Deja Vu

[WTF]

Defense is all about Heart and Effort which this team doesn't fully have. They play defense lazy and I'm not just picking at our team but a lot of todays players do we just seem to more **** at it than others.

COY My Arse!!! he said his plan was to jack up 3's and more ISO so that's what they're doing they are not running plays.   Not seeing much difference from what SVG was doing with what Casey doing right now.  

Really how could all of you be sounding just like last season if everything was suppose o be new and exciting now that Casey is here.   The voice might be different coming from the head coach but it's the same ****.  

This team will be up and own all season and at it's end it will have 39 wins again.  Just like players are fundamentally under developed so are coaches and this seems to be Casey issue. Yeah he was more lucky than he was smart in Toronto. he'll be less lucky here.

[Oracle]

No time to make a lengthy comment, but I wanted to say that you both NAILED it, Lemon calling out player mistakes, and I really liked how Don called out the coaching staff, because as many mistakes as the players made, it looked to me like they had absolutely no plan(good catch Don).

Great stuff guys!

[cool breeze]

As hard as we appeared to struggle on O I think we easily scored enough to win.  
But, we can be so friggin undisciplined on D.  Twenty-four seconds is beginning to feel like an eternity.  Sooner or later we make another boo-boo keeping the opponent in the game.

- Time and time again we trail over the top of screens, surrendering the lane.  It’s no wonder we’re getting killed on points in the paint. Options?
- Ish fouling a 3pt shooter.  Twice.  Unheard of.    
- Brown, lunging for a steal, missing, only to watch his man jet into the lane creating another 2 on 1 situation at the rim. (not in crunch time, rookie)
- Griff, standing in the lane as his man receives a pass at the corner arc.  Swish.
- Nobody switching off onto Damn-wittie as he takes the inbound pass at the arc.  Swish.  It looked like Spence ran through a 6 man screen at the foul line.   What is the saying about playing like 5 strangers.
- Dre giving ground allowing the final dagger.
- Ish, lighting quick Ish, getting beat on dribble drives, without the assistance of a pick.

We don't always need big plays.  In the words of Mona Lisa Vito,   "just don't F - up".

Lemonpen is is good to read something that shows you actually watched the game. Great job taking the time to write about your observations.

I want posters to pressure this coaching staff to let them know that we know they are not doing enough as coaches to clean up basic mistakes. To me as a former high school coach who came in my first season trying like hell before the season started to know something about how the players performed the season before. What do you need to work on the most to get the most out of what you have to work with? Just simple common sense often works. Yet I have been amazed reading some of the comments that Casey made before the season started. Who wouldn't check out every game film you could find, try to communicate with the coaches who were fired to see if they would reveal any of their insight as to how things went so wrong over the past two seasons. Casey could have requested comments from Piston fans and gather their complaints or observations on things they saw. But is clear to me is the fact that next to nothing was done previous to training camp to identify the Pistons two biggest weaknesses. The team doesn't utilize all five players on offense. A dead giveaway for a low offensive basketball IQ team is when opposing defenses force the Pistons into playing only one side of the floor. It appears that there is no 2nd, 3rd or 4th option with the Pistons half court offense. The floor spacing is usually wrong. Movement is non existent for long periods of time because even the players on the court know how predictable certain Piston players have become when they have the ball in their hands. When players who seldom touch the ball in the half court offense actually touch it, they often look confused. To me that shows the team doesn't practice hard or with purpose. It also means that the coaching staff is not in control of things in practice or is content to just watch. Breaking down into small groups in practice will not simulate the potential power a team can have when 5 guys are in sync because they have practiced for long hours cultivating and understanding of the options the team has to bring success against any defensive strategy.

