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Pistons Game 26 of the 2005/6 NBA Regular Season
Tues. Dec 27th 2005, 7:30 PM Eastern
Palace of Auburn Hills (http://www.palacenet.com/), built 1998, league leading capacity 22,076
TV: WDWB/WB20 (http://www.wb20detroit.com/), RSNO (http://www.sportsnet.ca/)
Radio: WDFN 1130AM (http://www.wdfn.com/)

Detroit 2005 Record vs. Toronto: 3-1

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~~Your comments?~~

hopefully we don't come out flat for this one

Forget Toronto's overall record. Pretty darn bad indeed. Instead, look at their record for December. 5 and 6. And one of those losses was in OT to the Wizards. SA just beat them, but only by 5 points. I think they were the last team to beat NJ. And Toronto has knocked off Miami already.

Basically, don't take them too darn lightly.

As long as we don't come out flat, we should get another 'W' here. Our bigs just have to check on Bosh, we should be okay. Offensively, whether it's a fast pace game or a half court game, we should win hands down.

Hopefully, the bench will get more minutes in this game and get our starters healthy and ready for the Heat game.

I'll be there tonight so they better not let me down. That's the important thing. Not to let Gazoo down. :laugh:

Not to let Gazoo down. :laugh:
What's good for the gazoo is good for the gander.

Just a reminder....

Best Game Pre-Cap / Recap
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ROTFL Rick M. said on WDFN "Who cares about the Pacers.....They are getting what they deserve."

darko padded his stats by giving toronto another possesion just so he could get a block. he tried to get an assist to jmax but it didn't happen. good garbage time performance. i bet people will still say he didn't try hard enough maybe he could have jacked up a couple more shots. he did try my 1 -2 shot per minute theory.

i think flip should have played the bench much longer. they actually extended the lead in the first half. i am so happy to see mcdyess has his shot going now. evans also played a really good game.

23=3 sound good to me!!!My bruddahs
Dont get spoiled, troops!:eyebrows:

Who wants the Pistons to trade for Mike James now?

Maybe they will trade us Bosh for Darko... and 3 other bench players + a draft pick of course.

I enjoyed the game, good thing the garbage time wasn't any longer - they were really giving up the lead at the end there. Of course it looked like Toronto was playing all or most of their starters until the very end. What does Mitchell (or any coach) say to his team after a loss like that, where they just plain got their butts kicked??

I enjoyed the game, good thing the garbage time wasn't any longer - they were really giving up the lead at the end there.

I've got to say I was a little surprised, and somewhat disappointed that the reserves didn't get in earlier in the 4th. For most of what I saw of the game (missed only the first quarter) Dyess, Arroyo, and Evans were playing well. I couldn't see any harm, up around 15 points, in subbing more liberally from the far end of the bench with 6, even 8 minutes to go in the 4th. It was clear that the starters were able to do pretty much what they wanted. So that if subbing produced a drastic loss of the lead -- say toronto got it down to 6 or 8 -- you put the starters back in and that's that. But flip put Chauncey back in at one point (and i know he did drain a triple to put them up 17) when they were still up 14 -- like he was nervous or something.

I can't say I'm one of these purists that expects that guys are going to perform at the same level whether they get in midway through a quarter when there are still 2 or 3 starters in or in the final 2 minutes, when everyone on both teams seems to be just running around like chickens with their heads cut off. In that sense, the lead might, ironically, have been better preserved if Flip had gone to the GT roster *earlier* in the 4th quarter.

Whatever. They're 23-3, they're fun to watch. but you know...a forum breeds complaint...

Evans, Delfino, and Dice built up the lead in the 2nd, starters lost it in the 3rd, and Evans and Dice got it back.

Only weakness on this team is the inconsistancy of Ben and Sheed. Dice needs more minutes, and DDJ need more PT.

Free DDJ

I am ill at the moment. Seemed to have picked up a nasty little cold Christmas day. But here is my best anyway.

