At the half

[deusXango]

Oracle, I fully agree with you on the awesome potential of our frontline, due to the diverse set of overall skills, and it would not be sensible to break them up at this point. All of them are producers, and basketball smart, which is something that can't be said of our big men since the days of the Wallace's, McDyess, Memo, and "Big Nasty."

Have you noticed how these guys have jelled so quickly? They're playing together like they've played together for a couple of years, and this is with 8 new players on the team!! I'm going to credit Mo Cheeks for that; can you see these guys by the All-Star break? Yeah, Wise, 50 wins is very possible.

At the half we're kicking the Wizards ass, and our starting backcourt is looking rather dapper sitting behind the bench (had to give Jennings and Stuckey a shout out, and wish them a speedy return to good health).

[WTF]

Fool's Gold, perhaps it the excitement of Opening Night but I wouldn't be shock if he disappear the next 4 or 5 games. I hope he stays consistent all year. If his arse slips we should trade him.

[Oracle]

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

[Oracle]

Murph gave a STRONG response, but watching the game shows you why it's penny wise and pound foolish!

We have 3 bigs that range from good to VERY good passers, Smith & Monroe on the high end of that scale for big men!

But passing is only part of the equation!

With Smith & Monroe, we have two additional playmakers on the floor, and I'm simply amazed(win or lose) at how well they are doing just that!

This frontcourt is going to be SPECIAL folks!

[deusXango]

1. 50 Win Season
Oh, HELL yeah!!
2. Yes Monroe should be traded
At tip off, really? Come on bro'.
3. Yes Stuckey and KCP should start
Opening night I think Chauncey and KCP should start (Rodney is still down)
4. Yes the Palace will still be half empty
We can only ponder as to why...Bynum starting?
5. Yes I still wish we could replace Blaha and Kelser (Muting Game)
Stay close to the burp bucket!!
6. Yes Smith would be better at the PF than Monroe but I rather keep him at the SF.
Murph answered this admirably.
7. Yes Still trade Monroe I watch Boozer and Bosh last night these guys don't choke on mid-range shots
I'm all about what we got, not what's going on across the street.
8. Drummond will make the All-Star team
How about our frontline being All-Stars this year?
9. TNT said Pistons finish 5th or 6th in conference
Ditto
10. It's opening night where are all the posters this place should be jumping about right now.
Hopefully they're lurking out there, until they see what the team looks like for real.

GO PISTONS!!!

[Oracle]

NBA League Pass is free right now, so you can see the games on regular cable until they start charging

[Oracle]

1. 50 Win Season
2. Yes Monroe should be traded
3. Yes Stuckey and KCP should start
4. Yes the Palace will still be half empty
5. Yes I still wish we could replace Blaha and Kelser (Muting Game)
6. Yes Smith would be better at the PF than Monroe but I rather keep him at the SF.
7. Yes Still trade Monroe I watch Boozer and Bosh last night these guys don't choke on mid-range shots
8. Drummond will make the All-Star team
9. TNT said Pistons finish 5th or 6th in conference
10. It's opening night where are all the posters this place should be jumping about right now.

That's what I was thinking!

[Oracle]

[WTF]

1. 50 Win Season
2. Yes Monroe should be traded
3. Yes Stuckey and KCP should start
4. Yes the Palace will still be half empty
5. Yes I still wish we could replace Blaha and Kelser (Muting Game)
6. Yes Smith would be better at the PF than Monroe but I rather keep him at the SF.
7. Yes Still trade Monroe I watch Boozer and Bosh last night these guys don't choke on mid-range shots
8. Drummond will make the All-Star team
9. TNT said Pistons finish 5th or 6th in conference
10. It's opening night where are all the posters this place should be jumping about right now.

[Sebastian]

[Sebastian]

And here's another reason why we should re-sign Monroe.  Let's say we trade Monroe, and move Smith to PF.  At which point, we may or may not have improved our PF position.  Smith is a better shooter, and much better defender.  But Monroe has better post skills,
is a better rebounder, and has better advanced stats.  Whatever...the difference would be marginal.

But then we atomatically downgrade our SF position.  Any SF we find...whether it be Rudy Gay, Danillo Gallinari (don't make me laugh), Kyle Singler, or even Kenneth Faried...any SF we find will be an automatic downgrade from Smith.  Let me repeat that, short of landing Lebron, Durant, Carmelo, Paul George and arguabley Paul Pierce...Josh Smith is the best SF we could possibly have.  And I have a news flash:  Lebron, KD, Melo, George and Pierce are not on the trading block.

