20 games with Iverson

These first quarter leads... its why I am leaning towards saying small ball so to speak can work. I want to see how we play folks the 2nd time around before I make a more solid stance... But I think the AI and Rip can't play together is starting to go away.... if somebody goes to the bench at this point its going to have to be Prince.

2nd This.... and he's had a couple so so games in the last 2 weeks, lets see how he's playing later in the season... AI has played full out his whole career. I wonder if Billups can keep up the fountain of youth or its just a temp bump in his play.

I still don't like the trade, but i feel alot better about it now than i did originally. Maybe it's b/c the small ball is so headache inducing; i don't have any energy left to think about anything else LOL

Seriously though, i like the team going forward, and hope we learn to use the personnel better.

They say the team's personality is a reflection of the coach. Maybe that's something Curry is doing right.

The whole point of the trade was to release Stuck. It's supposed to be his team now
[just like it was CB's, it'll be a different kind of snorefest, {for those whom winning became a snorefest}] if only the coach would give him the reigns !

Ironically, UTAH seems to be us. Steady every year knocked out in the WCF. I wonder how their fans feel.

I couldnt agree more ros. It seems to me that we actually are starting to develop an identity and a system with A.I. in place. We have the whole season to "practice with A.I. in the lineup and I really do believe by the all star break or just after we will be a very tough team to beat.

BTW, chauncey was my favorite piston by far and I still love the trade. The team is more important than any one player and sometimes leaders (joe d) have to make moves that benefit the team both long term and short term even if they are unpopular at the time. Same thing with Curry playing different players and lineups in crucial moments of the game to expose these guys to pressure situations.

Its not about Ws and Ls right now its about being well prepared to play in the playoffs no matter who we play. I think that is the concept most people are having a hard time dealing with right now. They look at Ws and Ls for the most part and thats all that matters.

The comparison isn't very apt. Since Stockton and Malone retired/moved on, Utah has only been in the playoffs twice (the past two seasons) and in the WCF just once (two seasons ago).

Since the Pistons last made the finals, the closest comparison you could make to a western team, in terms of playoff performance, would probably be Phoenix.

Since the Pistons last made the finals, the closest comparison you could make to a western team, in terms of [STRIKE]playoff performance[/STRIKE] style of play, would probably be Phoenix.

AI out rebounds a guy 3 in. taller !
Ah, win % please.

I think with the 20 games that he has been here, I have seen some good things with this team that will help in the long run. Like how he gets to the paint and can get fouls from the opposing teams' frontcourt or backcourt, how he is mentally and physically tough in the game and how he put his all out on the court. Also how this team is trying to become as tough as he is and how well they have somewhat adjusted to him. We won't get into the bad things I see that can hurt us in the long run....just to many to talk about.

In my mind, this is only partially true and less than a third of a full wine glass.

First, and foremost, it was to get out of huge time frame that would only interfere with flexibility to move via team changes and cap room. They do go hand-in-hand.

Second, the ability to break a mold that took over this club's perception on how to finish. There was this dependency to feel group comfort and solidarity on finding ways of clouding adaption. To change, does not necessarily mean to embrace the new or to it's opposite, to fight it. It is in a sense to find another route, to plan, analyze and embrace what once worked. All options and this finally dawned on JD, were now closed like so many submarine modules closed because of similar compartments. And you ask why we now have no bench, or to ask who are they? Could be why Curry is throwing everything (in the beginning) sort of topsy-turvy.

Freud once suggested that if one wished to discover the nature of a hidden impulse, one had only to frame the question in negative form: What does the dream clearly not mean? What is the least likely thing...

Do you see what he's getting at?

One big difference is their eFG's, because CB maintains a higher overall % while shooting a ton of 3's... and still getting to the FT line almost as often in fewer minutes.

Billups's eFG is .524
AI is .461.

So, for every 7 shots they both attempt, CB comes out 1 point ahead. Last game, AI attempted 21+ shots. That 3 point savings on offense would have helped us avoid an OT. Defensively, we may have saved some points too. We'd save about 2 points with the turnover differential between them per game on average.


Billups currently leads the Nuggets in:
Production
Net production
On court +/-
Off court +/-
Roland Rating.

And it's not by a little. Denver Nuggets NBA stats and data from 82games.com

He's about as efficient as a PG can be.

(by the way, Samb is shooting .167 since the trade)

AI is up there on our team in most of these categories as well. And it's not a coincidence that he is quickly rising in these silly stats as his play has appeared to improve over the last 5 games.