Philadelphia 76ers April 15th, 6:00 PM
TV - FSN Detroit NBA LP


The Pistons are giving their bench some PT while fine tuning for the post season, while the 76ers are involved in the "Durant or Oden" ping pong sweepstakes.

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I will be at this one. Sitting about 30 feet from the Pistons bench. I am going to love seeing the young guys play.

Philly just got mathematically eliminated, so this should have an exhibition game feel to it.

I was surprised to learn that they have the 5th best record in the NBA since the all star break. AI was getting in the way it would seem.

After Philly's spankage at home to the Magic it's almost a lock that we'll face the Ex Pistons in the playoffs.
Another audition for the youth of the nation?... or does Flip start warming up the bullpen for the real deal?

After Philly's spankage at home to the Magic it's almost a lock that we'll face the Ex Pistons in the playoffs.
Another audition for the youth of the nation?... or does Flip start warming up the bullpen for the real deal?

Don't forget, the bench needs warming up to. There is indeed a lot to talk about in this potential first round matchup between us and Orlando, but I am waiting for that thread to get started before I go too deep into that.

Willie Green will score 16 pts in first half...and finish with 20..as usual. I just wish our bench guys would just go ahaed and start. I think it would give them a lil bit of an edge for this dog game.

F- Delfino(but tay is prideful bout his streak)
F- Maxiel
c- Mohammad (great attitude this year, i have ebcome a fan of his for taht alone)
G- Murray
G- Billups


Next game:
F- Prince
F- Johnson
C- Mohammad
G- Hunter
G- hamilton

Last game:
F- Sheed
F- Johnson
C- davis
G- Murray
G- Delfino

The bench should definitely get tons of burn this game. None of the starters should exceed 20 minutes in this one. I really believe Flip should mix up a lot of the rotations in having the bench play with the starters for a good portion of the night. In the waning moments if the game is close I say that you put the bench out there and have them try to win it. There is one thing I feel that can our bench to the next level and it is being able to play under pressure and being able to add to their increasing confidence. All of our guards (Delf,Flip,Hunter) should get major burn and work on in game chemistry.

Games earlier in the day: the Warriors take a 1-game lead over the Clippers in the Western Conference 8th seed race, and Joey Crawford is an unbelievable jackass.

and Joey Crawford is an unbelievable jackass.
Add Danny Crawford, Steve Javie and Ron Garretson to that list.

If I see Marc Davis is going to be refereeing, I almost do not want to watch the game.

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

Chat is open!!!

Half time score 50-50. Looks like Flip is going with the bench again as they played the entire second Qtr. No Hunter sightings. AJ played the whole qtr plus some scoring 2 pts on 1-8 shooting, but comtributed 7 boards, 5 blocks. Without his rebounds, the Pistons may have been down as they have been out boarded 28-16.

One other thing about the bench..either they didn't go to the hole or scrubs don't get calls...Only Flip jr went to the FT line in that second stanza.

Lets hope Flip sr wants to win this one for the home fans and inserts some starters down the stretch..

Amir Johnson is not a power forward.

Maybe he can be a Shawn Marion finisher-style 3, but he was slower and weaker than some scrub named Louis Amundsen at the 4.

Amir Johnson is not a power forward.

Maybe he can be a Shawn Marion finisher-style 3...

I could live with that.
:)

I could live with that.
:)

Then Maxiell is the future 4? If so, Maxiell needs to work on his FTs. If he's gonna bruise his way to the hoop, he'll get fouled a lot (see Karl Malone).

Then Maxiell is the future 4? If so, Maxiell needs to work on his FTs. If he's gonna bruise his way to the hoop, he'll get fouled a lot (see Karl Malone).

He also need s to learn how to pass out of a double team. It`s nice that he is being doubled! I guess.........

I'm fine with Amir this game... yes he got beat down the court once... he also gave up some O boards to Amundsen... it's no secret that Amir needs to add some weight/strength... but this is not anything near the end product... it's nice to have a front court player who can play above the rim and get out in transition.... Marion also played PF a lot.
Amir looked like he wasn't breathing hard after a long shift (the F key acting up creates some funny sentences lol).
He has also demonstrated that he will pass out of a double (just not recognizing it all the time)

Credit due to the shooting by the sixers... Hunter thought he was Dirk for a day... and that floater by Willie Green is almost unstoppable...
that said maybe we should temper our optimism about our bench... they were clearly out played... Flip Jr acted like he was the only guy out there (somehow he got 6 assists).
I'm just thrilled we finally get to see Amir in some NBA action.

Well another " I don't give-a %%% " effort by the Pistons. . No D was played by starters or bench as sixers shot 48% for the game after hitting almost 80% in the first 8 minutes before cooling off. What did we learn today? That Amir can block and he can probably rebound better than JMax, but still needs to learn how to shoot. He also showed some athletism, something that the Pistons surely lack.

