Why? 36 points, 11 assists, 7 rebounds. ‘Nuff said.
Anyways, remember that low-post dominance that the Pistons displayed in their dismantling of the Pacers? Apparently the towering, intimidating presence of Brendan Haywood [really hope you’re getting the sarcasm there] was enough to end that notion in the early going of Tuesday night’s 104-99 loss to the Wizards. The Pistons fell far behind early while pounding the rock, misfiring jumpers from outside, and repeatedly turning the ball over. If it weren’t for Tayshaun’s outside shot, the Boys in Blue could have been down 20 by the end of the first quarter. To make matters worse, the ‘Zards actually increased their lead following Antawn Jamison’s nasty knee knock with DeShawn Stevenson. Jamison, who destroyed the Pistons with his 35 points last Friday, left the game with 6+ minutes remaining in the first quarter and did not return.
Neither Matt nor I have much to say about this one. In short, a combination of hot shooting by the Wizards and pathetic interior defense by the Pistons led to an insurmountable hole. And despite finally committing to dumping the ball down low, Blue just didn’t have enough to right earlier wrongs.
[Edit: Check out DBB reader Garold’s rant/stat-based recap in the comments for more on the nuts and bolts of last night’s fiasco.]
Since my limited attention span will not allow for much more wallowing, a few subplots:
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Wizards fans are disappointing.
With their team deconstructing a fellow Eastern Conference front-runner — hitting shot after shot and making some key defensive plays to start the game –- fans at the Verizon Center managed only token applause. Sadly, even in the presence of another great game by Gilbert, it remained quiet throughout.
This may be sour grapes talking (let’s be honest, of course it is), but I seem to remember a young Pistons team — a team that had experienced a tough playoff loss the year before (like the Wizards), but possessed an exciting style of play (like the Wizards) and a few rising NBA talents (like the Wizards) — being in a very similar situation four or five years ago. The main difference? The Palace was always rocking. In Detroit, the fans committed early on in the run and stayed loud and proud until… well, now. You have to wonder what Wizards fans are waiting for.
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No mas.
At some point during the second quarter, Flip Saunders became so fed up with his team that he sent out Carlos Delfino, Flip Murray, Lindsey Hunter, Antonio McDyess, and Dale Davis. As you may have guessed, this combination resulted in the Wizards stretching their lead. If Darko was referred to as the “Human Victory Cigar,” perhaps Flip Murray should be the “Human White Flag.”
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Rip Hamilton needs to shut the hell up.
He’s the first-half team MVP and probably Blue’s only All-Star rep, so attribute my section title more to frustration than to any dislike of Rip. But seriously, Rip looks about as angry out there as we are at home. The difference, of course, is that aside from scaring the shit out of my dog, my string of expletives have relatively little consequence; whereas Rip has given up the second most technical free throws in the league. He’s damn near Sheed-esque this season.
Regardless of how poor the league’s officiating can be, this whole “giving-the-other-team-two-to-three-points-per-game-while-losing-by-single-digits” thing is getting out of hand. The Pistons, unlike in years past when they were atop the league in point differential, are not good enough to give away points. Hell, right now, they may not be good enough to finish .500 for the month of January – tomorrow night’s matchup against the Nets will decide that fate. [In case you are wondering, the last time the Pistons had a record under .500 for a single month was in February, 2004; not a bad year for the Pistons, mind you.]
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Is the clock striking midnight on Wiz’ Cinderella?
Look, Gilbert Arenas is a nice player. And should he prove to be dominant for more than half a season, then I’ll entertain including his name with Kobe, Tim Duncan, Dwyane Wade (sigh), et al. But right now, at 11:50pm on Tuesday, January 30, 2007, let me be the first blogger (or at least the first blogger I’m aware of) to say that I’m tired of Gilbert Arenas. Again, sour grapes abound, but keep the effing mouthpiece in your mouth already. The fully-clothed showers, “Hibatchi!”, the All-Star vote campaign, the Team USA vendettas… it is all too much. Gilbert is the NBA equivalent of a Jerry Bruckheimer movie: It looks slick as hell. It’s highlights gets people talking. There may even be a few one-liners worth taking home. But we’re months from summer and people are already tired of hearing about it. And we know that, ultimately, it won’t be taking home any awards.
