How can the Pistons get totally decimated and embarrassed one night and then take the best team in the NBA down to the wire. The Pistons without Rodney Stuckey and Ben Wallace did just that, thanks to a tremendous effort from Tayshaun Prince, who nearly recoded a triple-double. It was just too bad LeBron did, in fact Lebron’s triple-double was the first recorded in the palace since 2004. The 113-101 final score does not tell the tale of this game. This one could have went either way.
Key Points:
- Worst officiating I have seen since…well I can’t remember. It’s one thing to give LeBron a continuation on a foul he jogged in from about the free throw line, but to miss this blatant goal-tending when the Pistons were in the ball game was horrific. LeBron gets away with murder.
[flashvideo file=https://need4sheed.com/videos/flash_videos/march_16_10_bynum.flv /]
Video Courtesy of The Detroit Pistons and the NBA
“They know it’s a bad call,” Pistons coach John Kuester said. “They know that. It’s a shame. That was a momentum-breaker. So we had it going, but, hey, that’s the NBA.” via NBA.com
- I caught Will’s post game interview after he was told the refs admitted it was a goal-tend, his answer “it’s too late now.” Yeah it is…
- It’s enough that you have to deal with probably the worst fans in the world when the Cavs come to town, you also have to deal with the cockiness of the team, especially Mo Williams at the end of the game when he hit those late threes, he was jumping around like a fifth grade girl.
- Give it up for Jason Maxiell who was eating Ohio babies all night long. His steal on LeBron for the dunk what a highlight but his late game basket and blocks help this team be competitive all game long. Jason with another double-double, 10 points, 15 boards, a steal and 2 blocked shots. It’s official he’s back.
- Jonas Jerebko played well in his 27 minutes, but everyone else seemed to get hot which limited his minutes. He had a couple of really nice hustle plays (not like that’s unusual), just wished he was out there when Cleveland went on a few runs. Jonas finished with 10 points, 3 assists, 3 steals and 5 boards.
- Didn’t think we would see Tayshaun Prince at all, let alone for 44 minutes. Prince was clutch all night long whether he was playing the point, playing defense or knocking down the shots. Tay finished with 15 points, 8 assists, and 7 boards. Just happy his injury wasn’t serious.
- Tayshaun Highlights
[flashvideo file=https://need4sheed.com/videos/flash_videos/march_16_10_prince.flv /]
Video Courtesy of The Detroit Pistons and the NBA
- Nice work from Charlie Villanueva, who had some clutch three’s when the Pistons really needed them. Charlie played 21 and scored 16 points with 4 boards a steal and a blocked shot. Add that and a little paint presence and things would be all good.
- Huge three from Austin Daye, who never seems to be afraid to take a big shot. He was a presence in his nine minutes on the court.
- Six Pistons in double figures.
- Out-rebounded 48-40.
- This game had 10 lead changes and 21 ties…that tells you something. The Cavs biggest lead 12, Detroit’s 6.
- They let LeBron go off in the second half. He scored 29 total, 5 in the first half.
- I still hate Anderson Jarejao.
- Rip Hamilton led Detroit with 24 points and his hot hand started early. He’s playing the way he is accustomed to, coming off the screens and knocking down shots.
- Horrible, horrible officiating. When you have to count on Bennett Salvatore as your savor, that says quite a lot.
- Just frustrating to see the effort one night and the total non effort another night. Does this mean this team has underachieved because of heart? Not all season, but id has come into play.
- Will Bynum finished with 12, with 4 assists 3 boards and just one turnover. He’s turned it up since he’s been put in the starting lineup and is really helping his free agent status. I sincerely hope Joe D shows him the money.
- Highlights of the Game via NBA.com
[flashvideo file=http://nba.cdn.turner.com/nba/big/games/pistons/2010/03/16/0020900998_cle_det_recap.nba_nba_576x324.flv /]
- Not an easy week for this team.
