Also, in case you missed it, Ryan Pretzer of Pistons.com was in Ft. Wayne for the Mad Ants’ opening night a week ago today.
Archive for November, 2007
Ryan Pretzer of Pistons.com chatted with ESPN’s Chad Ford about why he’s picking the Pistons to win the title this year.
Turns out his “earlier than expected” return won’t happen after all. From Krista Jahnke of the Detroit Free Press:
Pistons rookie Rodney Stuckey left a doctor’s visit Wednesday without the news he hoped to hear. He wasn’t cleared for anything beyond the non-contact work he has been doing for the last week.
He meets with doctors again Dec. 7, the date the team originally hoped he’d be able to rejoin the lineup. If doctors clear him then, he’ll first have to practice.
That means, more than likely, he won’t return until the following week, perhaps during a Memphis-Houston back-to-back trip.
It’s unfortunate, but it’s also kind of hard to miss what you’ve never had (preseason excepted). The Pistons are obviously playing well at the moment, so his return will kind of be a nice bonus more than anything else.
I’m going with the latter — what about you? I’ll be taking off soon for tonight’s game between the Cavs and Pistons at the Palace. As usual, check out HOOPSWORLD for my pre-game, halftime and post-game reports.
Random display of self-awareness: I’ve been linking to those HW game blogs for a while, but in case you haven’t checked them out, please do. You probably noticed I’m not doing quite as many game recap-ish posts on DBB this year, but that’s mostly because when I’m at the games for HOOPSWORLD, I’m writing about it on their site.
The link I posted above features nothing but a preview now, but in time it’ll also have another pre-game post just before tip-off, halftime observations and my post-game reports. So check it out now and reload throughout the night. All told, I usually end up writing somewhere around 1,200-1,500 words about the game for HW. It’s as much or more than I ever wrote before, but now I’m actually in the room getting quotes directly from the players and coaches instead of second-hand from one of the beat reporters (whom I respect more than ever, by the way — the jobs they do despite a looming deadline is actually quite impressive when you see it in action.)
As such, if you ever have questions about the game that you want me to ask one of the players, leave a comment on the HOOPSWORLD game post and I’ll see what I can do. I wish there was a way I could better integrate/highlight my experiences with HW on DBB, but right now that’s not possible, so frequent links will have to do.
Okay, enough of that, back to regular business: feel free to discuss the game, the good ol’ days when you read my content on DBB and DBB alone, how funny it is that Varejao thinks he’s worth $9 million a year, etc in the comments.
It’s a fine, fine line between being good enough to play in the NBA and being banished overseas. Sammy Mejia, who almost made the Pistons roster, was waived by the D-League Ft. Wayne Mad Ants. From Chris McCosky’s blog for the Detroit News:
Don’t know if you caught this, but Sammy Mejia was cut from the D-League Fort Wayne team. Kind of a shocker. The late second-round pick was the last guy cut by the Pistons and one of the first cut by a D-League team. Problem was, apparently, Mejia’s ankle hasn’t gotten right since he hurt it in August. They don’t carry any extra bodies in the D-League, so if you can’t play, you are out. The Pistons think Mejia will hook on with somebody overseas, probably in China.
I won’t say the guy tore up the preseason, because he didn’t, but he was solid in the Vegas Summer League and generally looked like he knew what he was doing out there. Plus, as a point forward during his time at DePaul, he knew how to handle the rock.
I still believe that he’ll eventually make his way back, but to think that he’ll do it via Shanghai or Beijing, wow — that’s a tough break.
It’s pretty damn early to be having this conversation, but if we’re already grading the players, let’s take a look at the Coach of the Year race, too.
During Friday’s game against Philly, I wrote in my halftime blog entry for HOOPSWORLD that Rasheed Wallace was active on the sidelines, despite being relegated to street clothes because of a knee injury:
It’s a little strange to see Rasheed Wallace on the sidelines in street clothes. He’s missed a few games over the years for Detroit, but usually it’s been the result of a suspension, when he’s not allowed in the building during the game. He’s staying involved in the game, going all the way out to midcourt following timeouts to offer advice to Jason Maxiell. Just think, might he have a coaching career in his future? Stranger things have happened.
