Houston Dec 23 6PM

tv: FSN

Be nice if they decided on a start time for Sunday games and stuck with it. I like this time better than the 12:30 PM start time last week but it would have helped the Pistons against this contending West Coast team.

Houston won the last one so its time for some payback.

Houston is at Chicago tonight.

McGrady was injured during the week.



Despite missing their top scorer, the Houston Rockets (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/teams/hou/;_ylt=AsKf6IP.COBMKyhwQL_neZKPvLYF) came up just short against one of the best teams in the Western Conference in their last game. The Rockets hope to have Tracy McGrady (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3179/;_ylt=Avh4DiKGCs6ccABNoHSsRlCPvLYF) back on Saturday when they try to avoid losing their fourth straight game as they visit the Chicago Bulls (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/teams/chi/;_ylt=AlwMBlct8aZwqbJtNPlkqSyPvLYF) at the United Center.


McGrady hurt his left knee in the first half of Houston's 97-92 loss to Orlando on Wednesday, and finished with a season-low three points on 1-of-10 shooting in 18 minutes. The Rockets (12-14) captain was diagnosed with a sore left knee and held out of Thursday's game against Denver, giving him extra time to recover for this contest.


McGrady is averaging team highs of 23.8 points and 5.2 assists, and he has been instrumental to Houston's success.


Since McGrady joined the club before the 2004-05 season, the Rockets are 11-42 when the two-time scoring champ doesn't play


We shouldn't have too much trouble with them, especially if McGrady is out.

:hoops:

houston's second unit played well. We have to match that. I dont doubt our second unit as well. I don't expect a blow out so i don't think stuckey would play

houston's second unit played well. We have to match that. I dont doubt our second unit as well. I don't expect a blow out so i don't think stuckey would play

Everyone plays well against the Bulls except us.

We are big favorites today.

I think another double digit win by us is most likely

:hoops:

Chat is open!

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

The Rockets were on their 4th game in 5 nights, but they managed to hang around until T-Mac and then Yao both left the game in the third quarter with injuries. Yao might have been able to return after getting cut on the head on a collision with his teammate, but the Pistons' starters pushed their lead up 18 by the end of the 3rd quarter to put it out of reach.

Sheed was huge early, and then Dice and Rip led the way in the 3rd quarter. Balanced scoring for the Pistons with 5 guys between 12 and 17 points. The bench struggled early in the 2nd quarter, but Jarvis and JMax got going to help build a bigger lead by halftime. Garbage time was ugly, aside from JMax abusing Mutombo several times before he came out for Amir with about 6 minutes left. Stuckey and Primos both got real playing time in the last 2 minutes of the first half, but they both struggled as the Pistons gave up several points off the lead, with Yao abusing Primos after struggling against very solid D from both Sheed and Dice earlier.

Scola took AJ to school real good after AJ stuffed the old man.

AJ's defense has a long long way to go. Got to do a lot more than rebound and block shots.

Hot Rod is as rusty as a 20 year old car in Detroit.

:hoops:

Scola took AJ to school real good after AJ stuffed the old man.

AJ's defense has a long long way to go. Got to do a lot more than rebound and block shots.

Hot Rod is as rusty as a 20 year old car in Detroit.

:hoops:

He took Max to school some too, Buddha...Scola's got way more experience than either of them.

He took Max to school some too, Buddha...Scola's got way more experience than either of them.

Exactly

Got to play to get experience especially on defense. Got to do a ton of homework and watch tapes, tapes and more tapes.

Got to make sure Sheed is in your fav five.

Maxey is ahead of AJ on defense.

You are correct, Scola is an excellent player with tons of experience in Europe.

:hoops:

This is a very, very, very, very good basketball team. As Pistons fans we are so spoiled it's not even funny. Our game to game expectations are so unreasonable it should be acrime. Today the team in no way played it's best ball, yet we actually got up by 20 pts in the 2nd half, rested our starters for the 4th qtr (again) and won by 12 pts because our rookie PG-Stud, struggled to run the team.

On another note, Primo looks so goofy running around out there. Sheed, Dyess, Max and AJ are so athletic, smooth and fluid that avg big men look hilarious compared to those guys.

AA sucked tonight, 0-3 from the floor, and he missed a FT, Trade this bust of a draft pick quick.:)

The Pistons stayed in control for pretty much the whole game. Prince and Sheed started out hot, with Sheed especially determined to reverse the previous decision vs. Houston. Sheed hit some triples, and got inside for some strength type jumpers.

Rip just keeps making shots. How steady can a guy get. And it does not hurt that he is tall enough to post up their short guards so much.


Billups hit some shots.


Dyess missed some useless outside jumpers early, but then wow, he actually decided to go inside a few times instead of settling for the fade - a - way. The result was that he actually helped the team. He drew fouls, and he made his free throws. Indeed, we had Houston in foul trouble at position after position. And Dyess had another fine rebounding game.


