At Washington Jan. 2nd, 7:00 pm

TV20 Detroit, NBALP

The Pistons visit the Verizon Center to take on the Wiz for their first game of 2008. The Wiz have been playing well without Gilbert Arenas, they always play the Pistons tough at home.

We'll have some forum representation in the house tonight, as both armygirl and myself will be at the game. That road game PF.com live representative karma had better work again!

We'll have some forum representation in the house tonight, as both armygirl and myself will be at the game. That road game PF.com live representative karma had better work again!
Do u have a mobile laptop?Or a digital camera? I'd heart to see some pics...mostly of AGirl.......

...and I'm emailing her to wear a camisol!!!!:love::love::redface:BOY-YOIN-YOING!!!!

No camera for me, so no pics unless AG has one...

No camera for me, so no pics unless AG has one...
ever heard of a lil placE called WALMART????:nerd2:

Do u have a mobile laptop?Or a digital camera? I'd heart to see some pics...mostly of AGirl.......

...and I'm emailing her to wear a camisol!!!!:love::love::redface:BOY-YOIN-YOING!!!!


Yeah I'd like to see that too, get a throwaway and take it back to Walmart for processing...:)

Looks like it'll all be up to me to provide the PF.com road game karma, as AG has been hit with a nasty case of the flu and can't come to the game tonight. I'll provide a detailed re-cap of the experience once I get home. Hopefully there'll be some pics next time two months from now, if all three of us locals (including Dlev) can make it to that Pistons-Wizards game.

Looks like it'll all be up to me to provide the PF.com road game karma, as AG has been hit with a nasty case of the flu and can't come to the game tonight. I'll provide a detailed re-cap of the experience once I get home. Hopefully there'll be some pics next time two months from now, if all three of us locals (including Dlev) can make it to that Pistons-Wizards game.
i just got three words for ya....(from Wierd Science)

WELL, #$@@! DAMN!!!!

Another game, another opportunity for Flip to get his team prepared for the playoffs.

1) Play Amir.

2) Avoid the 1 step forward, 1 step back option of playing Stuckey more at the expense of Afflalo's minutes. Instead, continue to give Rip and CB plenty of rest.

Another game, another opportunity for Flip to get his team prepared for the playoffs.

1) Play Amir.

2) Avoid the 1 step forward, 1 step back option of playing Stuckey more at the expense of Afflalo's minutes. Instead, continue to give Rip and CB plenty of rest.
Hey, that's coach of the month you're talking about. He knows what he's doing. :stirthepot:

Chat

is

open!

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

Another game, another opportunity for Flip to get his team prepared for the playoffs.

1) Play Amir.

2) Avoid the 1 step forward, 1 step back option of playing Stuckey more at the expense of Afflalo's minutes. Instead, continue to give Rip and CB plenty of rest.

He's 0-2. I wouldn't be surprised if Rip's min continue to skyrocket, and i think we all need to give up on Flip playing Amir. This game is PERFECT for him, and he would match up great with Blatche. It's just not going to happen.

Rip came pretty close to a triple double tonight

pts 20
reb 7
assists 9

Does anyone remember the last Pistons player to get a triple double?

:hoops:

Well we can credit Dumars4ever for being at the game in providing the Piston Karma needed to get the victory. We will get his live game report later.

Another game that was won in sputs/runs. The Pistons open the 2nd and 4th qtrs on 10-0 runs with the latter pushing the lead up to 20 with about 9 mins left in the game. The wiz would not die and had a couple of 7-0 runs themselves to keep themselves in the game and keep Amir on the bench until less than 3 mins left in the game.

Flip overplayed the starters tonight specifically Rip who I believe played the entire first half and a total of 38 mins. Dice and Tay played 31 mins and Sheed played 33. Only six minutes for Afflolo?? and garbage time didn't really start until 2:40 left in the game...Stuckey played 22 mins, but didn't look that sharp tonight..

