Pistons get off on the right foot

[Sissy1946]

Good to see them play like that with all the Pronlems their having with Jennings & Stuckey not being ready to play, the main thing I liked was their ability to when the Wizards made a charge at them they fended them off each & everytime, Chauncey was very impressive & it was almost like back in the day when he played well for us.
Only bad thing I seen was that damn Bynum character, ya know the one who came out last year, the one with the Gunner mentality, he took 3 bad shots not in the flow of the offense but the Pistons team underplayed that, not letting that faze them.
All in all a good start, my Darkhorse for this team is going to be Luigi Datome & Jennings when they get healthy, we're going to beat up on alot of teams, look for Luigi to get a little more burn at Memphis, to me the guy is a "Flat Out Cold Shooter Assassin", I know that's a lot to put on him right now but we'll see each game as he gets healthier. Look for the Pistons to beat Prince & the Memphis Mafia on Friday.
DeusXango: Sorry for not being around on Wednesday but will definitely be here Friday: Go Pistons!

[lemonpen]

What you talkin about willis. Look down a couple of posts. I am elated to have REAL games to discuss instead of Stuckey and ex Stones.

[Oracle]

IMO, the attendance was a very good sign, even if it's not back to 2004 levels, it was something not seen in recent years!

"They announced the opening night crowd as 19,258 — just 2,000 shy of a sellout.
Nice try, Pistons.

Unless those empty seats were a brilliant Halloween disguise, the Palace was far from a packed house. But those who attended looked and sounded interested in seeing how versatile free agent acquisition Josh Smith fits into a pretty good frontcourt alongside Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe." - Freep

[deusXango]

Wise, MCW dropped 22 points, 12 assists, 9 steals and 7 rebounds on the Heat and the Sixers kicked their arses late in the game!

Afflalo and the Magic are in OT with the Wolves(in Minny), and Afflalo has dropped 22 points on the dudes! - Oracle

This would be a damn good starting back-court to go with Monroe, Drummond and Smith.

Wise, I agree those were some eye-opening numbers for a rookie making his NBA debut, and we should have Afflalo on our roster still, but we don't; we have a coach that doesn't play rookies over veterans, therefore MCW wouldn't have had the opportunity to do that in Detroit, so let's hope that Joe holds onto KCP.

Sebastian, the crowds will return, but it won't be overnight; we've been down too long and now the team that's been assembled by Joe has to prove it's worthy of fan support. When they start winning more than they lose, the Palace will fill back up. Now I'm curious, why you always saying that Denver owes us? For what? Taking an unwanted, malcontent, named AI, off their hands? Joe chose to breakup an All-Star backcourt and banish Afflalo so that no one would stand in the way of his prize pick standing in the spotlight. If there is an outstanding debt owed, it's an ass-kicking for Joe, in honor of the unnecessary disappointment he put the fans through. We don't need a SF as much as we need to be in the 2014 drafts first round; we got Singler and Datome who are more than adequate for now.

Stones, I don't know how you missed it, but the Stuckey/CV for Rudy Gay ship has sailed, and with laughable results; that was one of the most eye-opening facts of the off-season. First, I don't know how that failed attempt to trade two of our expiring contracts ($17 million total) got out in the open, and secondly, no one is lined up for Gay's services, particularly at his contract amount, and the Grizzlies were glad to be rid of him and his convoluted stats. Join Sebastian in the woodshed.

Murph, I'm on the same page as you, great game last night; how long has it been since we won an opening night game? I don't take it for granted, but rather enjoyed it. For years Joe has overlooked PG's in the draft because we had a "great combo guard," who was going to be our PG of the future; after bypassing Burke and MCW, I was surprised that he did the sign & trade for Jennings (especially at the cost to us, personnel wise). None the less, great win and can't wait until Stuckey and Jennings are ready to go.

I'm giving a personal shout out to Wise & Oracle, the faithful two, who held up this forum on the best opening night we've had in years!!! I know who the real passionate fans are, and I honor and respect you guys. I surely thought Sissy, Fly Dog, Phillip Boy, Lemon, and Grizz would have shown up, and there are some longshots like Frankie D, who I hoped to see as well, but WTH, thanks again guys. Murph, Sebastian, and Stones, you guys get some props too!!

