The Pistons handed the Orlando Magic their first loss of the season Tuesday night at the Palace of Auburn Hills.  Not only where the Pistons without Richard Hamilton again, Tayshaun Prince finally missed a game after starting 496 straight.  Great guard play all around for Detroit led by the gutsy play off Will Bynum after he returned from a poke in the eye from Marcin Gortat and made some key plays down the stretch to lead Detroit to a 80-85 victory.

Key points:

• Though the crowd was sparse at the Palace, the Pistons had the crowd rocking from tip to buzzer.
• 17 minutes from Superman, who finally fouled out on in the fourth on a Bynumite drive.
• 63 combined points from Gordan, Stuckey and Bynum.
• When did white chocolate land in Orlando?
• Jonas Jerebko who became the first Swedish born player to start and NBA took Tayshaun Prince’s spot in the lineup.  Jerebko was 0-for-5 but grabbed 5 boards and was hustling all night long.
• Things got scrappy in the second half when both teams got physical with their fouls.  Could it have started with the Stuckey throw down on Dwight that sent him to the locker room? Possibly, but how can 50 Cent hurt Superman…really.  Hard fouls back and fourth, especially one  from Jameer Nelson on Will Bynum. Even J.J. Reddick got into the mix.
• If your counting that’s 4 straight wins against the Magic.
• It’s getting a little better for Charlie V. Villanueva scored 12 with an assist and grabbed 8 boards.  He’s looking like he’s really getting used to Detroit Basketball.
• First NBA points  for Austin Daye in his 4 minutes on court.
• Prince will be sidelined for at least three games before his status is re-evaluated this weekend.
• I can’t tell you how many times we are going to hear “Rip and Tay or just Tay or just Rip…..should be traded”  just stop now. It’s one game and we are 4 games into the season.
• Great night for Rodney who was one rebound shy of a double-double. Stuck put up 20 points with 9 boards, 3 assists and a steal.

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• Don’t worry about Rodneys’ assists… though the ball movement was ok at times, the Pistons only had 8 total all game.  Will this team have assist issues all season long…probably not.
• Ok, I did read this stat right: Orlando was 10-for-35 from three point land… that’s a ton of threes.  Meanwhile the Pistons were 0-for-6 on the night.
• No play at all for Jason Maxiell, is he in the doghouse with Kuester too?
• By far win or lose and despite the absence of Rip and Tay, this was the best the Pistons have played in a long, long time.  I’m talking current or past lineup.  Hard fought, gritty basketball was the key and Detroit did everything they had to do to pull it out.
• On a night that I thought the bigs would have had to step up, it was the guards who had big nights.  They not only put up big numbers, they got the Magic in foul trouble.
• Ben Gordon was great again, leading the team with 23 points, 5 boards, 3 assists  and a steal.  He’s stepping up and taking doing what he’s got to do when the Pistons need buckets.  And guess what …he makes ‘em. He was 6-for-10 from the floor and 11-for-11 from the line.

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• Eight total points from the Piston Bigs on the night.
• Pistons went to the line 38 times and made 31 to Orlando’s 12-for-16 from the line. Thank the Pistons guards for driving the lane all night long.
• Great play from Ben Wallace again, who scored just 2 but grabbed 10 boards with 2 steals and 2 blocked shots. Best of all he was fired up…just like old times.
• I have to say I really like Dwight Howard, but he’s defiantly one of those players who’s face always looks like he never committed a foul in his life.
• Orlando led 41-38 at the half but the Pistons (finally with a good third quarter) made a game of it the rest of the way.
• I am not kidding you when I tell you the last few minutes of the game was electrifying at the Palace. When it was clear that we were going to pull it out I was simply WOWed.
• Not only did Bynum come back, he drove the lane hard on Dwight, sacrificing his already bruised body (eye) and forced Howard to foul out.  With his 20 points on the night he clearly was the player of the game, especially what he had to do to get it.  His basket in the closing minute was the dagger.

Video Courtesy of The NBA and The Detroit Pistons

• Crazy hand for Will Bynum who came back from a horrible poke in the eye from Gortat. He looked like he wasn’t even going to be able to stand up at first, let alone come back in the game. And looking at the replay when I returned from the game it was worse than on Palace Vision. That’s what I call Superman!
• Oh, and was that a tackle on Will, Jameer?

