Detroit let another lead slip away in the fourth quarter and lost at home to the Charlotte Bobcats for the first time since 2006. Detroit ran cold in the fourth, letting the Bobcats go on a 13-2 run to finish the game and put them in a place for Ramond Felton to hit a jumper to take the lead with 0.7 on the game clock. AI had a quick chance three to win the game, but Detroit fell 78-80 to Larry Brown’s Bobcats.
Key Points:
- Small Ball
- The Pistons scored just 10 points in the fourth quarter.
- Out-rebounded by a horrible rebounding team, 41-44.
- Sheed not only was called for his 13th technical foul of the season, this late game offensive foul call that took the ball (and Sheed) away from the Pistons when the game was on the line wasn’t the cause of the Pistons collapse, but it was tough to swallow.
- Rodney Stuckey led Detroit with 22 points on 8-for-11 shooting with 6 boards and 5 assists in 38 minutes. Another big night from Rodney who must have blamed the loss on the team at least three times in his post game interview…”it was on us not the coaching.” When asked about the small ball lineup, he said it didn’t play a part in the loss.
Photo/Getty Images
- Stuckey Highlights.
- Long gone are the days when Detroit clamped down in the fourth quarter and got it done. Take it however you want to, but it’s not just about how the lineup changed or the small ball. Think about how many games or playoff series the Pistons have lost in the past few year that they had no business losing. Charlotte at home is just icing on the cake.
- FSN Lowlights of the game by the quarter. Want to see the mess unfold? Just watch.
- Sheed’s 16 points, 7 boards, 2 blocks and a steal didn’t even tell the whole story of how he played. His defense at times on Okafor was stellar and he hit a couple of huge threes just when Detroit needed them.
Photo/Getty Images
- Sheed was also a key part of The Play of The Game.
- Maxiell 10 minutes, Amir 9. Combined they scored ZERO points and pulled down 2 boards.
- Missed shots, critical turnovers and an offense that looked horrible in the fourth was to blame.
- Fourth Quarter – 10 points on 2 for 13 shooting with 5 turnovers. Really?????
- Rip looked pretty good in his first game back although I was surprised he logged so many minutes (35). He was just 4-for-12 on the night with 5 boards, 2 assists a steal and a SHOCKING block on the 6″10 Okafor.
Video Courtesy of The NBA, The Detroit Pistons and FSN Detroit
- It’s real cute to put Tayshaun at the point for a play or two, but it takes away from his game. The recently settled and productive Tayshaun Prince flirted with a double-double going 4-for-12 for 11 points, 9 boards, 5 assists, 2 blocked shots, a steal. Now that’s stepping up for your team, especially when your playing out of position. Put him back in the paint where he belongs and see his shooting percentage go right back up again.
- Just six minutes from the only true point guard on the team. Will Bynum was 2-for-4 with a board and no assists.
- Dyess, 9 boards and just 2 points.
- Iverson 5-for-12 shooting for 13 points with 5 turnovers in 38 minutes. Can’t really hold the last shot of the game against him, how many times is he going to be put in that position to win a game?
- AI – “We just got beat, we lost a game we should have won easily.” Via MLive
- Rip is now all for doing what’s best for the team. That came before the Bobcats game.
- Fun with Small Ball.
- Hit me with your comments, I know there are a ton of frustrated Pistons fans today. Maybe even more after tonight’s game in Indiana. Oh, and my apologies to those of you at the game last night. On a miserably cold night the last thing you want to do is drive home in sub zero temps after losing to the Bobcats on a last second shot.
- BTW Steve is ready to put up an open letter to Michael Curry here on N4S and I’m all for it if things keep going south. Want in on it….by all means leave ’em in the comments.
You can’t blame this loss on Curry, You can’t blame it on small ball. You can blame it on all the Pistons in the 4th quarter who couldn’t hit a basket to save their life. I was actually suprised at how well Curry worked in minutes for Rip and AI. Side note: Sheed got another technical foul. Alright Sheed!!!
“Just six minutes from the only true point guard on the team. Will Bymum was 2-for-4 witha a board and no assists.”
I’m pretty sure Stuckey is a true point guard.
I have no problem with blaming Curry. Too many times down the stretch they tried to burn up the clock and we’re forced to take quick shots to avoid a 24 sec violation. Thats on the coach, this team is too talented to play like this. I’m sick of everyone telling us we have to like Curry because Joe does. He wasn’t even a mediocre player and is a horrible coach. Give him the boot, pick up Avery Johnson or Laimbeer. The players don’t need a friend coach, they need a coach especially someone with experience.
Stuckey may be our point guard but he came here as a combo and he’s probably better suited at the 2. He is one hell of a pg though.
And, I’m bot putting the blame on Curry……just yet.
R.Hamilton 35:18 4-12
T.Prince 39:39 4-12
R.Wallace 29:01 7-14
A.Iverson 37:01 5-12
R.Stuckey 38:16 8-11
A.Johnson 09:35 0-0
J.Maxiell 11:19 0-1
W.Bynum 06:46 2-4
A.McDyess 26:19 1-4
A.Afflalo 06:46 0-4
Points are hard to come by when you don’t get shots. Look at the bench’s shot ATTEMPTS how are they going to get more than 6 points when they don’t get the ball? In particular, look at the big men on the team. Other than Sheed not one other big got more than 4 shots the whole game. And the thing that really sucks is in the starting lineup is not only how many shots the starters take, but how many miss, only Stuckey and Sheed had a decent shot percentage. Although I don’t like games where 5 assists is high for the team
Hate small ball, but I think I’m getting tired of the selfishness on this team more
Also look at their minutes
Also what is the point of having Dyess be the guy off the bench if he is not going to anchor the offense or really even touch the ball now that Stuckey is in the starting lineup. Will Bynum is the only one to run the pick and pop with Dyess at all.
