Philadelphia March 12th, 7:30 PM

TV - FSDHD. NBALP

If the season ended today this would be a first round playoff matchup. Philly visits the Palace tonight, playing their third game in four nights. The Sixers have been playing well of late, defeating the Mavs and Magic at home as well as winning on the road at Phoenix.

The Pistons are 2-0 against Philly this year with a fourth matchup scheduled in April. Theo Ratliff should help on the boards, the Pistons were badly outrebounded 47-33 and 47-36 in the two previous wins.

This game tougher than it looks. Philly has that hunger.
8.9 DR
99-95 Pistons

i've hit my Piston wall..Probably wont even watch....Pistons 112-96

The sixers are on a roll, so we may need to break out the new starting lineup of SheedTayTheoRipBillups and treat this as if it was the opening round the playoffs and send these guys a message.

I am not happy with the defense lately, so maybe Alf gets more than 6 mins of PT in this one too to go with our new twin towers...

The sixers are on a roll, so we may need to break out the new starting lineup of SheedTayTheoRipBillups and treat this as if it was the opening round the playoffs and send these guys a message.

I am not happy with the defense lately, so maybe Alf gets more than 6 mins of PT in this one too to go with our new twin towers...


Here's my message...."YAWNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!":shout:

I am not happy with the defense lately, so maybe Alf gets more than 6 mins of PT in this one too to go with our new twin towers...

I can't get enough Alf. The guy is out of this world.

http://www.epguides.de/alf.jpg

Here's my message...."YAWNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!":shout:

Second best record in the entire NBA isn't exciting enough for you?

I'll wake you up when the playoffs start. :)

I can't get enough Alf. The guy is out of this world.

http://www.epguides.de/alf.jpg

Hey, I remember that guy!


Has anyone seen my cat?

This headline kinda freaked me out:
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080312/SPORTS03/80312009/1051

...I'm thinking, KNEE? Sheed's KNEE is jacked up now?!?
:crutch:

I will be at the game. Expect a late report from me.

Dixon = Delk = Good
I hope

I will be at the game. Expect a late report from me.
Good take your daughter with you:)

Second best record in the entire NBA isn't exciting enough for you?

I'll wake you up when the playoffs start. :)what's THE BEST record in the league ever got us??!!:sssh:

what's THE BEST record in the league ever got us??!!:sssh:


Nothing. That's why you should be excited about having the SECOND BEST record in the league!

Chat is o.p.e.n. http://www.pistonsforum.com/misc.php?do=flashchat

Sloppy game by the Pistons. Too many missed FTs and too many turnovers. Another nice offensive showing by them in the 4th Q (not). I'm just wondering when Flip is going to start using the "real" playbook?

Can't complain about the D, though. That was solid.

This team has a lot of improvement to do before they can even think about making it to the ECF.

look at sheed's treys...what da hell he was thinking 1-7 sigh...some were open, but most were hurried...

AS a potential first rounder I hope that gave to pistons lesson and if they meet at POs, no overlooking then

I just got home, but i bet you i can sum up the game without even watching it :)

AA/Amir barely played. Dixon did. Theo took minutes from the youngsters. No Amir in the 2nd half. No Afflalo in the 2nd half. No Hermann.

Dixon did what he does best; helped the other team go on a run.

I did catch the play at the end. Fantastic call out of the time-out. Give the ball to Chauncey b/c he's our "LeBron" and let him hoist a jumpshot over a double team.

We should get use to this. It's uncanny how closely AA is correlated to our wins. Amir as well. If they continute not to play extensively, we're going to continue to look like this. But i guess it's ok. Afterall, Dixon/Hayes are veterans.

Also, looks like Sheed came back too early. A good indicator of how his ankle is doing is usually his shooting % esp from three. I remember it was the same in the ECF 2 years ago.

Idiots

Well looks like the Pistons were to busy thinking about Friday's Spurs and they took an up and coming team like the Sixers for granted. Spurs were also thinking about Pistons too as they get blown out by the Hornets by 25.

Pistons actually out shot the Sixers 46% to 41% but missed ten FT's and had 14 TO's and that's what did the Pistons in. Mcdyess was able to break out of his shooting slump from the field by playing closer to the rim, but it backfired as he was only 6-12 from the FT line. He is still playing to many minutes IMO (33 tonight) and he came up short with two blown bunnies in the last 2 minutes as maybe he should not have been in there.

After getting back in the game and holding the Sixers to 18 points in the third, the Pistons almost duplcated the Celtic game by laying an egg in the 4th and only scoring 15 themselves. As I mentioned in chat, the Sixer run seem to be predicated when Dixon entered the game late in the third and played into the 4th. While Dixon was in there, the sixers went on a 13-4 run to take the lead for good and the starters struggled even with him back on the bench with missed opportunities in the 4th. The refs and the sixers gave us plenty of chances to win this game but...

