San Antonio March 14th, 8:00 PM

TV - WDIV HD, NBALP

The defending champion Spurs come to town with a 17-15 road record - and oh, they began the week in first place in the wild, wild west. At the time of this post they currently are holding the 3rd seed. The Spurs have dropped their last three ( Denver, Suns, & Hornets) road games.

The Pistons won the previous meeting 90-80 in SA as Duncan and Sheed both pulled down 15 boards and scored 24 and 23 points respectively.

San Antonio recently revived, will want this game more than the Pistons. In the competitive west, I expect the Spurs to send a message to their western foes with this game. If not played the right way, this game will affect the morale of the Pistons (some bickering) after their horrible game against the 76ers. 95-77 Spurs.

Thanks for the game thread Dlev!!! :D :MusicBigGrin:

San Antonio recently revived, will want this game more than the Pistons. In the competitive west, I expect the Spurs to send a message to their western foes with this game. If not played the right way, this game will affect the morale of the Pistons (some bickering) after their horrible game against the 76ers. 95-77 Spurs.


:stirthepot: "I love you guys" - LB

Thanks for the game thread Dlev!!! :D :MusicBigGrin:


Me and Max got this!!!!!!!!!!!:rockon:

I wish you could get like a live stream thought bubble of what goes through Flip's head when he coaches against Popvich. Hopefully it's wouldn't just be 'ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!' the whole game.

I imagine we'd see things like, 'Whoa, what is he doing? Is he throwing the game? I better put Sheed back in to take advantage of this.', as Pop subs players in & out and barks instructions at them.

I imagine we'd see things like, 'Whoa, what is he doing? Is he throwing the game? I better put Sheed back in to take advantage of this.', as Pop subs players in & out and barks instructions at them.

Unfortunately, that is about right.

I wish you could get like a live stream thought bubble of what goes through Flip's head when he coaches against Popvich. Hopefully it's wouldn't just be 'ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!' the whole game.

I imagine we'd see things like, 'Whoa, what is he doing? Is he throwing the game? I better put Sheed back in to take advantage of this.', as Pop subs players in & out and barks instructions at them.

That's a great post Ernie! :lol:

Me and Max got this!!!!!!!!!!!:rockon:

FYI to Roscoe and the forum, we rotate every 5 games

No Bruce Bowen tonight:

ESPN - Bowen suspended one game for incident with Paul - NBA (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3293656)

Did you read the last line of the story? He'll lose $373,000 by not playing! Unbelievable!

Rip is going to go crazy on them.

No Bruce Bowen tonight:

ESPN - Bowen suspended one game for incident with Paul - NBA (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3293656)

Did you read the last line of the story? He'll lose $373,000 by not playing! Unbelievable!


Means Billups will get off that last shot without Bowen kneeing him in the nuggets:sssh:

No Bruce Bowen tonight:

ESPN - Bowen suspended one game for incident with Paul - NBA (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3293656)

Did you read the last line of the story? He'll lose $373,000 by not playing! Unbelievable!
About time he got that.

Honestly, I don`t think Bowen is a game changer when these teams hook up anyway.

So, big deal!

Honestly, I don`t think Bowen is a game changer when these teams hook up anyway.

So, big deal!

I have tried to erase June 23rd, 2005 from my archives, but if my memory serves correct, Bowen did get a key block of a Billups trey shot in crunch time that would have brought us within two of tying but instead lead to a Spurs score on the other end. ...ending any hope of a back2back ring ceremony in the palace..:yellowprison:
500 game streak is stopped and look at the infraction.....also CP3 was called for an offensive foul????

YouTube - Bowen kicks Paul in 500th consecutive game (http://youtube.com/watch?v=w8WXVJQ06Sk)

Dixon will get lit up by someone (likely Michael Finley). Amir will barely play. Max will and someone will overwhelm him with their height (likely Bonner).

Theo will play, and be OK, but not enough to warrant the PT he gets.

Afflalo will not play. The starters will all play 35+ min including Dyess who will likely shoot 2-10. Hayes will shoot just as bad.

Sheed will try to do too much and his ankle won't allow it. We will lose. We will get lit up by one of the followin; Duncan/Ginnobli.

The Spurs are coming off getting blown out by the Hornets, and losing Bowen to suspension. They will be pissed.

Flip will "coach"

I really want to be wrong. I love beating the Spurs. It's good for the soul. :)

Dixon will get lit up by someone (likely Michael Finley). Amir will barely play. Max will and someone will overwhelm him with their height (likely Bonner).

Theo will play, and be OK, but not enough to warrant the PT he gets.

Afflalo will not play. The starters will all play 35+ min including Dyess who will likely shoot 2-10. Hayes will shoot just as bad.

Sheed will try to do too much and his ankle won't allow it. We will lose. We will get lit up by one of the followin; Duncan/Ginnobli.

The Spurs are coming off getting blown out by the Hornets, and losing Bowen to suspension. They will be pissed.

Flip will "coach"

I really want to be wrong. I love beating the Spurs. It's good for the soul. :)
This could just happen.
But Spurs are not the same this season for whatever reason. Yeah, they are still the elite, and the defending champs, but seems like something is missing.

They always peak the right time. This could just happen.
But Spurs are not the same this season for whatever reason. Yeah, they are still the elite, and the defending champs, but seems like something is missing.

I have tried to erase June 23rd, 2005 from my archives, but if my memory serves correct, Bowen did get a key block of a Billups trey shot in crunch time that would have brought us within two of tying but instead lead to a Spurs score on the other end. ...ending any hope of a back2back ring ceremony in the palace..:yellowprison:
500 game streak is stopped and look at the infraction.....also CP3 was called for an offensive foul????

YouTube - Bowen kicks Paul in 500th consecutive game (http://youtube.com/watch?v=w8WXVJQ06Sk)

You are probably correct Dre, however, Bowen doesn`t put any fear in me that a Duncan, Parker or Ginobili does.

Those three cause the real problems for us!

This could just happen.
But Spurs are not the same this season for whatever reason. Yeah, they are still the elite, and the defending champs, but seems like something is missing.

Its an even year...they will lose in the second round or third and come back and win it one more time in 2009 as pop bows out with a satisfied five rings, not like the obsessed Riles and Jackson who are trying to steal more rings with supastar playas who would get the refs supastar calls > Jordan, Magic, Kobe, Shaq, Jabbar, Worthy Wade,Pippen......

:focus: oops sorry for ranting, Pistons show up tonight and prove that the east can beat the best of the west

Chat is open!!

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

I can't make it for chat tonight, so I hope y'all can survive. ;) Go Pistons!

San Antonio recently revived, will want this game more than the Pistons. In the competitive west, I expect the Spurs to send a message to their western foes with this game. If not played the right way, this game will affect the morale of the Pistons (some bickering) after their horrible game against the 76ers. 95-77 Spurs.


Looks like you completely missed the boat on this one...


Just like all of your Lions predictions. :)

Nice win for the good guys.

The Pistons are now 47-0 when the score more points than their opponent.

WHEW!! Touch and go there. Thought for sure we would blow this the way we'd been playing. Got a good idea how Flip will rotate now.

Nice win for the good guys.

The Pistons are now 47-0 when the score more points than their opponent.


Pistons now 8-0 for in the last 3 weeks on games not played on Wednesdays:)

too many minutes for the starters and too few minutes for AJ and AA.

lol AT NBA TV for teasing theol...LOL..."where u been the last 7 years?''Lol......"We almost didnt recognize U'...Theo said, "Yall aint talked to me since 2001" ....Very cool to see. Way to go, Theo!

So True Q. He was so pumped he could hardly contain himself.:MusicBigGrin:

WHEW!! Touch and go there. Thought for sure we would blow this the way we'd been playing. Got a good idea how Flip will rotate now.

Yep you saw his playoff roster tonight with Theo and Dixon stealing AJ and Alfs minutes. In fact max only got five mins himself. But we did get 20 points and 13 boards off the bench

Meanwhile CB plays 37 mins and the rest of the starters do 38 plus. Rip starts off shooting everything to get Mccosky off his back and then redeems himself. Let's hope this continues for the next 15 weeks!!!

lol AT NBA TV for teasing theol...LOL..."where u been the last 7 years?''Lol......"We almost didnt recognize U'...Theo said, "Yall aint talked to me since 2001" ....Very cool to see. Way to go, Theo!

