By Kevin Sawyer
The Pistons play the Rockets on national TV. Here’s a play-by-play.
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1st Quarter
Has Yao’s moustache always been that thick? Somebody needs to make fun of that.
11:40 – Weird drive to the lane by ‘Sheed. Against Yao, he’s like a point guard.
10:01 – Nice thing about having Billups on your team… You don’t have to worry about jinxing him by making a comment about him at the FT line.
9:36 – Isolation play for Chuck Hayes? Bad idea.
9:21 – Is Yao guarding anyone? Is there a three second rule in this game?
7:45 – I think ‘Sheed just traveled to get behind the three point arc.
Comm – Line from an ad “Give him the gift he’ll use everyday,” followed by a shot of a pretty wife in a towel, about to head to the shower. The ad is for a shaver, by the way.
6:00 – Apparently Yao called his team soft the other night. Is that what the ‘stache is for? Cause someone should tell him… Cut to: Footage of Yao practicing jumpers.
5:30 – 2-11 shooting start. Ugh…
4:20 – Problem with the clock.
4:16 – Problem with the clock.
4:20 – Problem with the clock.
4:19 – Seriously…
4:20 – I think announcers should play the Benny Hill theme song during technical difficulties.
4:19 – Here we go!
4:02 – The announcer just jinxed Billups.
3:35 – Yao looked awfully, you know, soft, falling down like that.
2:19 – There’s the three second call.
2:09 – Luis Scola looks like the high school softball player that every boy liked, but only as a friend.
0:00 – The NBA… Where 18-16 happens.
John C. Reilly has a movie coming out. A John C. Reilly vehicle! Maybe we should call him Mr. Cell-o-FAME. Yeah, a musical theater joke on a sports blog. I went there. Love it.
Ugly interview with Flip Saunders. He sounds like Stallone at the end of First Blood: Part II.
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Second Quarter
10:00 – My mother just called. “Honey, that Luis Scola is a pretty girl. And she’s wealthy. Ask her to the dance.” Mom, I’m married, and that’s a Houston Rocket…
9:26 – Hell of a pass by Murray. His improvement has been a big part of the Piston’s bench revolution.
9:06 – Then Yao swats him without having to raise his hands.
8:52 – So, Maxiell makes a nasty offensive play, and the announcers are busy commenting on Shane Battier’s congeniality? This IS a soft team.
7:05 – Afflalo just fell for a rookie fake. Ouch.
6:47 – Murray airballs a dunk and forces a bad 18 footer. Note to self: Never compliment Flip Murray again.
4:17 – Jason Maxiell to Yao: One child rule! I eat baby now!
2:17 – Houston is getting bailed out on their clunky threes with long rebounds.
0:41 – The Rockets are also winning the battle of the randomly batted balls.
0:17 – Summary comment from the announcer: “Is this an ugly game or what?”
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Third Quarter
10:16 – Pistons look out of it.
9:42 – VERY out of it.
7:29 – Well, I can’t think of clever things to say while McGrady is burying us.
4:08 – I really wish we would find McDyess more frequently when we are slumping. Ride the Buddha train, 2007 style.
3:17 – Problem with the clock
31.6 – Bigger problem with the clock
3:16 – The NBA, where problems with the clock happen.
1:16 – Chuck Hayes airballs a layup.
0:50 – This thing with the free throws is utterly bananas. It’s become a storyline. Now it’s all the announcers will talk about the rest of the game.
0:00 – LT reminds me of Brian Fellows in his Vizio ads.
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Fourth Quarter
11:42 – Stupid foul on Jarvis Hayes disrupts our momentum. This isn’t his game.
11:10 – Pistons recover a batted ball! Is there a stat for this?
8:59 – ‘Sheed gets a tech. I love the official “prevent your teammate from getting ejected” demeanor. Nudge with the shoulder, pretend you aren’t paying attention. Just be cool. Hope your calmness transfers via shoulder.
8:51 – Yeah, you think ‘Sheed wants it on the next play?
7:30 – This is a terrible game. I’ll say this. The Rockets have gift-wrapped this one for us.
5:40 – The NBA, where ankle sprains at the end of ugly games happen.
1:30 – Back to back threes! 10% of our scoring for the whole game in one minute!
11.4 – Here we are. Nice cut to Dick Bavetta teaching the other referees how to officiate. Could you imagine cutting to Flip Saunders, and hearing him say “okay, you want to put rotation on the ball to give it a better chance of going in. Guys, expect long rebounds.”
0.8 – The NBA, where bricking open looks happens.
