Need4Sheed Guest Writer: @_dannyb_
Email: Boney
When I was given the opportunity to choose a game to re-cap I naturally chose this game against the Pacers, at home, to write about. Imagine my happiness in ultimately choosing this game, as it was also the first game after beating the hated Celtics (and Sheed!) just 2 nights earlier. This game had it all: No names like Luther Head getting into Richard Hamilton’s head, Danny Granger talking trash and chest bumping rookie (Sweed!) Jonas Jerebko, and a shouting match between co-captain Tayshaun Prince and coach John Kuester. Let’s look at the recap:
- Will Bynum and Ben Gordon were once again held out of the lineup, with injuries. We need these guys back ASAP… I believe that had they been available, Indiana’s reserve PG and SG would not have been able to stick with either of them.
- The rotation for this team continues to baffle me. One night after hanging with Rajon Rondo, one of the best PGs in the NBA, Austin Daye was relegated to garbage time against one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference.
- The game was close for roughly 6 minutes in the first quarter, when both teams struggled to keep possession of the ball. With 6 and a half to go in the first quarter, the Pacers put it into overdrive and cruised to an easy victory. Simply not acceptable.
- Detroit shot just 35 of 85 (41%) from the field for the game. A major culprit of the poor shooting, Rodney Stuckey (3/13) and Tayshaun Prince (3/12). You can give Tay a break because of his time away but Rodney needs to pick and choose his spots better and not force the action so much.
- Jonas (Sweeeeed!) Jerebko was the Pistons’ star of the night: 14 points (7/12 shooting) and 7 rebounds in 33 minutes. He also was able to stay in front of Danny Granger as best he could by only allowing him to shoot 5/12 from the field. Downside to his aggressiveness? Granger was 14/14 from the FT line.
- Tayshaun, c’mon man… it’s one thing to be part of the contingent to undermine the previous head coaches but to get in a shouting match with the coach with 7 to go in the game? Not a good look man.
- This Pacers team could’ve easily been beaten had we put a low post scoring threat down on the block against Troy Murphy and Roy Hibbert. Both men are not known for their defensive prowess, and also it would’ve put their main big men in foul trouble.
- Another positive? Detroit outrebounded the Pacers 45-38 BUT, when you shoot only 41% from the field you will have a lot of second chance opportunities (16 offensive rebounds).
- Welcome back…Kwame? Kwame Brown saw some floor time for the first time in almost 2 weeks. He scored 3 points on 3/6 from the FT line with 2 bebounds(!)
- DaJuan Summers also saw some garbage time minutes and played as well as expected when you’re down 20+ by shooting 1/3 with 1 steal and playing at a +9 +/-.
- 5 Indiana players scored 14 points, or more. 3 Detroit players with 14 or more.
- Losing to this Indiana team, at home, is just not acceptable guys. Especially coming off the high of beating the Celtics… C’mon guys, let’s pick it up huh?
- Will Tay and Coach Kuester’s falling out on the bench result in any disciplinary action, or what most Pistons fans are hoping, trading Tay and pieces for a quality big man?
- When your team sparkplug says:”We just didn’t play with any energy,” Jerebko said. “You saw it. Boston and tonight were like night and day.” – you know that it just wasn’t meant to be. This is a team in transition, a team that has to want to win. No wins are going to come easy for you anymore guys, 2004, 2005, 2006 are all gone… the Bad Boys are not walking through that door! Time to pick it up, and bring back the nastiness that this Pistons franchise has been known for.
- Rip? I don’t mind when you get technicals for getting in the face of Ron Artest or Kobe Bryant… but trash talking to… Luther Head (0/7 FG, 0/3 3pt, 15 minutes)?? You just made his entire career by letting him get in your head. Luther Head? Seriously? Luther Head?? At least talk trash to Dahntay Jones, someone who actually annoys his opponents.. but not Luther Head man. Look at that stat line of Luther Head… look at it again… yeah, 0 for 7 from the field in 15 minutes. Is HE really worth it?
- I don’t understand our rotations… Charlie V plays 20 minutes, Austin Daye plays 8 minutes, Kwame plays 7 minutes… Wilcox plays 11 minutes… The Pacers have 2 legit big men (Murphy and Hibbert), I don’t see why Kwame doesn’t get burn against a guy like Hibbert or why Villenueva isn’t out there more against Murphy.