I don't know about you all but to me it appeared that the sixers scrubs have more upside than ours do. At this point I trust no one off our second unit other than Dice as the others are to inconsistent. Don't know who to blame here? Joe for not evaluating his talent, or Flip for not playing and getting the best out of them. What do they do in practice? One thing for sure, it looks like Dice, Murray Delfino will get the playoff minutes, with Dale and Hunter getting the defensive or foul minutes.

Hard to believe this is same Philly team that Orlando slaughtered the game before, just yesterday. Hunter nailing two consecutive outside shots, hitting a very well executed sweeping hook across the lane? Not typical for Hunter at all. UD grad Willie Greene did his college proud. Nothing new there as Greene has been shooting lights out for quite a while now. He is no new player. He is just a forgotten player after getting a long term injury. He is back.

Billups made Miller look all world in that first quarter, but hardly made a shot afterward as we used someone other than Billups (like Prince quite a bit) to guard the guy. Billups ain't moving none too well. Last chance. I still say rest him until next weekend. He is still injured. Is it the new injury or the old groin thing, I don't know, but Billups could sure use the rest. And Blalock could sure help us a lot in these next couple of games,and into the playoffs.

Hunter and Murray were completely outclassed by the Philly guards in this one. And worse, the two played together for much of the 4th, dooming any chance of a comeback by our sub unit.

And here is another problem. The only guy out there playing solid perimeter D for us in the 4th quarter was Delfino. But he was playing small forward. Dale Davis could have been playing instead of Murray. We would not have gotten beaten so badly on the boards. And Blalock could have gotten those minutes Hunter had, and actually played as a point guard. Sure Hunter did make a few shots after the game was decided to pad his stats a little, but how about acting as a point guard. Between him and Murray, we had a clueless backcourt. Again, we could have had Blalock, a point guard, Delfino, a 2nd good ball handler for the backcourt and solid defender, Amir at small forward, where he belongs, JMAX, at power forward where he belongs, and Dale Davis, an actual center at center. And its who should have been playing out there. No, its still not too late. The NBA finals are in June. I hope the Pistons plan on being there.

Amir had quite a game. He ended up with 12 points on 12 shots, not bad. His first two shots were blocked. Kind of made him nervous and he tended to rush things from there. But he on a couple of occasions then managed to get the ball back after getting blocked. He also missed an pretty easy dunk attempt. Rest assured, this is not typical play by Amir, just a nervous young guy at his first dance. Amir also managed 6 blocks, a steal, 3 assists, and 10 rebounds. None too shabby for his 2nd game in the rotation this year. Try extrapulating that a bit. What if Amir had been playing all year? As good as JMAX? Probably better as he rebounds better and is a tremendous shot blocking presence.

JMAX did some good stuff, but was not enough help on the boards. Again though, why play him at center any. Sometime he could even play at small forward, where his rebounding is not so critical. JMAX made a couple of jumpers, jumpers he should have been making all year long, if given the playing time.

Tay could have scored 50 in this one if the Pistons had wanted him to. Otherwise, none of our starters did much in the scoring column, except if you call all the points an injured Billups gave up to the other team. GO PISTONS!!!!!_the team that with any luck at all will be the next Champions. (But I don't like depending on luck. Give me a backup point, and get Dale Davis in there. And absolutely add Amir Johnson into the rotation.)

What's up with using the term "scrubs?" Sounds a tad...derogatory...

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Amir play. He showed some incredible hustle out there, staying with the loose balls and utilizing his length. He probably could've easily gotten a triple double--a beautiful thing considering he's only a sophomore and just came back from the D-League.

I was a little disappointed with the number of 3's we took (22). I wanted too see a little more inside action with Amir and Maxiell.

Why didn't 'Dyess get more time? I mean, I consider him a starter and all and I realize the regs played limited minutes but he only played like 8 or 9 and took just 1 shot. Call his number a few more times---he's money!

Where the hell was Nazr?? I went into these last few games with the hope of seeing some time from him and he's been stiffed the last 2 outings! If he doesn't get some PT in the next 2, I'm gonna be UP-set!

Scrubs is a term of endearment. Like calling your brother "booger head".

Sounds like I missed a fun game. It's a conspiracy to keep me from seeing Amir play. :(

Where the hell was Nazr?? I went into these last few games with the hope of seeing some time from him and he's been stiffed the last 2 outings! If he doesn't get some PT in the next 2, I'm gonna be UP-set!

Thats a good point. He is someone that we may actually need at some point in the playoffs.

At least we are giving the other teams a good look at Amir before he enters free agency this summer.

2 more games of this. At least the starters could give it full effort when they do play. Would not be that bad then.