As you outlined the mistakes made by our professional players on defense is inexcusable. But it appears that the players especially when Spencer made that uncontested 3 pointer have no idea when they should switch or not switch. AD is still switching on to a guard who is already properly defended forcing his smaller teammate to try to defend an opposing center or power forward. How many hours have these Piston players spent working on defense in practice. High school players work long hours getting rotations down. And high school players at least used to easily switch from a zone full court press forcing sideline to a run and jump full court defense that when no turnover came could move into a half court 1-2-2 or 2-3 zone defense depending on your opponents strengths. These professional players keep it very simple and perhaps too simple for fans to actually enjoy basketball games very much. Even when all they have to know is what they need to do in a man to man half court defense, some players go brain dead. The NBA game is fast but there is no excuse for reaching or not staying in front of your man who has not yet used his dribble. There can be no excuses for AD not making sound decisions relating defensive rotations. AD is an amazing athlete and could make the Pistons a big winner if he could quickly read and react to what opposing teams are trying to do. I always loved the way Zeke and Laimbeer would stymie opposing team's plays by preventing the critical pass or doubling with Zeke releasing to snag a steal on the desperation pass situation they created together. They did it in the back court as well as within the half court defense. That was exciting basketball. AD would really get excited and want more of it if the coaches could teach him some of the tricks he needs to be the best he can become.

This Piston team has potential but they are way behind in the mental game. They have the ability to get much better so that is a good thing. But the coaches have a lot of work ahead but might not know just how hard it is going to be to create the best team possible. As of now, I am not at all impressed with Casey or his assistants and I had high hopes they knew what they were doing. Get off the lazy lame 3 point heavy offense and develop consistent movement with screening so this team can score in using the mid range game more. Be different and use the strength of the players for the best result rather then forcing the players to jack up contested 3 point shots. Go back and teach the fundamentals of playing solid defense. Otherwise this coaching staff will fail as all others have failed since Tom Gores bought the Pistons.

It would help if the Pistons had Spencer Dinwiddie who is not just an outstanding shooter. He has a high basketball IQ and uses it on both ends of the floor. Plus it doesn't hurt that he is exceptionally quick while being 6 foot 6 inches tall.What would it take to get Dinwiddie back in a Piston uniform????? And if Spencer were on the team that would mean there would be one less guard who needs help learning basic fundamentals on how to play defense. That would make the job of the coaches much easier. So the Piston front office shouldn't get a free pass when things don't go right either. Everyone needs to do their job if you expect to be successful. No lunch breaks for the Piston front office next week please.

[lemonpen]

As hard as we appeared to struggle on O I think we easily scored enough to win.  
But, we can be so friggin undisciplined on D.  Twenty-four seconds is beginning to feel like an eternity.  Sooner or later we make another boo-boo keeping the opponent in the game.

- Time and time again we trail over the top of screens, surrendering the lane.  It’s no wonder we’re getting killed on points in the paint. Options?
- Ish fouling a 3pt shooter.  Twice.  Unheard of.    
- Brown, lunging for a steal, missing, only to watch his man jet into the lane creating another 2 on 1 situation at the rim. (not in crunch time, rookie)
- Griff, standing in the lane as his man receives a pass at the corner arc.  Swish.
- Nobody switching off onto Damn-wittie as he takes the inbound pass at the arc.  Swish.  It looked like Spence ran through a 6 man screen at the foul line.   What is the saying about playing like 5 strangers.
- Dre giving ground allowing the final dagger.
- Ish, lighting quick Ish, getting beat on dribble drives, without the assistance of a pick.

We don't always need big plays.  In the words of Mona Lisa Vito,   "just don't F - up".

[cool breeze]

Man...what a heartbreaking game last night in OT.

Sparma...the reason for the +/- number discrepancy was that the Pistons came out tired, flat and out of sync from the Boston game, and got down by 15 early in the 1st quarter.  Then Casey wisely subbed out most of his starters, and subbed in Zaza, Ish, GRIII and Bruce Brown.  They, along with Stanley Johnson, made up most of the deficit.  Then the Pistons seemed to wake up, and play the Nets neck and neck the rest of the way.

I think Phil and Don touched on an important point.  Our shooters have to hit their shots, especially Reggie Bullock, or we're going to struggle, and look bad doing it.  

Unless he hits his shots, Bullock is really good for nothing...he can't play D, he has limited handles, he doesn't look to pass the ball, and he doesn't rebound.  Unless, Bullock can find his shot, he needs to be replaced in the starting lineup with Kennard, once Luke gets healthy.

