Clippers Feb 12 7:30PM

tv: FSN - NBALP

The Los Angeles Boat Show at the LA Convention Center and Staples Center sent both the Lakers and Clippers on extended east coast road trips that neither were prepared for and both will come home with their tails between their legs. The Lakers went 3-5 and the Clippers are currently 2-4 and the Pistons hope to send them back home 2 and 5.

The Clippers come into the Piston game with a record of 25-26 and are barely holding on to the 8th and final spot in the tough wild-wild west. Needless to say that are the most underachieving team in the west and have struggled out on the road going 8-18. They are 0-12 in back to back road games.:jaw:

Ever since Dunleavy got a new contract extension in mid December, the team has played uninspired ball, often blowing big leads in the 4th or giving up big runs like they did to the Pacers today of 16-0 and like they did last Tuesday to the Knicks when they were outscored 24-4 to start third quarter.

Elton Brand the face of the franchise is still putting up decent numbers scoring almost 21 a game and almost 10 boards and 2 blocks. After that is a fall off of consistency.

Corey Megette their second leading scorer often plays with a chip on his shoulder, fighting with the coach and shoots first before looking to a team mate. He is normally the first player off the bench but claims he doesn't get enough minutes. Quinton Ross is actually the starting SF, but plays no more than 15 mpg and averages about 6ppg.

The PG Sam Cassell is the 3rd leading scored on the team at 15 ppg and 5.5 assists, but is often injured and sore, so again the inconsistency of him being there day in and day out is missing.

Cuttino Mobley is their 4th leading scorer at 12.6 ppg and is one of their outside threats along with Tim Thomas who is actually there just to shoot 3's.

Their center Chris Kaman is one of the disappointments. He started off on target last year before an injury sidelined him and it appears that he has not been able to get out of his funk. His numbers 9.7 ppg and 7.7 boards. He cut his hair and lost his Samson strength. He plays better with Sam in there than Shaun Livingston.

Speaking of Livingston he is another enigma. With Cassell starting the season off recovering from injuries, Shaun was thrown into the starting lineup and the team has had its ups and downs with him running the point. He leads the team in both assists and steals. He is still only 3 years removed from high school and has a lot of potential, but he maybe with the wrong team. He would probably be great handling the Pistons backup pg. Everybody wants him, but the Clippers are reluctant to give him up as they have the history of letting players go who wind up being super stars unless the Clips hold on to them to long and ruin their careers. (Benoit Benjamin, Khandi man etc)

They have also signed Doug Christie to his second 10 day contract. ???

The Pistons should win this one going away as long as they hit them hard in the first half and not allow them to get up.

Thanks for the scouting report DRE.

Ditto. It's great to get first hand info about teams I don't see very much.

Yeah Dre, we always complain that the Pistons get hosed with their schedule at the Palace but the Clips and Lakers got kicked on the road for 2 weeks cause Grammys got next.
Ps 98 Cs 89

Yeah Dre, we always complain that the Pistons get hosed with their schedule at the Palace but the Clips and Lakers got kicked on the road for 2 weeks cause Grammys got next.
Ps 98 Cs 89

Yeah I forgot to mention the Grammy show which was held at Staples is right next door to the convention center where the boat show was.

It takes the Grammy folks at least a week or more to setup for that event, but apparently only a day to take it down since the Knicks will be there tomorrow to face the Lakers.

Look for me in section 210 pulling for the NY Zekes.

"Look for me in section 210 pulling for the NY Zekes."
Hopefully you won't need a gun backup.

Max's first post at the top of the thread lists this game as being on FSN Detroit, but for us non-local viewers, it's going to be on NBATV, and I believe it'll be on in hi-def as well. I get the NBATV hi-def games on the INHD channel.

Max's first post at the top of the thread lists this game as being on FSN Detroit, but for us non-local viewers, it's going to be on NBATV, and I believe it'll be on in hi-def as well. I get the NBATV hi-def games on the INHD channel.


Its is supposed to be on NBA TV here too. I just hope my satillite provider doesn't black it out it on that channel since the local affiliate is showing it on an hour delay.:mad:

It sucks being in the chat room on an hour delay.

It sucks being in the chat room on an hour delay.

I know. If that is what going to happen, then I will probably avoid the chat tonight and just watch the delay.

And oh by the way those without NBA TV, there is a free preview this week (2/10-2/19) that you can catch any televised games and etc. up through Thursday as well as round the clock All-Star behind-the-scenes activity that TNT won't show. Scroll thru your satellite or cable guides for this channel.

