I was in too much of a rush Friday afternoon to post an announcement here ahead of time, but I covered the Pistons/Jazz tilt for HOOPSWORLD last night, which entailed posting pre-game, halftime and post-game blog entries. That’ll be something I’m doing for most home games this year, in addition to collecting other material for longer weekly features.
In the future, should I forget to remind you guys the night of, you can look for these things by going to Detroit’s home page on HOOPSWORLD and clicking on “Blogs” on the lower-left-hand corner.
The game wasn’t televised, but those of you who couldn’t see it didn’t miss much. Things looked good early for the Pistons before falling apart after halftime, in part because the officiating suddenly got tight. Rasheed Wallace picked up a tech in the first half after making a nice little move through traffic for a dunk and complaining about a no-call (not really complaining to anyone in particular, more like one of those “run down the court and kind of yell” type things). That set the stage for his ejection in the third quarter when he complained about getting called for a foul on defense.
Considering Amir Johnson and Nazr Mohammed were already sidelined, Wallace’s ejection left the Pistons with few front court options, which is why Cheikh Samb saw extensive action. My early report on Samb? Pretty much everything we’ve heard before: he’s got a surprisingly solid jumper that he can nail from 18 feet out, but he gets worked over inside by stronger players — even players a foot shorter than he. But there’s definitely talent there, even if he could use a three-week vacation at the Sveden House (do those even exist anymore?).
For the rest of my observations, check out HOOPSWORLD, and feel free to fire away in the comments if you have any questions about anything I didn’t mention. Also, hate to put up a teaser, but I talked to Amir and Nazr about their respective injuries and should have an update up later this weekend (I’ll tell you this much: Nazr might play Sunday, but Amir won’t.)
Jazz 100, Pistons 85 box score [HOOPSWORLD]
A couple questions from the box score…
1) How was Jarvis Hayes’ shot selection? He led the team in shots and made a good %. Do you think he’ll get extra minutes in a small ball lineup next to Tayshaun?
2) Stuckey had 7 assists. Does it look like he sees the court well? Were the assists vanilla or did any make you go ‘Whoa..nice pass’?
My question: Saunders said Murray would get significant minutes this game, but he just played a quarter. Is that significant, or did he not play well? I see that he didn’t score or really do anything stat-wise.
I didn’t watch or listen to the game, but I guess I’m glad I didn’t. Two more techs for Sheed, he’s going to be a handful this season. I’m liking Hayes more each game, he’s looking like a nice backup for Prince. I also hope Amir gets a chance to play before the regular season starts.
If we had a bench of Nazr, Stuckey, Maxiell, Amir, and Hayes out there I think they would be tearing other benches up.
Amir is missing valuable playing time…if he was healthy i know he would of been one of the guys playing through out the 3rd, 4th and OT in the last game and would of definately seen ALOT minutes in the Utah game
I think the refs are making a statement that they aren’t putting up with any of the crap. This will force the Pistons to confront this issue sooner than later, which can only be good.
How screwed are we going to be when Sheed gets tossed from games this year? Kinda scary…
The same screwed we were last year. You can’t replace sheed and hes a good talent, so I’ll just accept that with his skills come a mouth. I’m fine with him getting tossed in the season since it’ll just mean more mins for the young guys that need those mins. And I know come playoff time he’s focused and keeps his mouth shut for the most part.
IT’S TIME TO BRING CHRIS WEBBER BACK!!!WE NEED ANOTHER BIG MAN, PLUS I THINK Mcdyess is better off the bench and RASHEED NEED WEBBER AROUND HIM! AND I THINK IT WOULD MAKE THE TEAM BETTER AND THE BENCH STRONGER
All caps Capel is back. I don’t think we need another big man. If Amir and Max flop then Joe might go get C-webb but it doesn’t make sense as of right now. I think Webber wants more than the veteran minimum which Joe doesn’t want to give. Besides that the Pistons already have 16 players under contract. They have to get rid of 1 player already and they want Webber they would have to get rid of another. So Webber isn’t coming back.
I just can’t read into Sheed getting T-eed up in the preseason. He knows he’s playing limited minutes and that there is essentially no consequence to running his mouth. I’m always defending him because I really don’t think he complains and yells when he’s in the wrong, and if it helps him to get it out before the season starts, so be it. If referees can give veterans and superstars calls because of their status, why can’t Sheed, who doesn’t seem to get those calls, have a little veteran love from the refs? I’ll tell you why: because he’s smart enough and clever enough that he knows how to get under their skin. When do people get defensive? When someone speaks the truth. Sheed I think sometimes gets the tech in order to show the refs that he can get the upper hand. He wins when they give him the tech, in a way that seems counterintuitive (and is often counterproductive). It’s ego and a hyperdeveloped sense of justice (he is known to garner techs that having nothing to do with himsee: on the bench laughing at a call on someone else). Can anyone think of another player who has been able to push ref’s buttons like he has?
