Detroit hosts Portland Tuesday Dec 5 7:30pm

tv: tv20

Nazr will definitely have problems defending Randolph. He may even foul out before the 4th quarter, lol...:pound:

Basically, our defensive strategy is stop Randolph and we will stop the Trialblazers. Or maybe we stop everyone else except Randolph???

Chat is open. See you there....

http://www.pistonsforum.com/misc.php?do=flashchat

Maybe the story is that we let them stay in it in the first half and then they got bold--this happens in a regular season game.

There are potential problems:

We don't make stops like we used too late (Tay on Zack?)

We play a one on one offense without much motion--same as last year. (Portland basically stopped us)

Our bigs were abused as we are often slow and sometimes undersized.

Lets see what the team has this weekend.

Another lower tier team humbles the Pistons...this time on their home floor. Outrebounded, outhustled and out played again. The bench looked good in the first half with 20 pts, but they didn't score in the second half because Flip didn't play them....

7-24 /3 ball attempts...Blazers score more at the FT line than the Pistons attempt, because our bigs don't know how to attack the rim.

What is LB doing these days? We need him, a backup PG and an inside post player to supplement our allstaters... Too late Joe and Mr. D got rid of LB, Arroyo and darko....:stirthepot:

Billups took 9 three pointers, and made one two pointer. He was flat footed, and played an incredibly lazy game. With a chance to win the game, he dribbled around trying to get himself another 3 pointer. Jarret Jack stole his lunch and ate it on the Palace floor.

There are other scapegoats, but Tay and Rip were the only Captains that actually showed up and gave a solid effort.

Very disappointing that we didn't go back to Flip Murray after he played so well. No bench, no energy from the starters, crap result.

Kudos to Sheed for playing a great game. Dice and Nazr weren't great but they weren't horrible. You can only do so much when your perimeter defense allows a free path to the basket.

I really think the boys will ramp up on the Mavs Thursday.

Yep, bad game. Going to read tomorrow on how Billups and co. learned their lesson about taking teams lightly, the same lesson they have had about 500 times in the past few years.

Yikes, how in the heck are they going to beat Dallas and Orlando on a back-back to start their 5 game road trip.

Because they're better and currently have a bad taste in their mouth.

Could there be any better opportunity to play Blalock than a home game against a team with a suspect backcourt?

Or for that matter, playing Amir Johnson, Jason Maxiell or giving Delfino substantial minutes?

We shot 24 three pointers in a grind it out home game. I don't trust Flip to use the hook fast enough, or at all for that matter, but this is beyond ridiculous.

If you think Portland beat us, that would be wrong. We plain beat ourselves playing stupid, lethargic basketball. So much for going to work.

More 3s than free throws!

NBA - Portland Trail Blazers/Detroit Pistons Box Score Tuesday December 5, 2006 - Yahoo! Sports (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore?gid=2006120508)

I forgot to mention that we did get one MVP performance.

The bench of Dice, Davis, Delfino and Murray had

22 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks, 5 assists and no turnovers.

Almost reads like a KG statline.

I don't like the strategy for the end of the game tonight.

We were down 1 point with 20 seconds left and we had the ball. You gotta take you chance early so that you can foul if you don't score. Why did Chauncey consciously dribble the clock out? Then when Sheed picked and popped, both defenders followed Billups, but he didn't even look back at Sheed. Instead, he forced it to a fully covered Rip.

Zach Randolph has been a force recently, and there was no doubt that he was going to out muscle us tonight. Tay on Zach? Not a good idea. Who cares if Sheed fouls out with 30 seconds? He would have been the best defender in that situation.

I would rather see Dale Davis start than Nazr at this point. We are a very weak team that relies on the perimeter way too much. I know I'm preaching to the choir, but we need to find out if JMax, Amir, and Blaylock can help... cause if not, then we need to make a deal.

