played the perfect game in my mind. Dyess didn't have much touch out there but rebounded very well. 20 of 23 from the FT line. Two of the misses came from Ben. The guy simply doesn't bend his knees. I can't understand why the coaching staff doesn't fix this. It is so freakin' obvious. Delfino still doesn't play D. Maybe he'll learn. Nice reverse dunk, but he used his off arm to get around Nailon, which the zebra didn't catch. Arroyo, Arroyo, Arroyo. Man, he looked good. Maxiell with a nice dunk in stride on the break. Decent game although the Sixers plain stink. With no Dalembert, they're even more pathetic. Oh yea, Rip played pretty well.

I know this is off topic, but Smush Parker just opened up the La-Den game with a 3. Smush Parker, starting for La. Did I miss the memo.

Offense was solid in the sense that there was a lot of movement, but the downfall is that there were a lot of jumpshots, and today they were falling. This isnt always the case. I know we are not a post team, but it would have been nice to get some inside game going. I know we won the pts in the paint matchup, but most of that was on uncontested layups through fastbreak opportunities. Also, there was still the 3rd qtr drought that I have become accostumed too.

I know this is off topic, but Smush Parker just opened up the La-Den game with a 3. Smush Parker, starting for La. Did I miss the memo.

I think that pretty much indicates the level of success the lakers are gonna have this season!

1st half observations:

The biggest difference is a very obvious one. When we get down there quick, we just shoot it if they are lazy on us and don't get back with us. Thats a lot of easy points we are going to get, and we are going to keep the other team honest watching for our fast breaks.

Dyess, Evans, Arroyo, and Darko came off the bench. Dyess hit one shot that came back out and went back in. His shot is basically looking terrible, and it really did all preseason. I don't know what injuries he may have, but he ain't looin none too good. But he can still find rebounds.

Evans hit a triple. Otherwise, not much. He did get an assist on a fast break, but the pass did not take much, and he nearly fumbled the ball on even that. But he hit that triple. Can't complain any about his defense either. Still, I can see Delfino doing better with his ball handling skills. And he might have hit a triple himself.

Arroyo, surprisingy to many I know, did not get continuously burned by AI. Nope, Arroyo did just fine guarding the guy. Prince did a little defending AI. I don't remember Rip doing much in this respect. Rip went off for 20. His offensive rebound has been impressive. Darko is doing fine bothering shots, but he spends a bit too much effort on that and too little readying for the rebound. Tay is a complete overmatch as usual.

Game report:


</B></B></B>First of all, Rip was the player of the game. Good D. Rebounds. And what, about 33 points or so. On fire. 6 straight makes, or was it 7, in the 3rd quarter, after getting 20 in the first half.

Where to go next? How about Arroyo. The Pistons hit their last 18 of 20 shots, chiefly with Arroyo running the point. Can't get more efficient than that. Arroyo hit his jumper. He darted inside for a score off glass. Then he sliced and diced Philly. He basically had their defense jacked.

Dyess hit a couple of shots, while continuing to clean those boards quite nicely.

Sheed did not play a ton due to foul trouble, but while in, he made Webber look none too good.

Tay, what can you say. He did not star in this game, but he certainly could have. Did not need him to play much. But man is he ever a mismatch. And with Flip's style of offense, Prince gets to run down with all his quickness, line up that shot and hit it before his generally slower or shorter defender catches up to do anything about the shot. I predict Tay is going to continue to get better at hitting those.

Back to Rip. Lots of range tonight. Lots of midrangers made off plays. Lots of going inside and scoring. Scored on fast breaks too. He did it all.

Delfino did not get to play much. Just some garbage minutes at the end. On offense, he impressed quite well. He hit one outside shot, and really wowed the fans with a drive from the right along the baseline ending with a reverse dunk.

Speaking of dunks, Tay gets the award for the highest one, but that Delfino wins on overall points.

Darko got a block in garbage time, and he hit an outside shot. Maxiell got into the swing of things, getting a dunk on a fast break pass by Arroyo. That looked pretty impressive too by the way.

