The Pistons took it to The Magic early at The Palace Friday night in what was one of best first halves of basketball all season for The Pistons. The fist quarter in particular was almost unbelievable as Detroit put up 39 points to Orlando’s 18 and they finished the half with 68. Detroit went into a second half slump scoring on 33 points the rest of the way, but Orland couldn’t get closer than nine eight. Final score 101-93.
Key Points:
- Orlando’s 64% from the foul line really hurt them, especially since they went to the line 39 times, the most by an opponent of the Pistons all season. Now I can’t really be objective about the foul calls because it’s much harder to tell when you are at the game and don’t get to see all the replays, but the Pistons looked like they got plenty of questionable calls against them. I knew going in that it was going to be a long night as soon as I saw Steve Javie.
- Eight minutes for Amir and all were impressive. Young Amir scored 2, grabbed 4 boards and blocked 3 shots. The downside, 3 fouls in that time…it will come.
- Tayshaun 3-for-12, it’s almost hard to watch sometimes. I am hoping the All Star break will do him some good. He did grab 6 boards with 8 assists so it wasn’t as bad as it has been of late.
- Jarvis…2 minutes and 47 seconds. You can’t score, you don’t play.
- Jason Maxiell’s almost ally oop with Dwight Howard watching would have rocked The Palace. Jason has now played more minutes this year than he has all of last season.
- Rip Hamilton was on FIRE, he barely missed a shot all night. He led the Pistons with 32 points on 14-for-22 shooting with 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals. Impressive.
Photo/Getty Images
- The Pistons made 17 of their first 22 shots.
- Antonio McDyess put up another double-double with 10 points and 13 boards. He was 5-for-11 from the floor but I am a bit worried about his ability to hit the open jumper. It used to be money in the bank.
- From my angle the Dwight Howard goal tending on Tayshaun in the first quarter really looked like a good block.
- Funny thing, Carlos Arroyo still gets under my skin even though he’s not on the Pistons anymore. I wonder how Magic fans feel when he drives the lane in traffic and can’t convert. He did however blow by Chauncey quite a few times Friday. Nice elbow Arroyo, everyone except Javie saw it.
- Amir’s block on Howard had to make him feel good. He plays well when he’s getting minutes.
- Can the Pistons Get back in Rhythm?
- Stuckey, struggling is putting it lightly. You can’t be too down on the young man, he’s missed a lot of time and to have that happen in your rookie year is difficult. He went 0 for 6 on the night but added 3 boards and 2 assists.
- A little Riparriffic highlights…I think he’s going to put up at least one triple-double this season.
Courtesy of The Detroit Pistons and myTV20 Detroit
- Sheed could not miss in the first quarter, in fact 13 of his 15 points came in the first. He looked like he was going to have a huge game but a bit of foul trouble and the fact that Detroit stopped going to him cut his game short on the night. Why they stopped feeding him the ball is something I just don’t understand. When Sheed is hot like that nobodly can stop him, in fact two of his points were tipped in by Howard….that’s just how his night was going.
- 26 points in the paint for the Pistons.
- Afflalo: Stealing all of Stuckey’s thunder.
- Maxiell sure has his jumpshot down. He finished with 6 points and 3 boards in 20 minutes.
- Rebound war won 49-31.
- “There has been speculation that Rasheed Wallace might get picked because of the paucity of centers in the East, but Saunders doesn’t see that happening.“‘Sheed’s come out publicly so much about not playing that I think the coaches will probably pick (Cleveland’s Zydrunas ) Ilgauskas ,” Saunders said.“‘Sheed’s never been one to care much about all-star games and things like that. Remember, he was the only person ever to get thrown out of the McDonald’s (High School) All-Star Game.”Wallace remembered the story well. “Some guy hit me with an elbow, I elbowed him back and I was jawing with the ref,” he said.” Via The Detroit News
- I don’t know if they showed it on the broadcast, but Curtis Granderson and new Tiger Dontrelle Willis were in the house. When interviewed, Willis was asked who his favorite Piston is and when he answered Sheed, he was asked why. He said it was because he’s a gamer and he likes his DANCE…he then proceeded to do a little Sheed pre-game imitation. CLASSIC.
- Chauncey had a nice 21 points night on 6-for-10 shooting. I will say that I was calling for Mr. Big shot to get back into the game when Stuckey was struggling and the Pistons couldn’t score.
Photo/Getty Images
- Flip Saunders won his 148th game with the Pistons, trailing only Chuck Daly’s franchise record of 467 wins. Don’t think Chuck has anything to worry about.