I agree with everything you said. Stern has decided that Cleveland must be in the playoffs and has let his officials know. We need a new commissioner. If you watch a game LaBra and do no wrong! He fouls, he walks, he argues with officials but its ok he’s LaBra. The camera is always on him please stop shoving him down our throat!! He’s a good player, its the NBA, there are tons of good players. I really believe the Pistons were robbed of this one, but oh well its only the Pistons.
Get used to it. You’ll be seeing LeBron get calls like this for the next decade. It seems that much more egregious because we never have a star of our own to get some of those calls back.
It’s ok guys! I really wanted the Pistons to beat the Cavs tonight, but the refs wouldn’t let that happen. The cavs can celebrate and act like fools now, but the ONLY reason I will watch the playsoffs this year is to see Lebron get taken down by either the Magic (again) or the Lakers. There is no greater joy in my life than to see Lebron walking around with that depressed dog look on his face. I can’t wait! There is something to look forward to this postseason for us Pistons fans! It’s a moral victory 🙂 I was sitting right behind the Cavs bench and was listening during timeouts at the way that Mike Brown lets Lebron talk to him, it’s quite humorous. Brown is sweating bullets cause he knows once LeBITCH is gone he is gone to. hahahahahah
everytime we play the cavs this happens. last game was just as bad when we were up by 21 lebron seems to “turn it on”. no the refs turn the officiating off and let him travel, foul, and charge over anything in his path. everytime its seriously annoying i see him running down ppl like a running back. i think the magic and the celtics can take the cavs if the officating is done correctly. celtics are in some trouble but they will get it together come post season. they are not trying to win every game they are just trying to relax and get to the playoffs healthy.
I picked Jerebko–and his solid play–up for my fantasy team recently, but now I think I need to switch him with J Max. Hot damn!
MAX is BACK. YIPPEE.
Anderson Jarejao is a fraggle in disguise and should be immediately expelled from the league. Only humans are allowed in the NBA.
Indeed it will be quite humorous to watch the Cavs falter in the playoffs. Almost as enjoyable as watching Peyton Manning lose. 🙂
I was suprised to see the Palace still standing last night, I thought that Lebron had burned it to the ground in May of ’07…
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Oh the Palace is still standing and check the rafters there’s something there that’s not at Cleveland. Umh what could it be?!?
Here, this will start a fight! I love Anderson Varejao as a player, always have, always will. Dude has a big impact on the game, regardless of whether or not he has traditional basketball skills. Most hoops fans don’t think of hustle as a skill, but it absolutely is, and it translates to wins. If he wasn’t an effective player, then Pistons fans wouldn’t have such a rabid hatred for him. After all you don’t hate Jawad Williams, do you?
Varejao is basically Bill Laimbeer without range, and you would all love the #%&@ out of him had the Pistons drafted him. He’s basically the anti-Villaneuva…. It’s funny to me that a fanbase that supposedly praises thing like hustle, D, rebounding, selfless team play, ect. can’t appreciate this guy’s game.
If LeBron suffered a closed-head injury and decided to sign with the Pistons, all you LeBron haters would be falling over yourselves cackling with glee.
And don’t set your hopes on Cleveland losing too high, they just beat you with the starting AND second squad centers not playing. Both Shaq and Z will be back for the playoffs . .. and that is more than enough to handle either the Magic or the Lakers.
The Nuggets on the other hand . . . . .
Cleveland will lose again. It has been written and so it shall be. Muahahhahahahahahhahahah!
We can appreciate him and I think we do. We just hate him cause he finds a way.
I would not want lebron in detroit. he cant win in cleavland he wont do it here. it sucks for lebron cause he is stuck in what I like to call ” Kobes era” when Kobe is done maybe he will get one ut it will not happen in cleavland soorry cav fans . detroit will get to the nba finals before lebron wins a title. My predictions for next season pistons will make some good moves and make us a good palyoof team. two more years they are contenders agian.
Go Pistons!!!
