It was a mix of boos and cheers as Ben Wallace was generically announced by Pistons announcer Mason at the Palace Sunday afternoon. There were no familiar gongs or fanfare, as Ben walked out to huddle with his new team before the Detroit crowd for the fist time.
The Bulls were playing a great game, and it looked like they were going to pull the upset, as they led by as much as 16 points in the third quarter. But the Pistons stepped up the defense and sank their shots to climb back and win this one. The game winner was a Chris Webber putback on a Chauncey Billups miss that sealed the deal with 2.2 seconds left on the clock and the score 95-93. The Bulls had a chance to win it on a Ben Gordon three, but it hit the front of the rim and bounced off.
Key Points:
- I am so happy that both of my favorite signs were caught by the cameras.
- The Pistons played horrible in the first half and it took the energy out of the crowd.
- Rasheed Wallace turned an ankle in the third, I am pretty sure he will be fine. Luckily the Pistons don’t have another game until Friday, so he can get plenty of rest.
- Tons of fans had defaced Ben Wallace jerseys in hand.
- The Pistons shot 38% from the floor and the Bulls shot 48%.
- Sheed was 2-for-11 but the two he did make where 3’s when we really needed them.
- Looks like I have to get a tattoo. I knew it was just a matter of time.
- Maxiell was clearly the spark that got things going for The Pistons with 3 blocked shots, 7 rebounds and 4 points in 12 minutes.
- The Pistons had just 9 turnovers to the Bulls 15.
- The Pistons had 12 steals and 9 blocked shots.
- Chauncey and Rip were cold in the first half.
- The Pistons had 21 offensive boards, that was something that kept them in the game.
- Overall the Pistons had 41 boards to the Bulls 45.
- Thayshaun’s Reggie Miller block in the closing minutes was KEY… You could see him coming from down the court. Tay put his head down, put on that gas and you just knew he was going to block Luol Deng.
him. (I didn’t see who it was he blocked can anyone help me?)
- The fans booed Ben every time he touched the ball.
- Ben was so frustrated he wasn’t getting the calls he wanted he got called for a tech, which made the fans even happier.
- Ben ended up with 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, 3 steals and 6 points. And a familiar 2-for-8 from the line.
- Chauncey was 3-for-11 from the floor for 15 points. Luckily he was 7-for-7 from the line.
- Tayshaun really stepped up, he played great defense with 3 blocked shots a steal and 9 boards. He also dumped in 14 points, though he missed 2 critical free throws with seconds left in the game that made my stomach drop.
- Rip got hot in the second half and was the Pistons leading scorer with 22 points. The man never stopped running the entire game.
- Sheed tried to give Ben a red headband before the game.
- How about C-Webb?
- I was really proud of the way the Pistons fought back to take this game back.
- The Ben Gordon three at the end of the game looked really close, can you imagine if it would have went it?
- Flip Saunders just reached 100 wins, quicker than any coach in Pistons history.
- Speaking of Flip, he was pretty heated all game.
- Scott Skiles was screaming the whole game, he got a tech for it.
- Chris Webber was fantastic in todays win. Not only did he score the winning basket but he had 21 points, 9 rebounds and three steals. Think he was sending a message to Ben?
“As soon as we walked in the front door the lady made us show her our signs and she said “No way, you can’t bring those in here.” I said “you’ve got to be kidding me….why? “….Because it was demeaning to another player. So my husband and a friend of mine took them out the door and into another entrance and the guy let them in.
Meanwhile, the rest of us went and stood in line to show them our tickets. We get to the front, the guy says “I can’t let you in with that shirt on because it’s derogatory to a player.” I just stood there and said this is ridiculous. He went and got his supervisor and then after waiting 5 minutes for this dude to come check us out he decided it would be ok if I came in! Are you kidding me?! What’s the big deal??? We went to Chicago dressed like this and nobody said a word! Anyhow, my bubble was burst after all that, but the game was still a lot of fun. Especially since we sat next to Chicago fans wearing Wallace jerseys. “
The BIG BEN WALLETS was funny! 🙂
Honestly, I thought the Bulls had our number but then again, Pistons rule.
i wish i lived in detroit cause i really wanted to go =(
also nat i love what you to do the ball in your pics, it looks like the old nba jam. haha
– Vin
Connecticut
Typo in the end of the first paragraph.
Good game to the wire.
