We've Entered the Double-Digits of Suck: Mavs 98, Pistons 93
by Packey on Jan 5, 2010 11:34 PM EST
in Detroit Pistons Recaps
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PrintNine losses in a row sounds bad, but when it gets into the double-digit realm it sounds exponentially worse to me. And that's the territory the Pistons have broached after a five point loss in Dallas tonight. 10 straight losses. Yikes. It's been 16 years since the Pistons lost 10 in a row.
Similar to the game against Dallas at The Palace in mid-November, the Pistons took a nice little lead into the 2nd half, but in both games, Dallas became unstoppable. Dallas scored 62 points in the final two frames tonight, and Dirk Nowitzki led the charge after halftime, scoring 14 points in the 3rd quarter. He finished with 22 points.
Despite losing an eight point lead and falling behind by as many as eight in the 2nd half, the Pistons still had a chance late. Down by three with a little over 10 seconds left, Tayshaun Prince inbounded to a wide open Rodney Stuckey in the corner, whose triple try went long. Dallas rebounded, hit a couple freebies, and that's all she wrote.
Back to the final opportunity for the Pistons... Stuckey was so WIDE open, it instantly made me wonder if that was by design. As I mentioned in the game thread after seeking out Basketball-Reference, he's only taken seven threes since November 26 and he made zero of those. I don't blame him for taking the shot, because he was really WIDE open, but it's frustrating to think the Pistons may have played right into the Mavs hands on that last possession and failed instead of trying to get one of their better three point shooters a chance.
There were definitely some positive things about tonight's game, but I'm sure most will want to harp on the bad and stew over the 10-straight losses. Have at it. Full analysis may or may not ensue.
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why on earth was CV on the bench at the end of the game there?
by patthepat on Jan 6, 2010 12:13 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
Maybe George Irvine Can Be Coaxed Out of Retirement?
Are we talking “moose meat” here?
Say what!!!
No way that was intentional
Stuckey had been shooting quite well in the fourth quarter — if any stat was on the Mavs mind, it would have been that, not his for-the-year three point shooting.
I too wonder why CV was on the bench at the end. I also don’t like the 3 guard stuff that had Tay guarding Dirk (not that we had a Dirk-stopper on our bench, but still).
The only silver lining I can see is that if you had told me before the game last night that Detroit would have led much of the way and had a decent chance to win at the end, I would have (sadly but honestly) been surprised. I still really want a W, though.
Cv is on the bench because.....
…..he does not play defense!!!! You cant have a guy on the floor that gives no effort on the defensive end….and he gives none.
by BennieBladesFan on Jan 6, 2010 9:49 AM EST up reply actions
we were down three with the ball and 10 seconds left….
CV was 4-6 from 3pt and the rest of the team was 1-10 combined.
by patthepat on Jan 6, 2010 1:07 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
we needed a 3.
theres no way you not have Charlie on the floor when you absolutely need a 3.
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I agree.
No way was that an intentional draw up to leave Stuckey wide open.
I don’t remember a Rick Carlisle defense ever intentionally leaving players open.
I just figured...
It was a possibility because of how open he was. He caught it, had time to look to make sure he was behind the line, drink a cup of coffee, and then fire away. Maybe not an intentional, “hey leave him wide open,” but perhaps a misunderstood, “don’t worry about Stuckey shooting” or “we want Stuckey shooting” huddle instruction.
Might be grasping at straws, but I thought it was interesting, either way.
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Re CV, given that Dallas shot something like 18-22 in the third quarter, it doesn’t seem like anyone on Detroit was playing defense.
But I’ll grant you he’s not a defensive stopper. That doesn’t answer the question of why he wasn’t on the floor for Detroit’s last possession when we needed a 3.
Maybe....
…..But if he plays defense earlier in the game who knows Dallas might be the one that needs a 3……I like CV but he needs to play better Defense…..Im not saying he needs to be a stud he just needs to put in defensive effort…..hes not even doing that…..I ask you to DVR a game and then watch CV play defense…..You will see what I mean.
by BennieBladesFan on Jan 6, 2010 10:57 AM EST up reply actions
I’m not defending CV’s defense, and I would like to see him try to do better. Still, this is one area in which we are going to miss Rasheed — defense by big men. Even when ’Sheed was jacking up unneeded threes and getting techs, he could and usually did play low-post defense really well. Right now, on this whole roster, who can guard Dirk?
No one.....
…..but really who can guard Dirk?
by BennieBladesFan on Jan 6, 2010 12:31 PM EST up reply actions
Tayshaun...
…made some clutch stops on Dirk down the stretch, if he wasn’t guarding him we wouldn’t have even gotten a chance to tie the game.
Tay definitely stopped Dirk at the end there...
and it lead to a Stuckey score w/the foul.
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What do you mean?
Eleborate a little bit…..Tay must go isnt saying much.
by BennieBladesFan on Jan 6, 2010 12:31 PM EST up reply actions
POST GAME THOUGHTS (copy and pasted)
I will count this effort against a strong Dallas team as a sign that the Pistons are out of their slump.
The Bad:
Ben Gordon has been flat against Dallas in two games now.
We aren’t getting many calls from the refs.
As a team, the Pistons need to have better discipline in terms of not committing fouls despite the refs not letting them off the hook.
The Good:
This Pistons team put up a good effort against one of the West’s bests teams considering that this Pistons team is pretty much like a new team coming out of training camp due to injuries.
A 100% healthy Rip, Tay, Ben Gordon, CV31 and Will Bynum will make a HUGE difference to how this team plays.
Stuckey has a lot of heart and will be the face of this franchise; he looked good today. I just wish he’d work on his 3-point shooting like he said he was going to because, once he has that down, just "look out" is all I can say.
I will continue to tolerate the Pistons playing "bad" until I see what this team really is. We haven’t even seen the full potential of this team. When everyone is 100% (hopefully in a few games or so) that will be the 2nd game this team has been 100% this entire season. I need to see a few weeks of 100% health play before I consider this season a failure.
"Once everyone is healthy"
We’ve now been saying this through 30+ games this season. At what point do we as a community come to grip with the possibility that having everyone at 100% may not be realistic.
7 years with nothing more than a few games missed from our top guys and having the best trainer/strength & conditioning coach in basketball has bred certain expectations which I think are a bit unrealistic.
Jonas Jerebko once killed a charging female rhinoceros in heat protecting its young with nothing more than a hook shot.
I think without the injuries this team...
….would have had a shot at the playoffs…..now that everyone has to gel again and being 30 games in i just dont know if theres enough time…..maybe tyhe 8 seed but we gota get it going.
by BennieBladesFan on Jan 6, 2010 3:03 PM EST up reply actions
3 pointers
One problem I see is neither of our two startiing guards are 3 point shooters. Our coach has to do a better job putting certain guys in situations. When dirk keeps hitting like that you change who is guarding him.
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