Tay's biggest CHANGE??? Knowing he won a gold medal for the uSA with 11 of the greatest players in the world.... NUFF SAID ..confidence.. ..is a MUTHAF$#@##$!
I got TOO buzzed to join in...wanted to focus JUST on this game...Great support Gang..I think I could actually HEAR D4E having an _______! LOL
you know what got to my nurves? that play was not in the top 10 plays of the day according to NBA tv. although Sheed's 3 was 6 best in the top 10
Just finished watching the game. 1. SHEED. I don't care about the bad nights. I want him on my team. 2. Is it finally time that we can admit, that in spite of all of the spawn of the devil stuff that Flip did, that not playing Amir wasn't even in his top ten. Which isn't to say that Amir shouldn't get enough minutes finally to determine what he can do on the court, but that perhaps he is still at best a situational player.
The Lakers forum that I read (forumblueandgold) had a great play by play of last night's game. Some excerpts: Good stuff Forum Blue And Gold
Lee you are 100% absolutely right. I will say this, there are things that he does not do (like play strong), that hurt us. Now, again, Amir has not lost us one single game. I think that the Curry's doghouse is nothing more than a teaching mechanism he uses for the non-veteran players. I don't think it is like Sloan's or LB's doghouse, where you have no clue as to why you're in it, how long you're going to be there, or when you'll get out of it. I believe Curry understands the importance of communicating his thoughts and/or concerns to the players. AA emerged a much better player (if that was possible) and so will Amir.
The Lakers game clarified a few things about this Piston team. First, Sheed, though deserving of much criticism he received over the summer, is still far and away our best big man even at age 34. Amir, Maxiel, ect, are not even close. Sorry, no comparison. Kwame did a little what Ben used to do. Sheed for once, was not all alone banging underneath the hoop. Having someone who can body up next to Sheed made a big difference. Second, Tay, again deserving of some criticism over the summer, is as close to an all star as you can get. His overall game is at an incredibly high level. Joe understood his value to the team by not pulling the trade trigger. Third: Don't know how good Curry is but he is not afraid. He sits players who he feels are not performing. I have seen him pull Rip, Amir, Maxiel and Hermann the last few games. Maybe people don't agree with his moves, but a good coach has to do that based on his own perceptions. I don't have an opinion on Maxiel or Amir interms of how they will pan out. Their performance so far underneath the hoop has not been at a level sufficient to beat a team like the Celtics. I will be the first to jump in when and if that happens. But for me, it is the Piston team that counts not any individual. So far, Maxiel looks like he has regressed a bit the last few games. Amir just hasn't produced the boards or provided the bulk we need down low. That was just one game for Kwame. And Dyss and Sheed are a slow pair. Either the youth (Amir and Maxiel) develops (I hope so), Kwame plays big (that would be something) or Joe will have to make a move. The Pistons are exceptional at other positions but a bit soft underneath. Boston and Cleveland will be tougher than the Lakers. Finally, Afflalo hit some key shots. That is a real happening. I have been gauging his offense. He had not been scoring in the flow of the half court. But he hit two big shots against the Lakers. That makes his play far more meaningful because his offense is not taking away from his defense. At UCLA, he has always showed great defense.
Great win, team did not seem tired at all. Still getting used to Curry's rotations. Not sure yet if he is a genius or an idiot. We are winning with it so time will tell. Why didn't Amir play? Kind of surprising.
I think it is pretty clear that Amir would just take a pounding down there with the 3 LA bigs. This was a good decision by MC.
Can we stop referring to the "behemoths" LA roles out there as long as one of them is Pau Gasol and antother is Odom?
Let's get married j/k LOL AA has always shown the ability to hit shots in the clutch even last year. It's just the rest of the games he has trouble with. Also i think Amir is getting the same treatment AA did after he blew assignments. Hopefully he comes back just as strong, and gets the chance. I thought he looked a little dissappointed on the bench last night. IIRC, he's from LA. Curry didn't even play him WH minutes.
For those who believes AI ballhogs and need at least 20 shots to get his scoring averages, well he only took 12 shots in this game. Could have a double double if Rip makes 50% of his shots. 23 assts for this game. Despite Lakers having two 7 footers, we only got outrebounded by 1. This is a team effort and we definitely won this game by playing team defense. Great job. Rip has been a turnover prone (5 TOs) ever since the trade in addition of not shooting well. If Rip can be Rip, we can really roll. Without CB, seems like all other starters asst numbers has increased, esp Tay and Rip. That's a good sign as it shows that our offense is not as predictable as before.
I'm curious to see AI against a defensive PG or a team that won't let him get into the paint. Luckily (or unluckily), we've got CLE/BOS coming up. his shooting % looked nice, but it was against Derek Fisher and Jordan Farmar.
There isn`t a team out there that AI can`t be effective against. You are talking about a guy that have won what, 3 scoring titles? Thing is he demands so much attention that even if he is not scoring he can provide an oppurtunity for Rip, Tay and Sheed to have easier than usual scoring chances.