And Stanley Johnson has to stop shooting 3s, and figure out how to finish at the rim on lay-ups.  I like Don's idea of SJ working for mid-range shts that he can make, but that never seems to happen.

Last night our starting shooters clearly had tired legs.   OTOH, our bench shooters hit their shots for the most part.

Murph nothing has changed relating to establishing specific plays for players like Stanley Johnson. I keep seeing the potential of using both sides of the court meaning when Blake draws a double or triple team, that there are specific answers created by the coaching staff that will give easy baskets to players like Johnson. So far since Johnson as arrived no coach has created a play for him. That is what he needs. This team needs more structure.

To prove my point while watching the Spurs vs the Suns analyst Tom Chambers talked about how the Spurs offense is always in the attack mode using the same sets that were used with different players. The Spurs haven't bought the cool-aid like other teams that do not have the right players to run Golden State's offense. Steve Kerr used the offense that fit his players. If he were coaching the Pistons there is no way he would be in favor of the free style insanity that Casey and SVG decided on. Chambers advised that the Spurs coaching staff has players who work together as a unit to get good mid range shots. This is what Stanley Johnson spent long hours with coaches this past summer expecting that the new coaching staff would utilize Blake Griffin properly not as a player who forces shots against heavy pressure but works on seeing the floor better especially the opposite side from where he is trying to break down the defense.

Fans just look at stats to answer questions has to why their team lost a game they should have won. The Pistons lost this last game because of two reasons.

1, The starters were extremely tired from the rough and tumble game the night before with Boston. There was no way Blake Griffin would be able to play his power game effectively. The coaching staff had no specific game plan to beat the Nets. These coaches get paid a lot of money and should not be able to get away with just saying "go get em boys". They needed a game plan that would feature more screening off the ball where the Pistons could have had tons of great open looks on the weak side opposite of Griffen. The Nets had a good game plan. Double and triple Blake knowing he is head strong and likes to force things even with tired legs. He wants to win and this coach has no game plan so what else can he do? The Spurs with their rebuilding team would have destroyed the Nets easily. Their coach would have recognized the Nets weaknesses. Our coaches didn't deviate from their read and react lame low IQ game. This Piston team must not practice using both sides of the court. So what do they do in practice. I am smelling a rat. This coaching staff is not putting in the effort to create something more specific that will work for the roster they are supposed to be developing into a smart team.
2. Casey and his coaching crew had no plan to limit the same players who scored 50 points in the previous game the week before. How could Casey forget that quickly how LeVert and Dinwiddie scored easily against Jackson, Smith and Bullock. The Nets also like to draw AD out of the paint a lot. So while some of you harp on Stanley Johnson's low shooting percentage from 3, somehow you miss what he does for the team with his passing, screening a defense. Johnson and Brown should have been on Dinwiddie and LeVert. If there is any switching going on it should be between those two players. Instead, at the end, this coach had some of the weakest low thinking Piston players on the floor out of that timeout when Dinwiddie drained the 3.

Against the Nets, the Pistons looked disorganized and out of sync most of the night. The coaching staff had no positive effect on using a better strategy to fit the game that or the opponent they were playing against. Piston coaching staff grade - F. Tom Chambers would agree with my analysis.

[BallinD]

Don't Let Stanley hear you say that; you might give him some ideas...  

Definitely feels like Groundhogs day around here these days, but couple things under the radar:
...$Dre shooting free throws .625
...$Ish shooting threes .462
...$Zaza quietly impressive
...Stanley shooting blanks.286 (3), .383 (2), but doing other things— — polishes Casey’s shoes, washes Casey’s car, picks up his dry cleaning, cuts his grass...those efforts pay off in PT (28.2 mins)
...Weggie (.357) shooting worse than SJ ... .333(3)

For a minute, I thought you were going to say he's polishing Casey's knob... man, we dodged a bullet there 

Wise is right of course, but... for us homers, those rays of sunshine sure feel good. To vampires, well, that's a story for another time 

[Oracle]

