Seb

[Oracle]

Oracle, I still don't trust B. Jennings, as OUR starting PG. The game was a fast pace game, where B. Jennings plays best. The halfcourt set is where games are won and lost and B. Jennings doesn't play well in this particular set. Also, Jennings was compromised, again, on the defensive side of the floor. But, the 18 assist were nice.

The problem with Josh is his Basketball IQ is not high enough to be identified, as a team's best player. The tangible, intangibles that he offers are great, but he is miscast when consider a team's best player.

Oh, another thing, OUR Pistons will not become a better team, until Singler becomes a 9th or 10th man.

Seb, EXCELLENT response!

Yes Singler really stunk up the joint last night! Not is usual play, but IMO, the fast paced games, generally with much faster players, isn't his game, so Cheeks would have done better to play him less.

But Singler isn't either high paid or experienced, so I don't worry about him in the larger scheme of things yet! What you say may be true, but we need to let that naturally play out, and it will, one way or another!

But the really smart parts of your post was the Josh & Jennings stuff!

Josh is a productive, loveable dufus bball IQ wise, and I love him on the team, but not as the best player and go to guy, it's not where he's the most productive, and will break your heart there!

Cheeks said it again last night in the quotes.... Jennings is still learning how to play the PG position! He's a work in progress, but your observation about him playing in the half court is stellar!

That's likely going to be a problem going forward and if we make the playoffs, we'll see full games with a lot of half court basketball! Our best hope, IMO, is to get him playing good enough that somebody can see him as an upgrade in their situation and we move him for greener pastures!

[FlyDog]

Bynum scores 16 points, and Josh Smith knocks down a big 3 in the final minute. Sounds like a lasting recipe for winning..........

[Sebastian]

Pistons Pals: There is another opportunity availed to OUR Pistons to make a move, now.

A roster change or changes or coaching move can be done, today, thus allowing almost a full week the opportunity to get in a mini-mini camp.

OUR next game is not until, Friday, Jan. 17 at the Palace, against the Trey Burke Jazz.

If a significant move is made, today, OUR Pistons can resume the season on Friday with a much needed facelift.

Do something, Joe, damn it, before it is too f@ckin' late!  

[Sebastian]

Jennings:
Jennings equaled team records held by Isiah Thomas with 11 assists in the first quarter and 16 in the first half. His final total of 18 is the highest by an NBA player this season.

The last player with 16 assists in a half was Jason Kidd, who did it April 5, 2009, for Dallas, according to STATS. That was also against Phoenix.

The last player with at least 11 assists in a quarter was Steve Blake, who had 14 for Portland in 2009.

Josh:
Smith was involved in a few big plays in the final half-minute - both good and bad. His 3-pointer as the shot clock expired put Detroit ahead 108-105 with 26.8 seconds left. Then he fouled Gerald Green while the Phoenix guard was shooting a 3-pointer. Green made all three free throws to tie it with 4.3 seconds remaining.

Smith took the ensuing inbounds pass near the top of the key, drove to the right and then switched hands, making a tough shot while being tightly defended by Channing Frye.

Oracle, I still don't trust B. Jennings, as OUR starting PG. The game was a fast pace game, where B. Jennings plays best. The halfcourt set is where games are won and lost and B. Jennings doesn't play well in this particular set. Also, Jennings was compromised, again, on the defensive side of the floor. But, the 18 assist were nice.

The problem with Josh is his Basketball IQ is not high enough to be identified, as a team's best player. The tangible, intangibles that he offers are great, but he is miscast when consider a team's best player.

Oh, another thing, OUR Pistons will not become a better team, until Singler becomes a 9th or 10th man.

[Oracle]

Jennings:
Jennings equaled team records held by Isiah Thomas with 11 assists in the first quarter and 16 in the first half. His final total of 18 is the highest by an NBA player this season.

The last player with 16 assists in a half was Jason Kidd, who did it April 5, 2009, for Dallas, according to STATS. That was also against Phoenix.

The last player with at least 11 assists in a quarter was Steve Blake, who had 14 for Portland in 2009.