Meaningless stat of the night...in the two previous games, sixers only score 78 points....if we had held them to that tonight, then our 82 points would have been enough....but nope, our team once again made two scrubs Reggie Evans and Rodney Carney all pros for one night!! Carney outscored our whole bench by himself 16-14...oh yeah the bench were no shows too along with RIP

Do we want to face a defensive minded team in the first round?? The Sixers are # 6 in the league you know.....

Do we want to face a defensive minded team in the first round?? The Sixers are # 6 in the league you know.....

Shouldn't be a problem with Flip's offensive ingenuity. That's why Joe D brought him in here - to deal with the new, free-wheeling NBA.

I just got home, but i bet you i can sum up the game without even watching it :)

AA/Amir barely played. Dixon did. Theo took minutes from the youngsters. No Amir in the 2nd half. No Afflalo in the 2nd half. No Hermann.

Dixon did what he does best; helped the other team go on a run.

I did catch the play at the end. Fantastic call out of the time-out. Give the ball to Chauncey b/c he's our "LeBron" and let him hoist a jumpshot over a double team.

We should get use to this. It's uncanny how closely AA is correlated to our wins. Amir as well. If they continute not to play extensively, we're going to continue to look like this. But i guess it's ok. Afterall, Dixon/Hayes are veterans.

Also, looks like Sheed came back too early. A good indicator of how his ankle is doing is usually his shooting % esp from three. I remember it was the same in the ECF 2 years ago.

The funny thing about this game LP was that Flip had played everyone dressed halfway through the 2nd qtr.. Unfortunately, when the zoo crew was in there, the sixers stretched their lead out to 12 points before the starters came back in and brought it back down to 6 before the half.

Was looking at the box. Is Flip trying to kill Prince before the playoffs?? He played almost 40 min again.

Why does Flip resort to the thinking that if the bench players behind them suck, play the starters more. We have AA and Hermann. Try a different player.

Flip is reverting right before the playoffs. We spent time developing Amir/Stuck/Afflalo and now we're just going to scrap it even though it was working beautifully ?

Also Theo had -15; worst on the team.

The funny thing about this game LP was that Flip had played everyone dressed halfway through the 2nd qtr.. Unfortunately, when the zoo crew was in there, the sixers stretched their lead out to 12 points before the starters came back in and brought it back down to 6 before the half.

Did the zoo crew consist of Dixon in AA's spot b/c that would make the difference ? I was going to skip the game, but i think i might watch and FF a little. I can complain about the rotations more accurately then LOL.

Why does Flip resort to the thinking that if the bench players behind them suck, play the starters more. We have AA and Hermann. Try a different player.

Fabio was in a suit tonight. Flip did bring in AA to try to cool down AI and I thought it worked. But then he brought in Dixon to replace AA, which I couldn't understand.

look at sheed's treys...what da hell he was thinking 1-7 sigh...some were open, but most were hurried...

AS a potential first rounder I hope that gave to pistons lesson and if they meet at POs, no overlooking then

Some of those three ball attempts were way behind the arc too and not really necessary. He was 7-11 from inside the arc (although one was a long 2) not sure why he abandoned it??? He didn't even get to the FT line...I guess Reggie Evans beard or Samuel Dalenberts hair scared him out of the paint. :sssh:

Disappointing. I think that about sums this game up for me. Very little energy, even from the bench. AA should definitely play over Dixon. His D can really help, particularly in games when Rip decides he won't play any. Sheed's not 100%, obviously. Chauncey made some really questionable decisions down the stretch, and though Tay was pretty good, Dice's play down the stretch left a lot to be desired, despite having had a pretty decent game up to that point. Amir was real tentative in his short stint; he got called for 2 quick ones, and Flip pulled him right away. The Rattler had some nice blocks, but it wasn't the best game for him either.

Disappointing. I think that about sums this game up for me. Very little energy, even from the bench. AA should definitely play over Dixon. His D can really help, particularly in games when Rip decides he won't play any. Sheed's not 100%, obviously. Chauncey made some really questionable decisions down the stretch, and though Tay was pretty good, Dice's play down the stretch left a lot to be desired, despite having had a pretty decent game up to that point. Amir was real tentative in his short stint; he got called for 2 quick ones, and Flip pulled him right away. The Rattler had some nice blocks, but it wasn't the best game for him either.


As bad as this all seems, we were 2 missed FT's from winning the game. There was no intensity by the team...maybe because they think they have the 2nd seed wrapped up and all is needed now is to test the rotations vs the bottomfeeders. The Sixers are trying to secure a spot so their energy was more than ours.