Yeah he said this my first time talking on TV in awhile and he didn't want get off.

They asked him what he was doing the last 7 years?....well he has six kids, so guess he was gettin busy:)

I'm such a sucker. I convinced my bf it would be really fun if we stayed in and watched the game. I don't know why i torture myself.

We won. Great.

Flip never learns. Juan Dixon got into the game, and again started a run for the other team. Who knew in just 4 min you could impact the game that much? What Afflalo did to Flip i'll never know.

Amir did not play. Welcome to the Playoffs. I miss the Stuck/Amir pick -n- roll. Stuckey is so much more effective out there with Amir.

We almost lost this because of fatigue. It was won on talent, and would have been a loss had Bowen played. Almost 4th quarter collapse. Outscored 25 to 19 or so. All the pretty jumpshots . . .

Sheed's mobility is still very off. I'm sorry but this is not a good sign of what's to come in the post-season. If AA/Amir don't play at all, and we are looking at the starters min maxing out, we're screwed.

Positive is Rip played better, but it's tempered by the fact he was being guarded by a shorter guard and not Bowen. Sheed was great defensively. Not his fault he had to keep covering for Parker blowing past our guards. Great game by Prince. Dyess was better in the 2nd half. I'm not sure though if Dyess looks better or if he looks better compared to Theo.

This win justifies Flip DNP'ing Amir in his mind. It's a little disheartening. I was under the impression Theo was here for insurance not to take minutes away from our 2 young bigs. Flip even said as such. We really need quickness defensively, and it's not like we lack it. We just don't play it.

Also Nice job by Pop on rotations and making sure there was usually a fresh body in the game (hint)

Flip sucks. It's beyond me how Afflalo and Amir didn't get any minutes. Not sure Aff coulda slowed down Parker but, hell, at least let him try. And Amir is a good option when our offense goes cold, which it did in the last quarter.

Terrible, terrible coaching job by Flip tonight. He has the imagination of a rock and the creative juices of a stone. He does not know how to use his human resources. Not even a little.

Flip sucks. It's beyond me how Afflalo and Amir didn't get any minutes. Not sure Aff coulda slowed down Parker but, hell, at least let him try. And Amir is a good option when our offense goes cold, which it did in the last quarter.

Terrible, terrible coaching job by Flip tonight. He has the imagination of a rock and the creative juices of a stone. He does not know how to use his human resources. Not even a little.

told yall 3 yeras ago, Deetah! Nawww.yall didnt listen to me...NOw the time on Sprockets when we dance!!!:djparty:

Flip sucks. It's beyond me how Afflalo and Amir didn't get any minutes. Not sure Aff coulda slowed down Parker but, hell, at least let him try. And Amir is a good option when our offense goes cold, which it did in the last quarter.

Terrible, terrible coaching job by Flip tonight. He has the imagination of a rock and the creative juices of a stone. He does not know how to use his human resources. Not even a little.

He had success with AI, but who knows. I kept looking at all those O rebounds and thinking Amir would finish that over and over again. The rebounds were nice, but Amir brings that plus more. I like Theo but he's not exactly the most mobile energetic big, and when you put him in a trio with Dyess/Sheed; our rotation is old and flawed.

The whole point was to get younger this season, and for the playoffs have hungry fresh players off the bench ala Daniel Gibson, but the difference is in that series if Flip coached the Cavs Gibson would've been a DNP.

Getting Theo/Dixon seems like a mistake at this point. We were a better team with Primoz/Murray on the bench.

Popovich clearly outcoached FlipS once again. Only thing that kept us alive was that outstanding effort on the offensive glass. No way the Pistons would have won without that.
Again, no AJ and no Afflalo. Ratliff is nice, but it's sad it seems as if he has taken AJ's spot. It's even more sad that it seems as if Dixon (freakin' Dixon!!!) has taken AA's spot.
I like Dyess defensive rebounding and that 6 point run he had, but still, I think Maxiell and AJ can equally as good as him. Not to mention that he's going to be worn out come playoff time.
Sheed's D was great once again, but he also took too many 3's. I don't get it- his post game was good today, so why not working more inside?

He had success with AI, but who knows. I kept looking at all those O rebounds and thinking Amir would finish that over and over again. The rebounds were nice, but Amir brings that plus more. I like Theo but he's not exactly the most mobile energetic big, and when you put him in a trio with Dyess/Sheed; our rotation is old and flawed.

The whole point was to get younger this season, and for the playoffs have hungry fresh players off the bench ala Daniel Gibson, but the difference is in that series if Flip coached the Cavs Gibson would've been a DNP.

Getting Theo/Dixon seems like a mistake at this point. We were a better team with Primoz/Murray on the bench.

I hate to be a downer, but...I agree. It's not that I think Theo/Dixon suck or anything, they just don't bring what we need. Energy. Hustle. Speed. Quickness. Crisper Rotations.

All the "Young Player Development" this season went out the window the minute those 2 vets came in. Seriously, why develop the youth and pretend to hold "tryouts" for your bench if you're just gonna go ahead and play old guys off the street over all the guys who've busted their a**es all year trying to earn their PT. Example: Ratliff, having been with the team a week, has taken over Maxiell's spot. The same spot Amir couldn't get, even after soundly outplaying Max for the better part of a month. What kind of message are you sending with that? Yeah, work hard, play hard, and you'll play...but once a vet comes in, he gets your spot. After just one practice. Nice job. Old Man Lindsey coming back in the rotation's just the icing on the cake. We'll look almost exactly the same way we did last year.

I dunno, I think Theo fits in a lot better than Webber. I like him. But we still should have found time for AJ or even more Max. Oh well.

I'm such a sucker. I convinced my bf it would be really fun if we stayed in and watched the game. I don't know why i torture myself.

We won. Great.

Flip never learns. Juan Dixon got into the game, and again started a run for the other team. Who knew in just 4 min you could impact the game that much? What Afflalo did to Flip i'll never know.

Amir did not play. Welcome to the Playoffs. I miss the Stuck/Amir pick -n- roll. Stuckey is so much more effective out there with Amir.

We almost lost this because of fatigue. It was won on talent, and would have been a loss had Bowen played. Almost 4th quarter collapse. Outscored 25 to 19 or so. All the pretty jumpshots . . .

Sheed's mobility is still very off. I'm sorry but this is not a good sign of what's to come in the post-season. If AA/Amir don't play at all, and we are looking at the starters min maxing out, we're screwed.

Positive is Rip played better, but it's tempered by the fact he was being guarded by a shorter guard and not Bowen. Sheed was great defensively. Not his fault he had to keep covering for Parker blowing past our guards. Great game by Prince. Dyess was better in the 2nd half. I'm not sure though if Dyess looks better or if he looks better compared to Theo.

This win justifies Flip DNP'ing Amir in his mind. It's a little disheartening. I was under the impression Theo was here for insurance not to take minutes away from our 2 young bigs. Flip even said as such. We really need quickness defensively, and it's not like we lack it. We just don't play it.

Also Nice job by Pop on rotations and making sure there was usually a fresh body in the game (hint)

Good post lp...Dixon did just what he did in the Sixers game...killed the momentum or as you stated started a run for the other team. He and Stuckey on the floor at the same time is a rally killer for sure. has not worked for two straight games. Neither one of them will be able to stop CP3 on Sunday when Billups sits, so Flip needs to get Alf back in the rotation.

Manu and Damo were 1-12 shooting beyond the arc,:cold: You got to think that if Bowen had been out there, he would hit 2 threes, held Rip to below 20 points and injured him and Rip would have got a tech due to arguing over the no calls ....yep a loss for sure.:sssh:

A great win. We have a better idea about our team. This is a very deep team. We do not have the best starters but the best overall team. Yes, Mr. Dumars has made a great acquisition in Theo. We won without Afflalo and Amir. But if we do have problems, it was not in the rotations other than it was obvious that Dixon was not a fit and hurt us starting their run.

