Thanks to Steve DiLullo for taking my place here at N4S while I’m not able. This recap, bullet points and the photos are Steve’s great work from The Pistons win over Memphis.

The Pistons didn’t let any hangover from the Boston game last past halftime. Darko returned to the Palace without much fanfare and Stuckey made his official NBA debut. Afflalo had a statement game and he’s proving to be another wise selection by Joe D. Solid Detroit Defense to go with all of the above, and you’ve got another Pistons blowout and win number 19 on the season. The Pistons are now 19-7 after a 94-67 beat down on Grizzlies.

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• It was Flip’s 800th professional win including his days in the CBA-congrats!
• Turnovers, unforced turnovers, and more turnovers. That pretty much sums up Memphis’ game last night. We harassed them into 22 total while only giving away the ball 8 times ourselves.
• Both teams shot poorly in the game, with the Pistons going for 42% and the Grizzlies hitting 34% of their shots. Yet we still won by 27 thanks mostly to solid D and all those turnovers.
• Tay got off to a great start, 7 points in the first 6 minutes with a sweet alley-oop from Rip. It was great to see him involved from the get-go after being so cold two nights ago in Beantown.
• Stuckey! Thanks to the monstrous lead, Rodney played his first minutes as a pro just a couple days after getting cleared to practice again. He came in with 6 minutes to go in the fourth to plenty of cheers, grabbed an offensive board and nailed his first 2 points as a pro with a baby hook in the lane. As expected, he looked a bit lost at times but he also had 2 assists including one to Brezec who hit a fade in the post that the crowd was digging.
• Player of the Game: Afflalo all the way. And I decided this while I was there at the game, before FSN apparently decided the same thing in the post-game show. He was solid and definitely played his best game as a pro. In only 20 minutes, he hit 3-4 shots and 6-7 freebies to go for 12 total along with 5 boards, 2 assists, a steal, and zero turnovers. Clearly the key to much of our defensive success, you could just see his effect on the game when he was on the floor.

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More Afflalo highlights:

• Arron came in off the bench in the first and right away he had a nice tip in off Tay’s miss along with his usual solid defense.
• Numerous drives in traffic to the hoop, with a couple impressive And-1’s. He’s not afraid to drive on anybody. We knew Stuckey was known for this, but it’s certainly a pleasant surprise to see Afflalo do the same.
• Great defensive play in the fourth that led to a steal and dish to Chauncey for an easy layup

• Rudy Gay’s definitely for real, 9 solid points in each half to finish with 18 on 7-17 shooting along with some amusement thanks to 2 missed dunks that took serious bounces off the rim.
• Our offense went stagnant early in the second, let Memphis back into the game and even allowed them to build a slight lead. Pretty much terrible play all around from us in the second and we led at halftime by just four, 42-38.
• We let Memphis hang around way too long in the game before shutting them down in the second half with a combination of solid defense and better offense on our end. The Grizzlies scored 16 and 13 in the third and fourth, respectively.
• Darko didn’t do much. As many turnovers (four) as rebounds, with 2 points on 1-4 shooting and three fouls. He was definitely booed (there was some applause, but booing won out by far) every time he touched the ball.

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• Stromile Swift’s still in the NBA? He was actually the only Grizzly with a positive +/- in the game, for whatever that’s worth.
• Jarvis is bothering me. Lots of silly shots that sure looked forced, and he didn’t do anything all that special on defense either. Let’s put it this way – I’m excited to see what Herrmann can do for us right now.
• By the looks of last night’s performance, Memphis fans would be better suited to cheer the Tigers than the Grizzlies this year.
• Rebound war won 45-44
• Great free throw shooting, 80% compared to Memphis’ 65%
• Amir in early with his first appearance in the second. He played 13 minutes with 5 boards, one block, and a monster jam that was his only points.

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• Another off night on offense for Sheed with just 7 on 3-9 shooting , but his defense was clutch throughout the game. He finished with 6 boards, 3 steals, and 2 great blocks.
• Second game in a row Chauncey drew a foul on a long ball and hit all three at the line.
• Tay and Rip kept us going in the first half
• Chauncey abused Lowry a couple times with some nice work in the post. Mr. Big Shot didn’t need to make too many big shots in this one and had an off-night (2-10 FGs) aside from his usual job at the line, where he hit 10 of 11. He finished with 14 points, 7 assists, a steal, and zero turnovers.
• Maxiell ate a few babies with a thunder dunk in the third. He was in foul trouble all night, with 3 really quick ones in the first half that helped limit him to only 13 minutes in which he grabbed only 2 boards and blocked one shot.
• Tay with ice in his knee at the end of the game. Is everything alright?
• Samb recalled from NBDL, but not expected to play
• Nazr scored 20 with 14 boards for the Bobcats, good for him!
• NBA.com video highlights of the game and Box Score
• Blaha and Special K trump ESPN
• More proof of just how big Wednesday night’s Pistons-Celtics game was: Ratings for the TV20 telecast with George Blaha and Greg Kelser were tremendous. Despite being simulcast on ESPN, where it drew a 5.2 rating, the game drew a 5.3 rating on TV20, good for No. 3 for the night among all viewers for prime-time programming. It was No. 1 in prime time among adults ages 18-49 and adults ages 18-34. It was No. 1 for the entire day against all programming among males ages 25-54 and 18-34 and also for all adults ages 18-49. One ratings point is equal to 19,250 households watching the program.
• One point shy of a free 6″ sub from Subway for all the fans at the game. I’m sure the Pistons send their apologies.