Comments on: Pistons lose Game 1, and that’s OK

By: Toledo Joe

Toledo Joe — Thu, 22 May 2008 19:50:59 +0000

The main difference between this year’s Pistons and last year’s is that Detroit is supposed to have a much better bench this year. And for most of the year, they have. But with the exception of Stuckey, the bench has been disappearing lately: Maxiell hasn’t done much in the last several games; Hayes has hardly played since the first couple of games in the Philly series (leaving us once again with no backup for Tayshaun); Afflalo has had a lot of DNP-CDs (apparently Flip is going with Lindsey as the fourth guard); Ratliff got a few minutes to bang with Howard, but not much else; and Johnson only plays in garbage time.

I understand that rotatations get shortened deeper into the playoffs, but if our whole bench contribution is decent backup guard play from Stuckey and Hunter but not much from anybody else, Detroit will lose to Boston.

Beyond that, two things. First, yeah, the other difference from last year is Webber, but I get tired of Webber bashing. He helped a lot in the regular season last year; he didn’t have a good ECF against the Cavs, but most of the Pistons didn’t play well against the Cavs, and that wasn’t Chris’s fault. It’s easier to blame the guy who isn’t here, I guess.

Finally, it is indeed more interesting to hear opposing fans talk about THEIR teams, as opposed to pointing out the real or supposed flaws in the Pistons. Look, this blog is not full of huge homers: the posters here know the Pistons better than fans of other teams do, including understanding their flaws.

By: Sauce1977

Sauce1977 — Thu, 22 May 2008 19:15:57 +0000

Ohad, I actually forgot I had a bad cold, so it’s entertaining. But, considering that I know these old men had years to work on this project, and that’s what they turned in . . . kinda weighs more against ‘em, considering their experience and level of talent.

By: LawyerBoy

LawyerBoy — Thu, 22 May 2008 18:21:24 +0000

I was re-watching Game 5 of the Orlando series (bless your DVR), and I have come to the conclusion that Miggity has been awesome this postseason. He’s shot 50% or better in 75% of the playoff games this year. Miggity was only able to shoot 50% or better in 25% of last season’s playoff games. The fact that head-to-head he’s got 51.9% shooting (this year) v. 34.9% shooting (last year) kinda makes me smile. His rebounding is still solid with 7/game (down from his season average of 8.5) too. And plus, when all the ESPN pundits are jumping off the Pistons’ bandwagon like it’s the Titanic, I know we’re in good shape.

JD: The Popeye Jones reference had me cracking up. +59

Laughton: I was hoping I could get through this postseason without seeing the word “Webber” on DBB. *shivers*

And uh, about that other thing … I’m glad to know of someone who has a harder time giving up when they’re defeated than me. And since I tend to be wordy, I’ll just say I think Matt W., Evelyn, Laughton, JD, Birdman (hilarious), ohad, DD, and my boy Mike Payne covered it for me. Thanks DBB faithful. I appreciate it. *group hug*

By: Dash Rick

Dash Rick — Thu, 22 May 2008 17:42:07 +0000

Tonight: Pistons by 6

Series: Pistons in 6

CB will be more “aggressive”.
Rip will show up. Or Sheed will. And hopefully both.
Dice seems hungry, and should be still moreso tonight.
Prince will be Prince. Which is a very good thing.
And Flip will make some good defensive adjustments.

Keep the faith. All will be well.

Aren’t you glad you’re not a Spurs fan after last night? Those fans must be hurting right now. They will remember last night’s game for a long, long time. Bet on it. Lakers in 6.

By: Detroit Dreshaj

Detroit Dreshaj — Thu, 22 May 2008 16:12:35 +0000

Good point JD, we don’t have much room to talk indeed. Rasheed looks like one of the beggars that stands outside of Comerica Park. The dude asked me for change last week, I was like “Roscoe, is that you?”

By: TripleOT

TripleOT — Thu, 22 May 2008 14:55:23 +0000

Mike Payne, I’m trying to let it go with Lawyerboy, but the guy just can’t seem to get me off his mind. Since he’s one of your own, I can understand you defending him. I feel like I’m Ike Turner when I think of Lawyerboy, pointing at my head and saying “I’m in heah.” The whole dispute was bogus from the beginning, and I again will offer to move on civilly.

On to the real blogging:

Laughton, I actually forgot that the fossilized remains of Chris Webber was a Piston last year. Good point about the addition by subtraction. Matt Watson, I agree that BB Davis and Powe are actually less experienced, but the difference is that Maxiel is your first big off the bench, and the experienced PJ Brown has supplanted the two young Cs’ bigs now that he’s shaken off the rust. He was solid in the Cavs’ series, 73% from the field, solid board work, and some very physical defense.

I’m actually a Maxiel guy, but he has dropped off a bit from his excellent start the first half of the season, and was MIA in Game 1. He has only three points in the past four playoff games, in 66 minutes. Looking at hi game logs, it seems that he thrives in big minutes, but has a tendency to get lost when he gets under 20 minutes per game.

Stuckey looks like he’s going to be a very productive NBA guard. He has a lot going for him off the dribble, and is tall with a strong body. I watched him closely when he warmed up between the halfs in Game 1, and he has the makings of a decent jump shot, although he obviously doesn’t have a lot of confidence in it, especially at more than 18 feet. The one jumper he made, a baseline 18 footer, he looked good. Our guy Rondo couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean last year, and he’s managed to put together an acceptable jumper in year 2, and his old mechanics makes Stuckey look like Dell Curry.

