It was a bittersweet night for more than just #Pistons fans at the Palace on Tuesday. The return of Tayshaun Prince in an unfamiliar uniform came pretty quickly on the schedule for the fans, but more so Prince who spent his entire career with the Pistons until a month ago.
The turnout at the Palace may not have been a sell out, but the fans in the house gave Tayshaun the standing ovation he deserved. I’m sure after shaking off the jitters he was happy at the end of the night to come away with a 105-91 victory against his former team.
“I had put closure to it after the first game, when I realized ‘Man, I’m in another uniform.’ After I got more comfortable in the second and third game, that was closure to me. These guys, what they did for me and my family, I don’t hold any grudges whatsoever. It was a great time. You never want to end on a bad note. Nobody wants to do that. It was definitely unfortunate but I love all those guys. I have great relationships with everybody. It’s a situation where it was time for me to start a new chapter.” via NBA.com
Key Points:
- It was nice to head out to the Palace to see Prince again, but it’s not fun to watch the other team go on a 23-3 run before the have when Detroit had a decent first quarter and looked like they had a chance.
- The Grizzlies trailed the game for most of the first half until the run they went on right before the half to take a 53-42 lead.
- The turrrrable T – Turnovers! The Pistons gave the ball back to Memphis 17 times on the night and just about every one of them seemed to turn into an easy two for the Grizzlies.
- 24 fast break points for the other team wasn’t pleasant to watch either.
- The Pistons gave up 62 points in the paint.
- Highlights via NBA.com
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- Greg Monroe’s double-double streak is no more. Greg put up just nine points and six boards with a blocked shot, a steal and 2 assists in 27 minutes.
- Looks weird doesn’t it?
Photo/Getty Images Editing Need4Sheed.com
- Tayshaun scored just 4 points for his former team and wasn’t utilized much Tuesday night, playing just 19 minutes for the Grizz. He seemed like the trip back was welcomed as he chatted with just about everyone he could at his former home. Hilarious to see Jason Maxiell glare at him in his new uniform and start to laugh as to say…that just seems wrong.
- It seems as though Will Bynum is ready to feed ally oops all day long. With Andre out it seem as though Slava is his new target.
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- Slava with eight points,4 boards and a blocked shot in 20 minutes of work. Great job for the rookie big man to have to go up against Gasol and Randolph.
- Need4Swede with 13 quick points in 10 minutes of pretty much garbage time.
- Brandon Knight and Jonas both led the team with 13 points. Knight started off hot but faded when Memphis started to turn the heat on.
- Stuckey with a -20 in the box and wight points on the night.
- Ugh…the bench sputtered badly. I didn’t realize just how bad until I read that Charlie V, Bynum, and Stuckey didn’t make a basket in a combined 25-plus first half minutes.
- A surprising three turnovers for Jose who scored 10 with seven assists.
- Charlie three…not so much. Villanueva 1-of-8 on the night.
- Singler with seven, English and Middleton with six each.
- They hope to make it up Wednesday night in Charlotte.
Hey nat, is there any way to get ahold of the video they played in tribute to tayshaun after the first timeout.. The way the crowd reacted when they showed him blocking Reggie was worth the price of admission to me.
No sorry…if they didn’t broadcast it I cant get it. Trust me you didn’t miss a thing there was not tribute just a standing O
I am always going to miss Tay on the pistons. I wanted to see him retire a pistons and even maybe move into the upper offices. He is such a stand up and graceful guy who shows so much respect for everyone. You can tell he was raised well. Just read what he had to say. I watched some highlights as I know live too far away to get to the games, just like you said he seemed to chat everyone up. I’m sure if was hard for him to come back but I’m also sure everyone was happy to see him. I would LOVE to see Tayshaun back on the pistons bench as a coach. He has so much to offer and I think he would make a great coach and what a better team to see him on than the pistons. No matter where he ends his career he will always be a piston to me. From the first time I saw his lengthy arms shoot a ball and me thinking “who is this guy that shot will never go in”, well that shot did fall in and he went on to win me over and become my favourite piston since grant hill. He gave us so much not just on the court. I am sure there is no one who has played with him that had a bad thing to say about him. In the NBA it’s the superstars who are the face of game when really it should be players like Tayshaun who show and have so much respect not just for the game but for everything. I will always miss him, I only wish I had of had a chance to see him in a pistons uniform one last time before this trade. Well I guess ill have to make a trip home next season when they meet up again or when he plays in Toronto as TO is not as far for me to drive. Nat could I as since I don’t know who to do it myself if you could out together a tribute of highlights of Tay?