Pistons Cakewalk in Memphis, 96-74

by Packey on Oct 28, 2009 11:54 PM EDT in Detroit Pistons Recaps

Not a bad way to bring in the new era.

Once Detroit grabbed the lead with a 1:11 left in the first quarter, they never relinquished it, as they outscored the Grizzlies in each quarter en route to a 22-point win. This was a 43-point turnaround from when the Pistons lost to the Grizzlies eleven days ago (in the preseason) by 21 points.

As we're going to see more times than not this season, Detroit's guards carried the majority of the offensive load. Richard Hamilton led all Pistons scorers with 25 points (10-19 shooting) and Ben Gordon scored 22 points off the bench (7-12 from the field and 4-7 from three point land). The four guards also combined for 15 assists to just four turnovers.

Now, before we get all high and mighty after tonight's win, let's just remember who the Pistons played. Memphis is not exactly a powerhouse and Detroit's glaring flaws were still exposed. Memphis' starting big men outscored Detroit's 51-24 -- although the contrast in guard totals was more than enough to make up for it -- and Detroit was outrebounded 49-39, despite having plenty more opportunities to grab them considering they shot 51% and Memphis shot 36%.

I won't rain on the first game win parade anymore, though. Detroit did what we'd expect them to do against a team of Memphis' caliber -- win and win big.

The fresh look Detroit squad is now 1-0, which isn't really that big of a deal, but hey, Cleveland is 0-2.

Some random thoughts/notes on the game after the jump.

Richard Hamilton came down awkwardly late in the fourth quarter and went to the locker room after splitting a pair of free throws. You hate to see that happen to one of the best players on the team at any time, but especially when it happened late in the fourth with a 20+ point lead. Hopefully, it's nothing serious and he can play on Friday against the Thunder.
Another strong performance from Ben Wallace. It doesn't really show in the box score, again, but he was causing all sorts of problems out there for Memphis. He grabbed nine rebounds in 28 minutes.
Charlie Villanueva struggled tonight, but I wouldn't be too concerned. He got into early foul trouble and whenever that's the case, it's hard for a guy to bounce back and get in a good rhythm. He finished with seven points and blocked three shots.
Tayshaun Prince had 14 points and five rebounds in a little under 32 minutes. That's right around his career numbers. He's also played in 451 consecutive games. Steady.
Kwame Brown looked good in limited action. He only had four rebounds and four points, but I was thoroughly impressed with both his buckets (power dribble down low, slam and then a Loy Vaught-like base line jumper)
Jonas Jerebko and Austin Daye served their one game suspensions for fighting. DaJuan Summers did not play (coach's decision) and was in street clothes.
Mad Max played just under 20 minutes, pulled down six rebounds, and ate a couple babies.
A whole lot of whining out of the Memphis broadcast crew. 27 whistles against Detroit and 26 against Memphis. Memphis shot two more free throws, too. I saw nothing wrong with the officiating tonight. They bothered me.
Detroit has their home opener on Friday vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder. Tip off is at 8 PM EST.
1st Half highlights. I'll post full game highlights when they become available: Game Highlights:

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I liked today's game

We played some pretty darn good defense. With Mayo, Gay and Randolph (all capable of averaging more than 20 pts in a season) as opponents, we’re still able to control them under 80 pts.

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK, DETROIT :)

by jcpistonfan on Oct 29, 2009 1:41 AM EDT reply actions

This Game.....

…..Showed the Pistons strength…..Scoring…..When Rip and Gordon are on the floor at the same time all I can say is wow……Who do you guard……Weakness in the middle showed with Gasol dominating……All in all ilike this team…..I think if Rip is traded for a big giy it helps but If he isnt Im glad we got him……Go Pistons

by BennieBladesFan on Oct 29, 2009 9:13 AM EDT reply actions

Good clean game

Rip and Gordon looked good together, I don’t think Stucky is our future PG, it’s early but I’m just sayin. Just missing a big man in the middle and hey we got a team again…

by msivits on Oct 29, 2009 10:23 AM EDT reply actions

Why Dont You....

…Think Stuckey is the future Point Guard?…….He ran the offense just fine……What more could he have done?

by BennieBladesFan on Oct 29, 2009 11:33 AM EDT up reply actions

I'm not trying to hate on him he looks like just an avg. pg

nothing fancy nothing special, he will be an so-so pg with some really good nights and really quite nights also.

by msivits on Oct 30, 2009 11:25 AM EDT up reply actions

Ok....

…..Just making sure…..Rememebr hes got about 30-35 starts under his belt as a PG

by BennieBladesFan on Oct 30, 2009 12:04 PM EDT up reply actions

We’re screwed when we play Garnett, Howard, Lopez, or Jermain O’Neil. We’re going to be absolutely destroyed unless Ben and Brown both have the best games of their careers those nights on defense.

