@ San Antonio
NAT : NBALP
LOC : TV20 Detroit
RADIO : 1130 WDFN AM

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http://www.todato.net/manu-ginobili/images/manu_ginobili_1.jpg

LETS GO PISTONS!

Chat is open!!!

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

But I'm in a baseball draft so gimme a little bit to show up!

But Billups...asirball airball t.o. and no defence? Webber ??? Bench on ...incredible Rip Tay...COME ON COME ON now 57 51 no 20 down

Rip has the yips at the free-throw line. Sad to see this. It's like having Ben up there late in a game.

Ball don't lie.

dang---what a great game---wish Rip would have hit those shots.

Crazy finish...Spurs practically tried to give it away, Manu with one of the worst passes of all time, Flip with a ridiculous flop that the ref called after waiting about 10 seconds...but then he CHOKES at the line...terrible.

Webber had an awful game, and CB did nothing until the last couple of minutes. CB and Rip are both clearly off their game now. Gotta get them healthy and back on track.

It's hindsight but if not for the Pistons getting 2 techs and Rip missing 2 free throws the boys could have stolen this game. The Pistons didn't deserve to win this game, especially with that horrible 1st quarter. Webber has had 2 bad games in a row so hopefully that's just a blip. Chauncey is still not hitting his stride and his 3s were going up like bricks so that didn't help the cause. The best unit we had out there in terms of putting the Pistons ahead for their only lead was Delfino, Murray, Prince, Wallace and Dice. I think the Spurs/Pistons would be a really great match-up but Flip Saunders is just not up to the chess game moves that Popovich employs.

Yea Rip looks awful. Besides choking, he's forcing EVERYTHING. Give him a week off to get right again. Chauncey looks great in spurts, but can't sustain a 48 min effort. He needs to rest as well.

Sheed is suspended for MIL. Luckily Bogut is out as well.

It's hindsight but if not for the Pistons getting 2 techs and Rip missing 2 free throws the boys could have stolen this game. The Pistons didn't deserve to win this game, especially with that horrible 1st quarter. Webber has had 2 bad games in a row so hopefully that's just a blip. Chauncey is still not hitting his stride and his 3s were going up like bricks so that didn't help the cause. The best unit we had out there in terms of putting the Pistons ahead for their only lead was Delfino, Murray, Prince, Wallace and Dice. I think the Spurs/Pistons would be a really great match-up but Flip Saunders is just not up to the chess game moves that Popovich employs.

Agreed. That was our best line-up. Also i have sinking feeling that this is what Webber is going to look like in the playoffs against elite teams like this (defensive).

Well the week that was started off with a 20 point blowout of the Suns that had the Pistons beating their chests. Then the 4th qtr FT meltdown to the Mavericks, a nice scheduled win over the Sixers, then two games in Texas that were lost due to strugging offenses in the first qtr and using to much effort to catch up. Falling behind early is a killer!!

It only proves that if we were in the west, the Pistons would still be the fifth or sixth best team. Sweeps by the jazz, warriors and now the probable west champions Spurs. Yeah we can hang with them, based on the close LOSSES, but no moral victories here. When the Pistons come out flat, then that means not PT for Max and we never find out what he can bring to the table in these situations. Isn't time to bring back AJ to see if he can contribute down the stretch?

Wassup with Rip(choker) and the Ft line?? Goes 2-7 vs the mavs, does not get to the line vs the Rockets and 0-2 vs the Spurs??? Are the Texas teams Rip achilles heel?? Pistons could not break 90 points vs those texas teams this week. 93 points by the Pistons in each of those games would have been 3 winners. Webber struggled in both of these Texas games too.

SHeed may be out Sunday due to another tech...hopefully its reviewable and overturned.

Not much left to say except...

the better Dice plays in a marquee matchup, the lower our chances of winning becomes...

You can't get too much done with 3 starters playing so poorly. CB needs to sit down as soon as LH is back. His game and instincts are retarded right now.

Also, why is Webber's game in the tank as soon as his shooting coach from Philly shows up?

We don't need that filthy, pathetic Sixers taint anywhere near our team!

I only caught some of the last part of the 4th...my main focus is the bench.

Dice was on both ends of the floor getting an awesome 'why did he even try that shot?' block. He got a nice dish out from a driving Jr for a rattler 15 footer. Dice has been playing great...he WANTS it.

Jr seems determined to prove us all wrong about what we've said about him all season.