It was a crazy ass game but we did win!! I was hoping we could at least win by 10 to 15 points since the won us by 17 in chicago.
OOH well.. WE WON!!!!
ooh yea… are you seriously gonna get the tattoo???
i say the worst loss is a one or two point loss, webber’s the man!!!
Ben blocks Shaq, Maxey blocks Ben. This is the evolution of Detroit Basketball
“i say the worst loss is a one or two point loss, webber’s the man!!!”
i agree, but just not in this case
Hey Nat, The tay block was on that rookie his number is 44 but i dont remember his name…definatly key tho!
Thi was a hard game to miss. I was on my way to the palace when my car lost control and did a 180 and was almost hit my a transport trcuk but instead it hit the grand rail on the side of the road then did another 180 and I was on my way to the game. well I was on my way to turn around to go home since i decided that It was not worth it to drive another 40 minutes to see a game since my friend with me who has a kid at home. Anyway I made it home for the second half and was wishing the whole time that mother nature would have been nice to me today. I came alway the way from out west and have been looking forward to this game since I moved there but never got there. Anyway I was happy to see the block by tay and was almost sick when he missed the free throws. In the end they won so it made a bad day and missed game worth it I guess. I had seat on the floor row 2 boy am I mad I missed this one but am happy to be here.
^^ i give u props you are wayy positive about that haha i would be pretty mad for about a week probably .. then every so often id probably think back on it and get really mad!
butttttttt it was a great game! just wish they didnt boo big ben so much!
Nasty accident, I am glad to see that you are ok. I myself saw quite a few accidents today. Just glad things worked out and that you are ok.
It was a great game but on a bigger scale I am happier that you came out unscathed.
the tay block on number 44 was not on a rookie. The players name is Griffin. I forget his first name i think it is adrian. HE played for the mavericks last year. But if you mean he is a rookie for the bulls then you are right. The game was the carziest thing i ever saw. I live in hawaii and i was watching it on tv and when C-Webb made that GW shot i screamed my head off and it was only about 9 AM. Any way I could not breathe for about 20 seconds after the game (or it felt like it) when ben gordon missed that shot. I was happy but still in shock. I think the Pistons can take the east and if we have to play the bulls in the playoffs i think we can take them becaue when we lost to the bulls earlier in the season we didn’t have chauncey so that was a minus.
Any way GO PISTONS!!!
I recorded the game and after going through the replay it was definitely Luol Dang that Tay Blocked.
Vin…They do look like NBA Jam never thought of that, good call.
yeah he did block Luol Deng they even said it during the game ………it was incredible. Man I missed the first half and the beginning of the second really dissappointed me and I thought we were gonna loose, but then Tay with a couple of blocks, and some good shots, Maxiell tearing it up on defense and the Pistons were right back in it. I was cheering my butt off in my room. I’m sure my roomates thought I was crazy, but that game was awesome. I love games like that, but next time we play them I don’t want it to be so close so they can have some breathing room in the final minutes. Also I figured there would be some BOOs! and some cheers for Ben. I would have sat there quietly because I couldn’t really cheer for him nor could I boo him until the game started. A lot of people are saying the piston fans were classless because they booed ben, but we showed Ben everyday while he was here that we appreciated him and he knew it, but he still left and now he is the enemy. Who cheers for the enemy……WOOO! Yeah BEN make those free throws so your new team can win this game! I think not that crazy…….Ben choose to leave and that is that.
hey nat,
was the site down over the weekend, because I couldn’t access it at all.
man it was kinda sad to see everyone booin ben….I mean i know he left on a bad note….but that shouldn’t have erased the 6 years he helped us become a better team…maybe cheers when his name was annouced for respect and then booes when he got ball touches cuz he’s on the otherside….I mean I don’t see why anyone is mad ben’s happier and we got webber and were still in sight of another championship….So why be mad at him? some people just need to live forget and move on…You think any of the pistons players have some horrible grudge agaisn’t him nope….infact I guarentee that they went out and ate dinner the night before and maybe after…
I don’t think the site was down.. Did anyone else have a problem?
hey natalie.. did u cheer for ben or boo him?? jw
i didn’t have a problem accessing the site over the weekend..
natalie, did you think that there was a hack-a-ben strategy employed tonight, or were those pretty legit fouls? i mean, ben’s 8 shots from the stripe seems pretty high…
it seems like we pistons fans are still stuck on the money thing? detroit is the embodiment of the “it’s time to go to work”, blue-collar ethic. and when someone who was supposed to represent all those ideals jumps ship because he can’t support his family on $3 million less a year, well, perhaps he deserves to get booed? don’t get me wrong, i loved big ben when he was here, but like everyone else, i’m trying to figure out why he was jeered at that much.