Dyess got player of the game, but JMAX certainly made a case for himself. A super block on TMAC. Successful post move after successful post move. Generally going strong to the middle, rising up over the entire world, and canning the short jumper. JMAX also hit some outside shots, including a shot clock beater off an inbounds play with one second to go. Plus he made all but one of several free throws.


Amir only got some garbage time at the end of the game. Still, almost 6 minutes worth, better than nothing. A block on Mutombo was his highlight. Amir got some shot attempts in too, as Stuckey was running the show and doing a good job of distributing the ball.


Stuckey played most of the 4th quarter, and it was not all garbage time. We had a good lead, but there was plenty of time left in the game. A nice assist really was his only highlight, but its great to see him taking some shots, and running the offense. He also got two minutes to end the 2nd quarter. Hunter did the backup point guard chores to start the 2nd quarter, and did not do much.


This game is a bit tainted since TMAC went out injured early in the 3rd quarter with the game still in doubt, followed a few minutes later by Ming after getting an inadvertent elbow from Sheed. TMAC has a knee injury of some type that got reagravated.


Great coaching? Naw. Playing McDyess that much with so little rest in the 1st half marred an otherwise good coaching effort. If Amir had played first half minutes, I would be applauding Flip. But he did not. He also did not bring Jason Maxiell in early in the first. Its like he thinks this is a big game, and tightened up just a bit on his rotation. Relax, the more the young kids play, the more we are going to beat teams up. Energy is the key.


Brezec played mostly garbage time, but also played at the end of the 2nd half. As a team, we did not do so well at that time, but hey, what can you tell in 2 minutes - not much. Brezec canned a pair of free throws after getting fouled on a cut to the basket, got a dunk. He was abused pretty bad by Ming. Got to mention Dyess here as he played great D on Ming. So did Sheed.


Good to see Hayes knock down a few shots from the outside. I hope that is a trend, but I still want to see other players get a fair shot at that playing time.


Murray did not dress. Neither did Fabio nor Samb who is recovering from a broken jaw. (Which does not need surgery - back in 2 - 4 weeks last we heard.)


20-7 ain't none to shabby. Great. But Flip has to start realizing that there is never an excuse to exclude Amir in first halves. He needs the experience. Sure he looked like he needs experience. He does. But did you see just how high Amir got up to block Mutombo, or how high he was flying to gather in that rebound. How about noticing that on transition D, he is right there hounding the guy with the ball trying to get to the basket. Quickness really helps on transition D.


Afflalo mostly just deferred to everyone else, played solid D. Its guys like him who are willing to sacrifice, and give guys like Stuckey and Amir, who really need the shot ops, the ops they need, that so quickly endear themselves to you. Thanks.


GO PISTONS!!!!!! AND GO FLIP!!!!! (for getting it mostly right tonight.)

Great coaching? Naw. Playing McDyess that much with so little rest in the 1st half marred an otherwise good coaching effort. If Amir had played first half minutes, I would be applauding Flip. But he did not. He also did not bring Jason Maxiell in early in the first. Its like he thinks this is a big game, and tightened up just a bit on his rotation. Relax, the more the young kids play, the more we are going to beat teams up. Energy is the key.

Flip admittedly hates going away from lineups that are playing well. Dyess had a fantastic game sans his usually reliable 17'er, so you know Flip wasn't trying to pull him out of the game. As this team plays better it's going to be a new challenge for Flip to stick to a consistent sub pattern.

Afflalo mostly just deferred to everyone else, played solid D. Its guys like him who are willing to sacrifice, and give guys like Stuckey and Amir, who really need the shot ops, the ops they need, that so quickly endear themselves to you. Thanks.

He just knows what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. He just KNOWS how to play the game of basketball in a way that helps his team win. While it may not be so noticable, his D was fantastic, Luther Head was hot early, when I checked the boxscore Head ended the game 4-12, AA locked him down on a night where he had it going early. Also Mike James, a gunning scoring guard did not even get a shot off while in the game, BTW AA was checking him, coincedence????

just a couple of observations:

i like amir's energy on defense, but he's not very efficient defensively. but i'm sure that will improve.

brezec may not look smooth, but he plays hard out there, like someone who really wants to be a part of the team, regardless of the role.

the team looks really strong, even when it doesn't play its best game. comparing it to two years ago (with the super fast start), this team looks so much more substantial.

lastly

we decorated christmas cookies tonight and my girlfriend and i made these.

happy holidays everyone!


Facebook | Santiago Colas's Photos - Pistons Christmas Cookies (http://umichigan.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2318714&l=85377&id=2248582)

brezec may not look smooth, but he plays hard out there, like someone who really wants to be a part of the team, regardless of the role.


True, very true. And historically Joe has shown that he's willing to pay about 3.5 million/yr for his insurance Big Man. If Brezec can work on his defensive footwork, then he's a real gem. I could see Joe offering him a 2yr/$5-$7mill deal after the season.

lastly

we decorated christmas cookies tonight and my girlfriend and i made these.

happy holidays everyone!