Ok, the starters came out good, but seemed to go completely flat. Then in the 2nd half, same thing. Came out good but went flat again, letting the Raptors right back into the game. Definitely a case of the starters just overlooking a weaker team between two bigger games on the schedule.

We shot a lot of threes. We started out 8 for 12 on the 3's. By the end of the game, I guess we made about 3 more in 11 more tries. Hey, it still came out in our favor big time altogether. Flip apparently just told the guys to keep right on shooting them if left open. Rip hit one. Tay too. And Evans. And the usual suspects, Sheed and CB.

The bench came in and ran the score up for us real nice. This started with a good run with just Arroyo, Delfino, and Dyess in the game off the bench. And Toronto not even scoring so much as a point. (Toronto had been on a tear just before Arroyo got into the game.)Dyess hit his first 4 shots. I think he only missed one for the game. A lot of points and rebounds from Dyess tonight. Something like 13 and 11.

The Pistons scored over 30 in the first quarter. It was the defense of the starters that just seemed to vanish midway thru that quarter. Same old theme. Their bigs scoring on us, grabbing offensive boards and scoring on us some more. It was quite a contrast when the subs came in and just shut Toronto down.

Evans played a darn good game, although he was in there in the 4th quarter as Toronto made a run, forcing all of our starters to return. (Except Ben who had been shaken up by a shot by Dyess across the mouth. Gee, I guess Dyess is pretty desperate for playing time. lol) Evans hit his triple. And he scored around the basket several times, once off his own dribble. The trend of Evans moving the ball like that the last few games is great. And he also moved without the ball well a time or two for scores around the basket. The Pistons experimented a couple of times with Evans helping move the ball up. Pretty ugly stuff, but I guess a guy has to learn sometime. Also, this is something new for Evans, scoring around the basket several times in the same game. Remember when I mentioned he posted up last game and missed. Even though he missed, that was practice. Today, the practice payed off as Evans managed a few times to just rise up and hit a short jumper around the basket.

Now, Arroyo and Delfino did great for us in the first half. There reward? No Delfino except garbage time in the 2nd half. Arroyo hardly played in the 2nd half. Pretty obvious they are giving Evans more time to do some on the job training. Perfectly ok. Evans getting better means the bench getting better.

Arroyo hit a little push shot over Bosh. Delfino hit a long two. Arroyo had 4 assists in his 12 minutes.

Arroyo fed Darko for a dunk in garbage time. Evans fed Maxiell to give him a post up attempt. Man, Maxiell sure needs a lot more of those attempts. And preferrably in the 2nd quarter. Get the guy in the game Flip. And Darko.

Tay ended up scoring about 20 points in this game. Going inside a lot. Yes, he could do even more if we were not shooting so many triples tonight. But can't complain about Tay at all. Long arms for defense and lots of height to constantly overmatch the other team's guards.

Rip scored plenty. Inside a lot. I mean driving inside a lot. Man has he gotten good at it. That triple and some midrangers too. And of course, if he goes inside and gets fouled, he makes his free throws. Just an excellent game by Rip.

CB got 13 assists and 21 points, mostly on 5 triples. What can you say. When the team needed some scoring to get them out of a funk there at the end of the game, CB comes thru.

Sheed seemed to have ran out of steam by the end of the game. Play Darko coach. This is a bit rediculous.

Man am I getting a headache.

Now, in the 2nd quarter, the bench played a whole lot. Kind of like the tale of two coaches. No problem in the 2nd quarter, but in the 4th quarter, there we see Billups play about the whole thing. Worse, we even tried going small again. Arroyo, Rip, Evans at small forward, Dyess, Sheed. Just does not work. Again, experimentation going on here rather than just tyring to win the game.

