On most days, the drive to the Palace takes me about an hour, give or take a few minutes depending on traffic. But after spending more than an hour in the car on Sunday, I had traveled all of 15 miles before accepting defeat and conceding to Mother Nature. Believe me, I really wanted to get to the game — I was eager to see newcomers Primo Brezec and Walter Herrmann, and besides, the Warriors are always fun to watch — but I just didn’t have the stomach to continue fishtailing through turns and sliding through red lights.
Live to fight another day, right?
It seems I wasn’t the only person who adopted that attitude. No, I’m not talking about how the Palace was literally half empty, but rather Don Nelson throwing in the towel soon after halftime. After Detroit closed the second quarter with a 30-7 lead to give them a commanding 23-point lead at the break, Nelson benched his starters for most of the second half, likely thinking about the fact this game was the first of a back-to-back. From the Contra Costa Times:
“I pulled the plug early on this one,” Nelson said. “You have to think beyond one game sometime. I was going to give the starters five minutes in the third period. If I didn’t see any light, I was pretty much going to play my bench. … I rested the starters, played my bench, got a loss — but we were going to get that anyway. We weren’t playing well enough to beat these guys.”
The second quarter was truly the difference — the two teams were deadlocked with 74 points over the other three frames. The starters looked good (Chauncey Billups scored 19 on five shots, Tayshaun Prince led the team with 23 and Antonio McDyess tallied a double-double) but what really impressed me was the play from the bench.
Just like the first time he faced the Warriors (when he went 14 and 14), Jason Maxiell was an absolute force, scoring 11 with four boards and a career-high six blocks. That, my friends, is a lot of babies. Arron Afflalo also showed up to play, scoring a career-high 11 points with four boards. What’s most impressive but doesn’t show up in the box score is the fact that both Maxiell and Afflalo were on the court during Detroit’s entire 30-7 run in the second quarter.
Amir Johnson has been a bit tentative (on offense, at least) during spot duty in the past, but he quickly got into a groove on Sunday and made the most of his 15 minutes of action: he finished with six points, seven boards, three blocks and a steal. His athleticism and agility is what sets him apart from most players his size, and it was on full display while making several nice hustle plays. From Chris McCosky of the Detroit News:
Johnson made a spectacular block on a lay-in attempt from rookie Brandan Wright. Johnson scored on a putback and then again on a nice lefty-scoop shot in the lane. Later he dived onto the floor to make a steal. He was, to say the least, active.
“Amir, a lot of times he looks like he’s going to make a mistake but he winds up turning the mistake into a great play,” coach Flip Saunders said. “It’s just a matter of him being more consistent. He does a lot of things off instinct, which is good. He just has to understand more about what we are trying to do.”
It’s too bad Saunders’ compliments sounds so backhanded (or am I still sensitive?), but whatever — if Amir keeps playing like that, he’ll force his way into the picture. And it’s obvious that Amir sees Detroit’s recent trade as an opportunity for more minutes:
“I definitely see it as an opportunity,” Johnson said of the trade. “Nazr’s gone and we’ve got two new players who need time to learn our system. I just have to keep playing hard and working hard and maybe I will get some more minutes.”
Even so, it sounds like Amir isn’t against helping the new guys get acclimated. From A. Sherrod Blakely:
Johnson’s growth isn’t limited to how he plays, either. There were moments Sunday in which Johnson was giving Brezec tips on where to be on the floor. That’s usually what Johnson’s teammates do with him.
“I just try to help every dude that comes in,” Johnson said. “I do what Sheed does, try to help guys, mentor guys, even though I am the (youngest).”
Pistons 109, Warriors 87 box score [NBA.com]
Not saying braving the winter storms in Detroit isn’t a noteworthy accomplishment in and of itself, because it is. But just so you know Matt (and non-LA living DBB community), it routinely takes an hour to an hour and a half to go 15 miles in a lot of parts in the Los Angeles area. Oh god, I just want a Chicken Finger Pita from Leo’s or an Olga, is that so much to ask from the West Coast?
fyi to Matt… I recently purchased my first Jason Maxiell eats babies shirt. I got it for my Dad for christmas. Every game we watch and Maxiell throws down a thunderdunk or if he blocks a shot, my Dad pumps his fist and yells out “get that baby!”
I told him I got it for him and he kind of shrugged it off, but I know he’ll wear it. He’ll at least wear it to the Wiz v. DET game when we go…
Hey Matt, in the Marquette area we got 32 inches in 4 days. It was admittedly awful and annoying even to us. I wouldn’t have been driving in that crap in Detroit either. 12 inches of snow in a day is a lot anywhere, and people down there can’t drive in winter anyway!
Matt i hear you, i don’t think anyone likes driving in the snow. And even if LA has horrible daily traffic problems, it is really nothing compared to having to drive through 5-8 inches of snow on 75 mph freeways and then having snow fly into your windsheild also makes it difficult to see.
I also got me a couple shirts this past weekend and I think my dad will like the 89-90 Championship shirt, since that was his favorite Pistons team.
Ugh. 6-8 inches. I’ve grown soft here in Cali. I’m coming back to Michigan for three months to teach at UMich and the first thing I thought when offered the position was, “now, I can watch every Pistons game.” I have no life. And no winter clothes.
Diablo, as a person who has driven for multiple years in both places (I’m going to assume you have not), I must say that LA traffic, which is daily mind you, is far more irritating and frustrating than anything Michigan could offer. I’ve driven from Detroit to Bloomington, Indiana on black ice where 696 and 94 were closed, and had I not had to get back in time for my courtside seats for IU-OSU basketball that year, it would’ve been nothing compared to the frustration I face on a much more consistent basis out here.
It can regularly take upwards of 25 minutes to go 3 miles on SURFACE streets during peak work commuting hours. Every day when I go to work I deal with it. If there’s not a light at an intersection there’s a stop sign slowing you down. It’s even worse if there’s an accident.
Darshan man, godspeed on that move. I find myself feeling “chilly” when it dips below 60 and the sun’s still out. LA makes us soft, that’s for sure.
I don’t know LB, I think i would rather drive in LA than drive in snow any day. You are right, i never been to LA and i might change my mind if I did a daily drive in the LA area but to me, nothing is worst than sliding in snow hoping no one is going to hit you.
I’m in LB’s court: living in DC is a traffic nightmare - it’s shaving years off my life because of the stress. I cannot wait to get back to the Midwest. QDarshan - what’s your teaching gig?
I will argue that traffic within 30 miles of the district of columbia is worse than any traffic on earth, especially at christmas time and especially if you have to drive past Tyson’s Corner in Virginia.
But especially if there is a single snow flake, or even a rumor of snow. Marylanders are shitty drivers in the best weather, and downright hopeless in bad weather.
wow, how many of us are in the DC area? michigan, taking over!
I’m DC resident from Michigan. Look for me in section 100 of the Verizon Center on the 2nd. I’ll be sporting a beard and a Sheed jersey and screaming “Deeee-troit Basket-ball!”
I guess I lost this discussion…lol
Haha, I’ve visited DC guys, and yes, many of my friends there (all Detroit natives) have gotten rid of their car because it’s so frustrating. So I know how you guys feel on that end. BUT, DC public transport is sick. The Metro gets you all around the city and rather quickly. LA public transport is essentially non-existent and the city is larger in land area. So yes, on a driving tip, probably sucks as bad in DC (reticent to say worse). On a good note, only took me about 15 minutes to get to work today, must’ve been the extremely slight drizzle scaring people from driving to work on time, woot woot.
Rob G, I’m teaching Screenwriting at UM. So three months in Michigan. Just in time for Stuckey’s return.