Dyss was great and so was Theo. Problem? Dyss is not great early in the game. And, Flip should have either Theo or either of our young bigs in the last few minutes for defense.

The biggest issue with this team again is not the rotations but our offense. We have the players. But it matters not unless we come up with an offensive concept early and late. SA knew what they wanted to do. We take turns shooting jumpers. Sheed needs to get more touches even if he passes the ball out again. Tay needs to get a portion of Rips touches. But what is our offensive game plan? Anyone know? Please tell me. Its the offense....

I can't believe we pulled down so many offensive boards.

The biggest issue with this team again is not the rotations but our offense. We have the players. But it matters not unless we come up with an offensive concept early and late. SA knew what they wanted to do. We take turns shooting jumpers. Sheed needs to get more touches even if he passes the ball out again. Tay needs to get a portion of Rips touches. But what is our offensive game plan? Anyone know. Its the offense....

Defense leads to offense. Remember all those great transition oppurtunities with Amir and AA ?

I agree our offense is scatterbrained, but i still think the problem lies elsewhere. Also that Stuck/Amir pic -n- roll was starting to look really good . . .

We run too many ISO's, but Flip can't seem to stop that. Mainly all we need is ball-movement, and more penetration.

We're not always going to have the O rebound advantage like that to fall back on. SA will not play zone when Bowen's back, and few team do.

Micro,

Getting Theo takes a lot of pressure off of Dyss and Sheed. He is just learning to fit in. We go from being undersized to having an incredible big rotation including our young bigs. We should be able to board with anyone now and bring the energy without worrying about fouls.

Lprl,

In playoff basketball like we had tonight, it is harder to get out and get easy baskets. That is why The Suns have always had so much trouble. We will need the young bigs to bring that extra something to change the pace of a tight game. That one steal, that one break away. Their presence allows the entire front line to play with abandon.

But our offense is as it was two years ago. I think it is the only thing that can stop this team. How often do we get the lead early against the good teams??

Our strength showed tonight. We come with quality in waves and sooner or later a wave overtakes our opposition.

Micro,

Getting Theo takes a lot of pressure off of Dyss and Sheed. He is just learning to fit in. We go from being undersized to having an incredible big rotation including our young bigs. We should be able to board with anyone now and bring the energy without worrying about fouls.

Lprl,

In playoff basketball like we had tonight, it is harder to get out and get easy baskets. That is why The Suns have always had so much trouble. We will need the young bigs to bring that extra something to change the pace of a tight game. That one steal, that one break away. Their presence allows the entire front line to play with abandon.

But our offense is as it was two years ago. I think it is the only thing that can stop this team. How often do we get the lead early against the good teams??

Our strength showed tonight. We come with quality in waves and sooner or later a wave overtakes our opposition.

Your right on both counts, but if tonight is any indication our young bigs won't play so it negates all the positive.

Honestly if we win anything i believe it will be because of outstanding defense. This team isn't built to win with offense just to be efficient and score enough points and let the defense do the rest. I don't really see that changing with the personnel we have. Even in terms of talent Joe D went out and got mostly athlethic defenders. AA/Amir/Max all brought in for defensive talent. Hayes is really our only offensive pick-up. Stuck is both.

It seems like Joe/Flip are talking but not to eachother.

The biggest issue with this team again is not the rotations but our offense. We have the players. But it matters not unless we come up with an offensive concept early and late. SA knew what they wanted to do. We take turns shooting jumpers. Sheed needs to get more touches even if he passes the ball out again. Tay needs to get a portion of Rips touches. But what is our offensive game plan? Anyone know? Please tell me. Its the offense....

I agree. It amazes me how much better SA offense is. They pass the ball with a purpose. You can't count how many time DET passes the ball between 3-4 players for a total of 12' while barely breaking the 3 point line. Look how much harder a time DET has simply feeding the post? If Flip were a defensive genius would many point per game would they give up, 120, 125?

SA had only 10 players dressed and their high man in minutes played less than 4 of the 5 DET starters.

How many excuses would Flip have come up with if he was down 2 guys? Not a lot of fight there.

I am glad they won, but..........

The biggest issue with this team again is not the rotations but our offense. We have the players. But it matters not unless we come up with an offensive concept early and late. SA knew what they wanted to do. We take turns shooting jumpers. Sheed needs to get more touches even if he passes the ball out again. Tay needs to get a portion of Rips touches. But what is our offensive game plan? Anyone know? Please tell me. Its the offense....

Pop obviously watches Pistons tapes and knows we will throw up as many jumpers as possible, so the zone worked long enough to get them back in the game. Where was zone buster Flip Murray when we needed him. Pistons go almost six minutes without a score and for the longest appeared that not single shot was made in the paint. Lucky that Manu was off tonight....

I agree that this would have been a loss with Bowen in the lineup. That is the most frustrating thing about the Spurs... they have the official Rip stopper.

The biggest thing that stood out to me in tonight's game was that the refs let both teams play. I believe that when the refs stay out of the game, it is always advantage Pistons. Without the intentional fouling at the end of the game, the free throw were 6 for the Spurs and 9 for the Pistons. That is how it should be. That is also why we were able to play such good defense and get so many rebounds. Sheed and Dyess are wrecking balls when they aren't afraid of the whistle. Dyess with 17 boards! Sheed blocking Duncan 3 times! Stuckey with 2 steals. The strangest thing about this though was that Chauncey got 0 free throws. That is the first time that has happened this season. On the other hand, Ginobili also had 0 free throws. That has only happened 1 other time this year.

This game was very important for the Spurs and very meaningless for us. That is why I'm surprise Popovich played his bench 73 minutes and Flip played our bench 47 minutes. And the Spurs bench was sucking, but he stuck with them. By the way, Bonner and Oberto are terrible. They would not play 1 second if they were on our team.

How bad was Maxiell's pass to the ref? I haven't seen a pro pass that was that bad in a long time.

No Afflalo, no Amir :confused:

i didn't see the game but holy cow on the complaining!! listen, even if the starters play 40 mins a night for the rest of the regular season (they won't), they've been rested enough this year for it to not matter. even chuck daly on the radio said that in the next 20 games you're going to have to weed down the roster to 9-10 guys, so i don't mind us doing that for individual games (like tonight) to see what these guys can bring to the table.

i'm comfortable enough with ANY of our current players on the floor, so whether or not AA or Amir get minutes is not as big of a concern to me. if nothing else, they rested the starters throughout the year and also built themselves up for their future as pistons. mission accomplished.

i'm waiting to pass judgment on flip's playoff preparation until the playoffs actually start.

I went and supported a local highschool team tonight. They won. Got home, watched the game. Another win. Good night for watching some hoops.

Sheed, Rip, and Tay were all clutch down the stretch. Nice to have a guy who can all his free throws in the last moments of a tight game. Way to go Rip. I was surprised Tay hit that shot though late in the game with so little rest. Flukes do happen I guess.

We managed to win another game without Afflalo. By simply playing Tay the whole first half. No problem. Tay is a very good option at shooting guard indeed. But you got to find someone more capable of playing small forward minutes than Hayes so that Tay can get some rest at least in a half. Tay did get some rest in the 2nd half at least, so that Dixon could come on and trigger a major run by SA. Why not just play Afflalo? A pretty good player.

Amir got another DNP. I am sure Flip just said everyone can't play. We won this game, a game we probably would not have won if Bowen was playing tonight, but that does not mean we can beat a complete SA team in the playoffs.

We did play some good D. The Rattler had a much better game than the last one for us. We fell behind during his first stint, but gained ground to start his 2nd. Ok in that regard. He certainly does have some size to guard Duncan, and tonight he scored some points here and there.

Dyess hit another outside shot. His 2nd in what, 3 games? But he did a lot of work inside. I like that. Lots of rebounds. Helped, though not that well, guarding Duncan. (Duncan in all was held to some pretty poor shooting.)

For the most part, our perimeter D was pretty solid. Some trouble though with letting come inside on us too much in the 1st half.

