New Jersey April 4th, 8:00 PM

TV- FSDHD, NBALP

The Nets come to town finding themselves 3 1/2 games out of the eighth and final playoff spot with seven games remaining, much to the dismay of those who picked the Nets to come out of the east - you can stick a fork in them!! The "zoo crew" looked good against the T-Wolves, lets see how they look against a more seasoned team.

Zoo crew gets less time against these guys. Flip won't do that every game.......

Zoo crew gets less time against these guys. Flip won't do that every game.......

Maybe not sit three of the regular starters, however, I believe the bench will see big minutes.

Maybe not sit three of the regular starters, however, I believe the bench will see big minutes.

Rip maybe sits - depends on injury, no need to take risks.

somehow i was able to sell this game on stubhub, even though i was unable to do so for any other game this year. and they paid a fair amount over face value. i dunno who, or why, but thanks.

somehow i was able to sell this game on stubhub, even though i was unable to do so for any other game this year. and they paid a fair amount over face value. i dunno who, or why, but thanks.

Maybe it was Jay Z and Beyonce. They wanted to give back to the community.....

somehow i was able to sell this game on stubhub, even though i was unable to do so for any other game this year. and they paid a fair amount over face value. i dunno who, or why, but thanks.

Yo Hog, that was me. I'm a HUGE Darrell Armstrong fan!

Yo Hog, that was me. I'm a HUGE Darrell Armstrong fan!
You gotta be, flying in all the way from Denver to watch this classic.

8.9 ZCDR {ZooCrew}
Stuckey gets 30.

Stuckey gets 30.
Is that cornbread dry, or are you drinking koolaid as well? ;) :D

how many does he get ?

He'll get 15~18 tonight.

Chat is open!!!

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

He'll get 15~18 tonight.

Not even close. He only got 14.

The way Stuckey rebounds I am starting to dream about how in five years or so he starts putting up Jason Kidd numbers....but hopefully shooting a higher percent.

Easy win over the Vince-less Nets, with Sheed and Dice on fire, a combined 16-23 for 36 points. Stuckey and Dixon both went for double figures off the bench, and for once the Zoo Crew held their own in garbage time instead of getting outscored by double figures! Aside from Ratliff not getting in the game, everyone who was dressed (Rip sat out) played between 15 and 29 minutes. Good solid game by pretty much everyone, with some posterizing dunks by Stromile Swift being about the only highlight for the Nets.

That was easy. No Rip, so Afflalo gets the start. And we start off with a very good defensive stand.

Dyess played quite a bit, what about 25 minutes. 19 points on about 9-12 shooting. Just about all midrangers. NJ chose not to guard Dyess much and he made them pay.

Tay played about the same. Of note, we used him as the point guard quite a bit to start the game.

Sheed scored inside and out. CB did some damage against Armstrong.
Stuckey dished out 9 assists and had 14 points. This included one jumper just inside the 3 point line. Most of his points were getting to the hoop. I am fairly sure thats a career high in assists for Stuckey, right after getting his career high in points last game. (27)

Afflalo scored very little, just played a lot of good D mostly. He did push the ball up the floor well here and there and got some assists.

Amir played all he could. He fouled out with a couple of minutes left in the game. Several rebounds. An offensive rebound putback off a missed foul shot. One score in the post. A couple of steals. Lots of hustle. I think he played pretty close to 20 minutes.

Maxiell played, though not a ton. One spactacular slam, several rebounds.

No Samb. No Theo. Hermann played the last 14 mintues of the game. Hermmann had a couple of scored around the basket, wowing the crowd a bit using those huge paws of his.

Hayes played, made some shots. Missed several too.

You want a shooter off the bench? Dixon looked pretty good as a guy who can score the ball at least. Yes, he is way short. But he can score, and he is quicker than Hayes. We could maybe put Afflalo as the backup small forward and play Dixon some at backup shooting guard. Anything has to be better than Hayes. (Although Herrmann did not exactly wow me on defense tonight either.)