CB got quite a few assists in this one. Maybe 9? Hit some shots. Played pretty darn solid D on AI.

108 points. Good sign. That offense has had exactly one regular season game to get perfected. So far. 81 more games to go before the playoffs to work out the kinks. Not that there were many.

Ben did a bit of scoring. Hit both free throws once. Hope to see more of that. His dunk against Hunter was pretty sweet. Powerful, and they could have gave him the and one.

Did anyone see how disgusted Billups was when we turned the ball over early in the game and gave them a bucket? Just Philly's 2nd bucket of the game. And we had 10 points already. CB does not believe the other team should get to score, and I love that attitude.

Evans made a good pass on a fast break. Like that. Got some rebounds. Hit a pair of triples. Played solid enough defense, although he is overmatched in height by Iggy. Delfino certainly did not do any better. Anyway, we used an 8 man rotation, 8 guys who certainly all helped toward the win. Plus Darko got about 4 real minutes in the first half.

Sub of the game I will give to Arroyo. It would have been a tie for Dyess maybe with all those rebounds if he had not shot so poorly in the 1st half.

I never heard who was dressed or not. We played 11 guys. I bet the other guy dressed was Acker in case he may have been needed to help guard AI. Well, thats all I can think of for now. I will probably review the game again tomorro and do another report on it. Anyone got any questions about the game, post them and I will look for the answer when I watch the 2nd time.

This was the sweetest game I've seen from a detroit team since the Redwings beat Colorado in the Kris Draper revenge game years back....The O looked so strong, loose and confident. Here are my three stars:
1. RIP - YESSIR!! People was talkin big mess about Rip in the exhibition. pleeeze-fake games? He looked like someone took the stones off his feet.
2. CHAUNCEY- was in complete control of this game. Reminded me of walt Frazier. He could do what he wanted to do.
3. SHEED - why? cuz he showed the rest of the league that he dont need to be the Sheed of old to be effective and his !st qtr block that started the billups to Tay dunk put the game away right there.
We also have a special bench. I would love to see each of them in a 10-15 minute stretch if we could pull off a 3rd qtr blowout this month.
Darko and Del are stars waiting to happen....Evans is gonna be the shisnit...Los and Dice will be nice...and Baby Bull Max is raw meat!!
OOOOO-weeeeee, my bruddas!

That game had zero drama. It was over after 5 minutes. Philly never once made a run that forced a Det timeout. But I loved it!

The Pistons look perfectly relaxed in their roles. I think that it is a little easier making a jump shot when you don't feel like you're going to be lectured after a miss. Shooters need a bit of freedom.

Plays of the game: 1) 2 defensive blocks leading to a high flying fast break alley-oop to Prince, 2) Ben's post move Amare-like DUNK, 3) Delfino's drive and wrap around dunk, 4) tie between Arroyo's crazy bank shots and Rip's relentless mid-ranger.

We took care of business, but I saw too many ill advised shots, hopefully that trend won't continue. CB reverted a bit, but then righted himself quite nicely.

The real story was the bench. Delfino really looks good, and Arroyo can be very dangerous as well. If they don't watch out, they'll have rings that they really contribute to get. Evans looked good, and JMax came in and made himself at home.

Darko did very good, on the defensive end, but it was just good to see him in a real game and not look totally lost. I think most of his blocks are almost by accident, i.e. just instinct. This kid is going to be a monster once he puts it all together in a couple of years. But by the end of this year, he will be an important part of this team.

So, it was a nice home opener, but that effort won't beat the good teams. We will have to play better defense, and execute better. But then again, it was just the first game of the season, and we were playing the Sixers without their interior defense. That single fault let Prince, Ben & Sheed(when he was on the floor) just dominate.

This isn't a game to base anything on yet.

