It’s been almost a year since DBB reader Tim sent in that image of Sheedi-Wan-Kenobi and Chris Bosh-Walker and it still cracks me up. In any case, the Pistons host Bosh and the Raptors tonight (7:30pm, TV20), hoping to squash Toronto’s three-game winning streak. I’ll be at the game for HOOPSWORLD filing my pre-game, halftime and post-game observations, and as always, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.
First post. I can set the tone with a judiciously worded comment.
Um… Uh… I got nothing.
is it just me, or is this season shaping up to be the “i’ve got your ‘inconcistent’ right here” tour?
who else is there? maurice evans? will ronald dupree come out of the woodwork and light us up?
I kinda like Swirsky and Rautins. Sure, they’re homers, but they do a good job and don’t make it too annoying. They complimented Chauncey on a nice shoulder-fake that led to an open 3.
Wait til the Pistons play the Clippers. Ralph Lawler and Mike Smith are hilarious. And they’re not homers (I guess you can’t be if cover the Clippers).
Hey peeps.. I missed the first half.. Anything I need to know or any huge plays I missed? I saw the guy at halftime get $500 000 haha it was awesome!
I come home from work , turn on the game and it’s 75-57 our lead. Thank you Pistons, Nice to come home and be up by nearly 20. That last Knicks game was hard to watch.
question: how has a coach, who has been notoriously hesitant to rely on his young guys off the bench, given a rookie the reins to his 2nd unit so easily, while an equally young, but more explosive and more experienced player like amir johnson remains a nightly dnp-cd? i’m sure it’s these sort of asinine contradictions that make flip saunders’ face twitch like that…
I wouldn’t say Flip is any more notoriously hesitant to play rookies than any other coach. Larry Brown. Rick Carlisle. Scott Skiles. Phil Jackson. And so on.
And JD, the answer to your question is: Amir has to compete with Maxiell for minutes. Stuckey has to compete with Flip Murray and a retiring Lindsey Hunter.
i can see your points, qd, but there’s got to be a happy medium between dnp and 20 mpg. we’re spending the same amount of money on both kids. i have a hard time believing one is THAT nba-ready and the other isn’t after 3 years in an NBA locker room.
‘Dyess had 7 steals? Holy crap.
Good win tonight. Rip went off, 16-22! As for all of the Amir heads out there, just give the kid time. If he’s got half the athletic ability he’s been given credit for, there’s no way he stays holed up on the bench forever. JackDutch made a goodpoin in that we’re spending about the same on both Stuckey and Johnson, but only playing one. That fact alone, Johnson’s salary being what it is, will assure that Joe D. won’t let Flip keep him off the court for the rest of the season. I see him getting a little more burn in the second half of the season.
JD, my guess is that they feel Maxiell still needs the minutes. He was really successful early in the season and teams are now more prepared for him and starting to double him. That’s why I think Amir’s not playing.
I guess maybe they can cut into Dyess and Sheed’s minutes but I don’t see that happening.
JD, I think the biggest difference is that Stuckey can play solid 1on1 Defense, whereas I think Johnson would struggle to defend against big, physical forwards/centers. No I would absolutely love for him to prove me wrong, but I think its more of an issue of matchups right now than overall skill level.
That being said, I REALLY think he needs to get some time when we play teams that play small play…
I love Amir and all just like everyone else, but he really hasn’t shown me anything in the time that he’s had to play. He has zero offensive ability (besides dunking) and he doesn’t really stand out on the defensive end, either. Maybe that would change with more consistent minutes, but these guys (coaching staff and teammates) see him in practice every day and know what he can and can’t do, so you have to assume there’s a credible reason why he’s not playing.
Rip had a high mitochlorian count tonight.
Garrett– Amir’s offensive ability extends beyond Jason Maxiell’s. He has hit threes in the D-League, and that stripe is no closer on that court. And while Amir has only logged 355 career minutes to Maxiell’s 1,983, he averages a noticeably higher pure shooting percentage. If you compare him to another Piston, his offensive game extends closer to McDyess’s range– sans the weak knee that has partially encumbered Antonio in the paint.
