Death, by 3 point shot. Orlando protects home court – beat Pistons 90-79
If you follow my twitter feed (shameless plug here), you would see that I was counting down the minutes until Orlando started hitting their 3 point shots. Orlando struggled with their 3 point shooting for the better part of the game, shooting 5-15 from 3 until early in the 4th quarter. Orlando, behind the strong shooting of JJ Redick and Mickael Pietrus, finished the game by hitting 5 of their final 9 attempts from 3, to finish overall 10-24 from behind the long line.
I really have a deep dis-like for Dwight Howard, almost as deep as my dis-like for LeBron James, so when he gets a technical foul while playing against Detroit it makes my night. I don’t know why I dis-like Howard, to be honest. I think it’s because he’s begged and pleaded for respect from the officials, on top of stealing Shaquille O’Neal’s nickname and overall just being a clown. My friend, Brian Spaeth, calls him “Sillycape” because of his antics at the NBA Dunk Contest the last 2 seasons. Anyway, enough whining about superstars that aren’t on our roster:
- Congratulations to Ben Wallace, who became the
3rd4th active player in the NBA to grab 10,000 rebounds. We all know Ben’s story, so there’s no reason to re-hash here. Ben didn’t start off his career with the pomp and circumstance of Shaq or Tim Duncan (or Kevin Garnett) – so for him to finally get to 10,000 rebounds really shows the effort he has put into his game night in and night out. Well done, Mr. Wallace. - Doesn’t it seem like Jameer Nelson always struggles against the Pistons? Tonight he scored 9 points on 4-12 shooting and 9 assists. (He averages just over 12 points a game against Detroit in his career, on 45% shooting)
- Jason Maxiell starts again, and plays 22 minutes but only has 1 rebound.. oh and, speaking of rebounds…
- Detroit outrebounded again, 41-36.
- Greg Monroe played about as well as you can expect a rookie that received his first extended playing time of his short career. In 24 minutes on the floor, Monroe played Dwight Howard tough in the paint while scoring 4 points and pulling down 4 rebounds. Monroe also blocked 2 shots, including a fast break block on a layup attempt by Jameer Nelson after he had just laid out on the floor for a loose ball the previous possession.
- Redick and Pietrus were 5-11 from behind the long line.
- The game was close for 3 and a half quarters. Poor rotation on D killed the Pistons in the end.
- No Austin Daye?
- Tayshaun Prince continues his solid streak of play as of late – 16 points on 7-12 shooting and a couple of dagger 3′s after some good ball movement during the possessions.
Photo/Getty Images
- Dwight Howard was virtually invisible on the offensive end. He put up 8 shots, and score 9 total points. Monroe and Ben Wallace locked him down pretty good.
- One of the best Pistons plays all season via NBA.com
Tough way to lose, if you ask me. The ball movement was crisp, the defensive rotations were on point it’s just… it wasn’t enough to overcome the Magic and their ability to shoot the 3 ball tonight. I think Austin Daye could’ve helped the team tonight, in a matchup against Rashard Lewis. I believe Ben Gordon couldn’t get comfortable out on the court with the taller defenders leaning on him all night. The screens weren’t real crisp, Hamilton and Gordon got hung up in their man while waiting for a screen to be set or their man jumped in front of the screener before they could curl.
The Pistons don’t have a chance to sit back and think about this loss though, because tomorrow night they’re going to go up against Joel Anthony and the Miami Heat. Miami is coming off of some pretty bad losses recently and are no longer really on pace to be the best team in the history of the NBA (not to mention the players are pushing the coaches around now too). It’ll be a tough game for the Pistons but, with the Heat’s recent struggles and the much overhyped “Homecoming” for LeBrick LeTravel LeCrabDribble LeWhine LeJerk LeBron James, Detroit is in prime position to squeak one out.