Josh:
Smith was involved in a few big plays in the final half-minute - both good and bad. His 3-pointer as the shot clock expired put Detroit ahead 108-105 with 26.8 seconds left. Then he fouled Gerald Green while the Phoenix guard was shooting a 3-pointer. Green made all three free throws to tie it with 4.3 seconds remaining.

Smith took the ensuing inbounds pass near the top of the key, drove to the right and then switched hands, making a tough shot while being tightly defended by Channing Frye.

[Oracle]

They won!

[Oracle]

So far he's played a great game, but this is a dude that just can't stand prosperity!

Once things start to go well, he ALWAYS reverts to doing stupid stuff!

[Oracle]

While there is a lot of freelancing in basketball, it's freelancing around a structural foundation!

Does anybody think that the Spurs under Pop freelance? Yes, but not that much!

Pop has a system, and his motivation is simply finding players with specific skills to play the roles around his stars and blend into the system!

If you have super stars, the need for plays diminishes as the burden is on the defense to stop what they know is coming, but the best are hard to stop even under those circumstances!

But here's the deal: Coaching is a preparation game and a chess match!

Preparation is used to eliminate a lot of in game coaching, but you do need a strategy!

Coaches generally play one way for 3.5 quarters! They do this to setup plays that they want to run deep into the 4th! This works well because the other team has seen a behavior for so long that when you change the behavior it produces opportunities for easy scores!

Cheeks does NONE of this! In the 4th, he's running plays he used all game long... well, he only has one play, throw the ball to player X and let him beat his man!

Now I don't want to discount motivational coaches, they have their place, but motivation alone isn't a prescription for success, it needs to be backed up by solid coaching!

So what's the impact of coaching?

What's the impact of a driver of a car? Not a perfect analogy, but the coach steers the team in one direction or another and sets the boundaries! It can't be like Cheeks thinks it is unless you have some really good superstars, and last I looked, we don't!

[Murph]

Ok...I know it's only Phily, one of the worst teams in the conference, but still, the Pistons played very well last night.  All the starters played great.  Smith, Monroe and Drummond each had double-doubles, and combined for 48 pts, 35 rbds, 10 asts, 5 stls and 11 blks...which is the kind of performance I envisioned them having at the beginning of the season.  Sadly, that has not happened on a consistent basis.    

Jennings played under control and took only 10 shots.  He also hit 7-8 from the line, for a nice over-all game.

KCP had another good game.  For the month of January, KCP is averaging 10.3 pts, and shooting 55% from the floor, and 50% from 3 pt land.  Hopefully, he can continue to shoot like that.

Singler and Bynum each had 16 pts, 8 rbds and 3 asts, to make a major contribution off the bench.  

Next up, the Suns at home tonight.  If the Pistons want to demonstrate any grit and character as a team, and begin to save their season, tonight would be a good time to start.

[Sparma]

I've been trying to figure out how much of an impact coaches have on a game.  An unusual comment by Cheeks (below) fits with part of how I thought it worked in the NBA.

Clearly, coaches make a difference.  Above all, they control the minutes.  Sometimes, they can give a boost of confidence to a player, as Cheeks seems to have with Stuckey.  Craig Hodges claims that the Bulls would have won earlier if Doug Collins would have installed the Triangle of his assistant Tex Winters (whom he chose to pointedly ignore instead; had they won, Phil would not have stepped in to replace him).  Sometimes specific plays are run: Larry Brown did a great job of calling plays out of timeouts, eg, for Ben Wallace.  In additon, there are standard plays that the likes of Malone and Stockton run repeatedly.  Some coaches fail to win the respect of their players (eg Frank), which make it difference.  Coaches choose the defensive schema.

On the other hand, I'm struck by how different the NBA is from the NFL, where coaches have an enormous impact.  In basketball (as in soccer), a tremendous burden falls on players to figure it out.  I think that's true for professionals as well as for rank amateurs like myself.

Evidence of the limited role of coaches?

