Indiana Dec 28th 8PM

tv: WDIV

1st of one of those back-back/home-home deals with the Pistons hosting game 1.

Pacers are dangerous again. Not a serious contender but they are good enough to beat any time on a given night. All 5 Pacer starters avg in double figures.

Injuries:
Pacers - reserve David Harrison.
Pistons - none

With Blaha covering the MSU game, the Pistons have turned to Gus Johnson for the play-by-play on channel 4. Johnson is a really interesting broadcaster and I'm going to tape the game to hear him call it.

OOps, didn`t know the first one was in Detroit. Still, look for a split here. The Pacers always get up for the Pistons!

OOps, didn`t know the first one was in Detroit. Still, look for a split here. The Pacers always get up for the Pistons!
Lots of teams get up for the Pistons. I think the outcome of this series mainly depends on Pistons keeping up their interest and Flip's use of the bench that keeps infusing the team with the energy.

There is a big Tigers/Pacers fan on MotownSports.com.

He also happens to be a big Colts fan. LOL

:hoops:

Lots of teams get up for the Pistons. I think the outcome of this series mainly depends on Pistons keeping up their interest and Flip's use of the bench that keeps infusing the team with the energy.

True.

However, this is a division rival, makes somewhat of a difference.

The starters have to make sure that they play smart tonight to allow Flip to utilize the bench and save some minutes for tomorrows game. Agree Indy is tougher this year thay they have been recently as all appear healthy and Tinsley and Dunleavy appear to be having their best seasons to date.

We are overwhelming favorites according to those who make a living knowing these things.

:hoops:

We are overwhelming favorites according to those who make a living knowing these things.

:hoops:
As we should be. Will it translate into two wins? We'll have to wait and see.

Chat's open!

The number is a little padded rebounding his own missed shots but still AJ led us in rebounding tonight. 9 in 11 minutes.

:hoops:

The recently familiar 3rd quarter explosion happened one quarter early tonight for the Pistons, as they blitzed the Pacers 40-22 in the 2nd to blow it open by halftime. Jarvis was en fuego in that quarter with 13 points, the Pacers couldn't stop turning it over, and pretty much everyone was hitting for the Pistons. Nobody played any D in the second half, and the scrubs got burned during garbage time to cut the lead all the way down to 10 with a minute left, but they had enough to hang on in a 13 point win that wasn't as close as it looked.

Odd balance of things tonight with Hayes going wild while Herrmann saw his first time as a Piston, both in the same game. Lindsey was deactivated, and Herrmann apparently scored his first Piston points on a nice reverse layup that I missed while watching Orlando beat Miami. Amir dominated the boards in garbage time, I think he had 9 or 10.

The Pacers had their regular rotation guys in for about half of the last quarter. Diogu and Foster who are in their regular rotation played quite a bit in the 4th quarter.
:hoops:

As Dumars stated, the Pistons dominated in the second qtr with help from both the starters and hayes burning the nets for I believe possibly all of his 13 points. (he was 4-5 from the field and hit 3 three pointers.

The Pistons scored 64 points in the first half, but gave up 60 in an all second half garbage time affair. J ONeal was able to pad his stats in the third qtr as did rip and tay during this stint when both teams traded buckets and ended up with 29 a piece. Rip hit what looked like 3 three pointers from the left in a row and Tay scored on a assortment of spins and post up moves.

Pacers first team to score over 87 points on the Pistons during this streak and only the second team to score over 100 pts on the Pistons in December (Det beat Mem 113-111 on 12/11). The # 2 D took a little beating tonight, but the game was over at halftime and all they had to do really was trade hoops to win for sure.

The number is a little padded rebounding his own missed shots but still AJ led us in rebounding tonight. 9 in 11 minutes.

:hoops:
Nobody complained when Moses Malone did it...............

Nobody complained when Moses Malone did it...............

I wasn't complaining but I thought I would just mention it first
You still have to get the rebounds either way.

:hoops:

I wasn't complaining but I thought I would just mention it first
You still have to get the rebounds either way.

:hoops:
Jus' Jivin' Buddah- Jus' jivin ya man

Jus' Jivin' Buddah- Jus' jivin ya man

I can't believe Aflalo missed 3 of 4 free throws.

Champion interviewed him after the game and AA said the second unit has got to tighten it up.

:hoops:

I think Stuckey's big problem is he just isn't aggressive enough on offense or defense. LOL

:hoops:

I can't believe Aflalo missed 3 of 4 free throws.

Champion interviewed him after the game and AA said the second unit has got to tighten it up.

:hoops:
AA 1-4 from the line!!!!!! HE SUCKS, we never should have drafted him. Deactivate him so FlipJr can get back in the rotation!!!!!!!!!!!! Flip S is stupid for playing AA!!!!!!