Maybe it was done with smoke and mirrors, but however it was done, Monroe looked great playing with an upgraded rotation around him; he ain't flashy, just effective and he's growing as a player still.

[WTF]

Cousins watching  You all know how I feel about this. Comparing Cousins 30 and 16 to Moose 24 and 16. I'll still prefer Cousins because his points came from all over the place and he's a far better defender. He looks like Shaq with a mid-range game. Turn-around jumper...swish, face up jumper....swish, demand the ball in the post....slam dunk, a rebound ....back up with rim shaking monster dunk.

Face it people I will be so critical about Monroe this season because regardless of his numbers last night I still see a soft, afraid in crunch time ball fumbling puss. Yes Thank God we had Chauncey to come in and save us from Bynum but what bothered me before that was Monroe floating out in Mid-Range territory when he should have been in the post demanding the ball from Bynum. Next to CB he should be the next leader on this team.

[Oracle]

Keith Langlois @Keith_Langlois
Rodney Stuckey will be available at Memphis on Friday night. Mo Cheeks says not sure how he'll use him, wouldn't rule out starting.
1:08 AM - 31 Oct 2013

[lemonpen]

CoolBreeze, you have been right about WillieB all along.  He only works well in small doses.  5 possessions into the game, TO's left and right and Billups had to take over at the point.  I know some will be impressed with WB's stat line but many in the crowd were callin for the rook to replace Bynum in the 4th qtr.  Wills' total lack of defensive presence gave Wash the bonus FT situation pretty early as well as giving Wall a red carpet escort into the lane.  Also, Will should be credited with 3 more TO's for twice running away from the inbounds pass and making a move before his teammate fully set a pick.

I like what Kyle offers, but when will we see the meaning of "BUCKETS".  He and Jonas have to learn to shoot off a single dribble to counter an on rushing defender.

Big to Big passing was quite impressive.  Way to go Mo.

ADs' presence in the starting 5 turned the Wiz front court into perimeter midgets.

Moose appears to be larger in the upper body.  Jumper, clank.  Jumper, clank.  Jumper, clank.  Does it seem like his J is too soft and high arching.  His game in the paint looks really nice.  He seemed more patient and willing to work till he lost the defense.

KCP, where O where did that little J go.  I hope he continues to get steady PT cause he seems to adapt well into the game flow.  His contributions though not considerable (yet) are quite varied.

Josh, Josh, Josh, what can I say.  He logged a well rounded game, as advertised.  And,  was visible in crunch time.  

The halftime show was pretty spectacular too.

[Sparma]

Great game (I was able to watch because NBAPass is free the first week).

Smith looks like a massive addition -- he demonstrated his passing abilities with some beauties.

Please do not trade Monroe, unless there are significant basketball (rather than monetary) gains, which seems quite unlikely.

Oh to have drafted MC-W, maybe with retaining Calderon (and with Knight as 6th man). That would have left Billups out in the cold, but so be it. I'm becoming afraid that Jennings is too much of a knucklehead to reach his potential as floor general, which would include being an excellent teammate (a la Billups).

[Oracle]

"I can't believe the game MCW had last night in a winning effort over the Heat.   I mean the kid almost had a quadruple-double in his very first NBA game.   He played like Oscar Robertson.

I guess it's crystal clear now who Joe should have taken in the draft.      Oh well...

They don't call him the Oracle for nothing..." - Murph

LOL, all I saw in MCW was great skill, which I saw in Burke as well, but what made me like MCW was that superior NBA size! You just can't teach that as he sees well over the defense and has a big advantage most nights!

But he may have the Jennings Curse!

"What an opening. Michael Carter-Williams set an NBA record for steals in a debut (nine) and nearly had a quadruple-double (24 points, seven rebounds, 12 assists). WHILE BEATING THE HEAT. What a performance. He has a bright, bright future, but has any player ever had the best game of their career on their debut? Because can it get much better than that?" - Nightly Grades 10.30.13: Sixers stun the Heat

When Jennings scored 50+ points early in his career, the wrong expectations set in! MCW's expectations won't be wrong, but they're set in the stratosphere right now!

