The 17-26 #Pistons are in Dallas Sunday night to take on the 25-20 Mavericks. The slumping Pistons are on a downhill spiral, but hope to get something going against a Dallas team that has won eight of the last nine matchups and a five straight home against the Detroit.
The good: Andre Drummond is doing things right. Drummond scored 20 points and a career high 20 rebound in the Pistons loss to New Orleans on Friday night. He also make no excuses when it comes to they way this team is playing of late.
Andre Drummond “We just make poor decisions down the stretch of the game sometimes and we have to get better at it,” said Andre Drummond, who had 21 points and a career-high 20 rebounds Friday. “Nip that in the bud and try to finish games up.” Via NBA.com
The bad: Detroit added another to the loss column when they blew a 10-point lead in the final five minutes of the game against the Pelicans. Many are pointing to the last shot Brandon Jennings heaved beyond half court with the Pistons down two points and still had a timeout with. You could clearly see that Cheeks was calling for a timeout and he’s taking full responsibility for the “mishap.”
Maurice Cheeks “I tried to call a timeout, that timeout is on me.”
The unknown: Will this team turn the corner against a Dallas team that has won three straight and 10 of the last 12 meetings against them? Will Joe Dumars regret not doing whatever it took to resign the now Maverick Jose Calderon instead of bringing Jennings in to lead this team. Will it be a Happy Monday for the Pistons?
Injuries: Pistons: None
Mavericks: Gal Mekel – Out
Stat: Andre Drummond recorded his first career 20-point, 20-rebound game with 21 points and a career-high 20 rebound vs.New Orleans (1/24). Drummond became the first piston with a 20-20 game since Antonio McDyess vs. New York (3/11/09).
Stat: Detroit hasn’t won a regular-season series against Dallas since 1997-98.
Tip off is at 7:30 pm and will be broadcast on Fox Sports Detroit . If you can’t catch the game on TV, catch it on the radio over at 97.1 The Ticket.
i believe in miracles
Wow, I’m totally shocked by your post yesterday. I thought you were a true die hard Pistons fan. It takes more that one person to make things better But it all starts with an absentee owner, “Tom Gore’s who promised to make himself visible more this season. Anyone seen him since opening night? I’m at all the games and his seat is always empty. He also stated he was leaning hard on Joe D. Who would an absentee owner rely on if he fired the guy he thought was making the wheels spin? Bottom line. Ticket sales are up 38% over last year. That’s the report they send out to Tom Gores. That’s all that matters to him. When fools like you and me stop supporting them for a short time and just watch the TV then perhaps you will see changes. By the way. Do an internet search on Tom Gores. I mean use all sorts of search terms and see what you come up with. Not pretty!
Danny,
Just because I’ve lost faith in Dumars and never really had any in Gores doesn’t mean I’m not a true fan. I’m just being realistic.
I knew all Gores cared about was his return on investment, he made the deal for the Palace and DTE. That’s it.
If Joe Dumars can turn things around I’ll be the first one to praise him, but at some point a fan like myself and you who supports this team has to be realistic.
I’m just sick and tired of being sick and tired of watching a team that I though would be much better at this point.
try 2 keep your sense of humor nat. For this game instead of keeping stats like assists and shot percentage try keeping track of airballs and how many times the piston’s complain to the refs. The team will probably get better but for now it is hilariously bad. Why complain to the ref that’s not why the piston’s suck, lol.
Despite my comments I take it all with a grain of salt. I’m still going out to the games and having fun and still watching even though I don’t have much confidence in the outcome.
And you’re right…it is so bad it’s funny.
Yes, we’ve put up with it since 2008. Look at some of the teams that have turned things around in 2 or 3 years? Even NO Penguins are looking better. I won’t buy season tickets next year. I’ve talked to about 20 people around my seat that have season tickets that said the same thing. Thanks for your reply
I always say that too, what will it do to this team if we don’t go to the games? But I’ve seen it pretty bad at the Palace and it got the team nowhere. The Lions tried that and it didn’t work. It’s just sad that it could be so much better for a lot of us.
Also..we have seen teams turn around in a few years but those are usually the ones that can land a free agent or that are so horrible they get the draft picks over and over again. Detroit is in limbo.
Natalie, I think most (99.999%) of Pistons fans feel the same as you. This year’s free agent signing of Josh Smith just feels like history repeating itself (Gordon/Charlie). I myself find it especially frustrating when some of our former players that were traded away in dumb trades look the piece we should have kept…(Aaron Afflalo over Stuckey is where I’m going with that). It wouldn’t seem so bad if Dumars’ moves didn’t keep turning out the status quo year after year. By that I mean mid range lottery picks with no real threat of playoff contention.
It’s funny and it may just be me, but I actually found last year’s team entertaining. They were losing but there was at least what looked like some light at the end of the tunnel with the young prospects. Middleton, Monroe, Andre. The sad thing is we’ll never know if Drummond/Monroe could have developed into a productive front court. I feel like I’m complaining to complain, but I don’t really enjoy wasting time and/or money on this garbage anymore.
MF,
I feel the same about Josh…never wanted him and felt like it was Charlie V and Ben All over again. I too enjoyed watching them last season. I watched them grown and never had and real expectations. It was less stressful.
glad to see you are not that depressed I was a bit worried after your last post. But venting is about all a piston’s fan can do right now.
Danny, to add to what Natalie said: I’ve been one of the most dissatisfied, outspoken fans against this team’s string of bad decisions as there is, but I don’t think it makes me any less of a fan. I just don’t have a problem separating the Pistons as en entity from the various people associated with them. I will always love Tayshaun, but for several reasons I was thrilled to see him go, including that he was sent to a better organization.
The Pistons will always be bigger than any one player or GM, and in the sense that this team is a “community property” I feel obligated to speak out against the things that I feel are destroying it, including and especially Joe Dumars. Being a fan of this team is a lot like having a friend with a drug/alcohol problem, if you’ve ever had that experience. These things don’t just get better on their own. They require intervention.
Best air ball was Josh Smith turn around jumper from ten feet ball hit back board and sailed into the distance. best complain ing at ref moment Jennings fouls dirk Monroe turns to complain dirk uses this moment to take a giant step to the basket… And that’s a continuation. we are tied with last years team.
http://media.mlive.com/fullcourtpress/photo/8273110-large.jpg
Fired Mo Cheek his system style of b-ball not working. This team has no identity of who they’re. They just don’t mess as a team, its pain most die-hard fans to sit and watch this disaster. IDK what else to say no, too much talent for poor record.