We got rid of Joe and his clown act, but...

[Oracle]

Evidently they've showed up in California...

[Oracle]

Keith Langlois @Keith_Langlois
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SVG will start Smith/Drummond/Monroe vs. CHA tomorrow. Says he'll play them about 6-9 minutes together per half.

Keith Langlois @Keith_Langlois
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Not sure who he'll start at 2G (Martin or Butler) or PG (Jennings or Augustin). Will Bynum, they hope, will play Friday & Saturday.

Keith Langlois @Keith_Langlois
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Augustin off to slow start in first 3 games. SVG says he was "a totally different guy" in practice today. Had a talk with him after Sunday.

[Murph]

With Meeks out for a couple of months and KCP with a strained knee, we're all of a sudden short shooting guards.

[Oracle]

Vincent Goodwill  @vgoodwill
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NBA to test 44 minute game with Boston and Brooklyn...to see game flow of a shorter game

Vincent Goodwill  @vgoodwill
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The potential of a shorter game, ads on jerseys...it's a whole new world for the NBA

Keith Langlois  @Keith_Langlois
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Interesting: NBA to stage 44-minute preseason game. Sprung from coaches meetings where concern over game length and flow was raised

Vincent Goodwill  @vgoodwill
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You'll see more Josh Smith at the 3

Vincent Goodwill  @vgoodwill
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On the positive: Spencer Dinwiddie went up and down today. Aiming to play him the last preseason game

Vincent Goodwill  @vgoodwill
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Jodie Meeks has a stress reaction in his back, lower. Will be out a couple months

Keith Langlois  @Keith_Langlois
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Good news front, Spencer Dinwiddie went full-court 5 on 5 for first time. Not fully cleared yet, but might play in last preseason game.

Vincent Goodwill  @vgoodwill
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More Singler, Martin, Butler at the two. Think you'll see a bigger lineup all around

Keith Langlois  @Keith_Langlois
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Meeks has no idea how he hurt his back. Didn't take a hit, didn't fall. Woke up Thursday feeling back tightness. Had CAT scan Monday.

Vincent Goodwill  @vgoodwill
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Meeks was a late scratch to the 2nd preseason game, then had a CAT scan yesterday. Vertebrae injury similar to Drummond's rookie year

[deusXango]

Why are some undistinguished players allowed to misfire game after game, but others (some with more promise) aren't allowed in the game?

With 3 hour practices, day after day, where will a newly traded for player fit in? As preseason goes on aren't we getting further away from making a meaningful trade?

What's going to be the fate of Bynum, Mitchell, and Gray? Will SVG manage to keep 2 out of the 3?

Is it me or does the defense seem to be showing improvement? Can we compete with things as they are?

Can't wait to see the offensive packages SVG is going to install. Can the Big 3 successfully play on the floor together?

Can Drummond, KCP, and when healthy, Dinwiddie carry the Pistons offensively?

Who thinks Monroe may want to stick around (long term) and be apart of that?

Is anybody out there?

[deusXango]

What would this scenario do to fan perceptions, if it came to pass? Due to the lingering back spasms Meeks is having and the cautionary sitting of KCP to allow his knee to rest and heal, Singler is forced into playing SG again and Datome is allowed to play extended minutes at SF; Datome averages 16 points on 46% from the field, shooting 40% from behind the three line, grabbing 7 rebounds, with 4 assists over the span of 3-4 games at SF, does he fade back to the bench once Meeks and KCP returns? Better still, will he be traded because he'd have shown he can play and his value rockets upward? Will we go back to waiting and hoping that Butler starts putting up those numbers and being content with Singler running to the open spot on the floor? If Datome is given a fair chance to show his worth and distinguishes himself, what will be his fate?

Don, Euro ball is widely respected for its' adherence to the basics (which you're always preaching that's lacking on our team), so Datome playing Euro ball is not a bad thing is it? Do you want effective play on the team or do you want certain player(s) to play for the team, regardless of their production and effectiveness? What should a coaches trust be based on? What is unsubstantiated distrust if not bias and prejudice?