Facebook | Santiago Colas's Photos - Pistons Christmas Cookies (http://umichigan.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2318714&l=85377&id=2248582)

LOL at your Christmas cookies. Nice job! I'm glad you labeled them.

Prof, don't let The Low anywhere near that Flip Sr. cookie! I like the description of why he's frowining...:pound:

I think that Flipper is doing the right thing right now playing Brezec ahead of AJ.

It keeps AJ working hard.

As long as AJ can get minutes here and there I thing he will not get down and go south in attitude like Darko, who really didn't get any minutes.

Let AJ earn the time ahead of Brezec.

I think it is a very fine line with players knowing how many minutes to play them, when to play them and when to remove them, especially the young players.

The one thing I would not like to see is AJ getting a lot of DNP coach's decision or a lot of games of only 2 or 3 minutes in garbage time.

Maybe you take some minutes from Dyess and give them to Maxey and then take some of Maxey's minutes and give them to AJ.

:hoops:

I think that Flipper is doing the right thing right now playing Brezec ahead of AJ.

It keeps AJ working hard.

As long as AJ can get minutes here and there I thing he will not get down and go south in attitude like Darko, who really didn't get any minutes.

Let AJ earn the time ahead of Brezec.

I think it is a very fine line with players knowing how many minutes to play them, when to play them and when to remove them, especially the young players.

The one thing I would not like to see is AJ getting a lot of DNP coach's decision or a lot of games of only 2 or 3 minutes in garbage time.

Maybe you take some minutes from Dyess and give them to Maxey and then take some of Maxey's minutes and give them to AJ.

:hoops:

I don't know. If a young, highly touted player gets promises of minutes coming into the year, gets nothing, there is already an issue. Then he sees a new guy come in, and without earning it, already gets some minutes spoon-fed to him. You gotta put yourself in Amir's shoes.

It's starting to look more an more like the Darko situation. Granted, Amir isn't as Emo as Darko, but you can tell he's discouraged when he's out there in garbage time night after night. Everytime he makes a bad play, fouls, etc, he hangs his head.

I don't think we're at the point of no return, but something will have to change pretty quick. I don't think Amir is satisfied with 3 straight years of no playing time. And considering we've got Dice, Sheed, and Max all locked up for next year, a 4th straight looks very likely. Amir isn't stupid, he sees this as well and it can get into a young guys' head.

I don't know. If a young, highly touted player gets promises of minutes coming into the year, gets nothing, there is already an issue. Then he sees a new guy come in, and without earning it, already gets some minutes spoon-fed to him. You gotta put yourself in Amir's shoes.

It's starting to look more an more like the Darko situation. Granted, Amir isn't as Emo as Darko, but you can tell he's discouraged when he's out there in garbage time night after night. Everytime he makes a bad play, fouls, etc, he hangs his head.

I don't think we're at the point of no return, but something will have to change pretty quick. I don't think Amir is satisfied with 3 straight years of no playing time. And considering we've got Dice, Sheed, and Max all locked up for next year, a 4th straight looks very likely. Amir isn't stupid, he sees this as well and it can get into a young guys' head.

I don't think you guys could be more off base in terms of Amir. Amir will be the starting PF as soon as he adds another 15-25 lbs of muscle. Amir's development has been methodical and brillaint.


Amir was paid a mid-6-figure salary to display his NBA game during his Fresh and Soph seasons
Amir should be a Jr @ Louisville right now.
Right now Amir is being paid as if he were the 4th pick in the draft, after coming out after his sophmore season
He's getting time, just not alot.
He knows Dyess and Sheed are getting older and his time to shine is coming.
He does not have the pressure (via media, fans, self-imposed) that Darko had.Amir is in a dream situation and he knows it. I will say that I wish the Pistons would have committed to his development like the Lakers did with Bynum. In defense of the org. Bynum was a high 1st rd pick and a definite 7' center, Amir was a very late 2nd rd pick with a question mark about what position he would play.

I don't know. If a young, highly touted player gets promises of minutes coming into the year, gets nothing, there is already an issue. Then he sees a new guy come in, and without earning it, already gets some minutes spoon-fed to him. You gotta put yourself in Amir's shoes.

It's starting to look more an more like the Darko situation. Granted, Amir isn't as Emo as Darko, but you can tell he's discouraged when he's out there in garbage time night after night. Everytime he makes a bad play, fouls, etc, he hangs his head.

I don't think we're at the point of no return, but something will have to change pretty quick. I don't think Amir is satisfied with 3 straight years of no playing time. And considering we've got Dice, Sheed, and Max all locked up for next year, a 4th straight looks very likely. Amir isn't stupid, he sees this as well and it can get into a young guys' head.

If that is the case then he definitely should be playing. 20 year olds can lose focus pretty quick. So if he isn't getting enough PT to keep him focused and working hard then Flipper should increase his PT, within reason. I would not want to see him ahead of Sheed, Dyess or Maxey at this point.