Delfino battled hard for a good O rebound and got the put back down with a foul...but the refs called it a non-shooter...the most questionable call I saw.........UNTIL Rip got barely bumped by Bowen near mid-court and coughed up the ball while falling to the floor like he'd been kneed in the crotch...the whistle came when Bowen approached the foul stripe on his way to a dunk. As always...the officiating is suspect in it's subjectiveness and tendency to weird make up calls.

Rip's many missed FTs over the last few games are way outta character for him...but his flop tonight was borderline ridiculous. Rip's got some head games goin on...I hope he finds a way to clear it up before the playoffs.

Not much left to say except...

the better Dice plays in a marquee matchup, the lower our chances of winning becomes...

You can't get too much done with 3 starters playing so poorly. CB needs to sit down as soon as LH is back. His game and instincts are retarded right now.

i disagree. you can win games if 3 starters aren't playing well. flip saunders is just unwilling to sit them when they aren't playing well. flip murray, fino, dale davis should have got wayyyy more minutes.

fell asleep, woke up 4th quarter, fun to watch, we lost, blah, good thing we're in the east, can the playoffs get here already, etc.

Crazy finish...Spurs practically tried to give it away, Manu with one of the worst passes of all time, Flip with a ridiculous flop that the ref called after waiting about 10 seconds...but then he CHOKES at the line...terrible.

Webber had an awful game, and CB did nothing until the last couple of minutes. CB and Rip are both clearly off their game now. Gotta get them healthy and back on track.

Flip? You mean Rip, rite? You are as tired and worn out like both CB and Rip, my bro :pound:

Take good care:MusicBigGrin:

i disagree. you can win games if 3 starters aren't playing well. flip saunders is just unwilling to sit them when they aren't playing well. flip murray, fino, dale davis should have got wayyyy more minutes.

Jmax should have played too esp when Timmy was out towards the end of the 1st quarter, Let him play for 5 minutes, no harm since we are already down that much. The spurs have already start makin changes at the 5 minute mark of the 1st. But Flip sub pattern is so predictable every game. Only Dice comes in the 1st. Why, Flip? WHY?

Flip? You mean Rip, rite? You are as tired and worn out like both CB and Rip, my bro :pound:

Take good care:MusicBigGrin:
Whoops...I must have pulled a groin in chat or something. :sssh: :laugh:

Very disturbing loss. SA has taken it to us twice--opened up big leads twice, out executed us twice. They pulled away on cue. THEY EXECUTE BETTER THAN WE DO. Keep in mind they are using over the hill guys like Horry and Barry. Troubling.

When the other team stops Webber, the offense defaults to the old playbook or to put it another way, to a poor offense. The elite teams will go after Billips and Rip. Expect that. It happened two years ago and it happened last year. No, it is not poor shooting; it is poor offense.

The reason it works is that Tay is not used in the flow. Indeed, there is little passing or flow. Tay is a weapon catching and shooting and catching and driving. His post up game is actually overused and not his best asset. Other teams would use him as a deadly shooter who can also get to the hoop. Notice who actually steps up in big games. Tay. They have trouble stopping him AND focusing on our guards.

Rip couldn't be truly stopped if he stayed to his mid-range game. Somehow, he thinks that he has to drive. Not only does he not finish, he gets banged up. A coach uses his pieces to sharp, deadly precisicion. Not our coach.

Enough of the Sheed three ball. One or two a game.

Billips. Wow. I can't recognize his game. He was our best shooter. My theory is that they have made him so much into an assist guy that his offensive game has atrophied. WE cannot beat the elite teams with Billips mainly as an assist guy. WE NEED HIS POINTS.

The coach needs to get him some consistent looks, get the ball to come back to him and Chauncey needs to get back to the gym and just shoot.

Murray is for real. Five games is not a fluke. He has actually looked better than Billips. He now knows when he wants to shoot and he can fininsh the drive. He cannot run the offensive sets and get the ball to guys like Billips can though.

Murray has toned his game down and looks more like Billips. Now we need Chauncey to get the offense back and look more like Murray.

Billips. Wow. I can't recognize his game. He was our best shooter. My theory is that they have made him so much into an assist guy that his offensive game has atrophied. WE cannot beat the elite teams with Billips mainly as an assist guy. WE NEED HIS POINTS.

The coach needs to get him some consistent looks, get the ball to come back to him and Chauncey needs to get back to the gym and just shoot.