AA 1-4 from the line!!!!!! HE SUCKS, we never should have drafted him. Deactivate him so FlipJr can get back in the rotation!!!!!!!!!!!! Flip S is stupid for playing AA!!!!!!

Vote for Murray for starting guard in the all star game.

:hoops:

I think Stuckey's big problem is he just isn't aggressive enough on offense or defense. LOL

:hoops:
Real Talk...he just made Travis Diener about $300K tonight. Flip had a great quote about Stuckeys D on Diener:
Flip: Play some damn D!!
Stuck: Coach I contested!!!
Flip: Contesting aint enough!!!!....Take it AWAY!!!!!!

Then AA straight locked the dude down to show Stuck how it's done....classic AA!!!!!

I'm so proud of Flip. By Jove I think he's GOT IT!!!!

Real Talk...he just made Travis Diener about $300K tonight. Flip had a great quote about Stuckeys D on Diener:
Flip: Play some damn D!!
Stuck: Coach I contested!!!
Flip: Contesting aint enough!!!!....Take it AWAY!!!!!!

Then AA straight locked the dude down to show Stuck how it's done....classic AA!!!!!

I'm so proud of Flip. By Jove I think he's GOT IT!!!!

Stucky wanted the minutes. He got three fouls and three steals in the second quarter in 6 minutes. I think he didn't want to foul out.

Yea Flipper has it alright. He wants to keep his job. Lets see what happens in close games.
:hoops:

The one thing I didn't like tonight is that Flipper inserted Stuckey for Hamilton in the second quarter, so C-Bill wound up playing way too many minutes tonight, over 33, whereas Rip who can run all night only got 29. I would have preferred Stuckey to have come in for C-Bill.

But I think Flipper is not that comfortable with Stuckey playing the point at this time early in the game. We shall see.

Rip had 9 assists tonight. He is averaging about 4.5 assists a game which is a little below his best year in APG of 4.9.

:hoops:

<p>That was easy.</p>


<p>Amid a lot of new stuff, hats off to Rip for one heck of a shooting display.</p>


<p>The best thing I liked about this one was both Sheed and Dyess going inside a lot. Kind of funny, the announcers going on and on about how great Dyess was shooting the outside jumper while he continually was going inside with the ball. He did make one or two outside jumpers. INdiana is a horrid defensive team inside so good job by the coaches to get the Pistons to take advantage.</p>


<p>Time to celebrate. Stuckey ain't perfect, but we had no dropoff in play when he came in to spell both Billups then Hamilton in the 1st half. We saw Stuckey do what Stuckey does, get inside, make the basket or get fouled and make the free throws. He also hit an outside shot. (or two?) His defense left something to be desired though in garbage time.</p>


<p>Hunter, Samb, and Murray were not dressed tonight. Hermann was dressed, and gave us one highlight, a nifty reverse layup driving in from the right baseline.</p>


<p>Afflalo still got 16 minutes, 4 of them at the end of the first half. The starters did not expand the lead in the 3rd quarter, maintaining a 20 point lead created in the 3rd quarter by a lot of hot shooting by Hayes. Thats two out of 3 good shooting games by Hayes so maybe he is out of his slump. Maybe like someone said, Herrmann being dressed might have put some pressure on Hayes to step up his game.</p>


<p>No defense was played for much of the 3rd quarter. Both teams hit shot after shot. (Rip most of ours, with Tay hitting some too.) We did clamp down just a bit to end the quarter, and I think we were up 24 when the 4th quarter started.</p>


<p>Much of the 4th was played by Stuckey, Afflalo, Herrmann, JMAX, and Amir. This group did well enough. Amir got 9 rebounds in the first 8 minutes of the quarter. At that point, Brezec came in. The lead got down to about 12 or 10 but time was running out just fast enough so we did not have to worry too much. I won't blame Brezec for this, since Stuckey not remembering to play D had a lot to do with it. It was quite a contrast to see just how Afflalo played D, at all times.</p>


<p>CB just mainly ran things right. JMAX did little, but he was in there most of the 2nd quarter while we pulled away.</p>


<p>In all, pretty good game. Amir was not really in the rotation, but yet he played 12 minutes, some of which was not quite garbage time as we let them back in just a tad. Afflalo still got some meaningful minutes even though was saw the beginning of a possible 3 guard rotation. Herrmann got his first bucket for us. Hayes broke out of a slump big time, and our starters were at least shooting great. (They could have played some D in the 3rd.)</p>


<p>GO PISTONS!!!!!</p>

This little gem is from the Yahoo game recap.

Indiana coach Jim O'Brien picked up a technical for arguing an offensive foul on Marquis Daniels (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3764/;_ylt=AsyqFUj0IOkVSnNxr9s1TxmQvLYF) early in the second quarter. When O'Brien continued to argue, official Bill Spooner yelled, "Know the rule, Jim!"