In the long run if he is going to be really successful he has to be tough and just keep working hard and harder, regardless of whether he gets minutes or not, because it will pay off for him.

The mental aspect of all sports is more important to being successful at top level than the physical skills. Big Ben and William Bedford are two former Pistons who are perfect examples of that. Bedford had great physical skills, but mentally he never got it together. Big Ben made himself a great player by continuing to work harder than everyone else. Rodman was the same. He worked his tail off.

Of course some young guys like Rodman need a father figure like Daddy Rich whereas as I recall Big Ben got his from his family and extended family.

AJ like all young players needs the proper encouragement and love from the right place in order to keep him focused when times are tough.

If by nature he is not a very vocal person it is tougher because non talkers have a far more difficult time communicating their feelings and needs than people who more extroverted.

People who are more introverted have to draw their mental and emotional strength from within, whereas extroverted people draw most of their mental and emotional strength from their relationships. So for a quiet introverted person a lot can go wrong before others realize that it has and can do something to help. The best way for a quieter person to overcome this liability in my opinion, is to have one or two really good friends who know that person really well and can tell quickly if something is mentally or emotionally disturbing that person and be trusted enough to be listened to.



:hoops:

I don't think you guys could be more off base in terms of Amir. Amir will be the starting PF as soon as he adds another 15-25 lbs of muscle. Amir's development has been methodical and brillaint.

Amir was paid a mid-6-figure salary to display his NBA game during his Fresh and Soph seasons
Amir should be a Jr @ Louisville right now.
Right now Amir is being paid as if he were the 4th pick in the draft, after coming out after his sophmore season
He's getting time, just not alot.
He knows Dyess and Sheed are getting older and his time to shine is coming.
He does not have the pressure (via media, fans, self-imposed) that Darko had.Amir is in a dream situation and he knows it. I will say that I wish the Pistons would have committed to his development like the Lakers did with Bynum. In defense of the org. Bynum was a high 1st rd pick and a definite 7' center, Amir was a very late 2nd rd pick with a question mark about what position he would play.

I simply can't see things in this kind of terms. All I see is a playoffs fast approaching. All I see is a young guy who can help us win the whole thing. But only if he plays extensively. Its not about AJ. Not one bit. Its about winning it all. AJ needs to play. Forget him. Remember the team. What is good for the team is AJ playing, getting better, and providing us a really good option to go to whenever Dyess, Sheed, or JMAX is in foul trouble.

AJ like all young players needs the proper encouragement and love from the right place in order to keep him focused when times are tough.

Sheed

People who are more introverted have to draw their mental and emotional strength from within, whereas extroverted people draw most of their mental and emotional strength from their relationships. So for a quiet introverted person a lot can go wrong before others realize that it has and can do something to help. The best way for a quieter person to overcome this liability in my opinion, is to have one or two really good friends who know that person really well and can tell quickly if something is mentally or emotionally disturbing that person and be trusted enough to be listened to.

This is why Sheed is so valuable, along with Chauncey. Both guys are really great leaders as far as teammates go, especially Sheed. I have a feeling that Sheed is really taking on a major role in Amirs life. When they asked Amir about helping Primo on the court that 1st game he replied, "I'm just trying to help the new guys out, be a leader, like Sheed..."

I don't think you guys could be more off base in terms of Amir. Amir will be the starting PF as soon as he adds another 15-25 lbs of muscle. Amir's development has been methodical and brillaint.
Amir was paid a mid-6-figure salary to display his NBA game during his Fresh and Soph seasons
Amir should be a Jr @ Louisville right now.
Right now Amir is being paid as if he were the 4th pick in the draft, after coming out after his sophmore season
He's getting time, just not alot.
He knows Dyess and Sheed are getting older and his time to shine is coming.
He does not have the pressure (via media, fans, self-imposed) that Darko had.Amir is in a dream situation and he knows it. I will say that I wish the Pistons would have committed to his development like the Lakers did with Bynum. In defense of the org. Bynum was a high 1st rd pick and a definite 7' center, Amir was a very late 2nd rd pick with a question mark about what position he would play.

What you say makes a lot of sense.

Re: Bynum the Lakers have Cap who I am sure is getting paid pretty good bucks to be Bynum's teacher/mentor. Cap is a great mentor for Bynum.

I don't believe we have ever had anyone with AJ's skills who has played for us that is now retired and just hanging around waiting for a call to come and coach AJ full time.

Maybe there is a former non-Pistons player whose is retired and whose game is similar to AJs'. I don't know how easy it would be to find someone like that and hire them.

I know that Sheed is working with AJ and is helping him a great deal. Hopefully they are communicating enough. I just wish AJ were more like Sheed. Sheed and I are similar in two respects and that is that we both can go off pretty easily and have no trouble speaking our minds about what we feel and believe regardless of the fallout. That is one reason that his emotional out bursts have never really bothered me that much because I can definitely relate. Obviously I believe that these are good qualities, within reason (LOL) and would definitely like to see AJ become more vocal and emotional during the game like Sheed.