- Testing the Zoo Crew.
- NBA.com Highlights of the Game.
- It’s been some time since we have seen the Pistons play like this. Their biggest lead on the night was 27.
- The Pistons backcourt is definitely heating things up.
- Webber to the Warriors?
- Cheikh Samb returned from Senegal on Thursday, where he went to fix a passport issue. He will likely be sent to the NBA-Development League soon.
- Please don’t make me hate you…..No need to pop your jersey after you beat your former team that has just 7 wins on the year. TWolves fans…I feel you.
- 50.6% from the floor for Detroit.
- I will say that I jinxed Sheed, right when the game started I mentioned to my friend that it’s been so long since RA picked up a tech (#7). Not only did he get called for one but Chauncey did too. Rasheed eventually fouled out of the game. I kept announcing during the game…”Sheeds’ mad, Sheeds’ mad,” which usually means a great game or a tech or two.
Photo/Getty Images
- I will be making my final decisions for the Ultimate Pistons Fan Ticket Giveaway, I will announce the winners on Monday. Let me tell you, it’s been difficult. Way to go Team Need4Sheed.
???
I’ve read other post about stuckey and they don’t make sense…
One month in the league and Stuckey’s a Bust???
What are you people talking about??
He’s going to be find.
I coached basketball and all I see is that on his layups he need to put his hand under the ball more…
Scoop it like Brandon Roy does..
More control of the ball is what he needs at this point not speed.
He can find the speed he needs while Scooping the layup under control that’s it…
He laying up the ball while his hands on the side of the ball it’s not working at this point, its going wild off the back board with no touch..
I don’t know why the coaches on the staff don’t see this….???
Is Dwight Howard the next Rasheed?
I watched the espn game and there was a lot about the friendship between sheed and Dwight, they even showed an interview with Dwight talking about him and Sheed.
Also the dancing in the middle of the circle pregame, and get this Dwight Howard said… wait for it…
BALL DON”T LIE at the end of the game when Rip missed a free throw (although I’m pretty sure the foul was intentional, so Dwight has to learn when to say it.
I actually like Carlos Arroyo, even though he can be frustrating on the court, he’s still a really good guy.
Although I knew this would happen to Jarvis ( When times get tough staters take it upon themselves to score, not get the bench going.) My main issue is that he’s the primary backup to Tayshuan. If he was brought in just to shoot then I would feel a little better.
I thought that block was good too I actually wished that they didn’t call that. That was a bad shot by Tayshaun and I think he needs to have better shot selection sometimes. If Jarvis was the one putting up some of the shot Tayshaun was putting up, we’d be dogging him so bad(unless he made them).
I’m not gonna say the Pistons are out of the woods till I see them beat a legitimate defensive team again.
Amir did a great job, fouls sucked, but still it’s amazing some of the shots he blocks.
Stuckey’s a rookie, but I actually think this might be a little humbling for him, ever since the first time he spoke, there’s been a subtle arrogance in his tone and body language that caused me to grow concerned, but I do believe he’ll get better by the playoffs, maybe even in the playoffs.
SHEED WAS FIRED UP, GOOD TO SEE
What game was the carleton dance from?
Im not gonna lie, Dwight Howard is a monster. Hes definatly one of my top 5 favorite non-Pistons in the NBA today. Amir looked very strong. He is really comming together as a solid big man that should be in every game, almost another Big Ben with the rebounding and shot blocking. He is no 6’9″ either, I saw him up close the other night and he must be 6’10” or 6’11”, which can go a long way. He just needs some more strength, and playing time untill he get to where he should be, Im tempter to get his jersey now.
The thing with garnett sticking his jersey out prancing and cursing around the court for about two minutes but it seemed like a bit long. the announcers did not say anything. It was a lucky win against a poor wolves team with 7 wins. It was the worse display of sportsmanship I have ever seen and he has done this on numerous occasions this year as well as perkins and pierce. no one seems to call him on it. doc rivers must be so embarrassed by it. Rivers is a classy person and was a classy ball player. I have never been a garnett fan (i think he is a glaring phony), but I really can’t stand him now. You and the wolves had a good marriage for over 10 years and to rub in a one point loss is beneath contempt. I do not know how anyone could root for those jerks. I am so glad the pistons do not act like jerks after they win a big game. Did you see the pistons after the win against the Spurs, handshakes and good sportsmanship. Celtics have not won a damn thing.
Jarvin Hayes….what a shot selection;|
If Dwight stays healthy, he will be better than Sheed. Gotta love the guy, great game and humble to boot.