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• Rebound war won 44-41.
• Great win, things came together and the team gave Pistons fans something to cheer about.
• Thanks go out to my Twitter followers who (in a matter of seconds) let me know why Tayshaun didn’t start last night and what exactly happened to Will Bynum when he went down.  Love going to the games, but when you have no idea what Blaha and Kelser are saying it can be frustrating.  I know you have my back, so thanks.
• Highlights from the game

The 1-2 Pistons look to put an end to their two game slide with a win of the 2-0 Magic tonight in Auburn Hills.  They have three important things going against them tonight.

• No Rip
• Dwight Howard
• and Sheed (Dwight Stopper) is balling for Bean Town.

“The Pistons probably will be without Hamilton the next two games — definitely tonight’s home contest against the Magic and likely Wednesday’s game at Toronto.

Hamilton hurt his ankle with 5 minutes left in the season opener at Memphis on Wednesday. An initial X-ray proved negative. The Pistons took another X-ray as a precaution when he returned to Detroit, and it also was negative. Still, there was significant swelling and bruising, and Hamilton was placed in a walking boot because he could hardly put any pressure on the ankle. ”

“Howard is going to get his, so you just got to keep throwing bodies at him,” Pistons center Kwame Brown said. “You just keep having enough big buys to throw at him and foul him in certain situations and send him to the free-throw line.”

Via The Detroit Free Press

The Magic be without Vince Carter (ankle) and Mickael Pietrus (flu-like illness) as well as Rashard Lewis (suspension)

Tip off is at 7:30 at the palace and will locally broadcast on Fox Sports and while your watch use the NBA’s TV Companion. If you can’t watch the game on television, tune into my buddy Matt Dery on the radio at 950 AM WWJ. Can’t do either follow live over at NBA.com.

The Pistons did a little Halloween video and asked the player about their least favorite candy they used to get when they went Trick or Treating.

Rip was not happy with fruit and Big Ben prefers traditional candy.  Poor Jason….

They played it on Palace Vision during opening night during a timeout and the bench was glued to the tube, they even poked a little fun at Jason after his part.  I hope he didn’t think the soap was a bar of white chocolate and give it a bite.

We also got a gander of Rodney Stuckey’s special Skeleton kicks he wore on court Saturday night.

For the second consecutive night the Pistons controlled the first half and came out lifeless after the break. That’s two giveaways,  as Detroit lost to the Bucks in Milwaukee’s season opener 85-96.

Key Points:

• If you missed this game and caught the Pistons home opener then just check this off the list.  Saturday night’s loss was almost identical to what went wrong at the Palace against the Thunder.
• Ben said it best: “We can’t afford to come out and take off the first five minutes,” said Ben Wallace, who finished with eight points and 10 rebounds. “We got ourselves into a dogfight and they took advantage of it.” Via The Detroit News
• Pistons aside, go pick up Brandon Jennings in your fantasy teams.  Not only did this rookie almost put up a triple-double the other night he pretty much  single-handedly turned a 49-38 halftime deficit into a 74-63 lead going into the fourth. He scored 14 points during a 19-4 run, and he had 16 points in the quarter. This likely rookie of the year dropped 24 total on Detroit and was fun to watch.  He put Stuckey to shame a couple times down the floor, specifically in the third when Rodney went in for a floater that missed and Jennings picked up his rebound, took it to the other end and put up a left handed floater right back in Stuck’s face.
• “I’m very pleased with our defensive effort,” Kuester said. “We’ll get better offensively before it’s all over.” Via The Detroit Free Press.
• Second half failure on offense and defense.  The Pistons allowed the Bucks a free reign  to score 36 points and shoot 68.4% in the third quarter.
• Why the Bucks crowd felt the need to boo Charlie Villanueva is beyond me.  He didn’t leave and go to a rival for more money, the Bucks never offered him a contract.  Give the guy a break .  Charlie scored 12 points on 4-8 shooting with 6 boards in 23 minutes on the floor.  He helped spark the listless Pistons in the fourth quarter.  Charlie V foul watch – 5 on the night.