JMAX barely played in this one. Let me see. No Amir. No Afflalo. Hardly any JMAX. Hunter scheduled to take Stuckey's spot soon. Anyone want to hear my theory on why Dixon is playing minutes? To make Stuckey look bad. Now, Stuckey had a pretty darn good game tonight actually. Hit a jumper. Cut to the basket for a score on a high toss by Rip. Stole the ball. Played good D. But hey, when Hunter takes his minutes, people will have forgot all the good stuff and probably point to this game where SA started a big run with Stuckey in the game. It was not Stuckey.

We took way too many 3's. Made few.

Rip was the scoring hero. Except for one brief stretch in the 1st half where he missed a few, he was pretty awesome. He was part of that darn good perimeter D too.

Subs. Won't count Dixon, as he barely played. Ditto for JMAX. So there is Stuckey, who again played enough even if not a whole lot. Theo, who does need to play himself back into shape if he is going to do us much good in the playoffs. Hayes, who basically spelled Rip indirectly did hit a shot or two. You can definitely count him as someone who played some minutes. And Hayes did spell Tay in the 2nd half for a bit. So basically, we played our starters, plus Hayes, Stuckey, and Theo. An 8 man rotation. Once Hunter replaces Stuckey, the rotation will be complete. And we will exit the playoffs in the first round.

Tay had a good shooting first half. Mostly stuck to drives in for the 2nd half. With SA trying to get away with a heavy dose of Stoudemire, our guards were towering over theirs for the most part. (Except of course when Dixon got his minutes so he could trigger that run for SA.) And then we made that even more noticeable with Tay playing shooting guard.

So why were we settling for quite so many 3 point attempts. With the starting lineup SA chose to play tonight, no way you shoot outside shots. But we won, so can't complain too much about that.

By the way, that run by SA, about 13-0 for much of the 4th, put us down about 6 points. So those clutch shots by our guys were really clutch, getting us back on top in this game. Again, good job Sheed for hitting those midrangers over your defenders. Good job of Rip in getting open and canning midrangers. And good job Tay for hitting that 3.

Time to get some sleep. Though the amount of caffeine I had to drink to stay up to watch the game means I probably can't get to sleep for an hour yet. Got to try. Got plans to try and play some hoops in the morning.

Are you being sarcastic lee? Tony Parker did everything he wanted. We almost lost this game because of our weak perimeter D. Neither Rip nor CB were good match for Parker

he was pretty awesome. He was part of that darn good perimeter D too.

.

i didn't see the game but holy cow on the complaining!! listen, even if the starters play 40 mins a night for the rest of the regular season (they won't), they've been rested enough this year for it to not matter. even chuck daly on the radio said that in the next 20 games you're going to have to weed down the roster to 9-10 guys, so i don't mind us doing that for individual games (like tonight) to see what these guys can bring to the table.

i'm comfortable enough with ANY of our current players on the floor, so whether or not AA or Amir get minutes is not as big of a concern to me. if nothing else, they rested the starters throughout the year and also built themselves up for their future as pistons. mission accomplished.

i'm waiting to pass judgment on flip's playoff preparation until the playoffs actually start.
While I think the shortened rotation is fine for a game here or there when we're up against a tough opponent, or when bench match-ups aren't favourable, I completely disagree with playing the starters big minute from here on out being fine because they've been well rested throughout the season. (holy crap, I think that was the longest sentence ever written!)

This is the time of year when the starters need the MOST rest, IMHO. With a month left in the regular season, this is where fatigue will likely start to set in. This is when the bench should be getting the most burn. Giving the starters some rest, themselves some confidence and Flip an idea of what rotations he can use in the playoffs (haha, yeah right).

Then with a few weeks left, start ramping the starters minutes back up and be ready for playoff time.

The starters are rested, the bench is set, Flip knows what he has and the team is gelling and playing its best to start the playoffs.

Clearly Flip is going to shorten his bench in the playoffs. That's why this last month of the season is so important!

The good news is that I can't see Joe D allowing Flip to go starter crazy with this many games left in the regular season. I just think that Joe is too smart and that last year is too fresh in his mind to let that happen.

The biggest thing that stood out to me in tonight's game was that the refs let both teams play. I believe that when the refs stay out of the game, it is always advantage Pistons. Without the intentional fouling at the end of the game, the free throw were 6 for the Spurs and 9 for the Pistons. That is how it should be. That is also why we were able to play such good defense and get so many rebounds. Sheed and Dyess are wrecking balls when they aren't afraid of the whistle. Dyess with 17 boards! Sheed blocking Duncan 3 times! Stuckey with 2 steals. The strangest thing about this though was that Chauncey got 0 free throws. That is the first time that has happened this season. On the other hand, Ginobili also had 0 free throws. That has only happened 1 other time this year.

This game was very important for the Spurs and very meaningless for us. That is why I'm surprise Popovich played his bench 73 minutes and Flip played our bench 47 minutes. And the Spurs bench was sucking, but he stuck with them. By the way, Bonner and Oberto are terrible. They would not play 1 second if they were on our team.

:confused:

You are dead on with the style of play. I had kind of forgotten that.

The Spurs didn't have Barry either. I wonder when he gets back? I bet Hayes would be a great fit in SA. He'd thrive receiving the ball off of all that movement.

Pop would probably find a way to play Billy Crystal regular minutes. Flip would DNP-CD The Mailman, Bird and Chris Mullin if he coached the Dream Team because "you can't play everyone."

Good points lee...get some sleep and give us some more of your thoughts after have had a chance to sleep on it. I like Dixon, but Flip is not playing him out there with the right players. He was great when he played with Rip and Tay in LA, but he should never be out there with Stuckey as there is to much indecision out there as to should be playing the point and his defense is definitely questionable witnessed by the way Tony Longoria blew by him for the layup in the early 4th period.

Wow. Some people are more depressed about a win over San Antonio then over a loss to Philly. Come on, guys!

Wow. Some people are more depressed about a win over San Antonio then over a loss to Philly. Come on, guys!
I'm not sure who makes me more mad, Matt Millen or Flip Saunders. :gun1:

When Spurs fans say they were missing Bowen, I want to say well we were missing Aaron and Amir, and almost Max as well, and then i realize it's useless. Bowen will be back as will Barry/Udoka and Pop will play them.

We are at such a disadvantage. It's the most frustrating thing in the world.

Man, this picture creeps me out.. Timmay is posessed!
http://cmsimg.detnews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C3&Date=20080315&Category=OPINION03&ArtNo=803150392&Ref=AR&Profile=1127

I agree, CB'S perimeter D was almost non- existent. Parker could penetrate at will, that could kill us if we should really meet them in the finals. Same for Manu.

I'm not sure who makes me more mad, Matt Millen or Flip Saunders. :gun1:


You can't mean that.......Just compare the winning percentages. Flip has actually had his positive moments. Millin has had......mostly brain farts.

A win is a win........but (2-18) 3 point shooting and no time for Amir or Hermann. Aren't we gonna need a bunch of bigs for the playoffs??

Folks I want AA and AJ to play as well as anyone else, but we just beat the Spurs for crying out loud!!!!

Would it have been better to play those two and lose?

Folks I want AA and AJ to play as well as anyone else, but we just beat the Spurs for crying out loud!!!!

Would it have been better to play those two and lose?



Pop didn't seem to think the win was so important for his team.
I heard him snoring last night, he was so relaxed after the game.:pound:

I didn't see any of the game, but Theo getting 7 points and 7 boards in 13 minutes against the defending champions does seem like, um, a positive thing. One can argue that Theo is less likely to be able to produce numbers like that when it counts than Amir, but don't try to tell me that Amir would have done better than that in 13 minutes last night. It's not like Amir sat behind 13 minutes of ineptitude from Primoz. Now, admittedly, JMax barely playing and Amir DNPing is unfortunate, and we know Dice can't consistently produce if he's always playing almost 39 minutes like he did tonight.