Good win. We maintain a lead on the West teams in case we meet them in the NBA Finals. We play our main young guys plenty; good preparation for the playoffs. We play Prince at the point more to give us that option. We auditioned Herrmann extensively as a backup small forward. (I don't think that is the solution but at least its trying something different.) And of course, the fans at the Palace got to see a win. Always makes the trip more fun.

GO PISTONS!!!!!

Here is what I wrote before the game on how we should play our players. The game was not too far off the mark:

One, play Stuckey, Afflalo, JMAX, Amir, and Samb a lot.

Two, continue to rest all our starters a lot. Its ok if they play a little. But not ok if any play much more than 15 mintues.

Whether we do or do not play our starters, we can beat NJ. Playing NJ is no excuse to play any of our starters much.

Three, solve backup small forward. Hayes will not work there. He can't play defense. Sure, he tries his best, but he just can't do it. He is not going to hit enough jumpers to make up for all the points he would give up. Besides, we really have enough guys shooting jumpers as is without him adding to the problem. My solution: Play Amir at small forward. Defensively, we have used Amir as a small forward a lot. Why not just put him in there as a small forward and tell him to defend and rebound like Rodman use to. And of course, since he would be on the floor more, just maybe the team could run some plays for him too. He can score readily, if given some plays.

Four, play some of your extra players just in case you will be needing them. Herrmann, Hunter, and Dixon fall into this category. Who knows, one of them could end up playing some for us. By not playing the starters too much, there is plenty of time for these other guys. Of course, a win might not be possible if you play them too much.

Five. Keep playing Theo into shape. But not too much if you want to win. (Which is not that important. But everyone likes to see a win. Me included.)

Now, after the game, I will add this. Instead of playing Hayes, we could play Amir at small forward, leaving some time for Samb to play at center. Basically swapping Hayes minutes for Samb's minutes. Now, some people claim Samb is too llight to play proper defense. But how much worse can you get than Hayes in the defense department. Meanwhile, we would be adding a lot of shotblocking to our rotation. As for the shots Hayes makes, Samb can shoot the ball quite effectively himself 17 feet and in. And oh, his shot is pretty much unguardable.

Good win. We maintain a lead on the West teams in case we meet them in the NBA Finals. We play our main young guys plenty; good preparation for the playoffs. We play Prince at the point more to give us that option. We auditioned Herrmann extensively as a backup small forward. (I don't think that is the solution but at least its trying something different.) And of course, the fans at the Palace got to see a win. Always makes the trip more fun.


Thank you. Very few seem to realize that but it is very important.

Very entertaining game.

What is this odd fascination that some have with Walter Herman? He gets so many cheers.

Thank you. Very few seem to realize that but it is very important.

Very entertaining game.

What is this odd fascination that some have with Walter Herman? He gets so many cheers.

It is of importance. But minor. Far less important than getting the team ready. You got to win the East before you can get to the NBA Finals.

With our key young players getting lots of time, we continue to be on a path to win it all. No, I still do not trust Flip. I believe he would derail everything if given half a chance to do so. For now, things are going pretty darn good. I say everyone keep vigilant. Don't take things for granted.

It is of importance. But minor. Far less important than getting the team ready. You got to win the East before you can get to the NBA Finals.

With our key young players getting lots of time, we continue to be on a path to win it all. No, I still do not trust Flip. I believe he would derail everything if given half a chance to do so. For now, things are going pretty darn good. I say everyone keep vigilant. Don't take things for granted.

Flip already said that he's not afraid to use 10-11 player rotation in the playoffs. However, as I mentioned in one of my previous posts, I have to see it to believe it before I believe that he'll do just that instead of twitching and playing starters 40+min.

Stuckey = The Macrowave.

His jumpshot is officially not a weakness of his at this point. His range is limited, but that's OK, cause it keeps him interested in getting as close to the bucket as possible. He and Maxiell are pretty nice on the P&R.

No real point in analyzing that game. It was just fun. Dixon, Dyess, Sheed, and Stuckey were all pretty nifty.

I like the way that Flip is finishing the season out. Sit a couple guys each game, but still try to win.