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• No Blaha on the broadcast, they didn’t tell us why, but he was likely filling his MSU responsibilities.  Mark Champion did a fine job on the call.
• I’m wondering if  Charlie V a good three point shooter, because he sure is taking a ton of them.
• Say what you will about Kwame Brown, he puts so much effort out every game that it’s refreshing. He finished with 4 boards and a steal.
• Burn for Jonas Jerebko, who I have noticed at the home games is the girls replacement for Goldie Locks himself Walter Herrmann.  His first name is Jonas but he’s got some fans in Detroit that would rival the Jonas Brothers. Jonas played six minutes and picked up 2 fouls and 2 boards.
• I always get a kick out of watching Carlos Delfino playing against Detroit no matter what team he’s on.  He always has something to prove and does whatever he can to make his point, good or bad.  He’s starting for the Bucks and I wish him well, but the Pistons usually get the best of him. Delfino finished with 5 points on 2-for-7 shooting.
• Jason Maxiell had the Milwaukee crowd wowed with a thunder dunk.  Remember when Maxie would come in and spark the team with making plays?  Maybe it came back against the Bucks.  Two ridiculous back to back blocks at end of the first half for Jason.
• They mentioned on the broadcast that the Guards are carrying the scoring load.  Isn’t that what we expected?  Or are we going to rely on Kwame and Ben?  Tayshaun and Charlie have to help the little guys out.
• Stuckey scored 13 points on 6-for-19 shooting, looked good in the first half as you can tell from the nice effort and and one below but had difficulties with Jennings and poor shot selection after the break.  Give him credit for 8 assists, something Pistons fans were worried about.  I am a fan of Rodney but sometimes his decisions to drive the lane in the crowd and get stuffed by the big men wears me down.

Video Courtesy of The NBA and The Detroit Pistons

• Big Ben Wallace had another great night for the Pistons, just 2 points shy of a double-double with 10 boards and 8 points on the night.
• NO Wilcox or Daye?  I think we needed Chris to give us some inside presence, especially since the front court want really able to do much.
• You can see how everything just stopped in the second half by the assist stat.  Detroit had 12 at the half and 17 on the night.
• Outrebounded 26-29.
• Ben Gordon led the Pistons again with 26 points on 8-for-15 shooting with 3 assists and 2 boards.  Who says the guy plays no D, Gordon statch the ball 3 times against Milwaukee and has been looking like he’s trying to fit into Detroit’s (used to be) defensive mold.

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• Will Bynum 10 points, 2 assists and a board in 20 minutes.
• We need a bit more from Tayshaun, especially with Rip out.  He scored 12 on 6-for-12 shooting with 3 assists and 2 boards.  I’m not asking him to put up 20 a night, though I know he can, he just needs to spark the team when he’s on the floor.
• It’s like a Jekyll and Hyde thing, fun to watch in the first half and a nightmare in the second.
• Hopefully the two days of “rest” will help Detroit straighten things out before they host Dwight Howard and the Magic Tuesday night.
• Even if you don’t want to, watch the highlights simply to enjoy the talent that rookie Brandon Jennings displayed Saturday night. Still waiting on the NBA to post them, but here are the first half highlights.

As I was catching up on my Tweeting, I noticed this from Charlie Villanueva “feeling like crap today, I’m so sick right now.” That was twittered today at 11 AM, hopefully that’s the reason for his woes on court. Feel better @CV31, we need you.

The Pistons are in Milwaukee tonight, hopefully to bounce back from the pretty ugly home opening loss against the Thunder last night.

Richard Hamilton will not be in uniform again for the Pistons.  Without Rip in the lineup last night the Pistons shot 37.1 percent from the field, but Ben Gordon filled in and scored 25 points while starting  Rip’s spot.

Tip is at 8:30 pm and will broadcast on FSN. If you can’t catch the game on television, tune into the call on AM 950 wwj or the game cast over at NBA.com.

Since it’s Halloween…I’ll wish you a Happy one,  and add this image I pulled from The Pistons.com splash screen.  Hmmmm…. Does any of that look familiar?  It’s Stuctacularly Bynumite if you ask me.

As always, The Detroit Pistons 2009-2010 Detroit Pistons Introductions followed by a very heartfelt dedication to Pistons owner and Member of the Basketball Hall of Fame Bill Davidson.

Ben Wallace with a HUGE ovation and being there I can tell you that he had to have felt the love in the building.  Ben Gordon, who started in place of the injured Richard Hamilton got a nice ovation, but overall I was impressed by the love for Will Bynum….BYNUMITE.

No Sheed, no post intro dance, that I missed.

Straight off their opening night win in Memphis, The Detroit Pistons take the court tonight at The  Palace to take on the Oklahoma Thunder in their first home game of the season.

Forget the fact that Kevin Durant will be in town, Pistons fans have other things to worry about, the 2009-2010 Palace introductions.  We don’t know what they will have in store for us, but you can bet the crowd will go crazy as soon as the lights are dimmed and the fire begins to pulse.

I’m pretty sure they will be a lot different from the 2008-2009 season intros.

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And I’ll bet that Ben Wallace will have a hero’s welcome.

We also don’t know if Mason will be announcing Ben Goooorrrrrrdon (Ba Ba Ben is already reserved for Wallace) during the intos with Rip being questionable after his ankle sprain that occured late in the game on Wednesday night in Memphis.