But Dice DID get 17(!) rebounds, and combined with some pretty productive minutes for him against Philly, it looks like he might be starting to play better again (even if his jumper isn't quite back yet), so that's obviously a positive. And despite the Spurs' bench playing way more minutes than ours, our bench still outscored theirs 20-15, which was enough to make all the difference in a 4 point game.

Man, this picture creeps me out.. Timmay is posessed!
http://cmsimg.detnews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C3&Date=20080315&Category=OPINION03&ArtNo=803150392&Ref=AR&Profile=1127
http://cmsimg.detnews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C3&Date=20080315&Category=OPINION03&ArtNo=803150392&Ref=AR&Profile=1127


What's really creepy about this picture is the tiny Michael Finley growing out of his head!

Man, this picture creeps me out.. Timmay is posessed!
http://cmsimg.detnews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C3&Date=20080315&Category=OPINION03&ArtNo=803150392&Ref=AR&Profile=1127
Nah, he's just smelling Sheed's armpit!

Pop didn't seem to think the win was so important for his team.
I heard him snoring last night, he was so relaxed after the game.:pound:
Is it just me, or does Pop look kinda sickly. He's much paler and bloated than I have seen him before.

I like the guy, hope he isn't ill...

From detnews:

"Saunders is using these games to see how his bench players handle playoff-type situations. Here's what he saw: Theo Ratliff had seven points and seven rebounds; Rodney Stuckey had six points and two steals, and Jarvis Hayes scored seven points in 10 minutes."

Oh really? Does this mean Amir and Aff won't be getting many playoff minutes? Paying Amir $3 mil to sit on the bench. Another great decision made by the Detroit Pistons organization. Amir should play every game. I don't care what the matchups are. He should get some burn. And, yeah, let's let Parker run rampant the whole game and make NO adjustments. Great plan.

Let's face it. It was nice to get that win last night, but if Bowen plays, Detroit doesn't win. Plain and simple. Rip was energized last night because he knew he wouldn't have to face a great defender. And Bowen is just about as tough as it gets.

Sorry for the negativity, but I'm being honest. Fred Flip-stone has 17 games to figure it out.

Would it have been better to play those two and lose?

Best option= play them and win by more
2nd best= play them and win by same amount
3rd best= play them and lose
4th best= don't play them and win
5th best= don't play them and lose.

That was a really good defensive battle for the most part, except for when Parker decided to attack the basket. Man, he was zooming past everyone out there. It dawned on me at one point that you never see any of our bigs try to get out in front of the circle and take the charge. What's up with that? Then I tried to think back and couldn't remember the last time I saw Tay, Dice, Sheed or even Max or Amir take a charge.

I'm pretty sure Flip wanted to use this game for clutch fourth-quarter playoff practice, so when the Spurs weren't cooperating he had the starters begin chucking 3s for a few minutes to let them back in it. Once it was tied up the starters began shooting inside the arc again, and pulled it out.

That was a really good defensive battle for the most part, except for when Parker decided to attack the basket. Man, he was zooming past everyone out there. It dawned on me at one point that you never see any of our bigs try to get out in front of the circle and take the charge. What's up with that? Then I tried to think back and couldn't remember the last time I saw Tay, Dice, Sheed or even Max or Amir take a charge.

.

Funny you should mention this CavsTown. I often wonder the same thing. Every team has the designated charge takers..Eddie House in c town, Derek Fisher for the lakers etc. Stuckey took two charges in a game for us last week.

You don't see that many big men stand there and take the charge as they usually would be called for the blocking foul.

Max takes charges. Not very often but he does. I recall Amir taking one or 2.

I don't really want Sheed taking charges. I'm scared everytime he falls down. He's so vital to us, and that damn ankle seems fragile. Dyess could take a charge, but he'd never get the call. The refs hate him for some reason.

I just don't think our coaching staff preaches that. It would make life easier if they did.

But hey if it ain't rough it ain't right. That's why we stopped playing AA/Amir. It got too easy to win. :gun1:

Best option= play them and win by more
2nd best= play them and win by same amount
3rd best= play them and lose
4th best= don't play them and win
5th best= don't play them and lose.



:cheerlie-GOAL: :p_welldone: :hoops: :winner_first_h4h:

Is it just me, or does Pop look kinda sickly. He's much paler and bloated than I have seen him before.

I like the guy, hope he isn't ill...


Hope he's ok........Didn't see the telecast.

Seems like the bench talk, namely Amir,AA, is getting a bit over the top here. Beat the champs and all some see is that Amir and AA did not play? Amir's problem is that he is only 6'9" and we need a center. Dyess was playing great so perhaps thats why he did not get into the game.

Dlev asked a good question. Would you have rather seen Amir and AA play during a loss or will you take the win over the champs?

Or would you rather have had McDyess mins cut so Amir could have played which means that we would not have had Dyess's 11 offensive boards and probably lost?

I don't care if Bowen did not play. Injuries are part of the game and we don't know what would have happened if he had.

Man, this picture creeps me out.. Timmay is posessed!
http://cmsimg.detnews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C3&Date=20080315&Category=OPINION03&ArtNo=803150392&Ref=AR&Profile=1127

Gotta love the judo chop to the neck by Sheed!:pound: No free chili! And even if Duncan paid for the chili, he wouldn't be able to eat it because his throat would be cut in half.

You can't mean that.......Just compare the winning percentages. Flip has actually had his positive moments. Millin has had......mostly brain farts.
Actually I do. But I dislike them for different reasons. Millen is just completely incompetent while Flip just seems scared at times and never seems to learn from his mistakes. I actually almost feel a bit sorry for him.

Seems like the bench talk, namely Amir,AA, is getting a bit over the top here. Beat the champs and all some see is that Amir and AA did not play? Amir's problem is that he is only 6'9" and we need a center.

Amir can match up with Horry/Bonner


Dyess was playing great so perhaps thats why he did not get into the game.

Define great b/c he was better in the 2nd half and not very good in the 1st. Yes he rebounded his ass off, but do you really think playing Dice 40 min will lead us to a championship?


Dlev asked a good question. Would you have rather seen Amir and AA play during a loss or will you take the win over the champs?

Or would you rather have had McDyess mins cut so Amir could have played which means that we would not have had Dyess's 11 offensive boards and probably lost?

Why do you assume that AA/Amir would mean we would lose? I know it's been awhile since the played, but when they did we were blowing people out remember?

As for Dyess, Amir can rebound too. In fact his strength is the offesnive rebound and put back.


I don't care if Bowen did not play. Injuries are part of the game and we don't know what would have happened if he had.

It's a regular season game. I could cares less if win/lose. I want to win, but win in a way that's conducive to a long post-season run.

edited to add; I would be willing to put money on the fact that if AA came in SA would have never gone on that run, and had Amir gotten some burn this would've have been a 15+ win. You saw all the missed jumpshots in the 4th. Tired legs.

Even Max can't find min anymore.

Beating SA didn't really mean much in the long run. Bowen will be back. They won't play zone, and all those rebounds will disappear as will Rip.

I don't care if Bowen did not play. Injuries are part of the game and we don't know what would have happened if he had.

Sure we do. Rip would have struggled to score like he always does against Bowen.

Sure we do. Rip would have struggled to score like he always does against Bowen.

Give the guys some porps though, thats something you would find on a Spurs forum.

lprgirl - I believe the key to a championship is finding a true defensive center which I believe we have found in Ratliff. Amir is still in development. He will get his time.

Amir's help D would be a good weapon to help stop Parker's drives.

What did this win do for us anyway?

Now that we have secured our spot in the playoffs and will likely have the 2 seed, it's time to play our game, not react to our opponent. Why on Earth was Popovich willing to utilize his crappy bench twice as much as Flip was willing to utilize ours? Did Pop not want to win?

By the way, it's not only us. Look at the Detnews reader's comments after the last story.

Pistons limit Duncan as Rip carries victory over Spurs | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press (http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080315/SPORTS03/803150386/&imw=Y)

It's possible that we have a coach that is screwing up this season and nobody is stopping him.

It's a regular season game. I could cares less if win/lose. I want to win, but win in a way that's conducive to a long post-season run.



So, the answer to my question earlier in the thread is, yes.