7th in a row today. Clippers havent beaten Detroit since 2002 and it wont change today. 11-2 with Chris Webber after this game. Detroit by 15 is my guess.

The game from Clipper.com perspective (http://www.nba.com/clippers/news/pp0607_DET_070212.html)


http://www.nba.com/media/clippers/graphic0506_pinto_watch.gif
:: Rasheed Wallace to make it a rough night on Elton Brand with his rangy defensive prowess. E.B.'s numbers have tailed off as the road trip's progressed. He's averaging a subpar 13ppg on 39% shooting over the last two contests. Wallace is coming off of a stellar showing versus Toronto two nights ago in which he scored 28 points while limiting East All-Star starting power forward Chris Bosh to 14 points. His length figures to give Brand difficulty and he's a confident player at the moment. The Clippers will likely need to find offense elsewhere in this game.
:: Guard play to determine this game's outcome. The tandem of Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton are as good as it gets in the NBA the way that they play off of and complement one another. Billups is a 6-3, 202 physically strong force who's known for his clutch shot-making and protection of the ball (currently second in the NBA with a 3.6:1 assist to turnover ratio). Hamilton's in perpetual motion around many, many screens that will be set for him and then a dead eye mid to long range shooter when he springs free. The Clippers stable of Sam Cassell, Shaun Livingston, Cuttino Mobley, Doug Christie and Quinton Ross must bring "A" games all if L.A. is to compete in this one.
:: Corey Maggette's scoring thrust to return in reserve in this game. Maggette, absent in Philly and Cleveland due to flu-like symptoms, looked rusty in his return to action Sunday in Indy scoring just 8 points while turning the ball over 5 times. His athleticism, ability to get to the rim both in transition and the half court and pride to perform at a high level versus this type of team figures to serve the Clippers well in this game. Don't be surprised by a big showing by Maggette.
:: Chris Kaman to be better inside than he was Sunday versus the Pacers when he made just 3-14 shots. Kaman's a Wyoming, Michigan native and will be jazzed for his homecoming with family and friends in the stands at the Palace of Auburn Hills. He should be able to manuever effectively inside against slow footed Chris Webber providing him with the opportunity to play a big offensive role in this game. His ability to finish on the interior will go a long way towards determining the club's chances of pulling off an upset because he will have ample opportunity to be a game swaying force.

BREAKING NEWS

Elton Brand will not be playing tonight. He is out with back spasms.

Per WDFN 1130AM

Max's first post at the top of the thread lists this game as being on FSN Detroit, but for us non-local viewers, it's going to be on NBATV, and I believe it'll be on in hi-def as well. I get the NBATV hi-def games on the INHD channel.

OH YEAH!!!!:hoops:

BREAKING NEWS

Elton Brand will not be playing tonight. He is out with back spasms.

Per WDFN 1130AM
wow!! Maybe my favorite PLAYER in the league. He's somebody I just love to watch on both ends of the court. He's a teamamtes teamate. Those are guys who dont go on the injured list, kick themselves out of games, or needs the ball 30 times a game to make a difference.Here's my all teammate teams (which features four pistons BTW):

FIRST TEAM:
F- BRAND, LAC
F- DUNCAN, SA
C- BEN, CHI
G- BILLUPS, DET
G- WADE, MIA

SECOND TEAM:
F- WEBBER, DET
F- NOWITZKI,DALL
C- HOWARD, ORL
G- NASH, PHX
G- HAMILTON, DET

THIRD TEAM:
F- HOWARD, DALL
F- PRINCE, DET
C- MARION, PHX
G- PARKER, SA
G- GINOBLI, SA

These guys do whatever it takes to win. they fight thru screens, hit th big shots and dont choke Under pressure. i'LL give U Lebron, Arenas, and all these sugar-sweet guys versus my guys and we'd wipe them out ..4-0 EVERYTIME!!!!!!!!!!

BTW, NBATV just showed 10 of Kobe Bryants best dunks..all IN GAME PLAYS. I just fell out my chair. I still think he might be the most underated superstar ever...

Chat is open!!!!

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

i got 24 on dvr!!!:pound:

Max's first post at the top of the thread lists this game as being on FSN Detroit, but for us non-local viewers, it's going to be on NBATV, and I believe it'll be on in hi-def as well. I get the NBATV hi-def games on the INHD channel.

That was good to know. I thought I had to watch the game on the crappy NBA channel. i can't believe you have to pay that much for crappy reception. channel 90 is my woohoo bar.

...apologies for crapping the chat tonight.