We played the unit of Arroyo, Evans, Delfino, Dyess, and Sheed extensively in the 2nd quarter. They did so good, you wonder why they just did not finish the game up. That good. Lots of scoring, and Toronto scoring precious little. During this stretch, Evans I think took and made one triple. Sheed might have taken a couple. But mostly, with these guys on the floor, the ball is seen going inside over and over. Very effective. And very little fast break ops for the other team off our misses. That is, if we don't get the offensive rebound and they don't get the ball at all. Just in case you wonder why our defense is so good with Arroyo in. Arroyo does not take threes. That helps your defense. I could think of more, but I think I will instead pop some motrin. Good nite all and GO PISTONS!!!!!

Evans, Delfino, and Dice built up the lead in the 2nd, starters lost it in the 3rd, and Evans and Dice got it back.

Only weakness on this team is the inconsistancy of Ben and Sheed. Dice needs more minutes, and DDJ need more PT.

Free DDJ

The first 3 subs in the game were Arroyo, Dyess, and Delfino. We had about a 7-0 run right there before Evans came into the game.

:canada: What a good game - Bosh had a great night tonight. He made Sheed look a little slow on his footing. The Pistons did dominate tonight though, man its so good to see a game - its been a while since the last whooping.

Arroyo impressed me tonight. He looked a little more on the tip of his toes kinda and that double pump shot in the paint was great as well as that little floater. He should drive more often cause his shot isn't developed well enough yet (take some pointers from Chauncey! You got the ability too!)

I'd still trade for Mike James. Tonight was just a situation where they know how he plays cause they've played with eachother before - usually Mike has his game on a lot better than this.

Evans played a great game, showing the range at key moments which was definately a good sign. I know at Christmas it was a little embarrassing missing that dunk - he made up with it for tonight's performance.

The starters were amazing. We get stupid Canadian announcers (its equivalently bad to American hockey announcers) here but they made a pretty good quote when they said, "They may not be the best five starting. But they are the best starting five."

And Darko was non-existent. I don't remember this incident with the padding of the stats...maybe it was cause I was watching the Leaf game in the end hehe

GO LEAFS GO! :canada:

PS Anyone else have a heart attack when Ben was down? Ben NEVER goes down. That had my quiet for a good while.

I am ill at the moment. Seemed to have picked up a nasty little cold Christmas day. But here is my best anyway.

Ok, the starters came out good, but seemed to go completely flat. Then in the 2nd half, same thing. Came out good but went flat again, letting the Raptors right back into the game. Definitely a case of the starters just overlooking a weaker team between two bigger games on the schedule.

We shot a lot of threes. We started out 8 for 12 on the 3's. By the end of the game, I guess we made about 3 more in 11 more tries. Hey, it still came out in our favor big time altogether. Flip apparently just told the guys to keep right on shooting them if left open. Rip hit one. Tay too. And Evans. And the usual suspects, Sheed and CB.

The bench came in and ran the score up for us real nice. This started with a good run with just Arroyo, Delfino, and Dyess in the game off the bench. And Toronto not even scoring so much as a point. (Toronto had been on a tear just before Arroyo got into the game.)Dyess hit his first 4 shots. I think he only missed one for the game. A lot of points and rebounds from Dyess tonight. Something like 13 and 11.

The Pistons scored over 30 in the first quarter. It was the defense of the starters that just seemed to vanish midway thru that quarter. Same old theme. Their bigs scoring on us, grabbing offensive boards and scoring on us some more. It was quite a contrast when the subs came in and just shut Toronto down.

Evans played a darn good game, although he was in there in the 4th quarter as Toronto made a run, forcing all of our starters to return. (Except Ben who had been shaken up by a shot by Dyess across the mouth. Gee, I guess Dyess is pretty desperate for playing time. lol) Evans hit his triple. And he scored around the basket several times, once off his own dribble. The trend of Evans moving the ball like that the last few games is great. And he also moved without the ball well a time or two for scores around the basket. The Pistons experimented a couple of times with Evans helping move the ball up. Pretty ugly stuff, but I guess a guy has to learn sometime. Also, this is something new for Evans, scoring around the basket several times in the same game. Remember when I mentioned he posted up last game and missed. Even though he missed, that was practice. Today, the practice payed off as Evans managed a few times to just rise up and hit a short jumper around the basket.</B></B></B>

Now, Arroyo and Delfino did great for us in the first half. There reward? No Delfino except garbage time in the 2nd half. Arroyo hardly played in the 2nd half. Pretty obvious they are giving Evans more time to do some on the job training. Perfectly ok. Evans getting better means the bench getting better.