- It would’ve been nice to see Will Bynum matchup against Earl Boykins… let’s hope Bynum comes back soon. I miss seeing actual highlights during the game and ESPN re-caps.
I want to thank Natalie for giving me this opportunity… I’ve been a fan for a long time. It’s a shame I picked such an awful game to re-cap but, this was fun. This team is going to have his ups and downs, you just don’t expect to lose to the Pacers in such an EPIC FAIL way. Yes, our records in the standings show the Pistons only .5 games up on the Pacers in the Eastern Conference standings but the talent, on paper, shows that our team is better. I don’t blame injuries for wins or losses BUT I’ll go out on a limb here and say that Bynum and Gordon would’ve torched Indiana’s backcourt reserves. You win some, you lose some. You just don’t expect to lose some against the league’s worst teams… (To see the other side of the WIN for the Pacers, go to: http://www.eightpointsnineseconds.com/ – Jared Wade does a great job at what he does, and must have extreme patience to be a fan of the Indiana Pacers)
the other teams point guard is Earl Watson. Earl Boykins plays for Washington.
Yeah I realized that after I sent it. My bad.. Earl Boykins is on my mind more, being from DC and all
Very well written Boney! 🙂
GOOD JOB BONEY
Team doesn’t seem to play real hungry when Prince is on the court. He’s definitely dead weight at this point, playing soft like he usually does and taking time away from the future players like Daye and Jerebko.
I’m kind of wondering if playing Tay hurts or helps his trade value at this point…. If he’s still on the team after the trade deadline, the Pistons should seriously consider just shutting him down for the season, let him get healthy and come back next year as the Tay of old. Next season, if he’s playing like himself again and he is on an expiring deal, he could hold real value a the 2011 trade deadline.
Does anyone know what Tay and Q were fighting about? I always thought that Tay was so even tempered.
boney got (writing) game
i pretty much figured it would happen, i didnt get the chance to see the game but I pretty much called the guys would win against the celtics and lose against the pacers, simply put, we are not good scoring team. So a half court team like the celtics doesnt put pressure on us to score, especially since sheed has taken his flip the switch mentality to boston, but run and gun teams give us trouble because our tranistion defense has to be probably last in the league, but our half court isn’t all bad with guys like ben protecting the paint.
I’m getting tired of Tayshaun talking and not putting the effort in, your not sure where you fit in, then do the hustle stuff and figure the x’s and o’s as you go along, dont assume this team is going to sacrifice plays and shots to get you going make it happen for yourself your not a superstar your not going to get superstar touches get yourself open and your teammates will find you, dont just stand there waiting for something to happen
Lori I’m guessing it was about playing time
at least thats the impression i got when i read this, but it really doesnt give much specific information so we just have to make our own guesses or just leave it alone
http://blog.mlive.com/fullcourtpress/2010/01/about_last_night_because_someo.html
Nice work, boney.
If any Pistons fans care to read the Pacer take (though I’m not sure why you would wanna relive that mess), we have that.
http://www.eightpointsnineseconds.com/2010/01/game-43-recap-best-game-in-some-time/
BOOORING…..NO PICTURES!!!
Where are the footnotes?! I had hoped you would write the post in iambic pentameter. 🙁 Why was the post all about rugby? I don’t understand anything anymore!
Excuse me sir but I don’t see how this has anything to do with chicken wings.
Also, there should be more five-metered things? I think Joanne is onto something.
dats rigth the pistons lossing down the street
Like we say in Russia:there’s no subjunctive in sports. We, pistons fans, are talking too much about if we had one or another player available… The next point i want to talk about is Tay and Q. Tay must go. But not because this incident. He was prime player. He played half of thousand games in a row. Now he’s injury prone. Detroit drafted JJ and Daye. Then this game was lost and Q called to quit game in the beginning of the 4th, and Tay just lost his mind a bit because all this pressure he didn’t used to face for years
No Iverson references?!
TDP
I gave a bebound shout out to DBB
All
sorry there were no pictures. I didn’t log in to the site, I emailed text and bullet points.