Pistons offense continues to sputter, Bulls win 92-68
by Packey on Jan 10, 2012 1:52 AM EST
in Detroit Pistons Recaps
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PrintFor as awful and mutinous as last year's team was, they never turned in three straight losses by 16 or more points. That hadn't been done by a Pistons team in 32 years until this year's team accomplished it Saturday against the Knicks. With a 92-68 loss to the Bulls Monday night, they've now done the unspeakable in four straight games. And the 68 points? Yeah, another low-point last year's embarrassment never reached.*
The Pistons had more turnovers than points in the fourth quarter (10-9) against the Bulls, so I think it's safe to say that's where they lost the game -- you can't win games when you turn the ball over more than you score. Pistons had four turnovers and four misses before their first points over four minutes into the fourth (that's a lot of horrible fours, like the number of years we re-signed Tayshaun Prince). When the clock struck all zeroes, the Pistons were 3-for-14 shooting in the final frame and staring at a 24-point loss, their fourth straight and 13th straight to the Bulls.
Carlos Boozer led the Bulls with 23 points on 9-for-13 shooting and added eight rebounds, a block, and two assists. Boozer has always been a Piston-killer, but he's 18-for-28 this season with 42 points and averaged 27 & 10 last year all while shooting over 65-percent. For as good as he was with the Jazz against the Pistons, he's been better with the Bulls.
The one bright spot for the Pistons was none other than Greg Monroe, who had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. He also had a career high six assists.
- *I'd still take this year's team over last year's team.
- Remember the times when the Pistons won games when scoring less than 70? It was a glorious time when Prince was our fifth best player, Carlos Boozer was killing us (with the Jazz) and Brian Scalabrine was haunting us (with the Nets). Oh, nothing has changed really, except times are not glorious.
- 12 shots, tied for the most on the team tonight. Four more years.
- The other team-high 12 shots inexplicably went to Jason Maxiell. He made one.
- Brandon Knight scored 13 points on 6-for-10 shooting, had five rebounds, one assist and four turnovers in 36-plus minutes. He continues to show flashes, but he's as much of a work in progress as the Pistons' offense outside of Greg Monroe.
- It's inexcusable that players not named Monroe and Gordon combined for 24 shots, and only made six.
- Jerebko was invisible on Monday night except for one magnificent slam dunk shot.
- "Pistons must feel like LSU -- they scored 68." - Steve Levy on SportsCenter. LSU scored zero, but lost by less. Interestingly enough, Joe Dumars is an LSU fan (and Pistons beat writer Vince Ellis is a 'bama alum).
- Pistons say drawing positives from games like these are all they can do:
- Lawrence Frank saw some improvements on defense:
"I definitely saw improved defense. We got back in transition much better. On offense we were making the right plays. But when you play a high-end team like this, you have to play four quarters."
- Pistons play the Mavericks Tuesday night at the Palace. Hopefully Dallas had too much fun at the White House.
- Box score
- Roll Call: bearded thundar, Reno09, Kruza, garrettelliott, Gabe F-B, Kriz, freywagg, soufpaw, curlyfries, need4detroit, Packey, -PS-, bluedogg, Shinons*, MrHappyMushroom, JWurm, madpoopz, Birdman84, Sean W, Trout Jefferson, Fadel, TDP, V., Mike Payne, Pentatonic, tads, JohnAbruzzi, dandresden, mcflies, Toledo Joe, The Boourns
Total Users: 31
Total Posts: 340
Total Threads: 1Name # of Posts garrettelliott 47 Kriz 43 Kruza 29 Mike Payne 26 madpoopz 23 Reno09 21 Gabe F-B 15 MrHappyMushroom 12 freywagg 12 Trout Jefferson 11 need4detroit 11 dandresden 10 -PS- 10 bearded thundar 10 mcflies 9 bluedogg 9 V. 6 Packey 6 tads 4 Birdman84 4 Shinons* 3 Sean W 3 The Boourns 3 JohnAbruzzi 2 curlyfries 2 Toledo Joe 2 Fadel 2 TDP 2 JWurm 1 soufpaw 1 Pentatonic 1
"That’s what this season is about," Pistons guard Ben Gordon said. "With the condensed schedule, so packed together, it would be foolish not to, from game to game, focus on the positives and try to draw whatever positive things you can from game to game."... Greg Monroe.