Other than those comments, the game was won beyond the arc as the Pistons hit 11 of 22 three balls

well, it worked out that the starters didn't play too many minutes, and yeah we had 7 guys score in double figures, but i just didn't like how this game was coached. first, i know rip had a good game but there was no reason not to throw afflalo out there in the 2nd quarter. i don't mind stuckey getting a lot of minutes at his expense in the (very) short term, since we know what afflalo will bring night in and night out, but i don't want to see it become habit.

i also don't want to see more games where sheed plays almost the entire first 3 quarters - when the wizards made a 6-0 run in the 3rd he just watched a few guys dunk rather than challenge the shots, and you could tell he was getting lazy, yet saunders not only kept him in the game, but subbed max for dyess instead. this was the perfect game to get amir out there, because the wizards are young and don't have any strong centers to push him around. give him 5 mins in the 2nd quarter and put him out there with max.

credit hayes with continuing to shoot well, even with the emotion of playing for his old team. the officiating was atrocious tonight, way way waaaaaaaaay too many whistles and fouls. there was no flow, which worked to our benefit, but it was not fun to watch.

sure stuckey made some more mistakes tonight with his passes, but he also had a positive impact on several possessions, and i thought he got more than the 3 assists he was credited for. he's always getting his hands on passes and beating other players to loose balls, and he's learned that if he penetrates the lane he can dish it off rather than getting his shot swatted away. i think he's making good progress and will continue to play better and better with each game.

maxiell was an animal as always.

washington has some good shooters, jamison is sweet, and they kept stuckey out fo the lane very well. they have good free throw shooters and that's really what kept them in the game tonight. overall this was another good game of developing stuckey, most of the starters played few minutes, and the bench scored 35. but i still would've preferred to see afflalo in the 2nd quarter along with amir playing real minutes and not garbage time.

Ten is a row!!!!! Thats always nice.


However, since this team is wanting to win a championship this year, lets first talk about what we did to prepare for the playoffs.


First of all, Stuckey played a ton. He came into the game late in the first for Rip and played along side CB for a while. Then Billups was rested by Stuckey all the way until 4 mintues were left in the 1st half Thats one quarter of basketball. Next, Stuckey played the whole 4th quarter, in a game that was not totally decided until oh, say 2 to 3 minutes left. Thats a lot of development right there for Rodney. Did playing the rook hurt us any? Not a chance. Antother semi - blowout for the Pistons, and we took charge of the game early 2nd quarter with Stuckey in. A 10-0 run. Stuckey played fine defense, dished several assists. He did not score much, including missing several outside shots, but he ran the offense just fine, took the ball up the floor just fine.


Next, Afflalo was cut out of the first half, but Flip gave him good important minutes late 3rd and early 4th quarter, and put Afflalo back in for the last few minutes of the game. Now, we were up 14 with a few minutes to go. The game is not really over at that point. So Afflalo got some important 4th 2nd half minutes, some development.


Next, Brezec, Fabio, and Amir Johnson all got some time at the end of the game along with our young backcourt. Again, this game was not over. In the past, other coaches would have been more conservative in this situation and had all the starters back in to finish the game. Hey, I ain't saying this was a perfectly coached game by Flip, but it is quite an improvement for him. I am going to give him a B+ for this one. (He was just a few minutes for Amir in the 2nd quarter from getting an A.)
Now some game details.


Rip needed 4 points to go ahead of Shue for 10th on the list of Pistons all time scorers. Was he nervous about it? He missed a few shots to start the game. He got a layup for his first two points, and then made 2 of 2 at the line. I like that. For a moment, Rip and Shue had the same number of points. (PS, I don't remember Shue. Before my time.)


Now after he did what he had to do to become part of Pistons History, he commenced to make history of The Wiz. Rip pretty much started hitting every shot he cared to take, challenged or not. He ended up with 20 points and player of the game. Oh, and he had a ton of assists and rebounds, flirting with a triple double, on top of the hot shooting.


To start the game, Rip, Sheed, Dyess, and Tay were all scoring kind of equally. Prince dropped out from the scoring thing though and let Rip shine from there. And what did CB do with all that rest he got in the 2nd quarter from Stuck? He tore it up in the 3rd quarter, hitting a few triples to put us in good command of the game. The fact that CB is now getting some real rest, with a good solid backup to spell him, someone he does not have to worry about doing a poor job running the team. Ok, enough of this runon sentence. Hey, got to love it. CB getting some good rest. Not even playing the 4th quarter. Yeah, I am trying to shout without using caps. Get excited. What a team.