I think AJ getting a few Ts would be a very positive thing for him.

:hoops:

I watched the Rockets/Bulls game last night and it was kind of weird watching the Pistons play a team that I was rooting on the prior night. The Pistons already had control of the game when T-Mac/Ming had to leave. Interesting watching the Pistons succeed where the Bulls failed the prior night. Especially in knowing when and how to double Ming so the rest of the players could not take advantage. Plus the Pistons have so many more weapons. A lot of depth is starting to develope.


I think its fine saying Amir is only 20 and should be brought along slowly - as long as he is aware of it and knows about it. That was the mistake with Darko. Had this grand scheme but someone forgot to tell him about it.

With Amir. There was a lot to indicate that DNP's would not be the case this year and that he signed thinking he was going to play. That missing the pre-season excuse is only going to fly just so long.

Anyway. Stucky/Afflalo got to play. 2 out of 3 is not bad. If Amir never plays then I am not going to let it take away from the season for me. Pistons have gotten off to a great start.

I don't know. If a young, highly touted player gets promises of minutes coming into the year, gets nothing, there is already an issue. Then he sees a new guy come in, and without earning it, already gets some minutes spoon-fed to him. You gotta put yourself in Amir's shoes.

It's starting to look more an more like the Darko situation. Granted, Amir isn't as Emo as Darko, but you can tell he's discouraged when he's out there in garbage time night after night. Everytime he makes a bad play, fouls, etc, he hangs his head.

I don't think we're at the point of no return, but something will have to change pretty quick. I don't think Amir is satisfied with 3 straight years of no playing time. And considering we've got Dice, Sheed, and Max all locked up for next year, a 4th straight looks very likely. Amir isn't stupid, he sees this as well and it can get into a young guys' head.

Agree on all points. Also, Dice just got a 3-year extension, and we all know Flip will undoubtedly play the vet before him. Max got an extension as well, and soon Sheed will get a new deal. Where/when will he get his time? After 3 more years? If I'm him, I'm not happy right now. Heck, I'm NOT him and I'm not happy. It's really not fair to get a guy's hopes up and then...nothing. Brezec shouldn't play ahead of him after only one practice, particularly after the way Flip delayed playing Amir because "he needs more practice". Same goes for Stuckey, but to a lesser extent.

Also, Brezec, for all his "trying" just isn't very good, and he doesn't fit the mold of Piston big men who are generally very mobile and good defensively.

Lastly, his body language and facial expressions all show that something's bothering him. Amir's greatest strength is his speed and his activity - I really haven't seen the latter as much after that one great game against GS. His confidence certainly isn't where it was, or where it has to be right now, and Flip might have something to do with that. Flippy has never shown any faith in the kid, and you get the feeling he's being forced to play him.

Edit: I'm sure I mentioned this in chat, but Amir should not be put out there with Brezec. Road Block (Brezec) clogs the lane and takes up so much space, it sort of throws Amir off. During the GS game, when he was playing with Max, he was MUCH more effective. Once Brezec came in, he was suddenly nowhere to be found outside of a rebound here and there, and we can't have that. Amir, when he plays the way he's capable of playing, is able to energize the team. That's not something to scoff at.

Garbage time is when you play your youth and let them show you what they've got, not for vets like Flip/Jarvis/Brezec/Mohammed to pad some stats.

I don't know. If a young, highly touted player gets promises of minutes coming into the year, gets nothing, there is already an issue. Then he sees a new guy come in, and without earning it, already gets some minutes spoon-fed to him. You gotta put yourself in Amir's shoes.

It's starting to look more an more like the Darko situation. Granted, Amir isn't as Emo as Darko, but you can tell he's discouraged when he's out there in garbage time night after night. Everytime he makes a bad play, fouls, etc, he hangs his head.

I don't think we're at the point of no return, but something will have to change pretty quick. I don't think Amir is satisfied with 3 straight years of no playing time. And considering we've got Dice, Sheed, and Max all locked up for next year, a 4th straight looks very likely. Amir isn't stupid, he sees this as well and it can get into a young guys' head.

I've noticed this as well. He seems like he's playing tight and under pressure. It's not surprising that he has'nt been as good lately. He's thinking too much. He probably feels like he has to be perfect to earn any playing time, and it doesn't help the group he ends up out there with. Brezec is not exactly who you want to play next to.

I'm giving Flip the benefit of the doubt and assuming Primo played b/c of Yao/Motumbo.

But the times he has played well, he hasn't got the extra minutes. I couldd see how the kid could get frustrated.

edited to add;

Someone said the exact same thing above. I should probably read the entire thread before i post LOL

Funny thing with Hou,

they are very talented at every position
they have one of the best wing players in the game -when healthy in T-Mac
they have a very good and potentially dominant big man in Yao
they have decent depthYet they cant win??? It seems as if they really dont know how to put it all together, they really have no identity, no offensive scheme, and they're not very cohesive defensively even though Yao, Hayes, and Battier are pretty good defenders. If only T-Mac had Kobe-like intensity and heart..........