Will Bynum agreed.
"It’s the only way," he said.
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I’d still take this year’s team over last year’s team.
I would, too. Last year was embarrassing from a behind-the-scenes and on-the-court sense. This is just strictly on-the-court. Plus, right now, we’re 5th in terms of SoS. We got a real tough schedule to begin the season.
We’ll still be awful, but I think we’ll be better when the schedule softens up on us a little bit.
"trout jefferson is using multiple numbers and no swears. I barely recognize you man." - Kurt Mensching
by Trout Jefferson on Jan 10, 2012 2:22 AM EST reply actions
I'll take this team because we are finally getting a good look at what we have.
and will finally get a good look at how what we have develops. It’s not a winning situation from a measurable standpoint, but hopefully the information we can gain from this season will translate into better educated moves.
while I agree
what we are left with is a pile of poo and realizations that the hope we had for talent on this team are lost. Is Dumars looking through sugarcoated glasses? Do I even want to know the answer to that?
by mcflies on Jan 10, 2012 3:00 AM EST via Android app up reply actions
fixed
you can’t win games when you turn the ball over more than you score, unless your defense is awesome
In that game we had over twice as many turnovers than 4th quarter points (13-6)
True story:
I just woke up from a dream that took place in an alternate universe, where Charlie V had been playing all season at both the 4 and the 3. I was watching a “highlight” reel of all of his flubs of the season. The only ones I remember were an airballed jumper, a ludicrous behind-the-back pass to a cameraman on the baseline, and several clips of him getting dunked on NBA Jam-style. On one play he literally morphed into a life-size cardboard cutout. When I woke up I thought, “Well, things could be worse.” Then I thought, “I bet someone at DBB has had the exact same dream.”
by excellent dinosaur on Jan 10, 2012 6:56 AM EST reply actions 5 recs
Cardboard cutout of CV you say?
I think I did have that dream… and I remember the cutout being less stiff on defense than the human version of him. HEYOOOOO!!!!
All the time relaxed.
No lie, during the Demarcus Cousins hoopla, I had a dream we drafted him and I started crying (in the dream).
WORD PLAY
hollywoodsloce.tumblr.com
by Biz Markie Moon on Jan 14, 2012 3:14 PM EST up reply actions
On the bright side, at least Daye had a nice game
1-4 from the field, that brought up his season fg%. Progress!
Compared to last year
This team, I predict, will have a lower winning percentage than last year (absent some major move). Last year wasn’t fun, but I kept holding out hope that we would make some moves to make the team better, specifically getting some help on the front line. We didn’t do that. In fact, the net effect of letting Wilcox go, not playing CV, and getting Jonas back gives us, unbelievably, even fewer options/players at the 4-5.
Also, last year I had hope Maxiell could again be good or at least consistently useful; now, although he had one good game, I’m dubious. Last year I thought Bynum could be good or at least consistently useful; now, I’m dubious. Ditto with Daye (remember his clutch 3-point shooting?)
Last year I had fun with RealGM imagining trades, some of which actually worked within the cap, and a couple of which were semi-realistic. None happened.
Last year, I believed that once Karen D. sold the team, JOD would be “unshackled” and we would make some moves. This year, I see we’ve acquired Damien Wilkens.
So yeah, I like watching Moose and JJ, but I still think they are playing out of position and even if you don’t agree with that, we OBVIOUSLY don’t have enough bigs, a problem that has been around and not addressed for several years. I will keep hope alive for Knight, but it’s hard to see how a PG develops when a team doesn’t have the players for a normal offense. I like and admire Big Ben, but his hustle, defense, and rebounding in his limited minutes only remind me of what this whole team used to be like.
