For a team that looked like they were going to be offensive-minded to start the season, things sure did change. With the bulk of the Pistons scoring sidelined due to injuries, the Pistons snapped their seven game skid Sunday afternoon against the Atlanta Hawks 88-94. You can thank the defense, gritty play from “The Swede,” Jonas Jerebko, and the rejuvenated and revitalized Ben Wallace. Wallace and Jerebko combined for 16 of the Pistons’ season-high 24 offensive rebounds.
Key Points:
- Coach Kuester shook up the starting lineup Sunday afternoon starting Chucky Atkins (PG), Rodney Stuckey, Jonas Jerebko, Jason Maxiell and Ben Wallace.
- The lineup change was a gutsy move from Kuester who’s basically doing whatever he can with what he’s got available. I said it a few games back, it’s not just like having three of your best scorers out, it’s like having four when you can’t count on steady production from Charlie Villlanueva. Maybe the temporary move to the bench is just what Villlanueva needed to get himself back in gear, it’s not like we know he can’t score.
- The change also helped Rodney Stuckey. Having Chucky Atkins running the floor let Rodney play the position he’s best at.
- “We talk about the leadership that we get from Ben, Tayshaun and Rip, but we need to add Chucky to that discussion,” Kuester said. “He’s been huge for our young guards. He’s going to be a coach in this league, and he’s doing a lot of that for us.” Via NBA.com
- Atkins hadn’t started an NBA game since 2007, and hadn’t started for Detroit since Nov. 30, 2002.
- The points in the paint stat was huge for the Pistons with 60 for the game. Detroit started taking it inside early.
- Detroit’s biggest lead was 12, Atlanta’s 2.
- Ben Camey Wallace has brought back the “Going to Work” style of Basketball to Detroit again, right where it belongs. Ben put up a double-double with 18 boards, 10 points and 2 steals. The Pistons may not have a stellar record, but if it weren’t for Ben Wallace they wouldn’t have a chance to win night in and night out.
Photo/Getty Images
- How about holding Joe Johnson to 5-for-19 shooting.
- Charlie Villanueva broke his nose when he was fouled by the Hawks’ Zaza Pachulia and smashed face first into Wallace’s side. Villanueva, gushing blood,with a tissue to stop the bleeding, hit both free throws before heading to the Pistons’ locker room not return.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbJcu61Aa4c
- Another “Masked Man” for Detroit. Get well soon Charlie, you showed some guts coming back on court and sinking the free throws.
- Josh Smith makes dunking pretty.
- Does Will Bynum have some kind of fourth quarter energy drink he’s hoarding from the rest of the team? The Thrill is money in the final quarter.
- Kuester made mention about 5 times in the Post Game Presser…”everyone is being held accountable.” Was that a hint about why the lineup changed?
- Rodney Stuckey Circus shot!
Video Courtesy of The NBA, FSN and The Detroit Pistons
- Mr. Stuckey played well, leading Detroit with 23 points on 10-for-23 shooting with 8 assists a steal and 2 boards. He looks good at the two, doesn’t he? Not only has he been stepping up his game lately, his jumpshot looks better and he seems to be making better decisions when driving the lane.
Photo/Getty Images
- I’m ecstatic to finally make the ball glow again…the losing streak was brutal.
- Jason Maxiell stepping up in the starting spot was more than refreshing. His numbers may not be eye-popping, but he made some great plays down the stretch. Jason finished with 7 points, 6 boards and 2 steals. I’m always surprised for some reason when he hits 15 footers with ease. I love it, but I just picture him wreaking havoc with a emphatic dunk.
- Some great moves from Will Bynum who finished with 19 points on 8-for-13 shooting and was key in the fourth quarter.
- Chris Wilcox DNP.
- Kwame Brown stepped up big time in the first half. Brown scored 8 with 5 boards in 15 minutes of play.
- Sweeeeeeeeede! Need4Swede?
Photo/Getty Images
- Jonas Jerebko, with his own Fan Club on hand, had another great game. He may as well just tattoo Hard Work Pays Off on his arm because he’s the poster child for it. Jonas with a double-double, 10 points, 11 boards and a key play that may have sealed the win for Detroit.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9IQPNDtJfQ
- So that’s what happened to Mo Evans.
- Austin Daye, just 11 minutes with 2 points and 4 rebounds. I am a bit surprised he didn’t get more time and DaJuan Summers was a DNP. But hey, whatever works. Kue stopped the bleeding…well maybe not for Charlie, but for the Pistons’ record.
- How about Charlie V with a nice block and then he knocks down a three. I love it when things come together.
- Fun game to watch, love the we can get it done with the “no matter what” type attitude. Battered, bruised and always battling should be a new motto.
- Forget Chucky Atkins’ 1-for-7 shooting, he was running the point well for Detroit.
- Game Highlights via NBA.com
[flashvideo file=http://nba.cdn.turner.com/nba/big/games/pistons/2009/11/29/0020900239_atl_det_recap.nba_nba_576x324.flv /]
- With two days off, let’s hope Detroit can at least get Ben Gordon back so he can play in Chicago against his old team on Wednesday.
- The hits just keep on coming…Charlie Villanueva needs surgery. It’s great to follow the @Cv31 on Twitter, you get the news as it happens.
“Surgery tomorrow, wish me luck, I will send a tweet during surgery, lol, the mask is on its way, lets go”
The injury bug is brutal so far this season, this team is getting seriously short handed. It’s never good to have guys get hurt, but this is doing wonders for Jerebkos development.
“Need4Swede” I like it!