When Phil Jackson coached in the CBA (successfully), he stressed defensive teamwork, but had the players figure out the O themselves.

At last we come to Cheeks.  He recently said [detnews]: “It’s not necessarily a plan I’m running for him [KCP], it’s just the action,” Cheeks said. “It’s like how I played. They didn’t run nothing for me, if somebody double teamed, got down the floor, you got an open shot, it’s how he scores. Running plays, you rarely, rarely do that.”

Surprising statement, which may reflect badly on Cheeks.  But I think it has the ring of truth, at least as it concerns select players.  Cheeks doesn't have much to boast about as a coach, but as a player that approach seems to have worked real well for him [granted that playing with Dr. J might have made a difference.]

Maybe Cheeks's saying, mainly, that for certain players [KCP] there aren't set plays.  That leaves open the possibility of there being set plays for others [Smith].  But part of his statement sounds sweeping: "Running plays, you rarely, rarely do that.”

The easy response would be that someone SHOULD be running a bunch of plays.  I like the basic message of Cheeks to Jennings though: the PG needs to be able to figure things out, be creative, make adjustments within the flow of the game.  Jennings needs to learn that, more so than run a set of plays.  Thus far, the execution of that message has left something to be desired.

[FlyDog]

Oracle- That was sarcasm about the Pistons not in tank mode because they beat Philly.....right?

Phillip- 'Melo's nickname should be melanoma.......the dude is straight up CANCER.

Sebastian- No need for Joe to sell his house. When his contract is not renewed, NOBODY will hire him. His track record over the last 8 years points to decline.

[Sebastian]

Pistons Pals: Wonder why no trade(s) has been transacted? Heck, there aren't even any rumors involving a Pistons trade; in fact there have been more curious reports with headlines like "Pistons wont trade Rodney Stuckey" or "Pistons not considering a Greg Monroe trade".

I think that Joe is done. Gores is not going to allow Joe to execute another trade, as he is a lame duck GM. Gores is not going to endorse any personnel transactions that may be proposed from Joe's office.

Joe's contract will be allowed to expire.

My advice: Put the house of for sale, Joe.

[Sebastian]

About damn time!

[Phil-Good]

Any trade I do for Melo, I need him to agree to sign A 5 year contract extension before we even start talking about what players are going to be included in A trade.

[Oracle]

Eric Vincent @IAmEricVincent
Follow
Just a rumor RT @APetrelak: #Pistons discussing a trade of Monroe, Stuckey, and a first for Carmelo. Please no

Keith Langlois @Keith_Langlois
Follow
Josh Smith 3rd in NBA history with 22 points, 13 boards, 7 assist, 5 blocks, 4 steals: Kareem (twice) & Hakeem other 2.

Ok, it's not basketball, but it makes sense to me  

-- Scott Barnes -- @MossyBlog
Follow
"..Religion is like a penis.. its fine to have one. It's fine to be proud of it. Don't whip it out in public and start waving it around.."

[Oracle]

About time, and I was sweating earlier, because if they could lose to the Sixers, the season was truly entering tank mode!

[Oracle]

What is depicted below.

passes:    possessions
0:   OOOOOOOOOO
1:   OOOOOOOOO
2:
3:
4:   OOO
5:   O
6:   O

I was flipping back and forth between our game against the Raptors and the Spurs/Mavs game.  Something seemed funny but couldn't put a finger on it.  So I picked up and pen and paper.

What we have here is a graphic representation of the number of passes made after in-bounding the basketball for each of our 3rd quarter possessions. (not inc after offensive rebounds)

Can anyone say "sharing the ball" or "swinging the ball to the weak side" or "making a play for a teammate".

Next time I will record the data chronologically, and with outcomes.

Lemon, I really appreciate what you did, and look forward to you next version... Good Stuff!!!

[lemonpen]

What is depicted below.

passes: possessions
0:   OOOOOOOOOO
1:   OOOOOOOOO
2:
3:
4:   OOO
5:   O
6:   O

I was flipping back and forth between our game against the Raptors and the Spurs/Mavs game.  Something seemed funny but couldn't put a finger on it.  So I picked up and pen and paper.