The good thing is that even though the hot Magic won, we are still 5 games ahead of them and they are still 4.5 ahead of the Cavs to set up the potential second round Cavs-Celtics matchup.

As bad as this all seems, we were 2 missed FT's from winning the game. There was no intensity by the team...maybe because they think they have the 2nd seed wrapped up and all is needed now is to test the rotations vs the bottomfeeders. The Sixers are trying to secure a spot so their energy was more than ours.

The good thing is that even though the hot Magic won, we are still 5 games ahead of them and they are still 4.5 ahead of the Cavs to set up the potential second round Cavs-Celtics matchup.


You may be right, Dre. They might be just expending enough energy to keep that No. 2 spot. If that's the case, I can see why HQ didn't want to watch 'em tonight.

Frankly, I have no problem with this strategy of keeping the No. 2 seed. I just want to see some improvement in the meantime.

I tell ya, though, I think the defense will be real good come playoff-time. We have the personnel now to make defensive adjustments when needed. I'm just worried about the O, and this team's propensity to hoist the long ball when the going gets tough. Flip preaches ball movement. I want to see some ball movement within 15 feet of the hoop, not 23 feet.

meaningless game. we didn't show philly much and didn't need to. played 12 guys with 9:37 to go in the 2nd. we tried everyone for a little bit and saw what they brought - dixon had a poor night trying to create too much and turning it over. i thought stuckey played great for the 3rd game in a row. ratliff was a big fat -15 but i didn't think he did too bad. dice had impressive stats but really hurt us in this one. the missed FTs early, combined with the blown dunk late, were crucial. another time he got the ball taken away from him off a FT by a GUARD, and philly was the ones shooting the FTs! he also had numerous balls fly off his hands.

. dice had impressive stats but really hurt us in this one. the missed FTs early, combined with the blown dunk late, were crucial. another time he got the ball taken away from him off a FT by a GUARD, and philly was the ones shooting the FTs! he also had numerous balls fly off his hands.

Dice is still playing to many minutes...we have Max, Theo and Amir and they got a total of 28 minutes compared to his 33.5 mins. You think those legs are tired now, just think what they will be like in May.... and Jon Hammond says that he will start for the rest of the season...:noidea:

Experiment game for the coach so won't hold him to it.

Plus/minus stats are way overdone. Theo's block showed what he is capable of giving us. Wait and see...Theo's role will be crucial to us winning deep into the playoffs...

GOING BIG – Flip Saunders dropped a little bit of a bomb before the game when he suggested the Pistons might buck the NBA trend of going small by going big – really big. Like playing Wallace at small forward with Theo Ratliff and Amir Johnson, perhaps. SAUNDERS: “We don’t have to (play small ball) a lot because of Rasheed’s ability to shoot the basketball. At some point we’re going to tinker with a big lineup. We’re going to play Rasheed at the three. You’ll probably see that at some point. … He’s out at the 3-point line a lot, so he thinks he’s a small forward. If he was a 6-3 guard, all he’d want to do is post up all the time. That’s Rasheed.”




Can there be such a thing as too many options for a coach? Maybe. The fact Saunders went to all 12 players 14 minutes into the game and has said he’s using the next stretch of the season to search for combinations that might click is both good news and bad. The addition of Theo Ratliff, for instance, holds intriguing possibilities. But would the Pistons be better off setting a rotation and sticking to it so the bench players get enough playing time to build confidence rather than splitting up the table scraps and constantly looking over their shoulders. Amir Johnson, who had played so well since entering the rotation, played five minutes in the first half but never returned. Saunders hinted afterward that some decisions might be coming sooner rather than later.
SAUNDERS: “I thought about using (Johnson), but Rasheed was going good and Dice was rebounding the ball. It’s impossible for us to play 12. We do have to face that fact at some point. I can play Amir next game and you can ask me why I’m not playing Jason (Maxiell) or not playing Theo. We can have that conversation every night.”



Forgot the link: PISTONS: Philadelphia 83, Pistons 82 (http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/PHIDET_080312_recap.html)

Sheed was playing fairly well, but he is still injured. Looks like Flip already knows people are gonna ask about Amir. No one's gonna see me ask why Theo hasn't played, though.

Still had fun, even though we lost. Darn nice seats.


Dyess could not hit an outside shot, not even within a foot of it going in. He could not hit a free throw to save his life. It took him the whole first quarter just to warm up. Hey, Flip, maybe you are overplaying the guy. But still, Dyess helped us tonight, because he went inside over and over and ended up drawing quite a few fouls. If others had done the same, this would have been a win.