Hayes hit a shot early when he came in. Then he got jammed to the floor by his neck on a drive in. He made one of two from the flagrant foul call, amazing he could even get one after that mugging. We were all worried for sure, but he got up and kept playing. Who knows, maybe being slammed to the ground like that hurt his defense a bit, as Butler abused him three straight times later in the quarter. Flip took him out at that point. Now, Hayes did not play good D there for sure, but he made it up big time in the 2nd half, hitting several shots, and playing better D this time.


Afflalo did nothing much to write home about. A good drive to the basket and making both his free throws was his highlight. And good D as always.


Besides AA's drive in, Tay's drive is about most of what I can remember as far as anyone helping JMAX on getting them into foul trouble. I mean JMAX had it going. Washington soon realized that there was no force in their state that could stop this man. They simply took to fouling him if the ball was anywhere in the vicinity of him. Maxiell has to start making all his freethrows. Just to protect himself from all that abuse. Make em pay for the fouls, or they will just keep coming. Well, he never missed both, and hit both once. Sure would be great to be able to talk about any other Piston player getting to the line all night. If someone else would please help Jason out, it would be nice. Someone else drawing fouls would give them less ops to beat up Jason. (Not that he seems to mind the contact that much.)


"Garbage time" was highlighted by a steal and fast break dunk by Amir. The steal and assist by Stuckey was nice too. Fabio did something bone headed, shooting a three with time expiring. Good thing that missed.

Of note, I did not notice it, but the announcer mentioned that Rip was playing the point for a bit with Stuck at shooting guard. I will watch that closely when I review the game.


GO PISTONS!!!!!

well, it worked out that the starters didn't play too many minutes, and yeah we had 7 guys score in double figures, but i just didn't like how this game was coached. first, i know rip had a good game but there was no reason not to throw afflalo out there in the 2nd quarter. i don't mind stuckey getting a lot of minutes at his expense in the (very) short term, since we know what afflalo will bring night in and night out, but i don't want to see it become habit.

i also don't want to see more games where sheed plays almost the entire first 3 quarters - when the wizards made a 6-0 run in the 3rd he just watched a few guys dunk rather than challenge the shots, and you could tell he was getting lazy, yet saunders not only kept him in the game, but subbed max for dyess instead. this was the perfect game to get amir out there, because the wizards are young and don't have any strong centers to push him around. give him 5 mins in the 2nd quarter and put him out there with max.

credit hayes with continuing to shoot well, even with the emotion of playing for his old team. the officiating was atrocious tonight, way way waaaaaaaaay too many whistles and fouls. there was no flow, which worked to our benefit, but it was not fun to watch.

sure stuckey made some more mistakes tonight with his passes, but he also had a positive impact on several possessions, and i thought he got more than the 3 assists he was credited for. he's always getting his hands on passes and beating other players to loose balls, and he's learned that if he penetrates the lane he can dish it off rather than getting his shot swatted away. i think he's making good progress and will continue to play better and better with each game.

maxiell was an animal as always.

washington has some good shooters, jamison is sweet, and they kept stuckey out fo the lane very well. they have good free throw shooters and that's really what kept them in the game tonight. overall this was another good game of developing stuckey, most of the starters played few minutes, and the bench scored 35. but i still would've preferred to see afflalo in the 2nd quarter along with amir playing real minutes and not garbage time.

Good writeup. Thanks. Some of those "assists" were passes to get JMAX to the line. No assist credited on made free throws. I think there should be.

Well we can credit Dumars4ever for being at the game in providing the Piston Karma needed to get the victory. We will get his live game report later.

Another game that was won in sputs/runs. The Pistons open the 2nd and 4th qtrs on 10-0 runs with the latter pushing the lead up to 20 with about 9 mins left in the game. The wiz would not die and had a couple of 7-0 runs themselves to keep themselves in the game and keep Amir on the bench until less than 3 mins left in the game.

Flip overplayed the starters tonight specifically Rip who I believe played the entire first half and a total of 38 mins. Dice and Tay played 31 mins and Sheed played 33. Only six minutes for Afflolo?? and garbage time didn't really start until 2:40 left in the game...Stuckey played 22 mins, but didn't look that sharp tonight..

