- The Pistons are looking to get some rest for Tayshaun Prince with Jarvis Hayes.
- A Sherrod Blakely says “Jarvis is going to cause a lot of problems for teams because of his ability to spot-up and shoot the ball.”
- Sheed was the hit of Open Practice yesterday. He made Stuckey, Afflalo, Mejia and Samb each wear white headbands with ROOK written across the front.
Photo/Detroit News
- Even non Pistons fans think the Amir Johnson and Jason Maxiell are going to do big things this season.
- I think I am going to start the Maxiell for 6th man of the year campaign right now.
- “The one thing (the they have,” Saunders said, “is they have energy, athleticism and hard work. Sometimes they’ll make up for a lack of execution in their rotation because they work so hard. That’s one of the positives of a young player.”
- The first round of NBA Team Previews are up at Celtics Blog.
- If I were a Cavs fan (thank goodness I’m not), I would be pretty pissed if LeBron went to a Cle-NY playoff game wearing a Yankees hat.
- Flip Murray, who scored 10 points, looked quicker yesterday at Open Practice. Nazr scored 14 points along with Stuckey.
- I should have a couple of clips from Open Practice for you later today or tomorrow.
Sheed had the idea of the headband thing that says “rook” nat. Why am i not surprised. lol
i’m sure Sheed has more in store for the rookies as the season starts. Who knows, he might make them special jerseys that say “Rookie #1” “Rookie #2” and “Rookie # 3” in the back instead of their last names. Lol fun times 🙂
Wow, I’m *so* bummed I’m not able to catch some of the open practices! Here, in soggy Seattle, we have a team of injured rookies with managers fighting over breaking out of the region for a bigger/better venue ;p I know people are really excited by the moves the Trailblazers made, and the Durant draft for Seattle, but I’d rather watch the Bobcat’s ;p
Did I mention I miss my Pistons???
Oh, and I’m also really excited over Mad Max coming in so much lighter and quicker. Considering his size disadvantage, getting off the ground faster has to be really important. I’m not really worried the lack of mass will affect his ability to muscle into the post; I’d be shocked if he wasn’t even stronger this year.
It’s also nice to hear Flip Murray came into camp in better shape. Honestly, I didn’t expect him to survive the summer season. Whatever limitations he has, his contract is extremely cheap.
I read that Nazr looked good on the glass. Could anyone tell how he was acting around the other players? I think chemistry is going to be a really big issue since it may affect the development of all the young players. I realize Nazr isn’t the cornerstone of the team, but I’m still curious if any progress has been made between Saunders and the team [becoming more trusting of each other].
Oh, and I’m not sure how I took Saunder’s comments about the “lack of execution in their rotation” in regards to the young players. While his offense is complex, I think tailoring your game to your players unique skills is every bit as important as “playing the right way” [to borrow from Larry Brown]. I was frustrated when Larry Brown didn’t seem to adjust his strategies at all, and Saunders doesn’t strike me as all that flexible either.
It’s pretty obvious Stuckey, Max and Amir are going to perform better in a fast-paced offense. Flip Murray played his best ball in those conditions, as well. I think Jarvis Hayes being a significant offensive option off the bench will adapt to just about anything they do, as will Afflalo’s game, but the rest of the team… well, we’ll see what Flip does before I start screaming “Laimbeer for coach!” [or President, for that matter]
as long as Barbosa is coming off the bench, no one else is going to be 6th man.. Maxiell will be no where close to the running.. and i am a piston fan, just realistic
Great post Dirge! You know, you should write your own Pistons blog, you always have interesting views and I’m sure you’d have an audience. No point in all that typing in comments.
Sheed shoulda put ROOK 1, ROOK 2, ROOK 3, and ROOK 4 on the headbands. Good ol’ Sheed.
Go Pistons!
unfortunately i couldn’t go to the Pistons open practice no matter how much I wanted to go 🙁 I had a football game (We won thankfully) but after reading this post i have a few things to say first thing, Lebron you are a major asshole my hatred for you has only intensified after reading this post. Second lmfaoo gotta love rasheed add that to the sheedisms!!! and Third I think Flip Murray is tired of everyone mentioning trading him for draft picks and such, so he has tried to up his game. I’ll be very thankful if he does. And I always did aprove of Jarvis Hayes as the backup for Tay I’m glad that he has shown great ability so far all he needs is a lil defense and he’ll be great of the bench
As much as I hate LeBron (and believe me, I hate him a lot!) I don’t think rooting for another team over your “hometeam” is sacriligious. He said he’s liked the Yankees for a long time. I’m sure Chauncey roots for Denver over Detroit during football games and we don’t love him any less for it. I guess I don’t see what the difference is. Anyway, on to more important things…
I’m not sure that blog about the Central Division was very positive toward the Pistons. Perhaps I misinterpreted it, but it seemed to me that tziller was belittling the team more than anything. Maybe I’m wrong?
Is it just me or do other people think that Saunders sometimes just rambles? I mean, you can get a meaning out of his comments and they sound intelligent when you paraphrase, but if you read them word for word, it sounds like a bunch of jumbled nonsense. lol
We have 16 people under contract, right? And Dumars likes to go into the season with 14. So, who do you guys think will be off the roster come November 1?
*sacrilegious