Another coaching loss. By choosing to let Dixon play. By choosing to use Theo as the first big off the bench. Nope, we don't have to get these guys ready to play for the playoffs. We need to get Stuckey, Afflalo, JMAX, and Amir ready for the playoffs.


I asked several people, and sorry Dixon, you are a nice guy, but as a basketball player, every Piston fan I talked to anyway was making fun of you. Nobody appreciated anything you did on the basketball court tonight.


Afflalo got into the game for just 3 minutes. Guarding Philly's star, Iguadala. We did not get any further behind with him in. Maybe one hoop. Then Dixon got the rest of the backup minutes to Rip. Pretty horrible stuff. He fumbles the ball more than he manages to dribble it. He can't even begin to stay in front of anyone. And as everyone noticed, he way too short. But hey, he is a vet, so Flip don't care about any of the above.


Hayes made a couple of nice plays.


Rip got very little rest in the 2nd half, and of course gave us the corresponding production in the 4th quarter. Very little. Missing 2 free throws when he came back in with too little rest should have been Flip's first clue that he is clueless. Afflalo should have come in for Dixon. Sure, it would have shown up a vet. A vet that just got on the team. A vet who has not earned a single minute of playing time.


Theo had the one block. Probably a goal tend. Still impressive. But his total lack of anything on the offensvie end for us was almost shocking. No inside presence from him at all. No shots taken. Nothing. No posting up. Nothing.


Maxiell barely got to warm up. Amir neither.


Stuckey did not do much. Got enough playing time. The one thing Flip consistently is doing right.


Billups had a so so game. Drew some fouls. Sheed shot outside too much. Played way too much on a bum ankle. They took him out after 6 minutes, and us fans thought he would play sparingly in this one. But injured or not, he is vet. And since young full of energy guys can't possibly be let to play for this team, Sheed had to of course log major minutes, bum ankle of not. The knee brace is off though. (I am guessing that is because Sheed thought he would just be playing light minutes.
Tay did some impressive work here and there going to the basket. No outside shot though. What do you expect with the minutes he has played of late?


The highlight of the night was a major dunk by Maxiell. We were right near that hoop too. Good view of it. More of that would be nice. Maybe they can let Maxiell warmup at least in the next game before they put tired, old, injured vets back in.


I predicted exactly how this game would go before it started. Exactly what rotation Flip would use. Exactly what excuse he would use after the loss. Being right though is hardly anything that makes me happy. A win would have made me happy. The Pistons getting ready for the playoffs would make me happy. What I saw tonight just makes me sad.
Bottom line, will Flip Saunders keep playing this rotation, as we lose game after game from here on out? And lose in the first round. Just to spite everyone who keeps telling him to play our youngsters? Will Dumars stand for it? Here is a hint for you Joe. Whether you fire Flip now or at the end of the season, it will cost the organization no more money either way. An interim coach, like Porter, can take us the rest of the way. The difference: You can win a championship with Porter. Vs. a first round exit coming up with Flip. Your choice Dumars. And if you are forbidded from your management to make the change, resign. I am sure a lot of teams could really use an excellent GM.

I've watched a lot of Juan Dixon play when he was with the Raptors this year and he's a rally killer and just pretty worthless in so many ways. Flip loves his veterans and he's probably a typical coach in that way because the young-uns make mistakes. The only thing is late in the season your rookies are much more steady and battle tested. Aaron Affalo isn't really a rookie he's got 4 years of college under his belt and he played for UCLA which is one of the best pro finishing schools in the country.

The Pistons are sitting pretty in 2nd place and why is Flip so hung up on playing his vets until they drop or get injured? Now's the time to get everyone healthy and let the younger legs get some prime time and show they are important pieces in the championship puzzle.

Not liking that Theo Ratliff is heading to the spot of first big off the bench. That honor should go to Maxiell or Amir Johnson and Ratliff should be a situational player only. I would only play him 8-10 minutes in spurts.

Is Lindsey going to be activated at some point before the playoffs or is he going to end his career wearing a nice suit?

Lee, your hopes, that AA, AJ etc, etc should be ready for PO-s are merely wisful thinking. Developing is not a deadline process and it cannot be somehow hurried. Why? Because everyone would use it instead of talking like this draftee is a three year prospect.

I had a feeling this was coming. The starters plus Stuckey, AA, Jarvis, Max, and Amir was a great group. Now that Flip has 2 more vets he seems fine with ruining a good thing just to play the vets. When will Joe learn that he can't give Flip options and expect him to make the right decisions on who to play when and where.

To be honest, I think we are easily a better team with Flip Murray and Primoz on the Inactive list than we are with Dixon and Ratliff in the rotation. Dixon is just terrible. He's a veteran who makes more bad decisions than both of our rookies combined. Ratliff is decent for what he is, but the team is better with Amir on the floor, and that is who he's taking minutes from. Amir was forced to take the hard way and bust his ass every minute before he even got a sliver of opportunity. Now, Ratliff comes in off the streets and is immediately handed his minutes. So much for the "earn your minutes" company line.