Those damn ripped up jerseys are truly classless.
Give the man a break, he worked his butt off when he was there.
Amy, I think your halarious and I love what you did with the posters and everything!
Your photos are just incredible. I love seeing them.
I wouldn’t have booed Ben personally, but I figured (correctly) it’d be a mixture of boos and cheers. I was just happy the Pistons showed a bunch of class with what they had Mason say during the intros. Class organization all the way.
I am pretty sure that sheed came down on someone’s foot in the first quarter maybe second. probably sounds like a strange thing to correct but ever since last seasons playoff meltdown after sheed sprained his ankle, (of course after he made his guarantee) and not to mention that he is the reason I really became a pistons fan, I have been acutely aware of his ankle injuries. But thankfully having a scoring center in Webber allows Detroit to sit sheed for half a game and still win without Billups having to really step it up or rip or tay to put up career numbers. In my mind in a game of street ball I cant think of a better starting 5 than Detroit had the last season and a half but in all reality the business man David stern phased out Defensive basketball so much that he turned Ben Wallace into more a liability than an asset, so we really are better off without Ben which sucks cause the defense of their championship run will have to be the kind of ball I will only be able to reminisce about.
I cheered for him when he was announced, I appreciate what he did for this franchise, but after that he became an opponent just like anyone else.
As for the Hack – A – Ben, I think those were legit fouls, though I think Flip would have done it if he thought it necessary.
Sheed should be fine, hes got five days rest coming.
those were good fouls on anybody that close to the basket
at least that late in the game considering they were in no foul trouble
I saw the game on the net (Israel…) and I enjoyed the way the pistons played at the end of the third and the beginning of the fourth, but overall – bad game.
Prince was very-very sloppy with the ball, Chauncey coudln’t hit a thing (come on!! where is Mr.Big Shot???), Sheed made great threes but another horrible disply of the big guy… Rip took some odd shots although he could pass pretty easily, sometimes he even got the double and he could get things going from beyond the arc for CB or Sheed, it could help, but overall – this guy is a machine! I just hope he won’t run out of gas by May-June.
Hunter was great, Maxi too, nice plays by Delfino, C-Webb kicked Ben’s ass and overall – lame performance at the first half and at the closing 2 or 3 minutes.
I really hope Sheed would start to hit those shots, Tay will show everybody that he worth much more than this (and he is!!!!), CB should come back and show us what a perfecrt PG he is and the team as a unit should show us the way to defend – the guys really give up easy lay-ups between their legs, just like that!
Hope we learn from every W, we should.
Deee-troit Basket-ball
RIP is not going to run out of gas, but I enjoyed the fact that Chicago left RIP stay in the game with 5 fouls…………
I REALLY WISH THAT SOME PEOPLE WOULD GET OFF THIS THING ABOUT BEN LEAVING FOR THE MONEY IT WAS NOT ABOUT THE MONEY, DID YOU SEE THE INTERVIEW THAT HE DID WHEN HE LEFT DETROIT, IT WAS ALL ABOUT FLIP SAUDERS AND THE DIRECTION THAT THE TEAM WAS GOING, FLIP WANTED TO PAY LESS ATTENTIN TO DEFENSE,9WHICH IS WHY THAT GOT ELIMATED LAST YEAR IN THE PLAYOFFS0 AND MORE TOWARD OFFENSE. BENS A DOWN TO EARTH TPE OF GUY GETTING THE MONEY WAS NOT THE ISSUE, IF YOU WANT TO BOO OR POST SIGHNS ABOUT SOMEONE DO IT TO FLIP AND THE PLAYERS WHO IN MY MIND JUST LET HIM WALK AWAY WITHOUT A FIGHT..BEN GAVE HIS HEART TO DETROIT HE IS WHO THE FRANCHIES WAS BUILT AROUND, REMEMBER HE WAS THERE BEFORE RIP, CHAUNCEY, TAY AND THE OTHERS
No… I saw Ben admit in an interview that it was for the money and that if Detroit had offered more money it would be a different story.
