Seattle Dec 17 6PM

tv: FSN

Note: Ray Allen should still be out with the ankle injury. I will update his progress before the game.

Let`s keep this thing going. Great bench play, CB and Rip rolling, and the bench, that`s right, if you were in a cave last night the bench looked good with major crunch time minutes. No joke.

Seattle comes to the Palace tonight in the midst of a 5 game road trip. They have dropped the 1st three, and face Orlando on Monday.

Not sure if Ray Allen or Sheed will be playing in this one, but I hope we see more of J-max and Blalock. Now if only Delfino can find some consistency in his play, our bench can/would be awesome.

We got this............Detroit 97 Seattle 89....

Ray Allen is still out. He did not travel with the team and is still expected to be out another week.

Pistons 94
Sonics 80

I don't get this game.

Chat is open!

Will Blalock in during the first quarter! Come join the PF.com game chat!

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

I listened on the radio, but what an amazing game from the Pistons bench!

The big story of the night for the Pistons was the incredible production off the bench from JMax and Dale. They had EIGHT offensive rebounds EACH (!!!), as the Pistons got 26 offensive rebounds total and outboarded the Sonics 54-32! Dale played 22 minutes, and JMax actually played 32. Nazr had a solid game, but unfortunately Dice was a disaster. In any event, JMax was huge in the clutch, hitting 2 FTs with about 2 minutes left, and then breaking a tie in the last 10 seconds by hitting a jumper off a drive by CB. Then Delfino came in for defense, and after having a pretty bad game, he made up for it with a huge steal on the Sonics inbounds pass to clinch the game.

NBA.com: Supersonics at Pistons Boxscore (http://www.nba.com/games/20061217/SEADET/boxscore.html)

17 points and 12 boards for Maxiel. 13 boards and 8 off for Davis.

I liked the adjustment Flip made going with Maxiel and Davis down the stretch. Although Mohamed did not have that bad of a game. Dyess kind of left his some place else.

Maybe its about time to think about playing Maxiel more mins over Dyess. I can't recall the last time a Piston bench player turned in the kind of game that Maxiel had. He is not going to do that every game but at least the potential for it is there.

Rip/CB still carried most of the scoring load.

Hello to all....incredible match for Jason...but Rebound offensive ...26 vs 7 is unbeliveble ...now with Maxiell no problem on the paint? Sorry for my Englsh and ...DETROIT BASKETBALLLLLLL:MusicBigGrin:

Then Delfino came in for defense, and after having a pretty bad game, he made up for it with a huge steal on the Sonics inbounds pass to clinch the game.

Great move by Flip going to his "defensive" lineup for that final possession. Delfino`s jumper is lost, however, his rebounding, decisions on the break and defense are valuable contributions off the bench.

If he ever finds that J somewhere it would be nice but in the meantime just do the little things.

Flip is coaching himself into a corner here. What is he going to do when Lindsey and Sheed return?

Great game by Jmax. I'm glad I was wrong about him. Joe needs to trade Murray for a conditional future 2nd round pick.

Joe should keep Blaylock up, and let him develop. If Blaylock can improve, our starters, plus a core of bench of Blaylock, Delfino, Davis, and Jmax will be unstoppable in the playoffs.

NBA.com (http://www.nba.com/games/20061217/SEADET/recap.html)

"Max ... Mac ... Maxwell, whatever his name is, he outrebounded our whole team,'' Rashard Lewis said. "Every time I turned around, he was coming out of nowhere. I don't think we put a body on him all night.''

"We felt like we were in a position to win this game, so this is very tough,'' Lewis said. "One guy just killed us.''Detroit's 26 offensive rebounds were the most in the NBA this season, and was one more than Seattle's defensive-rebound total

did ANYONE get tape or video of this game? i was supposed to attend (!!!!) but was flying to dallas at the time. i missed last night's too where max did well. dang!! figures, the one game i don't go to...

Post game audio medley

Jason Maxiell with Rick Mahorn and Mark Champion
Pistons Assistant Coach Kevin Wilson with Matt Dery
Flip Saunders Press Conference
Chauncey Billups (locker room)
Jason Maxiell (locker room)

nJoy!

NBA.com: Supersonics at Pistons Boxscore (http://www.nba.com/games/20061217/SEADET/boxscore.html)
This is a tough one to call on the bench play... I mean our bench clearly out played theres (they scord 7 points from the bench)... Dice plsyed only 19 minutes while Maxiell played 32... who's the bench player?

Anyways the formula is working... you guys that called for more bench play were right (I was wrong)... I still agree with Amir remaining our secret weapon for next year.
Blalock? I'm in! watch this kid grow (how's that Kgreg?)

did ANYONE get tape or video of this game? i was supposed to attend (!!!!) but was flying to dallas at the time. i missed last night's too where max did well. dang!! figures, the one game i don't go to...

Wart, for what it's worth, I got both games Tivo'd on my DVR... I can transfer to a tape or DVD if you really want them....otherwise I am sure the someone will upload the Brahma highlights to the forum video pages....