Flip already said that he's not afraid to use 10-11 player rotation in the playoffs. However, as I mentioned in one of my previous posts, I have to see it to believe it before I believe that he'll do just that instead of twitching and playing starters 40+min.

Problem is that in PO-s you just cant waste time to see if hayes has a good night or not, same goes for dixon, maxiell, etc: if they do not produce something in 2-3 minutes and it reflects from overall score badly, they are out.

It is of importance. But minor. Far less important than getting the team ready. You got to win the East before you can get to the NBA Finals.

With our key young players getting lots of time, we continue to be on a path to win it all. No, I still do not trust Flip. I believe he would derail everything if given half a chance to do so. For now, things are going pretty darn good. I say everyone keep vigilant. Don't take things for granted.

You are getting all worked up over nothing.

Enjoyable game unless you were from New Jersey.

30 of 55 points in the first half from the starting frontline. Pretty good for a guard oriented team.

It was a bit of adventure in dribbling for Affalo last night. It seemed like the ball he was playing with had more air in it than the ball the others were using - he looked pretty unsteady. Nice D though and he was at least pushing the ball up.

You are getting all worked up over nothing.

Thats your opinion. And I hope it remains nothing. As long as Flip does not get a chance to mess it all up, there will be nothing to it. But if you are asking me to trust Flip, forget it. All I will continue to do is hope Dumars keeps control of the situation, and that Stuckey, Maxiell, Amir, and Afflalo all remain strongly in the rotation.

Thats your opinion. And I hope it remains nothing. As long as Flip does not get a chance to mess it all up, there will be nothing to it. But if you are asking me to trust Flip, forget it. All I will continue to do is hope Dumars keeps control of the situation, and that Stuckey, Maxiell, Amir, and Afflalo all remain strongly in the rotation.

Here is what we know.

1) When Rip is out Afflalo starts. AA starts not Hunter, not Dixon, so Afflalo is the 4th guard overall and Rips direct backup. In the post game Michael Curry was really talking up AA. I don't think he would be doing that if the staff did not take AA seriously. The Hunter comming back experiment has failed and has come to an end. Hunter will not soak up many mins at all from AA in the post-season.

2) Stucky knows how to score and will continue to get major mins no matter the competition.

Only question mark is Amir. Unless he can beat out Maxiel then he will continue to take a back seat to both him and Ratliff. I think Amir deserves consideration above Maxiel but thats another topic. At any rate, its a good problem to have - don't you think?

Flip has never had much of a bench before so I don't think its fair to judge him on the past 2 seasons.

Here is what we know.

1) When Rip is out Afflalo starts. AA starts not Hunter, not Dixon, so Afflalo is the 4th guard overall and Rips direct backup. In the post game Michael Curry was really talking up AA. I don't think he would be doing that if the staff did not take AA seriously. The Hunter comming back experiment has failed and has come to an end. Hunter will not soak up many mins at all from AA in the post-season.

We are well past the point that Hunter was pronounced to be taking over time. In front of our eyes something great has happened AA has kept improving day by day min by min to the point that he is not allowing the coaching staff to put him on the bench. This is what Darko never sniffed..... Its not about being given mins its about taking mins, playing so well that the coaching staff doesn't have a choice..

AJ is close to the same point, his only problem is that he plays at a position that Size does matter so its a bit harder for him to force the issue against the bigger 5's of the league.

Maybe some of the zoo crew won't play as much as people here want but every min they get on the court will be earned. Earned and basically ripped from older veterns with the knowledge and knowhow thru pure talent and attitude.

Its something that no matter how much folks here campaigned for Darko, Delfino, Dupree, and a host of other bench players we've had over the last 5 years never did.

Here is what we know.

1) When Rip is out Afflalo starts. AA starts not Hunter, not Dixon, so Afflalo is the 4th guard overall and Rips direct backup. In the post game Michael Curry was really talking up AA. I don't think he would be doing that if the staff did not take AA seriously. The Hunter comming back experiment has failed and has come to an end. Hunter will not soak up many mins at all from AA in the post-season.

2) Stucky knows how to score and will continue to get major mins no matter the competition.