:/
Amen Amer ican Prince…especially about getting Dyess the ball.
What I’ve noticed is they aren’t running plays for McDyess like they used to. I miss getting 10 points from him on his 16 footers.
Eddie, I am usually the first to blame Curry. I really don’t like some of his coaching decisions. However 2-13 in the 4th quarter is not the coaches fault. Also, if you notice most of those posessions where they almost had a clock violation. Prince had the ball and was left for a bad shot attempt. I love Prince but he didn’t have a great game. 4-12 of shooting.
The Fan, I hear you. It comes down to the quality of shots taken. I don’t solely blame Curry, but its not working out with this clown as coach. But if you look at our fourth quarters, we slow down and they speed up. We don’t match they’re intensity. And everyone is 100% right about Dyess. Get him the ball, he should be getting 12 points a game guaranteed. It seems like Iverson and Stuckey lose confidence with they’re teammates when they miss a couple of shots.
I’ve always considered someone who looks to pass first to be a “true” point guard. Given that description, I don’t really think we have a true point guard on our team, but I think Stuckey would fit that description better than Bynum. He’s kind of like a homeless man’s Allen Iverson.
I’m seconding the idea of Avery Johnson. He would work wonders with these team. I get excited just thinking about it, ah!
just plain RIDICULOUS!
Maxiell gets only 10 minutes. Has a rebound, assist and steal. He scored 0 points because he was only given ONEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE shot. Maybe if Stuckey would pass the ball more, there would be more flow to the pistons game and they would actually win against crappy teams! Its making me sick, TRADE MAXIELL OR PLAY HIM AND DONT PLAY SHEED AND MCDYESS SO MANY MINUTES.
(Just plain get rid of Kwame and Amir)
Amir shouldnt even be playing, 4 fouls in what 12 minutes?
I have nothing to say to Michael Curry that can be printed on a family blog. Just visualize a lot of asterisks, and Popeye with steam coming out his ears.
The main thing that needs to be figured out is why they jump out to big leads and then let them slip away. If they could figure that out and fix it they’d be fine. That’s not just this year either. This has been happening for years. Even with Billups.
As much as we all like the players on this team, I think that things still need to be shaken up a little more, because even with AI they still look like the same old Pistons.
You know I really wanted Avery Johnson before the season started, but as the season goes on and I see Devin Harris finally start going off, it occurs to me that maybe Avery was the reason Devin never took off in Dallas, and maybe Joe D say some things in Avery he didn’t like. Although I do believe the job was Curry’s to lose.
We need guys how will take over mentally on this team. That is one reason I hated the AI trade. He is a soldier, not a leader.
First games Hamilton is back and we lose.
Just get rid of Hamilton
What’s with Max? His numbers are way down this year. WHy sign him to htat contract to be the undersized beast in the paint if the Curry chicken isnt going to play him? Joe & Curry not on the same page? Its as if Curry has Flip syndrome of being scared of the teams bigs outside of Sheed & Dyess. I really thought this was the year when Amir started to come into his won stop fouling every time down the court? WHats the deal? Sitting ont he bench for those years didnt teach him not to foul? What has to be done? I also think AI needs to be the 6th man, play with AA, Fabio, Dyess/Max/Kwame. He can create and that way hed be playing against the other teams second unit, you know insert all those Ginobili arguments here. What is the deal with Rip? I didnt realize he was so egotistical about his starting spot. Hes the captain. He should act like it. Im starting to think Joe D traded the wrong backcourt starter. I think now Chauncey & Stuckey would have been netter than Rip & Stuckey. But I hope Im wrong. THis team needs Rips mid-range game. But not his finesse. With Sheed aging into the perimeter shooter he always wanted to be this team needs physicality, and in the D it’s always been about Defense, correct? I just dont understand how these guys slack on D at times. This team is still too complacent, 1 of the posters above me is correct. I miss Big Ben more than ever, he covered up all these “flaws” with his intensity & work on the court. I know Joe D did the right thing letting him go but he really was the most “bout it” player on the team. I wish we had even just one player who cared like he did. And I think Tay is the closest to it, but hes just not a game changer like Big Ben was.
* Amir come into his own. Sorry ’bout all the grammatical errors, it just frustrates us all to see this team play so cold blooded & well for some stretches & then see the flip-side where they all act like somebody needs to change their “diapers”. THis team needed a gamechanger with the Darko pick. Stuckey’s pick was the consolation prize I know, but we could of had Melo, D-Wade, I mean, you all know who was in that draft, myself, I like the bigs so I’d of gone with CB4 for now but Joe D would of prolly gone with Melo seeing as how we Had the wallace bros or whatever.
Bring on Chris Bosh!!!!
Sheed should stop getting techs. Period. That is the one thing that I can’t stand about him. That right there says that he is NOT a team player. He hurts the team when he gets techs and the opponent gains momentum after it! Shut up and play basketball. It’s getting old, and I’m surprised Curry puts up with it. Bench him. What was the Pistons record when he was hurt?
I think the Pistons should play with the bigger lineup with Rip coming off the bench or a compromise being reached, so the team’s chemistry doesn’t get messed up. It seemed to work well in December. The compromise would be playing small ball at the start of the first quarter, then at the 8:00 mark or during the first round of substitutions, Curry would make the substitution and use the normal lineup. I would think that if the Pistons had to keep all the starters happy, this would be the best way to appease them while also helping team chemistry.
by the props to rip on that awesome block.
And Max signed the contract after the very first game of the season right before the deadline. I think he and his agent knew his numbers would go down with the new system. And it looks like they were right