The Pistons are in New Jersey tonight, and it’s supposed to be a big deal. Who knew everyone would get so excited about Jarvis Hayes vs. Walter Herrmann? [1] Oh, yeah, that Allen Iverson guy is playing, too. As a prologue to tonight’s game, I’m turning to kevin s. to add a bit of historical context. — MW
By Kevin Sawyer
My father loved him some Adrian Dantley. He would teach me Dantley-style post-up moves in our driveway. He was the original stutter-stepper. When my dad went into the hospital for surgery, I visited my brother at Oakland University. The Pistons happened to be practicing, and I worked hard to get the grizzled Dantley’s autograph.
And what was not to like? He was slow, methodical, and deadly. When he scored his 20,000th point against against Portland, I asked my dad why we didn’t do that play on every possession. He nearly killed himself (Dantley, not my dad) in a head to head collision with Vinnie Johnson in the Eastern Conference Championship against the Boston Celtics. If anyone earned a championship as a Piston, it was Adrian.
No dice.
During the Pistons’ first championship season, Adrian Dantley was traded for Mark Aguirre, the high scoring wing from the Dallas Mavericks. Aguirre wasn’t a conventional Piston. He had averaged 26 and 6 his prior year on a strong squad that was not about to compete against a Laker Dynasty. He was the prototypical high-scorer on an okay team (that would be lottery bound without him). A high-flyer and all that.
Many wondered how he would fit into a tightly wound Piston offense. He only grabbed eight points and five rebounds in his first game against a mediocre west coast team, but a late drive to the basket, which rolled around the rim on its way down, signaled a new style of Pistons basketball. We lost in Overtime, snapping a seven-game win streak (one without Dantley), and Aguirre fouled out. But something felt different.
Of course, you know the rest. We went on to win the championship. Poor Adrian Dantley was helpless to resurrect a squad ravaged by the Roy Tarpley era, and Mark Aguirre became the Taco Bell Unsung Hero of our back-to-back championship runs.
My dad noted that what the Pistons needed was freedom from Dantley’s slow-down style. Quite the Monday morning quarterback, him. All of which is to say, while my analytical side shudders at such a wild trade, the sports fan part of me is excited to see what the rest of this season brings.
That said, I expect more than 8 and 5 from AI against THIS mediocre team.
Well said. The game starts at 7:30 on FSN, and if you’re up for a marathon, switch over to ESPN after the final whistle to catch Chauncey Billups’ debut with the Nuggets at 10:30. And, of course, share your thoughts in the comments.
- Yes, I stole that joke
Since it’s the first question everyone asks lately, let me point out that if you don’t live in the Detroit area, you can watch the game online for free by signing up for the NBA League Pass Broadband free trial, which lasts through Nov. 11.
I like the parallels between the two teams there Kevin S.
We lost the 1st game with Aguirre and we lost the 1st game with Sheed and won championships both years…Go Nets?!?
Oh man, I’m headed off to the bar to watch this one.
If the Nets win, this board riots.
anybody know of a live feed online for the game?
didn’t see the post on top, but the questions remains… I can’t get League Pass broadband to work on my computer…
*question*
God, I’m doing awful.
That’s a good story for those of us old enough to remember the significance of the Dantley-Aguirre trade. I tend to shy away from historical comparisons, but this seems somewhat apt.
That said, I expect the Pistons to win by 30 tonight.
or use it all year if you have league pass. it’s actually a nice looking interface. i don’t know how smooth the streaming is.
i loved dantley. that deal was hard to stomach because those pistons were right on the precipice of greatness and it felt like they left a man behind. i wish they had shipped a.d. an honorary ring in ‘89. this feels different because we won with chauncey and then have endured almost-ran status for the past few years with him. everyone knew we needed a change. i’m not sure many people think we wouldn’t have won back-to-backs if we had kept dantley. maybe mark aguirre and kevin’s dad?
saw dantley at the clips-nugs game the other night since he’s manning the bench for the nugs. i still had the urge to go to him and apologize for the trade, 20 years later. but i’m pretty sure he’s heard that before. and who knows if that disappointment still lingers, 20 years later.
does anyone know any other online feeds besides the league pass trial, it didn’t work for me. i live in sydney and when i tried to sign up, it said: “We’re sorry, but the the product or page you have requested is not available in your region, or your region could not be determined at this time.”
anyone? help? thanks in advance.