Definitely feels like Groundhogs day around here these days, but couple things under the radar:
...$Dre shooting free throws .625
...$Ish shooting threes .462
...$Zaza quietly impressive
...Stanley shooting blanks.286 (3), .383 (2), but doing other things— — polishes Casey’s shoes, washes Casey’s car, picks up his dry cleaning, cuts his grass...those efforts pay off in PT (28.2 mins)
...Weggie (.357) shooting worse than SJ ... .333(3)

For a minute, I thought you were going to say he's polishing Casey's knob... man, we dodged a bullet there 

Wise is right of course, but... for us homers, those rays of sunshine sure feel good. To vampires, well, that's a story for another time 

[BallinD]

Definitely feels like Groundhogs day around here these days, but couple things under the radar:
...$Dre shooting free throws .625
...$Ish shooting threes .462
...$Zaza quietly impressive
...Stanley shooting blanks.286 (3), .383 (2), but doing other things— — polishes Casey’s shoes, washes Casey’s car, picks up his dry cleaning, cuts his grass...those efforts pay off in PT (28.2 mins)
...Weggie (.357) shooting worse than SJ ... .333(3)

[WTF]

You all sound like last season and the season before that and the one before that.  Oh well same **** different season same sorry ass PG, same wishful thinking concerning SJ and to date the same sorry ass coaching scheme of jacking up 3's.

[Oracle]

What a night for D, a Career high 50 after injury and so many years... congrats!

Predictions Update:

2018-2019 Regular Season
Member	Wins
DX	49
Murph	47
Oracle	46
Stones	45
Lemonpen	45
Sparma	44
BallinD	43
Phil1980boy	41
Cool Breeze	39
Wise	39

[Murph]

Man...what a heartbreaking game last night in OT.

Sparma...the reason for the +/- number discrepancy was that the Pistons came out tired, flat and out of sync from the Boston game, and got down by 15 early in the 1st quarter. Then Casey wisely subbed out most of his starters, and subbed in Zaza, Ish, GRIII and Bruce Brown. They, along with Stanley Johnson, made up most of the deficit. Then the Pistons seemed to wake up, and play the Nets neck and neck the rest of the way.

I think Phil and Don touched on an important point. Our shooters have to hit their shots, especially Reggie Bullock, or we're going to struggle, and look bad doing it.

Unless he hits his shots, Bullock is really good for nothing...he can't play D, he has limited handles, he doesn't look to pass the ball, and he doesn't rebound. Unless, Bullock can find his shot, he needs to be replaced in the starting lineup with Kennard, once Luke gets healthy.

And Stanley Johnson has to stop shooting 3s, and figure out how to finish at the rim on lay-ups. I like Don's idea of SJ working for mid-range shts that he can make, but that never seems to happen.

Last night our starting shooters clearly had tired legs. OTOH, our bench shooters hit their shots for the most part.

[Phil-Good]

again, tonight you saw A team that's in need of talent. The Pistons really are not that talented of A team. It's really that simple.

Many times in the game the Pistons were playing 4 on 5 because Stanley Johnson just stands in the corner like he F.U.C.K.I.N.G Klay Thompson or Reggie Miller. I don't get this kid. He can't shoot, he afraid to attack the basket on A constant basis. He won't attack the glass for second chance rebounds. He just stands around afraid to play basketball. What A BUM this kid has turn out to be!!


Oracle. If Blake and Drummonds can stay healthy all season long ( I doubt this will happen) 41 and 41

If Blake or Drummonds go down Lottery Team.

If Luke Kennard and Bullock have injury filled seasons, LOTTERY TEAM!!

[BallinD]

SVG left us the gift that keeps on giving. Pissed off Spencer Dinwiddie just keeps on keeping on. But not for the Pistons. Ouch.

Meanwhile, daaaayyyyyumm. "How much do I hate thee; let me count the ways."

Drummond, Weggie, Blake down the stretch with their blunders, Blake not being bulletproof nor perfect. This team is learning how to play hard under adversity, how to close out games. But right now they are the gang who couldn't shoot straight.

Get some assists. Defend. Screw SVG. Screw it.