What's up with using the term "scrubs?" Sounds a tad...derogatory...

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Amir play. He showed some incredible hustle out there, staying with the loose balls and utilizing his length. He probably could've easily gotten a triple double--a beautiful thing considering he's only a sophomore and just came back from the D-League.

I was a little disappointed with the number of 3's we took (22). I wanted too see a little more inside action with Amir and Maxiell.

Why didn't 'Dyess get more time? I mean, I consider him a starter and all and I realize the regs played limited minutes but he only played like 8 or 9 and took just 1 shot. Call his number a few more times---he's money!

Where the hell was Nazr?? I went into these last few games with the hope of seeing some time from him and he's been stiffed the last 2 outings! If he doesn't get some PT in the next 2, I'm gonna be UP-set!

POP, Dice was out there for 8-9 minutes all in the second qtr and Flip jr & scrubs refuse to pass the ball to him until right before the end of the half and he made the only shot he took.

If you are gonna play the bench for the long stretches, you might as well put in Nazr or Davis and even call up and dress Blaylock for some runtime and who knows as Lee stated, we could have got a W out of one of those last two games.

Again, not impressed with the young forward talent as of now--too raw--sorry Lee--that is my view. Jmax hit that one nice jumper but too often he misses (I haven't seen improvement that I expected from early in the year). He is good is certain defensive situations.

Amir certainly didn't help make the score better, seemed to be pushed around and seemed to miss defensive assignments. Does he have a shot? You can't dunk over people in the NBA unless you are Shaq. He can shoot free throws and I like shot blockers so that is a start and I love the way he can dribble up court.

But there are a lot of young guys in the league that can run, jump and block shots. Not many of them go to the next level. I like both Amir and JMax but they are not there yet.

Delfino can not change the game either. He is a good flow player with our top players. But he is no Ginobli. He rebounds well, can play some D and has at least improved his shot. But he is far from a go-to guy.

Again, not impressed with the young forward talent as of now--too raw--sorry Lee--that is my view. Jmax hit that one nice jumper but too often he misses (I haven't seen improvement that I expected from early in the year). He is good is certain defensive situations.

Amir certainly didn't help make the score better, seemed to be pushed around and seemed to miss defensive assignments. Does he have a shot? You can't dunk over people in the NBA unless you are Shaq. He can shoot free throws and I like shot blockers so that is a start and I love the way he can dribble up court.

But there are a lot of young guys in the league that can run, jump and block shots. Not many of them go to the next level. I like both Amir and JMax but they are not there yet.

Delfino can not change the game either. He is a good flow player with our top players. But he is no Ginobli. He rebounds well, can play some D and has at least improved his shot. But he is far from a go-to guy.


Like I said earlier, LApiston, our future stars don't seem to be developing properly, with the last successful guys being Tay & Memo from 2002. The Sixer second unit looked more aggressive and athletic than our bench even if their skills were not yet there.

If you think about it most our guys skills were groomed somewhere else but their talent didn't blossom until they got here (Ben, Billups and Rip). Sheed, Dice and now even Cwebb brought their already established skills to the Pistons, but all three could be considered on the down side of their careers.

Delfino can not change the game either. He is a good flow player with our top players. But he is no Ginobli. He rebounds well, can play some D and has at least improved his shot. But he is far from a go-to guy.

He's not the type to take shot-after-shot, and dominate the ball like our other bench guards do (Which is part of the problem). So, he's not going to "take over" offensively very often. I'd like to see that from him ocassionaly, but if it doesn't work out right away it's a sure way to find a seat on the bench for him (not so much for Flip or Lindsey).

As for Amir... He looked good. Nervous, but active. A few more real-games and he'd get a better feel for scoring over nba big men in the paint. Yea, he gets pushed around a bit, but so does tyrus thomas, who still has a big impact. Most importantly, he injects some athleticism into an aging group. Hopefully it happens next season, and he isn't in another uniform.

Thats a good point. He is someone that we may actually need at some point in the playoffs.

At least we are giving the other teams a good look at Amir before he enters free agency this summer.

2 more games of this. At least the starters could give it full effort when they do play. Would not be that bad then.

Mohammed is ill. Both he and Billups were listed as questionable for the game.

Just realized that Nazr missed the practice on Saturday and did not play Sunday due to flu-like symptons. I hope to God he doesn't spread it to those who haven't had it yet!

this team thinks they can just go out and give a half%%%%% effort, so im just wondering if the organization charged half%%%%% prices on tickets and concessions!!!!No way Avery or POP or TERRY PORTER for that matter would allow his team to give an effort like that..SEE SPURS VS MAVS!!!
I paid full price for league pass. This season can ONLY eend with a championship!