I know Philly was "tired" (how come the best conditioned athletes in the world can be tired just after games in two consecutives nights?:confused: ), but our team smoked them from the start. Our starting 5 were way superior and our second unit pretty much hold it's own. Cb was in control from the first second and Rip was scoring at will. Sheed was incredible. What a block he made on Hunter!!! Ben was scrapping the ceiling of the palace. what a way to jump. We have to resign this guy. He's a beast. Tay did good on the first Q, but then kind of dissapeared. CA did good (as good as anybody else can) defensively on AI, with his best move being the elbow to AI's mouth that took him out of the game for a while, giving AI his first stitches of the season. Way to go, Arroyo!!!! Not a whole lot offensively from him in the first half. Carlos came back on the second half and he looked like a man possesed. :P Made a lot of assts and good passes and made his shots, even fooling Philly's big guys on the post. Dice was solid rebounding, but not a whole lot of offense from him tonite.

Darko did pretty good defensively ( blocks and one steal) and even had a nice J from outside. I want to see him in the post. Maxiel is a beast. What a monster dunk this guy made!!! Evans looked good on both sides and he made his 3's. Delfino made that reverse dunk that made me rise from the couch.

We beat a team that was tired and has only 1.5 superstars and a buunch of potential scrubs. The last minute lost to the Bucs the night before took the air out of them.:yield:

Otherwise good effort by both the starters and the bench and as someone said there were no droughts. If we can play our 2004 Championship defense and minimize the scoring lapses then 60 wins is a possibility and return to the finals is given.:eyebrows:

I was skeptical about the 60 because of the transition of the new coach as well the improved number of teams in the east. The target will still be on their backs, but not as much as it was the prior seseason when they were defending the title.

I guess I better order my Piston-Clipper tickets now before the rest of my fellow transplanted Detroiters here in Socal buy up all of the tickets. That is one game where the visiting Pistons unusally get more cheers than the hometown Clips, who will better this year. :lalala:

Sorry, I'm not going to bother starting a new thread for this but...

Smush Parker just had 20 in regulation! Even our castoffs are golden.

Sorry, I'm not going to bother starting a new thread for this but...

Smush Parker just had 20 in regulation! Even our castoffs are golden.

Not only that, but he was 8/12 shooting and hit three 3's and six assists. The last three was key to getting the Lakers into the OT. If he keeps this up I may have to add to one of my fantasy teams.

attended the game, was awesome!! not much to add, everyone looked great, we took care of business, and it was an easy win.

Not only that, but he was 8/12 shooting and hit three 3's and six assists. The last three was key to getting the Lakers into the OT. If he keeps this up I may have to add to one of my fantasy teams.

speaking of cast-offs, how bout jon barry scoring 24 in rockets win.

So, this was the first game I was able to watch this season and I could not have been more happier. I agree with most of the observations. I will just add a few more.

transition game was probably the most effective I've seen since we had Stack and Hill on the wings
everytime the bench entered the game there appeared to be a slight drop off, but it was quickly rectified after a couple of possesions. I believe the transition will be smoother as the season progresses
ball movement seemed more effective/efficient versus passing for the sake of running through the play like we often did last year
don't recall seeing much zone
for the past couple of years, the Pistons have had issues bringing intensity to the first couple of minutes in the first quarter. I did not see that tonight.
without Dalembert the Philly defense is very ineffective in the post
lots of pick n rolls
Ben seemed to be taking more high percentage shots within the flow of the game
Tayshaun was very effective in the post
I predict that Rip is going to have an allstar year as his game is a custom fit for this offense
The Pistons look as though they will easily average over a 100 points a game this season

first off i just have to talk about rip. He did very great not only having a 37 point performance, but also getting 6 boards, and 3 assists.
chauncey billups getting a double-double with 12 points, and 10 assists.
29 bench points. arroyo also had 8 assists.
Tay's aggressivness had 10 of his 16 in the first quarter.
I expect more post play next game because sheed [robably won't be in foul trouble as much.

Great win. Looks very encouraging for the 1st game under the new offense. There were some illadvised shots however the team made up for it by scoring on other shots and plays that would have been "Verboten" under LB last season.