It's going to take almost a miracle to repeat those stats!

BTW, a 12 to 1 assist to turnover ratio for a rookie?

[Oracle]

Excellent post as usual, and great insights into a lot of the little things that make the team click.

It's easy to overlook what Singler did in that play, but even last year, the game for Singler appears to have slowed down, as he doesn't rush and thinks through the confusion to make plays.

The play you described was a good example, as he let it develop in front of him and got it to the hot 3 point shooter!

The other point was KCP, I'm really loving this kid! The game hasn't fully slowed down for him yet, but what he's been doing is rare for a rookie! You're right, KCP doesn't back down from anybody, and he defends unusually well for his age.

In addition, KCP anticipates well. That steal, I think in the 3rd quarter, was sweet!

I'm glad you're seeing the value of Jennings ability to break down a defense. I say that to encompass a bit more than just penetrating, because you don't always have to penetrate to confuse. I've seen him weave through a defense and totally confuse guys defensive assignments, leaving teammates wide open.

He'll get his shots, but IMO, we're going to have plenty of shooters and 3 big high percentage bigs to dump the rock to, so I'd prefer 10-15 assists over 15-20 points from Jennings!

Bottom Line: I'm glad we got the win, but this is a longer journey, and other teams are going to make us pay for the sloppy play and turnovers!

My excitement is for what we'll be after the chemistry and lineup gets settled. Until then, we can expect some frustrating losses and some unexpected wins. Our highs will be high and our lows will likely be really low, but it takes that to get to where we need to be.

[cool breeze]

I got so excited to see a Piston guard actually direct a team like a professional should. That is what has been missing for the past 4 seasons and don't count on any other Piston guard being capable of having any leadership skills like Billups unless a trade happens. The rest are all followers or players who blend into a system. Billups knew how to defend Wall and take a lot away from him. When Bynum had to guard Wall, it was a walk to the park for Wall as he drove around Bynum time after time. However, this combination wasn't a bad on last night with Bynum. He surprised me at times. Bynum made some good passes. He reverted to his old ways when the Washington guards started to pressure more in the backcourt but at times, Bynum seemed confident and aware of his other teammates. It will be interesting to see how Stuckey fits in with Billups. I am not sure that Stuckey is a better fit than Bynum right now but he is bigger which will help the defense. Yet perhaps Bynum played better on offense getting others involved because of the coaching by Billups and Cheeks. Billups is the team leader still and he will not tolerate the old stuff we saw from both Bynum and Stuckey in the past. It was great to see Billups talk to Bynum after Will went out of control. Finally the Pistons looked like a team that played with purpose and had a system they believed in. I thought the play of the game happened in the 4th quarter when Billups passed the basketball to Singler on the baseline and he waited until the defender came over before passing back to Billups who drained that 3 point shot. Having both of those players using their brains on the floor during crunch time out foxing the opposition is something I haven't seen from a Piston team in a long time.

Monroe was active last night and looked more determined on offense. He was the leading scorer and had massive amount of rebounds. In fact he secured some key rebounds in crunch time. However, Monroe is still a work in progress on defense. The opposition picked on him in the 2nd half. He was late in the rotations and was not aware of the drivers coming into the lane. On offense, Monroe is still prone to turnovers as he forces things too much. However, some of that was due to lack of movement by Smith when Greg had the ball. It is no secret that Drummond is the key to the Piston defense. He cannot pick up silly fouls. Drummond is also key on offense as he seems to move without the ball well and get to open spaces when Monroe is doubled. Smith needs to become more active in the paint on offense.

Smith did some things last night that was key to the victory. He is capable of a lot more and I hope he is willing to do the work it takes to become an even better player.

Singler had a solid game on both ends of the floor. He does all the little things that helps others on the defensive end of the floor. I expect Kyle to become a deadly outside shooter this season. He has a good stroke and knows when to shoot it. His size is really important.