I've noticed this as well. He seems like he's playing tight and under pressure. It's not surprising that he has'nt been as good lately. He's thinking too much. He probably feels like he has to be perfect to earn any playing time, and it doesn't help the group he ends up out there with. Brezec is not exactly who you want to play next to.

I'm giving Flip the benefit of the doubt and assuming Primo played b/c of Yao/Motumbo.

But the times he has played well, he hasn't got the extra minutes. I couldd see how the kid could get frustrated.

edited to add;

Someone said the exact same thing above. I should probably read the entire thread before i post LOL

Thinking too much and worrying about mistakes is not good for someone like AJ.

To be effective he can not be tentative out there. He is at his best when he can go all out and just play without thinking.

The problem is that Flip thinks too much.

He needs to cut the kid some slack and start saying positive things about him in to the press, on the bench and in private. He needs to encourage and not criticize.

In fact if Flipper had have a brain he would trust Sheed to be the bad guy and Flipper would be the good guy with respect to AJ. I am sure AJ could take a lot of stuff from Sheed and not let him bother him like it would if it came from Flipper.

Flipper needs to be the good guy here
and let Sheed be the bad guy.

:hoops:

I simply can't see things in this kind of terms. All I see is a playoffs fast approaching. All I see is a young guy who can help us win the whole thing. But only if he plays extensively. Its not about AJ. Not one bit. Its about winning it all. AJ needs to play. Forget him. Remember the team. What is good for the team is AJ playing, getting better, and providing us a really good option to go to whenever Dyess, Sheed, or JMAX is in foul trouble.
I can buy that. But couldn't one use that same logic with all 15 players on the roster?? My arguement was to ease some of these DARKO pt.II ideas floating around. Mentally the kid is fine. I think people want to see Amir step out on the court and play like AA and Max, but he's just not that type of player, he's more like Tay than anything, very good-yet very unassuming.

Thinking too much and worrying about mistakes is not good for someone like AJ.

To be effective he can not be tentative out there. He is at his best when he can go all out and just play without thinking.

The problem is that Flip thinks too much.

He needs to cut the kid some slack and start saying positive things about him in to the press, on the bench and in private. He needs to encourage and not criticize.

In fact if Flipper had have a brain he would trust Sheed to be the bad guy and Flipper would be the good guy with respect to AJ. I am sure AJ could take a lot of stuff from Sheed and not let him bother him like it would if it came from Flipper.

Flipper needs to be the good guy here
and let Sheed be the bad guy.

:hoops:


That's actually a good solution, and from what i've read Amir doesn't seem to take things Sheed says personally. He just thinks of it as him being a "leader".

The problem is Flip doesn't seem to be very good at the mental aspect of running a basketball team/dealing with personalities, and i don't think he would know to do this. He seems to be stuck in the "Amir is too inexperienced" mode.

Also Amir isn't exactly the type of player a coach would love to play. His best qualities aren't good fundamentals or a basketball know how like Afflalo. He's raw, and his strength lies in his talent/speed. Although from what i've seen his perimeter/transition defense has been very effective.

The only positive about the situation now is Amir still looks like he's trying. He was thrilled after he blocked Dikembe. I just hope that if things get bad, Joe D will step in.

Man I swear, some of y'all must see dead people too.................reading way too much into this.

Man I swear, some of y'all must see dead people too.................reading way too much into this.

Darko has made us over analyze :)

Good comments today, but you all should have been out shopping instead of argueing about Amir and Primos garbage time play.

By the way did anybody see Flip jr sitting back there with fabio today,or was he in the locker room sulking again?

I can buy that. But couldn't one use that same logic with all 15 players on the roster?? My arguement was to ease some of these DARKO pt.II ideas floating around. Mentally the kid is fine. I think people want to see Amir step out on the court and play like AA and Max, but he's just not that type of player, he's more like Tay than anything, very good-yet very unassuming.

No. Playing Flip Murray for instance loses games, and makes you less prepared for the playoffs. If we tried letting Dupree play, same thing. Amir should play becasue he is a multitalented player who can greatly help this team.

Playing Hayes a lot does keep Prince off his feet, and Hayes ain't that bad. He is showing signs of getting better on D. Just maybe he is still getting stronger in the knees yet as that surgery gets further into the past. However, Hayes is a vet. The return on him playing is rather minimal compared to playing Amir.

Brezec has started for well over two straight seasons. Playing him, while keeping him game shape, will not increase his experience level by any significant amount between now and the playoffs. He basically is where he is.

Where can the same logic be found? Playing Afflalo. Playing Stuckey. Playing Samb. Playing Mejia if we add him to the squad. (And we should)

Now, lets review what we are arguing about. Against Houston, just yesterday, Sheed got into a bit of foul trouble. Dyess had just sat down 2 minutes prior, but Flip sent him right back into the game.