Boooooooo! to the refs
All teams have good games and bad games – last night the piston played better than average – the cavs played worse than average. The cavs still came out on top – that says something. Regarding the refs you detroit fans are big babies. I agree Lebron’s block was a goal tend – but it wouldn’t have mattered – the cavs still would have won. Further, how can you critize the continuation call? Lebron never dribble the ball after he was fouled and was on his way to the rim. Did he cover a lot of ground? yep – that’s why he’s a superstar. There were plenty of bad calls on both ends of the court. Get over it.
the palace still standing? please refs will let him travel all the way to the conf finals where his team will let him down. we got championships in our arena all you guys have are lebron’s “handy” camera shots. WITNESS the defeat and the end of lebron in clevland. Lebron gets all the calls dude thats why your not mad atleast one ref had the courage to call this fool out for traveling. he travels more than american airlines check the miles.
The calfs don’t match up well against detroit. The time before this they were getting spanked then Stuckey gets injured.
Cleveland losing to Detroit nooooo, wasn’t happening. King James always finds a way to beat Detroit, even when we were playing at a high level.
We dont really hate the man well some might i dunno lol
But we hate how much the NBA pushes him as a STAR and how much its all about lebron
Same thing with Kobe! People wonder why I like guys like mello and dwade
They dont get pushed as much from the NBA and Stern to be the great ONE
They force him down our throats and yes no one would be complaining if he was a Piston.
NO ONE lol
I beg to differ, DCAVS, the situation of the game when LeBron goaltended Bynum’s basket meant that call held huge implications on the result. If it was called a goaltend, the score was 104-103, Pistons had scored 5 unanswered points, Palace is rocking, Pistons have the wind in their sales to finish the job. What really happened: LeBron gets a block, the Cavs score, making it 106-101, the Pistons are deflated, the Cavs are prancing around like a bunch of 5th grade girls who just got their first kiss, Cavs win. Maybe you are right, the Cavs may still have won, but it would have been a much better game.
The continuation call was STUPID, Prince fouled him while he was dribbling outside the three point line, after the foul he decides to stroll in and lay it in. For anyone else it would have been a side ball. But for LeBron, yeah, do as you please.
Funny how the Cavs fans are happy to complain about missing Shaq and Z without realizing we are without Stuck and Big Ben.
Varejao – I think he is a good player. Similar to Jerebko, he doesn’t have plays drawn up for him, but he just gets to the right areas and finds a way to get points and rebounds. I don’t like him because he is the world’s worst flopper and that is all he does on defence.
even with all the calls. he still wont win. david stern should just let lebron have a trophy for christmas..but if he doesnt leave clevlend hes just gonna end up like a stockton and malone. they were great stars, but ……no rings. they were stuck in the ” jordan era” now there is a “Kobe era” and i still think D Wade is gonna get another title too, but not in miami.. he is leaving , but not going far, can you say “superman and the flash” I dont think we would want lebron even though he would seel bunches of tickets. Piston fans want Championships.
Go Pistons!
p.s. they won in 2004 with the refs not giving them calls..
we hate varejao because he flops like a fish. but sure as heck, I would love to have a player like that playing for us. Give those floppers some of their own medicine. I have noticed in the last year varejao has been flopping less and less, because the refs are onto him. So I like him more now, he plays hard every night.
we got too many players that just show up for a paycheck, starting with kwame brown.
varejao is only making $6 million this year. Charlie V is making $6.5 this year and acts like he is allergic to paint.
I dont think the cavs will do that good this year. Varejao and Lebron look great, but jamison has not been productive. And Z has been sitting for a month, you have to worry about how his endurance will be when he gets back.
Cleveland was a better team last year, and the hawks were worse. I think when the playoffs roll around, ‘sheed will shake off his lethargy and show that he can still play defense.
I dont see cleveland beating atlanta, boston or orlando.
And then Lebron will leave the cavs. Sorry Cleveland!
And Cleveland, quit picking on us. We don’t even know if our basketball team will stay in detroit, so in addition to sucking this year, we got worries about the future of our team.