We were down 1 point with 20 seconds left and we had the ball. You gotta take you chance early so that you can foul if you don't score. Why did Chauncey consciously dribble the clock out? Then when Sheed picked and popped, both defenders followed Billups, but he didn't even look back at Sheed. Instead, he forced it to a fully covered Rip.
Because Mr. Big Head was trying to get enough separation to jack a big shot. I posted it to chat as it went down. The only # he was calling on that play was his own.

Zach Randolph has been a force recently, and there was no doubt that he was going to out muscle us tonight. Tay on Zach? Not a good idea. Who cares if Sheed fouls out with 30 seconds? He would have been the best defender in that situation.
Small ball has been working so well, but this was a tough it out, grind it down game like the playoffs. Slow tempo, lots of half court, and it doesn't suit a small lineup that is geared to transition.

I would rather see Dale Davis start than Nazr at this point.
What does it say that I agree and we should start a 37 year old guy over our newly signed (4 year contract) free agent center?

then we need to make a deal.
Folks, bad news. There are no trades. We have almost zilch when it comes to tradeable assets. By not completing a BBen S&T this summer, or re-signing Tony Delk, or re-signing Kelvin Cato or keeping Mo Evans instead of dumping him for Samb, that means or core trade assets become Sheed, Dale and Rip plus the kids.

Coaches comments.

More 3s than free throws!

That is what Joe should be yelling to the choir tomorrow before they board airball one (or whatever it is called ) to Dallas tomorrow. CB even took more 3 ball attempts then he had assists and he is your starting PG!!

Our guys have relied on the jumpers for so long they seem to have forgotten how to attack the rim and when they do, they cannot seem to finish the easy layups or putbacks.

The players need to be called out on this and Flip needs to be put on notice that he needs to call a time out and get in somebody's face when they continue to play lackadasical. Bench those starters CB, Sheed, etc until they can step up and play their game. It makes no since for CB or Prince to dribble/backatheir man down and either get stripped or pass it to fully covered man. Why isn't there ever any weakside help?

If Flip won't play the bench he currently has, then Joe needs to find some players that can produce and more importantly players that Flip can trust.

One thing different from last year team is that they could finish these tight games with a W. This year they already have last second losses to the Hornets, Jazz and now Tblazers that should have been W's in each case.

Can't believe they lost to these clowns. They're gonna have to turn it around really fast, or else it'll be a 4-game losing streak by week's end.

More 3s than free throws!
That is what Joe should be yelling to the choir tomorrow before they board airball one (or whatever it is called ) to Dallas tomorrow.
:laugh: Stop It!:roll:

at least the starting 4 got their minutes :nerd2:
FREE THE BENCH!!!

Because Mr. Big Head was trying to get enough separation to jack a big shot. I posted it to chat as it went down. The only # he was calling on that play was his own.


He would have made that shot if he was not tired..

Seriously, I am going to wait until the next 2 games before sounding the alarms. So far it looks like good old Piston ball taking 2 teams lightly. Its been going on for years now.

Mohammed does look like a 30mil mistake at this point but the season still is young. Its supposed to be a front court centered around Sheed and when he only scores 5 points its very hard on the team.

Have to put this mostly on Billups if I were to pin a worst performance award. He is supposed to be the team leader as well as starting PG. He jacked up 3's, could not get the offense going. Lackluster games like this seem to start with him so I am sure whats going on there.

1 loss to a bad team is understandable but 2 in a row? Especially before starting a long road trip.

More 3's than free throws, and bad defense is are signs of no effort. Pistons sat around for the whole game and they got burned. I thought Jarret Jack was getting bad calls, but that is not the reason for the loss.

This is the last possession by the Pistons

YouTube - running down the clock (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ3TlHUTKZk)

This is the last possession by the Pistons

YouTube - running down the clock (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ3TlHUTKZk)

Yeah, looks like he missed Sheed in that play. He was open from the wing after the double team. Besides why not a post play to Tayshaun or Sheed when only down by 1? Poor play calling.

If that was the call, fire Flip!

If that was execution, sign and trade!