Arroyo hit a little push shot over Bosh. Delfino hit a long two. Arroyo had 4 assists in his 12 minutes.

Arroyo fed Darko for a dunk in garbage time. Evans fed Maxiell to give him a post up attempt. Man, Maxiell sure needs a lot more of those attempts. And preferrably in the 2nd quarter. Get the guy in the game Flip. And Darko.

Tay ended up scoring about 20 points in this game. Going inside a lot. Yes, he could do even more if we were not shooting so many triples tonight. But can't complain about Tay at all. Long arms for defense and lots of height to constantly overmatch the other team's guards.

Rip scored plenty. Inside a lot. I mean driving inside a lot. Man has he gotten good at it. That triple and some midrangers too. And of course, if he goes inside and gets fouled, he makes his free throws. Just an excellent game by Rip.

CB got 13 assists and 21 points, mostly on 5 triples. What can you say. When the team needed some scoring to get them out of a funk there at the end of the game, CB comes thru.

Sheed seemed to have ran out of steam by the end of the game. Play Darko coach. This is a bit rediculous.

Man am I getting a headache.

Now, in the 2nd quarter, the bench played a whole lot. Kind of like the tale of two coaches. No problem in the 2nd quarter, but in the 4th quarter, there we see Billups play about the whole thing. Worse, we even tried going small again. Arroyo, Rip, Evans at small forward, Dyess, Sheed. Just does not work. Again, experimentation going on here rather than just tyring to win the game.

We played the unit of Arroyo, Evans, Delfino, Dyess, and Sheed extensively in the 2nd quarter. They did so good, you wonder why they just did not finish the game up. That good. Lots of scoring, and Toronto scoring precious little. During this stretch, Evans I think took and made one triple. Sheed might have taken a couple. But mostly, with these guys on the floor, the ball is seen going inside over and over. Very effective. And very little fast break ops for the other team off our misses. That is, if we don't get the offensive rebound and they don't get the ball at all. Just in case you wonder why our defense is so good with Arroyo in. Arroyo does not take threes. That helps your defense. I could think of more, but I think I will instead pop some motrin. Good nite all and GO PISTONS!!!!!</B></B></B>good playin hurt, my bruddah

good job lee, darko could learn from your example:laugh:

darko padded his stats by giving toronto another possesion just so he could get a block. he tried to get an assist to jmax but it didn't happen. good garbage time performance. i bet people will still say he didn't try hard enough maybe he could have jacked up a couple more shots. he did try my 1 -2 shot per minute theory.

i think flip should have played the bench much longer. they actually extended the lead in the first half. i am so happy to see mcdyess has his shot going now. evans also played a really good game.

Just got back from the game after waiting out the crowd, which was slow to leave. Let me just say that the Palace parking situation is pretty much a joke. Very slow getting in and outta there.

The guy sitting next to me starting calling for Darko in the first quarter, which was laughable. Darko did play very well for the 1:25 he was in there. Seems to me that if they want to develop his offensive game that Flip would run some specific plays for him, which didn't happen. For Darko, this is old hat. He's getting the same treatment from Flip as he did Brown (I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with how he is being handled because I don't have all the information). He got a dunk and made a nice pass. He brought decent defensive intensity although Villanueva made him look silly on one play.

It was a tough game to watch for me. Bosh was George Gervin/Jamal Wilkes silky smooth and just plain sick. The guy dropped a bunch on Detroit tonight and didn't break a sweat doing it. He is very sound fundamentally. I kept telling my companions that the guy could be coming of our bench. Speaking of Toronto's bench, some of their guys looked guy, including Calderon and the foul-prone Villanueva.