Clippers had no chance tonight without Brand, and the Pistons cruised to a pretty easy win. It was close in the first quarter, as the Clippers were hitting a bunch of jumpers, but the Pistons' starters got things going and built up a lead. The bench gave some of it back in the 2nd quarter, but the 3rd quarter was all Pistons, and the bench played better early in the 4th, allowing for about 7 minutes of garbage time in the 4th. Rip was the only one who played more than 32 minutes for the Pistons--he played 35. CWebb led the way with 19 points and 9 boards. All 5 starters hit double figures for the Pistons.

Delfino is being interviewed on NBA TV right now.

Detroit is so dominant that you really have to watch the numbers in a game like this.:
Clips 74 fg's, Detroit 73 fg's
Clips 19-2 ft's, Pistons 19-28ft's
clips 9 to's, Pistons 10 to's
Clips 46 rebs, pistons 45 rebs

...AND yet, WE WON BY 18 points!!! tHIS IS AVERY GOOD TEAM AND THEY ARE UP FROM 10TH TO 3RD IN usa today'S RANKINGS.

...apologies for crapping the chat tonight.
whachawhat u do, Low?:sssh:

Well, Delfino's English needs some work...LOL. I remember Ginobili struggling with that as well when he first came to the NBA, but he got way better in what seemed like a really short amount of time. Looks like Carlos still has a ways to go.

HQ, Low and Jackattaq got into another spat over Ben during garbage time in the 4th.

Rip was the only one who played more than 32 minutes for the Pistons--he played 35. CWebb led the way with 19 points and 9 boards. All 5 starters hit double figures for the Pistons.

Nice to see that the Pistons were able to keep minutes down tonight instead of the bench not being able to hold a lead. Any time CB plays less than 30 and the Pistons win big, that's a good thing.

Merc-cap:

I’ll start off when I woke up with 4 minutes left in the 1st.
Pistons down three (sounds like the Clips were hitting all of their outside shots).

Cwebb makes a tough running hook shot.

Magette was bothered by Tays length and forcing against a double team earning a quick trip to the bench after pushing off.

Just when the Clips looked like they were rolling Sheed nails a trey

The Clips were staying in the game by pounding the offensive glass (three O boards on one possession)… especially Kaman … the Pistons need to work more on protecting the D glass.

Tay welcomes the Christies back into the league by abusing him twice in a row inside and once outside
Beautiful transition block by Maxiell where it looked like he had Jordanesque hang time.

Delfino real busy off the bench playing nice D and getting an and 1

Clips are on a losing streak and show very little ball movement

Tay & Thomas trade 3’s
Tay feelin’ it with10 early pts

Carlos finished inside on a nice move (usually the one he’s called for palming on)

Couldn’t keep Kaman off the boards

Delfino sneaks an O board in between 4 Clips
Magette is very active creating space and scoring 8 pts with 5 minutes left in the 1st qtr.

Hunter is cold missing open shots and botching a 3 on 1 chance… the defense is still negating the Clips guards though.

Rips nails a 3 for a quite 10 with 4.22 left in the 2nd

Kaman ain’t used to a big that can shoot outside like Sheed…
Sheed started off slowly but he did have two 3’s in the first half.
After he got Kaman’s respect Sheed had him set for a show and go drive for a foul.
I didn’t have a problem with Sheed starting outside on the bigger slower Kaman.

Cwebb not much of a factor early (Kaman winning the early edge when matched up)

Sheed nice stop in a 3 on 1 break… good effort.

Tay says dunk you very much off an inbound play as soon as he came off the bench ( a coaches call)

7 point lead after the first qtr… it was like the Pistons were jabbing them and setting up the killer blow

Delfino gets Mr. intangible for the first qtr (and the game)

Where is Brand tonight?… I must have missed something.

Special K says the Pistons held the Clips to under 40% shooting and under 40 pts in the first half

Tay 12 pts 6 for 9 in first half

Cassell gets the goose egg after two qtrs (not much more for the game)

3rd Qtr

Mobley starts off just like the first Qtr hitting from outside

Rip is back to doin’ his mid range thing in this qtr
Dunleavey gets T’d up (never liked this jerk)

Sheed got a bad defensive call and the fuse was lit… thank goodness he showed discipline in selecting his words

Chauncey made a nice drive and dish with the shot clock running out for an AND 1.

Cwebb and Rip get back to their Zen playing (did they play 10 years together somewhere?)

Clips are punch drunk half way through the 3rd… Ali is applying the rope-a-dope… the finisher is coming soon.

Defense is back?