After the last game, I'm more impressed with m'man J-Smoove coming off the bench than I thought I would be; that rotation looked absolutely fantastic! I know it was one game, but I'd be willing to see what it looked like for the remainder of the preseason (this ain't an attempt to cow-tow to Monroe) and what the production numbers would be. If SVG is dead set on starting Meeks this year, Smith and KCP as 6th and 7th men can be killer and once Dinwiddie gets on the floor, WOW! Smith, KCP, Dinwiddie, and Martin is not a bad 6-9 in a 9 man rotation. Come on y'all, it's only preseason, give me a break.

[lemonpen]

It would be great to have a stud SF, maybe. Or maybe not, maybe.
Stud C. on his way to becoming one. check
Stud PF. getting there in his own unique way. check
stud SG. not yet but growing steadily.
stud PG. not so much, but can do one thing better than most.

Maybe what we sorely need at SF is a jack of all trades but master of none. Maybe the best bang for the buck would come from a guy who provides strong on ball D, solid boxing out, a carom here and there, and timely O with bucket or assist here and there. A reputable GLUE GUY. Someone to help the heavy lifters keep a proper grip on things.

[deusXango]

PG: This is a welcome surprise for me; I've been openly critical of Jennings play in the past, but the young man is working on positive change and it's showing....I expect great things from him, if he keeps on the current path. IMHO Augustin has moved Bynum off the team; instant offense, spark off the bench, all the things that justified keeping him around are no longer valid.

SG: The strength of our perimeter offense has taken an unexpected hit; the injury bug (albeit temporary) is going to cause opponents to underestimate our firepower capabilities which is going to work to our favor when it counts. Meeks, KCP, and Dinwiddie are going to come as a shock to the east. I hope we don't remain thin there for too long because it'll cause us to play players out of position, which is ridiculous.

SF: The unknown, unseen, unexplored, and undead; while Butler stumbles around on the floor, mumbling "follow me," Datome says he would if he wasn't nailed to the bench...I personally would like to see Martin start and get more minutes, but the popular political campaign is in support of Singler starting and playing the majority of the minutes (his contract year?). The way some talk about him, he's one of the top ten SF's in the league, certainly an indispensable Piston. Truth be told, we're not in as much trouble there as it appears right now.

PF: I for one am still in support of Smith being kept to start there, at least until his current contract is up; Monroe doesn't fill up the stat sheet like Smith does, but he's a rebounding machine that's as formidable an offensive force as you'll find where ever or when ever you play him on the front-line. Many of the more knowledgeable fans on here has suggested rotating our Big 3, for maximum effect, and now that SVG is doing just that, it's the backbone of the team which it was intended to be. Jerebko offers more than adequate support at this spot.

Center: Drummond and Monroe (by committee) are the best in basketball; if Moose decides to exercise his prerogative and bolt after this year, it'll be the single biggest mistake of his career....because he doesn't start at center doesn't mean a damn thing at "winning time!!" Drummond keeps developing his game and with Smith's presence for another couple of years, Monroe and Drummond may become the first successful "twin towers" in the NBA. It's been tried before, but never worked to a high degree of success....they may be the ones.

I totally agree with Don, and Oracle, this team is a work in progress; given the 20 suggested games and we'll be steamrolling through the league. We may look sloppy, until the system kicks in, but by games 20-25 we'll win more than we lose! I feel very comfortable with my 41 win projection.

Keep Thabeet, let Gray go (a heart is nothing to play with). It's time for Mitchell to get ready for the D-League. Trade Bynum for a 2nd round pick, if we can get it. Whatever Buford and Popovich saw in Datome in San Antonio, that we've yet to realize in Detroit, let him go there for another 2nd rounder. Take the rotational players we have now and work on installing SVG's system and establishing a hardworking, winning culture....we may be playoff bound.

