I always thought Nazr Mohammed got something of a raw deal with the Pistons, so I’m happy to see him flourishing with the Bobcats. Since being moved, he’s averaged 10 points and almost eight boards in 24 minutes a game — and in his first game against the Pistons last month down in Charlotte, he went off for 19 and 13. Will he come through with more fireworks tonight (6pm, FSN)? We’ll see.
One thing I’m curious about is how Mohammed will be received by the Palace crowd. Will he be cheered? Booed? Or simply ignored? I have a hunch he’ll mildly booed if anything, not that I think he deserved it. No, he was never happy with his playing time, but who would be? He was brought in under the guise of being a starter but was never allowed to play more than 15 minutes a game and was all but forgotten once Chris Webber arrived. But through it all he remained professional and was never a disruptive force in the locker room.
I’ll be at the Palace filing pre-game, halftime and post-game reports for HOOPSWORLD. As usual, leave your thoughts in the comments.
He should not be booed unless he does something specific in this game to deserve it. The other Pistons players seemed sincere in saying he was a high-character guy. And I personally wish him success, when he’s not playing against Detroit. Glad to see him putting up decent numbers with the Bobcats.
But I dunno about him getting a “raw deal” with the Pistons. They played almost half a season with him as the starter last year, and were barely over .500 doing it. Not all his fault, to be sure, but it’s hard to remember many games in which he played really well, and the difference in winning percentage with Webber starting was stunning. Nazr’s minutes were often short because he often collected a bunch of fouls early. And after Webber came, when Nazr did get time as the fourth big guy, he still usually didn’t accomplish a whole lot.
Now, maybe his success in Charlotte is because he feels less pressure to perform, or because his coach has figured out how to use his skills better than Flip did, or he’s more of a focal point. Still, I think everyone — coaches and players — wanted Nazr to succeed in Detroit. But for whatever reason, the results weren’t there.
Rasheed will replace Garnett in the All-Star Game. Just announced on ESPN.
They were 20-12 with him as a starter, and the difference in winning percentage was six percent. However, and this is part of the raw deal part, Flip Saunders gave Dale Davis big minutes when Mohammed started. Further, McDyess went bananas after Webber arrived, which had a lot to do with the difference.
His performance in Charlotte is a function of him getting more minutes. On a per minute basis, the results are the same from last year to this year.
Thanks for that update Fadel.
Rasheed really didn’t seem like he wanted to play in that All-Star game. Wonder how he reacted when they asked him? Obviously he agreed, but it’s funny to picture a guy getting disgruntled about “having” to play in the All-Star game. Three Pistons in the game will make me somewhat excited to watch it, hopefully Sheed dominates Tim Duncan if he gets the chance.
As for booing Nazr, you don’t waste the time booing a guy who isn’t very good. Nazr isn’t going to be the Bobcat that determines whether Charlotte wins or loses. By booing him, you’re showing enough respect for his game that you’re bitter he’s not on your team anymore. I’m glad Nazr is gone, wish him well, but glad he’s gone.
Kevin S.:
That’s not how I remember it, although I’m willing to be corrected. I recall them being much closer to .500 after the first 38 games or so. Maybe I don’t remember how many games Nazr actually started before they got Webber.
Specifically, I remember Detroit going 22-18 in their first 40 games last year. Is that wrong? Assuming it’s right, again, I’m not blaming all of the relatively slow start on Nazr, but I’m not sure he got a “raw deal.”
Anyone have a link for the game? The link I used to use (my p2p) to find pistons games seems to be down.
Tayshaun should of asked to be a part of the 3-Point Contest…
Matt, it’s time to put up more videos of Automotion. those ladies make hanging out at the seat during timeouts worth it
Tay gonna go for 50?
Here is an idea for opposing teams. Anytime Hayes gets the ball run the ENTIRE team at him. 80% chance he is going to take the shot anyway since he doesn’t seem to know what the definition of a pass is.
And as I type this, he passes the ball.
http://www.channelsurfing.net I’m streaming that right now.
Looking good again. This has been some fun basketball to watch lately.
