The Pistons washed away whatever was left of the awful loss to Toronto by taking down the Atlanta Hawks at the Palace 80-103.
Key Points:
- Lineup Shakeup! Greg Monroe in the starting lineup alongside Ben Wallace in the front court. The Rookie didn’t disappoint starting the game off solid on defense. Monroe played 20 minutes grabbing 7 boards with a blocked shot and 5 points. I like it.
Greg Monroe: On starting “We got the win, that’s all that matters.”
- Another rare combination, Charlie V and Chris Wilcox teaming up off the bench, they too didn’t disappoint.
- Rip Hamilton led the Pistons with 24 tearing it up with 20 of his points in the first half.
- Looks like Will Bynum and Jason Maxiell are out of the lineup again.
- Rip may have scored two dozen, but Charlie Villanueva shined like a star off the bench. Defense, offense, rebounds, hustle…he did it all. Charlie finished with 23 points in 28 minutes with 11 boards, 3 steals and a blocked shot. To top things off he hit a three at the buzzer to top off the win for Detroit. I challenge you to find another game that Charlie played better while in a Pistons uniform.
Charlie Villanueva: “I think we’re a lot better than our record shows, but I desperately wanted to get a win especially after how we played in that Toronto game. I think we did a good job and responded well. I’d say this is what Pistons basketball is all about. We did a little bit of everything, we passed the ball, we rebounded well, we defended and we scored. The way we played today is what I envisioned us to be.”
- Shades of things to remember…the Tayshaun Prince chase down block.
[flashvideo file=http://nba.cdn.turner.com/nba/big/games/pistons/2010/12/14/0021000363_atl_det_play2.nba_nba_576x324.flv /]
Video Courtesy of The NBA and The Detroit Pistons
- Get this, five Pistons with huge +/- stat lines and they Stuckey +20, Villanueva +29, T-Mac +23, Gordon +25, and Wilcox +20. Yes that’s Chris to you.
- The Pistons had their third quarter collapse early when the Hawks went on a 10-0 run to almost erase the Pistons half time lead, but Q took a time out and the team never looked back. Detroit led from start to finish.
- Ben Wallace turned an ankle early in the third quarter and didn’t return.
- Rebound war won 43-31
- Great ball movement and with it 26 assists on the night for Detroit.
- The big snow storm made for one of the smallest Pistons crowds I have ever seen. Couldn’t have been more than 4 thousand people in the building.
- Stuckey showing off his point guard skills again with 10 assists adding 16 points, 3 boards and 2 steals.
- Was that T-Mac I saw adding gasoline to the Palace floor in the fourth quarter and lighting the match to whatever chances the Hawks had to take the game. Four fourth quarter three’s from McGrady to quickly pad to Detroit lead late in the game. I like to see him do well and be out there in crunch time. I could be wrong, but I don’t remember him being out on the floor to finish a game for the Pistons yet. Tracy finished with 16 in 25 minutes with 6 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and a block.
- Chris Wilcox the X-Factor.
- Ben Gordon…not. Ben was 1-6 for 2 points with 3 assists and a board.
- Premature firing of the confetti streamers on the court… the crew had to clean them up and add seconds on the clock to put the game officially in the book.
- Can I just bask in the glow of this victory for now?
Great to see the pistons play well together and get a W. Lets hope we can build on this and improve. Good to see Monroe in the starting lineup again, he still hasn’t disappointed me and he looks a lot more comfortable out there now, and putting up some alright numbers too. We’re good enough to win the next 5, lets go to work!
The ball is glowing!!!!!!!!
Definitely a good finish by Stuckey, CV31, Wilcox, and T-Mac.
Rip and Tay sat the 4th. I wonder if the same result would’ve happened with them on the floor instead of BG and T-Mac. I guess we’ll see next game.
19 wins to go to tie our record last season. Yes I’m counting it down.
Yes, that game helps:)
Now they kno they can make things happen if the focus is there
I’m not happy at all cause this game has proven we have a good team who can win when they give 100%. Why this happens only when they get pissed is beyond my immagination. Overpayed losers.
This is what i think t mac can bring to the team. He still can make plays and shot the ball. He will only get better with time, hopefully like wine. CV i know i was a bit hard on you but if you put that effort in every game, hell i might even buy a jeresy. rip looking sharp tonight glad we got the win. Get well soon ben that would be the best christmas present as of now.
I told you all about it. I don’t see them play hard every nite. That’s sad, because in the NBA is more important to get the contract, after that you can play like you want to play, like Darko did, and then you can hire good agent and grab 4-5 billions a year.