This is a tough one to call on the bench play... I mean our bench clearly out played theres (they scord 7 points from the bench)... Dice plsyed only 19 minutes while Maxiell played 32... who's the bench player?

Anyways the formula is working... you guys that called for more bench play were right (I was wrong)... I still agree with Amir remaining our secret weapon for next year.
Blalock? I'm in! watch this kid grow (how's that Kgreg?)

Merc, I seldom read your posts, but I happened to read this one. Not trying to argue with you, but just to let you know, you are far more wrong about letting Amir sit than what you just admitted to about the rest of the bench. Amir is going to be quite a player for one, and for two, without him we will not have enough fire power to win it all this year.

My boy Will Blalock again!!!!!! Some of you guys will over look what he did with ease, but this kid will allow Chauncey to get the rest he needs. Some of you will overlook the fact that Earl Watson pressured him big time and could not rip the kid, but I won't because I know Earl is a ballhawk just like lindsey. Some of you will overlook how we have a pg that can handle the rock with ease w/out over dribbling, can get into the paint, can feed the post, can actually run the pick and roll- not the dreaded pick and pop, will actually swing the ball weakside making the defense scramble, not think about swinging it and let the D get back into position, and can start the offense. This kid was a STEAL!!!!!! The shot will get respectable in time, a la Avery Johnson.

I think the point to remember here is that it is entirely possible to develop talented bench players without sacrificing W's. If you don't shake things up, you get those listless performances from the usual starters and we lose to sub .500 teams.

What a blessing in disguise it was for Sheed to miss a few games. It forced Flip Saunders outside of his comfort zone.

Also, for all of you that have been baffled by the interest in the Orlando Magic from several of us here on the forum, I think it is because they have been managing their rotations like the Pistons did for the past 2 games. I originally started watching to see how Darko, Arroyo, and Hill were doing, but then after a while, I noticed that they were playing with a lot more passion than the Pistons. The reason for that was that everyone was getting a chance to contribute. You got the feeling watching them that all each player wanted was to win because they all felt like it was their team.

After a while, it started to become frustrating because the Pistons seemed to wasting that same opportunity. Such a simple change in philosophy was needed, but was not happening.

Let's hope that Flip can keep this train rolling and not balk at the first loss.

Oh, and great game from Glynnysaurus tonight. Almost had 1 of everything.

Min 11
FTM 1
Reb 1
TO 1
PF 1
Pts 1

(the rest were zeros of course)

That looks like one of my lines from high school. The infamous "multiple-single".

Don't laugh. It's hard to do only one of a bunch of things. A lot of games, I had 6 fouls in under 15 minutes. :pound:

NBA.com (http://www.nba.com/games/20061217/SEADET/recap.html)

Detroit's 26 offensive rebounds were the most in the NBA this season, and was one more than Seattle's defensive-rebound total

Thats amazing. And our team is supposed to have problems in that area.

I saw the game live at the Palace which meant that I was not aware of what was going on statistically. That is something, something very encouraging.

You can hear this on the audio (posted in the thread)

Goon Squad gives Pistons big boost against Sonics (http://www.mlive.com/pistons/stories/index.ssf?/base/sports-2/1166415002311340.xml&coll=1)
A few more nights like this, and the Goon Squad legend will surely grow.

PopcornMachine's GameFlow - Seattle @ Detroit (http://www.popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/gameflow.cgi?date=20061217&game=SEADET)

This is the biggest disparity between 1 player and the rest of them on the Pistons that I can ever remember seeing on a +/- scale.

Dice showed a horrendous # mainly because he was sucking horribly AND he wasn't on the court with JMax too often.

The Goon Squad is the name we have been looking for. You can't give them a nickname until they earn it.

My boy Will Blalock again!!!!!! Some of you guys will over look what he did with ease, but this kid will allow Chauncey to get the rest he needs. Some of you will overlook the fact that Earl Watson pressured him big time and could not rip the kid, but I won't because I know Earl is a ballhawk just like lindsey. Some of you will overlook how we have a pg that can handle the rock with ease w/out over dribbling, can get into the paint, can feed the post, can actually run the pick and roll- not the dreaded pick and pop, will actually swing the ball weakside making the defense scramble, not think about swinging it and let the D get back into position, and can start the offense. This kid was a STEAL!!!!!! The shot will get respectable in time, a la Avery Johnson.
Alright, I'm pickin' up whatcha layin' down... however the young fella will have to start to get his own (remember when they started playing Arroyo to pass) and Blalock will need to stick it from outside sometimes... the scouting reports don't lie...
funny story... in the D we were delivering the paper (after pulling an all nighter)... and we decided to take a rest next to a tree... this old fella come out and said "Yo layin' on Lye"... and we were like huh???
"yo layin on lye"... he meant we were laying on the poison he put on his grass to kill bugs. lol
Moral to the story?... let's not be layin' on lye when talkin' bout the rooks.