Bottom line - 30 assists to 13 TO's. Nice fluid offense. I too have to emphasise caution before we annoite this system as better as it was only 1 game which saw Iverson playing 50 mins and Webber 48 in the previous night prior to this game.

Great start though.

was anyone else thinking, "man, the Pistons are going to be fun to watch this season"?

i know winning is fun, but the offense was fluid and the running game was nice. it's going to be a fun season, guys.

Great win. Looks very encouraging for the 1st game under the new offense. There were some illadvised shots however the team made up for it by scoring on other shots and plays that would have been "Verboten" under LB last season.


Bottom line - 30 assists to 13 TO's. Nice fluid offense. I too have to emphasise caution before we annoite this system as better as it was only 1 game which saw Iverson playing 50 mins and Webber 48 in the previous night prior to this game.

Great start though.

Right. It's kind of difficult to know where they are right now because Philly was tired last night and you knew the Pistons were going to come out and play hard in their home opener.

Still, we can't hold that against them. They did what they had to do and did it well. Nice start fellas. Keep it up.

I loved last night's game in every respect. Granted that Philly was tired, and may not be the highest level of competition, but Detroit showed flashes of absolute brilliance, that you might not expect at this point in the season with a new coach. As the ESPN crew said, even though Detroit was only maintaining a 10-point cushion, it felt like they had complete control to turn it on and off, when needed.

The strongest point I'd like to make about the 2005 Pistons Incarnation is in reference to something I posted this summer on the FP forum. I think that for this team to really be successful, they need to play targeted D, like San Antonio does so well. San Antonio has proven unequivocally that they can match offenses with any team in the league (witness their success against the Suns last year). But when the game is close or on the line, they can play D with the best. I think that yesterday's game against Philly displayed this for us for the first time. While our O was great, it was our ability to completely shut Philly down on D in the first quarter that gave us the DD lead. Our O simply helped them maintain it. I'd like to see this strategy in every game. Come out and strangle teams with D in the 1Q, then turn up the O in 2Q and 3Q, with full reserve participation to keep the lead. Finally, turn on the D again in the 4Q if necessary.

This approach leaves the players better rested and having more fun. Playing nose-crunching D the whole game is ok for a year or two, but your going to wear guys out. And in terms of FA pick-ups, you'll find that Detroit is a much better destination, when players feel they can fill it up. Not many players want to participate in a D-only system.

Kudos to Skip and staff. Simply awesome start.

It was fun being there even if I was up in the clouds behind the basket. I saw the action just fine though; brought the binocs.

I can't add much because the game is so well covered and I agree with about all of the points so far. It was fun seeing DMC take the board and the outlook pass that resulted in JMax's super dunk.

Another neat thing was that I knew Darko's basket was coming. When he threw the ball in under the bucket on my end, I saw Carlos Arroyo tell him something (apparently that he was getting the shot) because Darko went down and CA pulled everybody over to himself and dished off to DMC for shot. I was disappointed that DMC spent so much time on blocks that he did not get back up for a couple of ribbys and I for sure thought he had a couple of more blocks at the other end, but they apparently were just alterations. He seemed to block the shot but in both cases someone else got the ball and scored with it.

Anyway, good game although there was absolutely no suspense.

Rip is again the "energizer bunny". He just flat never stops.

After Big Ben flew by Hunter and dunked ferociously, Tolbert says, "He deserved two gongs for that one."

The game was fine etc etc, but there were still a few things of concern. First, I know people keep saying that there was no drought, but I am going to have to disagree with that. Around the 6 minute mark in the 3rd qtr where we had a chance to really put the 76ers away, the team went like 3-4 minutes without a bucket. Granted, the 76ers only pulled to withing 6, but to me that is the same type of thing that happeend all too much last year--when a team is on the ropes, we failed to capitalize. The game could have been a 25 pt lead going into the 4th, meaning JMax and the HVC's could have played many minutes. As for Darko, I think this was mentioned, but the kid is so gong ho at trying to block any shot that he gets elevated to much allowing o rebounds and dish off to the now open weak side big that HVC was suppose to cover. But, you have to appreciate the enthuism, he obviously was taught that D gets the minutes in the D.