KCP really impressed me. He had some issues at times on both ends of the floor but this guy has extremely quick feet and does not back down from anyone. He penetrated several times and made some great shots and I expect he will become a player the coach can count on each game to play the same way - HARD. He will become more comfortable and then will drill those outside shots more consistently. KCP can get over screens really well and does anticipate what is coming. This is something that Bynum and Stuckey have failed to do throughout their careers. Now they will be forced to do it or watch KCP play.

Jennings of course didn't play last night but after watching the Piston offense, I believe there is a place for Jennings. He actually might be a good fit because of his speed and penetrating ability if he can hit shots and make the necessary passes to the open players. I hope that he can play better defense than Bynum or that Bynum can get better on the defensive end.

My final thought after watching the game last night was the impact of both Billups and Rasheed combined with the personality of Cheeks who has a cool sense of humor that helps keep the players loose. Cheeks actually knows what is going in during the game and I do not believe the previous 3 head coaches had that quality. Cheeks, Billups and Rasheed are helping in one big way to make the players think more on the court and to also have fun playing basketball.

[WTF]

I haven't seen any Detnews article from Vince Badwell streaming on the forum. What's up with that?

[Murph]

Great game last night.  Our All Star front court did not disappoint.  The Big Three combined for 55 points, 29 rebounds and 9 assists.   I especially like their unselfishness, and willingness to pass the ball to each other.

My hope is that a different one of the Big Three steps up and carries the team every night, like Monroe did last night.

Even at age 37, Billups did an excellent job of running the offense last night.   But as good a C-Bill was, I don't want to see him playing 31 minutes, and working that hard every night.  He'll never hold up.  We desparately need back court help in the form of Jennings and Stuckey.

I thought Jerebko played well in very limited minutes off the bench, but I would have liked to have seen Mitchell get much more playing time.



I can't believe the game MCW had last night in a winning effort over the Heat.   I mean the kid almost had a quadruple-double in his very first NBA game.   He played like Oscar Robertson.

I guess it's crystal clear now who Joe should have taken in the draft.      Oh well...

They don't call him the Oracle for nothing...

[Go Stones!]

I believe we should use our expiring contracts and dead weight to get some more quality backup.

We have Moose and Jortz to back up Dre when he gets quick(stupid) fouls. We have plenty of PF (Smith, JJ, CV, Mitchell, PonyTail). We have Singler, PonyTail and possibly JJ at SF. We have a mess of guards. We all wondered why Joe D had so many...now we know.

When Knight was out last year...then Stuckey...I think he saw the need to have multiple quality backups. Chauncey was easy b/c he wasn't going to complain and he needs a place to slowly ride off into the coaching bench....but can come in and control a game with limited minutes when necessary. Bynum is a change of pace guard who is used to the back up role. Siva and KCP are rookies and will not complain about minutes. That leaves Stuckey and Jennings (both presently injured) as the starters until KCP is ready to start. Although, I can see Billups actually starting in a Ben Wallace respected role (during his last year) to get the game moving in the right direction. Don't be surprised if Joe D uses Stuckey as trade bait and next year Jennings is the 6th man. You heard it here first!

I don't believe CV or JJ are quality minute players. I can see JJ would make a great practice teammate. 110% every second. So, if we could strengthen the PF position then we could squeeze these guys out. I say mix it up a little and have a deeper bench. Trade CV/Stuckey and change and get someone like Gay. He scored a load of points last night. This gives us a lot more potential and flexibility.

What if Moose leaves via trade? Josh Smith plays PF and Gay plays SF

What if Smith, Moose or Dre are out for a bunch of games? This answers all of those issues as long as there is only one out at a time.

At the present Joe D is watching and waiting. He is from LA, he is not in any rush to do anything fast. PonyTail, Stuckey and Jennings are out. He will not do anything unless he sees huge holes once everyone is back.

My take would be to trade CV/JJ/Bynum to get Gay. Then use Stuckey and Moose to get Rondo or to get either K.Love or Aldridge.

PG - Rondo, Jennings, Siva
SG - KCP, Billups, Singler
SF - Gay, PonyTail, Singler
PF - Josh Smith, Mitchell, Singler, PonyTail
C - Dre, Jortz

PG - Jennings, Siva
SG - KCP, Billups, Singler
SF - Josh Smith, Gay, PonyTail, Singler
PF - Aldridge or Love, Mitchell, Singler, PonyTail
C - Dre, Jortz

[Sebastian]

Solution: Trade Jerebko (2 years/$4.5 million) to Denver for Jordan Hamilton.