I thought Livingston was an up-and-comer?... he gets the Mr. invisible award (ok he shared it with the Alien)

Cwebb was able to match Kaman point for point for most of the game… which is all we can ask… then he turns on the burners later.

The Pistons were clearly the smarter team… the Clips fell for all of the pump fakes.

As soon as they took Kaman out Sheed gets inside position for an easy flush.

The Pistons stayed with the zone longer than usually as it clearly bothered the Clips.

Dice finally gets on the board with 1.5 minutes left in the third… but he did make some nice effort plays tonight

Up 15 going into the 4th… the home team is already warming up their pipes with their rendition of “Goodnight sweetheart”

Webb starts warming up and he’s got 19 pts early in the 4th

Pistons do a nice job of denying the inlet pass to Kaman.

Cassell is starting to show his age.. pretty much a non factor this game.

The route is on and Brahma gets some PT with 7.5 minutes left.

Blaha says “Dice off the high glass with a circus shot!”

Nice defensive footwork this game… the Clips were late in the shot clock a lot this game.

Nazr in @ 5.5 left in the game… drops a nice pass inside that woulda been a dunk.
Murray also gets some PT this game.

Delfino draws Magette assignment most of the time… he did a pretty good job… and also lost the quickness battle a couple times… tough matchup…we’ll take it.

None of the scrubs played well… Jmax was out hustled by Paul Davis… Flip Jr. was “all about me”… and Nazr… well he uh… what did he do?

Overall solid effort by the core tonight… distributing the ball… lock down D… and running an efficient offense… keep them wagons rollin’

:pound: Well, Delfino's English needs some work...LOL. I remember Ginobili struggling with that as well when he first came to the NBA, but he got way better in what seemed like a really short amount of time. Looks like Carlos still has a ways to go.

HQ, Low and Jackattaq got into another spat over Ben during garbage time in the 4th.
:pound: :pound: :pound: just the thought....Me and Low love some BEN!..BTW, last night, Ben was 3-12 vs Phoenix at the line .Final? bulls 116-103.

Good recap, merc. Brand was a late scratch because of back spasms.

Another game with a slow start, both on defense and offense. Again, we don't start out using our post up game. But we got it going after those opening minutes, and because of good post play, ended up ahead in the first quarter. In the 3rd quarter, we started out immediately playing thru Webber in the post and the game was soon all but over.

We saw our first 20-10 game from Webber. (Well, the refs blew that one call or CWebb would have ended up with 21-10, as it was, hey, I think we will all take a 19-9, player of the game.) Most of this was inside scoring, I think with one outside shot made. Webber's defense on Kamen, when we left Webber on his own, was not too good in the first half and Kamen did some damage in the post. But I don't think Kamen scored in the 2nd half. Sheed guarded him some and we double teamed otherwise. (Or sometimes Kamen was kept too far from the basket thru some good team effort.)

No Brand. Oh well, still a good team with plenty of scorers. Good win, 7 in a row and 11-2 with Webber starting. The starters got their rest, Delfino played plenty and did great on D, the boards, and added some scoring, hitting a triple and going inside twice. JMAX got more than 5 minutes, and hit a shot fading from the post. Playing time does seem to help. A block too.

Mohammed got in during garbage time, got some boards. Flip called his own number as usual when he got to play a bit. Delfino was out there in garbage time as well, and as usual, remained all about getting other people shots. What a team player.

Dyess made several shots. CB got a few buckets mid-1st quarter and pretty much nothing after that except some free throws. Hamilton got some assists and a decent, but not great scoring numbers. Look for Rip's scoring numbers to continue to go down as we go more and more toward post play.

Hunter had a pretty poor game. Yes, it still irks me that JMAX gets so many minutes with Hunter as the point, so never gets a chance to get much practice scoring from the post. The ball does not get to where it needs to go with Hunter running the point. I count this as another game where he hurt the team by playing. The only good thing, Hunter played enough point, lousy as it was, to keep CB out of the game, on the bench resting where he belongs.

Tay hit some outside shots, got some buckets inside, and along with the rest of the Pistons played solid D after the first quarter. (Well, at least most of the first quarter was poor D in regards to the perimeter D, and in regards to not helping out Webber with Kamen.)

Without Brand, the Clips had no interior D at all. Kamen is pretty decent on O, but thats it. Very incomplete player. Of course, against Sheed his O shows not that good at all.

Besides Kamen scoring early on Webber, their 6-7 point guard was hitting outside shots to start the game. Tim Thomas nailed a few 3's, Maggette got some points.