Only question mark is Amir. Unless he can beat out Maxiel then he will continue to take a back seat to both him and Ratliff. I think Amir deserves consideration above Maxiel but thats another topic. At any rate, its a good problem to have - don't you think?

Flip has never had much of a bench before so I don't think its fair to judge him on the past 2 seasons.

Not that I will get into it right now, but I strongly disagree about Flip not having a bench the last two seasons.

Yes, it is looking less likely that Flip will remove Afflalo from the rotation. But no certainty. Dixon has been injured. (calf injury.) And Flip could quite unwisely go to a three man rotation at guard, cutting out any 4th guard.

As far as Hunter, we really don't know if he is even healthy, since he has never played extended / regular minutes at any point this season.

On Amir, there is always room in the rotation for a guy who can move that quick, with all that length and ups. I will accept no excuse at all for him not playing. Only in Flip's mind is there any competition between Amir and Maxiell. I won't accept that notion for a nanosecond.

this was another fun game to watch. i love that we're realizing that pushing the ball is a great idea. stuckey's floor vision has always been good, but it's looking even better now, and if that jumpshot keeps falling and his range keeps increasing, he's going to become special. afflalo's defense continues to impress...there was one possession where he forced jefferson into a bad shot, despite jefferson's size and athleticism, AA didn't back down.

not much else to say that hasn't already been said. great game.

We are well past the point that Hunter was pronounced to be taking over time. In front of our eyes something great has happened AA has kept improving day by day min by min to the point that he is not allowing the coaching staff to put him on the bench. This is what Darko never sniffed..... Its not about being given mins its about taking mins, playing so well that the coaching staff doesn't have a choice..

AJ is close to the same point, his only problem is that he plays at a position that Size does matter so its a bit harder for him to force the issue against the bigger 5's of the league.

Maybe some of the zoo crew won't play as much as people here want but every min they get on the court will be earned. Earned and basically ripped from older veterns with the knowledge and knowhow thru pure talent and attitude.

Its something that no matter how much folks here campaigned for Darko, Delfino, Dupree, and a host of other bench players we've had over the last 5 years never did.

Thats a good take. Just not enough mins to go around. You know player x should play more but when and where is the question.


As far as Hunter, we really don't know if he is even healthy, since he has never played extended / regular minutes at any point this season.

On Amir, there is always room in the rotation for a guy who can move that quick, with all that length and ups. I will accept no excuse at all for him not playing. Only in Flip's mind is there any competition between Amir and Maxiell. I won't accept that notion for a nanosecond.

Hunter is healthy as far as I can tell.

One thing Curry said in the post-game was that Afflalo does a lot of things that do not show up in the stat line. Last night he only had 2 points going way into the 2nd half.

Whats the difference between Curry when he played years ago and Afflalo now? I cannot see much of a difference.

If Stucky is the new Microwave then Afflalo is the new Curry.

Not that I will get into it right now, but I strongly disagree about Flip not having a bench the last two seasons.

Yes, it is looking less likely that Flip will remove Afflalo from the rotation. But no certainty. Dixon has been injured. (calf injury.) And Flip could quite unwisely go to a three man rotation at guard, cutting out any 4th guard.

As far as Hunter, we really don't know if he is even healthy, since he has never played extended / regular minutes at any point this season.

On Amir, there is always room in the rotation for a guy who can move that quick, with all that length and ups. I will accept no excuse at all for him not playing. Only in Flip's mind is there any competition between Amir and Maxiell. I won't accept that notion for a nanosecond.

You have your opinion but your ability to back it up is quite questionable: your tactic is basically "but this player from bench could/would..." It is very comfortable tactic: you can't prove it anyway, and when you cant prove it you can claim whatever you want.

Let's chill over a quiet game of golf..........


http://www.ibogleif.dk/spil/flashspil/minigolf/minigolf.swf


Helps to bring prespective to our lives. :)

Thats a good take. Just not enough mins to go around. You know player x should play more but when and where is the question.



Hunter is healthy as far as I can tell.