[Sissy1946]

Butler with 28 minutes played & a 1-4 with 2 points, Singler with a 4-11, Jennings with a 3-10 & Augistin 0-8, alright Meeks was out & we sure did miss his scoring & KCP went down to but why didn't Datome get some burn?
The time was right, but there he sat with all the practice players the Pistons signed on the bench, can he be that bad in practice not to warrant any minutes except for the other night.
To many minutes with no scoring for the Pistons today, very stagnant, Meek's's outside scoring will help but so could Datome with his outside shooting if given the chance, or is something telling me that Cheeks hardly played him & neither did Loyer & now it doesn't seem that SVG is going to give him a chance either, I could be wrong but what a time for him to play today.

Van Gundy has criticisms for everybody on the team, but he's as quite as a church mouse when it comes to Datome; why? If he's lazy in practice or just not getting it, shouldn't he say so? He's not hurt  nor has he missed any off-season conditioning activities, so I'm with Sissy, why in the hell isn't he given any PT? I mean, Goddamn, it's preseason, the man's making $1.5 million and a proven shooter on the planet earth! I've never seen him hurt the team whenever he's been on the floor and SVG keeps running guys out there that are sucking to high heaven! Being a man of color, I've got a problem with anybody being ignored, prejudged, and not given a fair chance and branded as an inferior talent simply because of ethnic differences. So he's Italian, so what?! He talked about Bynum who makes more money and he talked about Mitchell who makes less, but not a peep about Datome. I don't want to hear how he looked lost out on the floor any any such suck up statement supporting SVG's silence, because every player who's taken the floor this year has looked lost on several occasions!

Sissy and dX the reason why Datome has not received any playing time is because he hasn't earned playing time. How do you know this? This coach is not fooling around. He wants to win this season and it will be tough with the mix of players he is working with right now. It starts in practice where the coaching staff has installed defense and offense. Van Gundy is insisting on players grasping how he wants rotations on defense to work. Datome might be slow to grasp what Van Gundy's staff is trying to do. Pure supposition. It all gets down to who the coach trusts on the floor. I watched this game and didn't feel that playing a guy like Datome would have changed anything. If you are looking at the stats and see that certain players had low shooting percentages, then you are basing your contempt for the coach on the wrong issues. This game was decided by Drummond missing two key defensive assignments and missing free throws. Am I upset with him? NO WAY! Drummond make some key play and is head and shoulders better than last year. But when Andre Miller was allowed to penetrate in the lane against Augustin and Drummond left the opposite low post position open to help out, it was all over. What I felt at that moment was how great this team could be with at least one capable point guard who can make critical plays like Miller and defend in situations like the one that cost this team the game. But it is only a pre season game and Van Gundy was experimenting. It didn't help that Monroe missed an easy shot driving to the basket only because he didn't put the ball up strong to draw a foul. But am I unhappy about Monroe missing that shot. NO WAY! Monroe played well at times and this was only a PRE SEASON GAME.

I am not concerned at all about Singler's shooting percentage like some of you. This has been a tough training camp. Singler is a guy who wants to do everything the coaching staff wants him to do and do it well. He has tired legs. I can see his lack of leg strength in his release right now. Singler is going to be special this year. Right now, Datome is best suited for Euro style play. This goes back to my post regarding prejudgment and branding players as not having what it takes without giving them a chance!  And then there is Martin who can also play small forward and I believe this guy is going to give this team a real lift this season.

The big worry right now is how significant is KCP's knee injury. He sure looked good on both ends in this game before he slipped on the wet floor.

Don, I'm not angry at SVG, but I am pointing out a small crack in his armor; given enough time it'll only get bigger if not corrected. He said it was open competitive at all positions and SF has been sucking (all but Martin), but you're Singler's champion, even when there's no real defense for him.

