As Pistons fans it’s hard to image that a late season game with the Charlotte Bobcats would weigh so heavily on Detroit’s future, but it does. The Pistons host the Bobcats today at the Palace of Auburn Hills and as much as this game means to a struggling Detroit, Charlotte will be fighting for a win to help them reach the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.
If the Detroit cannot beat the Bobcats today, Charlotte will pull within a game of the eighth place Pistons with just five games to play left this season. The (34-42) Bobcats have won six of eight to get themselves back in the playoff race.
Yes it’s that big, and don’t think for one minute that Larry Brown wouldn’t be more than happy to serve Detroit a loss tonight.
And yes…an early evening Sunday game just adds to the way things have gone for Detroit this season.
Tip off is at 6:00 PM and will be locally broadcast on FSN. If you can’t watch it, listen live on WDFN 1130 AM or follow the game through your computer at NBA.com.
UPDATE:
BYNUMITE!
Bynum scored a franchise record 26 points in the fourth quarter to lead Detroit to a 104-97 win over the Bobcats. Will scored the final 13 points for the Pistons and finished with a career high 32 points.
all detroit needed to do was put AI at the 1, rip at the 2, and prince at the 3, dyess or amir at 4, and sheed at 5 and keep the starting lineup all year and detroit would have been fine… but MC has skitsafrenia and cant keep a starting lineup for more than 10 games without changing it… i feel sad ai is out for the year, but i cant wait to see where he goes, cuz i still think he has more left in the tank.
big game for charlotte today, let’s see what happens
This is the most important game of the season for us. As big as the playoffs, maybe even bigger. Charlotte needs to win this game more than we do, but losing would really hurt…
oh comon, im actually gonna root for Charlotte on this one, they are such a great team and worked really hard this year, im a big piston fan but Charlotte deserves to be in play offs this year, they are buying into LB’s system and its working, how about pistons get their shit together and catch up chicago for the 7th spot
slim shady why u still here? Iverson is done as a piston.
I’m watching the gamecast…what did rip do for his second tech?
rip ejected. nice.
Completely AI’s fault.
What the FUCK is Rip doing? I mean, if he knows that the Ref doesnt need much to give techs, why does he open his goddamn mouth?
If we lose this one it’s b/c of Rip’s stupid ass complaining! Jesus Christ!
I’m really starting to think that Bynum should be out starting point guard from now on….man that guy can play!
Pat dont open yopur big mouth if pistons lose its not hamiltons fault
any way the ref was being stupid its was the other players foul
Will Bynum
9-15, 32 Pts
4 Rebs, 7 Assists
Bow Down Pistons Fan.
A real coach would have made Bynum a starter a long time ago…but oh well. Good win.
26 points in the 4th quarter by Will Bynum! Franchise record for points scored in the 4th (previously held by Zeke with 24 in the 4th vs the Lakers back in ’88).
What a finish. Thanks for the W, Will!
@joey
if a dim-witted dumb ass like you had seen the replay, you could have seen that Rip was holding him. So it could have gone either way. It was still stupid of Rip to open his mouth and of you to use your keyboard.
Horrible to watch towards the end, but well deserved win.
agree bynum should be starting.
was bynum’s 26 in the 4th the most for the nba this season?
great D detroit.
D is 4 Detroit
D is 4 Detroit.
will bynum ftw
More PT for bynum curry
shittttt bynum your a playerrrrrrrrrr 26 in one quarter… thata boy
WOW, Bynum’s a straight up gangster, thata boy young fella
Bynum was lighting it up!
I like what you’ve done with AI’s cartoon pic on the side there, Natalie. Nice. 😀
bynum might be doing good in the season but in the playoffs when teams shut him down, then youll miss AI….
hahahahahahahaha shab u made my day.
Who AI?
Is there any question that Bynum is our best player at this point?
BYNAMIC!
Pete, I wouldn’t say he’s our best player, but he definately was the best on the floor tonight. Unbelieveable.
Natalie- the Iverson face update is priceless.
My vote: Bynum for starting PG.
ok so bynum gets 32 off the bench and our STARTER stucky gets a big 8 points, im sick of all the stucky hype, bynums drives are better, jump shot is better, and bynum runs the offense better. put stuckys ass on the bench if hes not gonna step it up.
Idk Its quite the Debate. I mean i COMPLETELY understand you all saying bynum should start. Tho i mean lets just see how he plays after this game. Teams dont know about him for the most part. When they come in they arnt saying lets stop will bynum. They were saying stop Rip, Stuckey, Tay, Sheed, Dyess. I mean if bynum is still this great in a couple weeks Start him. Cause i garuentee you hes prioity number 2 now for teams to stop.