:pound::pound::pound:

The one thing I didn't like tonight is that Flipper inserted Stuckey for Hamilton in the second quarter, so C-Bill wound up playing way too many minutes tonight, over 33, whereas Rip who can run all night only got 29. I would have preferred Stuckey to have come in for C-Bill.

But I think Flipper is not that comfortable with Stuckey playing the point at this time early in the game. We shall see.

Like I said in the rotations thread, I suspect that Flip was planning on using Rip and Stuckey for a few more minutes in the 2nd quarter, with CB and AA finishing out the half, but Stuckey's foul trouble led to CB returning a few minutes early.

This little gem is from the Yahoo game recap.
Indiana coach Jim O'Brien picked up a technical for arguing an offensive foul on Marquis Daniels (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3764/;_ylt=AsyqFUj0IOkVSnNxr9s1TxmQvLYF) early in the second quarter. When O'Brien continued to argue, official Bill Spooner yelled, "Know the rule, Jim!"
:pound::pound::pound:

Yeah, I heard that too...LOL. Daniels had charged into CB after catching a long pass and turning right into him. Now if CB had slid under him and not given him any room to come down, then yeah, that would be grounds for complaining about a charge call because you've got to give the guy room to land. But Daniels already did that, and then he turned into CB for the charge because his momentum was carrying him forward. The Pacers announcers on League Pass were whining about how Daniels should have had "room to turn," which is moronic...that's not a rule!

I'm so proud of Flip. By Jove I think he's GOT IT!!!!Let's not get carried away lol. I'm trying...I'm REALLY trying to like Flipper. The early blowouts give the kids some great burn and even allow some experimental floor combinations.

Sincerely...Kudo's to Flip right now. The team looks great...very confident, with the bench playing a significant role and the starters getting rest. It looks to me that the team chemistry couldn't be better.

The only thing that bugs me about the fun is that Flip's coaching is not challenged as it would be in a tight playoff game.

The only thing that bugs me about the fun is that Flip's coaching is not challenged as it would be in a tight playoff game.

January is a much tougher schedule for us than December, we'll see some nail-biters soon, I'm sure.

Fun win, that layup by Hermann was incredibly cool, I hope we get to see more of that.

Yeah, I heard that too...LOL. Daniels had charged into CB after catching a long pass and turning right into him. Now if CB had slid under him and not given him any room to come down, then yeah, that would be grounds for complaining about a charge call because you've got to give the guy room to land. But Daniels already did that, and then he turned into CB for the charge because his momentum was carrying him forward. The Pacers announcers on League Pass were whining about how Daniels should have had "room to turn," which is moronic...that's not a rule!


Blocks/Charge: A block/charge foul occurs when a defender tries to get in front of his man to stop him from going in that direction. If he does not get into a legal defensive position and contact occurs, it is a blocking foul. If he gets to a legal position and the offensive player runs into him it is an offensive foul. In both situations, if the contact is minimal, no foul may be called. To get into a legal position defending against the dribbler, the defender just needs to get in front of him. On a drive to the basket, the defender must get to his position before the shooter starts his upward shooting motion. For most other cases, the defender must get into position and allow enough distance for the offensive player to stop and/or change direction.
NBA.com Explaining the NBA’s Most Misunderstood Rules (http://www.nba.com/features/misunderstoodrules_051128.html)

:hoops:

For most other cases, the defender must get into position and allow enough distance for the offensive player to stop and/or change direction.

Wow, that's awfully vague. "Most" other cases? "And/or"? Good luck figuring that out.

What I think happened is that CB gave him room to land but realized that Daniels' momentum was almost certainly going to result in a collision. But, had Daniels seen that CB was right there, he could (in theory) have stopped after landing and not turned around at all, which would have avoided the contact completely. So the refs called it a charge.

This was our dream game, right? Everything we've been asking for and more.

We blew out a division rival. Chauncey was kicking butt. Rip had his best shooting night of the season. Dice and Sheed were going inside and getting tough rebounds. Tay caught fire. Flip played the bench early and often. Jarvis looked like the Microwave. Stuckey hit double digits. Afflalo played great. Maxiell was hit normal active self. Amir increased his rebounds per minute stat to ludicrous level. We got to see Herrmann show off. And Bresek head butted the gatorade cooler into the 3rd row.

REJOICE! All praise the conductor, Mr. Flip Saunders. :MusicBigGrin:

REJOICE! All praise the conductor, Mr. Flip Saunders. :MusicBigGrin:

Are you sure?


Pacers had the playbook, but Pistons Rip them apart for 7th straight win

December 29, 2007
BY KRISTA JAHNKE
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

Coach Flip Saunders joked before the Pistons played the Pacers on Friday night that he'd know what went wrong if Indiana waltzed to an easy win.