In other words, Smith might be better suited to play PF.  But he's far more valuable to us as an elite, or near elite SF.

So the best move Cheeks could make would be to start Smith at SF.  And that leaves the PF position wide open for Monroe.

Great points, Murph. I, too, believe that J-Smoove is the best that WE could have done and can do, presently, at SF. My concerns about Moose is his inability to stick with the smaller PFs that he may face, but Moose's versatility to man the Center position when Dre is not on the floor is in my opinion his greatest asset.

I think that potentially the most important players on the roster are Stuckey, as a 6th-man completing OUR three guard rotation and whoever (Jerebko, Singler, or Linguine) it will be that will play the SF position when Josh moves to the PF position or when Josh is not on the floor.

[Murph]

And here's another reason why we should re-sign Monroe.  Let's say we trade Monroe, and move Smith to PF.  At which point, we may or may not have improved our PF position.  Smith is a better shooter, and much better defender.  But Monroe has better post skills,
is a better rebounder, and has better advanced stats.  Whatever...the difference would be marginal.

But then we atomatically downgrade our SF position.  Any SF we find...whether it be Rudy Gay, Danillo Gallinari (don't make me laugh), Kyle Singler, or even Kenneth Faried...any SF we find will be an automatic downgrade from Smith.  Let me repeat that, short of landing Lebron, Durant, Carmelo, Paul George and arguabley Paul Pierce...Josh Smith is the best SF we could possibly have.  And I have a news flash:  Lebron, KD, Melo, George and Pierce are not on the trading block.

In other words, Smith might be better suited to play PF. But he's far more valuable to us as an elite, or near elite SF.

So the best move Cheeks could make would be to start Smith at SF.  And that leaves the PF position wide open for Monroe.

[Oracle]

Even the Pres is ready for action!

Barack Obama         @BarackObama
Welcome back, @DRose. #BullsNation
7:07 PM - 29 Oct 2013

And Tomorrow.........



Finally, did we make a mistake trading Maxiell ! Obviously the Magic are desperados  

Keith Langlois @Keith_Langlois
The NBA season has tipped off and Jason Maxiell defies the odds again. He's starting for Orlando.
7:14 PM - 29 Oct 2013

[Oracle]

This was a good read for a different reason than usual.

We'll all agree and disagree with some of the speculation, but it's interesting none the less.

However, the piece on CV was priceless, and if you read nothing else in that article, read that part, he had me rolling because it was so true!

10 predictions, sane and insane, for the 2013-14 Detroit Pistons season

[Oracle]

Are you kidding? Billups is the starter at point guard. If he doesn't there is something really wrong in Piston land. Billups did a great job of leading the team in his last start. There has been no point guard who had looked that good since Billups was traded. But there is a real problem you have identified. Stuckey might be the superior point guard to Jennings. But how can Cheeks not play Jennings over Stuckey? But maybe it won't make any difference. Jennings, Stuckey and Bynum are shoot first point guards who have no conception of being able to get an offense to execute a 3rd or 4th option in a half court set. Billups can do it. Siva can do it better than either Jennings, Stuckey or Bynum. Does the coach want a mindless looking team? If so then play any of those 3 players because they all play the same. I would say that Stuckey is the better of the three players because he is not as reckless as Jennings and Bynum on offense and can of course defend starting NBA point guards.

1. Billups is not and never will be again a starting PG for any team, he struggles to play two games in a row separated by days of rest! What will he do on a back to back? Cough up a spleen?

We will need him for the playoffs, and right now, he's a spot up shooter from the SG position that can direct the offense in critical situations, but all of those occasions need to be very limited.

The truth is that Billups is not an everyday player, even in short spurts!

2. That's exactly the reason I say Stuckey is probably the best starting PG on the team. He does protect the ball, he's very good on the break and in the half court, and when focused, he can defend the position way better than anybody else!

That's exactly what you want in the starter, the other guards can do their thing, but you have to set the tone defensively, and IMO, Stuckey is that man!

But politics will determine our starting PG, and it will be Jennings unless he blows it!

The only danger of Stuckey gaining that much credibility is that Joe, without a doubt, will be tempted to resign him! However, if he is that good, Joe may not be able to resign him.

[cool breeze]

IMO, Stuckey will perform very well, but under very few circumstances should we re-sign him!

It's time to move on, and at least now we know that we're going to need a big guard in any trade to backup Jennings!

However, Wise does make a good point!