You wouldn`t mind seeing a loss if AA and AJ played, but God forbid a win if they got a DNP.

So, the answer to my question earlier in the thread is, yes.

You wouldn`t mind seeing a loss if AA and AJ played, but God forbid a win if they got a DNP.


It appears that there is a large contingent in this forum that would prefer Amir and Aaron playing over a Pistons win.

It appears that there is a large contingent in this forum that would prefer Amir and Aaron playing over a Pistons win.
Define large. :)

So, the answer to my question earlier in the thread is, yes.

You wouldn`t mind seeing a loss if AA and AJ played, but God forbid a win if they got a DNP.

I don't want to see a loss, but i don't want to see crap wins like these. If you think these bench players and the starters playing 40 min is the road to the championship, i don't know what to tell ya.

I'm more interested in seeing wins in the playoffs.

At the end of the season, I'm really curious to see what the opinions are. I'm not saying that in a spiteful way. I'm really honestly curious what people will say when the inevitable happens. Last year it was we didn't hit shots; they were tired; Sheed's a cancer; The year before MIA was better; Ben's a cancer. Will people blame Flip this year?

I don't want to see a loss, but i don't want to see crap wins like these. If you think these bench players and the starters playing 40 min is the road to the championship, i don't know what to tell ya.

I'm more interested in seeing wins in the playoffs.

At the end of the season, I'm really curious to see what the opinions are. I'm not saying that in a spiteful way. I'm really honestly curious what people will say when the inevitable happens. Last year it was we didn't hit shots; they were tired; Sheed's a cancer; The year before MIA was better; Ben's a cancer. Will people blame Flip this year?

Crap wins?

Don`t quite understand what a crap win is. The starters are avg about 32 mpg so far this year, far from 40 mpg.

As I told someone else earlier in the year, I would love to see the opinions if somehow the Pistons do happen to win it all (I know that`s a tall order at the moment with or without AA and AJ) with AA and AJ seeing limited minutes.

Crap wins?

Don`t quite understand what a crap win is. The starters are avg about 32 mpg so far this year, far from 40 mpg.

Maybe crap win is too strong. Meaningless, unproductive win is better. It's not about what the starters are avg. this year. What you saw last night was the playoff rotation. That's what a majority of our playoff games are going to look like which basically means developing the youngsters was for nothing. Flip won't play them which is just sad since they are better then the bench/players and in one case IMO the starter playing in front of them.

It makes no sense; why put yourself at a disadvantage by taking two players that have been making an impact out of the rotation esp for Juan Dixon. It's painfully obvious that we've been struggling since. I just don't get the logic.

As I told someone else earlier in the year, I would love to see the opinions if somehow the Pistons do happen to win it all (I know that`s a tall order at the moment with or without AA and AJ) with AA and AJ seeing limited minutes.

As you said it's a tall order, but i just think the chances are better the more talent you have playing and the more options you have.

It wouldn't be a big deal if Flip knew how to utilize all his players. I don't want to see Theo DNP, but he can take min from Dyess who we could probably agree has been turning into Ben Wallace offensively from dead legs.

What happens in the PO's when a quick guard starts lighting us up, do we use AA or do we just do nothing (a la Tony Parker)?

Or when we play an athlethic team like Philly, and our 35 year old bigs can't rotate fast enough? Does Amir continue to sit?

Maybe crap win is too strong. Meaningless, unproductive win is better. It's not about what the starters are avg. this year. What you saw last night was the playoff rotation. That's what a majority of our playoff games are going to look like which basically means developing the youngsters was for nothing. Flip won't play them which is just sad since they are better then the bench/players and in one case IMO the starter playing in front of them.

It makes no sense; why put yourself at a disadvantage by taking two players that have been making an impact out of the rotation esp for Juan Dixon. It's painfully obvious that we've been struggling since. I just don't get the logic.



As you said it's a tall order, but i just think the chances are better the more talent you have playing and the more options you have.

It wouldn't be a big deal if Flip knew how to utilize all his players. I don't want to see Theo DNP, but he can take min from Dyess who we could probably agree has been turning into Ben Wallace offensively from dead legs.

What happens in the PO's when a quick guard starts lighting us up, do we use AA or do we just do nothing (a la Tony Parker)?

Or when we play an athlethic team like Philly, and our 35 year old bigs can't rotate fast enough? Does Amir continue to sit?
IMO, I don`t think there is such a thing as a meaningless, unproductive win.

And honestly, do you think a rookie would actually stop a player like a Tony Parker in the playoffs? Not to mention get any calls from the refs.

Let`s face it, if our playoff hopes rest on AA stopping quick penetrating guards, or AJ being the difference against an athletic team, WE ARE DOOMED!!!!!!

IMO, I don`t think there is such a thing as a meaningless, unproductive win.

And honestly, do you think a rookie would actually stop a player like a Tony Parker in the playoffs? Not to mention get any calls from the refs.

Let`s face it, if our playoff hopes rest on AA stopping quick penetrating guards, or AJ being the difference against an athletic team, WE ARE DOOMED!!!!!!

Often when there are two teams of equal level, the little things make a difference, an energy play here, a defensive sequence there.

It's not even about AA stopping TP. It's about AA not being Dixon, and immediately triggering a run for the other team, and another defender that you can use to switch it up who can actually defend. It's not as much that AA/Amir are the best players ever as they are the best players WE have off the bench and it's stupid not to use them. What does it hurt to try?

Remember that defensive stretch in the BOS game with AA, or the stretch in the PHO game with Amir? Little things like that can turn a game.

Also, i belive AJ can make a huge impact just with his mobility alone. Having a good defender who is quick and can double/rotate recover and block the occassional shot is huge in the PO's. He doesn't have to be the difference. He just has to help, and make the game easier for the starters. Maybe an extra 10 min stretch of rest.

Bench players often make a difference in a series (We don't need to look further than Daniel Gibson). Just like Dixon's 4 min last night did. Can you imagine that happening in a PO game? It would be really difficult to come back from that against BOS. You will see BOS bench players in that series. Big baby Davis, Tony Allen, etc. The question is where will ours be?

The last few years we have looked old and slow so our solution as the PO's near is to scrap youth and get old and slow again ?

Playing them won't garuntee a ring, but it will definately give us a better chance. There's no need to repeat the past two years.

Amir = Tayshaun in '03. You guys are defending Carlisle right now.

San Antonio needs to win almost every game because the Western race is so tight. We, on the other hand, can lose out the season and still be fine. I can see why the starters play some minutes, so they don't get rusty. But really, what is the point in doing anything out of the ordinary to win a game right now? How stupid would it be to injure a starter? The only possible thing that we are gunning for (the top seed), is not something that we even want. Why not just stick to the formula that got us the 2nd best record in the NBA? Our bench has been huge this year, and Amir and Afflalo have been a big part of that.

I'm not trying to choose our youth over a win. I'm trying to choose our youth plus a more dominating win. Do you think Popovich is frightened by us after that last game? He knows that with Bowen in the game, that was a Spurs win. At SA, that would have also been a Spurs win.

I am all for saving player development for the junkie teams. When a team like the Spurs come into town its a matter of pride to defeat them.

In case anyone noticed, Stucky is still playing regular mins and Theo got in some good practice with the guys against a quality team.

Stick around a few years lprgirl. You should absolutly love the next rebuilding phase, it will be development time galore.

It appears that there is a large contingent in this forum that would prefer Amir and Aaron playing over a Pistons win.

Define large. :)

Its a vocal minority.



San Antonio needs to win almost every game because the Western race is so tight. We, on the other hand, can lose out the season and still be fine.

I think we still have to try and save Home Court against the West in case we do actually win the East. You can win one playoff series on the road but trying to win back to back on the road against whoever is left at that stage is tough - as in 05.

That's the thing. I actually like Ratliff a lot. I would be bummed if he were just sitting and watching.

And beating the Spurs is great. But why didn't the Spurs shorten their rotation for us?

Often when there are two teams of equal level, the little things make a difference, an energy play here, a defensive sequence there.