Murray is for real. Five games is not a fluke. He has actually looked better than Billips. He now knows when he wants to shoot and he can fininsh the drive. He cannot run the offensive sets and get the ball to guys like Billips can though.

Murray has toned his game down and looks more like Billips. Now we need Chauncey to get the offense back and look more like Murray.

Does anyone here remember when Chauncey was a big threat offensively.. going for 30 points a night consistently in the playoffs... carrying us on his back?

so much for larry brown being a good influence on him.. all he can seem to hit now is the midrange jumper.

I actually enjoyed this game a lot. It felt like the playoffs. Every single player in the game was giving it everything they had on offense and defense.

And the Spurs are good. They have the highest point differential in the league (higher than Dallas and Phoenix even). For a team that plays slow, that is really saying something.

Both Houston and San Antonio play real defense. Of course we have trouble with that. Every team has trouble when they face determined defenders playing in an organized scheme.

OK, so SA shot a higher FG% than us. They shot 50% 3's, while we shot 15% (ouch). They shot 29 free throws to our 18 (ouch). They outrebounded us 46 to 40. So why was this game close? This is a very good sign for us that almost every number can be in their favor and they still almost lose in their building.


And a final note, Flip Murray had 8 assists in 23 minutes. Not a point guard? This was a big game against a great team... and Flip played well. He has restored my confidence in our chances.

Ta Shawn,

Agree about the good news on Murray.

But SA has now jumped on us twice and whenever the game got close, they put it into overdrive and built a comfortable lead. They played our own style against us and executed better. Twice.

Worrisome is that elite teams take away Billips and Rip. Worrisome is that we help them to do so by how we employ or don't imploy our weapons.

SA is the only team this year that has looked better than us in head to head. (Miami has not played at full strength)

We have to anticipate that elite teams will go after Rip and Chauncey and try and contain Webber. What is our adjustment going to be?

Maverick,

Exactly. Chauncey was a unique point guard because he could score. If he doesn't score, he is not great with quickness, etc.

A coach needs to size up who he has and use that to destroy the other team.

Murray has looked good because he is doing the things offensively that Billips used to do.

We need the real Chauncey back.

San Antonio may not make it out of the West. So, in that case, no adjustments necessary.

And just because they have beaten us twice doesn't mean that they will beat us in a series. Tonight's game could have easily gone in our favor without any adjustments. Bowen has always played Rip tough. That is why I always fear SA. And let's give CB a break until he proves that he is back from his injury.

We don't have to be the better team to win the Finals.

Right now, I'd put our chances at 75% to get there and 33% to win it once we do. So, total odds are 25%.

Compare that to a team like SA. 33% chance of getting to the Finals and 66% chance of winning when they get there. So, total odds are 22%. I like our odds better at this point.


We all know these Pistons don't do well when they are on top. Why would we want to enter into the Playoffs with Sheed and crew thinking that we are the best team? I love these close losses when our guys gave it their all. That will keep their egos in check and give them something to fight for.

Speaking of Tayshaun, and mismatches . . . Did we not think he could take Brent Barry?!?!

I'm so sick of the Rip/Chauncey chucking bad shots when things get tough . . .

I couldn't watch the game so I only can eat from your posts and Nba recap and highlights. I have to go for an English exam to get a degree. This I think is the secoond game I didnt see live this year. Today Mil. Let's concentrate on that.:)

Positives:

Sheed's first half play
Dice, Fino and Flip's solid play
Hung in there on the road when a blowout was on the cards
Sheeds T (more bench)

Negatives:

Sheed's 2nd half play, including off the dribble 18 footers, garbage 3 bricks
Rip still in a funk
Chauncey's shooting
Webber's D on premiere big men
Max didn't play. again...
Sheeds T (still stupid)

A win would have been good, but I think I detected just a bit of heart last night - an angry Pistons team who stepped up after running into a buzzsaw. SA came out to play and played hard from the jump. Detroit came out in their usual why-can't-we-be-friends-kum-ba-ya chant and got blown out. But for once, it seemed to really annoy them.

Maybe this will be a wake-up call and we might start seeing some games where they play for the whole 48. Good thing I think is that this was the Spurs A game, and at home, and the Pistons could have just as easily won.

It's easy to see why the refs don't like the Pistons after Billups' last minute throwing himself sideways attempting to draw a foul on a three try. That the replay clearly showed at least a foot of space between him and the defender, he also had to come running down the court with that look complaining all the way. Time to move beyond third grade Chauncey.