There is a good case to be made that Stuckey is the better guard to start the game, and Jennings skills are better suited as a 6th man! The argument is similar to the one made about Knight.

Stuckey can be a very good facilitator, he can rack up the assists. The one exception, IMO, is if he can TAKE ?the starting PG job away from Jennings, I would consider him as having EARNED a place on this team!

But that's a VERY big if, and I won't hold my breath!

Are you kidding? Billups is the starter at point guard. If he doesn't there is something really wrong in Piston land. Billups did a great job of leading the team in his last start. There has been no point guard who had looked that good since Billups was traded. But there is a real problem you have identified. Stuckey might be the superior point guard to Jennings. But how can Cheeks not play Jennings over Stuckey? But maybe it won't make any difference. Jennings, Stuckey and Bynum are shoot first point guards who have no conception of being able to get an offense to execute a 3rd or 4th option in a half court set. Billups can do it. Siva can do it better than either Jennings, Stuckey or Bynum. Does the coach want a mindless looking team? If so then play any of those 3 players because they all play the same. I would say that Stuckey is the better of the three players because he is not as reckless as Jennings and Bynum on offense and can of course defend starting NBA point guards.

[cool breeze]

[quote="WISEFAN"]

Lions Win!!!

After this win I'll have to cut Stafford some slack.  

It's not Stafford, it's his wide receiver who's great.

Yeah we got the best WR in the league, but Stafford game winning play at the end of the game spoke volumes. After last week gifted game to the Bengals I was ready to kill him and you could smell the same thing about to happen in this one.  This Brady Type **** and I loved it.  


[/quote

You can sure forget a lot of negative stuff that happens when the Lions win. The first offensive play where a Detroit lineman forgot to snap count and the team is forced to start with first and 15. How do you do that on the first play when you are a pro? And there were so many dropped passes by Lion receivers in that game and the team looked like losers in the first half. But that was a great come from behind victory going into their break. Now Detroit should be able to make that game count as the game that created a spark for the team. They play a lot of teams coming up where they should have a great chance of securing a playoff spot. I sure love those side arm passes of Stafford and that quarterback sneak play to seal the win was fantastic.

[WTF]

Lions Win!!!

After this win I'll have to cut Stafford some slack.  

It's not Stafford, it's his wide receiver who's great.

Yeah we got the best WR in the league, but Stafford game winning play at the end of the game spoke volumes. After last week gifted game to the Bengals I was ready to kill him and you could smell the same thing about to happen in this one. This Brady Type **** and I loved it.

[Murph]

 I would rather resign CV than extend Monroe a Max Deal, Charlie is a far better shooter, plays defense just as well and have bigger balls. in fact Monroe has the smallest balls on the team.

I am unconcerned with the size of Greg Monroe's testicles.  Just let me know how many points, rebounds, assists and steals the man racks up, and how his team does when he's on the floor.  I just want the facts.  Everything else is just opinion.

And as far as Monroe's salary is concerned, I am reminded of a quote by Teddy KGB from the movie Rounders:

[Murph]

Lions Win!!!

After this win I'll have to cut Stafford some slack.  

It's not Stafford, it's his wide receiver who's great.

[Oracle]

LeBron James        ✔ @KingJames
Megatron sick out there man!! He trying to mess my day for real!
3:55 AM - 28 Oct 2013

 
Oh yeah, that Megatron is a Baaaaaaaaaad Man!!!

[Oracle]

IMO, Stuckey will perform very well, but under very few circumstances should we re-sign him!

It's time to move on, and at least now we know that we're going to need a big guard in any trade to backup Jennings!

However, Wise does make a good point!

There is a good case to be made that Stuckey is the better guard to start the game, and Jennings skills are better suited as a 6th man! The argument is similar to the one made about Knight.

Stuckey can be a very good facilitator, he can rack up the assists. The one exception, IMO, is if he can TAKE the starting PG job away from Jennings, I would consider him as having EARNED a place on this team!

But that's a VERY big if, and I won't hold my breath!

[Oracle]

TBH, I'm not a fan of Jennings or Knight as a long term solution at PG... I don't know why Joe thinks that Jennings won't get abused on defense... Knight will score but is anything but a facilitator.
Hoping they use Jennings to "trade up"

Well, I'm a fan of Knight, and could be of Jennings, depending on how he behaves!

They're BOTH point guards, but they each bring different things to the table!

IMO, either could be the solution at PG, and obviously Jennings is closer to getting there than Knight because of experience.