It's not even about AA stopping TP. It's about AA not being Dixon, and immediately triggering a run for the other team, and another defender that you can use to switch it up who can actually defend. It's not as much that AA/Amir are the best players ever as they are the best players WE have off the bench and it's stupid not to use them. What does it hurt to try?

Remember that defensive stretch in the BOS game with AA, or the stretch in the PHO game with Amir? Little things like that can turn a game.

Also, i belive AJ can make a huge impact just with his mobility alone. Having a good defender who is quick and can double/rotate recover and block the occassional shot is huge in the PO's. He doesn't have to be the difference. He just has to help, and make the game easier for the starters. Maybe an extra 10 min stretch of rest.

Bench players often make a difference in a series (We don't need to look further than Daniel Gibson). Just like Dixon's 4 min last night did. Can you imagine that happening in a PO game? It would be really difficult to come back from that against BOS. You will see BOS bench players in that series. Big baby Davis, Tony Allen, etc. The question is where will ours be?

The last few years we have looked old and slow so our solution as the PO's near is to scrap youth and get old and slow again ?

Playing them won't garuntee a ring, but it will definately give us a better chance. There's no need to repeat the past two years.

I honestly hope what you are saying comes to pass. I don`t want you or anyone to believe that I am against AA and AJ playing now and into the playoffs.

What I don`t understand is, some folks are bent on believing our 2007-2008 season depends on two very young players.

If the Pistons come short this year it will be a collective effort - all the way from Joe D to the last player on the bench.

You noted some of the positive play from AA and AJ, however, you failed to mention games where they both looked lost on the court. Of course they are young and bad games happen, so, how do we know what player will show up in the playoffs?

If that player (Amir) who has quickness and mobility picks up 3 fould in 3 minutes or (AA) commits a couple of bonehead turns, then what? Do you bench them? Or, do you keep giving them chances in the playoffs?

They both will get their chance, I just don`t think it will be this year, unless someone goes down with an injury. Perhaps, I will be proved wrong, if it results in a few wins, I hope I am.

That's the thing. I actually like Ratliff a lot. I would be bummed if he were just sitting and watching.

And beating the Spurs is great. But why didn't the Spurs shorten their rotation for us?

Their Center and Shooting guard or Small forward spot is done by committee so they kind of have to play the bench. Maybe we could pull something like that off if we had Tim Duncan on our team. They only have 1 rookie though and I don't think he has played in more than 5 games or so.

a lot of you are forgetting how few minutes the bench played when we won the Finals

You noted some of the positive play from AA and AJ, however, you failed to mention games where they both looked lost on the court. Of course they are young and bad games happen, so, how do we know what player will show up in the playoffs?

Fair enough, but what's worse throwing them in there and seeing what they can do, or not knowing at all?

I'm so anxious for the playoffs already. The regular season seems extra long these past 2 months or so.

edited to add;

Warthog, we were dominant back then and had one of the best coaches in the game. Now it seems like it's going to require alot more effort and help from many players. Ben Wallace was essentially our "superstar".

Warthog, we were dominant back then and had one of the best coaches in the game. Now it seems like it's going to require alot more effort and help from many players. Ben Wallace was essentially our "superstar".

Maybe my memory is failing me, but we didn't have the second best record in a stacked league that year, did we? The media wasn't all over us talking about how "dominant" we were, were they?

Now, I do think you and those who agree with you are making a fair point. But, I'm not worried yet. We have an outstanding team this year. Losses in the past few years have just made a lot of people pessimistic, in my opinion.

that was 4 years back. All our starters were 4 years younger. a lot of you are forgetting how few minutes the bench played when we won the Finals

Popovich likes Detroit's bench
Although the Pistons' bench play has been up and down at times this season, Popovich likes what he has seen out of Detroit's reserves, also known as the "Zoo crew."
"To me, their bench is the most impressive in the league," Popovich said. "Those guys take pride in what they do when they step on the court. They're very physical, very energetic."


Pretty high praise. :cheers:

Well, this forum seems to be really pissed off, it seems. And it seems that most of you take Lee's concepts automatically. But most of all those are wishful thinkings. Ok, AA and AJ didn't play, I do not like it but I'm not going to crucify flip for this. Collective team effort counts..finally. And you are here clearly overpanicing of starters tiredness. Well, if a starter can't tolerate 40mpg once a week, he sholdn't be a starter. Plain and simple. Calm down, guys, or shoot yourself.

Amir = Tayshaun in '03. You guys are defending Carlisle right now.




sorry, your close but currey isn't starting this year... :)

I agree that the younger players should play more but there not going to be the as much the key as folks seem to think.

I see them having energy mins... Play out of there minds in one game and probably get extended mins, there also going to have rotten games where there going to go back to the bench early and probably not get back in the game again.

The goal was to play the youth to get the starters to the playoffs FRESH, they will be and in the playoffs you don't have back to backs the travel is alot less and such.....

everybody points at San Ant as the team that plays the bench... just quickly looking at this year, last years reg, and last year playoffs.... parkers mins in the playoffs last year went up 5 mins a game, duncan and other starters mins went up.... there regular season mins this year are back inline with last years reg seasons mins. Are you telling me there coach is a bad coach because he shortens his bench and rides his starters more?

I agree that AA and AJ are going to be solid parts if not an all star (AJ) some day, but they are going to be playing in the playoffs for the first time and to have to depend on them to win is a little scarey to me. I hope they get burn and show us wrong, but I do like the idea of veterns ready to play those mins so the starters do get some rest.

Saying all that any lose before boston... and anything less then a great series against boston to me will be a failure and signal a need for serious change.

a lot of you are forgetting how few minutes the bench played when we won the Finals

Detroit Pistons - Statistics - NBA - Yahoo! Sports (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/teams/det/stats?sort=25&year=postseason_2003)

I know were older.... but still we had two starters at 40 mins a game for the 04 playoffs...

Fair enough, but what's worse throwing them in there and seeing what they can do, or not knowing at all?

I'm so anxious for the playoffs already. The regular season seems extra long these past 2 months or so.

edited to add;

Warthog, we were dominant back then and had one of the best coaches in the game. Now it seems like it's going to require alot more effort and help from many players. Ben Wallace was essentially our "superstar".

2nd best record in the east (3rd seed)
6th best record in the league

considered one of the biggest upsets in NBA final history.....

A great team as we remember it.... Dominant??? going a bit far there

I can't believe we're scared to play a 3rd year player in the playoffs.

That is true that we didn't play our bench much in the '04 Championship. But it is also true that we didn't play them much in the '05 heartbreaker, the '06 flameout, and the '07 embarrassment.

The bench players that I really worry about in the playoffs are the ones that we are counting on for scoring- Stuckey, Hayes, Dixon, Maxiell. The pressure and intensity can make the bucket look half size. But Afflalo (like Bowen) really has an easy job to do under pressure. The worst case scenario for him is that he picks up a couple cheapies. And since we don't even call plays for Amir, how bad can he screw up? He just goes after loose balls and blocks shots.

Some of our best runs of the season came when those guys were on the floor. The reason that I'm so stuck on this point is because both of these guys add a unique aspect to our team (perimeter D for Afflalo and energy/ offensive rebounding/ shot blocking for Amir) and they are heavily defensive oriented, which I think will pay off in the post season.

Can we do well without their contributions? Yes. Probably another ECF appearance. Don't expect Big Baby Davis to sit the bench against us though.

Well, this forum seems to be really pissed off, it seems. And it seems that most of you take Lee's concepts automatically.
Believe me, it has taken years for lee's philosophy to gain a vocal grassroots audience. Any success propagating it has to be attributed to his tenacity and intellectual rigor.

That said, having too few minutes for too many good players is an excellent problem to have.

Believe me, it has taken years for lee's philosophy to gain a vocal grassroots audience. Any success propagating it has to be attributed to his tenacity and intellectual rigor.

That said, having too few minutes for too many good players is an excellent problem to have.

Coaches LOVE such problem.

Define large. :)


I'm 6 feet and 195 pounds. Is that large?