Now that was ugly. You let a young team hang around and sooner or later they begin to believe they can beat you. The one thing sorely lacking from the Pistons is the ability to club someone when they’re down. They go up by five early in the first and then play even until into the third when the wheels come off.

- 50% shooting in the first drops to 41% for the rest of the game

- Although Nazr only picked up three boards, the Pistons only rebound when he is in the game, 10 and 11 in the first and third, 6 and 8 in the second and fourth. The small ball lineup works o.k. most of the time on offense, but rebounding stinks with Tay at the four.

- Dice/Defl/Murray shoot 9 for 14 but by and large sit in the second half. Dice gets two minutes in the second half and Delfino none. Flip plays the entire fourth once the other Flip figures out he forgot to sub in the third, but is ignored by the rest of the team.

- The final margin is all from the line. Both teams get 32 FGs (Pistons +4 in threes). No drives, no glory.

CB – Actually not an awful game – 5-12 / 4-9 with 8 assists and seven boards. Unfortunately Dr. Billups disappears at the end and Mr Big Shot reigns and falls. For 35 of his 40 minutes he was solid.

Rip – Starts out hot – 5-6 / 5-5 in his first stint, but goes 4-15 starting late in the second and for the rest of the game. 25 points, but nothing when it counted.

Tay – Stinks. 4-13 / 1-5, 6 boards in 40 minutes, more turnovers than assists. With a lot of that time at the four spot. No blocks, no steals, no impact.

Sheed – Doesn’t shoot well – 3-10/1-3, but gets 9 boards, two assists, two blocks, 1 steal, and no turnovers. Goes 3-5 in the first and fourth, but a goose egg in the second and third. 39 minutes is too much. Works really hard though – Zach didn’t have anything easy.

Nazr – The big enigma. The team seems to play better with him on the court, but he doesn’t seem to be doing a lot. The Pistons haven’t figured out how to play without Ben yet and even a shadow helps them get organized.

Delf – I thought he had a nice game in the first half. No clue why he sat the whole second half.

Dice – Shot the ball well, the most productive rebounder per minute. No clue why he only made a token appearance in the second half.

Flip – Maybe his best game as a Piston. But the defense really lags with him on the floor (-9 for the game) and CB doesn’t pass him the ball when they are in together. Unless he is playing the point he doesn’t score – gets five shots in the second, one in the fourth.

The Big Flip - Lost? Confused? Having a bad hair-day? Bad job.

We need a new starting 5. People are too comfortable with certain teammates. They need a little shake up. I think Rip should come off the bench...and its not cuz he's sucking but we need to have a different chemistry in there.

Darth Low agreed to do a recap for this game. I don't know if he can relive the experience.

It is forthcoming. But, I was way too annoyed to be productive at it after that debacle.

I feel your pain...my bruddah.


slippy's recap:
1st Q: :cheerleader:
2nd Q: :twitch:
3rd Q: :yukpuke:
4th Q: :hanged2:

I feel your pain...my bruddah.


slippy's recap:
1st Q: :cheerleader:
2nd Q: :twitch:
3rd Q: :yukpuke:
4th Q: :hanged2:

Good recap, slip. Not kidding. I'm speechless too....

Ok, kiddies let's see what my eyes did see:



Points of interest:-Not only do I have to watch the Blazers on my assignment, they add insult to injury by giving me the extremely homer/crybaby-esque Blazer home broadcats. Crap.

-This is the first time in a long time that I have no idea who the hell half of these Blazers are.......I still hate them.

- Portland's announcers claim: "These Pistons don't seem ready for 'this' " - That's classic

1st Qtr

Randolph forces McMillan to call a time out at 10:30 on the clock for tossing up a crap jumper from about 20 ft. Just plain silly.
Tayshaun appeard to start the game pretty aggressive offensively. However, the rest of the team appears satisfied to simply toss up long range jumpers (although they are hitting some of theme early).

As far as the defense goes, Detroit is really lax, but they are playing just enough to look honest. The Blazers aren't helping their case much by turning the ball over and just looking awful. They are making it easy for Detroit to half-ass.