Other than those comments, the game was won beyond the arc as the Pistons hit 11 of 22 three balls

Good writeup, thanks. Rip did get 4 minutes of rest, mostly late in the first quarter when Stuckey spelled him and played shooting guard along side CB.

Blatche's flagrant #1 on Hayes in the first half, could have been payback for some stuff that went on between them the last couple of years when Jarvis was with the Wiz.

:hoops:

Alright, the karma continues! Maybe the professor can break down this magical thing we have about winning every road game where a forum members attends...he is the karma expert, after all. :)

I don't know that I had that much better a view than everyone who was watching on TV, since my nose was bleeding from the height I was sitting at...though I did have a midcourt view, which was nice. Aside from lazy D by the Pistons in the first quarter, it was clear that the Wiz were utterly overmatched. They simply couldn't stop anything the Pistons were doing, and once the D picked up for Detroit, the Wiz stopped getting so many easy looks and usually struggled to score unless Butler or Jamison hit a tough shot. CB into the lane, Rip from the perimeter, Sheed and CB knocking down 3s, JMax feasting on offensive boards, Jarvis gunning from the outside...it was all coming pretty easy. The Pistons were loose during timeouts once they took the lead early in the second quarter, lots of clowning around near midcourt as the lead continued to grow. Some guys in Wizards jerseys on the Metro ride home for me were talking about how they lost because they couldn't hit enough shots...uh, yeah, OK. Try not giving up 57 points by halftime before you go looking for more offense.

Some other Pistons fans were in the house, as I saw a few jerseys and caps represented up in the rafters. One woman a section or two over was screaming wildly every time the Pistons made a good play, and I also heard at least one "DEEE-troit BASK-et-BAAAAL" before it was over. The Jumbotron operators knew how to get the DC crowd riled up whenever the Pistons shot free throws--not by urging everyone to boo, or asking them to make some noise, but by showing non-stop images of the Dallas Cowboys!! A Cowboys star, a shot of Romo, one of Jerry Jones smiling with T.O...that was more than enough to get the fans booing.

My friend who was at the game with me isn't a Pistons fan, but he knows basketball pretty well, so he started to get annoyed when the guy sitting behind us kept saying the most clueless things about hoops in general to his friend sitting with him. When Clueless Guy opined that Rip must have gotten his nickname while he was playing for the Wizards, my pal turned and said, "no he didn't." I chimed in with the rest of the info, and kept filling in the proper details as Clueless Guy continued to ask his hapless friend to cover for his lack of knowledge:

D4: He's been "Rip" ever since he was a little kid.

CG (asking his friend): Where did he play in college?

D4: UConn.

CG (still not looking at me): Was he on one of those championship teams?

D4: Um, yeah. He was the MVP of the Final Four.

All in all, a fun time, although those seats sure weren't too close to the action. The DC locals might have to bite the bullet and shell out some moolah to watch the next beatdown later this season when the Pistons return...I'm sure it'll be worth it!

Fabio did something bone headed, shooting a three with time expiring. Good thing that missed.



Herrmann was trying to score at the end of the Bucks blowout, too. I think he is too used to being on the other end of the blowout when it is okay to launch shots at the buzzer.

Very enjoyable win tonight. Thisn team has a lot of my personality in it. I love ROAD GAMES!! It's nothing like hearing Piston fans ROAR when we score and the home fans moan. I didn't get home til the end of the 2nd quarter, but here are my highlights:

MAX's dunk at the buzzer. It was so hard it wasn't ven funny. It was like watching George Kennedy in Cool Hand Luke or watching Apocalypse Now twice in a row!! JUST HARD!!!

JAHvis' pull up threepointer off a cross court pass by 25 cent and Wiz calls timeout. I yelled 3 as the pass was goin towards him. Reminded me of my days at EMU and Belle Isle.

Chauncey smilin like a chesire cat after one of his 3's. U knew then the game was over.

Rip is on A ROLL!!I think that elbow had to be hurting him before this hot streak. Is there another 2 guard in the East palying better than him?

Dyess' baseline J. I dont know, it just seemed to stop some Wiz momentum and made the Wiz announcers seem like there is no one we can defend. Also, after Sheed's 3 from the left shoulder was, pretty.