I really think Sheed could have gone off in this one with Bonner and Rose on him (at times). The Sheed-Rose matchup was pretty interesting. Rose did nothing with Sheed on him.

I thought Rip would have a good game and he had an efficient one. He sat for a long time in the second half. Not sure why.

As others have pointed out, the Detroit bench came in and added some intensity for the lethargic starters. The bench played extremely well. Evans, especially, brought mad hops and the kind of pestering around the offensive hoop that drives opponents' nuts.

I agree with bballjay above about how late the bench got in. That was ridiculous, utterly ridiculous. Get those starters outta there, Flip.

was at the game...basically the pistons would dominate for awhile, then get bored and toronto would creep back in, then we'd assert ourselves again, repeat.

toronto kept their starters in unnecessarily long when it was obvious they weren't going to win the game.

Still too wired up to sleep, so I watched the game again. (I saw King Kong just before the game. If you have seen it, you would understand why I am a bit wired up.) And don't worry, this is not meant to be for the contest. (And actually, my game reports ain't changing a bit for the contest anyway.)

Evans, when it really counted, was plus 20. After that, Toronto did cut the lead to 14 with Evans in the game, but there were less than five minutes to go at that time. I'd say the game was pretty well in hand when we were up 20 points with 8 minutes left, when Evans was at his peak in the plus minus department. Another thing Evans did well tonight: He drove in from the left, passed the ball out to Sheed I think who passed it to Tay for a wide open triple. This is something fairly rare for Evans so far this season. Actually, I can't even remember him driving in like that and successfully kicking the ball out. Another trend we all certainly hope continues. (Evans has received the ball in the post before, drawn defenders, and kicked out.)

Delfino was plus 13 in the 1st half, the most plus of anyone in that first half. Evans was plus 10. I think Arroyo was about plus 11 but I was not really keeping track. Dyess was the least plus off the bench in the first half, as he came off the bench by himself at first, and we lost some of the lead before Delfino joined him. (and Dyess was also negative before Evans joined him in the 2nd half.)By the way, from the moment Delfino entered the game, we went on an 8-0 run. Arroyo had come in a minute after Delfino. Evans came in just after the 8-0 run, but was in later in the half with Arroyo and Delfino sitting while the lead went up some more.

Besides Laim bemoaning all those threes, I can't really fault the Pistons for taking so many. They were open. Not like we were forcing a single one. One was rushed for the shot clock. Otherwise, pretty good shots. Heck, Sheed was standing there lining one up several seconds before he got the ball and was completely unchallenged. And he swished it. If the other team will not guard your perimeter shots, take those threes.

Heck, I don't even think we were having to run plays for those threes. They were coming off of us getting double teamed or going inside. Or if they simply failed to match up.

Rip was just flat out going to the hoop like a champ. Apparently, someone clued Rip in on the little secret. Toronto has no shotblockers. Why shoot a midranger when the inside is wide open. I think Rip had a triple and about 4 or 5 scores inside (including trips to the line) before he sank a midranger. Heck, that was probably just to keep the rust off.

Don't let the stats fool you. Any game Mike James had at all against us tonight was well after the game was decided.

Yes, even watching the 2nd time, it was just bizarre that CB was still out there early in the 4th quarter with us up 20. My guess is that Flip had some sets he wanted to work on trying to get Evans some more time with the first unit. Only way I can make any darn sense out of that.

Just like the last game, we see Tay getting doubled early, and we get a triple off him passing the ball away. (Well last time, it might have been different, but we got points off them doubling Tay.) Tay is one very important player for us. Its hard to see that sometimes at first glance, but the fact he constantly overmatches their guards just can't hardly be talked up enough.

About the most striking characteristic of this team is the near total absence of one on one play. Pretty much 100% teamwork type scoring.

but a five man all-star team playing as the Detroit Pistons.

How good is Chris Bosh? He's only 21. 'Nuff said...