Sauce doesn’t like it when anyone throws an alley oop to Amir Johnson. Sauce likes it when “DNP-CD” is next to Amir’s name in the box score. He also likes it when “42″ is next to Rasheed’s name under the minutes column in the box score, with Maxiell with “6″ in the minutes column. Then he likes it when Amir and Maxiell leave because they want playing time.
Sweet alley-oop from Stuckey to Amir!
A Mateen Cleaves Sighting!
Haha! Man, how did Brezec NOT get a technical on that dunk? He’s the man!
And then Brezec with the well-after-the-whistle dunk! He’s my new favourite Piston.
Herrmann’s expiring contract looking great out there
HOLY CRAP!!!! With 40 seconds left Amir just had a HUGE block on what looked like a wide open fast break dunk for a Bobcat scrub. He met him at the rim and sent it packing. And then Stuckey had a monster dunk down the middle of the lane in traffic. And then Afflalo had a wide-open fast break dunk and the guys on the bench made fun of him! Ha!
Dear Jermareo,
Would you like me to sign copy of our poster for you?
Sincerely,
Rodney
That a nice throw down by stuckey-I’d like to see that some more. That guy is quickly living up to the talk I heard about him for so long.
The Bench going nuts
Zoo crew having fun out there
Stuckeys first poster
Look at the starters’ minutes, then look at the score. Joe Dumars off-season decisions were obviously made using great judgement. Flip deserves credit to for playing these guys.
*too
I really like Stuckey - he’s the only member of the Zoo Crew who I’m confidendt has a ceiling above the All Star level. He’ll hit a wall at some point when teams decide to play 5 feet off of him. But eventually he’ll get an average NBA jumper to pair with above average passing/vision and potentially elite driving/finishing ability. I think he’s comparble to Wade at a similar stage in their careers (big combo guard, good passer, great driver, no j). And I think we all remember (too well) what happened once Wade got a jumper.
I wonder if Kevin S. still thinks that Stuckey isn’t going to have an impact this season?
I agree with what you guys are saying about Stuckey. You can see that he has a quality about him that is almost Wade-esque. I think sometimes he surprises himself with how easily he gets to the rim, which is why he’d been having trouble finishing. He’s incredibly fun to watch. I was skeptical of taking him in the draft, but it very clearly was the right choice. He’s looking like a steal at #15.
He, Max, and Amir look like 3 very, very nice future pieces to our puzzle.
This win streak is great right now because it’s going unnoticed. With all of the Shaq/Gasol talk, actual wins and losses are being looked over. Fine with me. Cleveland has recieved a fair amount of attention lately for how well they’ve been playing. The thing you don’t hear about is how they still haven’t been able to gain significant ground on Detroit in the Central Division. I think that Atlanta will be a tough game Tuesday though.
“I wonder if Kevin S. still thinks that Stuckey isn’t going to have an impact this season?”
I think he will, again on account of his hand no longer being injured that way team officials were insinuating it was two months ago. However, whether that will be a postive impact depends on whether he can hit jumpshots and avoid fouls. Stuckey and Amir combined for 10 fouls in 35 minutes.
If anyone lives in the Pontiac area, the Finishline in the Sumit Place Mall is selling stitched/swingman Piston Jerseys for $10,(they usually range around $75)
My Big Q is, why wasn’t Walter HERRMANN utilize more this game?
http://mundoalbiceleste.blogspot.com/2008/02/nba-news-manu-spurs-meet-celtics.html
Strretch Arrmstrronng!
i think walter herrmann is so talented. i don’t understand why he’s only getting garbage minutes at the end of blow out victories. IMO, he should be sharing minutes with jarvis as the first swingman off the bench if not taking his role altogether. he’s shown that he makes better decisions than jarvis and could quite possibly be a better shooter. i hope we keep him after this year.
I’ve never seen Herrmann play until tonight. He’s a lot smaller than I thought he was, and a lot quicker than I thought he was. I challenge him to most consonants in a name (Garrett Elliott vs. Walter Herrmann).
Anyone else notice Rip had his Gangsterr coat on while entering the building? I thought at first he mustve stolen Herrmanns coat.
Another great game from the bench and I like the fact they wanted to turn it up when Herrmann & Brezec entered the game and really drop the hammer on em.