THis is make it or break it time for our rookies…
j.jerebko is continually proving himself.
a.daye , d.summers… need to step up now.. or its over for them…
You’re kidding right? if Daye and Summers don’t have good games coming up you are saying that they will never be good? Might as well get rid of them? Billups had an awful rookie season so according to you Dumars should not have signed him because he didnt show up at the beginning of his rookie season? Ben Wallace didnt show up for a couple years he turned out awful too…Prince…the list goes on. Rookies aren’t supposed to be all stars right away there are growing pains. Sure some don’t pan out but to say if they don’t play well its over is absurd.
second win on a sunday!
Much different from our sunday jinx last year!
i’m a little irritated at the hypocrisy.
Chucky goes 1-7 and you say “he ran the point well” so ignore the numbers. he played less than half the game, and recorded one assist.
Stuckey played 24 minutes than Chucky, and was running the offense for more than half the game. he had 8 assists and you still don’t say he ran the offense.
Sorry your irritated…my whole point was that it was nice to see a proven point guard able to run the show and give it to Stuckey. If that didn’t translate that was my fault…didn’t say Chucky had a stellar game it was just nice to see Rodney at the two.
24 more*
OK, Doesnt relate to the pistons at all. But seriously? WHY IS CHRIS WEBBER STILL LISTED ON THE WARRIORS INJURY REPORT? lmfao. day to day (Knee)
What?
http://www.nba.com/fantasy/fantasy_playerinjury.jsp
Chucky isn’t exactly being asked to score 20 points a night. He brought energy, leadership, discipline, and other intangibles that Natalie is talking about. Without Chucky’s play, along with everyone else, we don’t win…Chucky ran the point well, and if this makes sense, he did so without being on the court. He set the tone by starting that Stuckey followed and provided coaching from the bench.
Don’t get me wrong, Stuckey played huge and ran the offense while he was playing point. I think this was probably his best all-around game so far, if he could just score a little more efficiently, I’d be a very happy man. He’s getting better each game!
The talk around Summers was that he was NBA-ready now, but maybe that’s been proven wrong. He seems to be a little slow in picking up the ropes, but he’s got plenty of time to prove himself, he has great potential. Daye is not going to be a finished product for a while, but from what I’ve seen, he’s worth sticking with!
Hope BG7 and CV31 are OK for Wednesday, and please hurry up Rip and Tay!
Great win!!!!
BBBBBennnnn WWWWallllace!
Need4Swede!!!!
Here it is:
http://www.tackfilm.se/en/?id=1259589189481RA26
Have fun guys! 😉
See what happens when stuckey is in his natural position? like i said since he was drafted.. hes not a PG nor will he ever be.. and also PAY ME 30 MILLION and i will shoot free throws with a broken nose.. that didnt take guts its how much you pay the bastards.
http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/news/story?id=4699213 ……. Roscoe will always be the man
What really got Roscoe in trouble was his, “Everyone knows they (referees) try to keep games close and that they keep scouting reports on guys”, statement. In the NBA if you speak the truth, it will cost you big $$$. Ask Mark Cuban who has been fined over $1.2 million for his statements regarding NBA “officiating”…
a hard fought game that finally resulted in a W
Great win, one of the funnest victories ive seen in a season or so.
I dont think we should get caught up in what position Rodney plays, its clear Joe loves the combo guard idea of BG and Stuck, and as long as Stuckey focuses on defense, being aggressive, and looking for the open man, I dont care what position he plays. He does the same thing regardless of position, he just has to find his groove with the sqaud before he can really peak is you ask me.
You can tell he would have tons of more assists if he knew what he had, right now he doesnt have much, he had to tell JJ yesterday to take the open 3’s because hes so wide open every time, and as weapons return, spacing improves greatly, which is what Stuckey needs to excel. Dishing on drves to better players with more confidence, and more room to penetrate. Everyone should relax on Stuckey for awhile.
surgery for cv31 he will be out for a week probablybe too sore to take any contact. dam. GO PISTONS
I scream in terror when I think about how Curry would be coaching this team right now. Great move by Kue to change the lineup a little bit and actually make it look like he might know something about basketball.
So here’s the thing with Stuckey. He’s not really a PG which is why he plays better when he plays SG. I know he had 8 assists or whatever and ran the offense for a while, but look at guys like D Wade, Vince Carter, Richard Jefferson. The NBA is loaded with SG’s that can man the point from time to time, but the “point” (no pun intended) is that they still play their natural position and have someone else at PG. That’s my 2 cents.
Jason has had 3 good games in a row. How ever you said that you picture max dunking on someone? He hasn’t had a nice dunk in like 2 years.
Wheres Decembers schedule wallpaper?
Nothing like starting Chucky and Stuckey 🙂
Wow. There is a lot of hostility between Pistons fans. It was a great win with some stifling defense. These guys never give up. Maybe the Hawks had more talent in that game, but we had more heart. It looks like McDyess might have left some of his heart here at the D. Anyway Go Pistons!! Let’s take out the Bulls.
Maybe I just don’t see him but it seems like RIP hasn’t been to any of the Pistons games since he’s been injured. At least Tayshaun is there. But why isn’t RIP their. Is he still the captain of the team? Its pretty lame!
i guess I’m a dumb-ass for not seeing the glowing ball on Natalie’s write-ups for games the boys won. But now that you point that out, that’s pretty cool Nat.
Right now, Ben is leading the league in offensive rebounds/game. Do you think Coach Q talked to him about scoring more?
just curious. I never really thought about it until I read today’s True Blue Pistons article: “what happens to the Pistons who are in street clothes because of an injury? do they still get paid in full?” if that’s so, the Rockets must hate t-mac for draining their dough.
Hey Nat, where is the cartoon of Chucky Atkins?
Chucky is on his way…