And Villanueva? Man o man. I think the Raps will be playoff contenders next year. They need to move Rose for some cap room and or a piece or two. A lot of dead weight on that bench...

Great game by the Pistons. Too bad they won't close out teams and give the deep end of the bench a run.

Not playing Darko earlier was almost a mercy. The less comparisons one can draw between Bosh and DMC, the better for our sanity.

That Mike James for Rafer Alston trade was MONEY. Rob Babcock gets a rough ride. He's made some bad moves, but Calderon, James, Villanueva all look to be solid, and Joey Graham will get better. No one looked good last night against the Pistons except the twin towers (CB4 and CV).

BRING ON THE HEAT!

Post Game Wrap ups

Game Flow (http://www.popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/gameflow.cgi?date=20051227&game=TORDET)
(Some cool mouseover effects on the page)

Box Score (http://www.nba.com/games/20051227/TORDET/boxscore.html)

Recap (http://www.nba.com/games/20051227/TORDET/recap.html)

Since I saw the game on League Pass, I was treated to the Toronto announcers. You guys should have heard them praising the Pistons. They constantly made comments about Detroit being "men" and JD building the team the right way. Basically, they consider themselves to be a blue collar town, and the Pistons are their dream team.

On top of that, they seemed to be very knowledgable announcers compared to average. It is sometimes more fun getting the away broadcast.

Tashawn - opposing coach also had nothing but praise. Called the Pistons the best team in the league. You can throw all that lack of respect out the window as everyone has nothing but praise. Only people who seem to be knocking the team are us fans. When the team scores too much the defense is questioned. When the Pistons go back to their old style and almost hold SAN under 70 the offense is questioned.

Whatever, I think thats why I am not posting as much this year. Just not much interest in joining some disussion in what the team is doing wrong or what bench player they need to trade for. At this point I would not break up anything. I takeback my idea to trade Arroyo. Only player that I would consider is Darko if he continues to sit but hopefully showing some energy last night will help his cause. I still wonder if Darko is only being punished for something. If he isn't then why has Flip not given away his spot yet?

Last night the Pistons were toying with the Raps and easily walked away with the win. No matter what the Raps did they were going to lose. Too many 3's perhaps but most of them were on pick and rolls or push and pops that left someone wide open beyond the arc. When you that open for a 3 its actually a high percentage shot.

doesn't it seem kind of boring to you guys? seriously there is not too many things we can talk about with this team. we cant even really argue about the bench anymore either. this team is so good that it's boring. still i love the 23-3 record.

Would like to have seen a few less nicks though. Ben get wacked in the mouth by Dice. Tay takes a excessively hard blow across the forearms and hands by Calderon. It looked like Rip may have tweeked something early in the game after a drive to the basket. In the last few minutes Rose (I think) gave Chauncey a hard (unnecessary) elbow to the ribs as he drove the lane.
Maybe Flip takes notice of these things and subs a little earlier.

Since I saw the game on League Pass, I was treated to the Toronto announcers. You guys should have heard them praising the Pistons. They constantly made comments about Detroit being "men" and JD building the team the right way. Basically, they consider themselves to be a blue collar town, and the Pistons are their dream team.

On top of that, they seemed to be very knowledgable announcers compared to average. It is sometimes more fun getting the away broadcast.

Yeah, I heard it too. Unfortunately I have RaptorsTV. I really hate Chuck Swirsky and that other knob.

I'll try to keep it brief (translation: I'm too lazy for anything but point form). Not really a contest attempt, I just actually got to WATCH this game, so I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents.

1st Quarter
- we're taking too many 3's, settling on the outside shot
- on the other end of the floor we're giving up too much penetration
- I realize the team is off to a rediculous start, but I'm worried about bad habits forming. Flip needs to get in their faces a bit more. We should be destroying this team and we're just letting them hang around. Not a single timeout called by the Pistons. Mitchell called several well timed ones, got in his player's faces and the Raps responded with a run immediatly after. LB would have called a timeout after the Raps scored 4 consecutive points.