I don’t get as much pleasure as some do bitching about Prince, and I don’t believe as much as some that getting rid of Rip was some great addition-by-subtraction move that makes us better.
I’ve rooted for Detroit when they’ve sucked before, and I will still root for Detroit. But it’s gotten harder for me to think of realistic things to hope for beyond a good draft pick in the summer. And frankly, this team is more than one good draft pick away from even being a .500 team.
we OBVIOUSLY don’t have enough bigs, a problem that has been around and not addressed for several years.
Jerebko, Monroe, Wallace, and Maxiell are top 4 on the team in win shares.
yeah it absolutely does...
We know what we have in Maxiell, and it is not a player who should be leading the team in win shares or even in the top 5 in win shares.
Jonas Jerebko once killed a charging female rhinoceros in heat protecting its young with nothing more than a hook shot.
Love Beer? Me too! http://jimbobsbeerblog.wordpress.com/
Follow me on twitter: #JimBobsBeerBlog
by The Boourns on Jan 10, 2012 10:34 AM EST up reply actions
Apart from last night, Max has been better than he’s been the last couple seasons, though. He’s reverting to his pre-Kuester form (or at least I’ve been hoping).
"With logic he attacks. With statistics he defends."
yeah...although last night was a quick return to reality
the only question is whether his initial play was the fluke or this one game was. But the lack of ball control, the missed dunks, the over-excitement when trying to secure rebounds (and ultimately fumbling them out of bounds in the process) was all very reminiscent of the things I hate about Maxiell.
Jonas Jerebko once killed a charging female rhinoceros in heat protecting its young with nothing more than a hook shot.
Love Beer? Me too! http://jimbobsbeerblog.wordpress.com/
Follow me on twitter: #JimBobsBeerBlog
Jerebko and Monroe
Are good — not great, not dominating, but good — and also playing out of position. More importantly, after them comes Big Ben, who can only play limited minutes and, although I love him, even in his prime couldn’t shoot the ball. And plus, he’s not going to be around much longer. Maxiell is undersized and not good. Then we have one other guy, CV, who could play the 4, but apparently isn’t because he can’t rebound or play defense. My point is, the Pistons have gone years without correcting the obvious lack-of-depth problem at the 4 and 5. As compared to last year, even if you think Jerebko is better than CV and Wilcox, we’re essentially down one more body and Ben W. is one year older.
And yeah, whatever “win shares” means on a team with these few wins, it doesn’t mean we have solid rotation of bigs. Moose is almost certainly our best player, and Jonas may be among the best, but that doesn’t mean we have any depth and it’s also more than a bit of an indictment of the rest of the roster.
definitely
I just think saying things like – we need a big man, and I’m certainly guilty of it, kind of ignores the fact we need a lot more than that.
Our starting PG, SG, and SF are under contract for 2 more seasons beyond this one and they are all terrible. The best players on the team play in the frontcourt, a frontcourt that we all know is overmatched. Unfortunately all the financial resources are locked up in an even worse backcourt.
by mcflies on Jan 10, 2012 11:14 AM EST via Android app up reply actions
Agreed 100%
I’ve also had to give up hope that Stuckey could be an elite, or even above-average, “point guard of the future.” He has some skills, but it’s basically first-guard-off-the-bench skills. Who knows about Knight, I’ll try to have hope, but he’s far from a sure thing. And I have my worry that I had about Stuckey’s development: it’s hard to figure out how to play PG well when your team is so weak on offense and lacks a consistent post game. And as I said above, I’m not optimistic about Bynum, and I think we’ve seen what BG can do. And yeah, it’s no way sufficient.
Can probably be shortened to
We need a better _________ and you’d probably be right so long as you didn’t say Swede or Moose.
Jonas Jerebko once killed a charging female rhinoceros in heat protecting its young with nothing more than a hook shot.
