The All Star break may have been a break that Detroit could have done without this season. The Pistons, who were on a 10 game winning streak before the weekend’s festivities, didn’t fare well in their first game back, allowing themselves to be pummeled by an Orlando Magic team who hadn’t won a game at The Palace in their last seven tries. Final score of this one most of us would like to forget 103-85.
Key Points:
- A 20 to 7 run by The Magic in the third quarter was the killer.
- The Magic got 39 point from downtown.
- Despite holding Dwight Howard to just 8 points, the defense was awful.
- Mr. Big Not, 9 points on 3-for-13 shooting.
- Orlando let by as much as 26.
- Six Magic players in double figures, 3 for Detroit.
- Rodney Stuckey led the Pistons with a career high 16 points, but I wouldn’t say it was his best game of the season.
Photo/Getty Images
- Not a great game to be at for a Piston fan, but you can’t win them all right? It was a especially frustrating night for me since I didn’t get to The Palace until midway through the second, so I missed all of the “good basketball” Detroit played all night. To top things off I wiped out (on a patch of ice) after the game and can barely move this morning. Perfect end to a perfect nigh, doesn’t it always happen that way? What does a person gotta do to get a little treatment from Mr. Kander anyway?
- The box score looks miserable, it’s minuses almost across the board for the Pistons. Sheed was a painful -21 for the night. Yuck!
- Walter Herrmann continues to be a fan favorite, he got more cheers last night than a Maxiell dunk. Well maybe I’m exaggerating a bit but the fans do love him.
- NBA.com highlights of the game.
- 14 boards for Antonio McDyess.
- Amir taking advice.
- Tayshaun Prince 4-10 for 9 points with just one rebound.
- Four block on the night for Sheed with 6 boards, 3 assists and 10 points.
- Most awful stat of the night….14% shooting from downtown.
- Jason Maxiell’s throw downs were probably the only bright spots from Tuesday nights game. Jason finished with 6 points, 9 boards and 2 blocked shots. He gave the Pistons a boost in the first but didn’t do much else the rest of the game.
Photo/Getty Images
- No technical fouls for the Pistons who learned their lesson the had way last time Jack Nies officiated one of their games. Was it just me or were the refs a tad bit….wishy washy?
- The trade deadline is upon us. I don’t have a feeling Dumars is planning anything big come Thursday. Possibly a Flip Murray move or buyout?
- Chauncey Billups post game interview. That has got to be Sheed’s music bumping in the background.
- This really was one of those games that should make The Pistons stand up, take notice and come out strong today.
- Horrible ball movement from Detroit, you could say it was almost nonexistent.
- Pistons play the Bucks tonight in Milwaukee. “I’m sure we’ll play a little different tomorrow,” Billups said. “Nobody likes losing like this. We’ll be all right.” Via Mlive
- On a bleak day for Pistons fans this might make you feel a little bit better.
- Darko still
suckingsulking.
We might of lost, but this might be one of those games where the battle was sacrificed for the war. Look at the minutes. Almost everyone played and played a fair bit and the starters saw light minutes, which means Flip wasn’t intimidated into just playing them the whole time. To me this is exactly the way I’d like to see a detroit loss.
“On a bleak day for Pistons fans this might make you feel a little bit better”
The link doesnt work
Thanks^ the link should be fine now.
As for Flip not backing down, I agree with you but you have to put most of the fault on the starters. Just one of those games to learn from I guess.
Early on in te first, I noticed the starters points were 2-2-2-4-4.
While that’s nice for consistency, I want at least one of them to be hot. On the plus side, no way the boys don’t snap back with two games against the bucks.
And the refs were more than a little wishy washy. There were two reversals in the game, one foul, another an out of bounds call, both going against Detroit.
Even still, you can’t blame the refs on an 18 point loss. Detroit was missing like crazy, Orlando shot out of their minds. Sometimes that’s just how it is.
it’s strange, but most of the games we’ve lost this season were ones that i didn’t mind losing that much. they were either against teams or at important times that we need to be aware of, we slept on them and we got beat. this is another in that line. we were riding high, ignoring the rest of the league, doing “our thing.” Games like this serve notice that there are other good teams out there, and we might want to think about them occasionally.
the officiating was awful, on both sides of the court. it was embarrassing.
pistons suck trade them all
everything we shot came out and everthing they shot went in.PLUS the refs not once BUT twice changed there minds about the call when they already wanted to give the call to the pistons they changed there minds and gave it back to orlando.I was PISSED
anon 2:16,
What you been smoking?
aw poor Darko
The -21 for Sheed is not a big deal. Thats a pointless stat, it really serves no purpose and proves nothing.