Amir had another windmill dunk off a pass by White Almonds. I had just yelled "finish em!!" to my woman. And 2-5 did!

This team is starting to remind me of how the 72-10 Bulls played. Even though Air was 33PPG, that was the best role playing team ever. They didn't just win, they HUMILIATED you. I see things.

Stop worrying about more palying time for the Zoo. Its coming. But be PROUD of your starters, because they never played better. This bench is on par with Dallas and San antone..and thats the only teams we have to worry about...


...I mean, Miami lost tonight to Milwaukee for pete's sake, and the Wiz beat Miami by 22.

I like this team!:djparty:

Solid. Kudos for Flip giving AA some mins in the 2nd half with the game on the line. I think he realizes that he absolutely can not DNP-AA. For AA you gotta appreciate that belief that the coach has in you. I mean realistically mins are hard to get on this team. Sure we want to see AJ, Herrmann, and AA play more but in reality who are you going to sit?? This team is playing AMAZING ball at every position, when you see bench guys come up it's because somebody ahead of them is not doing their job, we don't have that problem here. MAN!!!!!

Props to CB, gotta feel as if he really wants to integrate Stuck very badly. I think he's URGING the staff to leave Stuck in the game. Folk must realize the sacrifices the WHOLE team is making for Rodney's development, including AA, but we all know that when his game gets going, this team will be utterly UNBEATABLE.

To my boy Du4ever:

LOLx4!!!:pound::pound::pound:on the MVP of Final 4 line. At the time, I thought Rip was the best 'shooter' I saw since Glen Rice, Shawn respert and Steve Alford. Way to get em......I really miss living in Houston. I had more fun at that game being 'the Road guy' than any game I ever atched at the Palace. I'd give anything for the Pistons to play downtown again.

Good DuCap!! Did u go by Walmart?:pound:

Props to CB, gotta feel as if he really wants to integrate Stuck very badly. I think he's URGING the staff to leave Stuck in the game. Folk must realize the sacrifices the WHOLE team is making for Rodney's development, including AA, but we all know that when his game gets going, this team will be utterly UNBEATABLE.

They said during the Bucks telecast that last week Flip told CB to go into the game and Billups told him to let Stuckey stay out there a little longer. It's fun watching this team click.

Alright, the karma continues! Maybe the professor can break down this magical thing we have about winning every road game where a forum members attends...he is the karma expert, after all. :)



Some other Pistons fans were in the house, as I saw a few jerseys and caps represented up in the rafters. One woman a section or two over was screaming wildly every time the Pistons made a good play, and I also heard at least one "DEEE-troit BASK-et-BAAAAL" before it was over. The Jumbotron operators knew how to get the DC crowd riled up whenever the Pistons shot free throws--not by urging everyone to boo, or asking them to make some noise, but by showing non-stop images of the Dallas Cowboys!! A Cowboys star, a shot of Romo, one of Jerry Jones smiling with T.O...that was more than enough to get the fans booing.



On the Jumbotron in Cleveland, the Cavs put up pictures of the Wolverines or the M logo to get the fans to boo when the other team is shooting free throws.


Thanks for hangin out at the arena and providing a first hand review of the game. Next time you, ArmyGirl and Dlev can hang for the rematch

Also gotta show Jayes some love. When that J is falling for him, we cant be beat. Often when he comes in the game we have a lead, and when his J is droppin'...that lead gets extrended very quickly. Jayes has the ability to come into a game and force a time-out......his alter ego, Arvis...well that's another story for another time/anotherplace.

My flight from the ATL was delayed so I wasn`t able to catch any of the game. D4E, Armygirl, I tuned in to Sportstalk 980 and caught the postgame show. Boy, those bandwagon cats are starting to circle the wagon! They were giving the Pistons much props.

I will definitely attend the March game at the phone booth. We must hook up.......

Good DuCap!! Did u go by Walmart?:pound:

Actually I live only a couple of minutes away from one, but I had to go straight from work to the game tonight. :sssh: :laugh: But never fear, if we get the PF.com cheering section for the next game in DC, there'll definitely be some photographic evidence!

Great recaps everyone! I missed the game but really enjoyed reading everyone's take on it.