The fact that we have 5 quality bigs on this team (6 if you count Walter), and Flip still can't get Dice below 30 minutes is mind blowing to me. It really is. Flip's got to find some twisted satisfaction with the fact that his teams consistently flameout in the playoffs, yet he manages to keep his job.

Lee, your hopes, that AA, AJ etc, etc should be ready for PO-s are merely wisful thinking. Developing is not a deadline process and it cannot be somehow hurried. Why? Because everyone would use it instead of talking like this draftee is a three year prospect.

Define ready. Its irrelevant. They are already better than playing guys like Hayes, Dixon, and, Theo. Much better. And they are much better options than playing Dyess beyond the 18 to 20 minutes he is capable of.

The game wasn't that bad- except for the usuals; Sheed taking too many 3s, Tay playing way too much, AJ and AA hardly playing at all and Mc Dyess refusing to do anything inside.
The last play was terrible, CB wasn't even trying to force a foul- also, Tay and RIP were uncovered right beside him and he refused to make that damn pass. He turned Mr Bighead once more.

I predicted exactly how this game would go before it started. Exactly what rotation Flip would use.

You predicted Flip would use all 12 players in the first 14 minutes? Wow, you are good.

You predicted Flip would use all 12 players in the first 14 minutes? Wow, you are good.

Yes I did. I said he would flash some of the youngsters in there, but really go with Stuckey, Hayes, Theo, and Dixon as his main bench guys. This was a slam on the average fan, who would imagine that our youngsters got to play, and not notice how little they played.

The other part, about us losing, you know that I have said we can't win with Afflalo not playing.

On the energy thing, Flip pretty much says that after every loss. Never mind Theo was his first sub, and brings no energy. Never mind that Dyess was leg dead so bad he could not get his legs warmed up until the end of the first quarter. Never mind Sheed had a bum ankle and could move no faster. Never mind Philly went big in this game, playing Iguidala at shooting guard so he could totally overwhelm Rip. It was atrocious coaching, not any lack of energy. PS, and shame on the fans who cheer on Saunders as he tears the team down. I know its a minority, but all it takes is a few cheerleaders like this and Flip will use that as justification to stay the course toward disaster.

Oh, and I forgot to mention Tay is leg dead again. He could not possibly have hit an outside shot last night. And don't blame Sheed for not going inside much. With the rest of the team off on their shooting, Philly could too easily pack the middle on us.

PS, and shame on the fans who cheer on Saunders as he tears the team down. I know its a minority, but all it takes is a few cheerleaders like this and Flip will use that as justification to stay the course toward disaster.



Do you think Saunders bases his rotations on what percentage of casual Internet fans support his moves?

Aggravating loss only because it is kind of typical. I wish DET could take care of their home court. It kind of seems like the more things they have going in their favor, (home court, 3 days off, everyone back etc.) the worse it is.

I find Flip's quote in today's papers to be telling. He says something along the lines of, 'When you starters come out with no energy, it really puts a lot of pressure on your bench. Every play for them becomes huge.' This, to me, has always been Flip's big problem. He is too caught up in the now. He can't picture what the end of quarter might look like if someone hits 3 shots at the start of one. Sheed was hot in the 2nd quarter and because of that he wasn't going anywhere in the 2nd half. Contrast Flip's quote to someone like Popovich who talks about not panicking when they're down, remembering that the game is 48 minutes long and sticking to their principles/philosophy of playing. Flip can only play the bench when there is a margin for error. He can't coach them to success.

Disappointing that Sheed and Theo didn't get to play together.

A good sign for where this team is headed under Flip's guidance was Philly's last shot of the game. DET gets the rebound in front of their own bench and didn't know if they should call timeout or advance the ball. Not only did they time go off the clock, but they also came close to having to take the ball the length of the floor on their last shot. I know DET has the reputation of being ruthlessly efficient down the stretch, but in reality that was eons (another coach) ago. These Pistons have taken on the personality of their leader. Where they used to thrive in late game situations, they now are nervous and twitchy.

As good as their last play was out of the timeout, I think it is causing people to overlook how great a play they ran out of their previous TO. You remember the one where Rip (3-7 with 3 of his attempts blocked) dribbled, dribbled and dribbled as the shot clock ran down before heading baseline and dribbling the ball of his foot and out of bounds? Deeeeeeeeetroit Basketball!!!!

"...Oh, and I forgot to mention Tay is leg dead again. He could not possibly have hit an outside shot last night."