One thing Curry said in the post-game was that Afflalo does a lot of things that do not show up in the stat line. Last night he only had 2 points going way into the 2nd half.

Whats the difference between Curry when he played years ago and Afflalo now? I cannot see much of a difference.

If Stucky is the new Microwave then Afflalo is the new Curry.

You can't see the difference? Curry getting two assists in one game was rare. Curry getting two rebounds in a game was rare. Curry scoring more than two points in a game was rare. And his defense was horrid. Curry was so slow, the other teams planned their attack against him. Wherever Curry was, that is where they ran their play thru.

Not long after leaving us, we find Curry playing for O'Neil up in Toronto. At least O'Neil recognized how slow Curry was and played him at power forward. Which was a joke in itself, as Curry could not rebound. As Toronto was a team I was following at the time, I did not appreciate at all the decision to put him on the team, and I think Curry is why O'Neil was let go in Toronto and may have been part of why Carlisle had to go in Indiana. Curry simply could not play basketball anymore the last two years we had him, let alone the years in Toronto and Indiana. (briefly.)

Let's chill over a quiet game of golf..........


http://www.ibogleif.dk/spil/flashspil/minigolf/minigolf.swf


Helps to bring prespective to our lives. :)

That golf game was very frustrating, especially the 14th hole! :gun1::pound:

That golf game was very frustrating! :gun1::pound:

It's not that bad actually. Takes time to figure it out though.
:hoops:

You have your opinion but your ability to back it up is quite questionable: your tactic is basically "but this player from bench could/would..." It is very comfortable tactic: you can't prove it anyway, and when you cant prove it you can claim whatever you want.

If you want to talk about opinions, I got a question. Do you even have any opinions? Unless you do have a competing opinion to mine, then I can't see where we can really have a discussion.

For instance, right now I say that having Amir playing for us regularly in the rotation is more important to us vs. Theo playing in the rotation. However, I do like Theo, and think he has his place too. What is your opinion on that? (If you have one.)

If you want to talk about opinions, I got a question. Do you even have any opinions? Unless you do have a competing opinion to mine, then I can't see where we can really have a discussion.

For instance, right now I say that having Amir playing for us regularly in the rotation is more important to us vs. Theo playing in the rotation. However, I do like Theo, and think he has his place too. What is your opinion on that? (If you have one.)

I think that Amir is the future of this team and Theo is not. Theo is a current stop gap and the importance should be placed on developing Amir vs. integrating Theo in.

You can't see the difference? Curry getting two assists in one game was rare. Curry getting two rebounds in a game was rare. Curry scoring more than two points in a game was rare. And his defense was horrid. Curry was so slow, the other teams planned their attack against him. Wherever Curry was, that is where they ran their play thru.

Not long after leaving us, we find Curry playing for O'Neil up in Toronto. At least O'Neil recognized how slow Curry was and played him at power forward. Which was a joke in itself, as Curry could not rebound. As Toronto was a team I was following at the time, I did not appreciate at all the decision to put him on the team, and I think Curry is why O'Neil was let go in Toronto and may have been part of why Carlisle had to go in Indiana. Curry simply could not play basketball anymore the last two years we had him, let alone the years in Toronto and Indiana. (briefly.)

Is 0.7 APG rare? Thats what AA avgs. 1.7 RPG. Just because you say Curry was a poor defender does not make it true.

I think that Amir is the future of this team and Theo is not. Theo is a current stop gap and the importance should be placed on developing Amir vs. integrating Theo in.

I am not quit sure Theo is all the way there yet but there are 7 more games to go.

When it comes to the playoffs and "rotations' and minutes for Amir and AA, I just fail to waste time commenting. So let me try 'educating' instead.

1. NO TEAM HAS EVER GONE 16-0 TO WIN THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP!!
What that means is the Pistons, based on their winning pct., need to go at least 16-7 or 8 to be successful. The more games they lose AFTER THAT will dtermine how much MORE the bench will be needed.

2. WE ARE RESTING UP to get to the playoffs IN ORDER TO come out smoking in round 1 and in the first qtr. We need to handle our business early and IF we do, then we can get playoff expirience for Stuckey, Johnson and AA. Its totally up to Fab 5 to set the tone for this run.