Turns out, the idea might not be so strange after all. In an interview with WDFN (and transcribed by the Detroit Free Press), Flip Saunders suggested the same thing:
I was talking with someone today, and I said, “This might sound crazy, but I think Rasheed has a lot of the ingredients to be a very good coach.” If you can believe that.
He’s got a high basketball I.Q. He’s got an unbelievable amount of passion for the game. He’s a great competitor. He is a communicator. If he decides he wants to do something, he’ll go ahead and do it — doesn’t care what the ramifications are as far as what people think about it. … I’m sure referees wouldn’t want to see him on the sidelines.
But he has, with Cheikh Samb and Amir — he’s as critical of those guys, like in practice, saying to them, “If you guys can’t learn to play, you ain’t going to play.” He communicates with them, but he gives them tough love at times too.
It’s kind of hard for me to imagine Rasheed joining the other side, but hey, if Bill Laimbeer can do it, anything is possible. There’s some other good stuff in the interview, such as Flip’s reason as for why he got tossed:
I was a little bit surprised I did get tossed. It happened so quick. As I told somebody who called me that night — we talked a little bit. … I said, “Usually when you get tossed that quick, it’s probably because you’re right and that you’ve gotten into the guy’s core a little bit.”
Well, that and cussing out the ref …
After the first technical, Saunders got himself tossed with some biting sarcasm.
“Good job, Marc,” Saunders yelled. “That’s the first (bleeping) call you’ve got right all day.”
Either way, the fact that head coaches can get tossed, too, might make a transition to the sidelines that much easier for Wallace.
For the full audio of the interview, check out MLive.
On Wednesday, in his first game back after missing three with a shoulder injury, Antonio McDyess scored 20 points against the Knicks. After the game, he said that he’d probably continue to wear the sleeve for a few more games … but there he was on Friday and Sunday without it. What gives? Chris McCosky has the answer in his blog:
On Monday, he told us why he abandoned the sleeve. His skin suffered an allergic reaction to it — broke out in little rashes and bumps. He is allergic to Neoprine, which was an active ingredient in the sleeve. So, there you go.
Here’s to hoping that McDyess won’t suffer a setback because of it. I noticed at one point in Sunday’s game he got a little shaken up and took a few moments to regroup hunched over holding his shorts, but it was hard to say what exactly was ailing him. The first thing I thought of was his shoulder, but he didn’t come out of the game and didn’t look worse for wear later in the game, so I pretty much forgot about it until reading McCosky’s explanation.
Yes, it’s insanely early to grade the team after 13 games, but Kevin Sawyer does not live by the rules of mere mortals. So read on and share your grades in the comments.
By Kevin Sawyer
Chauncey Billups – A-
Most players excel prior to signing a contract, then experience a dropoff. Billups has been as effective than ever, matching last year’s performance in fewer minutes. If he is able to produce at this rate, he will help the Pistons achieve the proper balance between playing the youngsters and winning their division, and his price tag will seem like an absolute bargain.
Rip Hamilton – C
One of the emerging narratives for the Pistons is how to incorporate the considerable offensive gifts of two wing players who have reached the prime of their careers. Hamilton, for his part, has stepped up in by distributing the ball (5.0 apg) and rebounding. Hopefully, this will draw defenders away from him, because his shot isn’t falling. One has to wonder, however, why his shooting is down across the board (75% free throws?), especially from a player who has been a hallmark of consistency.
Tayshaun Prince – B
To date, Prince been the winning the battle of the wings. After vocalizing (appropriately, in my view) his concerns about his offensive involvement, he is having the best season of his career offensively. That said, Prince has a curious tendency to disappear completely. If that happens, we’ll still have the top notch defense, and Hamilton will inherit a shot or two. That’s the good and bad of it. Generally speaking, Hamilton and Prince represent a known commodity. If one improves, the other suffers. Like Voltron or something.