At 23 years old, Hamilton is in his third season and is a very good shooter at 6'7". He would be the perfect player to come onto the floor when Josh moves to the PF position or when he goes to the bench.

Hamilton has a very modest contract:
2013-14     $1,234,320
2014-15     $2,225,478 (Team Option)
2015-16     $3,284,805 (Qualifying offer)

Jerebko could help the Nuggets with energy off of the bench and the Nugget fans would cheer big time for the Swede. Jerebko would appreciate the skiing possibilities.

Besides, the Nuggets still owe US!

[Sebastian]

Probably not, but the Palace looks pretty full to me!

if WE keep winning and playing hard, like the Pistons played tonight. Everybody, who got onto the floor did play hard, albeit some bad plays, here and there.

But, I would say that the Palace was only about 62% full. The top bowl looked very vacant and there were empty seats splatter about the second level. While watching the game on TV, it looked like the lights over the seats were dimmed.

[WTF]

Wise, MCW dropped 22 points, 12 assists, 9 steals and 7 rebounds on the Heat and the Sixers kicked their arses late in the game!

Afflalo and the Magic are in OT with the Wolves(in Minny), and Afflalo has dropped 22 points on the dudes! - Oracle

This would be a damn good starting back-court to go with Monroe, Drummond and Smith.

[WTF]

Monroe: Those are the type of numbers he should be putting up more time than not. I'm not expecting 16 boards a game but no way he shouldn't be dropping 20 plus every night in scoring. Still with the dumb FT misses and TO's.

Josh Smith: I love this guy he's exactly what I thought and those that keep wanting to kill him on his shot selection I say think again.  He can hit that 3 and he's not the black-hole many thought.

Bynum: I don't care what his stats say at the end of games.  He's partly a big reason the Wizard almost came back. He makes some the dumbest decisions and take some of the dumbest shots. Thanks God for Chauncey

Chauncey: Clearly age is his enemy but he still can hit that shot and run a team in crunch time.

Drummond: Dumb foul after dumb foul and not a single block, but he's learning.

KCP: I'm going to say first game jitters got the best of him. He playing like a rookie not a good or bad thing he just need to keep listening to Chauncey.

JJ: Still making dumb mistake and will soon gift his opportunity back to CV.

Singler: Doesn't make dumb mistakes, he plays hard just still not sure how he really fits. He wasn't bad in relief of Josh
and allowing Josh to slide into the PF spot when Drummond or Monroe leaves the floor.

Cheeks: Love him already because I truly believe in small rotations go with your best 9 and stick with them. In this case best 7 and a half.  I still think the jury is out on JJ and that CV will eventually find his way into the rotation.

Good Win! no more 0-8 starts

[Oracle]

Wise, MCW dropped 22 points, 12 assists, 9 steals and 7 rebounds on the Heat and the Sixers kicked their arses late in the game!

Afflalo and the Magic are in OT with the Wolves(in Minny), and Afflalo has dropped 22 points on the dudes!

[Oracle]

A win is a win!

Chauncey pulled their sloppy arses out of the fire, but the first good look at that frontcourt was a thing of beauty!

When we get Jennings & Stuckey back, we'll be competitive with anybody, and it'll allow the younger guys to grow along with them!

Good start, tougher test coming on Friday!

[WTF]

KCP pay attention, Bynum gets beside himself so we need you.

[Oracle]

Bynum has lost his F@CKING MIND!

It can't be soon enough!!!

Surprised that Siva isn't getting any minutes when we're short handed!

[WTF]

Bynum has lost his F@CKING MIND!

[Oracle]

Great block on Gortat, but Monroe can't finish and can't shoot FT's!

[Oracle]

They'll be dangerous!

Keith Langlois @Keith_Langlois
Pistons starting frontcourt at halftime: 26 points on 11 of 17 shooting, 18 rebounds, 6 assists. Not bad.
8:51 PM - 30 Oct 2013

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