2nd Quarter
- Dice is back baby!
- LB = detail guy, Flip = let em play. I'd like to see a combination of both.
- still too much dribble penetration
- Delfino looking comfortable and confident out there, he'll continue to improve throughout the season and become a very valuable bench guy come playoffs. No chance he's left off the playoff roster this season.
- starting to get a bit chippy out there
- Stones built a fairly quiet 19 point lead

3rd Quarter
- still too much dribble penetration! Calderon 4-4 all on driving layups. He gets by his man and there's no Big there to meet him. Just too easy.
- 1st Pistons timeout of the game
- came out sluggish from half time, poor quarter when they could have put the Raptors away easily and got their bench some PT

4th Quarter
- Evans looking good. Moving well without the ball, making hustle plays, hitting his shots.
- I miss Mike James! Man, would he look good coming off our bench this season
- oh my god, is Darko growing a mustache?? This is the first game I've seen in a while. Quick Joe, trade him before it grows in!!!!
- Darko still looks too lackadasical out there. Looking a bit lost, not fighting hard for position, lazy inbounds pass stolen, etc.

The Good
- no let down against a horrible opponent
- bench played GREAT
- we won

The Bad
- the Pistons are still waiting too long to finish teams off. They seem to just turn it on when they have to and then coast, just playing with their opponents. Finish them off early, get some rest for the starters and some PT for the end of the bench
- I haven't seen many games this season, but I've yet to see Flip actually coach. Will this hurt us come playoff time? Will the team listen to him when it matters, or will they tune him out and say "We've done it all season without help."?

The Ugly
- Darko's mustache. Man, that thing is nasty!

doesn't it seem kind of boring to you guys? seriously there is not too many things we can talk about with this team. we cant even really argue about the bench anymore either. this team is so good that it's boring. still i love the 23-3 record.

I have never enjoyed a season more at this point.

There is a greater challenge to post about a winning team as it is a lot easier to complain. Fine tuning ideas or trying to dissect the new offense and figure out all the plays. There is plenty to post about we just have to up our games as the Pistons already have. And we still have Darko as a standby.

Jammertime, it might seem the Pistons were "settling" for threes, but that is just not the case at all in the Toronto game. Time after time, the Pistons went inside or posted up, got a double team, kicked out for a wide open three. Occasionally, the other team just did not play up on Billups. Big mistake. Billups must burns them for that. Once, they just forgot Sheed as he came down the court. A wide open 3 got nailed right there.

In that game, maybe 2 threes were taken off of simple pick plays to free up a shooter. Thats it.

Points in the paint is a very misleading stat. The stat completely fails to account for all the times a team scores off of kick outs from inside play. For the Pistons in the Toronto game, most of the points were scored off inside play.

Here is another very misleading thing about that points in the paint stat. I don't even think it adds in free throws made off driving inside. Correct me if I am wrong anyone, but I don't really thing thats included.

And as for taking too many outside shots, think again on that too. Yes, we took a lot of threes. But one of our usual tricks was almost completely missing in this game. That midranger of Rip's coming off a couple of picks, well, we got either 2 or 4 points off that for the game, tops. Rip was taking that ball right to the basket for the most part. Our outside shots that we did take were simply threes a lot of the time. Shot by shooters all right up there in 3 point shooting percentage.

Rip, CB, and Sheed continue to nail threes at around a 45% clip. Man, there is no way you shoot a 2 if you are that good on threes. And Tay and Evans are at about 36% and 37%, not shabby at all. Easily good enough that you would rather they shoot a 3 if they shoot an outside shot at all.

Toronto does not have good inside players. So they pack it in tight to make up for it. The Pistons took the shots left open, and they were smart enough to stay behind the 3 point line to maximize the points they got from that outside shooting. Excellent game. Would I change a single shot taken? Yep, but nothing to do with 3's. Not one of those was taken when it should not have been.