So… yeah. I’m a little bitter.
Wizards 104, Pistons 99 box score [ESPN]
Pistons 2003-04 Game Log [databaseBasketball]
Pistons muscle past Pacers [DBB]
No need for spells: Wizards beat the Pistons [DBB]
I was thinking about this during the game — I wonder if Rip is angrier this year because he’s making a concerted effort to drive the hole and doesn’t always get calls? I imagine it’s hard to hold a grudge against the refs when your game is all about jump shots (you know… Rasheed Wallace notwithstanding).
WOW… that was excellent therapy, Ian; I only feel half as angry about that pitiful game, as I did before reading your recap. Feel assured that you and Matt are among a growing number of Piston fans who are wondering just what the hell is up with Rip? The 3 T’s didn’t help matters at all tonight when they were fighting to make this a two possesion game. I think you nailed it though; he has been determined to drive to the basket this year, (abandoning the 3) and he’s not happy with not only, not getting calls, but with charging fouls. Register my “AY”, when you’re polling whether Rip should “shut the hell up”, and make something happen on “D”! His losing it is contributing to the Pistons losing games. With the 7 EXTRA TO’s between him and Chauncey, that they normally give up, that’s where the game was lost.
These guys just didn’t want this one bad enough, and that was clearly evident from that “dear-in-the-headlight-look”, shortly after the onset. You’d think after Jamison torched them last Friday, and with him going out in the 1st quarter, Rasheed would have stepped it up, but he showed little instead. Why did it take a quarter and a half before they decided to try to slow the ‘Zhards pace down? By then, it was too late.
Statisically, rebounds, assist, steals, blocks, points in the paint, fast break points were all equal. Where where the “O” boards that we’ve been starting to get used to, and the blocks? When you throw the 16 TO’s into the mix, that’s why they lost! We outshot them in FG%, 3-pt%, and the 90% from the stripe topped them too, although we had 10 fewer chances. With everything equal or in our favor, how do you lose again against the 2nd worst defense in the NBA?
Chauncey finished with 24, but was non-existant in the 1st half, when he needs to be a leader, to keep them in the game. without Tay being on, we could have been down 30 before halftime. It actually disgusted me seeing Billups driving in for the bunny as time expired to pad his stats, when it didn’t matter. I would have rather seen a dropkick into the stands.
And then after all that, having to listen to Flip Murray’s calm Press Conference; just so non-chalant about having their asses handed to them, instead of getting in some ass during the game! I’d rather see him wrestling with Rip, and throwing him on the bench, then laying into the ref, instead of letting Hamilton get T’d up again. I’ve been in his corner this season, because I realize that unless I want to give up any hope for this year, Saunders needs the support. Doesn’t he realize this whole thing gets blown up; him, Chauncey’s max contract… the whole 9 yards, if he doesn’t DEMAND an end to this lazy play?
Why can’t they get 30 pts off the bench? EVER? These guys sit for so long, they’re all afraid to take a shot when they finally get some minutes; Murray-1, Maxiell-0, Davis-0. Hunter helped with 7 pts, but Arenas had his way with both Chauncey and Lindsey, making that 7 useless. I’m tired of 1-3 Delphino nights! If Nazr’s just going to sit, suit up Amir, and use him. If they get 30 off the bench, as Washington did, they win inspite of the lack of calls and the TO’s. When is the last time the Detroit bench outscored the opponent’s?
The Bigs sucked tonight. Wallace should have had his way, anyway he wanted it, and Haywood outscoring C-Webb again in fewer minutes, and outboarding him as well? Yeah, okay… they’re just bored waiting for the playoffsd.
Sour grapes man. Arenas is the truth and he’s fun. Unfortunately, our team is not fun, not charming, and this season in particular, not really very good.