By the way, did anyone see Lopez last night? Holy crap. 27 pts, 15 reb, 5 blocks, 4 assists, and a steal. He’s going to be the best player from the 2008 draft, methinks. In the end, Rose and Beasley and Mayo won’t even come close to this guy. It’ll be him and Howard dominating the paint for the next decade or so.

by Apocalyptic0n3 on Oct 29, 2009 11:19 AM EDT reply actions

Everyone Knows This.....

……..This team isnt going to win it all…..Were rebuilding……Weve got enough to get into the playoffs though…….this team will only get better as the season goes on……We will get a big men either through trade draft or sign one……Things will be fine in Motown

by BennieBladesFan on Oct 29, 2009 11:34 AM EDT up reply actions

Ok, first off, please stop using the “…………”. It makes it hard as hell to read your comments.

Now, I know that everyone knows this. If we don’t do anything to the roster, though, we are going nowhere except a first round playoff exit against Boston or Orlando. We simply do not have the size to compete in the all of a sudden big-man laden East.

And I don’t call what Dumars is trying to do rebuilding. He’s replacing. He’s trying to do the unthinkable and rebuild his team through replacement and not miss a beat, never missing the playoffs or taking a high lottery pick. If it works, Dumars may go down as one of the greatest GMs in the history of American sports. But that is a big “If”, mainly because I don’t believe it has ever been done successfully before.

by Apocalyptic0n3 on Oct 29, 2009 1:35 PM EDT up reply actions

Exactly......

……Joe D is rebuilding through upgrades……yes it is rebuilding……He can get it done……the problem with getting big men to compete with the big boys is that they dont grow on trees……Trading Rip or Tay for that matter isnt goign to give us enough to get it done this year……What could we get for them?……I really dont know……i guess its worth a shot and try to trade one prefrebly Rip…….However we stil lose in the 2nd round in my opinion this year with or without a big…..Team needs to jel a bit.

by BennieBladesFan on Oct 29, 2009 3:00 PM EDT up reply actions

The "............."

Is his signature…

Everyone knows who it is when he does that.

Obviously you don’t post much if you don’t know that.

by ZWC11 on Oct 29, 2009 11:05 PM EDT up reply actions

I make a post or two here every day for the last few months. And it annoys me every time I see one of his posts because it is insanely hard to read. I usually just skip his comments because of it.

by Apocalyptic0n3 on Oct 30, 2009 10:01 AM EDT up reply actions

love it.... that is his trade mark.

by msivits on Oct 30, 2009 11:26 AM EDT up reply actions

Thank You

by BennieBladesFan on Oct 30, 2009 12:04 PM EDT up reply actions

if the Q keeps preaching defense...

this team WILL get better defensively.

My Music: Some Sorta Giant

by madpoopz on Oct 29, 2009 11:47 AM EDT up reply actions

We don’t have the size to defend the big men in the East (Or the West, even). I don’t care how much he preaches defense, unless Wilcox, Brown, and Maxiell all become Big Ben 2.0, we will be sitting ducks on the inside.

by Apocalyptic0n3 on Oct 29, 2009 1:32 PM EDT up reply actions

I think you're giving those guys to much credit...

single players don’t win games. Play smart defense and you still compete. Last time I checked there are always 5 guys on the court who need to hoist up shots. And another thing I’ve checked is that no player averages 48 minutes a game. Just because there is one player you can’t defend doesn’t mean that you can’t win. Look at Lebrons performances the last 2 games. Nobody could hold him back but yet the Cav’s still lost 2 straight.

Yes defending bigs will be a problem for us. Will it be our demise? no. We may not have a dominant big man but we have an array of them with varying specialties. Give the dominant bigs different looks all the time. Make them keep adjusting there games. Use CV’s various offensive talents to take them out of there comfort zones. Use Wallace and Brown to lock down defensively. Let Max come out and just be an undersized ball of energy. Use what we got smartly and we can win against even the best.

My Music: Some Sorta Giant

by madpoopz on Oct 29, 2009 2:25 PM EDT up reply actions

Nice Start

Imagine how many points we would have beaten the Grizz by if AI played?

Overall a very good start to the season. Yes, this was the Grizz, but we only had one game last year with a larger margin of victory. The offense had a great flow and we were able to get whatever shots we wanted. I was really impressed by the effort on defense as well…lots of pressure on the pg’s bringing the ball up the court and good defense on the pick and roll.

The only post person I worry about defensively is CV. Kwame is as big as they come and plays very good post defense and it looks like Ben has turned back the clock a couple years. That’s a very solid 1-2 punch for post defense. This was the most active I’ve seen Ben since his first year in Chicago. The only big men in the east I’m worried about is Lopez and D. Howard, but so is every other team. I know Jermaine had a good game, but he’s been on a decline the last 3-4 years, I’d be surprised if it continues the whole season. KG is good, but he shoots almost all jumpers now.

by Stones1981 on Oct 29, 2009 4:39 PM EDT reply actions