I was very happy overall. The offense looked fluid--frankly, a lot more than I expected for the first game. Rip was unbelievable and the rest of the starters were solid. I thought both Chauncey and CA did a real nice job running the offense-18 assists to 2 TOs is something I'd take any night. Dyess still doesn't look 100% comfortable on offense, but he did a nice job on the boards. And Evans was solid.

There was a sequence in the third period when I thought we didn't execute well-a quick jumper by Rip and a hurried three by Chauncey, followed by Tay trying to do too much one-on-one, but other than that I thought I thought we played relatively disciplined ball. It was also fun to see the youngsters playing together those last few minutes.

I'm going to withhold judgement on the defense, because I was pretty unimpressed with the Sixers' O. I have so much admiration for the heart that Iverson plays with, but I can never tell if he's the problem or the solution. He does so much on his own that their offense always looks out of sorts and nobody else seems to know what they're supposed to do when they get the ball.

I would have liked to see a bit more of the bench when we got up by 15+ late in the third. I want to see if they're able to hold a lead, and I'd prefer to find out when we're up by a bunch than when we're only up by a few. I suspect Flip wanted to see the starters get some more reps in since his offense is new to them.

Hopefully we can grab these next couple eminently winnable games as well to get us some momentum as we get into the tough early-season part of the schedule.

The game was fine etc etc, but there were still a few things of concern. First, I know people keep saying that there was no drought, but I am going to have to disagree with that. Around the 6 minute mark in the 3rd qtr where we had a chance to really put the 76ers away, the team went like 3-4 minutes without a bucket. Granted, the 76ers only pulled to withing 6, but to me that is the same type of thing that happeend all too much last year--when a team is on the ropes, we failed to capitalize. The game could have been a 25 pt lead going into the 4th, meaning JMax and the HVC's could have played many minutes. As for Darko, I think this was mentioned, but the kid is so gong ho at trying to block any shot that he gets elevated to much allowing o rebounds and dish off to the now open weak side big that HVC was suppose to cover. But, you have to appreciate the enthuism, he obviously was taught that D gets the minutes in the D.

I say that only happened because during that time a oot of our players missed shots they usually make especially Dice, good thing it only happened then. Tommorow we're at boston, even though it's a road game i expect a blowout for the pistons.

Good point, there were a few missed Dyess 15 footers he usually nails. Yet here is a question. Dyess didn't look good in preseason and still doesn't. I know it isn't his knees since he is rebounding maybe better than ever, but is it just a funk or system? It seems that the new offesne really de-emphasizes the low block, iso fadeaway that LB loved Dyess and Sheed to do. I only bring this up because some of his misses were not close, but almost airballs. I know Darko is coming on, but I am not ready to annoit him first Big off the bench yet--too raw and eager.

On a side note, wasnt it refreshing to see garbage time not taken for granted. Arroyo seemed possessed the last 4 minutes and I think he helped orchestrate like 6 straight field goals. also, when JMax was in there he was just Fighting for position, and even though he never was fed in the post kept getting position--I like to see that aggressivenss. I think he truly knows that minutes are earned and feeld he must live up to his first round pick, not Darko style where his first rd pick means the team owes him the chance. Delfino looked alright. Still don't trust hsi desire to play on the team.

Dice is a vet who needed to avoid injury during the pre-season. Wait until he gets a good 10 games under his belt and see how his shot is then.

He found a way to contribute when he was having an off shooting night. Same with Chauncey. That's what you would expect from them.

Arroyo- The only difference I see is that he looks more confident shooting the ball, and the D is having to respect him a little bit. It is opening up the court for his passing.

Can you say second chance opportunites?

Jeesh!

That one possession in the second half was bananas. I almost felt for Philly on that one.

