Zero Signs of Tanking: Pistons 106, Heat 99
by Packey on Apr 10, 2010 4:20 AM EDT
in Detroit Pistons Recaps
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PrintThe Pistons have completely transformed over the past five days.
Via NBA.com
As songs by hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg jammed on the portable compact disc player in the Detroit Pistons' postgame locker room, center Ben Wallace bobbed his head to the beat.
On the other side of AmericanAirlines Arena, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was complaining about his team's lack of focus. If you didn't know any better you'd have thought the Heat was the team emerging from an 11-game losing streak and Detroit was the team riding a nine-game win streak.
Yes, there was a strange bit of role reversal in Detroit's 106-99 victory at Miami on Friday, a loss that ended the NBA's longest active win streak at nine games.
That's now two games in a row the Pistons have won against teams that wanted (or should have wanted) to win more than they did. The Heat are currently stuck in the six spot in the Eastern Conference, well within striking distance of the five seed. The five seed would match them up with the decrepit Celtics, a much more preferable opponent than the Atlanta Hawks. Of course, a loss to the Pistons doesn't make or break their odds of facing the Celtics, as they are just one game out of the five seed and the Celtics are just a game out of third place, but a win would have helped their chances currently.
Meanwhile, the Pistons are making a statement that winning, and going into the off-season with confidence, is much more important than gaining lottery combinations. Over the past three games, they have lost roughly 83 combos and have fallen from a 1-6 pick to a 6-10, according to the odds.
I know before the jump wasn't much of a "game recap," but do the games really matter all that much to you anymore? Presumably, you wanted to know whether or not the Pistons won and what their odds are in the lottery. That's what you got before the jump.
Here are some other notes.
- Ben Gordon has been way better as a starter for the Pistons. Tonight he started in place of the injured Rodney Stuckey and scored 39 points on 12-21 shooting (7-11 downtown). As a starter this season, he is averaging roughly 21 ppg and 45 FG% (39% downtown) in 36+ minutes. He's averaging just 11 ppg on 40% shooting (29% downtown) in 24+ minutes coming off the bench. Either he needs more minutes/shots, or he needs to become a starter. That's been my biggest beef all season, but what say you?
- The rookies played a total of 44+ minutes and had 6 points (3-6) and nine rebounds. Summers and Jerebko each had a three-pointer, while Daye was 0-1.
- If Joe Dumars can't trade Tayhsuan Prince this off-season it will be for a lack of trying. He's been great lately and his expiring contract will only make him that much more enticing. In the month of April, he's averaging 19 ppg and 6.5 rpg. Tonight he had 28 points and seven rebounds.
- Chucky Atkins saw 18+ minutes. He had a steal and was plus-2.
- I'm still not quite sure how the Pistons won this game. Box score.
- Highlights:
- Discuss.
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it's been fun, the winning
not gonna lie, the energy that the team displays out there is way better than it has been in some time. i think that’s how they’re winning these games … just more energy, not holding back. they literally have nothing to lose, and individually, they’ve got everything to gain, playing all-out, as they have. better game to watch, for the fans, too.
i’m fine with ben gordon starting, if detroit gets a tough defender to go with him @ the 1. you put anyone less than good-d out there for 30 minutes alongside him, and that perimeter is gonna get pppppppppppppppppwwwwnnnnnnnnnnd.
also, detroit has a bad mix of guys, there’s a lot of style-clashing that contributed to the failure, almost equal-parts style-clash and injury bug. that being said, they have a lot of nice players, and trades shouldn’t be too difficult for Joe Dumars to manage.
i’m fine with finishing this way, finishing with wins. i believe they’re learning something about what went wrong this year, and if they use the last games to form some better ideas for next year, then so be it.
Good. Bad. I'm the guy with the gun.
THIS IS AWESOME.....
……Finally playing good and its been awesome to watch…..GO PISTONS!!!!!……WIN THE REST OF EM!!!!
by BennieBladesFan on Apr 10, 2010 9:56 AM EDT reply actions
The difference between 1-6 and 6-10 is bad. If we fall out of the top five, we miss the chance to land a franchise-altering big man. So while it’s nice to see Ben Gordon play like he should be playing, this winning is ultimately not a good thing.
+1 wins nice, but top 5 pick would be better.
Maybe if the Pistons land a 6-10 pick they could trade down.
I should just wait and see how those ping pong balls fall. Some is better than none.
McCourty will do. If the Packers don't take him first... they would.
Top 5 picks are not guaranteed stars....
…..id rather see wins…We will stil pick in top 10 so it doesnt matter
by BennieBladesFan on Apr 10, 2010 1:57 PM EDT up reply actions
Thats a positive approach, I'll take it.
McCourty will do. If the Packers don't take him first... they would.