“That’s the crazy part about it,” Hamilton said. “I think I’ve had three (ankle sprains) my whole life. So I know when I do it, twist my ankle, I know it’s pretty bad.”
After the game, Detroit’s medical officials opted to keep Hamilton’s right ankle taped up in hopes of compressing the swelling.
“I’ve been locked up all night since it happened,” Hamilton said. “We haven’t really taken the tape off to get a good look at it. We’ll see.”
If Hamilton can’t play, the most likely replacement in the starting lineup would be Ben Gordon, who scored 22 points in his Pistons debut Wednesday. Via MLive

Tip off is at 8:00 PM with the festivities starting on FS Detroit at 7:30 with the pre-game show.  If you can’t catch the game on television, tune in on the radio at 9.71 The Ticket or follow the game at NBA.com.

I’ll be in the building for my 10th consecutive home opener for the Pistons (yes I count, and I missed 1998 because of the flu).  You may even get a few game Tweets from me inside the building, so make sure you follow me on Twitter.

The rest I will leave to you in the comments.

DEEEETROIT BASKETBALLLLL!

The new players impressed and the seasoned ones did the rest. The Pistons pummeled the Memphis Grizzlies in the season opener 96-74, led by 25 from Rip Hamilton while Ben Gordon added 22.  The big question has been could the two exist together, and I think they answered that one emphatically with 47 points between them.

Key Points:

• The Defense?  Well it didn’t look that bad, holding the Grizz to just 74 was a nice way to start.
• I mentioned before that Charlie Villanueva was a little (and that’s being nice) lax on playing “D” but he looked like he was really trying to step it up before he got into very early foul trouble. Let’s hope that’s not an issue.
• Coach Kuester started his tenure with Detroit the right way.
• This was the team I was hoping to see this season.
• First official points from Ben Gordon as a Piston… leaning glass gunner with the shot clock expiring. Four point play,  followed by a buzzer beater at the quarter. Ben impressed with 22 points on 7-12 shooting in 25 minutes on the floor.

Video Courtesy of The NBA and The Detroit Pistons

• You know how it feels for Pistons fans to see Sheed on the hated Celtics. Well just bask in the glory that Bulls fans are killing themselves right now watch Ben Gordon don the red, blue and white!
• Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon’s first Pistons points – triples.
• I love the George Blaha (don’t we all?) poster in Memphis…priceless
• Bynum is really trying to cement this whole point guard position. Bynumite with 5 points, 5 boards and 7 assists in 23 minutes.
• Rip tweaked his ankle late in the game after a very impressive performance. Hopefully he will be just fine. I was worried about him as the game started as well as the preseason but he looked great. He loses his ducktail and he gets his shot back, coincidence? I think not.
• Ben Wallace back to his “Big Ben” status? Fear the fade?

Photo/Getty Images

• Wallace not only started for Detroit, but he was very impressive making his defensive presence felt while making it contagious to his teammates. Ben finished with 9 boards, a blocked shot and 3 points in 28 minutes.  Pleasant surprise…
• Rodney Stuckey 12 points on 6-for-10 shooting with three assists and two boards.  I’m hoping his assists are better this season, but either way I think he’s going to be substantially better than last season.
• Tayshaun Prince looked good with 14 points, 5 boards and 3 assists in 31 minutes.
• Will rebounds be a problem? Probably – Pistons outboarded 39-49.
• I was thinking that Rip’s ego might be a little bruised by Ben Gordon but the fact that Gordon scored the coveted Dr. Rahmani commercial was like writing it in stone.  That’s Rip’s gig, my man.
• Rip started slow but totally stole the show with 25 points on 10-for-19 shooting with 4 assists and 3 boards.  Great start for Rip who was looking a little confused during the preseason.

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• I’m hoping Jason Maxiell really plays the way I think he can play. Maxi with 2 points, 6 boards and a ton of hustle in 14 minutes on the floor.
• 51% shooting on the nigh – WOW.
• Charlie V started the game and scored 7. A great dunk but he’ll have to watch the fouls.
• No Austin Daye or Jonas Jerebko, (The Second coming of Detroit Bad Boys) who were both suspended for their skirmishes in the preseaon.  Pistons dressed just 10 players.
• 37% for three.
• Highlights of the Game

• Nice way to make Pistons fans feel after the mess that was last season.
• I can’t wait to see what the crowd is like Friday night at the Palace. Ben Wallace with a serious ovation during the intros I predict.

This is what Pistons fans have been waiting for since Detroit’s early departure in the playoffs last season.  Let’s leave the mess behind us and get to the good stuff.