It’s not sour grapes actually, it does get on your nerves a bit. You see, as Non-DC residents, most of you don’t have to hear all the bs that goes on and on about Gilbert Arenas in this area. Actually, to be honest, I’ve been tired of Gilbert Arenas ever since he CAME to Washington.
I really liked Arenas when he played under Lute Olson at Arizona, and I was surprised that he was a 2nd round pick. I knew with the influx of foreign guys in the draft that that was really the only cause for someone of Gilbert’s talent to be a 2nd round pick.
Let’s all be honest though…
Just because a guy hits a few “breathtaking” jumpshots and has an annoying personality doesn’t mean squat when it comes down to it. He’s the epitome of “shoot first” point guard. He doesn’t play defense. He doesn’t pass all that well. He isn’t a good ball handler. If he was as good as “advertised” then he would have hit those free throws last postseason to beat the Cavs. That ADIDAS commercial where he says “you thought it was all about me?”, of course I did Gilbert, when you’re hoisting up 25+ shots a night on a team that has Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison, of course I thought it was all about you.
Also, did anyone else see Brendan Haywood yell out “AND 1″ on one of his dunks? As if that’s necessary from a guy that’s lucky to score 8 points a night. Brendan, here’s a tip for you, try to win the starting center job out of training camp (without getting in a fight with the competition *cough*) and then you can yell And 1 on a dunk attempt.
I’m not from DC and I’m sick of Gilbert Arenas. I loved his little quirks and stuff at first, but ever since he threw that party that everyone kept talking about and then the whole hibachi thing and the swag stuff and his whole vendetta against the coaches who cut him from the Olympic team, I just got tired of him.
wizards key to victory??
deshawn stevenson
I do live in D.C., and the guy is everywhere. Not to mention that I frequent more than a few basketball blogs, where he seems to have achieved God-like status.
I also thought it was funny how DeShawn Stevenson threw down that thunderdunk and then proceeded to do the “you can’t see me” hand wave in front of his face… I guess you earn the “you can’t see me” status after averaging just over 10 points a game…
Oh and as far as Bullets Forever goes, I can’t post there to file my complaint, but all the local media outlets here were bitching about how greedy Jared Jeffries was, and here’s Bullets Forever saying that Ernie Grunfeld is the king because he didn’t sign him…
Gilbert Arenas is everywhere in DC. Just like when you go to Cleveland and you see LeBron’s big “WITNESS” sign. It’s annoying, especially when they haven’t won anything. Maybe Detroit should put up a sign (if there were large buildings around the Palace, which there aren’t) that says “WITNESS” and then has pictures of the championship titles and/or rings, because that’s what matters.
The Pistons lost the heart of the team when they lost Ben Wallace. Detroit can’t win with Billups. He’s a ballhog, and after this year’s performance, I’d have to admit not a very smart player. Right now I watch the Pistons for Rip and Prince. I love Rasheed, but he no longer respects the coach, so he is not going to perform well in any game. Detroit’s defense is no longer team oriented, and their offense is abysmal to watch.
The Pistons aren’t playing with any heart.
You might be sick of Arenas, but I am sick of the lackluster effort the boys in blue are putting forth. Why can’t they click? Does anyone else think that it could have something to do with who may or may not be traded before the deadline?
Obviously I’d like to see more run for the “Baby Eater;” more stat sheet contribution from Delfino; less foaming at the mouth by Sheed and Rip; a few more DNPs for the “human turnover machine” Flip Murray; a first half offensive effort from Chauncey. I’d also like the playbook run properly. It is hard for me to think of the coaching talent sitting on the bench and the execution of the plays that ISN’T happening.
I’m about ready to drop some coin so I can get close to the action when they visit my local squad (Blazers) next month. I’d sure as hell be doing so with a lot more joy if they ran off a series of decent games. (Please!)
What a frustrating game. Looking big picture, I don’t know, but it seems like the Pistons haven’t yet come to grips with the fact that they are not the team of a few years ago. I was at the game last night and watched them during timeouts, how they walked onto the court, and just how the team interacted during the game and I saw no competitive desire to win the game. It seems like this team still believes when it comes to crunch time, they can simply take their game to another level, espeically on the defensive end. However, we haven’t seen that next level yet this year and we are not even sure they have it anymore. Hopefully we are not waiting until the playoffs to find out.
garold: “It actually disgusted me seeing Billups driving in for the bunny as time expired to pad his stats, when it didn’t matter. I would have rather seen a dropkick into the stands.”
I forgot about that — I thought it was a little weird, too.
good win for the wiz kids! it seems like they started were they left off on friday w/o the injured jamison. gil arenas deserves all the attention because he has been playin like this for the past two years but was always under the rader. finally he gets some showtime and everybody is tired off him. arenas is funny, entertaining, and different. and for the fans, i agree that thy just seem to just give a simple clap after a good play. it seems like they are loud when a game is close in the fourth. deshawn stevenson is a beast. he has a nice jumper and everytime he hits a shot he does the hand wave in front of face thing. if u dont wanna see it then stop him. brendan haywood has been showing his prescense down low. and then etan thomas showing the same energy gives this team a pretty good low post.
Thank goodness DeShawn Stevenson worked himself out of that funk that almost got him killed in Utah. I mean, if I filled up the bucket with 9 points per game and 69% free throw shooting I would call myself a beast and wave my hand in my face too. He has a nice jumper, but he’s no beast. Gilbert Arenas is a beast, not DeShawn. Brendan Haywood has no down low presence, out of both “centers” Etan Thomas stopped the Pistons the most last night (when they weren’t stopping themselves).
Anywho, I think I don’t like the Wizards just because I have to listen to George Michael, Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon slobber all over Gilbert Arenas knob whenever they win a game…
This is seriously like beating a dead horse, but I just noticed this thread, and I have to respond.
Boney, I’m not sure you were referring to me earlier when you were talking about Jared Jeffries, but if you were, I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t remember ever calling Ernie Grunfeld a God for getting rid of Jared Jeffries explicitly. Even if I didn’t, if you think about it, it was an incredibly smart decision to replace Jeffries with DeShawn Stevenson for 1/30th of the price. So honestly, I’m confused at what the problem is there. You can also always post there…you just have to register first. It’s that way with every SBNation site.
To everyone else: I don’t want to adapt a holier than thou attitude, but I think lots of you guys have short memories. For the last 25 years, the Washington franchise was easily the most irrelevant in the sport. Easily. Washington hasn’t had a halfway decent basketball team since the Wes Unseld era. During that span, Washington has been the home for old stars to play in their twilight and hang up their shoes in irrelevace. First it was Moses Malone, then, after one spectacular year, Bernard King, and then, of course, there was Michael Jordan. Even when they drafted talented young players, management found a way to screw things up. Rasheed Wallace got traded for Rod Strickland, Chris Webber for Mitch Richmond, Tom Gugliotta and a million draft picks for an oft-injured Webber, Richard Hamilton for Jerry Stackhouse, etc. The list goes on and on. Top players were cursed; Webber missed so much time in DC, Gheorghe Muresan suffered a career-ending injury, Stackhouse missed significant time, etc. The Washington franchise had a few mediocre teams in the 80s, a bunch of horrible teams in the 90s and 2000s, and only one team (the 96/97 bunch) that was remotely interesting.
So pardon us if we’re a little overexcited for this bunch. When your franchise has their first legitimate star, their first legitimate coach, their first legitimate executive, and their first legitimate winning team in 25 years, you’d be a little annoying with your excitment too.
And finally, Boney, if Gilbert Arenas was such a ball-hog, then how do you explain the fact that Caron Butler, DeShawn Stevenson, and Etan Thomas are having career years? How do you explain that the team’s two other stars are both averaging close to 20 a game? He does need to work on his defense, granted. But a ball-hog? That’s sour grapes.
By the way, Matt and Ian, keep up the amazing work. DBB is a daily read for me.
I was at this game. I live in DC and at the last game against the Wiz, the Pistons lost big as well - makes me long for the Larry Brown/Ben Wallace days of old - where was the defense.