Yay to the James from Australia, NOT the one from Cleveland. And may I add that Mo Williams has such a smug little face, that I just feel like slapping it! He’s always affected me that way, even before Cleveland.
great write-up. I had to work late and missed the game, so thanks again Nat for the details.
Sounds like the boys were hanging in there. Nice that Maxiell is the real deal and not the disappointment everyone was labeling him at the beginning of the season.
Even though it’s weird saying something positive about him, Varejao has definitely improved. I remember that he would shoot 15 foot bricks all the time. Now, I don’t think he’s allowed to shoot from that far away.
another positive: CV31 has room for growth!
any more on the sale of the team? moving to downtown?
Anybody who doesn’t want LeBron on their team should just quit watching basketball and become an ice dancing fan, becuase you don’t get it.
the thing about lebron is that joe dumars thought, no way, no way detroit would have the chance at lebron, AND joe didnt want a “superstar”. But, if Joe had kept his cool last season after the disaster with AI and kept both ‘sheed & mcdyess for 1 more year, I dont think there’s any question we would have made the playoffs, heck, with jerebko playing along with sheed, prince, rip, and stuckey we might have made the conference finals again and had enough money to offer a max deal to lebron.
Lebron is going to be offered max deals by the nicks and the nets. he’ll turn both down. Why? Cause he’s gonna lose with the cavs this year, and the only reason to change teams is to pick up a max deal on a team that will give him a championship. so that leaves either the bulls, the heat or to remain in cleveland.
The only chance he has to go to miami is to play alongside dwayne wade, but there are real problems for them to put together 2 max contracts like this.
Chicago has a real shot with Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose. If Chicago makes it to the conference finals lebron will probably go to chicago and truly have to live in michael jordan’s shadow. Lebron will relish the challenge.
But if detroit made the conference finals again with our team of aging veterans, Lebron would have come to Detroit, because he wants his championship NOW, not in five years.
I think stuckey had improved game after game. He’s no Chauncey Billups and never will be, but he does his own thing which is very good, if we didnt have a complete mess at shooting guard and small forward, and instead had veteran bigs . . .
I think we could have had lebron james. But Joe D never wanted him. Joe D wanted AI bad, and he got him. I trust Joe D to build the team he wants to build. Joe is talented, and I think he has an ability to move pieces that is as good as it gets in the NBA.
Lebron might sign in with the dallas mavericks. They wont be in a position to sign for a max contract, but what lebron wants is to win now, and he would be playing alongside dirk and jason kidd who is playing as good as he had his entire career.
Lebron has had seven years now to “build” with “young players.” It seems just yesterday, but it’s been seven years, and he is no closer to a championship than the second year after he started in cleveland. In 2005-2006 Lebron made it to the semifinals and narrowly lost to the detroit pistons.
One good thing about the pistons sucking this year of course is that we have PLENTY of time to while away in idle speculation like this. It’s not like we have any stake in the matter of where lebron goes. So we can just chill and wait for what happens. Trying to look on the bright side of never being able to get lebron here.
The only thing about the game is how Lebron does his famous ‘takeover’ in the 2nd half. You can’t deny his skills; the guy can jump out the gym, get to the line just by simply walking into the key and he’s improved on his jump shot since he’s been in the league. But what kills me is that how he…. does exactly what I just said; he can get to the line by simply WALKING INTO THE PAINT.
2 bad whistles basically was the breaking points in this game. The Lebron chase down block on Bynum that was goaltending. And the other was the continuation foul that he got from the 3 point line. Two HORRIBLE calls.
BUT
There was a play on the Piston side that REALLY hurt; Jonas’ charge.
It was a good play and I was loving it.. then he got past half court. All the while I’m like, “Hm, Jonas got the ball!” Then he got into the key with Rip on the wing open. I was like, “Kick it, Rebko!” …and then Mo Williams (I think it was him), drew the charge. I sat there for a second, pissed off, but then I shrugged it off saying. “Rookie mistake.”
So.. it was a hand in hand thing for the loss this time.