It actually does matter,
but I’m not going to try and convince you that you should be hoping for a better lottery pick. If you prefer to see wins, so be it.
Jonas Jerebko once killed a charging female rhinoceros in heat protecting its young with nothing more than a hook shot.
Exactly.....
…..Wins are much better….I mean the difference between picking 6th and 9th isnt that much in my mind……WIN OUT PISTONS!!!!
by BennieBladesFan on Apr 10, 2010 5:01 PM EDT up reply actions
Bill Simmons on Sheed
“Sheed will finish the 2009-10 regular season next week as my least favorite Celtic ever, edging out Todd Day, Fred Roberts, Sidney Wicks, Curtis Rowe and Vin Baker. At least Vinnie had an excuse: a drinking problem. Sheed has an apathy problem. His doughy, nonchalant shadow looms over every game.
Sheed roped the Celtics into giving him an $18.9 million, three-year deal, made a big stink about breaking MJ’s 72-win record and then showed up for training camp wearing a fat suit.
Sheed caused my 62-year-old father to send me the following text recently: “Wallace can’t rebound, blocks nobody out, gets outhustled on every rebound and plays matador defense. What an awful Celtic!!!!”"
I, for one, am deeply pleased to see Sheed get dissed like this. Yes, his addition won us a championship. But aside from a couple of years with the Pistons, he struck me as the ultimate selfish player. When things haven’t gone as he’d wanted them to, he’d bitch, phone it in, or explode and cost his team. In "04, he got to play the savior, got nothing but adoration and he responded. The moment things got tough, he disappeared against tough opponents, or chose to pout over play as the ship went down.
I used to rage—well, not rage, since I didn’t really care that much—when people used to use the old “When he’s focused, Sheed is one of the very best players in the game” bit. It was always meant as a compliment—I recall Chauncey saying it. But to me, this is damning. Elite players would never, ever, ever disappear for whole series as Sheed did against the Celtics a couple seasons ago. The conclusion I’d draw from the praise for his talent and the result is that the guy is a selfish asshole.
I recall some asking if he was HoF quality? Give me a break. At his best, he was a really good player, though never dominant. At his worst, he didn’t play hard and was a cancer—in Portland, in Detroit, in Boston.
by MrHappyMushroom on Apr 10, 2010 11:47 AM EDT reply actions
Zero Signs of Tanking
It’s satisfying to know that these guys don’t tank. I don’t exactly know what it is, but it makes me happy to know that.
..but the only way we are going to get a potentially awesome young talent is through the draft right now. Our trading chips keep aging, and financially Dumars has mortgaged away the near future and left us cash strapped.
Seeing our draft odds worsen is pretty shitty. But I said I considered this a rebuilding year and gotta let the dude do what he does and see how the off-season and draft shakes out.
"Take it off the rack, if it's wack, put it back. I like the Whopper, fuck the Big Mac." - Rob Base, It Takes Two, 1988
'Sheed and the game
(1) The game. Looking at the boxscore, we won because we took ten more shots (we actually shot a lower percentage) and made a lot more 3-pointers. We got more shots mostly because we had eight fewer TOs. We made a lot more 3-pointers in large part because Gordon was going nuts behind the arc.
And yeah, I’m sad about the lottery position, but personally I can’t imagine rooting for the Pistons to lose. At least not when I’m actually watching the game. And it was fun to imagine Gordon actually playing like that consistently for us.
(2) ‘Sheed. “Least favorite Celtic ever”? The criticisms of ’Sheed have some merit, but I got four syllables for you: Antoine Walker. A horrible, selfish player, and apparently not much of a human being either. Hell, on the current Celtics I think KG is a bigger douche. And then there’s the whiny, dirty Danny Ainge and the series of goony white guys (e.g., Greg Kite).
When a team falls out of the elite, as the Celtics apparently have, it’s much easier for fans to blame one new guy instead of hating on the core of guys they’ve been cheering for over the past several years. Arguably, that’s why Flip got some of the hate he got after LB left and Flip couldn’t get them back the the championship series. Again, ‘Sheed has obvious problems that don’t need detailing here, but that article was way over the top.
i dont sheed should get all the blame for his team sucking. everyone knew that this would end badly. trading for the big 3 was all about some short term gain. they got their title and now the wheels are falling off because their team is comprised of three dudes who are only slightly younger and marginally more healthy than larry king. i think all this sheed hate might just be sports writers trying to make a storyline.
I think you got me with Antoine Walker.
That guy really was a putz.
But Greg Kite? Nah, just some marginal player. And though you may hate KG and Ainge, Celtic fans could do nothing but love them. KG brought a championship (and is, day-in-day-out, one of the handful of truly great players from the past decade; no one would ever claim that the guy wasted his talent) and Ainge was an important cog in multiple championships. No way Simmons or any Celts’ fan has anything but love for them.