...Another season; Another player experiencing "leg death".:rip:

I didn't get to watch this one, but based on all these comments, I think that I'll just delete it off the DVR and pretend like it never happened.

I hung out with Yogi Berra instead (at a function) and he said the following:

1) he loved hitting at the old Tiger Stadium
2) he is good friends with Leyland and thinks he's a great manager
3) the balls are way more lively now than they were in his day
4) I asked him who would get the AL pennant this year, and he said "we'll see." He knew I wanted him to say the Tigers, and he wouldn't do it.

Anyways, I always wondered whether or not his quotes were accidently brilliant or whether he was just a clever guy. After meeting him, I'm 100% certain that he knew what he was saying at all times.

I hung out with Yogi Berra instead (at a function) and he said the following:

1) he loved hitting at the old Tiger Stadium
2) he is good friends with Leyland and thinks he's a great manager
3) the balls are way more lively now than they were in his day
4) I asked him who would get the AL pennant this year, and he said "we'll see." He knew I wanted him to say the Tigers, and he wouldn't do it.

Anyways, I always wondered whether or not his quotes were accidently brilliant or whether he was just a clever guy. After meeting him, I'm 100% certain that he knew what he was saying at all times.

What a treat to meet Yogi Berra! A true legend. He is also a great wit. Two Berraisms that I can remember:

It's deja vu all over again.

Nobody goes there anymore -- it's too crowded.

I didn't get to watch this one, but based on all these comments, I think that I'll just delete it off the DVR and pretend like it never happened.

I hung out with Yogi Berra instead (at a function) and he said the following:

1) he loved hitting at the old Tiger Stadium
2) he is good friends with Leyland and thinks he's a great manager
3) the balls are way more lively now than they were in his day
4) I asked him who would get the AL pennant this year, and he said "we'll see." He knew I wanted him to say the Tigers, and he wouldn't do it.

Anyways, I always wondered whether or not his quotes were accidently brilliant or whether he was just a clever guy. After meeting him, I'm 100% certain that he knew what he was saying at all times.


That is so awesome that you got to meet Yogi Bear. Did you happen to see Boo Boo or Ranger Smith?


http://www.infoniagara.com/camping/jellystone/images/yogiswords.jpg

Oh, and I forgot to mention Tay is leg dead again. He could not possibly have hit an outside shot last night. And don't blame Sheed for not going inside much. With the rest of the team off on their shooting, Philly could too easily pack the middle on us.

I don't understand who more people aren't mentioning this. The fact that Tay has played close to 40 min for the past like 4 games is just glossed over.

I don't understand who more people aren't mentioning this. The fact that Tay has played close to 40 min for the past like 4 games is just glossed over.

Tay played 34 minutes 2 games ago against the Knicks.

The Pistons are 17-5 in their last 22 games. That ain't that awful, is it?

This was a slam on the average fan, who would imagine that our youngsters got to play, and not notice how little they played.
Do you think that this conspiracy will ever see the light of day? Or are Joe Dumars and George Blaha in on it as well? ;)

I didn't get to watch this one, but based on all these comments, I think that I'll just delete it off the DVR and pretend like it never happened.
Word!

What a treat to meet Yogi Berra! A true legend. He is also a great wit.
We have a lot of great wits on this forum. No legends though...

I don't understand who more people aren't mentioning this. The fact that Tay has played close to 40 min for the past like 4 games is just glossed over.

Four games in a row is better than forty like in the past. But, I get what you're saying. It's been a long week or so for Prince.

Still, I think the most important point is that here we are, one more time, heading into the playoffs without an adequate backup small forward.

- Hayes Probably playing better than he has at any point in his career, but just not a consistent scorer off the bench. I don't think his defense is quite as bad as many seem to think, but it's not good enough to justify him being on the floor if he's shooting 1 for 5.

- Herrmann Sure has his heart in the right place, but hasn't gotten (and most likely won't get) enough playing time with the team to play him big minutes.

- Affalo Maybe could spend a few minutes at the three. But rookies don't see a lot of time on the floor in the playoffs and it's hard to imagine AA will be an exception.

- Johnson Lee, I hear you, and I wish it were so, but I just don't see it. I think we'd be up for a new fastest foul-out record. And it would be pointless and heartless to toss him out there without a fair amount of time playing that position in the regular season, which he isn't going to get before the end of the season.


So, time for Tay to eat his Wheaties, cause he's going to be playing 38 a night come playoff time.

Do you think Saunders bases his rotations on what percentage of casual Internet fans support his moves?

Between call in shows, the internet, and various other forms of customer feedback, us fans are heard.

I had to work > 40 minutes today and it was exhausting. That is why I'm taking a break to tell you guys about it.