Detroit is in Memphis to take on the Grizzles for their season opener tonight at 8pm.  You’re opening night linup is.

• Rodney Stuckey
• Rip Hamilton
• Tayshaun Prince
• Charlie Villanueva
• Ben Wallace

Yes, Big Ben will be the Pistons starting center.

Tip off is at 8:00 PM and will be broadcast on FS Detroit with pregame festivites starting at 7PM.  Can’t watch live? Listen on the radio over at 9.71 The Ticket or follow the gamecast over at NBA.com.

I’m excited, so I’m sure you will get a few choice Tweets out of me during the game.

To an eventful and action packed season!  Leave em in the comments.

It’s rare that I post something like this, but I know that many of you appreciate Pistons memorabilia and if this isn’t a wonderful cause I don’t know what is.

HELP MICHIGAN UNDERGRADS BATTLING CANCER:

“From now through the end of the 2009 Michigan football season, the Bernard “Pat” Maloy Cancer Scholarship Online Auction will be open for bidding at http://www.umich.cmarket.com . Two hundred items, most of which are autographed University of Michigan football, hockey, basketball, and baseball memorabilia will be auctioned off with the proceeds benefiting the Maloy Scholarship which is given to Michigan undergraduate students who either have cancer or whose direct family members have been so affected.

The Maloy Scholarship is named after Professor Bernard “Pat” Maloy who taught at the University of Michigan’s School of Kinesiology from 1986 through his passing of esophageal cancer in 2001. The Scholarship was created in 2007 by a group of eleven of Professor Maloy’s former students (including Tyrone Wheatley, the former Michigan running back standout) and Professor Maloy’s widow Nora Maloy. In three short years the Scholarship committee has managed to raise nearly $175,000 and will have its first student attending Michigan on a Maloy Scholarship this fall. The goal is to be able to award a four year $5,000 scholarship every fall to a deserving student who has financial need.”

There are a few Pistons items, so if you want to get a Rasheed Wallace Autographed Jersey or a Rip Hamilton Signed Basketball here is your chance.

Add a Detroit Tigers page and a Red Wings page and Detroit Fans are set.

• Bynumite impressed coach Kuester “I went after him specifically to say how much I was impressed with him,” Kuester said. “He changed the complexion of the game with his energy and scoring.” This season, Kuester sees a similar role for Bynum, a “spark plug” type of player off the bench who can change the flow of a game. “A person that’s not going to sit and let the offense come to him but he’ll attack offensively and defensively,” Kuester said.
• Bynum looking to breakout in his contract year. I see good things to come from Will, who’s been such a pleasant surprise in the D.
• Kwame Brown on Ben Wallace “Anybody that can play defense like that, I’m going with the mind-set that I can learn from him and take something from his game and add it to my game.”
• More Allen Iverson Drama over at ESPN “They told me, straight up, ‘Allen we would never disrespect you or your career like that’ by making me come off the bench,” You know Allen, Pistons fans seem to recall a promise you made when you TOOK Chauncey’s spot and his number that you would do whatever it took to win a championship in Detroit.  If that’s skipping practice, bitching about playing time, and tanking your season when things didn’t go your way…..good luck to you in Memphis, you’re dead to us in Motown.
• Laimbeer getting used to being an NBA Coach. “It’s a good feeling to see the guys respond to what I’m saying,” Laimbeer said. “This is something I’ve always wanted to do. A lot has changed since I played, but it’s still basketball, and it’s still about responsibilities.”
• Dumars latest moves fall flat according to SI. Still talking about the cap space and 2010, did any of you think these moves would put us in Championship contention without another move made? Frankly I see it as a considerable upgrade to the mess last season.
• Kuester starts camp in the D with D.
• Daye, Summers and Jerebko fighting for playing time.
• Does anyone else get the feeling Rip is not happy to still be wearing a Pistons uni?  Did you see his face in the Media Day photo’s? That’s not a happy camper. Plus I have update his toon with the new fauhawk.

Photo/Getty Images

• Regardless, he took the time out to speak to Detroit area High School Students.
• More long range shots from the tall fellas?
• Great interview with Amir Johnson (audio) over at HoopsAddict.
• For those of us who remember him fondly…..A Fennis Dembo update.

From the desk of Matt Dery over at 97.1 The Ticket who covered The Pistons Media day on Monday.

Matt asks the questions we want to hear from Rip…are you happy to be back? Iverson…. How unhappy were you last year….Great interview from Matt, Listen UP!

Richard Hamilton Interview

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Matt with Charlie Villanueva on Twitter, defense, Detroit, Joe Dumars and more.

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