[cool breeze]

Our previous Piston coach gave Spencer away I think initially to Chicago. I think that I previously described how I witnessed an overtime game between Arizona and colorado when Spencer was a sophomore of Junior. He was the MAN of course and put on a show that I will never forget. That game was an overtime game as well. When the Pistons drafted Spencer I was so happy thinking that the Pistons finally had a smart man running the show in Stan van Gundy. Dinwiddie was recovering from an ACL surgery and knew that he might not be ready in his rookie season. But politics crept into SVG's world and he lost his ability to think clearly. Dinwiddie is 6 foot 6 inches tall and can play three positions. But somehow he wasn't good enough to crack the Pistons rotation when though they sucked. Damn it all I sure would love to watch Spencer playing for the Pistons. It was only a matter of time before Dinwiddie would shine. But somehow the Piston brain trust didn't know that. Now we have Jackson and Smith who have no capability of guarding Dinwiddie. I was just wondering why the coach didn't have Johnson guarding him after knowing how Dinwiddie manhandled the Piston guards in the previous game.

the Pistons started out poorly and were clearly showing wear and tear after that tough loss in Boston. As the game wore on Andre Drummond played with real heart. That shows me AD has some real basketball character. Griffin made some really tough shots in the overtime. But the Piston offense really looks primitive. I would be embarrassed if I was on the Piston coaching staff. The floor spacing was horrible all night long when AD and BG were playing together. It appears that Casey has not developed a complete offense with several options. They play one side of the floor almost all the time. there is no weak side action. If that happened and Griffin would look to the weak side, other players would get easy baskets including AD. The pistons played with courage so we cannot fault the most important thing - EFFORT. the effort was there. Brown is playing his way into a lot of minutes because he plays with pure effort all the time. But on offense in the 2nd half the Pistons were not spaced properly and there was no movement off the ball. The attempted plays by Griffin and others were way too show developing. Just one on one, or one on two or one on three at times. That is what happened in the Pistons last possession with 20 seconds on the clock in regulation where Reggie went in the paint against 3 defenders with no chance at all. Yet I thought he was clearly fouled by the 3rd defender who was moving right into Reggie.

Two tough losses where the Pistons could have won both. They lost because of dumb mistakes and some great plays made by opposing guards. Casey needs to realize that neither Smith or Jackson can defend players like Irving or Dinwiddie or even LeVert. Smith had a tough matchup with any of the Nets players last night. So why did Casey not see that? I know some players are injured now with both Kennard and Bullock injured. But there was no excuse for the players on the court not switching when Reggie was screened off. The coaching staff should have made it clear as to where they thought the ball was going and not to allow Dinwiddie to get a 3 off. If you are the coach you have to be engaged and be able to think two or three plays ahead as to what the opposition is going to try to run in that situation. So was it the players or the coaches who screwed up the works on that 3 by Dinwiddie?

Will this team learn from the loses they suffer? Will the coaches get smarter? The good thing is that the season is young and at times the Pistons look like a pretty good team. They just are not a very smart team yet. While AD still makes some mistakes, he has the potential to be a great player. Now at least the effort is there relating to AD. If this coach can create a solid offense where everyone is involved and the team takes advantage of opportunities on the weak side when Griffin has the ball, then the Pistons might start blowing out teams like the Nets. And Calderon makes the Pistons a smarter team. I would have liked having him in the game at the end. Maybe we would have seen some off the ball action and a wide open look instead of shooting contested low percentage shots at the most important moments. This bully ball by Griffin and Jackson will not work very often. If they are going to keep trying the hero ball in crunch time then there better be improved floor spacing and other players need to at least look like they might be a threat to get a pass. Yes the the coaching staff should be embarrassed. They are responsible for creating the offense and teaching all of the potential options in end of game situations. Reggie dribbling the length of the court was not a surprise to anyone. Everyone was ready for Reggie. Why didn't the head coach know that and how can he tolerate low basketball IQ play at the end of the game? Something tells me Casey is going to change the old ways. We all have seen this type of thing many times with the Pistons. SVG never changed a thing. SVG seemed to not care if there was no player or ball movement other than the guy with the ball dribbling around. Go with the players who will give up the basketball and pass the basketball to the open man. Right now my feeling is that players are standing around feeling for sure that when either Blake or Reggie have the basketball in their hands, there is no way they are going to touch it no matter how hard they might try to get open. I believe that the coaches will clean this nonsense up soon and then we might see a much better offensive team making fewer turnovers.