Melodeath,
The reason why Bynum should start is because he is the closest we have to a legitimate PG. He makes better decisions than Stuckey, he can shoot of the dribble also.
Now aren’t you glad you got Will’s pic on the left Natalie?
Time to start the official FREE BYNUM campaign. Will’s a much better slasher than Stuckey. I’ll withhold judgment on his shooting for now (I don’t think we’ve seen him shoot enough just yet), but Stuckey’s drives don’t hold a candle to Will’s. Stuckey misses everything around the basket because he can’t make midair adjustments. Will’s got the nose for it. Not only that, but he racks up more assits and gets the offense actually MOVING when he’s on the floor. No contest in my mind. Even if his scoring numbers decline when defenses start picking up on him, the ability to run an offense is an inborne skill, and Will’s got it. Stuckey doesn’t.
At this point I don’t C how you can justify not starting bynum unless you don’t believe in starting the best players.
ok….about time some one steps up in Detroit !
now we just got to get to the playoffs and wake up and show that we still have this in us !
o and on a Iverson Note, i love Allen and always will have respect for him, just i will try and forget about his “Piston Days”
hope we get some one awesome in free agency !
ai is da best fufuck yall and the piston’s
why are AI fans so demented? We don’t hate AI, he just didn’t work for us. Bynum was great, but I think at this point the team needs stability more than anything. curry has to stick with the same plan from here on out. enough adjustments have been made.
A.I.? Who? I’m sorry, who? A.I.? You mean the guy who cut himself from the team?
You mean the guy who was too egotistical to play a role in order to win a championship?
Whatever. I’ll take W.B. over A.I. any day.
I’m just afraid that Joe is just gonna FORCE Stuckey as our starting PG just to save his ass.
I doubt he has the nerve to admit he made TWO huge mistakes at our guard personnel.
I think we should are relax about the whole Stuckey vs. Bynum thing. I love Will coming off the bench for all the reasons people are saying he should start. Fans are fickle though. Stuckey had a 40 point game earlier this year, and if we’d just watched that game we’d all be saying “start Stuckey- he’s our hero!” The team needs consistencey right now. Without consistencey, chemistry is hard pressed to develop and there have been so many changes this year already that I think we should stand pat. If will comes in and we win because he drops 32 off the bench then SWEET, why change that? It’s a recipe that worked tonight. You should play a starting 5 that works best and have a bench that’s capable of bringing instant offense/energy into the game. I don’t think that starter vs. bench player means better vs. worse. Just ask A.I.- it’s harder to be instantly affective off the bench than it is to start.
Craig, are you mentally retarded.
You would take Will Bynum over Allen Iverson.
Craig please do not ever compare the two again. Ever. Are you comparing Zach Randolph to say Wilt Chamberlain. What other theories do u have about the NBA.
Everyone is dying to see how smart you are. You should join mensa. You are easilly the smartest person alive comparing will bynum to allen iverson. I mean I would rather an mvp and one of the best little men to ever play, but i guess if you like semen you would go the other way.
haha you guys crack me up…. yes will bynum is better than stuckey, no shit. so are 90 percent of the starting point guards in the nba. But i just laugh because the pistons had a guy that any night could go off for 26 in one quarter and you the fans, the organization, the coaching staff just ran him into the ground and greatly diminished one of the all time greats. and everybody will say, “oh we gave him everychance.” blah blah blah. but you didnt. you used him to clear future cap space, and never accepted him as part of the team. so i am looking forward to the curse you guys have to endure in the coming years for your actions. the days of being a top tier nba team are over for the pistons, so get used to mediocrity.
Ehh. I think the days of the ‘Stons being a top tier NBA team took a step back THIS YEAR but the best is yet to come in the next few years… we made 6 straight ECF finals, and in the seventh year, look to STILL make the playoffs at the 7th or 8th seed even though we have a new rookie coach, lost CB, failed at trying to incorporate AI all year, put a second year man (Stuckey) in charge of the PG position, went through struggles all season with Rip/AI/Stuck combinations, went through various long stretches of injuries, our owner died, and lastly had no real solid center. I’ll take the 7th or 8th seed with a smile on my face (considering all the struggles just mentioned) because we’ll have the second if not the most cap space in the league next season with a solid core of Stuck/Rip/Tay and the possibility of one more season a piece from Wallace and Dice. Add a solid big man to that group and a couple more legit fillers (considering all the money we have to spend) and the best will be yet to come ladies and gents. Take this season (whether we lose 1st or 2nd round) as a blip in Piston history, and a blip in Piston Eastern Conference dominance, to lead us to much greater things…
Why change things that work? Will Bynum is the perfect energizer off the bench. He should just keep up what he is doing, because we need a guy who can come off the bench and score in bunches.