Cool Breeze: The reason why the stats were brought up is because as bad as some were playing why on earth couldn't they find a few minutes for Luigi? Hell, I could have found at least some minutes for him with some players  not playing & some getting hurt, Meeks was out, Josh was supposedly hurt & was an Undecided before the game. The minutes were there.
Like Deus mentioned also SVG has remarks about everyone except Datome & all you said about him maybe true  but right now it's pure speculation until I hear it from the horses mouth.
It would make more sense for SVG to play him & let him either show he can play or not & would stop posters wondering why he isn't playing, maybe he is not showing nothing in practice but we would like to hear it than hear about Mitchell who's either gone or going to the D-League, being a Datome fan or not  there's plenty of reasons to wonder why he isn't even getting a sniff of competition, play him or get rid of him, if anything about Datome is he doesn't shoot enough. Whenever he did play, passing up shots & passing to teammates.
Some would like to find out where he sits with this team, a comment or two from SVG on his status would be welcomed, some feel he has some skills & would like to see him on the floor but to not get a chance without anyone saying anything about what his chances are or what his future is kind of questionable.
And like you said on why he isn't playing, nobody knows for sure & I as a fan want to know why he isn't getting a look when Butler is playing like Crap or a Augustin goes 0-8 or Singler continues to put up bricks but still they continue to play, hey I just want to know why he isn't getting the chance, or why Stan is so quiet on his status, either play him or release him & besides Ive always thought that SVG would be the one to give him a chance right from the get-go, or maybe he stinks in Practice, just tell us something Stan.

[Oracle]

@DX & @ Sissy - IMO, SVG has developed tunnel vision on the lineup, and while I'm not defending everything, I kind of understand. He has a VERY limited time to figure out who to play and it's complicated by trying to figure out who plays well together. There's only so many players you can look at to figure this out before opening night! I believe that he will do more as the season goes on. However, when you see Thabeet getting minutes... ugggggh!

@Don - Don, I loved this last game because I haven't seen these players play like that in years! You're right about Singler & Martin running the floor, it's amazing how effective they are in forcing defenses to open up due to having to follow these guys! Singler has always done that, but under SVG, he's doing it at a higher level, and Martin is a HUGE surprise to me, he's really active and good! Butler, I'm sorry to say is really bad, and should be the 3rd SF or let go/traded.

I loved this game because it's the FIRST game where I saw SVG's system starting to take hold! You're right, this will only get better, and this team will NOT be an easy out! I can't wait to see this team 20 games into the season playing inspired defense and crisp effective offense. So what you said, "The Pistons are still a work in progress but are on the right path now", is totally true!

@Murph - Thanks for the excellent link Murph! Yes Jennings & Augustin had bad offensive games and are somewhat defensive liabilities, but Jennings is also doing a LOT of things right and getting better each game! Jennings is doing a better job of running the team, passing, and the assists speak for themselves.

Even his defense has improved! Augustin simply had a bad game, on the whole, he's much better than Bynum, but I do have to agree with Don, Siva was running this team a lot better than either guard the last 2 weeks of the season, and into summer league as well!

One of the announcers picked the Pistons to surprise people this season! IMO, this game sent a message that this team won't lay down and won't go away quietly into the night! You're going to really have to beat them the old fashioned way to get a win!

[Murph]

So after 3 preseason games, there are a couple of surprising but welcome developments.

First, Brandon Jennings is leading the preseason in assists per game, with 7.0...outstanding, and a huge step in the right direction.  

And DJ Augustin is 7th in the preseason in apg.

Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond are both tied for 8th in rebounding with 9.3 per game.

Monroe is 10th in scoring and KCP is 11th in scoring.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/stats/playersort/NBA/year-2014-season-preseason-category-assists



It's a relief to find out KCP's injury isn't serious.

[deusXango]

Butler with 28 minutes played & a 1-4 with 2 points, Singler with a 4-11, Jennings with a 3-10 & Augistin 0-8, alright Meeks was out & we sure did miss his scoring & KCP went down to but why didn't Datome get some burn?
The time was right, but there he sat with all the practice players the Pistons signed on the bench, can he be that bad in practice not to warrant any minutes except for the other night.
To many minutes with no scoring for the Pistons today, very stagnant, Meek's's outside scoring will help but so could Datome with his outside shooting if given the chance, or is something telling me that Cheeks hardly played him & neither did Loyer & now it doesn't seem that SVG is going to give him a chance either, I could be wrong but what a time for him to play today.