I'm 6 feet and 195 pounds. Is that large?
Nope. Not even close. :P

a lot of you are forgetting how few minutes the bench played when we won the Finals


The starters were hungry that year. Since then, we've needed to develop some rookies who could infuse some hunger back into the lineup.
It was easy for LB to just play the starters cause they had the drive to win. Flip is faced with the almighty "SWITCH". That didn't exist back in the LB days. Other teams have been more hungry during the last few playoff seasons than we've been.

A great team as we remember it.... Dominant??? going a bit far there

They were dominant defensively. I could care less who the media favored. When that team got Sheed; i had total faith they could win it.

Believe me, it has taken years for lee's philosophy to gain a vocal grassroots audience. Any success propagating it has to be attributed to his tenacity and intellectual rigor.

That said, having too few minutes for too many good players is an excellent problem to have.

Hey i resent that. I've always thought this way. I just didn't post here. It took a really long time to find this forum . It's not very popular. :)

Hey i resent that. I've always thought this way. I just didn't post here. It took a really long time to find this forum . It's not very popular. :)

You should resent it. I talk to lets of people who think just as I do. On the other board, if someone comes along who seems to think along the same lines as me, they label that person a "muppet", claiming its just me posting under another name. Of course, I only post under one name there.

Lots of people have the same views as me. Many people may not have come across someone like me who is also just as vocal. But now they have. If they are too insecure to think that they are in the minority, and that actually a whole lot of people think as we do, that is their problem.

(In fact, its us anti-Flip fans who seem to be in the majority as far as I can tell. But it by no means is a landslide. I'd say its a 5-4 ratio of people who think like us vs. people who think Pistons management can't be wrong about so much.)

Depends on the viewpoint in question.

Anti Flip sentiment is probably close to 50%. Those who think that a late 1st round rookie is going to determine if we win or lose in the post season has to be quit small I am sure.

Hey i resent that. I've always thought this way. I just didn't post here. It took a really long time to find this forum . It's not very popular. :)
:rolleyes:

*Click Here* (http://tinyurl.com/6kx8y)

You should resent it.
Gas can.

Hey i resent that. I've always thought this way. I just didn't post here. It took a really long time to find this forum . It's not very popular. :)

:cold:

I talk to lets of people who think just as I do.

Maybe you're really just talking to yourself? :MusicBigGrin:


On the other board, if someone comes along who seems to think along the same lines as me, they label that person a "muppet", claiming its just me posting under another name.

My personal favorite was Muppet the Cat.

Of course, I only post under one name there.

uhmmm...yeah...sure.


Lots of people have the same views as me.

Most of them are institutionalized, however.:pound:


(In fact, its us anti-Flip fans who seem to be in the majority as far as I can tell. But it by no means is a landslide.

I think there are more anti-Flip fans than you think (Just guessing based on what I read on the forums).


I'd say its a 5-4 ratio of people who think like us vs. people who think Pistons management can't be wrong about so much.


Don't confuse the pro Flip fans with people who necessarily believe the Pistons can do no wrong. I know some people who support Flip (NOT ME), but who also are not foolish enough to believe that the Pistons are without fault.


:sssh::doener:

:cold:
Tell me about it. Makes a guy wonder why he even bothers.

Believe me, it has taken years for lee's philosophy to gain a vocal grassroots audience. Any success propagating it has to be attributed to his tenacity and intellectual rigor.

That said, having too few minutes for too many good players is an excellent problem to have.

Yeah, the funny thing is, lately, Lee's recaps are way more upbeat than the rest of these guys.

Those who think that a late 1st round rookie is going to determine if we win or lose in the post season has to be quit small I am sure.

I bet there are a lot of fans who think that our highest paid bench player could possibly have a positive affect on our playoff chances though.

:rolleyes:

*Click Here* (http://tinyurl.com/6kx8y)




I know. I was being sarcastic as well hence the :). Guess i should use the green font next time.

It took a really long time to find this forum. It's not very popular. :)

:pound::pound::pound::pound:

I know. I was being sarcastic as well hence the :). Guess i should use the green font next time.

I'll tell you lpgrl, that was very funny. I'm still laughing.:pound: I think because I've been addicted to this forum since the day I found it, which sometimes I take as a sad commentary on my life and othertimes I kind of crawl into it like a soft, old blankie. Depending on the day and mood.

Tell me about it. Makes a guy wonder why he even bothers.

Don't worry 'scoe, we'll meet outside at recess and steal some kids' lunch money if it will make you feel better. :MusicBigGrin:

:pound::pound::pound::pound:



I'll tell you lpgrl, that was very funny. I'm still laughing.:pound: I think because I've been addicted to this forum since the day I found it, which sometimes I take as a sad commentary on my life and othertimes I kind of crawl into it like a soft, old blankie. Depending on the day and mood.

I'm the same way. It's actually scary how much time i spend posting on here. My mom walks by and she's like talking to those piston people again? LOL

I need a life :)

I honestly hope what you are saying comes to pass. I don`t want you or anyone to believe that I am against AA and AJ playing now and into the playoffs.

What I don`t understand is, some folks are bent on believing our 2007-2008 season depends on two very young players.

If the Pistons come short this year it will be a collective effort - all the way from Joe D to the last player on the bench.

You noted some of the positive play from AA and AJ, however, you failed to mention games where they both looked lost on the court. Of course they are young and bad games happen, so, how do we know what player will show up in the playoffs?

If that player (Amir) who has quickness and mobility picks up 3 fould in 3 minutes or (AA) commits a couple of bonehead turns, then what? Do you bench them? Or, do you keep giving them chances in the playoffs?

They both will get their chance, I just don`t think it will be this year, unless someone goes down with an injury. Perhaps, I will be proved wrong, if it results in a few wins, I hope I am.


Still trying to play catch up on my reading but wanted to put in my two cents on this. I think part of the reason that people are bummed is because by not playing AJ and AA in games like this; you increase the odds of a mistake in the play offs. That is why it is so important to get them into games like these. So they won't make those mistakes we are afraid of; or at least decrease the odds of one.

Happened to look at the Spurs - Celtics box score this morning. The Spurs lost by one but none of their players exceeded 37 minutes. As a matter of fact; Timmay only played 34 minutes. Even on the Boston side you can see PP and KG play 40 minutes but the rest of the team doesn't get to 30.

Whose bench do you think will be more prepared come play off time??????

I'm the same way. It's actually scary how much time i spend posting on here. My mom walks by and she's like talking to those piston people again? LOL

I need a life :)

Your Mom just doesn't know us like you do. On the other hand, she's probably chatting with Lee on her gardening forum and you don't even know it.

Happened to look at the Spurs - Celtics box score this morning. The Spurs lost by one but none of their players exceeded 37 minutes. As a matter of fact; Timmay only played 34 minutes. Even on the Boston side you can see PP and KG play 40 minutes but the rest of the team doesn't get to 30.

Celtics were getting blown out of the building in the first Q, too, and still won. Mighty tough team in Beantown.

Mighty tough team in Beantown.

That the Pistons are one last second foul call away from being down 0-3 to.

Your Mom just doesn't know us like you do. On the other hand, she's probably chatting with Lee on her gardening forum and you don't even know it.
:pound: :stirthepot: :) :sssh:

Still trying to play catch up on my reading but wanted to put in my two cents on this. I think part of the reason that people are bummed is because by not playing AJ and AA in games like this; you increase the odds of a mistake in the play offs. That is why it is so important to get them into games like these. So they won't make those mistakes we are afraid of; or at least decrease the odds of one.

Happened to look at the Spurs - Celtics box score this morning. The Spurs lost by one but none of their players exceeded 37 minutes. As a matter of fact; Timmay only played 34 minutes. Even on the Boston side you can see PP and KG play 40 minutes but the rest of the team doesn't get to 30.

Whose bench do you think will be more prepared come play off time??????
Every team is different. Spurs do not have any rookies to worry about in the rotation so their bench is much more experienced that ours and they do not have to devote the same amt of time developing anyone like we do.

But they just lost to both of the top East teams so it was not a great week for the Spurs.

Looks like the Spurs could use an Amir Johnson or a JMax to spice things up a bit. Our role models are looking lethargic.