I think the heavy naysayers need to take a look at the context of the game a little. First the 76ers "scrubs" have been playing together for a longtime - they traded their veterans away. Thus, there game looked better because the game plan was built with them in mind. Our team just threw in this mish mash of guys together - many who probably have not played extended minutes togther nor practiced. Think about it, Amir got of the plane a few days ago and now is playing over 25 minutes? Have to excpect A LOT of defensive breakdowns / bad rebounded due to not being in right position. Also, everyone probably noticed that the reserve people played zone almost the entire time. This was Flips way to try and cover people, but i think it backfired since the zone relies on people covering eachother / having the right rotation. On most of the O-rebounds and missed assignemnts it was due to Amir many times not knowing where ot go on that 3-2.

Nevertheless, I do like how they played Amir. He started off as a 4, then switched to the 3 and back to the 4. The reason I like this is because Flip is not forcing him to only be a 4, but rather a player that can play both positions. This will be pivotal next year because Tay an get a lot more rest being backed up by two legitiate 3s in Amir and Delfino and also Amir can get some more playin time against certain fours. Nevertheless, the boy is defintily not ready right now and should soothe peoples minds whom thought he had a rightful place here getting minutes. Im not saying who wouldn't have improved, but the D-league was perfect for him and I am glad he was sent there.

Also, as for the starters not producing, if you watched the game the vetrans were defering to the youngin's almost to a fault. I can count many many times Billups passed to the bench guy instead of running a regular play / shootinh. Also, Mcdyess chilled or passed a lot as well instead of really getting involved. All in all, I believe the players played bout as well as they allowed themselves to play -- for better or worse. If the game needed to be won, it would have been won.

I paid full price for league pass. This season can ONLY eend with a championship!

You said it!

Our team just threw in this mish mash of guys together - many who probably have not played extended minutes togther nor practiced.


To me, that is the point. Why play a mish mash who will never appear in a playoff game when you could be working some bench combinations that will help you down the road?

I wonder if Stern will honor my request for a refund for a night's worth of Leaguepass?

To me, that is the point. Why play a mish mash who will never appear in a playoff game when you could be working some bench combinations that will help you down the road?

I wonder if Stern will honor my request for a refund for a night's worth of Leaguepass?

I agree. Thats why I said to continue playing on the poll in gneral discussion. I am cool with the second quarter being Amir time, but after that play the postseason rotation. Then you can try certain asspects of that to tweak it for 100% effectiveness. This is pro ball, not minor leagues.

You said it!



To me, that is the point. Why play a mish mash who will never appear in a playoff game when you could be working some bench combinations that will help you down the road?

I wonder if Stern will honor my request for a refund for a night's worth of Leaguepass?
Word up, babay....At least he could have a talk with all the GM's...

Since this stuff happens every year, they take it into account when they price League Pass in the first place.



At least that would be my argument if I worked for LP.

Guess we should have read the fine print.

League Pass in Canada stopped broadcasting games a week ago.

I plan on getting out of my subscription.

Again, not impressed with the young forward talent as of now--too raw--sorry Lee--that is my view. Jmax hit that one nice jumper but too often he misses (I haven't seen improvement that I expected from early in the year). He is good is certain defensive situations.

Amir certainly didn't help make the score better, seemed to be pushed around and seemed to miss defensive assignments. Does he have a shot? You can't dunk over people in the NBA unless you are Shaq. He can shoot free throws and I like shot blockers so that is a start and I love the way he can dribble up court.

But there are a lot of young guys in the league that can run, jump and block shots. Not many of them go to the next level. I like both Amir and JMax but they are not there yet.

Delfino can not change the game either. He is a good flow player with our top players. But he is no Ginobli. He rebounds well, can play some D and has at least improved his shot. But he is far from a go-to guy.

JMAX hit a couple of jumpers. Note, the coaching staff told JMAX not to take jumpers, especially fades, most of the season, and they did not play JMAX near as much as they could have. Ocasionally Flip would say he needed to get more time for JMAX, but it never happened. Under the circumstances, you can't expect much more from JMAX on his jumper. Rest assured though, JMAX has a fine midrange jumper, if we ever turn him loose with it. His fade's are particularly excellent.

On Amir, again, if you expected him to impress you all that much after not playing for the team all year, you miss the point. You got to factor in experience when trying to evaluate where a player's potential is. I know you will keep an open mind on this as you always do. GO PISTONS!!!!!

I think people were under the impression that Amir was going to tear it up here like he did in the D League. He will someday, but probably not 2 games after coming back from Sioux Falls....He had a couple of pretty good looks that didn't go that normally would have fallen, but so did Tay, and he usually torches the Sixers. It was a great game for Amir. I loved how he got his first 2 shots blocked, one right after another, and still stayed with it.

Here's hoping Nazr is feeling better and will actually get to play in the last 2 games! CHEERS!

I agree POP. We need more Nasty Naz.