In the spring of 2006, he wanted to hire now Pacers coach Jim O'Brien as a Pistons assistant. It didn't work out, but at the time, Saunders lent O'Brien his massive playbook.

"And he never gave it back to me," Saunders said.


Sounds pretty bonehead to me.

PISTONS 114, INDIANA 101: Pacers had the playbook, but Pistons Rip them apart for 7th straight win (http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071229/SPORTS03/712290387/1051)

:hoops:

So the Pacers had the Pistons' playbook and still gave up 40 points in one quarter?

So the Pacers had the Pistons' playbook and still gave up 40 points in one quarter?

They have the offensive play book, not the defensive one. O'Brien was being considered for offensive coach.

I can see your point if you are saying how come they couldn't stop us if they knew what plays we were going to run?

1. Flipper has since modified and added to his offensive play book since he gave it to O'Brien. This was written about I believe during the pre-season by either the FREEP or DetNews or both.

2. Having someone's offensive play book does by itself not help you stop them from scoring because you have to know how to stop offensive sets from being executed, which means you have to know a lot about defense.

3. You also have to have the players with the skill set and desire to play defense. The Pacers are 27th in the league in points allowed per game. Only Seattle, Memphis and GS are allowing more points per game than the Pacers.

ESPN - NBA Statistics and League Leaders - National Basketball Association (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/statistics?stat=tmcompare&sort=pts&league=nba&season=2008&seasontype=2&avg=pg&order=false&split=999)
:hoops:

this was a superb game. the sellout crowd was actually a sellout (of course there's always like 10 open seats right around us though) and they were pretty into the game. you could really tell that there weren't a lot of the regular season ticket holders there, because everyone was pretty excited and the crowd stayed into the game. that $89 package must have really worked out. you could also tell because the concession lines were extra long and slow, the bathroom lines were long (and people didn't know to wrap against the wall, instead they clogged the concourse), and it took forever to get out of the palace.

what was really impressive about the pistons in the 2nd quarter is that, although rip and jarvis were hot, they still recognized double teams and made extra passes and got everyone else involved. take away a couple silly turnovers on our part and we could've put up 50 that quarter. it was interesting putting stuckey in at shooting guard over afflalo, but that was cool to see him get burn early in the game with the starting unit. i don't mind as much because we know what afflalo's going to bring, and we need to get stuckey ready. flip even said they inactivated hunter because they need him for the playoffs and need to get stuckey minutes.

max was a beast as usual, and even though teams are working hard to take away his putbacks and thunder dunks, he's showing that he's got a broader offensive repertoire and using it to his advantage to still get points. he has scored in double figures in 9 of 15 games in december, versus 4 of 14 games in november. he missed a couple shots in garbage time, but no matter.

afflalo looked solid and put an end to diener's nonsense pretty quickly, but hey man, 1/4 from the line and 2/6 in your last 6? that's a fast way to go from 90% to 80% on the season! either way - awesome mid-range shooting. hayes, welcome back - look what happens when you take good shots in the flow of the offense and when your feet are set. amir - nice job on the boards, and way to impact the game - block on the first possession he came in, then knocking the ball off a pacer to go out of bounds and get the pistons the ball back. brezec, again not the most talented guy, but he understands how he's going to win a role on the team...with energy and hustle. good job. and stuckey/rip running out of the way when you were charging at the bench was the most hilarious play of the season.

stuckey did fine, albeit some mistakes and perhaps some poor shot selection, but i like that he is fearless in going to the basket, is willing to draw contact, and can stay strong enough with the double-clutch to still get a quality shot off and avoid the block. 5 steals in 2 games, with several assists, quality drives to the hoop, and perfection from the line? i'd say things are looking good as the season progresses. again he got rid of the ball early in the clock to get some ball movement. overall some rookie mistakes but a solid game.

herrmann got a very big ovation when he first entered the game, and the crowd loved his one-handed reverse layup. that guy must have some monster hands. i'm not sure how good his defense will be, but hey so far so good.

the whole bench unit is now bringing exactly what we need. there's a good mix of playmakers/shooters/intelligent players, and everyone is very aggressive and gives full effort. that's exactly what we need.

the funniest part of the night was in the men's room following the game. as i'm takin' care of business, someone let out the biggest wet burrito fart i've ever heard. either that or he was giving one of the toilets a feast. i couldn't tell, but it was frightening. then my buddy walks into a stall to pee, and the toilet was missing!! ahahaha. there was just like a metal plate there, but no sign on the door saying out of service or anything. good times, good times.

1-0 with a maxiell jersey on. considering i've worn tay's and ben's through some losses in the ECF, might have to permanently switch to jmax.

Thanks for the hog-cap. I've been out of TV access to games for a week and it's great to get first-hand perspectives.

Yikes...no more stories about the Palace bathrooms, OK?

TMI!!!!!

Other than that, keep those Hogcaps coming! :thumb: