Gordon goes off, Stuckey shines: Pistons 98, Celtics 88
by Sean_Corp on Feb 16, 2012 9:58 AM EST
in Detroit Pistons Recaps
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Welcome to a belated recap of the Detroit Pistons amazing, shocking, stunning, surprising, alarming, orgasmic, uh-oh, awesome 98-88 victory against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday. I didn't get to see the game as I was busy getting my ass handed to me at Trivia Night, but I did take the time to collect reactions from around the Interwebs. I read the recaps so you don't have to.
Unless they sound interesting, then you should totally click the links and read more.
Commence with links!
PistonPowered
Dan Feldman examines how Rodney Stuckey serves as the developing Brandon Knight's "safety net.":
Stuckey has a tough job this season, but it’s fair to question why he hasn’t ever played at a high level on both offense and defense for a sustained stretch. I’m not sure whether he’s missing the physical or mental stamina to do it, but becoming a consistent two-way player is the next step in his growth.
Detroit 98, Boston 88: Pistons' Ben Gordon fuels stunning upset | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
Looks like Vince Ellis is busy reading Detroit Bad Boys:
The Pistons are doing a horrible job of setting up that lottery pick for the June NBA draft.
Rapid Reaction: Pistons 98, Celtics 88 - Boston Celtics Blog - ESPN Boston
"Not the way the Celtics wanted to wrap up the home portion of their pre-All-Star schedule. Celtics not named Rondo were a mere 19-of-50 (38 percent) from the floor overall. What's more, the Celtics missed a whopping 13 free throws (19-of-32). Boston was sloppy all night, but especially in the fourth quarter. Now it must collect itself with the second half of a back-to-back looming Thursday night in Chicago to kick off a five-game road trip."
More links after the jump.
Focused Pistons rebound after disappointing loss to beat Celtics on road | MLive.com
"Rodney Stuckey led the Pistons with 25 points – three short of his season high – Greg Monroe and Ben Gordon added 22 apiece and Tayshaun Prince scored 10.
Gordon provided the offensive spark in the fourth quarter, when he scored 12 points. He hit back-to-back 3-pointers that gave the Pistons an 87-76 lead with 7:52 remaining and after they hiked the lead to 93-80 on a fast break layup by Stuckey with 4:39 left, the Celtics never recovered."
Something amiss - The Boston Globe
"Kevin Garnett might not be having an All-Star season. But the Celtics’ 98-88 loss to Detroit last night at TD Garden provided a strong indication of how much the team relies on Garnett’s defending and rebounding."
Ben Gordon heats up as Pistons top Celtics | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com
Is Gordon pining for more minutes?:
Gordon had been battling foul trouble and the officials but looked like he was back with the Bulls during his memorable playoff series three springs ago. He hit two deep 3-pointers in the fourth, the second giving the Pistons a six-point lead. "That's something I've been doing for the large part of my career," Gordon said. "Tonight Coach trusted me, allowed me to play more and it was good for us. I knocked down shots I could make."
CelticsBlog - For Boston Celtics Fans
"Consider this a cautionary tale for those pining for the rebuilding to begin in the post Big 3 era. Kevin Garnett was out and Pierce and Allen were a combined oh-fer-almost-everything (ok, Pierce hit a few shots and had some assists, but it wasn't exactly Truthiness tonight)."
Photo Gallery | Comcast SportsNet - CSNNE.com
Former Pistons beat writer A. Sherrod Blakley looks at what it means for Boston going forward:
With the loss, the Celtics don't have any time to dwell on yet another disappointing performance, not with their road trip kicking off Thursday night against the best team in the East, the Chicago Bulls.
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So in the last 7 games
We have had a four game winning streak, followed by a loss to the Wizards that featured an embarrassing collapse in the later second half, then a tough/close loss to the Spurs, followed by a win over Boston.
That’s 6 pretty good games out of the last 7. Admittedly, five of them (including the one bad one) were against mediocre-poor teams, but still. . . .
As one of the most racist cities in the North, I raiseth my chalice to your trifling asses
Eat it, Boston. Always a pleasure to watch you guttersnipes take a L.