Van Gundy has criticisms for everybody on the team, but he's as quite as a church mouse when it comes to Datome; why? If he's lazy in practice or just not getting it, shouldn't he say so? He's not hurt  nor has he missed any off-season conditioning activities, so I'm with Sissy, why in the hell isn't he given any PT? I mean, Goddamn, it's preseason, the man's making $1.5 million and a proven shooter on the planet earth! I've never seen him hurt the team whenever he's been on the floor and SVG keeps running guys out there that are sucking to high heaven! Being a man of color, I've got a problem with anybody being ignored, prejudged, and not given a fair chance and branded as an inferior talent simply because of ethnic differences. So he's Italian, so what?! He talked about Bynum who makes more money and he talked about Mitchell who makes less, but not a peep about Datome. I don't want to hear how he looked lost out on the floor any any such suck up statement supporting SVG's silence, because every player who's taken the floor this year has looked lost on several occasions!

Sissy and dX the reason why Datome has not received any playing time is because he hasn't earned playing time. How do you know this? This coach is not fooling around. He wants to win this season and it will be tough with the mix of players he is working with right now. It starts in practice where the coaching staff has installed defense and offense. Van Gundy is insisting on players grasping how he wants rotations on defense to work. Datome might be slow to grasp what Van Gundy's staff is trying to do. Pure supposition. It all gets down to who the coach trusts on the floor. I watched this game and didn't feel that playing a guy like Datome would have changed anything. If you are looking at the stats and see that certain players had low shooting percentages, then you are basing your contempt for the coach on the wrong issues. This game was decided by Drummond missing two key defensive assignments and missing free throws. Am I upset with him? NO WAY! Drummond make some key play and is head and shoulders better than last year. But when Andre Miller was allowed to penetrate in the lane against Augustin and Drummond left the opposite low post position open to help out, it was all over. What I felt at that moment was how great this team could be with at least one capable point guard who can make critical plays like Miller and defend in situations like the one that cost this team the game. But it is only a pre season game and Van Gundy was experimenting. It didn't help that Monroe missed an easy shot driving to the basket only because he didn't put the ball up strong to draw a foul. But am I unhappy about Monroe missing that shot. NO WAY! Monroe played well at times and this was only a PRE SEASON GAME.

I am not concerned at all about Singler's shooting percentage like some of you. This has been a tough training camp. Singler is a guy who wants to do everything the coaching staff wants him to do and do it well. He has tired legs. I can see his lack of leg strength in his release right now. Singler is going to be special this year. Right now, Datome is best suited for Euro style play. This goes back to my post regarding prejudgment and branding players as not having what it takes without giving them a chance! And then there is Martin who can also play small forward and I believe this guy is going to give this team a real lift this season.

The big worry right now is how significant is KCP's knee injury. He sure looked good on both ends in this game before he slipped on the wet floor.

Don, I'm not angry at SVG, but I am pointing out a small crack in his armor; given enough time it'll only get bigger if not corrected. He said it was open competitive at all positions and SF has been sucking (all but Martin), but you're Singler's champion, even when there's no real defense for him.

[cool breeze]

The bad news is that at least in my observations the weakness in floor leadership at the point guard position has not changed. Payton Siva played better in the last two weeks of last season in that role of floor leader than either Jennings or Augustin has done so far in the pre season games. Jennings still has ball handling issues causing needless turnovers. He forces things with his aggressive style of play just like last season. But he is bigger and seems to look stronger now and has created some really good assist plays especially on one drive with an easy set up pass for Monroe in this last game. He is trying to get his teammates involved and the offense overall looks better so far because players are getting wide open shots now. Some fans are noticing the shooting stats from our skill position players like Singler. But please notice if you are watching the games that guys like Singler and Martin are moving without the ball and finding the open places on the floor and are developing passing angles to make it easier for players who are getting doubled to find them. And to add to this, notice that the player with the ball is not jacking up a low percentage shot but actually tries to find that open guy. The shooting percentages will greatly improve as the team gets into the regular season and players get more comfortable on the floor.