Jennings will always be a defensive liability... so what! If he can offset that just a bit, and deliver a lot more on the offensive end, he can be wildly successful for this team and in this league.

Ditto for Knight! So he isn't the greatest facilitator in the game... so what! He defends very well at his position, he's a good scorer, he's getting stronger, and he's blazingly fast! He just needs experience and to settle down into his position.

Both of these guys are young PG's, and you shouldn't draft or trade for them unless you're willing to let them grow and develop chemistry with their team!

Both Jennings & Knight will be fine, but it won't happen on day one, and we will need patience!

[cool breeze]

I actually think Jennings would make for the better sixth man on this team.

WOW!! We traded Knight and Middleton for a player to come in and play a 6th man role on a 29 win team? I don't think that'll fly in Ann Arbor, Wise, any more than resigning Stuckey, and letting Monroe go.

 
Gosh Darn DX, It's not like Joe gave up the house by trading away Knight and Middleton who I think many of you way over-valued and it's not like Jennings is making a ton of money.  Didn't you just say that Monroe could anchor the bench with a Max Deal in hand so we shouldn't trade him? Believe me if Monroe was getting the same money as Jennings I would have an issue if he anchored the bench  
 
If Stuckey plays like the Stuckey many of us think he can then I wouldn't have an issue with him getting a 3 year deal like the same one we just offered Jennings.

Only Joe Dumars might do such a thing Wisefan. Stuckey has the ability to play defense but he decided that he really didn't want to play very hard over the past 4 years because he didn't like the various coaching staffs very much. He doesn't have a consistent offensive game or hasn't showed it for a long time. If he shows it and plays better defense this year, then all fans should realize that the tanked those previous 4 seasons. Hmmm you have to wonder how many GMs would ever trust Rodney Stuckey. Most likely no other NBA team will want Stuckey but Dumars will find a way to sign him. You told dX in another post that he shouldn't be upset with the Knight Middleton trade because Joe didn't really trade the "House". NO Wisefan, Joe did trade it away with that bungling trade that goes right up with many of the other blunders Dumars has made. There would be NO GM in the entire NBA who would have traded Middleton and Knight for Jennings except for Joe Dumars. He had to agree to pay Jennings over 7 Mil while Knight and Middleton have a huge upside and both can play effective defense and have low salaries. Jennings is a feeble defender at best. For some odd reason, Dumars is attracted to players who have no defensive game which puts the Piston head coaches at a huge disadvantage when those players have to play against the real two way players in this league. Dumars had to give up a number one draft pick to dump Ben Gordon. He said over the summer that Charlie V is still really young and should be a stud player this year but he couldn't crack the pre season rotation. Remember that movie "There is something about Mary"? Maybe someone should make another one called "There is Something About Joe". He must like losing or is it that he wants to get fired?

[cool breeze]

I was amazed at the sports report on the Pistons applauding the play of Bynum in the pre season games. They especially liked what he did in the last game against the Timberwolves. In that game, I counted where Bynum didn't let any other player touch the basketball on 14 possessions. Meanwhile, in the last game, I was proud of what Siva did while playing point guard. He was able to breakdown the defense several times getting in the paint under control and making tough passes to Monroe for easy set up scores. That is what Detroit needs now. We do not need a circus act anymore. The big men need to touch the basketball to either pass or shoot more often. The point guard needs to get the ball inside and be able to run several options in the offense. For as long I Bynum and Stuckey have been playing for Detroit, neither have been able to actually be able to get the offense to execute beyond the first option in the offensive set. That is mindless basketball and is not fun for me to watch. I don't know about how you feel about it, but for me it is not fun to see a point guard dribble the ball up the court and stall around for awhile before launching a shot or going into the paint out of control. I can get that watching 8th graders play in the play ground. Billups has to stay healthy for this team to be successful unless Siva can get a crack at playing in the regular season. I am not worried though, because everything will work out as I expect it will as the regular season begins and teams start playing real defense. Then Cheeks will do the right thing because he is about winning games this year and knows how a point guard should operate. And I expect that Cheeks will keep all players who cannot defend on the bench most of the time regardless of how exciting they may look at times on offense. Cheeks must set standards and live by those standards so the players will have to conform to playing the right way which is team orientated basketball. Players who work their butts off on defense need to be rewarded by the point guard on offense and will not like seeing them hog the basketball. But who knows what our 7 million dollar man has on his mind. He said that he is a shoot first point guard. Bynum has had a lot of pats on the back by media. It will be interesting to see how he plays. I just hope he can defend better than Bynum.

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