By the end of this quarter, I'm wondering two things:

A) Can this game be any less interesting?

and

B) Would a beer help?

2nd Qtr

Randolph starts the 2nd by going right at DD in the post and made it look pretty easy on at least one possession.

The Pistons are content to continue tossing up threes and it looks like they are going to be coasting tonight with the mindset of getting an easy win at the expense of the Blazers.

Detroit is currently losing the rebounding battle and PIP 12-4 (bad omen). This team is giving up 50% shooting to the rest of the leauge. My guess is that's not just coming from 3pt land. But, maybe I'm just crazy.

- This game blows.Later in the quarter Delfino gets a few early minutes. However, as is Flip's want, the guy misses a shot (after hitting his first one) commits a foul and is immediately yanked. He is reinserted after a few minutes to stew about his misdeeds.

Detroit is not really doing a great job on the boards either. They could be blowing this team out, but alas, they are only up by a few points.

For the rest of the second quarter there's not a ton of action either, a few plays that are up and down the floor, but nothing of note and defeinitely nothing exciting.

This game is torture so far, thank God for the half. Maybe I could conjure something interesting in the second half if the teams don't decide to bring anything to the table.



3rd Qtr

A surprise to no one, the Pistons come out in the 2nd half and commence to getting their cakes handed to them. Luckily they pick up the effort a bit and cut into the quick lead that Portland jumped out to.

However, the refs are starting to whistle this game like "we hope these little guys beat you." Nevermind the fact that the Pistons are obliging and fouling these guys on the plays that haven't been called on the other end. The Blazer broadcast team is very proud of their 3 pt lead and, as is Blazer-fan's want, they are constantly whining for techs to be called on the Pistons for anything they do. For some reason they always have an interest in using technicalities (not just Technical Fouls) to win games and are never just concerned with winning the game on the court. They always seem interested in having the goal tending ignored when it would help them, but in return they wan't every travelling violation, 3 sec. violation, and 5 sec. backdown ruled called against the opponent.

About half way through the 3rd qtr, the Pistons are down 2 and getting absolutely nothing out of their offensive sets. Then, by the end of the quarter they are in a dogfight and are just being outworked/outhustled on a number of plays under the glass.

4th Qtr

The Pistons are really not producing offensively at this point and are really only getting buckets off of extra hustle plays, which can wear you down if that's where nearly all of your offense is coming from.

As a rule now, they are not defending the Blazers in the paint at all and are rebounding poorly. They are just being outworked.

The Blazers are giving up 50% shooting on avg. this season, yet the Pistons have only managed a paltry 42%

Mid-way through the 4th Portland is playing much of its second string and to be honest, they are pretty much holding the Pistons at bay. Which is just sad.

-Detroit allowed another NBA newbie his "first" a double double. I'm getting really sick of new NBA'ers having their coming out parties against us.Late in the fourth, the Pistons appear interested in tossing up 3's to get it all back and simply hoping Portland misses on the other end. However, their fortunes change as they are given a few calls and are able to earn some trips to the line and get back in the game and take the lead. At this point it appeared the Blazers were pressing a bit.

Finally, toward the end of the game, Detroit is again lax on D (after taking a one point lead) and allows Portland to score on essentially a layup and take the lead back with 20 sec.

On the last play of the game what do we get?

A slop 3 from 24 ft with 3 secs left that misses everything...game over.

This was a pathetic and embarrassing loss and the Pistons deserved it.

great job!

The Portland broadcasters were a little funny.

At different points, they made the following claims:

The Pistons are getting the Blazers right where they want them, in a running game. The Blazers need to slow the tempo and make it a half court affair. (wtf?? Aren't we the half court masters?)

Darko was offensively talented, but he didn't play at all in Detroit because he didn't have defensive ability. (more like the opposite).

If the Pistons get bombed in Dallas, I will be heavily medicated for the Orlando game (aka, bball jay and Jackattaq's revenge).

I'll also be taking donations towards buying The Low some Nerf furniture.