3. I REFUSE TO BLAME FLIP for any playoff burn out this year. Looking back, it's been a 'good enough' season as far as setting things in place for a championship. The starters look fresh and the bench energetic. I actually prefer at least 32 MPG for each starter because if we sweep a series and have to wait 5 NBA DAYS for the next round to begin , those old legs won't get so stiff. I know when I go a couple of days not working out, that 3rd day is gonna be hell.

Countdown to fun has begun.....

I think that Amir is the future of this team and Theo is not. Theo is a current stop gap and the importance should be placed on developing Amir vs. integrating Theo in.

Dumars has tried to convince theo stay for one more year, so dumars sees need for it. Instead of bashing like theo-prevents-AJ-development I'd like to as a question: why dumars think theo is needed? Isn't he worried of AJ "underdevelopment"?

Is 0.7 APG rare? Thats what AA avgs. 1.7 RPG. Just because you say Curry was a poor defender does not make it true.

I did not say Curry was a poor defender. I said he was horrid. Far below poor. I study film for a hobby, and part of that is doing a lot of frame by frame. It would have been fun to note Curry still being stationary after several frames while everyone else was running past him, but this was the Pistons getting scored on because Curry was too slow to move. It was not funny, but rather just heartbreaking to watch.

Dumars has tried to convince theo stay for one more year, so dumars sees need for it. Instead of bashing like theo-prevents-AJ-development I'd like to as a question: why dumars think theo is needed? Isn't he worried of AJ "underdevelopment"?

Amir is no match for Dwight Howards of the league, and Sheed would be wearing out playing too much against such a foe. That is why Theo is here. Joe has to have someone playing Howard, Ilgauskas, Garnett, etc. That's why Theo is important for this year and next.

That golf game was very frustrating, especially the 14th hole! :gun1::pound:


Aim just to the left of the hole. Going uphill, so plan a strong shot.
I've got one hole-in-one on #14.:)

Let's chill over a quiet game of golf..........


http://www.ibogleif.dk/spil/flashspil/minigolf/minigolf.swf


Helps to bring prespective to our lives. :)
Thanks Nemo! That game kicks butt!

I had to go at the end of the 3rd Q.

Man it must suck to be a Nets fan. They are terrible.

I did not say Curry was a poor defender. I said he was horrid. Far below poor. I study film for a hobby, and part of that is doing a lot of frame by frame. It would have been fun to note Curry still being stationary after several frames while everyone else was running past him, but this was the Pistons getting scored on because Curry was too slow to move. It was not funny, but rather just heartbreaking to watch.

Well, Getting back to my original point. You need more than 4 points out of your starting shooting guard.

Thanks Nemo! That game kicks butt!

I had to go at the end of the 3rd Q.

Man it must suck to be a Nets fan. They are terrible.

I was surprised on how bad they were. They came out with that team and it never got any better.

Not even close. He only got 14.
I forgot he might chose to play a well rounded PG game. Here are his stats for this game:
14 pts
9 ast
5 rbs
1 stl
-2 T/Os
_______
27 value pts
So don't try and cheat him right when he's ready to blow up.:sssh:
He also had a couple BA and BS ???

Overall good game tonight.

The first quarter tonight featured Tay sliding over to the point forward position as a result, he was setting CB up up beautiful on a lot of the plays.

Seems as though the offense picked up a lot of speed with this scenario. This is also a scenario that we may see a lot of in the playoffs.

If anyone TIVO'd the game, you can see that Flip added in some new sets that I haven't seen this season. Flip is obviously experimenting and running some new plays.

AA, Dixon, AJ and Max looked good together along with Stuck.

This was one of the best offensive games in a while.

A telling sequence in this game came early on. Tay was guarding Jefferson and he and AA had to switch. AA bodied the heck out of Jefferson and denied him the ball. That wouldn't have happened with Rip. I continue to think that starting AA and bringing Rip off the bench is the big "what if?" of this season. Starting AA gives DET a little less sense of entitlement and a little more focus.