Simmons may have gone overboard with Sheed, but I understand it. The guy was perfect in 2004 and 2005. Before then, he was the central player in a talented but toxic Portland locker room and—as Simmons notes—fundamentally incriminatable (sic?) in the infamous fourth quarter meltdown. In our case, he got whiny and ejected against Cleveland and was outplayed by (insert the name of any Celtic 6’ 2" or over) in "08. And he absolutely, totally, completely didn’t try hard or give a fuck last year. (Yeah, MCWAFI…Many of my high school principals have also been FIs; I still worked hard…)
And no one can doubt that he’s been appalling this year and that—given his conditioning—it’s his own damned fault.
And all of this from a guy who expects every benefit of a doubt on and off the court, as if he’s ever been one of the most valuable and reliable players in the game, (Again, all was set up for Sheed beautifully in “04-”05, so he played hard then), and who some even dare suggest should be a HoF player.
I’d go so far as to say that Sheed might have been a net detriment to his team as many seasons than he’s been a positive. And that’s not the calling card of a HoFer.
A final Simmons tidbit that I found on a second reading:
“According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Sheed has the lowest career per-48-minute rebounding average of anyone 6-foot-11 or taller who played 1,000-plus games (9.8).”
That’s pretty incredible.
by MrHappyMushroom on Apr 12, 2010 7:01 AM EDT up reply actions
We got the very best out of Roscoe
Bullshit Bill Simmons is just catching feelings that Boston got a garbage player after Detroit hoisted a trophy with him.
"Take it off the rack, if it's wack, put it back. I like the Whopper, fuck the Big Mac." - Rob Base, It Takes Two, 1988
they shoulda seen it coming
if he or danny boy had ever seen a Pistons game in his life they shoulda known what was comin.’ where’s the ‘ainge blows’ article from billy simmons, just because he got lucky and don stern handed him kevin garnett he’s a genius gm now? i suppose that makes kupchak like bball business einstein in la too
Good. Bad. I'm the guy with the gun.
billy simmons blows ainge
On the reg.
"Take it off the rack, if it's wack, put it back. I like the Whopper, fuck the Big Mac." - Rob Base, It Takes Two, 1988
it still hurts to know
that son of a bitch sat there clapping his hands and giggling in the Great Celtics Tankapotamus Quest for Greg Oden, only to have the balls push them to the worst-possible position (5th pick). i took so much glee, watching him become suicidal, only to see all of it disappear in a series of trades.
the only consolation prize in the whole mess (it’s still funny that he was teary-eyed and dreaming of oden nightly) was that he didn’t get kevin durant.
Good. Bad. I'm the guy with the gun.
series of trades = somehow winning a championship out of that mess
my thoughts sometimes disappear into the trees
Good. Bad. I'm the guy with the gun.
I agree, so I disagree.
Absolutely. We got the best out of Sheed. He’s a really, really talented guy, and he played his hardest for us for a couple of years.
But I see Simmons’ hatred. Repeatedly he notes Sheed’s talent, but goes on to say that Sheed gives all indications of not trying hard and arrogantly putting himself above the team.
And, you know, that’s pretty much what we saw the last few years in Detroit. A guy who makes himself the center of attention without coming through—except under ideal circumstances—is worthy of contempt.
It’s fine if a lot of Detroit fans still have warm feelings for him for “04-”05. But it makes perfect sense for a fan of another team despising him for signing an $18 million dollar contract, showing up out of shape, not seeming to try hard, and arrogantly hurting the team by showing the emotional intelligence of a middle schooler by leading the NBA in technicals without playing a lot of minutes.
by MrHappyMushroom on Apr 13, 2010 9:28 AM EDT up reply actions
I don't care
I think it’s funny.
Besides, the guy we got who said he is gonna replace Roscoe showed up chubby, lazy, misses flights, has bitchtwinkles in his eye, spends too much time on the internet, what happened to Boston is happening to us, but longer term. ’Cept he never hoisted a trophy in Milwaukee.
"Take it off the rack, if it's wack, put it back. I like the Whopper, fuck the Big Mac." - Rob Base, It Takes Two, 1988
by Skylar on Apr 13, 2010 12:17 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
I always secretly hope the pistons will win...
And that karma will reward our refusal to tank, but I guess I’d still prefer the extra ping pong balls…
It’s like Ricky Bobby’s Daddy once said,
“if yer not first, yer last.”
Jonas Jerebko once killed a charging female rhinoceros in heat protecting its young with nothing more than a hook shot.
by The Boourns on Apr 10, 2010 12:45 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
It really doesn't make that much difference if they tank
Unless you’re the worst there’s no guarantee until 15.
I should still be rooting.
But doesn’t this season feel like you helped a recovering alcoholic out with some cash and they went and bought a keg full of Yukon Jack?