By the way, I looked on wikipedia for some Yogi quotes and I came across this classic paragraph.


Berra is famous around the non-baseball world for his pithy comments and witticisms, known as Yogiisms.

Similar utterances are called "Colemanisms (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Coleman)" or "Colemanballs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colemanballs)" in the United Kingdom (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom), "Cruijffiaans (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_Cruijff)" in The Netherlands (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Netherlands), "Perronismes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Perron)" in the French speaking part of Canada (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada) and "Trapattonismi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Trapattoni)" in Italy. In Australia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia) they are called "Dyerisms," after Australian rules football (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_rules_football) legend Jack Dyer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Dyer). In Finland (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finland) the phrases of the former ski jumping (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ski_jumping) superstar Matti Nykänen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matti_Nyk%C3%A4nen) enjoy a cult status. Movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Goldwyn) is also the source for several humorous "Goldwynisms."

Yogiisms should not be confused with Farberisms (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farberisms) (popularized by Prof. David J. Farber (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Farber)). The former are typically either pleonastic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleonasm) or oxymoronic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxymoron)redundancies (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redundancy_%28language%29), while the latter are most often non-sequiturial (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non_sequitur_%28absurdism%29)mondegreens (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondegreen), though both usually share the goal of making a point through surreally humorous (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surreal_humor), absurdist (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absurdism) mis-use of language, especially the alteration of clichés (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clich%C3%A9) through malapropism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malapropism) and mixed metaphor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixed_metaphor). Many Yogiisms take the form of a tautology (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tautology_%28logic%29), a paradox (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox), a contradiction (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contradiction) or of some formulation of the law of identity (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_identity).

WTF? It always sounds stupid when humor is explained.

Tay played 34 minutes 2 games ago against the Knicks.

The Pistons are 17-5 in their last 22 games. That ain't that awful, is it?


I would say that is great, but did you notice that the Pistons last four losses have been on the the last four Wednesdays....Check your calendars>> losses to the Bucs on 2/20, Jazz on 2/27, Celtics on 3/5, sixers on 3/12. > things that make you go uummmm??:sssh:

This means that something is happening on Monday or Tuesday that is affecting our play:beer::burp::dancingparty: We play the Cavs next Wednesday :sssh:

The Pistons are 17-5 in their last 22 games. That ain't that awful, is it?

Honestly, Win/Losses are irrelevant to me outside of the fact that you need to win games to be in the PO's. I'm more concerned with how the teams playing, the rotations, what the negatives/positives are in getting ready for the playoffs. LB was a master at using the reg season to prep for the PO's.

Regular season wins are deceiving. Look at the PHO Suns.

LB was a master at using the reg season to prep for the PO's.

Sure, sure. All of our former coaches were "masters". Just never while they were actually here.


We have a lot of great wits on this forum. No legends though...

We might not have anyone who is a legend in his own time, but we have a lot of people who are legends in their own minds. :MusicBigGrin:

This means that something is happening on Monday or Tuesday that is affecting our play:beer::burp::dancingparty:
That's funny stuff Dre.

At least no Pistons are being stalked on the way home from strip clubs this season...

To me it was one of those good old Pistons "we don't have to bring our A-games to beat these guys" efforts in the 1st quarter that did us in. The next time it happends I would like to see Flip call a time out at the 6 min mark and pull every starter that was not giving it 100%. Keep doing that every game you see that happening and it should finally fix the problem. Besides the paying fans at the game deserve to see max effort from their team every night. And could the results of the 1st quarter have been any worse with the bench in?

To me it was one of those good old Pistons "we don't have to bring our A-games to beat these guys" efforts in the 1st quarter that did us in. The next time it happends I would like to see Flip call a time out at the 6 min mark and pull every starter that was not giving it 100%. Keep doing that every game you see that happening and it should finally fix the problem. Besides the paying fans at the game deserve to see max effort from their team every night. And could the results of the 1st quarter have been any worse with the bench in?

Saunders basically did what you are suggesting. All 12 guys played in the first 14 minutes.

Saunders basically did what you are suggesting. All 12 guys played in the first 14 minutes.

Please don't make me lookup the game log. I am too lazy for that. I know the subs were near the end of the quarter with the exception of Sheed who was not supposed to play the full quarter from the start due to his injury. My suggestion is to pull them a lot sooner and all at once.

Sure, sure. All of our former coaches were "masters". Just never while they were actually here.

No while he WAS here. That's one point of contention even LB haters will have a hard time arguing.

No while he WAS here. That's one point of contention even LB haters will have a hard time arguing.

I probably should have made it clear I was being sarcastic. I liked LB when he was here, I just remember him getting lots of flak on these threads for not developing the bench, pretty much the same thing that Flip is getting bashed for. I agree with your comment, though.