It dawned on me during this game how little zone DET has been playing lately.

I loved how Maxey walked straight at Haywood when he started yapping after Max raked him across the face.

The flagrant call Hayes got was D Wade level bad. I like how Hayes rebounds, hustles and has a knack for loose balls. He got tuned up by Butler, but Tay was too at times.

Flip has gotten a lot better, a lot more consistent with his rotations, but I still think he (or someone) can get more out of them.

This won't be popular, but I can't be the only one not feeling this Stuckey as PG thing, can I? I am not saying he can't play, he can. I just am not sure it's the point? He picks up his dribble way to early and both Murray and Hunter are better ball handlers. There is a ways to go, but a good team would to do him what DET did to Eddie House a few weeks back. Maybe he just needs to play more. I don't know how people can get so bent out of shape about Murray and Hunter not being points and then speak so glowingly of Hot Rod. I guess it pays to be young.

This won't be popular, but I can't be the only one not feeling this Stuckey as PG thing, can I? I am not saying he can't play, he can. I just am not sure it's the point? He picks up his dribble way to early and both Murray and Hunter are better ball handlers. There is a ways to go, but a good team would to do him what DET did to Eddie House a few weeks back. Maybe he just needs to play more. I don't know how people can get so bent out of shape about Murray and Hunter not being points and then speak so glowingly of Hot Rod. I guess it pays to be young.

Stuckey was great as a PG in the first half. He was getting into the lane at will, and dishing for open shots or FTs time after time. The proof is in the fact that the Pistons were down when he came in, and went on a 10-0 run almost immediately. Then, in the second half, Flip had him bringing up the ball and tossing over to Rip, so he could go one-on-one. He wasn't really involved at all in the actual play unless it was the last few seconds of the shot clock. That's when it started looking bad.

I don't know if they were trying to get Rip a triple double or what, but it made the offense very sloppy.

It dawned on me during this game how little zone DET has been playing lately.

I loved how Maxey walked straight at Haywood when he started yapping after Max raked him across the face.

The flagrant call Hayes got was D Wade level bad. I like how Hayes rebounds, hustles and has a knack for loose balls. He got tuned up by Butler, but Tay was too at times.

Flip has gotten a lot better, a lot more consistent with his rotations, but I still think he (or someone) can get more out of them.

This won't be popular, but I can't be the only one not feeling this Stuckey as PG thing, can I? I am not saying he can't play, he can. I just am not sure it's the point? He picks up his dribble way to early and both Murray and Hunter are better ball handlers. There is a ways to go, but a good team would to do him what DET did to Eddie House a few weeks back. Maybe he just needs to play more. I don't know how people can get so bent out of shape about Murray and Hunter not being points and then speak so glowingly of Hot Rod. I guess it pays to be young.

It is such a personal thing. No fan ever looks at a player on their favorite teams objectively.

There are still some here who would never have traded Stackhouse for Rip.

Keep :stirthepot: with Stuckey. It will be fun watching it all unfold.

:hoops:

Herrmann was trying to score at the end of the Bucks blowout, too. I think he is too used to being on the other end of the blowout when it is okay to launch shots at the buzzer.

Thats a trend that I would like to see reversed. These guys need to be taught how to win graciously.

Anyway, the Pistons were pretty much in control from mid 2nd quarter onward. Nice use of the bench except for getting that 4th big ready for the post-season.

Is Maxiel becomming a great player before our eyes or what?

It is such a personal thing. No fan ever looks at a player on their favorite teams objectively.

There are still some here who would never have traded Stackhouse for Rip.

Keep :stirthepot: with Stuckey. It will be fun watching it all unfold.

:hoops:

I swear I am not against Hot Rod. I suppose keeping CB off the floor during the year is what really counts and they have been able to do that.

I swear I am not against Hot Rod. I suppose keeping CB off the floor during the year is what really counts and they have been able to do that.

The offense is already a lot more fluid with Stuckey at the point than it was with either Hunter or Murray.

With respect to defense, Stuckey is somewhere between Hunter and Murray, but that is to be expected for a guy who was a big time scorer for division two school.

In addition he has only 7 games and all of 110 minutes under his NBA belt and he is playing a good deal of minutes against starters and bench rotation guys with lots of NBA experience.