[Oracle]

He was on Dinwiddie and the situation was that a 3 beats us and he gave him space to get the shot off.

In that situation, you run him off the 3, even if you have to give up the two, because it only ties you.

Drummond didn't appear to be aware of what he needed to do

[Sparma]

Spencer's not letting go of a grudge too quickly, is he?

Just saw the last few minutes of OT.

What jumps out at me from the boxscore is that Griffin and AD are worst on the team in +/- at -14 and -11, respectively, with Zaza and Glenn their mirror image as team best at +14 and +11.  I'm guessing there's a story there.  Are those fake numbers with BG coming in at 25/9/4 and AD at 24/23?  Maybe someone forgot to play D?

And Stanley with 12 bounds!

Big, big loss.

[WTF]

The Lions trade their most productive receiver and, IMO, best player for a 3rd round pick!

Are we rebuilding or what???

Good bye Golden Tate!

He's a FA after the season clearly a money decision and actually not a bad move.  They have a couple of young guys (WR) they think are going to be really good going forward.

[Oracle]

The Lions trade their most productive receiver and, IMO, best player for a 3rd round pick!

Are we rebuilding or what???

Good bye Golden Tate!

[cool breeze]

Great effort Piston players. This was a fun game to watch for fans of both teams. The refs must have been offered bonus money by Tatum last night. There were 3 fouls called against Johnson that were clearly bogus. Johnson was playing in your face but clean defense with his feet. The Pistons got screwed with other homer calls as well but Boston usually gets a lot of breaks when they play at home.

What stood out to me was how the exceptional effort made by both Brown and Johnson on defense caused other Piston players like Reggie Bullock to mimic what they were doing. The effort made spread to the rest of the team. This team needs more of both Brown and Johnson who were not big scorers but set the tone on how to play the right way. Playing like that away from home was a thing of beauty for me to see. I haven't seen it for many years in away game with the Pistons since Big Ben Wallace lead the charge.

While the Piston coaching staff had the players ready to play hard in this game, I see a lot of issues with the coaches that need to be cleaned up. Do the coaches see what is going on in the game and can they make the right adjustments? Can they help the players succeed or are they sometimes the problem. SVG was clearly the problem in his stay with the Pistons. He could not make game adjustments because he was too busy yelling at the players who were sitting on the bench.