You can hear this on the audio (posted in the thread)

Goon Squad gives Pistons big boost against Sonics (http://www.mlive.com/pistons/stories/index.ssf?/base/sports-2/1166415002311340.xml&coll=1)

Goon Squad. I love it. Finally, the bench has a name, and it's an awesome name! Thanks Rich.

Oh, and great game from Glynnysaurus tonight. Almost had 1 of everything.

Min 11
FTM 1
Reb 1
TO 1
PF 1
Pts 1

(the rest were zeros of course)
Michael Curry numbers... the binary man 10101010101

Video highlights are up for those that missed it. Dale's putback is after he scored and got an opportunity to add 1 free throw. He missed and rebounded the miss for a putback. Also Delfino's game saving steal and Maxiell's game winning shot.

(VIDEO) Pistons 97, Sonics 93 (F) (http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap_354_seadet.asx)

Billups has been on a tear lately. He plays so much better with rest.

Ya beat me to it, I was going to say he went digital.
"Michael Curry numbers... the binary man 10101010101".
32 minutes for Brahma...is he ready for that? Talk about dead legs.
Good call on the score D59--- [97]

(VIDEO) Pistons 97, Sonics 93 (F) (http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap_354_seadet.asx)

Billups has been on a tear lately. He plays so much better with rest.
See if you and ArmyG can come up with a trade for him. Maybe you can get Dwade and Nash for him. I think JD would grudgingly pull that trigger.
:cheerleader: :cold: :MusicBigGrin: :nerd2:

I missed the first quarter and part of the second last night, but saw enough to begin to change my POV about JMax. This was the first time I've seen him on the floor when he was rebounding with intention. Most times he has seemed content to grab the ball when it was falling towards his hands, and not all that motivated to move somebody out of the way to get it. Last night was very different. I wonder if someone (Cowens?) lit a fire under him and made it clear that boards will keep him on the floor a lot longer than the occasional monster dunk.

He had a nice jumper going too. Now we'll see if he can keep it going (if of course he ever plays again) now that the opposition scouts might actually tell their players his name.

So it was Rip who gave them the name.
From the art. By Danny Knobler:

Maxiell, 23, is one of the Pistons' youngest players. Davis, at 37, is the oldest. They came together the last couple of nights to help the Pistons overcome Wallace's absence, and to earn the nickname bestowed on them by teammate Richard Hamilton.

The Goon Squad.

"We're the physical brothers,'' Maxiell said.
Maxiell (6-foot-7, 260 pounds) and Davis (6-11, 252) are big enough and physical enough to give the Pistons a different look under the basket, but for much of the early part of this season, they've been giving them a different look on the bench. Maxiell didn't play in seven consecutive games in late November and early December, and Davis played limited minutes.

front line scheme for rest of season:
48 min per forward/48 min per center.....

SHEED 8 MIN /1ST QTR; 4 MIN/2ND QTR; 8 MIN/3RD;6 MIN/4TH: 26
NAZR 5 MIN/1ST;4 MIN/2ND; 6 MIN/3RD; 6 MIN/4TH: 21
DYESS 7 MIN/1ST; 4 MIN/2ND; 1 MIN/3RD; 5 MIN/4TH: 17
DAVIS 2 MIN/1ST;8 MIN/2ND; 0 MIN/3RD; 4 MIN/4TH: 14
MAX 2 MIN/1ST: 4 MIN/2ND; 5 MIN/3RD; 3 MIN/4TH:14

THIS is why a coach loses hair and sleep...managing minutes! WWuD??

Not bad HQ, I'd let Sheed do more in the 4th and let Nazz foul out in the first half, if he needs to, to minimize the free chili line/entree.

Does any one else notice, the great defensive plays CB is making at the end of games? He has gotten so many clutch steals. Either it's the rest, or his b-ball IQ went up a thousand in 2 days. I think it's the rest, but either way he's actually playing that second team all defense right now.

Yes, CB's defense has definitely improved with his energy level. I also get the feeling that he won't pace himself so much at the beginning of games if he knows that he isn't going to have to play 40 minutes. I think that a lot of the slow starts were caused by him not looking to score.

All this talk about the bench and youth... am I the only Ronald Dupree fan here? I'm not saying that he should be a part of the rotation, but don't you have to throw a bone to the good-attitude energy guy every couple games or so? Just stick him with some of the starters when we look lethargic for 5 minutes sometime. We are not "hiding" him are we?

I think Dupree could help. More hustle can't hurt.

Dupree, Lindsey, Sheed, J-Max, DD, Delfino......

Flip is going to have to do some of the best coaching in his career now!!!!

i agree. play him sometime.

Wart, for what it's worth, I got both games Tivo'd on my DVR... I can transfer to a tape or DVD if you really want them....otherwise I am sure the someone will upload the Brahma highlights to the forum video pages....

dude that would be sweet. if you transferred to DVD i'd pay ya for shipping + a little bonus for your efforts :)