Observations:

Improvement from last year; when playing a team that is somewhat inferior, the Pistons usually went trhough severe scoring droughts. That didn't happen last night by scoring in bunches.

This is only the second game of the season, the sixers played the Bucks
last night, however, welcome to the NBA and the beginning of the season, they shouldn't have experienced that much exhausation.

I think Ron Harper will consistently challenge the starters, motivate them with the rings

In Flip's offense, Rip may end up being in the top 5 in scoring leaders this season.

Good point, there were a few missed Dyess 15 footers he usually nails. Yet here is a question. Dyess didn't look good in preseason and still doesn't. I know it isn't his knees since he is rebounding maybe better than ever, but is it just a funk or system? It seems that the new offesne really de-emphasizes the low block, iso fadeaway that LB loved Dyess and Sheed to do. I only bring this up because some of his misses were not close, but almost airballs. I know Darko is coming on, but I am not ready to annoit him first Big off the bench yet--too raw and eager.

On a side note, wasnt it refreshing to see garbage time not taken for granted. Arroyo seemed possessed the last 4 minutes and I think he helped orchestrate like 6 straight field goals. also, when JMax was in there he was just Fighting for position, and even though he never was fed in the post kept getting position--I like to see that aggressivenss. I think he truly knows that minutes are earned and feeld he must live up to his first round pick, not Darko style where his first rd pick means the team owes him the chance. Delfino looked alright. Still don't trust hsi desire to play on the team.

darko was offended by garbage time. he knew he was better than that and as we all know now he is better than that. just watch how dale davis plays if flip puts him in with 3 minutes to go. i think jmax feels minutes CAN be earned with flip. with lb minutes were not earned no matter what if you were a rookie and especially if you were foreign born. different coach may have something to do with the different approach to garbage time.

delfino has looked great in preseason and in the regular season in short minutes. what more does he have to do to prove he wants to be on the team. he's playing hard and unselfish and picked up defensively.

Can you say second chance opportunites?

Jeesh!

That one possession in the second half was bananas. I almost felt for Philly on that one.

I remember that, way to crash those boards. did you see where sheed blocked philly twice, and he slapped the ball to rip who threw am lob for tayshaun for a highlight reel dunk. good game, how did you see it i thought the game was only on local tv not national?

I remember that, way to crash those boards. did you see where sheed blocked philly twice, and he slapped the ball to rip who threw am lob for tayshaun for a highlight reel dunk. good game, how did you see it i thought the game was only on local tv not national?

The Philly game was broadcast on both WB20 and ESPN.

The Philly game was broadcast on both WB20 and ESPN.

yep. And your right himat, that was an awesome play! :)

First, Arroyo. The Pistons had just hit their last 4 shots when Arroyo entered the game with a minute and a half gone in the 4th quarter. The Pistons from there hit 14 of their next 16 shots, with many of them either being Arroyo assists, or Arroyo scores. (Nine I believe, 3 scores, 6 assists. Might have been 7 assists though.) His MO? Dribble the ball right to the basket, score if they don't stop him, which he did twice. If they do stop him, kick out to the open man who is always out there, or else they would not have stopped him from scoring. Quite effective.

Darko had two blocks. I wathced in frame by frame. Further, the first block was called a block by the announcer. Can't see how the official scorer missed that one really, although Darko did just barely get a piece of the ball. (Of course, you know there is some lattitude in this. Since in that case, the ball still got to the rim, it theorhetically still had a chance to go in, although in actuality the ball missed very badly after the "block"). I watched a bit closer on some of those rebound /block sequences, and I was more impressed with Darko on the 2nd look. My first impressions were wrong. He was really doing very little wrong. It was just the way the ball was bouncing. He was doing a very good job of altering shots. Nobody can dictate where the ball goes exactly on a miss. Now, the announcer called him once for missing a rebound, but not so. What happened is that Darko was fighting to get inside the defender, but the ball came out well long. Darko went way up for that one, reaching way back in an attempt to snag the ball. He almost got it despite being in an extremely awkward position by time he reached the ball.