0.8 – And Antonio McDyess for the game-winning attempt to make it look like he was fouled.
Well, insert WNBA joke here. That was mind-numbing. How many of these Western Conference road trip dealios do we have anyway?
I have to stop myself from turning away every time Flip Murray gets the ball. He missed four free throws. Out. Of. 4.
I don’t care how many Houston missed and how that’s the only reason we’re in the game at the end anyway because it is inexcusable for a guard to miss free throws on the road.
This one broke my heart because it’s one of the few I’ve been able to watch, if you want to call sitting in a coffee shop listening to play-by-play in Chinese getting looks every time I pump my fist or sputter at a bullshit call “watching it.”
I think this one is another case of too many games in too few days. Back-to-backs with travel make you miss jump shots, and we missed a LOT of jump shots.
I just keep reminding myself that it’s early in the season, and the freezer is well-stocked with babies. We’ll get ours in the playoffs.
I think its obvious that we need a play creator at the end of the game…. thats not named Flip Murray. I’m hoping Stuckey can be that guy. If not I’m all ready to start the Kobe rumors again before the trade deadline.
yeah i think we have the worst record in tha whole NBA
LET’S GO PISTONS AND LET’S GET THAT SHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2007-2008 IT’S OUR TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ALL BOUT DETROIT BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Saunders was asked about his decision to use Murray instead of Lindsey Hunter. Murray hadn’t played in three of the previous four games.
“He hadn’t been playing and we thought he’d bring some great energy,” Saunders said. “And with Lindsey, we talked about not playing him much in back-to-backs and we’ve played a lot of games these past couple of weeks. We wanted to give Flip an opportunity.” - Chris McCosky / The Detroit News
Hey Saunders, all Flip Murray will ever “bring” is poor shot selection, bad defense, and a gaggle of turnovers..
this was a little dissapointing to me, i finally got my hd-cable and new plasma hooked up, and the first thing that came to my mind was espn - pistons vs. rockets…oh well, better luck next time. i was also surprise that, “what! tmac is playing!” damn it, i thought it was gonna be a free ride for the pistons to cruise by the rockets, but i guess not. i do however, remind myself that, playoffs is where the race starts.
Flip Murray absolutely killed the Pistons in this game. I can’t exactly pin the loss on him considering how poorly the Pistons played as a whole, but during a stretch of the 4th quarter when the Pistons could have put some distance between themselves and the Rockets, he single-handedly kept the Rockets in the game with his missed free throws and terrible decision-making. Man, I can’t wait until Stuckey joins the team…
my bad i didn’t mean worst record…i meant worst schedule, lol
LET’S GO PISTONS AND LET’S GET THAT SHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2007-2008 IT’S OUR TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ALL BOUT DETROIT BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The problem with the Pistons second-unit is they play the same style as the first unit, only worse. The only change of pace is Maxiell in for McDyess. I’d like to see some different mix-and-match lineups to squeeze more value out of the bench. Maybe some Golden State type action with Tayshaun at PF and Maxiell at C, a half-court grind lineup with Max at SF, Tayshaun as a gunner on the second unit and Hayes playing more minutes with the first unit as a complimentary player.
I just don’t like think the second-unit gives the other team any new “look” to solve. It’s more like rolling out the JV team.
What’s happening to the SF position lately?
In the last 4 games, Tayshaun is shooting 25% and Hayes is shooting 15%. Nothing to freak out about yet, but that is quite an ugly slump for one position.
Looks like I picked a good game to miss. I went to the Blazer/Warrior game last night. I was hoping to see a 130-128 game, but at least I got a free Taco Bell Chalupa for the Blazers going over the 100 point mark.
Matt, I really dug your work on this… good stuff for a less than good game. lets go stones!
it’s funny because even though we lost that game, during that game i kept saying …”Dang I love this team” I think it was because of the defense and i thought they played good defense and Maxy performance reminded me of the Ben Wallace days. But Maxy has been huge 4 us off the bench and all we need is fresh legs tmw and energy and we would be unstoppable.
LET’S GO PISTONS AND LET’S GET THAT SHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2007-2008 IT’S OUR TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ALL BOUT DETROIT BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I agree about complimenting Flip “Unrealistic About My Ability to Dunk on Established Shot Blockers” Murray. He’s like a deer. You must watch quietly and not disturb it or he will become startled and run into the path of a semi…which would actually knock off some unecessary payroll, hmm…
from espn.com today http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/columns/story?columnist=sheridan_chris&page=TradeWatch-071213&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnba%2finsider%2fcolumns%2fstory%3fcolumnist%3dsheridan_chris%26page%3dTradeWatch-071213
“Detroit still wants to clear a roster spot to sign Chris Webber, and Murray has more value than the two other players the Pistons are most willing to trade — Ronald Dupree and Nazr Mohammed.”