Another thing… I was kinda annoyed with an article I read that Billups said he understood why Ben left because he needed to “take care of his family.” Well, I’m sorry, but last time I checked you can support a family just fine with a $48 million contract. I appreciate everything he did for us, but I was definitely among the boos yesterday in the Palace.
Ben was not generically announced. Mason did the whole B-b-b-ben Wallace schtick and also said some nice words. the organization gave him all due respect. sadly, all the fans weren’t on the same page. i agree with ‘Sheed. it was rather unsettling hearing all the boos. he helped revive the franchise and bring it a Championship. once the game starts, i don’t expect fans to cheer him, but the booing was totally unnecessary. actually, i was more annoyed by the fact that the boos incited him to respond. he was shutting the fans down left and right with blocks, steals and the little things that don’t get counted up on the stats sheet. thankfully, the Pistons managed to eke it out.
to the previous comment, gimme a break. if you were offered a job that paid you $10,000 or $100,000 more and you had a limited career lifetime, wouldn’t you take it? just like businesses make decisions, he had to make the best decision for his family and more money made the difference.
I went to the game yesterday, very exciting game. I was really scared when we got down by 16 in the third quarter. I was more worried about Ben Gordon making the three at the end and I was thinking maybe we should intentionally foul him if he were to shoot a two pointer to force him to make the FT’s and go into overtime and win. Instead, he tried the 3 which from what I saw, it looked like he got really physical with Lindsey Hunter and managed to knock him down! We got lucky he didn’t make that three!
Ben Wallace didn’t see eye-to-eye with Flip Saunders last playoffs. He wanted to be included in the offense more. Ben’s a great player but doesn’t really have any offensive skills–it’s not Flip’s fault, putting someone with no offense capabilities has a tendency to mess things up. Ben obviously liked the money. I think most of us would go for more money but would you go for more money and play for say….the Atlanta Hawks? Certainly not. Detroit is a title contender and he should have stayed because we were right there in the top 4 of teams capable of winning the whole thing. Our biggest obstacle in the East is the Miami Heat. Chicago are pretty talented, they have some good players. They are definitely tougher than the Cavs who have mostly Lebron and a little bit of Illeguskas, no one else really steps up on that team.
It amazes me that Ben left for what was it, 12 million less? If I was him, I would have settled for our offer. Then again, the other side of the story is the coach. He doesn’t really like Flip Saunders. It’s not Flip Saunder’s fault that you can’t play offense and he doesn’t want to make you a part of some of the offensive plays!
Ben is a heck of a defensive player, I was hoping he would get more cheers and I actually thought he was afraid to touch the ball early in the game because of all the boos everytime he touched the ball. I was sure he was going to get ejected from the game after the tech–with all the frustration and emotions he was going through with the very loud fans.
Who will be in the Eastern Conference Finals assuming D-Wade gets surgery and is out for the rest of the season?
My prediction is it will be either one of the following below:
1. Detroit v.s. Chicago
2. Detroit v.s. Washington
I thought Chris Webber played pretty well against Ben. He showed Ben that he “knows how to score”. He made some shots right over him. I bet Ben felt something towards C-Webb like you took my spot, I’ll show you how bad the Pistons are without me, that sort of thing I bet was going on in Ben’s mind.
you should stop making the ball glow.
no she shouldnt.. it looks real sweet, first of all… and secondly, she can do what she wants.. KEEP IT UP NAT.. it looks great.. everything does!!!
i dont think we could have won yesterday with out jason maxiell.. he brought in sooo much energy and he was blocking like crazyyyy .. hes such a great player!
i disagree with allthe boos that ben received.. regardless he was STILL a piston and he did so much for us.. and i think getting along with your coach is a VERYYYY important factor.. trust me i know from experience.. i HATED my coach last year and had absolutely NO FUN .. and yes it did affect my play.. in fact i hated it and almost didnt want to even return this year.. plus without ben leaving we wouldnt have gotten C WEBB !!!!
Anonymous said…
“you should stop making the ball glow.”
Hey retard…Nat doesn’t take un-requests either.
So — I went to the game yesterday, and I went knowing that I would Boo the heck out of Ben Wallace. A player that supposedly stood for “playing hard” and “doing what it takes” proved to us this summer that he was none fo those things by leaving Detroit.