I too was puzzled by Rip’s technicals. Thanks for providing some explanation. I can’t really blame the level of disinterest from Wizards fans - after all, this is a Redskins town - what can you say when a good portion of attendees are not originally from the area and the fact that seats in the lower tiers of the Verizon Center are filled with corporate and K Street types?
Last, I’m glad to see that Caron Butler’s getting some recognition - I like him - he’s a nice kid. As for Arenas, I can understand the chip on his shoulder attitude that he plays with - but the hibachi and vendetta thing is a bit much.
DeShawn isn’t having a career year. His year is shaping up to be about the same as all his others… same with Etan, and actually, both of them have never started every game in their careers either…
now I know Etan may not be starting that much anymore, but I know DeShawn is…
quit with the “you can’t see me” hand signals… you just looked silly the other night when you missed the open layup..
Stevenson’s points/40 is actually better than last year despite using the ball significantly less. His shooting percentages are at an all-time career high, and his PER is too. In 04/05, Stevenson shot 40 percent from the field. This year, he’s at 50 percent. He’s averaging significantly more assists per game than any season in his career. He’s also playing better defense than he’s ever played. That’s a career year by my estimation, and that comes with playing with Arenas.
Etan was a bit of a stretch. I’ll give you that.
I never said they started games…stop putting words in my mouth.
Ok let’s be honest Prada. DeShawn was originally signed to be the defensive “stopper” of the bunch. I know he plays good d, that’s why they signed him.
DeShawn only recently became a good defender. It really only happened midway through his last season with Orlando, and even then, he was only around average. Now, he’s more good than average on defense.
DeShawn was signed for many reasons, including his ability to defend. He was a good ball-handler that could give Arenas a chance to play off the ball, he was a better shooter than Jared Jeffries, and he cost less than a million dollars.
Arenas doesn’t play defense? That is BS. I’m a Pistons fan but Arenas is a great player. My favorite non Piston Eastern conference player to watch.
yes, Arenas doesn’t play defense. I know, I know.. it’s hard to believe, but he does not play defense. When Smush Parker of all people goes for 20 points against the Wiz, you know there’s something wrong with whomever’s guarding him.
Arenas is a gun-slinger, plain and simple. He lacks the ability to make plays for other members of his team. He’s a me-first scorer that will only dump off a pass IF it’s illogical to throw up a shot (see highlight of Blazers’ game where he didn’t pass for my example).
There have been plenty of guys like Arenas that have come and gone throughout the history of the league. Arenas’ negative outlook on why he’s not picked for the US team and/or not selected in the first round of the NBA Draft will always hold him back. Unlike Detroit (who plays better when people doubt them), Gilbert is just one man, whereas it’s easy for a group of 5 to go out and beat whatever odds are there.
I’d pay attention to the box score in the Washington Post IF in fact Gil did do what he said he should probably work on, and that is get 10 steals on D. I’d rather see a W in the win column and 10 steals than a blowout loss to a non-playoff contender and 9 points.
You Detroit fans are funny. I would say that Verizon Center is louder than Ford Field. Enjoy Chris Webber. He was a cancer in DC and will be a cancer in Detroit. The pistons didn’t get good when Webber joined the team. They got good when Billups came back.
Have you forgotten how he cheated his two years through UoM? Let’s not forget the timeout too.
Gilbert Arenas is a basketball god because he works on his game. He is a guard not a point gaurd. He is a scorer, a shooter and a playmaker. If he had any low post presence,(everybody knows who the man is) he wouldnt get doubled soooo much. Its pretty hard to drive to the bucket and drop the ball off to a big man when your big men always fumble the ball away, travel or get it blocked from 16 pump fakes. He would avrg. 10 dimes instead of 6 easily.Do not belittle my mans game.Who can stop him? He urinated on one of the games best defenders (KOBE), who does that? Not everybaody can avrg 30 pts a game and still have a relevant team record. If I was him I would shoot more.Caron & Antwan score enough, the bench is the problem. Is that all you can complain about? Id rather have Gil over ANY player on the pistons, and I like the pistons.