Is this true? I knew we were keeping him in the back of our minds in case we were desperate towards the end of the season, but is Webber really being take into consideration already? With our three bigs playing as well as they are, as well as Saunder’s realization that movement keeps this offense clicking, what has Webber got to offer us? Maybe if he’s spent every second since last season’s ECF on a treadmill.
Ugh, just sitting here, re-reading that is pissing me off. Chris Webber, at this point in his career has ONE thing to offer, a high FG%. Can’t run, can’t jump, can’t defend etc. etc. etc.
I got sick of the Chris Webber show last season:
1. Spend way too much time trying to get the ball into Webber because he can’t jump or move well enough to get position on his own.
2. Webber takes an obligatory glance at the rest of the team to pretend like he might pass
3. a shot fake that NOBODY buys
4. Either a jump shot or the most awkward attempt by a geriatric to drive the line ever.
so what if he makes it most of the time, it halts or overall offense and limits our possessions because he’s so slow about initiating. we also out on too many rebounds because we’ve cleared out to give him room for his “drive.”
watching Webber made me sick in the playoffs last year. Watching Maxy makes me excited this year. Championship or no, i’d rather be excited than sick.
The best thing about Chris Webber was his unstoppable offense in NBA Live 95 for the Sega Genesis. Between him and Shawn Kemp I once scored 500 points. Awwww yeah.
“The best thing about Chris Webber was his unstoppable offense in NBA Live 95 for the Sega Genesis. Between him and Shawn Kemp I once scored 500 points. Awwww yeah.”
Co-sign
-1 Kyle, totally off-base and inaccurate.
The guy has mobility issues, but making your shot doesn’t halt the offense. To say it does is asinine.
Samb with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 6 blocks shots in his first nbadl game. It looks like he will have an amir johnson type year. Especially with the 6 personal fouls
If Webber would be willing to come off the bench then I’d still take him back in a heartbeat. That’s one thing we probably need off the bench more than anything is a playmaker. So we don’t get stuck with them all trying to make their own plays in crunch time. Once Stuckey is back he’s going to take all Murrays’ minutes anyways, give us a vet who can share the ball plus the much needed post presence (besides Maxiell). I’d take Webber over Murray in a heartbeat, Murray doesn’t seem like he wants to be hear in Detroit. With all the young guys to replace Murray (Stuckey, Afflalo, and Amir) it makes sense to me if we can get rid of Murray and put Webber on the bench.
I’m sure Samb is glad to get some playing time. I figured he would put up some nice numbers in the D league.
He didnt shoot any free throws so Im guessing those points were all from jump shots. The recap wont load for me right now. He played 40 mins though which is great. Nice start.
As for Detroit’s supposedly weak schedule, I does feel like they’ve had it fairly easy in the teams that they’ve played, but looking at the standings, there’s only one team with a better record (Orlando) that has played more road games than home games.
Oh, and I take Flip over Webber. I like him as the the 3rd PG and fighting for Afflalo and Jarvis for backup SG. We’re good up front. An injury to one of our main bigs just opens up more time for Amir.
I like the idea of Webber off the bench. He remains at least an average NBA player, which would make our depth even more daunting. If Stuckey comes back in time to make an impression, that would put the Pistons at eleven deep for the playoffs. Take that, Celtics.
but if we bring back C-Webb then wat about Amir’s development, that would only set him back further. I love C-Webb 2 death but we really need 2 develop our youth
LET’S GO PISTONS AND LET’S GET THAT SHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2007-2008 IT’S OUR TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ALL BOUT DETROIT BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
g,
i didn’t say his high fg% limited our possessions. I’m saying simply having him on the court does. His lack of mobility, his predictability, and the amount of space he needs down low all slow down our offense and limit our rebounds. him shooting 2 for 2 is great, but if we could have gone 3 for 4 in that same time, we should.
Everyone else,
Bringing him off the bench? Our new look, uptempo, energized bench? Which is Chris gonna do, stay at the offensive end or the defensive? cause he sure won’t be able to keep up with Stuckey, Maxy, Hayes or Amir.
Here’s the bottom line. He could come join the team looking the best he’s looked in three years and I still would only want him taking Nazr’s minutes, at most. I know we all love him and have a soft spot for him, but the fact remains he’s a perpetual loser with no upside besides his fg%.