Flip could have called upon Amir. Do you know what happened the last time Amir was called upon for these type of 2nd quarter minutes? Yep, we ended up completely blowing the opponent away in the 2nd half.

There was plenty of time to play Amir in this game, in the rotation rather than garbage time. Indeed, even Brezec got minutes before Amir, and that is nothing more than an insult.

In sum, why talk generalities when we can talk about the last game. Flip Saunders messed up by not playing Amir in this game. When will he stop messing up the situation and start playing Amir some steady minutes. I am waiting.

geez, you here are TRULY OVERPANICKING!!!! And exp isn't just minutes, it is basicly undersanding "that thing". If player has no idea what is going on the court , it is waisting the time. And surely exp need a sort of "digesting", it is not like lee's post: give him 20 mins a game and he receives "enlightment". And PB plays C, AJ is PF, if he can't handle PF mins, then at C spot he would be a lot worse.

It is funny to read to OVERpanicking OVERanalyzes, but someone has to say: Stop!

sadly in scotland at the moment so can't see the games just follow the ticker online.... at the end of the 2nd quarter when Brezec came in I knew the Vultures would circle.

Was Y still in the game? He would have eaten our young boy alive, from what I could tell he ate Brezec up and he's bigger and stronger at this point.

The fact that Stuckey got in the 2nd quarter has to show that we are serious about getting the young kids serious playing time and bringing them along as fast as you can without just saying we won't try to continue to build as a team. The only thing Flip could have done differently in the first half was to bring in Amir in while Y was on the bench in the first half.

Folks need to relax, Lee does enough for all of us.... think some of you have been reading him so long your picking up his ways.... and that isn't a good thing lol

By the way did anybody see Flip jr sitting back there with fabio today,or was he in the locker room sulking again?

He was the guy on the bench in gray jacket who huddled and danced together before the tip-off.

They got us this game lived on local network, what amazed me was the their commentators praised the Pistons like no one. They credited what JD had done to the team, they admired our young bloods, they said that Maxieel is a promising beast with nurture from Dyess and Sheed . . .

Nevertheless, I bombed their mail box with message as: " More Pistons Games ". They praised our team as if we were the most popular team over here while three sport channels altogether only have televised one game this month on the other hand, weird.

Go Pistons.

sadly in scotland at the moment so can't see the games just follow the ticker online.... at the end of the 2nd quarter when Brezec came in I knew the Vultures would circle.

Was Y still in the game? He would have eaten our young boy alive, from what I could tell he ate Brezec up and he's bigger and stronger at this point.

Yes, Yao was still in the game near the end of the first half when Brezec came in. Yao pretty much took him to school on the next few possessions.

Some people in chat last night were commenting on Chuck Hayes' terrible FT shooting motion, which has a weird hitch just before he releases it, sort of like Larry Johnson but a lot worse. The bizarre thing is that I'm very familiar with him from his college days, since he played for my hometown Kentucky Wildcats, and he didn't have any sort of ugly shooting motion back then. If you check his stats (http://www.sportsline.com/nba/players/playerpage/567656), you can see that he's shooting 60% from the line in his NBA career, but at UK he shot a very respectable 73% (college stats are listed near the bottom). I really have no idea why he changed his shooting motion and turned himself into a much worse FT shooter.

Man I swear, some of y'all must see dead people too.................reading way too much into this.

http://th232.photobucket.com/albums/ee79/SofiaV86/th_vampire.jpg

:hoops:

Brezec has started for well over two straight seasons. Playing him, while keeping him game shape, will not increase his experience level by any significant amount between now and the playoffs. He basically is where he is.

According to Vincent the Charlotte coach the reason that they traded Brezec for Nazmo, is because they can and are using Nazmo in the low post which allows Okafer to play up higher, whereas Brezec is a true blue Euro and prefers to plays only at the elbows or higher.

If Cheikh can return and show good progress at Fort Wayne and maybe even play some for us and add a bit more weight over the summer Brezec will gone before next Oct 1st.

It seems to me that Dr. D will keep Herrmann around for the rest of the year as an emergency measure in case Tay or Jarvis get injured. As far as next year goes, I think it will depend on who we draft.

Now that the guards are covered and we are looking pretty good at the 4 and 5 for the next couple of years and maybe even further with the personnel we now have, I think Dr. D. may be looking for a #3 in next years draft, but of course it is way too early to speculate about that.

Besides, there is always the take the best player available approach regardless of the position.