To me? This is the first game of the season. I’m thrilled w/ this move and think it’s going to pay off big. Can’t wait for the tip.
Imagine if you had a company stock plan that was about to vest, contingent on your employment. Then you get fired and your company gets lbo’d a year later, and your unvested options would have been worth a mill. I’m sure he’s still pissed.
Off topic, but does anyone know when the 30 countdown on Dyess starts? Is it from the day the trade was completed, or the day he’s waived?
Have been wondering that myself, Gogol…I would guess from day of trade consummation (i.e. yesterday) - would think the point is just to make sure they aren’t playing for Team A a day later, not to make sure they don’t play for Team B for a few months, get bought out, and then immediately return to Team A.
Reason #247 to buy League Pass: announcers for bad expansion teams. The Bobcats announcers after a Felton and 1 against the Hornets: “it’s going to be a battle between Ray and Chris Paul all night. Whoever gets in the paint more is going to win the game.”
Isn’t that like if Georgia had said this summer, “you know, it’s going to be a tough war between us and Russia. Whoever has the bigger bombs is probably going to come away with the w.”
i love that bobcats announcing team. actually, nix that. i think that stephanie ready chick on the sideline is hot. that’s what i mean by “i love that bobcats announcing team.”
detroitblue, try this:
http://www.justin.tv/joebtv
Im READY for this!
thgat site just changed it to the detroit feed with blaha and special k.
As they should
thanks heaps jack.
go pistons!
Enough with these commercials man I need this game to start lol
Predictions for AI’s line?
I say 20 and 6
JackDutch… Thank you for the link!! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
jack, joe tv is showing nothing.. or is it just me?
The Rip-Bubbachuck Era begins!
AI!
ALENNNNNN IIIIIIIIIIIIIIVERSON!
Iverson looks like he knows what he’s doing.
that’s a nice start for AI..let’s keep it up
jeebus i’m only getting audio.. arrrgh.
Well the offense sets are certainly….different
Amir cleaning the glass
Iverson is having an adverse effect on Prince’s passing ability.
That was a great steal by Devin Harris on AI
Amir has a rebound like every minute
The three-guard look. Interested to see how this goes.
justin.tv freezes like every minute too…damn it
At this rate, Iverson finishes with 35-10 and Amir threatens the NBA record for rebounds.
dblue, check again. i just took a peek and it looks like it’s going.
That one dude on the Nets team’s head looks like a bullet. Weird.
I want some shoes Allen!
Deeeetroiiit Deeeefeeense
that was some fantastic d.
YEsssssir!!!!!!
nice play Stuck
Wow… This is a cray lineup. Do they still do free pizza at the Palace?
Nice Stuck, unlucky Rip
Anyone have League Pass hang at 98%? And get it fixed?
Try it with Explorer, if you haven’t.
Phoenix East
Kwame needs to pick another number than #31
too much like Darko …. :-\
lol@ Sheed
“Come on Leon help him out now”
thank you derek fisher
That was beautiful…Stuckey to Rip
i don’t want to get too high from this early going. this nets roster is not looking good.
help em out now Leon help em out
god I love Sheed
Kwame is 38…
Sauce is really disappointed in this first quarter effort from the Pistons.
Over or under on AI dropping 40 tonight?
@ Jackdutch
Well the real test is Sunday
I don’t like how the refs don’t call fouls on DWade for the same shit his defender gets fouls called on him for…
he reaches and pokes and hacks… no calls
Prince is totally fresh for the 2nd quarter, Maxiell has yet to play. We are freaking loaded on this roster.
Sauce is mad that Amir Johnson is starting over Dale Davis and Nazr Mohammed.
Iverson finds new and creative ways to put his mouthgaurd anywhere but in his mouth. Under the headband?
uh oh… Wince is limping
Allen Iverson is having an adverse effect on Prince’s free throw shooting.
who is playing the 2 in this lineup? Tay?