Got to mention that Evans was in during the entire 18 for 20 shooting performance put on by the Pistons. He did only one thing skilled really, advancing the ball well on one fast break. But he was alert enough to avoid getting in trouble with the ball, getting out of his hands quickly. The other team was trying to collapse on him when he got the ball, recognizing his poor ball handling, but again, he got rid of the ball before traps could fully develop. Basically, everyone else around could handle the ball just fine and he let them.

Evans defense? Still not impressed. Yes he can jump. But he is short. Lots of times, a taller defender is needed more than one who can jump. This applies to interior defense the most. You are quite a disadvantage if the other guy is taller than you and has an automatic head start on you when they put a shot up.

Now, this is not to say Evans did all that bad on defense, or that guys his height can't be better defenders. From what I can see, Evans is mostly a raw physical player who is slowly learning how to play. For all intents and purposes, he was a rookie last year, and it show. He looks bad one sequence and seems to learn and do better the next.

Arroyo did not really do all that bad at all in the 2nd quarter. Despite Dyess and others missing shots, the Pistons did not lose ground in those five minutes Arroyo played there. Arroyo set up guys for shots several times, but the shots were simply missed.

In case anyone cares, the two shots missed in that 18 for 20 run were a floater by Arroyo and a wide open jumper by Dyess. Ben missed a pair of free throws in there, but even then, we got the offensive rebound off the 2nd miss. A couple of turns, none by Arroyo. One pretty impresive run for Arroyo there.

I caught what the announcer said this time. Sheed campaigned for Flip to come here and coach. Interesting.

Darko lost a few minutes of playing time due to waiting for a stoppage in the play. In one case, he was suppose to come in for Ben, but Ben was at the charity stripe so he had to wait even longer.

I forgot to add that offensive tap back Rip got to the list of ways he scored.

Sheed looked quite impressive when he was in the game as far as his scoring. Two of his fouls were helping out with AI. I suppose if it mattered, they could cut that out and end up playing Sheed a bit more.

That is about it for now. GO PISTONS!!!!!

This is only the second game of the season, the sixers played the Bucks last night, however, welcome to the NBA and the beginning of the season, they shouldn't have experienced that much exhausation.

Exactly. Beating Philadelphia is certainly no great feat, but let's not talk ourselves into believing that a team playing its second game of the season 90 minutes from home is somehow staggering into the building.

Dice is worrying me a little, but not much. We have extra options this year. I actually thought Darko should have taken some of his minutes last night, because Antonio often struggles trying to shoot over long athletic types like Hunter.

The garbage time aspect was brought up here a couple of times. It was good to see the guys hustle for PT. Included in this was Darko who was put back in there, and did not seem too unhappy to be there. He had a board that helped JMax get his bucket; DMC also had a block in GT; and he got his bucket then.

This was related to show that I feel DMC and his GT troubles last year were misinterpreted by some posters. He did not do much last year in GT because he knew that it would not earn him PT. His attitude about PT did not begin until "ykh" would not reward him with PT for his hard work, no matter what he did and when he did it.

I think you will see him play hard during all parts of the game this year, just as the rest of the bench will be. They can depend on hard work rewarding them with PT, this year.

What a change :peace:

The Pistons looked awesome last night against Iverson and those other guys.

Gotta give some props to the little guy though. The play where Iverson drove the lane, and Ben almost stole the ball (and almost took off AI's head), and he still makes the shot. Holy sh...

The problem was not the garbage time minutes. The problem was that Darko only got garbage time minutes. Just adding to your post a bit.

Good point, there were a few missed Dyess 15 footers he usually nails. Yet here is a question. Dyess didn't look good in preseason and still doesn't.

this isn't a big deal. his shots were on but they just came up a little short. he wasn't featured much in the preseason so it'll take a couple games to get back in his shooting groove.

also, he's been shooting from the sides of the free-throw line instead of the baseline, and he doesn't look as comfortable there, and that's a tricky spot because it can lead to odd bounces on rebounds.