To me the determining factors on how many wins this team gets will be overall point guard play and how well Piston big men can defend, get defensive rebounds and shot blocks when it counts, and how well the big men shoot free throws. Last season Detroit was last in the league in free throw shooting. Teams that win usually have most of their key guys shooting free throws at an 80% clip or better. Last night our bigs with Drummond and Monroe in there were beaten in crunch time on defense by Washington's second string players. Gortat is in fantastic physical condition and was able to do whatever he wanted to do against Monroe, Drummond and Smith. SVG has to help these three players get much better on defense if Detroit is going to make the playoffs. And he is going to need to find at least one point guard who can defend and have a low turnover rate. We have suffered through too many seasons where Piston management failed to pick up good second tier point guards. Andre Miller is no longer a first tier type PG but he offers stability at that position. It doesn't appear that either Jennings or Augustin can offer the team what two way team orientated players like Miller provide. I am sure that Van Gundy is not going to tolerate his points guards allowing players like Miller to drive easily deep into the paint and make a play at the end of a game like last night. And the only way Miller could have had success with this dribble penetration was weak point guard defense and Drummond making a critical mistake in leaving his man and the left side of the paint wide open. All of the other Piston players make the right rotations at that play developed. This was a great learning experience for both Drummond and Augustin and the coaching staff. That is what you want to get out of pre season games. Getting beat on this play might really help the Piston team in the future because this coaching staff will not allow players to make those mistakes and see the floor in the regular season.

[cool breeze]

Butler with 28 minutes played & a 1-4 with 2 points, Singler with a 4-11, Jennings with a 3-10 & Augistin 0-8, alright Meeks was out & we sure did miss his scoring & KCP went down to but why didn't Datome get some burn?
The time was right, but there he sat with all the practice players the Pistons signed on the bench, can he be that bad in practice not to warrant any minutes except for the other night.
To many minutes with no scoring for the Pistons today, very stagnant, Meek's's outside scoring will help but so could Datome with his outside shooting if given the chance, or is something telling me that Cheeks hardly played him & neither did Loyer & now it doesn't seem that SVG is going to give him a chance either, I could be wrong but what a time for him to play today.

Van Gundy has criticisms for everybody on the team, but he's as quite as a church mouse when it comes to Datome; why? If he's lazy in practice or just not getting it, shouldn't he say so? He's not hurt  nor has he missed any off-season conditioning activities, so I'm with Sissy, why in the hell isn't he given any PT? I mean, Goddamn, it's preseason, the man's making $1.5 million and a proven shooter on the planet earth! I've never seen him hurt the team whenever he's been on the floor and SVG keeps running guys out there that are sucking to high heaven! Being a man of color, I've got a problem with anybody being ignored, prejudged, and not given a fair chance and branded as an inferior talent simply because of ethnic differences. So he's Italian, so what?! He talked about Bynum who makes more money and he talked about Mitchell who makes less, but not a peep about Datome. I don't want to hear how he looked lost out on the floor any any such suck up statement supporting SVG's silence, because every player who's taken the floor this year has looked lost on several occasions!

Sissy and dX the reason why Datome has not received any playing time is because he hasn't earned playing time. This coach is not fooling around. He wants to win this season and it will be tough with the mix of players he is working with right now. It starts in practice where the coaching staff has installed defense and offense. Van Gundy is insisting on players grasping how he wants rotations on defense to work. Datome might be slow to grasp what Van Gundy's staff is trying to do. It all gets down to who the coach trusts on the floor. I watched this game and didn't feel that playing a guy like Datome would have changed anything. If you are looking at the stats and see that certain players had low shooting percentages, then you are basing your contempt for the coach on the wrong issues. This game was decided by Drummond missing two key defensive assignments and missing free throws. Am I upset with him? NO WAY! Drummond make some key play and is head and shoulders better than last year. But when Andre Miller was allowed to penetrate in the lane against Augustin and Drummond left the opposite low post position open to help out, it was all over. What I felt at that moment was how great this team could be with at least one capable point guard who can make critical plays like Miller and defend in situations like the one that cost this team the game. But it is only a pre season game and Van Gundy was experimenting. It didn't help that Monroe missed an easy shot driving to the basket only because he didn't put the ball up strong to draw a foul. But am I unhappy about Monroe missing that shot. NO WAY! Monroe played well at times and this was only a PRE SEASON GAME.