Allen Iverson is having an adverse effect on our veterans’ ability to hit a mid-range jump shot while he is out of the lineup.
2 dribbles and a hook?
I like what Kwame Kilpatrick brings to our postgame
Kwame, if you could just do that little backdown jump hook consistently, you’d make 3x your current salary. Just sayin.
Hollywood Cake (obscoure Lakers joke) with the nice hook!
Allen Iverson is helping Kwame Brown’s offensive game from afar.
Yeah Kwame! Show them who’s the boss.
yes, prince
The NBA, where the same commercial, over and over, happens.
Scott Perry = the future
Me likey what I see, me likey crazy basketball shots that go in
lol, the nets announcer just did a “rehearsal” spoof on the “practice” rant
shocker, Carter is hurt
KWAME DOMINATING BROOK LOPEZ
kwame for mayor?
Hov in the house
MAXIELL RAIDING THE NURSERY
Maxiell to Harris, if you ever do have a baby, I’ll go Planned Parenthood on that bitch.
Devin Harris already took Rip’s head off - he’s gonna get killed if he keeps this up
I think this is the first time this season where the refs have meaningfully given us an advantage - I thought we got squeezed in a couple of the others
Do superstar players get preferential treatment by refs? If so, we should get a superstar for our team.
I’m glad that NBA’s free league pass fucking works… stuck on 98%
Josh Boone needs to lose the cornrows…
looks like he should be playing WNBA
You and me both, Boney.
They’re not doing a good job convincing me to buy after the free trial…
Dont blow it Pistons…
Watching AI is going to be fun
not looking good right now
Classic AI.
but at least justintv let me see that ankle breaker
hahaha
Najera needs a new jock
“They’re not doing a good job convincing me to buy after the free trial…”
Check to see if you are up to date on flash-player and its myriad add-ons.
I’m up to date
It’s interesting how video streams never freeze during the commercials…
Michael Curry has the most basic looking suits
SHEED WITH THE BOMB
a “Fiverson” package?
“It’s interesting how video streams never freeze during the commercials…”
For NBA TV, I don’t think its streaming.
The YES Sports anchor just said: “I can’t use the word ‘baby’ in referring to Jason Maxiell.”
You have no idea, sir.
Who the hell on the marketing team came up with Fiverson?
up to date, reinstalled, tried IE and Firefox, tried clearing the cache, etc etc.
waiting to hear from NBA LP folks.
Yeah dont forget defense Phoenix East….
These are terrible shots.
Horrible 2nd quarter
you should tell the NBA folks that justintv.com’s picture is more reliable
“For NBA TV, I don’t think its streaming.”
Yeah..I had justintv in mind and other similar sites. NBA tv doesn’t work in my country
We allowed 39…the reason the differential isn’t bigger is b/c we missed some open shots and took some other bad shots (i’m looking at you tayshaun).
Also, we gave the second fewest minutes to the guy with the most rebounds - that seems like a poor strategy.
We’re winning after shootin 35%, I’ll take it
I wish Curry didn’t believe so much in the “Amir in small doses” technique.
Seems like they’re just clogging up the middle. The Pistons are getting open shots, but they can’t knock them down.
ugh, 35%? that puts the score into perspective…
Somebody should also tell AI that the whole reason we got him was so he could use his driving ability to prevent our droughts. Come on, dude, don’t be TOO unselfish.
Yeah, it was not a defensive problem
Two things..
I like AI already especially his ability to run inside and end up at the line every time.
Stop shooting threes already! I know they are giving them to us but when we don’t make them they just run it out for a dunk. 3’s are great just not as a main course. Where is Sheed down low? What about driving the ball inside? I only wish we had a couple of guards that could do that…
AI could not score another point, just knowing that some guy listening to loud rap music is putting that clip of him crossing up Najera into a mixtape that will likely be on YouTube tomorrow is all I need from him
I hate to do this, but
Boney +1
Boney, do you have a camera in my office or something?
Chauncey-esque foul drawn by Rip
Rob G,
One question, why do you hate to do that?