Additionally, Saunders doesn’t run plays for Amir in garbage minutes. Sure, it will be better now that Murray is no longer running the point, but I’m hoping that Saunders won’t put away his playbook once the point margin is hovering around 20 either way in the 4th.
I remain excited about Amir in spite of his repeated shelving. I have come to accept that he will likely not break out this season, but I have seen a comparable energy and skill out of Amir that I saw out of Maxiell last season. I think many here would agree.
In short, his offensive game shouldn’t be discounted. He’s rough around the edges and lacks a little confidence, but he’ll come around for us in a big way in time.
joejoejoe– *sweeps hand in front of Ref’s face* “you will count that, and a foul.”
“there’s got to be a happy medium between dnp and 20 mpg. ”
And his name is Primoz Brezec.
Ladies and gentlemen, I re-introduce you to Rip Hamilton. Electric.
I probably would’ve staked a million on the Pistons covering the line tonight if I was a high roller. The difference between us and Boston, is that we’re used to this kind of thing and we respond to embarrassment quite nicely. It’s what we do. Boston will learn it, but as Lee Corso would say, “Not so fast my friends”.
OT: Poor Nene.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Au2YbzC1wzZE9fiuXRrLZaE5nYcB?slug=ap-nuggets-nene&prov=ap&type=lgns
OUCH.
mike payne: totally agree with your assessment of amir. and the fact that even when he gets minutes there is nothing being done to use him to the best of his abilities. i too have given up on amir getting his shot this season, but if flip can seriously turn stuck, max, hayes, herrmann and brezec into nightly contributors i’ll let it pass.
Though it was fantastic after their disastriou performance in NY, I was more please to see they way DELFINO played upon his return to Auburn Hills.
http://mundoalbiceleste.blogspot.com/2008/01/nba-news-carlos-back-in-detroit.html
Yes, it was nice to see Los do his thing, but even nicer to see Dice absolutely outhustle everybody. I couldn’t believe that diving steal… dude’s nearly a decade older than me. He shouldn’t be doing that!
Is it going too far to think Amir’s shelving has anything to do with Webber?
In honor of last night’s game, Sheed’s face needs to be replaced by Dice’s in the picture for his defense on Bosh.
“there’s got to be a happy medium between dnp and 20 mpg. ”
In an average game where we don’t go small for even a minute, considering sheed and dice will get 31 minutes each (more or less), that leaves 14 minutes per spot. if you count in the 23 mpg maxi gets, that leaves you with exactly 5 minutes for primoz and amir to play.
I don’t see any minutes being cut from anyone but primoz. I don’t know how well he practices but you have to give a little credit to the guy. he started for charlote. maybe getting only 13-14 mpg but still….
I agree that Amir should get a few (emphasis on “few”) more opportunities. But, I don’t think it’s going to make or break his development in the long run.
Even more important to him becoming a great player are two things:
1. Hitting the weight room in the off-season.
2. Developing some go to moves in the off-season.
I guess that’s really one thing. Working hard in the off-season. Same goes for Samb (who’s impressed me more than Amir so far).
i just hope we send amir back to the d-league or something. flip has no intention of utilizing amir, it’s stupid for him to get so many dnp’s when he could be going back to dominating the d-league.
imo amir has shown enough to be given a shot, but he won’t get it. flip saunders’ use for his bench has always been “go stand over there, behind the 3 point line, and if the starters are struggling with a few seconds left on the clock, then they’ll pass it to you.” that’s what he did to delfino, arroyo, murray and maurice evans.
i have no doubt in my mind that if joe d. weren’t breathing down saunders’ neck we wouldn’t be seeing stuckey, herrmann, afflalo or brezec. it would be hunter, maxiell and hayes. those are the three players he would be criticized the least for playing, even if they lose. if you ask me, flip thinks that if they lose a game in which herrmann, brezec or amir played more than three minutes, then he’ll get torn apart for losing while playing “inconsistent” players.