If the Pistons get bombed in Dallas, I will be heavily medicated for the Orlando game (aka, bball jay and Jackattaq's revenge).

I'll also be taking donations towards buying The Low some Nerf furniture.

I was too hungry to break anything. I was busy being Chef Home-boyar-Dee.

Holla

Nazz out played Pyrsbilla.
Both did 20 minutes Nazz got 4 pts Pyrs. got 0.
He beat him in other phases too.

NAZ is a work in progress. They gotta work him in games and in training.

NAZ is a work in progress. They gotta work him in games and in training.

I'm beginning to wonder if it doesn't need to work the other way too - do the best starting four need to figure how to play with some of the other children? Given the number of minutes they've played together over the past few years, the lack of games missed due to injury, etc., I think they perhaps have gotten overly comfortable playing with each other, perhaps to the point of making it difficult, whether consciously or not, to function with other players.

Rick Mahorn outplayed Pryzbilla last night.

I was busy being Chef Home-boyar-Dee.

Holla
:pound::pound::pound:

:djparty:

Rick also out-ate Joelzilla last night. :D

Flip:
“We talked this morning,” he said. “Here’s the thing: The people here know about ‘the (off-on) switch.’ With Rasheed, many times he hasn’t done anything and he hits a shot in the fourth quarter and scores 12 straight. You have a tendency, when players have done that as many times as they’ve done it, especially last year, to have a little longer leash. Now, because we’ve gone two straight games where they haven’t done it, the leash is probably shorter now and you’re probably more apt to take them out to go with some other guys to make sure you do keep energy. Plus, we’d won eight in a row. It’s not like we were struggling.”

Saunders reviewed the Portland tape and said that of Detroit’s final 16 possessions, on only one of them did more than two Pistons touch the ball before a shot was taken.


PISTONS: Balancing Act (http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/balancing_act_061206.html)

Interesting article. Not sure if anything will change, but...

There is no on off switch for effort.

Interesting article. Not sure if anything will change, but...
We're only going as far as Flip's willpower can take us. If he goes entire games waiting to assess the play, we're gunna be sunk again. He needs to develop more gamesmanship. The best practice coaches are assistants.

There is no on off switch for effort.
co-signed

Few things that bothered me about the effort in that game.

1) Had just lost to a bottom dweller the previous game. Championship teams usually kill the competition after an embarrasing loss. I saw no sense of being upset at all about it.

2) Last home game before a tough road trip.

3) Portland beat the Pistons last year at the Palace.

4) Por had 3 guys out, one of them Brandon Roy which is why they had lost 5 straight.

Perhaps most of all. Teams don't even care anymore when they play at the Palace.

This was a pathetic and embarrassing loss and the Pistons deserved it.

Yeah I'm happy the Pistons lost. If they didn't get some BS calls against Rip late they would of won, but I'm kind of happy that it didn't. The only way they will learn to not give half efforts is when they lose when the effort is not given. The loss is bad shortterm, but good longterm. I wonder how many of these losses have to take place before this concept is stuck in their heads.

PISTONS: Balancing Act (http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/balancing_act_061206.html)

Interesting article. Not sure if anything will change, but...
Mr. Big shot speaking:
“He (Flip)asked me if I wanted to come out at the start of the fourth and I was like, ‘Nah.’ We had tied the game up and I felt like we needed to try to win the game. I like to play through it, myself. If he did take me out, that’s fine. It’s his call. But I thought we were right there. A couple of bad decisions at the end of the game cost us.”

Apparently nothing has changed. Shortly after last seasons end didn't Flip specificly blame the starters for much of their self professed fatigue problems by not wanting to exit games when he (Flip) directed. AND, didn't Flip specificly say he would now be calling the shots in that regard.

Looks a lot like the same old same old. Flip ain't nothing but a snake-oil salesman.

CB sniffed blood and wanted to drink. Couldn't find the cup. I think he had the right attitude.

I wonder how many early season games they won last year with a last second shot by CB. Seems like there were some. This year they haven't fallen, but what if they had gone in?