Here is a story that bothers me a lot. Last night I attended a college game and talked to a friend who is involved in the same workout facility where Stanley Johnson works out during the summer in California. He said that Johnson turned the corner relating to his shot release and ball handling while working harder than any player from any sport at that facility. Johnson perfected the ability to be an effective scorer working on weak side moves without the ball to get open. Then he would dribble into the paint and create his own shot from 6 to 10 feet. He was making those shots around 80% of the time against pressure. Casey came to the facility and watched Johnson for awhile and then told Johnson to work more on his 3 point shot. What some of the coaches thought at that point was the Casey had no clue what he has in Johnson. Not noticing why Johnson was working on specific moves to get open so as to work off of Griffen from the weak side and how well Johnson was able to get his shot off and how consistent he was at making those jump shots was very frustrating for them and blew their minds. Why tell a player who has worked his butt off to do a specific thing that will work in the correct offense to stop doing it and just go out and shoot mindless 3 point shots? Last night when Johnson did touch the ball he was often able to see what the defense was giving him. In the 3rd quarter Stanley drove the ball to the baseline while seeing AD on the opposite low block. SJ passed the ball 3 times to AD drawing defenders to the baseline instead of shooting the ball himself. Greg Kelser said on one of those possessions that Johnson should have shot the ball over Irving. But AD was open on the opposite low post and should have taken one step into the paint towards the ball. The Problem was that every one of those 3 possessions resulted in turnovers because AD didn't move to the ball. Why did that happen? AD just needed to take one stupid step towards the ball. The Piston coaching staff should have noticed not that Johnson's pass caused a turnover but that it would be an easy correction to just tell AD to move one step into the paint when Johnson makes his move to the baseline. AD could have had 7 or more dunks. Instead AD made the cardinal sin by just standing. But I blame the coaches for not knowing that Johnson had found a weakness in Boston's defense and for not telling AD to be ready for the pass on that play and move and screen out his defender. The coaches missed it and were no not help. Most likely Johnson was scolded for causing turnovers. All AD needs is superior coaching. He needs more instruction that he is not getting. AD could have been the difference in this game. But the coaching staff fails to use him the right way. So I am not mad a AD for making that same mistake 3 times in a row because AD casualty of having extremely poor coaching for his entire life. My problem with most coaches is that they fail to see what is going on most of the time. They get caught up in nonsense much like a lot of fans do. There was a hole in Boston's defense. All the coaching staff had to do was call a time out and say to Blake we are going to attack the weak side to take the pressure off you so get the ball over there as much as possible until Boston plays you honestly meaning not doubling up on Blake. AD Johnson and Bullock are going to drive to the baseline when they get the ball and either shoot it or get you the ball on the opposite low block. Box out and get the offensive rebound if they miss and be ready for the pass and move a step into the paint and be ready for the pass for an easy dunk. They will be looking for you AD so be ready. That was 6 easy points that the Pistons didn't get. The coaching staff never noticed that running that play could have been very effective. Instead the Pistons struggled shooting too many contested shots from distance. If AD had made those 3 dunks there is no telling how much more motivated he would have been on defense as well. You can all laugh at me if you want but I see how Johnson can average 20 points a game with his driving ability and ability to play off the weak side. All he needs is one screen when Blake has the basketball on the opposite side. Johnson can either dribble drive and pull up for the 6-10 jump shot or go deeper and pass the ball to AD on the opposite low post. Bullock can be successful as well with mid range shots and passes to AD down low. This coach has to adjust his insane lazy ass offense and come up with something specific to benefit the players he actually has on this team. We do not have Irving, Curry or others. But the Pistons could get a lot more out of Johnson, Bullock, Brown, Kennard and also free up Blake from all those double and triple teams he is confronted with. The coaching staff is not doing their job by making game time adjustments to help the players. We have to keep watching and call them out when they offer no benefit to the players.

Murph called it right saying that our rookie will really help the Pistons this season. He has to be part of the mix and he needs to play when Johnson is in the game when the Pistons are behind. Both players dig down deep and give that extra effort deflecting passes, squaring up and being physical and playing smart basketball. Both of those players offer something special that his team needs to establish an identity as a hard nosed type team. Both players will have success offensively if given a larger role on offense. They need to touch the basketball more to help create easy scores for our big center. That is how the pistons will win along with exceptional play by Blake Griffin. There will be games where Reggie Jackson and Ish Smith will really help this team as well but it is extremely important to involve both Johnson and the Rookie in the offense to reward them for playing their asses off on defense. The Pistons showed me something last night. They never gave up and played much better as a team. Boston got hot beyond the 3 point line and established a nice lead but our players fought back hard and made it a game that could have gone either way.

[Sparma]

I'd go for that second trade you propose. The first one too, but I'm thinking Reggie J and SJ have very little trade value now, so I can't see that getting it done. I'm guessing something like my summer proposal of AD for Wall would be needed to pull off a deal. I'd probably still go for that if the PG spot were really solved (Reggie J out?) and if we somehow got a serviceable starting C back.

I see the Washington Wizards are off to a dreadful 1-6 start, and they have a really high payroll, including the insanely expensive 5 year contract of John Wall.

If things don't get any better for the Wizards as the season progresses, might they blow up their team, and if they do blow it up, what would it take to acquire Wall?

The Pistons would have to put together an attractive package of draft picks and young players.  Would Jackson, Kennard, SJ and a 1st rounder for Wall and filler get it done?