A story. No Dale Davis. Just 4 minutes of playing time this month. Saunders is pulling another Saunders here. This is not developing the bench. At least Delfino is getting some fairly regular burn these days, but that it as far as any serious efforts to try to expand out from the 7 man rotation he went down to last season before the playoff. JMAX did play both halves in this one, but Saunders only used JMAX for garbage time in the 4th, despite a comfy enough lead. Winning the game again is not as important as developing the bench. JMAX needed actual time with the regular rotation, not what amounted to playtime.

This team still needs to get better. I love the wins too, please Flip, keep an eye on the playoffs. Start making decisions based on preparation for the playoffs. Expand the rotation. Add Blalock, Amir, and Dale Davis. Find a way. GO PISTONS!!!!!

6 Pistons shot > 50% tonight.

I think for Tay to play well all we have to do is

1. Add LA to the opposing team's name
or
2. Play in LA

Seriously is it just me or does he always get up for these games?

I think for Tay to play well all we have to do is

1. Add LA to the opposing team's name
or
2. Play in LA

Seriously is it just me or does he always get up for these games?

Thats true. Pistons have won 8 straight games against the Clipps, thats 4 years worth and they have not lost to the Lakers since game #2 of the 2004 Finals. At least Phil Jackson has a bar buddy to share his frusteration with.


Just a great game. Pistons have not only beening winning games - thay have been blowing the competition out of the water during this 7 game streak. Prior win streaks featured a lot of nail bitters with the Starters pulling it out in the final 2 mins. This streak the game is over by then.

Sheed and Dyess have been playing great, ever since Webber came.

As I said in my pre game comments, the Pistons should win going away as all you have to do is put together a decent run on the Clipps and they will die before halftime. Well it took a little longer (about the four minute mark of the third) but after that it was over. The Pistons wasted opportunites in the second qtr but still you could tell that Clippers were just going through the motions and couldn't wait to get back to the warmth of So Cal with their cold 32% shooting.

Even if Elton Brand had played, the outcome of the game would have still been the same with a Pistons W. I think I saw Brand at the Grammys last night so I don't think he was in Detroit anyway. :) Nobody saw him on the bench did you??

The Pistons are playing well, but the litmus test will be on Wednesday vs the struggling Spurs. Anybody notice that Hunter was 1-8 and Murray 0-2. That's your backup point guards folks. (not that Murray is suited to run it).

Dre and lee,

Good points about some of our problems with the second unit. We do have to get better as Miami looked good against SA. Can Webber do anything with Shaq? Will Saunders play Davis to take some fouls? Who is Joe bringing aboard for the point or perimeter defense?

Lee on post-up game--I call it the Webber playbook. It seems to work.

Dre, this was like an exhibition game without Brand. The Clippers are in bad shape.

I liked the second quarter small ball line-up last night. Hunter, Delfino, JMax, Dice, and either Rip or Tay. The Clips made one 6-0 run in the middle of their time, but otherwise the second was 18-7.

Seemed like Delfino wanted to bring the ball up more but Hunter pouted every time.

i like after the game when they interviewed webber on the court and asked if he was still learning flip's plays and stuff - and he said nah, not really, it's time to just play. to me this is a good thing, because instead of getting locked down into specific offensive possessions, we can just use our strengths and get the best shot available.

it's amazing how many smiles we're seeing from the pistons these days - especially sheed. they're having fun and killing their opponents.

earlier in the year i was never confident that the pistons would pull out victories...now when i'm watching the games that confidence is back, and it looks like the players have it too.

From ClipperBlog.com:

The Clippers' team defense really starts to break down when the Pistons' starters return in the second. Livingston and Maggette get crossed up on an off-ball switch, yielding a wide-open Rip Hamilton three. While the ball is into McDyess down low, Hamilton runs a perfect screen for Wallace to pop out, leaving Kaman and Shaun completely confused. Under the basket, Prince inbounds it to Webber out on the right wing, who immediately zips it back to Prince for an easy dunk, as Corey falls asleep --- somehow thinking that he's more helpful doubling Webber (with Thomas) 17 feet from the basket, than taking Prince underneath. The Clippers spend most of the second half running into Piston screens. I know that Detroit isn't an exciting team to watch in the PHX sense, but they do so many things well on the court that it's hard not to derive pleasure from their perfectly executed sets. They get so, so much out of what's basically an average roster.

Alas, from the best starting five in the league to "basically an average roster" (with two all-stars). I'm kind of liking average.

YouTube - Cwebb AG (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yy_AcZ5Q5U)