I am not concerned at all about Singler's shooting percentage like some of you. This has been a tough training camp. Singler is a guy who wants to do everything the coaching staff wants him to do and do it well. He has tired legs. I can see his lack of leg strength in his release right now. Singler is going to be special this year. Right now, Datome is best suited for Euro style play. And then there is Martin who can also play small forward and I believe this guy is going to give this team a real lift this season.

The big worry right now is how significant is KCP's knee injury. He sure looked good on both ends in this game before he slipped on the wet floor.

[deusXango]

Butler with 28 minutes played & a 1-4 with 2 points, Singler with a 4-11, Jennings with a 3-10 & Augistin 0-8, alright Meeks was out & we sure did miss his scoring & KCP went down to but why didn't Datome get some burn?
The time was right, but there he sat with all the practice players the Pistons signed on the bench, can he be that bad in practice not to warrant any minutes except for the other night.
To many minutes with no scoring for the Pistons today, very stagnant, Meek's's outside scoring will help but so could Datome with his outside shooting if given the chance, or is something telling me that Cheeks hardly played him & neither did Loyer & now it doesn't seem that SVG is going to give him a chance either, I could be wrong but what a time for him to play today.

Van Gundy has criticisms for everybody on the team, but he's as quite as a church mouse when it comes to Datome; why? If he's lazy in practice or just not getting it, shouldn't he say so? He's not hurt  nor has he missed any off-season conditioning activities, so I'm with Sissy, why in the hell isn't he given any PT? I mean, Goddamn, it's preseason, the man's making $1.5 million and a proven shooter on the planet earth! I've never seen him hurt the team whenever he's been on the floor and SVG keeps running guys out there that are sucking to high heaven! Being a man of color, I've got a problem with anybody being ignored, prejudged, and not given a fair chance and branded as an inferior talent simply because of ethnic differences. So he's Italian, so what?! He talked about Bynum who makes more money and he talked about Mitchell who makes less, but not a peep about Datome. I don't want to hear how he looked lost out on the floor any any such suck up statement supporting SVG's silence, because every player who's taken the floor this year has looked lost on several occasions!

[Sissy1946]

Butler with 28 minutes played & a 1-4 with 2 points, Singler with a 4-11, Jennings with a 3-10 & Augistin 0-8, alright Meeks was out & we sure did miss his scoring & KCP went down to but why didn't Datome get some burn?
The time was right, but there he sat with all the practice players the Pistons signed on the bench, can he be that bad in practice not to warrant any minutes except for the other night.
To many minutes with no scoring for the Pistons today, very stagnant, Meek's's outside scoring will help but so could Datome with his outside shooting if given the chance, or is something telling me that Cheeks hardly played him & neither did Loyer & now it doesn't seem that SVG is going to give him a chance either, I could be wrong but what a time for him to play today.

[Fennis Dembo]

Stuckey: DNP
Villanueva: 16 points in 11 minutes, 6/8 shooting, 4 rebounds, plus 13 plus/minus
The only rational explanation I can come up with for his exceptional performance was that he was on performance enhancing drugs.

[Murph]

I hope KCP's knee is nothing serious, and he'll be back by the regular season.  

[Oracle]

Seb, in this game, Singler was hardly the problem!

When you get almost nothing from either PG's, Jennings a little and Augustin putting up Curry type goose eggs and turning the ball over down the stretch, Singler looks like he was inducted to the HOF

On the flip side, we did get 14 assists from the PG position to somewhat balance it off, but Augustin was horrible while Jennings was just below average!