We could sweeten the deal by taking on another one of their bad contracts, such as Otto Porter's.  Then the trade would look something like Jackson, Ish, Galloway, Robinson, Kennard, SJ and a 1st rounder for Wall and Porter. 

And then the Pistons would be capped out forever, but then again, we're already sort of capped out forever.  Would you make that trade?

[Oracle]

@Sparma/@DX:  We all agree, this was a VERY good effort and they've restored themselves in this poster's mind.

More than that, this should be a turning point. The other victories always felt hollow somehow to me, but in this loss, I felt that they are beginning to realize what it takes to win. Sure, time will tell, but this could be a turning point. Here are the positives I see.

1. Our Bigs stepped up
2. Bullock found his courage in spite of his "Doo"
3. Ish continues to amaze from deep
4. Brown can contribute. A rookie performing on the road, in a big game, is one hell of a good thing
5. HUGE, and DX noticed it: This is also a big coaching win! Teams take their cue from the top, and Casey is willing them forward. It shows me a lot that Casey would even play a rookie in a big game in Boston. That's a good sign!

@Phillip: Get me your prediction.

@Murph: While I don't believe we need to shoot 3's like GS, I do believe we need to keep trying, but only with the guys that are capable or should be from their position. The problem is balance. If the 3 is not dropping, don't be stupid, get something to drop and try later, but don't keep jacking them up like a fool.

On the Wizards, Wall is the most likely to get moved if the blow it up, they'll likely keep Beal and Porter. I'd take a gimpy Wall over Reggie any day.

[Murph]

I see the Washington Wizards are off to a dreadful 1-6 start, and they have a really high payroll, including the insanely expensive 5 year contract of John Wall.

If things don't get any better for the Wizards as the season progresses, might they blow up their team, and if they do blow it up, what would it take to acquire Wall?

The Pistons would have to put together an attractive package of draft picks and young players.  Would Jackson, Kennard, SJ and a 1st rounder for Wall and filler get it done?

We could sweeten the deal by taking on another one of their bad contracts, such as Otto Porter's.  Then the trade would look something like Jackson, Ish, Galloway, Robinson, Kennard, SJ and a 1st rounder for Wall and Porter. 

And then the Pistons would be capped out forever, but then again, we're already sort of capped out forever.  Would you make that trade?

[Murph]

I feel as if I'm beating a dead horse here, so this is going to be my last post on 3 point shooting for a while.  

But last night's game is another good example.  SJ and Brown were a combined 1-7 (14%) from the 3 point line.  (Drummond fortunately might have gotten it through his thick head that it's better for him not to take 3s.)


Hopefully, the Pistons can rebound tonight on the road against a scrappy Nets team.  We need this win badly.

[Phil-Good]

I have to say I like coach Casey. This guy uses his team and gets A lot out of his guys.

The Pistons need A talent upgrade. It's just that simple. It's been A long time since the Pistons had A lot of talent. Ben, RIP, Prince, Wallace, C. WIlliamson days.


The Pistons are limited in the amount of talent they possess.

Blake, Luke, Bullock, Drummonds, Brown Jr, and Ish.


You can literally DUMP the rest of the team in the TRAHS!! I would give A pass to every guy the Pistons sign this summer except for Robinson III He TRASH AS WELL..


How much of A BUST has S.Johnson been? WOW! What A BUM this kid is!! I can't believe how bad and SCARY Johnson is as A basketball player!


This new leadership group job is to leave coach Casey alone, draft well, develop the young guys, DRAFT WELL, DRAFT WELL and DRAFT WELL. Also, the Pistons need to clear some salary cap space because Ish Smith needs A 3 year deal at about 5 or 6 million per season.

[deusXango]

This next game will tell us a LOT about this team. If they don't fight to the end and be very competitive after getting their arses handed to them, my opinion of them will suffer a big blow.

Oracle, I'm satisfied that this team has a lot of fight in them; there's also more talent than has been shown so far.
What's up with Weggie?
Bullock is fighting for his right to remain unshorn.
Ish Smith! Who the hell seen this coming? Hard work and dedication is the lesson.
Brown is coming on strong and soon not to be denied.
Coach Casey ain't bullsh!t!ng.

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