As a Piston he brought a lot to the organization, but we have to remember what the organization gave him. Being a Piston made Ben a defensive player of the year on multiple occasions, a repeating all-star player and winner of an NBA championship.
The thing that really did it for me was watching Ben look at the Pistons bench and not shake Flip Saunders hand. Sure he is still close with all of the player, but his lack of respect for his former coach really made me unhappy.
I was mad when the media asked fans not to boo him, or when the security almost didn’t let fans into the palace because of their “detrimental” attire.
The NBA (and more so Detroit basketball) is all about great fan loyalty. To expect fans to cheer Ben Wallace is to expect fans to let go of their loyalty.
Ben walked out this summer and took the higher paycheck. End of story. He was offered over 40 million dollars here in Detroit, a city that made him the player he is, and a city that could offer him another run at a ring. As far as welcoming him home? that is out of the question. Watching him miss free-throws in a Bulls jersey was priceless.
I am so happy that the city treated Ben with boos, and I am glad that the Pistons came back from a 16 point lead and sent Ben on his way.
On the road to get that ‘hardware’ … Go Pistons.
i think that the boos were all wrong. He brought so much to the pistons and with out him we would not have become the team we are. We should have shown him respect and not bood him. I took a transfer in my job to and branch that hated the one I was working in for $15,000 more a year plus moving expense and when I go home to visit and stop in from time to time my old boss and coworkers show me respect as we shjould show ben. He did a lot for us and we should nto forget that, if we were not doing so well this year than its diferent to not like him for leaving bt since we are still the top team in the east we have no reason to not respect or like him. Its not like we went from number one with Ben and then went to last place with out him, no we are even doing better in our stats with out him so please people show him respect the next time he comes back.
Does anyone remember the tv interview he gave after announcing his decision this summer??? Well, in that interview he said that the number 3 was something special for him in Detroit and he wasn’t going to wear it in Chicago…. guess that just goes to show how “loyal” he was to that. So don’t ask the fans to be easy on the guy. He got himself into this situation all by himself. Thanks, Ben, for all the hard work you put into this team. But on the other hand, he should have shown a little more respect in what this team made him become. If it wasn’t for the loyalty of our fans we wouldn’t be the greatest arena in the NBA. To expect us to cheer for him and feel like all is ok is like saying we love him more than our team. WRONG!!!!! Money isn’t everything in this world. Yes, it’s a lot, but sometimes having a special place to call “home” is better. I read an article today that Chauncey says in it “I can’t tell you all we discussed but I can say that he misses a lot of things here.” Well Ben… the grass isn’t always greener now is it?
Ben brought so much to the team, and i love him for that, but he isn’t a piston now, and if i were there, i would have booed. He sold out.
I have soooo many mixed feeling for Ben… I dont even know what to think any more.
the situation with ben and flip not getting along i think is so surpassed by his new coach who is so petty by not letting him play because he had a headband on and probably more than that. now if he can keep that under mums, then ben should have been okay to stay under flips wings, so if you think about this, ben is in a no win situation. also i heard that his new coach is stricter than flip.
and i think detroit is very smart by not putting more money on the table for ben, why should you pay somebody that much money who can’t even shoot,dont get me wrong i love ben to death and i miss him dearly, but somebody just blocking and rebounding just shouldn’t get paid that much to me.
we are doing just fine with the people we have and we have a great seatfiller for ben which is c webb who is stellar and up for an award for best replacement of an old teammate lol.
if ben is well suited where he is so be it, and if not, he we still live but we learn from his mistakes. he is a trailblazer and paved the way for people like j maxx who i have to say again, blocked the heck out of ben…you go boy lol. so i guess it was good that he moved on, you never know max might be the new face of the franchise if he keeps playing the way he does.
Ben wallace is a SELLOUT! Some of you people don’t realize he screwed us out of 2 championships, you idiots!
BEN WALLACE IS A BANDWAGON JUMPER, OR SHOULD I SAY A ABANDONEDWAGONRER
well if he wants more money, than i guess it was a good move to jump to Chi town, he’ll need it when hes tryin to buy a second Championship ring…thats the only way hes gonna get it now…
the glowing ball is corny.
fuck u no its not! your the only person with that opinion any way. who the fuck cares what u think????
Anonymous said…
“the glowing ball is corny.”
So don’t look at it you fricking jerk. Nobody wants to hear your whining.
NATALIE 4 PREZ