That being said, I don’t know if he can change anything once the real games begin. The dynamic that can change is Flip learning when Sheed is gong to get a tech and stepping in and taking one for him. That would not only keep Sheed in the game, it might help their relationship. And Flip being ejected… has it ever happened?
Hey,
Sorry this isn’t on subject, but I want the opinion of the readers here on Fantasy Basketball strategy. I have my draft next week and have a strong idea on what my strategy is(point guards and power forwards), but was just wondering what everyone here thinks.
Thanks
PS: Stuckey for ROY
joejoejoe: 1) Jarvis’ shot selection is, in a word, quick. Seriously, it’s basically catch the ball, shoot the ball. That usually means that his man doesn’t have a chance to react, so it’s not altogether a bad thing. Plus, he does other good things out there, like rebounding. I liked Delfino as much as the next guy, if not more, but Hayes has looked good so far.
2) I’d say Stuckey sees the court well. He’s definitely a good passer but also not afraid to look for his shot. As I recall, he’s had a few other chances for assists that ended up as turnovers because his teammates weren’t always expecting the ball — that’s what the preseason is for, though.
Rob G: It seemed like Flip Murray’s playing time was the result of a structured plan. Rip and Chauncey played most of the first and third quarters — the few minutes they sat, Stuckey and Arron Afflalo played. Flip Murray played the entire second, sharing the backcourt with Stuckey. And then in the fourth, Saunders let Stuckey, Hayes and Sammy Mejia play the entire period.
It’s obvious the team wants to give Stuckey as many minutes as possible, and since Murray is a known quantity, it makes sense to give Afflalo a look to see if he deserves a rotation spot, and give Mejia at least some time. (I still don’t know if Mejia will make the team, but if he does, he’ll likely spend most of the year in the D-League, so now is really the only time the coaching staff will have a chance to see him in game-action up close.)
Fred: it’s too early to bring Webber back. Amir and Nazr have relatively minor injuries that came out of nowhere and shouldn’t be a problem come opening night. The lack of depth shows up now because the starters are only playing so few minutes. Once Rasheed and McDyess start playing 30 minutes, it’ll be awfully difficult to find enough time for Maxiell, Nazr and Amir, let alone another big man.
Thanks Matt. I’m excited about Hayes’ shooting in a more balanced offense (Agent Zero doesn’t leave a lot of shots) and suprised at how much Stuckey likes to dish.
OT: I just saw a cool video of Tayshaun Prince at UK opening the game with 5 3-pt shots vs. North Carolina at home. The crowd goes bananas and the last of the 5 shots is from about 35 feet like a dagger. It’s one of the cooler things I’ve seen in a college game and the Bill Raftery play-by-play is awesome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EzOesUowIg
joejoejoe: That vid has been around for a while but its nice to see it again.
pipe morgan: For fantasy drafts I like to get a big man with my first pick that will get me 20 and 10. 2nd pick usually best player whether is be another big man or a guard. I find the 2 guard spot is the least important spot since every team has a shooting guard who can fill it up.
Matt - thanks for following that up. Props to D Double Bizzle. I can’t wait for Wednesday when I’ll actually be able to see a game…
Tayshaun is shooting a “NBA 3″ atleast 3 out of 5 times and then the nerve to shoot the last one from 35 ft out! Got to love it!
That Tay video is ridiculous. How did this guy fall so far in the draft? Didn’t he drop 40 in this game?
joejoejoe: That video is sick, and if I remember correctly I was first linked to it here as well. Always great to see Tay lighting it up even if I’m an Indiana alum and thus must hate everything UK does with a passion.
Now what is taking the Locker Room’s Online Store (can’t vouch for the physical locations back home) so long to stock Stuckey jerseys? How am I ever gonna wear his jersey to the game at Staples against the Lakers if I can’t find one? Not cool, Locker Room, not cool.
That video has inspired me to do some googling:
Story from McCosky after prince was drafted:
http://derek684.tripod.com/id1.html
Espn pros and cons on Tay before the draft:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/tracker/player?playerId=17561
Great read on Tay’s importance in the playoffs (funny Artest bit at the end):
http://www.slate.com/id/2102025/
Now the boxscore to the youtube vid:
http://www.bigbluehistory.net/bb/Statistics/Games/20011208NorthCarolina.html
Matt Gibson - thanks for all of that. Sure is fun to read. We could have had John Salmons instead… ha! My love for Tay grows every year.