His defense will come up to snuff. In case anyone forgets, Maxey's defense was pretty bad in his rookie year.


:hoops:

That no look pass from Rip to Dice in traffic was 'Magic' like.

The put back slam from JMax from Prince's 'clang' 3 pointer was 'WOW'.

The dunk from Sheed after he got the 'T' is what we need to see more.

This 10-0 run is simply BRILLIANT!!!

nuff said...

This 10-0 run is simply BRILLIANT!!!

nuff said...

If it gets to over 15 then I will be a little impressed
If it gets to over 20 then I will be impressed
If it gets to over 25 then I will be very impressed
If it gets to over 30 I will be bouncing off the ceiling without any chemical supplements. LOL

:hoops:

If it gets to over 15 then I will be a little impressed
If it gets to over 20 then I will be impressed
If it gets to over 25 then I will be very impressed
If it gets to over 30 I will be bouncing off the ceiling without any chemical supplements. LOL

:hoops:

how about if they don't lose again the rest of the season (including playoffs?)

actually ernie i kind of feel the opposite - i see stuckey more as a PG than anything else, because i think he's most effective with the ball in his hands. just look at the difference between afflalo and stuckey:

afflalo is more of a true shooting guard, as he has a better mid-range shot and moves superbly without the ball and makes excellent cuts. i haven't seen that from stuckey yet.

stuckey is much better at getting in the lane, where he can either take it himself or pass off for an assist. just watching the past few games, he's created so many opportunities for himself and others, and all have been a result of what he's been doing with the ball.

either way, we went on a 10-0 run when he entered the game in the 2nd quarter, and an 8-0 run when he entered the game in the 4th quarter, and that's very encouraging. he may not be a better man defender than afflalo, but he has a knack for getting steals and getting his hands on a lot of loose balls, which is making up for it. he has flip's ability to steal, but is already a much better defender.

Stuckey got 8% of the minutes and 50% of the steals for the Pistons last night.

I agree that he's a PG. He's not a traditional PG, but either is Chauncey and that seems to be working out pretty well for us (and not for all the teams that couldn't think outside the norms). So far it looks like his J is his biggest weakness. That doesn't sound like a shooting guard to me. And you are right to factor Afflalo into the analysis. Assuming they play together, Stuckey is clearly the 1 and AA is clearly the 2.

Stuck is truly feeling his way around out there. Don't underestimate how much stuff he probably has going through his head with all of the plays in Saunders' playbook. He's not to the point yet where he can just flow. So, excuse the mistakes and enjoy watching a Pistons who is dangerous with the ball.

Wizards Run Over by the Pistons' Express

Pistons 106, Wizards 93

By Ivan Carter (http://projects.washingtonpost.com/staff/email/ivan+carter/)
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 3, 2008; Page E01

The last time the Detroit Pistons had a bench as deep and talented as the one they have now, Mehmet Okur, Mike James and Lindsey Hunter helped the franchise capture the 2003-04 NBA championship.

Last night, in Detroit (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Detroit+Pistons?tid=informline)'s 106-93 victory over the Washington Wizards (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Washington+Wizards?tid=informline) at Verizon Center (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Verizon+Center?tid=informline), the primary difference was Detroit's 33-8 advantage in bench scoring.

Much of the damage was done by center Jason Maxiell, who threw down several vicious dunks and finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, and former Wizard Jarvis Hayes (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Jarvis+Hayes?tid=informline), who scored 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting, making three three-pointers.

Detroit's reserves helped seize control with a 31-20 second quarter, which the Pistons opened with a 10-0 run.
Maxey playing the #5??

washingtonpost.com - nation, world, technology and Washington area news and headlines (http://washingtonpost.com)

:hoops:

Someone, I can't remember who it was, earlier was talking about Stuckey passing to Rip (I think this was the start of the 4th) and then he was running at the 2. He was passing to him when he was like 2' away from him. Against Milwauwkee he was picking up his dribble way above the top of the key and locking in on Sheed to pass it to him. I'm afraid against a good team, a playoff series, that these will be turnovers.