Love Beer? Me too! http://jimbobsbeerblog.wordpress.com/
Follow me on twitter: #JimBobsBeerBlog
Yep
I would only add that even my enthusiasm for watching them is tempered by frustration by what/who they have to work with. An unbalanced roster that arguably has them playing out of position, and guards (and yes, SFs) who aren’t realy the “think pass first” types.
I just wonder what the management's plan is
They aren’t making any moves to acquire new players, and yet they claim to want to contend again
Without a doubt, squats are a cure for everything.
by bearded thundar on Jan 10, 2012 9:53 AM EST up reply actions
yeah I mean aren't they the only team not to complete a trade in the past 2+ seasons or something?
and the only team with no player acquired through trade on their active roster?
Jonas Jerebko once killed a charging female rhinoceros in heat protecting its young with nothing more than a hook shot.
Love Beer? Me too! http://jimbobsbeerblog.wordpress.com/
Follow me on twitter: #JimBobsBeerBlog
by The Boourns on Jan 10, 2012 10:36 AM EST up reply actions
That's the million-dollar question
Especially when the problems have been so freakin’ obvious for so freakin’ long.
And frankly, this team is more than one good draft pick away from even being a .500 team.
Yep, we are several players away from being anything good.
"With logic he attacks. With statistics he defends."
by brgulker on Jan 10, 2012 9:20 AM EST via mobile reply actions
GOD OVERREACT MUCH?!?!?!
Rhetorical question…you are not over-reacting at all and I’m afraid we could say this same thing next season…and next season…and next season…assuming JoD is still at the helm.
Jonas Jerebko once killed a charging female rhinoceros in heat protecting its young with nothing more than a hook shot.
Love Beer? Me too! http://jimbobsbeerblog.wordpress.com/
Follow me on twitter: #JimBobsBeerBlog
by The Boourns on Jan 10, 2012 10:35 AM EST up reply actions
But last
years team had tayshaun and Stuckey on expiring contracts
by Taiwanese Tora on Jan 10, 2012 11:03 AM EST reply actions
Ooh, thanks for reminding me about something else I should be depressed about
And we had a possible trade-to-a-contender-down-the-stretch piece in T-Mac. . . .
I can’t believe the Pistons re-signed Tay and Stuck in the off-season. I’d like to have a glimpse into Joe Dumars’ thinking.
Fire Joe Dumars
i dont want to know whats going on in Joe's mind
if its anything like the mindless bullshit thats been spouting out of the teams press core than it would just make me sick.
follow me on twitter: @danieldresden
Anyone notice how many times Greg had great post position and Tayshaun just looks away or dribbles away.
14, 10 and 6 on 5/9 shooting. Give the guy the ball over and over.
He also threw the ball across court into the stands then threw his hands up in frustration at Jonas.
"With logic he attacks. With statistics he defends."
I've noticed that recently he has a knack for blaming others (new, younger guys)
I don’t recall him doing this to the old guard.
Fire Joe Dumars
Yep. I agree.
I definitely recall him getting into it with Sheed, Rip, Billups, but not in a throw your hands in the air in a hopelessly self-absorbed kind of way. It used to be constructive, at least as I remember it.
"With logic he attacks. With statistics he defends."
Hey, when Joe's ouija board says
to sign Tay for four more years, Joe is gonna sign Tay to four more years.
Who are we to question the ouija board?
My blogs: pakagankarachi.livejournal.com (dormant)
burmahunkalove.livejournal.com (occasional signs of life)
by MrHappyMushroom on Jan 10, 2012 4:26 PM EST up reply actions
I'm pretty sure JoD's Ouija is spelled Wee-Gee
As in, “WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! I SIGNED A PLAYER…”, shortly followed by, “Gee…I don’t know why this isn’t working out the way I expect it to.”
Jonas Jerebko once killed a charging female rhinoceros in heat protecting its young with nothing more than a hook shot.
Love Beer? Me too! http://jimbobsbeerblog.wordpress.com/
Follow me on twitter: #JimBobsBeerBlog
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