:hoops:

Thanks for all the recaps. I think that was the first game I missed all year and I immediately wanted to read our home brewed analysis. Now I sort of feel like I saw it.

i didn't see much of the game but oh my god...some of the comments...wow. i saw amir up close and he wasn't sulking, and he didn't seem less confident or more tentative. you guys are trying to analyze his personality and you don't even know him or see what happens in practices!

i guess there always has to be something to nitpick though...all of our starters are playing substantially fewer minutes this year, jmax is getting consistent playing time and has hit 70% of this FTs in december, afflalo is winning a role, stuckey has played both games since coming back, we got rid of a bad contract while adding size and depth at C and SF, nazr is gone, and flip murray is out of the rotation. 27 games into the season, i'd say that's a success.

i didn't see much of the game but oh my god...some of the comments...wow. i saw amir up close and he wasn't sulking, and he didn't seem less confident or more tentative. you guys are trying to analyze his personality and you don't even know him or see what happens in practices!

i guess there always has to be something to nitpick though...all of our starters are playing substantially fewer minutes this year, jmax is getting consistent playing time and has hit 70% of this FTs in december, afflalo is winning a role, stuckey has played both games since coming back, we got rid of a bad contract while adding size and depth at C and SF, nazr is gone, and flip murray is out of the rotation. 27 games into the season, i'd say that's a success.

Complacency. Never wanted. Its a start. Lots of work to be done.

Who broke Check's jaw?

i didn't see much of the game but oh my god...some of the comments...wow. i saw amir up close and he wasn't sulking, and he didn't seem less confident or more tentative. you guys are trying to analyze his personality and you don't even know him or see what happens in practices!

i guess there always has to be something to nitpick though...all of our starters are playing substantially fewer minutes this year, jmax is getting consistent playing time and has hit 70% of this FTs in december, afflalo is winning a role, stuckey has played both games since coming back, we got rid of a bad contract while adding size and depth at C and SF, nazr is gone, and flip murray is out of the rotation. 27 games into the season, i'd say that's a success.
Great post, Hogg. Lee, not so much. Its not our goal to be 27-0 and averaging 120 PPG to our opponents 79 PPG. THe other teams DO come to play. I believe 20-7 is wonderful because we only have TWO fluke wins: Boston and Atlanta, but we only have 2 BAD losses, Chicago and Chicago.
We look like a 20-7 team and could finish 61-21 season IF we push our starters, BUT I'd like to see MORE time off between games 40 and 60 for the FaveFive. I want to see at least 3 games where CB , Rip or dYESS DONT PLAY AT ALL. And at least 2 for Sheed and Tay(Tay, no chance).
Also NO team in the West looks THAT better than us; Spurs are =.

COME PLAYOFFS:

Stuckey: Will round into shape after allstar break. Not concerned that he'll be up and down. He will be a 9PPG scorer and a slick passer. First guard off the bench.

X-MAX: Has developed ,IMO. I believe he will be a 8 and 8 guy with some great blocks. Also, he will be the guy no team can match up with sans Varejo and Nocioni. The KEY to our next 'ship.\

AA: Will combine with Hunter to cause alot of Havoc. Will he play more than Evans down the stretch? Possibly..remember he's our future, not Jarvis , who will end his career one oneyearcontract at a time.

Johnson: He's 20 years old with no ass. Still growin. But certain things I see are startling. He's 7' with his long arms and hops. But he needs a more Tyrus Thomas demeanor: COME IN ANDMAKE NOISE!! Who cares what the score is. That's how Rodman ran Dantley out of town and out-minuted Aquirre. When he does that...WOW!

Great post, Hogg. Lee, not so much. Its not our goal to be 27-0 and averaging 120 PPG to our opponents 79 PPG. THe other teams DO come to play. I believe 20-7 is wonderful because we only have TWO fluke wins: Boston and Atlanta, but we only have 2 BAD losses, Chicago and Chicago.
We look like a 20-7 team and could finish 61-21 season IF we push our starters, BUT I'd like to see MORE time off between games 40 and 60 for the FaveFive. I want to see at least 3 games where CB , Rip or dYESS DONT PLAY AT ALL. And at least 2 for Sheed and Tay(Tay, no chance).
Also NO team in the West looks THAT better than us; Spurs are =.

COME PLAYOFFS:

Stuckey: Will round into shape after allstar break. Not concerned that he'll be up and down. He will be a 9PPG scorer and a slick passer. First guard off the bench.

X-MAX: Has developed ,IMO. I believe he will be a 8 and 8 guy with some great blocks. Also, he will be the guy no team can match up with sans Varejo and Nocioni. The KEY to our next 'ship.\

AA: Will combine with Hunter to cause alot of Havoc. Will he play more than Evans down the stretch? Possibly..remember he's our future, not Jarvis , who will end his career one oneyearcontract at a time.

Johnson: He's 20 years old with no ass. Still growin. But certain things I see are startling. He's 7' with his long arms and hops. But he needs a more Tyrus Thomas demeanor: COME IN ANDMAKE NOISE!! Who cares what the score is. That's how Rodman ran Dantley out of town and out-minuted Aquirre. When he does that...WOW!
Good post. I agree with the points. I think J-Max could average double-digits in scoring, especially if he sticks around the basket. And don't forget about developing Samb. He should help in the middle.