I probably should have made it clear I was being sarcastic. I liked LB when he was here, I just remember him getting lots of flak on these threads for not developing the bench, pretty much the same thing that Flip is getting bashed for. I agree with your comment, though.

Yea, i missed that. :)

I think he did great with then bench in 04, but in 05' we didn't really have a bench (Hunter, Dyess, Eldin). I guess you could argue Delfino/Darko as pieces we could use, but Darko has pretty much proved he was a bust. And even w/o one we got to the finals. It's hard to go from someone as talented as Brown in terms of pre/in game strategy to Flip. Too bad he was on the crazy side.

Flip's problem isn't so much developing the bench as choosing the wrong players off the bench.

Yea, i missed that. :)

I think he did great with then bench in 04, but in 05' we didn't really have a bench (Hunter, Dyess, Eldin). I guess you could argue Delfino/Darko as pieces we could use, but Darko has pretty much proved he was a bust. And even w/o one we got to the finals. It's hard to go from someone as talented as Brown in terms of pre/in game strategy to Flip. Too bad he was on the crazy side.

Flip's problem isn't so much developing the bench as choosing the wrong players off the bench.

Brown certainly had his faults. His game 5 decision in the NJ series to go with Darvin Ham over Memo I think costed us that game. He had a love for small ball that as I recall frusterated us in other forums, almost benched Prince for Ham during the season, had that feud going on with Memo whenever he took a shot beyond 10 feet.

Have to recall that the team was a lot younger and hungrier back in 03/04 than they are now plus we had a 3-time DPY in his prime. I think the Pistons of the last 2 years would have presented much more of a challenge for LB as motivation was never a problem 4 years ago.

Its quit an old bit though.

Is LB still a Pistons coach option? Will he ever come back? he is the right person now. We have the bench, so he does not have to worry about developing it

Brown certainly had his faults. His game 5 decision in the NJ series to go with Darvin Ham over Memo I think costed us that game. He had a love for small ball that as I recall frusterated us in other forums, almost benched Prince for Ham during the season, had that feud going on with Memo whenever he took a shot beyond 10 feet.

Have to recall that the team was a lot younger and hungrier back in 03/04 than they are now plus we had a 3-time DPY in his prime. I think the Pistons of the last 2 years would have presented much more of a challenge for LB as motivation was never a problem 4 years ago.

Its quit an old bit though.

Don't get me wrong, i know Brown had his faults. I still to this day remember him putting Prince on Duncan in Game 7. But there is no way LB would stand for any of this BS from the players, and the players wouldn't be able to get away with what they do under Flip. And LB would never i repeat NEVER keep Dixon on the floor. But your right it's old. LB's not coming back. My 2nd choice isn't leaving PORT. But at this point i'd have to say i'd even take my chance on a less experienced coach over Flip.

It'll be interesting to see what happens next year.

Don't get me wrong, i know Brown had his faults. I still to this day remember him putting Prince on Duncan in Game 7. But there is no way LB would stand for any of this BS from the players, and the players wouldn't be able to get away with what they do under Flip.

I agree to an extent. LB did run a tighter ship but remember now the last time the Pistons were under .500 20 games or so into the season was at the start of 04/05.

Also when you think about it Flip has gotten the players to buy into a whole new system which was not easy to pull off. Whether or not that system works for winning championships is debatable but he did get the players to follow his instructions.


And LB would never i repeat NEVER keep Dixon on the floor.

I may have to disagree here. Seemed like given a choice LB always went with the vet. Okur, Delfino and Memo are examples. LB also had a bias for players/coaches from North Carolina.

But your right it's old. LB's not coming back. My 2nd choice isn't leaving PORT. But at this point i'd have to say i'd even take my chance on a less experienced coach over Flip.

I agree. After the humiliating loss to Clev I thought for sure we would be getting a new coach.


It'll be interesting to see what happens next year.

Thats going to say it all. But whatif we actually win a title with Flip?

Seems like Flip will be here next year regardless. My biggest beef is that Hermann should be out on the floor reducing Tay's minutes to about 32 per game. He's one of those hungry players who could jump start the 2nd unit along with Amir. I'm one of those people who think that Flip can win it all. This is my last season of encouraging words though if Tay looks weak during the playoffs and Hermann doesn't play.........

It aint over til it's over...

Is LB still a Pistons coach option? Will he ever come back? he is the right person now. We have the bench, so he does not have to worry about developing it

No and no.

Aggravating loss only because it is kind of typical. I wish DET could take care of their home court.

I completely feel your pain, but I would not call it typical. There are only 4 teams that have a better home record than the Pistons: Utah, Dallas, Boston, and San Antonio.