I don’t get why anyone is still mentioning A.I.. Detroit gave him a shot, it didn’t work out, next season he will play somewhere else…end of story. There is no more to be said, there won’t be a sequel to this movie…
Erm, does this not seem a little familiar to you as well?
If I remember right, a different young point guard in Detroit was over-performing this time last year as well. As we’ve seen this year, it’s not as easy as it looks to consistently deliver quality as a starter.
This seems too similar to when Stuckey put up a big game against Boston last year, and we automatically assumed he could consistently run a team as starting point guard.
so we gave up a guy who, along with his fans, claims he can score 26 in a quarter for a guy who actually did, and played good defense too boot. i’m ok with that.
wtf aidee333
Bynum smashed Stuckey last night but that is fine. Just like earlier in the year Stuckey smashed the Bulls for 40, and then another team for 38. Stuckey needs to start and Bynum off the bench, it is a great 1-2 punch. Stuckey hasn’t been playing like he was earlier in the year but that’s because teams now have to pay attention to him. He ripped 8 straight points in like 30 seconds just 1-2 games ago, so teams have to pay attention to him. Bynum is a bona-fide NBA player and once teams start adding him to their game plan he will have to adjust. As for now though, I am enjoying the crazy $*@# he is putting up, just as long as he makes it…
Stuckey is a talented young guy don’t get me wrong, however, his problem is that he can’t run an offense for the whole game. He is a SG, the reason why he had those high scoring games earlier in the season was because Rip was hurt, and he and AI were basically switching the PG roles. They were playing a much faster pace game, which allowed both A.I. and Stuckey to excel.
Since Detroit has decided to play a slower pace, half court game it is better for Bynum to play the majority of the minutes, if you don’t want him to start.
The Pistons are pretty much in every game until the last 2 minutes. For the last 5 years when it was close in the last 2 minutes Detroit would win about 75% of the games. Now they win about 25%.
They need a serious closer to replace the one we lost in Chauncey.
great game for the team. Stucky has great potential and he must develop that jump shot. really looking forward to the NJ and CHI games!
It’s funny how Bynum lately has taken up the role Iverson was suppose to fill. BYNUM is our instant scoring off the bench!
I can honestly say that I’ve been telling people all year that Bynum should be running the point over Stuck. Stuckey is out of control, gets blocked more than any player on our team and doesn’t know how to pass the ball. Bynum gets the ball where players want it and drives better than Stuck. MOVE ON OVER STUCK.
Like some, I thought that AI would work out for the team by bringing a different look..however, AI is a shooting guard… and with rip and aaron and yeah in a way stuckey…. what we lack is more of an actual point guard. In a way though, We’ve all kind of gotten what we asked for in a certain respect-remember last year everyone was yelling for change, trade the core, fire Flip, and on and on….well Joe made a couple and they didnt work out- like Pdubskie said above with all the turmoil the pistons have gone through its amazing they’ve done as well as they have. I’m not trying to make excuses as given how this team can play on some nights we all know they are capable of playing at a high level…but we should cut them some slack. As for AI, he’s a great player but he needs to be a ball first shooting guard on team with more of an uptempo offense-I bet he’d do great on a team like the Warriors under Nelson or maybe even under D’Antoni on the knicks. He just didnt work out for the pistons. I’m glad to see Will Bynum come up and I LOVE his team first attitude-him and Dyess alone have more heart then most teams. I’m ok with the idea of starting stuckey right now for the rest of this season..but if he doesnt improve…and if Will can do a bit more with passing (that behind the head pass to rip was priceless despite rip not making the shot) and reducing his turnovers I’d rather have Will be our PG of the future-and right now, I’d trade Stuck before I’d get rid of Will. He hasnt just caused problems for teams like the bobcats-he gave the lakers some fits a couple of weeks ago as well. Hopefully Wills team attitude alone will be enough to convince Joe D of his value. As for Curry…I’d rather not go there… butI wouldnt be disapointed to get a guy like Avery Johnson… and Sheed-if he’s not a piston on the floor he needs to be a pistons assistant coach!