AMEN VIVEE… I didn’t want to go on a rant so thank you for doing it for me.
I don’t remember when the Carlton dance was from but it was more than a month ago.
Mike…don’t get too excited no Amir Johnson jerseys to be had at the Palace unless you customise one.
Go see this video. It’s hilarious!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0an1zGcLMA
how did the magic not get closer then 9 when they lost by 8???
^^Nice to see I’m good at math..thanks for pointing out my typo. I fixed it.
Yea, Ive been planning to drop some money to customize a mcdyess jersey, amir, or hunter jersey.
Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, was a good read about that Garnett thing
but Good Orlando game 1st quarter was so beautiful to watch, when Chauncey and Rip were on that fast break and Rip finishes 2 hander little layup that was beautiful, I love seeing the boys come through with these plays consistently, not even anything hard just a simple pick and roll a Tay fake into a shot or pass out
Max has been looking pretty funny lately either getting fouled, or not getting those dunks in that aren’t as close
But with all said, the game was great to watch at home on a friday night
Good stuff..
Thank You Vivee, I was thinking the same thing. I don’t want to get into it though. I still have respect for Allen though. He doesn’t seem as arrogant as the others, or maybe I just haven’t noticed it.
Gotta agree with you on KG. Poopin your jersey like that is just poor sportsmanship. I’m glad our boys are a profesional team. Except for the belts of course, lol.
Hey Natalie,
Check this article out on hoopsworld. I entirely disagree with this guy calling Sheed an absolute waste. he compares him to Derrick Coleman. WTF? I think all pistons fans should drop some knowledge on this guy in the comments, because he obviously doesn’t understand Detroit basketball.
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=7083
i kinda feel like when we have games like this and circumstances like what tay is going through, it might be more important to get him back into his rhythm than it is to get the reserves their minutes. id like to see more time for chauncey when a key guy struggles so chauncey can run the offense and get him a touch every time down the court. if the ball is consistantly in tays hands i think he’ll break outta this slump much faster.
if theres not someone on the floor to force the ball to tay, we all know there’s no way he’ll ever call for the ball. tay’s my fav piston but sometimes he just isnt aggresive enough.
I can see how you can compare Rasheed to Derrick Coleman. Both guys could have put up such better career numbers with the skill that they have. However, the main difference is that Coleman is not half the team player Sheed is. Sheed is all about winning when you get right down to it, he does what his role for the game it, and if it doesnt include putting up 30 points, he wont do it.
ummm Derrick Coleman?
I thought they were compoaring Dwight and Sheed
i couldn’t read the article because i’d have to register, but if the warriors are really thinking of getting c-webb they’re nuts. on a running team what good is a guy that’s slower than shaq?
man, the break b/w now and then next game seems soooo long
Nat, I would hate to be in your position right now… but I’m dying for those tickets ;D
Hey, Natalie, are you going to show us the winners’ entries after Monday? I’m curious to see these die-hard Pistons fans’ videos.
I’m amazed at how reactive people can be when a player struggles.
Stuckey’s a bust? I’m sorry, but how many games has he played in the NBA, and because he’s struggling with his layups at the NBA level that makes him a bust? I”m sure they’re coaching him, since his biggest problem seems to be how he’s handling the ball on the layup attempt. Would anyone have complained if he had gone 3 of 6? He’s a rookie. If he’s playing like this at the end of his rookie contract, he’s a bust… not so early in his first year (after an injury, no less).
I feel badly for Prince. It’s been really hard to watch him. Hopefully, he’ll work through whatever problems he is having before the Playoffs.
Amir looked fantastic. Yeah, the fouls are an issue, but he’ll get batter at avoiding fouls. His defensive presence is both much needed and a welcome addition. His ability to dunk, coupled with his length, will definitly be a factor in his career… and lets not forget he has three point range. They’ve had Amir focusing on playing in the post, but those end of the season games he played last year demonstrated his shooting touch at the NBA level.
I just wish Pistons fans would stop screaming for a trade or fix when they struggle a bit. Questioning why they weren’t feeding the ball to Sheed more, that’s a legitimate gripe or concern. Begging for a miracle trade is silly, given their success and chemsitry. I’m sure if Dumars can make a trade that he believes will improve the team, he’ll do it.
Hey Natalie, Just wondering if you know around what time tomorrow you might announce the winners of the Ultimate Pistons Fan Ticket Giveaway. If you even know that is. Thanks!
^^^ I’m not giving a special time, for the simple fact I am having a hard time making up my mind. You guys really went all out. I wish I had more tickets to give away.
Keep checking the site…as soon as I know, you will.