Rasheed Wallace – A-
Rasheed was in the midst of a borderline career year before an injury briefly sideline him. Rasheed has been an extraordinarily efficient offensive weapon, shooting 42% from downtown while being more aggressive on the offensive end. He’s even on pace for a career high in free-throw percentage. If he keeps this up (and maintains the low rate of techs), he’ll vie for an all-star appearance, even in a suddenly crowed Eastern Conference. See what a little focus will do?
Antonio McDyess – A
It might come as a surprise that McDyess has been the Pistons best rebounder since Big Ben’s departure, which is why he should continue to start even though his game lacks some of the flash of the Pistons younger bigs. What is interesting is that Dice has gotten off to extremely slow starts the last two seasons. He is presently shooting 58% from the field. If this is the cold start, Dice might be carrying the team come April. Either way, the Pistons might consider giving him the rock.
Ronald Murray – C+
There is no reason why Murray should be more productive as a starter, on a per minute basis. Yet, Murray has filled in ably for Billups and Hamilton during their brief absences, while continuing to be utterly horrendous from the bench. On a positive note, Murray seems to be able to deliver quality starter minutes at the flip of a switch. More distressingly, the Pistons are still hurting for backup guard help. At this point, one can’t shake the feeling that the starter/bench disparity is a matter of his own contrivance.
Jason Maxiell – C+
Max’s foul rate is really starting to impact his production. He has reached four fouls six times (including one foul-out) in spite of playing more than 30 minutes only three times. He remains a solid shot blocker, and the rebounding has marginally improved, but I wonder if the blocks aren’t coming at the expense of simply staying in front of his man and boxing out. Either way, he needs to stay on the court and play better defense, or he might suffer the fate of…
Nazr Mohammed – D
Who, up until yesterday, was literally playing himself out of the rotation. I’ve been an ardent Nazr defender, and 12 games do not a career make, but how do you explain this? Does his religion require him to shoot 43% from the stripe in November? I can understand why Mohammed (the player, not the prophet) might lament his treatment to date by the organization, but the Pistons still need his offense off the bench, and his rebounding in general. Let’s hope the last couple of games point to a turnaround.
Jarvis Hayes – B-
I still forget that he’s on the team, but Hayes has been a modest surprise off the bench, easily replacing the Delfino’s production from the backup wing spot. To date, I think the Pistons have been relying too heavily on Hayes. As a rotation guy, he’s great. As the first offensive weapon off the bench? Well, let’s hope this Rodney Stuckey fellow is all he is cracked up to be.
Rodney Stuckey – Inc.
For some reason, I get the sneaking feeling he might not make an impact this year.
Aaron Afflalo – D+
Spellcheck has had opportunity to crack the rotation, and has mostly stayed in the background thus far, content to shoot (and miss) the occasional trey on offense. This team is too deep to feature a poor-man’s Lindsey Hunter in the rotation.
Amir Johnson – B
He has earned his minutes by blocking shots, rebounding, and not turning the ball over, and we can wait for the offensive game to develop. His defensive mindset make him a great mix with Maxiell off the bench. However, he should at least attempt the occasional putback. He has yet to attempt more than two shots in any one ball game. I admire the restraint, but the second unit doesn’t have the weaponry to play 5 on 4 on offense.
Cheick Samb – Inc.
If the Pistons opt not to send Samb to the NBDL for seasoning, they’ll regret it. If they continue to pair him with Johnson off the bench, they’ll regret it even more. Samb has shown real signs that he has an NBA-caliber toolset on both ends of the floor, and that Laker game was fun to watch (for awhile)… But that lineup lacks experience and offense.
Lindsay Hunter – Inc.
Should be sipping gin & tonics from the executive suite, running spreadsheets and scouting 7’6 Chernobyl babies from Belarus, not playing meaningless spot minutes early in the season.
Pistons and Jazz have an early afternoon matinée at the Palace. I’ll be courtside for HOOPSWORLD — be sure to check out my pre-game, halftime and post-game thoughts. As usual, leave your thoughts and observations in the comments.
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