I hate to see how players play hard ONLY when they have a contract year. Not every player in NBA deserve his money, but some of them don’t deserve to belong to the NBA, especially when you see how many people can’t get there but have a special work ethic
That’s why I love guys like Big Ben who was the best player here and helped us win BIG, wasn’t drafted tho
Unfortunately, the Pistons won’t keep this streak. The only win big when they lose big a lot. Now they are gunna go into the next game thinkin’ “This will be so easy” and then screw up after the half…
thats the chris wilcox ive been waiting to see. i really like him and cv31 teaming up it makes us long and athletic when they are together. chris must finally be healthy again. lets hope he stays that way. maybe we can get something for maxiell and dajuan, if chris keeps it up we wont need those two. well u know whats next. GO PISTONS.
i dont need to say anything about stuckey, ive already been saying thats what hes capable of. stuckey IS a pg, he just needed people to actually make their shots when he does pass the ball, right? o and damn t-mac is starting to come around those legs must really be getting back under him now, i mean you gotta have your legs to be hoisting up 3’s from where he was and making them. team that with the alley-oops hes been throwing down, and that quick first step he is starting to show now and i think another 2 or 3 weeks we will see the t-mac that t-mac wants us to see. he will get that 30 point game he told us he was gonna get. i think with this new rotation we can be very good if we stay focused and keep our pace. srry will that your not in the rotation but what can you do?
You’re probably right about him getting even better. I also love how he gets a hand in on defense to knock a ball loose here and there. Little things like that change the momentum in our favor. T-mac’s definitely earned a spot as a closer.
play smarter.
Nat, I’m guessing you picked the wrong Tay video. You mention the chase block (I saw it in the highlight reel on nba.com) but you’ve posted a Tay dunk on a fast break.
After you’re done enjoying the W, get the video up for those who haven’t seen it already. 😉
Here’s to being able to enjoy more matches like ths one.
Matches? Was somebody lighting a fire? J/k, though. I’m not sure where you’re from, but you can just call them ‘games.’
did you all catch the latest interview with Joe Dumars? He thinks THIS pistons team can win an NBA title and that they can win the rest of the games just like this game against the Hawks.
I dont think he was watching the same game we were. That Hawks team was not playing with effort.
I have been the biggest Joe D supporter. But after that last interview I can safely say he is delusional and has no business being a general manager of a great basketball franchise like the Pistons.
* * *
KEITH LANGLOIS: Let’s start with a question I asked some of the players after the win over Atlanta. Was that the type of performance you envisioned when you put the roster together?
JOE DUMARS: Yes. When you put the roster together, you envision that particular team playing a certain style and a certain way. That changes based on your roster. With this particular roster, the idea is to have depth; the idea is to be able to go to your bench and have little to no dropoff. When you see a game like the Atlanta game, you sit there and you say that’s how this team is supposed to play. That’s the game plan right there – to be able to go nine or 10 deep and to be able to sustain for 48 minutes.
* * *
I want him gone. I like Q tho. He’s doing the best he can with a box full of nails and no hammer.
i think you are a box of nails… some of the dullest nails this world has ever seen in the history of mankind…. you want joe d gone.. but you want to keep kuester? that has got to be one of the dumbest things ive ever heard in my life.. its in the top 5 for sure..
Kuester is only as good as his team will play. And 9 times out of 10 his 2 veterans don’t show up to play or toss in the towel half way through the 2nd quarter. Kuester ain’t a great coach but he’s minor problem in the grand scheme of things. Joe D love him or not has turned this team into a train wreck and deserves to get the blame along with Tay, Rips and Sheeds play his last couple of years here. “NO HEART” usually Pistons.
Well offcourse Joe D backs up his players in the media. It would be unproffesional and idiotic of him to do otherwise…
But behind closed door…
I don’t believe Dumars thinks this version can compete for a title in it’s current state. If he did he would not have been trying to make further deals. He said that they could compete for a playoff spot if they play hard and focus like they did against Atlanta, and I agree. In Dumars defense, he did try to field a more complete squad by going after the likes of Boozer, Okafur, and Tyson Chandler. If he had succeeded in nabbing any one of those players our record would be much better. If Jerebko had not received that freak injury our record would be better. The Pistons have to have that interior presence defensively to force more outside shots in crunch time and offensively to open things up for our scorers and the perimeter.
dumars wanted to trade rip straight up for boozer. He is not making any serious offers.
from the comments section of detroit bad boys:
Joe: “heyyyyy Brian, watcha doin’”
Brian: “Oh… hey Joe. Just prepping for tonight’s game.”
Joe: “did you hear about Donnie in LA makin’ fun of Baron?”
Brian: “Yeah, Joe I did.”
Joe: “isn’t that just SOOOOO funny? I was like, OMG!”
Brian: “Yeah, listen Joe, I gotta run, unless you want to talk about potential deals”
Joe: “Are you mad at me or something?”
Brian: “No, Joe, I’m not— Joe, I’m just busy, and if you want to talk business we can”
Joe: “You never talked to me like this in the old days, it’s like you don’t even care any more”
Brian: “JOE— I CARE, but I’ve got to GO. Do you want to talk business or not.”
Joe: “Okay, I have an idea. What do you think about…. Richard Hamilton for… CHRIS BOSH.”
Brian: “sigh… Joe, do you even watch basketball anymore?”
I think the rest was really good for the Pistons before the Hawks. After the win, they get three days off before the Clippers. Maybe they just needed this rest. Now, let’s see them come out with their best efforts against LA tomorrow.