I am really only talking about ball handling here, not defense or his abilty to drive and score. He no doubt has poise, confidence etc. He is keeping CB off the floor, he can play. I can see him having diffculty being pressured in the playoffs like DET did to Beno Undrih in '05(Or whatever his name is that lit 'em up in Sacto.). That's a long way away, no doubt, but it is what I am interested in seeing play out.

Suckey is a player that makes things happen.

It seems to me that with a player like that, sometimes statistics can cloud the picture on how effective he is.

He is a big positive to our team and in my opinion because he is so involved in what goes on on the court when he is playing he will always make enough mistakes in a game for anyone with even a minimal amount of basketball knowledge to be able to point out. However, it seems to me that that is entirely the wrong way to look at him.

Zeke was much the same way. He always made tons of mistakes on the court but in the end he became one of the 50 greatest NBA player's of all time. Whereas someone like Joe D. made a lot fewer mistakes during a game on offense but his involvement in our offense was secondary to Zeke's by a significant amount.

Stuckey is very effective without putting up Hollinger type numbers, whereas someone like Murray can put up great numbers and still be a big negative.



:hoops:

ernie i do think you bring up some good points. i only noticed it in this game, but i think stuckey picked up his dribble too quickly, versus someone like afflalo who only picks it up when he's ready to do something. but, i think a lot of that is just learning the offense and getting comfortable with it, and i don't think it's a big deal (perhaps better than over-dribbling like arroyo).

ernie i do think you bring up some good points. i only noticed it in this game, but i think stuckey picked up his dribble too quickly, versus someone like afflalo who only picks it up when he's ready to do something. but, i think a lot of that is just learning the offense and getting comfortable with it, and i don't think it's a big deal (perhaps better than over-dribbling like arroyo).
The guy has only played in several games, give him some time. He'll learn.

Suckey is a player that makes things happen.

It seems to me that with a player like that, sometimes statistics can cloud the picture on how effective he is.

He is a big positive to our team and in my opinion because he is so involved in what goes on on the court when he is playing he will always make enough mistakes in a game for anyone with even a minimal amount of basketball knowledge to be able to point out. However, it seems to me that that is entirely the wrong way to look at him.

Zeke was much the same way. He always made tons of mistakes on the court but in the end he became one of the 50 greatest NBA player's of all time. Whereas someone like Joe D. made a lot fewer mistakes during a game on offense but his involvement in our offense was secondary to Zeke's by a significant amount.

Stuckey is very effective without putting up Hollinger type numbers, whereas someone like Murray can put up great numbers and still be a big negative.



:hoops:

Lets get down to specifics as to why Stuckey is effective out there. Studying film, it gets real obvious that the other team lines its players up to prevent Stuckey from driving in. Now, the defenders on the other team have a whole lot of things to worry about, so when they are worrying about Stuckey, they have to drop worrying about some of those other things. Which opens things up for the other four players other than Stuckey. So with 2 points scored, he just had his most effective game.

Lets get down to specifics as to why Stuckey is effective out there. Studying film, it gets real obvious that the other team lines its players up to prevent Stuckey from driving in. Now, the defenders on the other team have a whole lot of things to worry about, so when they are worrying about Stuckey, they have to drop worrying about some of those other things. Which opens things up for the other four players other than Stuckey. So with 2 points scored, he just had his most effective game.
Exactly on the spot. :hoops:

I think that a good example of that was when he made that dangerous cross-court pass to Rip. The pass took forever and almost got picked off by 2 separate players, but when it finally got there, Rip had plenty of time to get his shot off. It was in transition and they collapsed to keep Stuck from taking it in.

ernie i do think you bring up some good points. i only noticed it in this game, but i think stuckey picked up his dribble too quickly, versus someone like afflalo who only picks it up when he's ready to do something. but, i think a lot of that is just learning the offense and getting comfortable with it, and i don't think it's a big deal (perhaps better than over-dribbling like arroyo).
I had not noticed it before but looking at the last two games there were a couple of instances where the dribble wsa picked up to soon and he looked for help and it took a while for someone to help out. ....... Then there was that pass he made into the stands to somebody who looked familiar ...maybe it was Dumars4ever:)

It couldn't have been me, Dre, unless Stuckey has Superman-level vision...no one else would have been able to see up into the rafters where I was sitting!

:lol: