The Pistons handed the Orlando Magic their first loss of the season Tuesday night at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Not only where the Pistons without Richard Hamilton again, Tayshaun Prince finally missed a game after starting 496 straight. Great guard play all around for Detroit led by the gutsy play off Will Bynum after he returned from a poke in the eye from Marcin Gortat and made some key plays down the stretch to lead Detroit to a 80-85 victory.
Key points:
- Though the crowd was sparse at the Palace, the Pistons had the crowd rocking from tip to buzzer.
- 17 minutes from Superman, who finally fouled out on in the fourth on a Bynumite drive.
- 63 combined points from Gordan, Stuckey and Bynum.
- When did white chocolate land in Orlando?
- Jonas Jerebko who became the first Swedish born player to start and NBA took Tayshaun Prince’s spot in the lineup. Jerebko was 0-for-5 but grabbed 5 boards and was hustling all night long.
- Things got scrappy in the second half when both teams got physical with their fouls. Could it have started with the Stuckey throw down on Dwight that sent him to the locker room? Possibly, but how can 50 Cent hurt Superman…really. Hard fouls back and fourth, especially one from Jameer Nelson on Will Bynum. Even J.J. Reddick got into the mix.
- If your counting that’s 4 straight wins against the Magic.
- It’s getting a little better for Charlie V. Villanueva scored 12 with an assist and grabbed 8 boards. He’s looking like he’s really getting used to Detroit Basketball.
- First NBA points for Austin Daye in his 4 minutes on court.
- Prince will be sidelined for at least three games before his status is re-evaluated this weekend.
- I can’t tell you how many times we are going to hear “Rip and Tay or just Tay or just Rip…..should be traded” just stop now. It’s one game and we are 4 games into the season.
- Great night for Rodney who was one rebound shy of a double-double. Stuck put up 20 points with 9 boards, 3 assists and a steal.
Photo/Getty Images
- Don’t worry about Rodneys’ assists… though the ball movement was ok at times, the Pistons only had 8 total all game. Will this team have assist issues all season long…probably not.
- Ok, I did read this stat right: Orlando was 10-for-35 from three point land… that’s a ton of threes. Meanwhile the Pistons were 0-for-6 on the night.
- No play at all for Jason Maxiell, is he in the doghouse with Kuester too?
- By far win or lose and despite the absence of Rip and Tay, this was the best the Pistons have played in a long, long time. I’m talking current or past lineup. Hard fought, gritty basketball was the key and Detroit did everything they had to do to pull it out.
- On a night that I thought the bigs would have had to step up, it was the guards who had big nights. They not only put up big numbers, they got the Magic in foul trouble.
- Ben Gordon was great again, leading the team with 23 points, 5 boards, 3 assists and a steal. He’s stepping up and taking doing what he’s got to do when the Pistons need buckets. And guess what …he makes ’em. He was 6-for-10 from the floor and 11-for-11 from the line.
Photo/Getty Images
- Eight total points from the Piston Bigs on the night.
- Pistons went to the line 38 times and made 31 to Orlando’s 12-for-16 from the line. Thank the Pistons guards for driving the lane all night long.
- Great play from Ben Wallace again, who scored just 2 but grabbed 10 boards with 2 steals and 2 blocked shots. Best of all he was fired up…just like old times.
- I have to say I really like Dwight Howard, but he’s defiantly one of those players who’s face always looks like he never committed a foul in his life.
- Orlando led 41-38 at the half but the Pistons (finally with a good third quarter) made a game of it the rest of the way.
- I am not kidding you when I tell you the last few minutes of the game was electrifying at the Palace. When it was clear that we were going to pull it out I was simply WOWed.
- Not only did Bynum come back, he drove the lane hard on Dwight, sacrificing his already bruised body (eye) and forced Howard to foul out. With his 20 points on the night he clearly was the player of the game, especially what he had to do to get it. His basket in the closing minute was the dagger.
Video Courtesy of The NBA and The Detroit Pistons
- Crazy hand for Will Bynum who came back from a horrible poke in the eye from Gortat. He looked like he wasn’t even going to be able to stand up at first, let alone come back in the game. And looking at the replay when I returned from the game it was worse than on Palace Vision. That’s what I call Superman!
- Oh, and was that a tackle on Will, Jameer?
Photo/Getty Images
- Rebound war won 44-41.
- Great win, things came together and the team gave Pistons fans something to cheer about.
- Thanks go out to my Twitter followers who (in a matter of seconds) let me know why Tayshaun didn’t start last night and what exactly happened to Will Bynum when he went down. Love going to the games, but when you have no idea what Blaha and Kelser are saying it can be frustrating. I know you have my back, so thanks.
- Highlights from the game
DEEEEETROIT BASKETBALLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!
is it just me or does mason sound bored doing the starting 5?
awesome game…
oh btw, i live in toronto and amir johnson just shouted out need4sheed on raptors tv
they asked him what pistons fans think of him (cuz toronto vs. detroit tomorrow) and he mentioned that a few blog sites out there gave him love including need4sheed
Thanks Mannie, I actually got a heads up from a friend in the Media over in Toronto who was there when he did it. I got to see the vid.
yeah because this site is the only one who thinks amir johnson is worth a damn thats why.. hes a bum
What’s with Maxiell on the bench all night!!!
He’s supposed to get more minutes with Dyess and Sheed gone. It really sucks, coz he’s better than Kwame and Willcox for sure.
agreed gmac
In case anyone missed the game
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsQy-ZJYx4Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0nG94R5xVU
lets not go to far. maxiell is a stud, but hes not better then kwame and wilcox for sure. hes good, but we won w.out him sooo?
the only thing max needs to do better is learn when to pass the ball and when to go strong. That and show some emotion. But in my opinion he is better then the other two. And I love him
really surprised Jerebko started considering the DNP last time…Max is really in the doghouse cause he’s got 2 rookies playing over him. I’d like to see more minutes out of Daye.
Despite the small crowd the Palace was a rocking and had that playoff atmosphere to it…
man, how many charges can you take, I love it!
Incredible win, inspiring hustle. I’m so happy for them. They fought for that win & deserved it. Holy Bynumite!
Aye duke i totally agree with you… mason do sound bored…aye nat its not 50cent it fidy cent…great win for the team this was a momental booster… i dont know about rip and tay being traded but one has to go…. we need rip because stuck and bynumite are more of slashers then shooters…..bigs had 8 hows that charlie v had 12? aye nat will you post a bing toon becauses he’s a ex piston hall of famer and is now the mayor of detroit?
I don’t think the win was a fluke. Looks like it only gets better from here. Why’s Maxiell sitting??????? He’s got better defense than CV31
thanks for the youtube link Gmac! will there be another one tomorrow?
Great game from the pistons! too bad for nelson, after being terrorized by a bigger chauncey, he was terrorized again by a younger, bigger and stronger stuckey, and faster and smarter bynum…
if you watched the youtube vid, maxi’s face at the near of the end of the game, it was undescribable… a mix of emotions that’s what it was… joy for the win, anguish-wonder-frustration for being benched… don’t want to give meaning to that but i have this feeling he won’t be playing anytime soon…
He was sitting because he is way too small. You can’t rely on Maxiell, i don’t know why people don’t understand this. The man just can’t consistantly pull down rebounds. I like him, but unless he is on a team with a dominate Center, you can rely on Maxipad, sorry. And his defense is suspect, he does get some big ben flashback blocks, but also give up alot of easy ones. I like that i saw Charlie V doing some good board work last night though.
as charles barkley said because he’s smaller he can defend Dwight Howard better than taller players because he can take his legs out. Plus he plays hard.
Thats what Im talking about.The guards went on a terror. that will be affective all season. they are looking better every game .max didnt play but I gues they still went to work and got it done. stuckey punished the guards and will and gordan punished the whole team. I love to see the Orlando coaches face when he is losing to us, his face expressions crack me up.
GO! PISTONS!
Ok I like Kwame. He gives us good minutes and he only does what he can. (play D and hustle). But come on Willcox can’t play D at all. CV is not that good at defense either.
The only guy on the magic team that PLAYS big is Howard, and Jason can guard him, coz the only move he has is get close to the rim and lay it in. Besides Ben Wallace, Jason is the strongest of all our big men. Saying that Maxiell didn’t play coz he’s too small is a joke, because Ben Wallace played well against their big men.
Maxiell is no guaranteed starter but he’s works harder, moves quicker, gets more rebounds and plays better D thank Willcox and Kwame FOR SURE!
The DNP must not be related to the actual game plan. If a coach has to bench someone like Jason Maxiell, it’s a sign of trouble… Let’s hope there is another explanation.
Big deal… Maxiell was benched.
He’ll play tonight in Toronto.
the pistons are going to win the rest of there games for the season 80-2
Heck ya!!!!! hahaha
Natalie, how come Tay and Rip were not at the game, I know they were injured, but don’t players usually show up in street clothes and support the team. Just wondering.
They do usually show up and sit on the bench during games when they are injured. Maybe they are taking the rest seriously and trying to get their bodies healed quicker.
I know from back injuries and trust me… when it’s bad, you’re not going anywhere. You rest and don’t move.
Theres is no pleasure like waking up after a Pistons victory over the Orlando Magic.. making my cup of coffee and sit down infront of my computer and read the Orlando Sentinal.. lol those people are SADDDD!.. good game.. but one question.. should dumars be on the hot seat in the draft room?.. seems to me like D-A-Y-E is a B-U-S-T… why is the 3rd dude we took late in the draft the best out of all of them.. and Dejuan Blair is THE MAN and dumars still passed on him.. i think he should be left out of the draft room.
Steve, a bit too early to be suspecting that Daye is a bust buddy… 4 games in really? He’ll be decent i think maybe has the biggest upside of all the rookies on our squad. As far as I see there is great anticipation from true Pistons fans about this team and where they are goin to be. I love the play of Gordon and Stuckey so far as they seem to be (along with Big Ben of course) the anchors of this team. Yet to be seen if Rip is on course to be steady again, although i liked what i saw from him in the first game before the injury hit em. If we can keep intensity up for the whole game this year, like last night, we will be easy 4-6 seed in the east. I like the nucleus right now and I can appreciate what Joe D has put in place. Let’s get it Pistons, I’ll say Hi to ya haters!
Maxi used to put up great defense against Orlando. He was a stud in the ’08 playoffs before getting knocked out by Boston, which he was a no show in. I like Max I just wish he was more consistent. It’s one game he didn’t play in though so I wouldn’t read to far into it just yet. As far as trading Rip or Tay… I think that is a terrible idea. Tayshaun brings in great defense. He also is inconsistent though. The win against Disneyland was a big one for the D make no doubt about it, but they were also without Pietrus and Lewis. Not to mention Dwight and Carter were hurt. Is anybody else excited to see traveling called in the NBA again?
Oh and it looks like the Red Wings are getting back to their style of play.
excuses excuses come on dookie i just agreed with u and then u say tay brings great d but is inconsistent… thats still bad..thats like me saying my girlfriend is a good girlfriend, but she cheats on me.. come on man…come to reality the stones need a big fast like nat said the bigs had 8 (but charlie v had 12?) doesnt make since but who cares!!!…anyways one of them boys gotta go… good win for the pistons… hurt or not if orlando is such a good team, that supposed to finish in the top 3 in the east (according to espn,s.i)…then they should be able to beat a team thats gonna finish 9th (according to espn,si and band wagon piston fans)…good teams dont make excuses they just win…so apparently their not as good as we thought
Come on man give the Prince some love… Tay’s inconsistency is from the Offensive side.. His D is there.. How is your girlfriend by the way? haha only kidding. If it came down to losing Rip or Tay I would say Tay, but we wouldn’t be smart in getting Bosh. We would need a SF. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want Jerebko starting and getting the bulk of the minutes for the 3 man.. I still think our team if healthy is a 4 or 5 in the east. Maybe even higher depending on how the Suckaliars do with Shaq.
I too enjoy reading the various blogs after the games. It’s funny how people keep saying how much better Will is this year. Last year Curry hardly played Will during the season, it wasn’t until the end did Will get to showcase his skillz. Anyhoooo I’m happy for the W and I love our team this year down but never out….DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETroit Baaasketbaaaaalll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think it pays off having Orlando’s former head coach on our bench. Plus I dont understand why the Magic traded Rafer Alston and kept Jameer Nelson. Jameer Nelson goes down then the Magic go to the finals. He comes back and they lose? Not saying just Jameer Nelson but he’s too small and scoring oriented as a point guard when you have probably the best center on your team
Is it just me, or did the Magic get rimed with fouls in the 4th quater. If I was a Orlando fan, I would be furious about some of those calls. Although every since charging call was fair, so I’d even be frustrated at how aggressive the Magic were being and how many times they were caught.
However I’m a Pistons fan
And I can’t wait to see Tay and Rip back, both fantastic players, with our team playing the way they did tonight. We can only get better.
now thats wat i call detroit basketball.
Daye is a bust.. just like amir johnson.. to skinny.. looks lost and cant dribble or drive or shoot.. dejuan blair was looking dumars right in the face and just like darko he picked daye.. dumars cant draft.. period.
um Prince I think hes a pretty good player….. wait didnt joe d draft him……….. yeah thats right
i think john hammond played a big part on drafts and he was always a good team with dumars. Without him i think Joe Dumars doesn’t have that overall view he once had. Plus remember we had a good team and they eliminated each other’s faults. Now when we get rookies we are seeing them in bigger roles then in the past and expecting immediate results.
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/10323/will-bynum-and-the-pistons-make-a-statement Love this article! Great win DEEEEETROIT. Thankfully Bynumite is ok!!!
Hey Nat. Everyone knows 50CENT would BLAST Superman!!!
Mike Valenti is tearing rodney stuckey a new one! holy shxt!