Flip has never had any concept of an entire, competitive season and then a legit playoff run. granted, lots of voices will criticize flip if we play the bench and lose a regular season game, but if he doesn’t at least get to the finals this year his ass is grass.
oh well, i guess i’ll just get used to seeing herrmann and afflalo wasted, taking spot up threes and then being criticized for not hitting them.
Mike Payne: Maybe it’s a confidence thing, because when I’ve seen Amir play, it looks like he’s not even THINKING about shooting the ball. If he has offensive skills in his arsenal (which, according to his stint in the D-League, he does) he needs to just let loose and bring it. Like I said, though, the coaching staff and his teammates see what he can and can’t do every day in practice. Just because he can tear up some D-League scrubs doesn’t mean he can hang with NBA vets yet. I’m just saying.
Garrett: i don’t even think it’s so much a confidence thing as it is his current role. if we want to make slashers like herrmann and amir useful we have to change some of the plays. forcing slashers to shoot jump shots hasn’t worked and will continue not to work. Amir has been getting put backs and dunks because as the offense is structured now, that’s his role, if we ran a couple plays focusing on him i think you’d see a marked change in his offensive skillset and aggressiveness.
i also don’t buy the argument that they see him in practice so there must be a reason not to play him. i think that’s a convenient excuse used by coaches for ages. i’ve never heard popovich say it. rip said himself not too long ago that he’s felt they always had bench players that could score, they just never got much burn. it amazes me that with this whole discussion going on, that quote doesn’t get more attention.
moderately changing our offense to allow slashers like herrmann, stuckey, amir and even flip murray to flourish may cause some struggles, but we’d be better for it.
i guess there is an argument going on wether the pistons bench has routinely been a non-factor because they’re inconsistent or because they’re under-utilized. it’s my view that they’ve been inconsistent BECAUSE they’re underutilized.
not playing a player, acting surprised that the fans want to see that player, and then mysteriously referring to “inconsistincies” during practice as the reason not to play them is not a way to make a player better. it’s the way to make a player into the new darko.
Plus he’s ineligible for the D league.
I LOVE this Rip quote from the worldwide leader’s recap:
Hamilton hit 16 of 22 shots against Toronto, including a career-high five 3-pointers.
“That’s my real estate in the corner,” he said. “It’s like Monopoly. I’ve got four houses and a hotel on there. It’s what I do.”
Indeed, just not against crappy teams I guess…
Q Dog:
“I LOVE this Rip quote from the MATT’S HOOPSWORLD BLOG”
Fixed.
C’mon, doesn’t anyone read what I write over there?
I personally would like to see Aaron A. get some more minutes. I know Stuckey was hurt, but Aaron’s impressed me more so far.
Nice win against Toronto, except for the part that in my NBA fantasy league, my opponent of the week has Rip.
My humble apologies Matt, I try and cram all my NBA/Pistons reading in during work, sometimes it just doesn’t get done! Lunch breaks are spent with the NBA Daily Dish and Basketball Jones podcasts. I do try though!!!
Garrett– The primary reason Amir isn’t getting minutes is because of his slot in the pecking order for his strongest position, Power Forward. We have two PF’s ahead of Amir right now (and three if you include Rasheed swinging to the 4 spot) in McDyess and Maxiell. He’s not getting minutes because there just aren’t minutes available for him in these games. We play Brezec before Amir because Brezec is our 2nd natural 5 (although mcdyess/maxiell typically swing to the 5 beforehand too).
Stuckey, however, only has Chauncey in front of him– so naturally he’s our first guard off the bench next to Afflalo. Has Stuckey impressed our coaches in practice moreso than Amir? Maybe, but that’s kind of irrelovent: we don’t need Amir as bad as we need Stuckey on the floor.
(sidenote, Garrett- just checked out your site again, you’re a damn good photographer, i’m quite impressed!)
If Flip Saunders thinks Amir needs some work on his b-ball smarts, then that says everything about that waste of money.
At least I don’t have to hear about how well Paxson is doing in comparison to Joe Dumars with regard to GM and their respective franchises.
Thanks, Chicago, for signing Ben Wallace, not trading for Pau Gasol, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, and defending Scott Skiles up until he was fired, among other laughers, like Noah.
Mike Payne: Thanks man!