We fell behind quick. A lot of that was Billups and Rip being injured and not being effective. Not to mention Webber, coming off the flu, was giving us absolutely nothing. For the game, Webber did two things. Miss shots. Poor D. Sure he guarded Elson ok, but what center can't? Webber should have sat the last two games out, it would have helped us greatly.

We did not take a 3 until 2 minutes left in the first half. Sheed made one, probably luck as it caught glass and went in. Bad luck, cause a couple of missed 3's in to open the 3rd quarter by Sheed helped trigger a 7-0 run for SA. Later in the 3rd, a couple of missed 3's by Billups helped SA to a 15-2 run. Threes were are enemy for this game. An enemy we chose to invite to the game.

The bench, thats Delfino, Dyess, and Flip Murray, came all the way back in the 2nd quarter to erase a double digit deficit the starters handed them. Sheed did a lot of good work around the basket in the 2nd quarter. Good D too. Still, I question why Sheed played nearly the entire first half. Jason Maxiell and Dale Davis were over on the bench just sitting there.

Flip Murray had a good game, and got a lot of assists. Still does not make him a point guard. He is a guard who can create his won shot, which often bails him out when he can't do a dang thing with the ball otherwise. Flip did manage to get toward the hoop and dish a few times in this game. A few times. Blalock can do more in two minutes in this regard then a game's worth for Murray. Still, a good game for Murray, and the team did very well with him in the game. One thing he did a lot better than Billups, he did not decide to start jacking up a bunch of threes to hand the game to the other team.

Tay had a so so game. He made an outside shot, a few hooks around the basket. But no rebounding. Maybe a bit lazy on D here and there. Still a good game from him but not as good as he could be with some rest. Tay is not built to be the top minutes guy for a team.

Dyess was pretty awesome. Rebounding, defense, and a lot of scoring. Both his inside game and outside shot were working. One thing this recent spout of adversity has done, brought out the best in Dyess.

Delfino just basically played good solid D. He did have the one steal and drive all the way to the basket, but that was it for his offense. They don't exactly run plays for the guy.

Rip has that nasty bruise on his thigh from a couple of games ago. Still affecting his shot, and his defense. In all, our starters are so banged up that they collectively do not hustle on D when in as a unit. If a guy has a wide open shot, you still got to charge out at him, with the arms up. You got to put some pressure on the shot. The subs do this. If a starter or two is in with 3 subs, they are shamed into doing this. Our starters should be leading the way on this, not following. And just maybe they could hand the bench a lead to keep, not a deficit to claw out of.

We have to anticipate that elite teams will go after Rip and Chauncey and try and contain Webber. What is our adjustment going to be?
"Adjustment" . . . wow, what a word so heavy to Flip Sr !
If he wanted this game, he'd known that CB had been less than 50%, if it's just another regular season game why didn't save him for playoff. The season is already deep, where our benchs are ? Would someone so kind to help me to understand what does this 8/9 roration mean in back to back road games ? What will these great strategy and great tactics benefit both in short and long run of the team.
IMHO he's kind of either insult his bench or just play his starters to dead to get familiar to his game if he has any. What a star-coat-tail-rider.
I've not seen any improvement of our team since his arrival, credit to our players who sometimes played like what they once were at best and most of the time they just played by their instinct and experience as if they don't have a coach.
The looks of faces on our bench always twist my heart.

wham! 1st round to spurs
bam! 2nd round to pistons
slam! 3rd round to spurs
pow! 4th round the pistons...
final..spurs get decision in a great 15 rounder.Iwatched the entire game looking like Mickey in Rocky. Im not a regular season guy anymore, so i just wanted us to man up.
The difference? 1. Flip will never beat Pop in a game that counts. NEVER!EVER! So lets hope this aint a Finals preview....
2. Max wouldve have gone 10 and 5 in a game like this. Our coach is a nervous beeyotch and the team knows it.
3. Rip was 8 for 12, so he shot well. His ability to get open on the curl is the problem. Id sure like to see him come off the bench like Manu. But I dont think Rip has the heart Manu has and I KNOW Flip dont have the guts. Who would I start? Believe it or not -I Hate Him. He looks more confident and it would give us a Dumars-Thomas-Vinnie kind of setup. I mean, we dont start the game thru Rip anyway.
STARTERS:
PRINCE
SHEED
WEBBER
BILLUPS
HATE
BENCH:
DYESS
MAX
NAZR(even Pop gave him 10 min)
RIP
HUNTER
WILDCARD:
DELFINO...AS A REplacement for SF, PF ansd SG

This is a good/great team ...ran by a terrible head coach who has no control of his team or decisions.