What we have here is a graphic representation of the number of passes made after in-bounding the basketball for each of our 3rd quarter possessions. (not inc after offensive rebounds)

Can anyone say "sharing the ball" or "swinging the ball to the weak side" or "making a play for a teammate".

Next time I will record the data chronologically, and with outcomes.

[FlyDog]

Dear Joe,

Let me start by saying you were a very good player. Not quite Robin to Isiah's Batman....because Rodman and Aguirre were better players than you. But you were an excellent glue guy on Championship teams. A lot like your Coach, Mo Cheeks, actually. Thank you for being that guy, and then thank you again for ushering Grant Hill into the League.......good times.

So.......it pains me to say, as a GM, you suck donkey balls. Your stubborn stance on Combo Guards is your biggest downfall. That, and your unwillingness to hire a strong-minded coach. Your roster sucks, your team sucks......have you looked at the stands in the Palace over the last 5 years or so? Pathetic. Nobody wants to watch your crappy collection of individuals go through the motions.

My advice to you is to hit the f*cking road, because your fat ballooned out face makes me sad, you half wit. Now get the hell outta here. NOW!!!!!!!!!!

[FlyDog]

What is depicted below.

0:   OOOOOOOOOO
1:   OOOOOOOOO
2:
3:
4:   OOO
5:   O
6:   O

Number of wins in the last 6 games? Number of playoff series wins in the last 6 seasons? A poor illustration of the Nintendo game "Tetris"?

[lemonpen]

What is depicted below.

0: OOOOOOOOOO
1: OOOOOOOOO
2:
3:
4: OOO
5: O
6: O

[Sparma]

"There were best case scenarios and worst case scenarios for the team Detroit fielded this year. So far, they are living up to the worst possible case scenarios as Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings continue to shoot them out of games. Their best hope is to turn Greg Monroe into a sweet shooting wing that allows Smith to move the four. They aren't going to be able to move Smith or Jennings and Andre Drummond is untouchable. Monroe will be the key. If they can get a legitimate shooter, things might balance out."

[merc]

New advanced stat just came in... The Pistons are -99 in SPR rating... compared to the '89 & 2004 "Smart Player Rating" of +99

[lemonpen]

The problem is that he's a big baby (spelled s-o-f-t) that can do amazing things for his age, but has a long way to go (spelled s-o-f-t) before he learns how to use his tools! Shaq wasn't physical enough early in his career (spelled s-o-f-t)  , and established centers gave him trouble (spelled s-o-f-t) until he realized, or truthfully Phil Jackson made him realize that nobody can stop him!

That's why I've been campaigning to get him back to the bench where the fit is just awesome for him and the team!

A bench of Drummond, Stuckey, Singler, Bynum, and either JJ, CV, or Mitchell would be quite imposing for other teams 2nd units! Stuckey gets to do his normal damage, but importantly, it gives Bynum the environment to hurt us less and produce more!

Then if you like the jumbo frontcourt for a starting unit, and I do, I say move Harrelson to the starting stretch PF, keep Josh at SF, and move Monroe to center!

All of a sudden the starting 5 can space the floor, has much better shooting, and IMO, loses nothing on defense, and arguably gets better defensively!

However, it would take brass balls to take Drummond out of the starting 5, and I know Cheeks won't do it because Joe probably wouldn't let him! But Cheeks better learn that it's better losing while doing what you know to be best, rather than die for someone else's cause!

I think the lineup change is definitely worth a try.  The only downside might lie in reduced  rebounding from the starting unit.  There have been times when we can't capture a carrom in his (AD) absence.  But I still like the idea.

[Murph]

I wasn't planning on reading that article and you and the other poster comments are dead on.  Patrick Hayes needs to shut his trap on this.   

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  Patrick Hayes is a huge ASSHOLE.  That sight would be so much better if that jerk-off quit writing for them.  He hardly writes any articles anymore, but when he does, they're guaranteed to irritate.

[Sponsored content]