I can’t even bring myself to watch anymore.
ok
I was kind of confused about how the rest of the guarantees worked. Thanks for clearing that up br.
Good bye, Demarcus Cousins
Good bye, 1% chance at John Wall
Good bye, Cole Aldrich
Hello, Donatas Montiejunas
So what.....
….we will stil get someone good.
by BennieBladesFan on Apr 10, 2010 1:58 PM EDT up reply actions
I dont.....
….and im sure the Front Office doesnt either….So why would we take him?
by BennieBladesFan on Apr 10, 2010 3:45 PM EDT up reply actions
I can't see Joe taking another risk on a Euro stiff
I don’t know anything about Donatas at all- it is possible he might be awesome. But I think Joe would have to be absolutely blown away before he ever risked taking someone from overseas with a high pick. He got burned with Darko and he has repeatedly admitted to it. I seriously doubt Joe would risk looking like a fool for making the same mistake twice.
I don't know...
We do have the best “international” scouting group in the NBA, right?
Jonas Jerebko once killed a charging female rhinoceros in heat protecting its young with nothing more than a hook shot.
Scouts don't make decisions
I’m not saying Joe would never consider it, but he would have to make absolutely sure of not only the dude’s talent, but also his attitude. If Joe does pick him, I’m guessing it would only be after extensive scouting and interviews.
This dude seems to think otherwise!
Just fast forward to the 3:00 mark…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5WuMInD3r0
Donatas is going to average 25/6 and 2 blocks per game in 2020. CAN’T WAIT!
Jonas Jerebko once killed a charging female rhinoceros in heat protecting its young with nothing more than a hook shot.
just curious, is patrick patterson any good? he seems like a bruiser although a bit undersized at 6-8. we could trade down a bit and get a second rounder or something
by don'tworryaboutit on Apr 10, 2010 5:12 PM EDT up reply actions
I'm not too worried about the draft if we keep winning.
I’d be happy with Ekpe or Hassan Whiteside. Ekpe has some good passing skills which I find intriguing. Hassan is apparently a head case but he’s supposedly talented.
by Biz Markie Moon on Apr 10, 2010 1:56 PM EDT reply actions
I guess I wouldn't mind Whiteside.
He kind of reminds me of an Andrew Bynum type with less O and better D.
My style when I'm manic is straight automatic , Pistons fanatic, love to ball so I'm at it! My style when depressed is readdressing the regress , while everyone today is steady praying for some recess !
Andrew Ba Ba Bynum
The guy that is always out with an injury
Hopefully without injury .Dumb Ass
God. Nobody can ever say shit without someone else trying to make them sound dumb. Fucking idiot ! Like I really want a high injury risk player. I only said he kind of reminds me of him. What does that have to do with him being injured?
My style when I'm manic is straight automatic , Pistons fanatic, love to ball so I'm at it! My style when depressed is readdressing the regress , while everyone today is steady praying for some recess !
clap clap
http://thesportsunion.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/11.jpg
clap, clap ….
http://blogs.suntimes.com/sportsprose/zach-randolph-happy-valentines-day-card.jpg
…….
Good. Bad. I'm the guy with the gun.
by sauce1977 on Apr 10, 2010 9:45 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Haha! That Zach Randolph valentine’s day card is awesome.
by garrettelliott on Apr 11, 2010 8:15 AM EDT up reply actions
Rec'd
For valentine’s Z-Bo
I’ll see your Ron Artest and Zeebo Randolph, and raise you a Stephen Jackson
"Take it off the rack, if it's wack, put it back. I like the Whopper, fuck the Big Mac." - Rob Base, It Takes Two, 1988
by Skylar on Apr 11, 2010 10:59 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
snaps
rec’d in return
raise you a jamal tinsley holding up an englishman during a fox hunt
Good. Bad. I'm the guy with the gun.
by sauce1977 on Apr 11, 2010 11:09 AM EDT up reply actions 3 recs
Oh goodness
What virtual fleamarket did you conjure this one up from, Winner
"Take it off the rack, if it's wack, put it back. I like the Whopper, fuck the Big Mac." - Rob Base, It Takes Two, 1988
it's all in the keywords
was tryin to remember all the jailpacers and then my mind recalled jamaal got in some heat so i typed “jamaal tinsley gun” in the search and before my google goggles, there it was
Good. Bad. I'm the guy with the gun.
I know there wasnt one last night was there?
by BennieBladesFan on Apr 10, 2010 5:03 PM EDT up reply actions
There hasn’t been an actual game thread for the last several games, or when there was one it got posted late. Standards have been slipping.
Re:Standards have been slipping
Back in the days (only like two years ago), the “old” DBB didn’t have “official” game threads. We just got together in whatever blog Matt W. decided to write about that day…you guys have been spoiled.
by DBB Diablo on Apr 10, 2010 5:24 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
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