The Pistons started off Tuesday nights game in Dallas in a big 16 to 2 hole, that was until things drastically changed. The new Detroit Pistons turned into the old Pistons. By the end of the first quarter Detroit has the score at 16-24 and by halftime they had a 42-38 lead.
Where did things unfold? Not in the third quarter like you would think. Detroit played a very good game, but just stopped making shots late in the fourth and Dirk absolutely turned it on, putting up 42 points and sealing the win with a 3-pointer with 6:09 remaining to put the Mavericks on top for good at 73-70.
Key Points:
- A season high 42 points with 12 points for Dirk.
- The Pistons had a 12 point lead in the third quarter and were ahead by five entering the fourth. The Mavericks scored a season-high 32 fourth-quarter points…insert sad face here.
- Rip went from hot (Sunday) to not (Tuesday). Rip missed his first five shots, sat the entire second quarter and finished with five points on 1-for-7 shooting.
- Hope after all…20 minutes on the floor with 6 points, 4 assists, 3 boards 3 STEALS and 3 BLOCKS! T-Mac looking like the McGrady of old.
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- SometimesI think Arnie Kander has made a deal with the Devil and to that I say…thanks Devil.
- Just 2 points on 1-for-6 shooting from Charlie V who though not hitting his shot, grabbed 7 boards in 17 minutes.
- Is it me…or does Big Ben look tired?
- A DNP for Daye.
- Jason Maxiell started again in the place of Daye and seemed to be all over the place. Jason scored 10 and, grabbed 7 boards, with one very nice putback jam.
- Rodney Stuckey and Tayshaun Prince both put up 19 points.
- Alarming 11 assists for Detroit, while Dallas shared the ball to the tune of 21.
- Rebound war won 46-42.
- A Rip to Tay alley oop brought back the good old days.
- I love me some Bynum, but he made some bad decisions last night.
- Plain and simple…Ben Gordon needs to start. Ben had 10 points on 3-for-10 shooting.
- Greg Monroe getting some burn and showing that he needs more. Monroe grabbed 8 boards and scored 4 points in 18 minutes.
- I understand some people are questioning Kuester’s decisions, I have to say no coach is perfect and from time to time you pick on issues and instances in coaching, but coming from Curry…anything is better. And I always hate to put the blame on one person.
- Highlights via NBA.com
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we wanted this game. the effort was there. the mavs saw the pistons come into town thought we would lay down. why? Cause that’s what the pistons do, they lay down. Not this time. this stat tells the entire story: Dirk Nowitzki : 40 minutes.
If we play with this amount of effort the rest of the season we’ll make the playoffs.
greg monroe had his best game of the season. he’s too little to pass to in the post, which is a shame because he does have passing skills, he’s too slow to play the 3, he’s too raw to guard anyone, he has no vertical leap, so he has difficulty converting near the basket, he’s slow to go up and down the court, but he has the effort and ability to box out, and can grab the rebounds. 3 white shirts all around him, they are standing around, monroe fiercely grabs the rebound. that’s what I like to see. Monroe is never gonna become a great leaper, he’s always going to be more of a finesse player, but as long as he grabs the boards like this, he’ll stay in the rotation.
If you saw Ben Wallace in Chicago, he looked there like he does now. He’s seems hurt, knee, hamstring, something. He never complains because he doesn’t like to get taken out of the rotation so it’s impossible to tell what it is, but he seems injured is playing like the ben wallace from 2008.
I was happy with the effort also, If they didn’t go through that short drought in the 4th this would have been a great W.
Greg Monroe has hops he just needs to realize this and use it you his advantage.
I agree Big Ben doesn’t look right.
he has no vertical you can tell just by looking at him. here’s the nba combine measurements
Player greg monroe
no step vert 25 inches
max vert 29 inches
bench press 185 pounds 15 reps
lane agility 12.1 seconds
3/4 court sprint 3.35 seconds
for comparison here’s derrick favors, cousins and john wall
Derrick Favors 31.5 35.5 14 11.74 3.25
DeMarcus Cousins 23.5 27.5 -N-a 11.4 3.55
John Wall 30.0 39.0 -N-a 10.84 3.14
Terrico White 31.0 40.0 10 11.38 3.15
You can tell by looking at greg he can’t really jump, just like you can tell that Terrico White can, you don’t need the stats, they just prove what you see on the court. NBA players dont turn from non-leapers into leapers. It’s not like you can put Larry Bird on a training program and all of a sudden he can start leaping.
Not that you can’t be a great NBA player without a great leap, it’s not a requirement.
I wasn’t saying he had Terrico White hops, but he has more than he has shown so far this season. He needs to give it his all when it comes to leaping to be more successful close to the basket. Hopefully he realizes this will try harder so he doesn’t his shot blocked 40% of the time.
I really the way they fought all the way through. I agree with the earlier comment the effort from last night will produce wins..
Go Pistons.
Ben Gordon shot 3 for 10 and should be starting? Joking, right?
Sensible for me. Don’t look at stats per game. Think about what BG is capable of bringing, which is the three point threat. With the current starting line-up, opposing teams can clamp down on the inside and close down the driving lanes because there is nobody stretching the defense. This makes it hard for the other Pistons players to make mid-range jumpers and slash into the rim.
greg doesnt have hops. I can tell you what he has to do to improve his offense, 1) develop a bank shot so he can protect the ball by shooting it off glass, 2) learn to protect the ball by putting it in from the opposite side, 3) learn how to protect the ball with a half hook.
I dont think he will ever be able to gather himself go up with strength and fight through the other big men in the league. He doesn’t have the right kind of body for that kind of game.
also when monroe puts the ball on the floor he will dribble it 4 or 5 times, this is far too much, in the post you want ideally 1 or maybe 2 dribbles maximum, in the NBA if you put the ball down that long, the weakside help will come over and either block it or steal it.
This is all finesse basketball, which he can learn. In college he was able to get away playing like a true power forward but in the NBA none of his old college moves work, so he will have to learn more of a finesse game.
he also needs to recognize the defense much much quicker. When he receives the ball he needs to be able to pass it within 1/2 of a second if he sees a weakness in the defense. He can catch and pass, but he can’t see the right thing to do yet.
The NBA game is played at a frantic pace compared to college, and this is just the regular season.
and ppl didnt want use to sign t mac. i think ernie is the magic man in this case but i hope t mac still plays at a high level throughout the whole sesason. my mans still got ups.
How ironic that we have a team full of versatile scorers – Stuckey, Hamilton, Prince, Villanueva, Gordon, Bynum, McGrady, all of whom can dominate a stretch by getting hot – and we lose a game @ Dallas because we no one could score.
Hamilton and Villanueva have shockers after their sublime games against Washington, and Gordon couldn’t outplay Jason Terry.
I liked the effort, sure, but we need these sort of wins to encourage us to keep this effort up.
James – It wasnt that we couldnt score, we couldnt defend. Nowitzki especially torched us and thats mainly because of our lack of size.
Joe’s gotta make a trade for a couple big guys if he wants to save this team and his job.. cause i dont see him staying here any longer if he tanks this season