Some more observations. Sheed goes off for 19 in the first half using short jumpers and inside play. Second half he only has 2 pts and 3 missed 3 ball attempts. Talk about a disappearing act? He thru up a 3 ball brick in crunch time and Genobli who was all but invisible hits one on the other end after the Pistons had pulled to within 3 themselves. Then Rip an 85% FT shooter misses 2 freebies and Timmy a 65% FT calmly sinks his two on the other end which turns out to be winning point (or was the technical FT made earlier in the game due to Sheed's mouth, the winning point):yellowprison:

Popovich uses 12 men to get the victory...Flip limits his to 8 players...Like everyone said, the Brahma could have contributed something here. If CWebb has the flu, get someone in there that is healthy. Heck Nazr played here before, he may have even been able to contribute a rebound or a block.....Tony Parker dazzled the Pistons and no one could stop him.

I just don't understand what the assistant coaches do for this team? Can't they influence this guy to take a chance with this prodigies??

Pistons start off the month 1-3, then go 5-0, then another 1-3. Well I had the Pistons going 11-6 this month. Now they are 7-6 and we can only hope that they can finish off the month with a wnning record. The 10-1 February is a distant memory as is that Coach of the month and player of the month accolades bestowed upon Flip and Billups.

The 10-1 February is a distant memory as is that Coach of the month and player of the month accolades bestowed upon Flip and Billups.
To be honest, when it was announced, I was like, have happy ride Flip.

I am reallygetting sick of the ill-advised 3`s being jacked up by Sheed. I mean they happen in crunch time for crying out loud, right when two points or FT`s would be good.

He has the guts to complain about Flip going small, yet he shoots these 3`s like it`s part of the game plan. What`s even more disturbing is, Flip doesn`t say jack to him about it!!

Is he scared of Sheed or what???...........Jeeez

Not much left to say except...

the better Dice plays in a marquee matchup, the lower our chances of winning becomes...

You can't get too much done with 3 starters playing so poorly. CB needs to sit down as soon as LH is back. His game and instincts are retarded right now.

Roscoe, what should Dice's role be in a big game? It seems of late his numbers have been solid both on the offensive and defensive ends. I realise he gives away alot on cheap fouls but his energy more than makes up for this right? Are you suggesting that if Dice has a good game stat wise then that means our top guys arent looking for their own and giving it up to lesser guys like prince and the like...

I'm just saying that if you see Dice start to put up monster #s against a quality opponent, it's time to get worried. His best games seem to come in losses. Just pointing out a trend.

And yeah, if Dice is going off, it means Sheed and CWebb are not.

wham! 1st round to spurs
bam! 2nd round to pistons
slam! 3rd round to spurs
pow! 4th round the pistons...
final..spurs get decision in a great 15 rounder.Iwatched the entire game looking like Mickey in Rocky. Im not a regular season guy anymore, so i just wanted us to man up.
The difference? 1. Flip will never beat Pop in a game that counts. NEVER!EVER! So lets hope this aint a Finals preview....
2. Max wouldve have gone 10 and 5 in a game like this. Our coach is a nervous beeyotch and the team knows it.
3. Rip was 8 for 12, so he shot well. His ability to get open on the curl is the problem. Id sure like to see him come off the bench like Manu. But I dont think Rip has the heart Manu has and I KNOW Flip dont have the guts. Who would I start? Believe it or not -I Hate Him. He looks more confident and it would give us a Dumars-Thomas-Vinnie kind of setup. I mean, we dont start the game thru Rip anyway.
STARTERS:
PRINCE
SHEED
WEBBER
BILLUPS
HATE
BENCH:
DYESS
MAX
NAZR(even Pop gave him 10 min)
RIP
HUNTER
WILDCARD:
DELFINO...AS A REplacement for SF, PF ansd SG

This is a good/great team ...ran by a terrible head coach who has no control of his team or decisions.
just wanted to relate this to todays game at Milw ...hmmm?! More minutes for Max? Rip off the bench? Delfino as the wild card? ..Its so carzy it JUST MIGHT WORK!!!