That goddamn Okra and beans got you Oprah in jeans. Seems to me a little lean cuisine, wouldn't hurt much- Agh don't touch! -Obie Trice
Discount Double Choke, 2011 Packers.
Apparently, Ben Gordon only plays good on a consistent basis when the opponent is the Celtics. Odd.
Also, I love the guys over at PistonPowered, but I don’t understand their love for Stuckey. Can we just cut the fat for once and admit that Stuckey isn’t a consistent two-way player because he just isn’t a consistent two-way player?
Stuckey’s a fine reserve, and there’s no shame in that. Coming out of a small school like he has, it’s really rather remarkable that he’s carved out a successful niche in the NBA. But he is what he is, and he’s getting to the point in his career that it’s almost certain that he’s going to stay what he is.
To me, this continuous, “Stuckey has so much potential if he could just be more consistent” line of thinking is breeding dissatisfaction by setting unrealistic expectations. Stuck’s a useful player that I would have loved to bring off the bench behind Billups. Nothing more, nothing less. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
"With logic he attacks. With statistics he defends."
Apparently, Ben Gordon only plays good on a consistent basis when the opponent is the Celtics. Odd.
And for some weird reason, I feel like it’s fate that the Celtics end up trading an expiring for Gordon. I know it’d be stupid, but I have had this weird feeling for some time now…
I would take Ray Allen's expiring 8 days a week.
Jonas Jerebko once killed a charging female rhinoceros in heat protecting its young with nothing more than a hook shot.
i mentioned a few weeks back
Ray Allen and Boston’s first for Brandon Knight and Ben Gordon. That’d be the 17th pick. I’d take that in a heartbeat, especially if there’s any chance we could land Kendall Marshall with that pick.
and if we could be so lucky
We’d actually need to sign a shooting guard for the first time in, well, forever. I wouldn’t play with any of the 2012 free agent class though, unless Michael Redd wants a one-year vet minimum deal (which should be expected, actually). But I’d actually prefer to roll the dice on a few D-league call-ups:
Morris Almond (27y/o, 6’5", averaging 22 points on 56% shooting with 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 tos and 2 pfs):
http://www.nba.com/dleague/playerfile/morris_almond/career_stats.html
Terrel Harris (24y/o 6’5", averaging 17 points on 57% shooting with 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 tos and 4 pfs):
http://www.nba.com/dleague/playerfile/terrel_harris/career_stats.html
Ron Howard (29y/o 6’5" perennial D-league hot hand, never cracked the NBA):
http://www.basketball-reference.com/nbdl/players/h/howarro01d.html
Invite all three of those guys to summer league and choose your favorite(s) for training camp try-outs.
If we were to wind up with Kendall Marshall, we can at least play Stuckey off-the-ball while looking for a 2 guard pickup in the following draft / summer.
O'Neal, Dooling and Johnson?
Doubt they trade one of the big 4 for his contract. Doubt there is a Mooseless way to pry Rajon? Even if they were high on Stuckey, doubt they’d want the leagues most successful backcourt of the last 3 years in Stuckey and Gordon, and BK isn’t ready to compete in the playoffs yet.
by aussiepiston on Feb 16, 2012 7:17 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
Dude when did we become a team that can beat anybody under the right conditions?
It seems like we are officially out of the basement and now a lower-average team that can win games against good teams and lose against bad ones just as easy. Let’s say we keep this up:
- If we can play .500 ball for the rest of the year, we’d have a 27/39 record.
- We can expect to get between an 8-10 draft pick based on the last three seasons
- We aren’t able to add any players other than the MLE and we are losing Ben over the summer
It seems like we are hurrying towards “winning” and expecting our plan for contending to happen sometime down the road, and not to involve a for-real draft pick. I don’t know what to think about that.
Welcome... to the Wallace-hood
If we can play .500 ball for the rest of the year, we’d have a 27/39 record.
I know the horse is dead, but this would be disaster. The only hope this roster has of being relevant (outside of a miracle trade) is a top 5 pick, aka, big man. This year’s lottery is the surest way to improve.
"With logic he attacks. With statistics he defends."
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