Stuckey might become a true PG someday, but right now, he isn’t. He looked very skittish setting up the Detroit offense in Game 1. He’s a rookie that needs to come through for the Pistons to win this series, especially with the Chauncey injury. (I heard Billups on ESPN say today that he doesn’t think he will be 100% the entire season) Stuckey’s a rookie. A poised one, but a rookie nontheless, and rookies usually don’t make a big impact late in the playoffs.

By: ohad

ohad — Thu, 22 May 2008 14:50:45 +0000

sauce: so i’m guessing the new jones movie isn’t a “worth going to the movies for” but is it a “worth renting the DVD” or maybe just “worth an illegal download”?
TripleOT: If you’re not trying to pick a fight why go to the opposite team’s site. trash the team. get into an arguement with one of the commentators (and the #1 at that). and do all of this in a place where people think that playing rough is the badboy way. what did you think? we’d take your critic and switch sides?
get a life. or don’t. just don’t do it here.

By: JackDutch

JackDutch — Thu, 22 May 2008 14:50:24 +0000

dd, we don’t have a lot of room in our glass house to throw ’stons about the general look of our team. we have got a really, really, REALLY ugly squad. if we had picked up popeye jones instead of theo ratliff towards the end of the season, we’d be cracking tv sets across america right now. the only thing keeping us respectable is the flowing locks of walter hermann.

however, not even sam cassell’s mama can disagree, that dude should have been drowned at birth. he looks like baraka from mortal kombat.

By: Detroit Dreshaj

Detroit Dreshaj — Thu, 22 May 2008 12:56:13 +0000

LOL @ Lawyerboy getting to TripleOT. 3OT, as a long-time lurker and recently added poster to this community, don’t get too upset. That’s what Lawyerboy do. Childish antics are fun, don’t lie. BTW: Sam Cassell looks like an alien, Davis looks slightly retarded, and I’ve always contested that Ray Allen looks like a crackhead that just took his first bath. PJ Brown…… too easy.

By: Birdman

Birdman — Thu, 22 May 2008 12:38:39 +0000

I went to the doctor last week. He told me I was suffering from “bystander apathy.”

By: Chauncey Billups: I have to be more aggressive | Detroit Bad Boys

Chauncey Billups: I have to be more aggressive | Detroit Bad Boys — Thu, 22 May 2008 09:26:23 +0000

[…] I said before, Game 1 was all testing the hamstring and regaining rhythm; tonight’s game is when we should […]

By: Sauce1977

Sauce1977 — Thu, 22 May 2008 07:54:32 +0000

This is not a great start for me. Bad cold, Pistons L, Indiana Jones wasn’t awesome. It could be worse, but that it isn’t better is a problem.

By: Laughton

Laughton — Thu, 22 May 2008 07:51:40 +0000

Just wanted to say that once again I am going to pull out all stops to get the stones a win. I am wearing my team jumper all day and I will sleep in it too. I will watch the 04 champ DVD again. Listen to the same music I was digging at that time and think nothing but positive thoughts about the team. It worked for game 4 in Philly, so here’s hoping eh.
Go Stones!

By: Forty

Forty — Thu, 22 May 2008 07:22:06 +0000

LOL at “not wanting to stir up the pot” followed by taunting us about Billups’ injury, the ‘07 Cavs loss, and our bench. I love hearing the views of fans from the teams we play. And we’ve had a pretty nice discourse here with the Philadelphia and Orlando guys. But when you go on another team’s site, you have to be respectful. I went to depressedfan.com during the Philly series. Did those guys get a little too excited when they went up 1-0 or 2-1? Yeah probably. And I’d have been annoyed if they all started posting here about how the Pistons are old, suck, Thaddeus Young should have gone over Kevin Durant, etc. But I was on a 76ers site! That’s what you expect. So I asked questions about the 6ers and generally was better for the experience. But I didn’t try to provoke them or point out how much better a team we are/have been or how far from contention Philly is.

To echo Mike Payne: we come here for fun. And it’s no fun when someone trolls on your site and gets into a namecalling match with one of its members (and a vocab contest too!)

And by the way - I’m on the record as saying 1. the C’s will win this series in 7 2. the Celtics are a terrific, terrific team. And there are several other people here who have shared similar views. There’s going to be a homer slant on every team-related blog. But this is among the most reasonable communities you’ll find.

Looking forward to a thoughtful, non-incendiary dialogue as a great series progresses,
Forty

By: Mike Payne

Mike Payne — Thu, 22 May 2008 06:52:22 +0000

@TripleOT:
“Anyways, I’ll be a dozen rows away from the action tomorrow night in the Garden, and I’ll check in over here with my thoughts. Thanks.”

Please don’t, thanks. I think I speak for the rest of the DBB community when I say that watching you pick fights with LawyerBoy is clogging up our fun. You and LaywerBoy can talk shit all you want, its just annoying for the rest of us. LawyerBoy is our own, his opinion is welcome here. Yours is too– only if you can stay away from trolling and picking fights.

Remember, I was the friendly fellow that welcomed you here, as others did. Seriously though, if you’re just going to come here and bitch at Lawyer Boy, go away. And don’t try to blame him for picking a fight, you’re just as guilty, moreso in that your colors are green, ours are blue.

If you’re going to share your thoughts, leave LawyerBoy out of it. Otherwise, the rest of us are just going to cringe.