Josh had a fantastic game shooting and passing a thing of beauty! However, it's becoming clear that the PF position has passed him by in terms of size in today's NBA!

Monroe may not be athletically as gifted, but he is offensively gifted, and he's got great size that causes opponents big trouble. IMO, the combination of Drummond & Monroe gives us a fantastically bright future if he stayed!

Speaking of Drummond, he has a great game as well! His offense is beginning to come around, and his defense is better, although he had a terrible lapse in the 4th that basically cost us the game if you don't count Monroe's blown shot just after that!

Losing KCP had an immediate effect, they got out scored by double digits, but recovered nicely!


KCP UPDATE:

Keith Langlois @Keith_Langlois
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MRI will be final arbiter on KCP's knee but general sense is #Pistons dodged a bullet. He was walking without aid tonight.

[Oracle]

Tonight Dallas versus Indiana
The battle of the century

Forget Bird vs. Magic.
Forget Wilt vs. Bill Russell.
Foget Michael Jordan vs. Zeke.
Forget the Thrilla in Manila.
It's Charlie Villanueva vs. Rodney Stuckey.

Get out your air horns and Roman candles.
It's  Mr. Low Percentage Three Point Attempt vs. Mr. Takin' It to the Hole Come Hell or High Water.
If your expectations are lower than a Limbo stick, this is the game for you.  Two overpaid underachievers that squashed our hopes and broke our hearts.   I can only hope that a Gypsy put a curse on both of them and they foul out in the first quarter.  

LOL, I'm pulling for the head butt that knocks them both out

[Fennis Dembo]

Tonight Dallas versus Indiana
The battle of the century

Forget Bird vs. Magic.
Forget Wilt vs. Bill Russell.
Foget Michael Jordan vs. Zeke.
Forget the Thrilla in Manila.
It's Charlie Villanueva vs. Rodney Stuckey.

Get out your air horns and Roman candles.
It's Mr. Low Percentage Three Point Attempt vs. Mr. Takin' It to the Hole Come Hell or High Water.
If your expectations are lower than a Limbo stick, this is the game for you. Two overpaid underachievers that squashed our hopes and broke our hearts. I can only hope that a Gypsy put a curse on both of them and they foul out in the first quarter.

[Sebastian]

Pistons Pals: If Singler was a legit NBA a starter, OUR Pistons would be sitting pretty with the best front line rotation in the League. I don't me to contradict any earlier post that I have submitted on the topic of OUR current roster.

What I am convey, here, is if Singler came out of locker room every night with 17 efficiently scored points, 4.9 assist, and 8 rebounds, with some fierce defense OUR roster would then be something to consider, but Singler is not a legit NBA starter. He misses too many open threes. He's very clumsy. And, most of all he is not considered to be a NBA caliber, first seven, by his peers.

If WE could find a legit, under-the-radar SF while retaining Moose and Josh, WE would be a difficult team to beat. Maybe Orlando are looking for a temporary replacement for the injured Channing Frye and they would trade Moe Harkless for Kyle Singler.

WE are going no where with SIngler gobbling up the majority of the SF minutes and Butler playing the remaining balance of the SF minutes. That shift will not work.

[Oracle]

Wiz up by one with 5.7 seconds left!

Lions up 17-0, but Vikings driving!


Monroe blows a shot 1 foot from the basket, and it looks like Wiz will win this one!

But notice has been served!!!

This Piston team will NOT be an easy out this year... great game!!!

[Oracle]

The lead by one point!!!!

Dre missed the 2nd of two FT's, but we got the rebound, and they went to Dre on the low block, and he got the shot and a foul, but missed the FT for the 3 point play!

Up by 1 with 15 seconds left!

[Oracle]

Singler's bigtime 3(this is Singlers best game of the year), and a tough jump hook by Drummond in the post!

Who the eff are these guys!!!


Oops, Pistons down by 2 with 52 seconds left!

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