Another thing, I think that was my first “+1″ in a long time. I haven’t had a +1 since long before LawyerBoy came out from under his bridge to ask 3 riddles this last time…
I’ll take a superstar call going Detroit’s way now with AI on the team…
I’ll never complain about AI flopping again
Now Tay has to use the other side of his mouth to talk
Gotta stop blowing these big leads
Boney, I don’t know why, maybe cuz you don’t draw the +1s (like you point out), but you deserve every bit of that one
@Rob G:
“Now Tay has to use the other side of his mouth to talk”
+1
Tay with the long gun…
after AI took 3 steps
Drive and dish, drive and dish
AI draws a Wade-esque foul on Carter..
AI is a foul-drawing machine
Whoever mentioned the superstar fouls going our way? Yeah, it doesn’t suck. 4 on carter.
I used to think Chauncey was the master at drawing fouls … AI is a freaking magician.
You know not for nothing but Chauncey used to the same thing. We got a lotta calls our way last season. Just saying…
haha Sheed’s the man
Rasheed got T’d, so now we’re gonna dominate
KICK MONTY’S ASS SHEED
… who names their kid Monty anymore?
That’s not constructive.
Too wreckless and losing at there own game.
Wow. If I were Sheed I’d be pissed too….he gets a clean block called a foul on one end, and then an anal pillage courtesy of Boone not called on the other!
Tayshaun should shoot a free throw like one of his little hooks. That was from pretty far out right there.
Sheed is loud and obnoxious, but he’s usually right.
Does this game look so weird because it’s the first time we’ve played against a zone this year? It just doesn’t seem right.
Hate to say it but as much as I love Ai and the team’s aggressivness, they are just being wreckless too. I guess they can work through early this season but this kinda play doesnt get us over the hump. It only buries us, cause right now? No chance in hell we beat Boston or Cleveland.
I just tuned in and it looks like pick-up ball, but I’m guessing that’s because AI doesn’t really know many offensive sets yet.
spellcheck! hope he doesn’t get lost in the shuffle….
Harris injured while flopping.
yeah prophecy, after game 1 we’re not going to make it out of the 1st round of the playoffs
Argh. I hate seeing guys clutching their ankles and writhing in pain. I’ve had enough of those that I can’t even look at the replays.
oh and…
you don’t hate to say it, you say the same crap all the time.
according to you, we should probably fire Michael Curry too… why? because in 4 games, it’s obvious he’s not getting through to the players
“It only buries us, cause right now? No chance in hell we beat Boston or Cleveland.”
Well, that’s what the next 80+ games are for.
We’ve let the Nets score 30+ this quarter, not good
Whoa, Jarvis fouled somebody instead of playing D, go figure
We’re just getting obliterated by Harris…no one can stay in front of him
They are conceding a lot of open shots on the perimeter, and we’re playing into their hands by driving into a crowd. We need to put two of our best three point shooters on the perimeter, drive and immediately kick, and keep jacking them. We’re shooting 43% - just haven’t taken enough in the second half (only two i think).
Ask and you shall receive, Forty.
Lol Sheed: “GIVE HIM A TECH, GIVE HIM A TECH!”
you know
perhaps I dont give Rip enough credit (understatement of the year, I know) but I don’t really see anyone who strikes fear into a defense from 3 point land..
there is no like, specialist on the team from the long gun
Detroit, where stepping on the line happens.
If Herrmann or Stuckey were hitting their shots, this would be a very different game. Bad shooting nights happen.
@Boney: we should make a play at this Jarvis guy. I hear he’s a three-point specialist
it’s a shame that this team is so deep, I’d really like to see what Afflalo can do
Boney, I love the fact you think we’ll meet Boston or Cleveland in the 1st round. I agree 7th or 8th seed forus this year. Mau Mau.
based on the increased scoring by quarter, the nets are due to put up 45 points in the 4th.
@Boney - I wouldn’t want to leave Rip or Herrmann if I’m the Nets…
I don’t like Jarvis now… he’s been hanging out with Vince too long
he’s more concerned about his accessories (knee socks and wrist bands) than defense or non-forced jumpshots
FABIO!!!
STOP PLAYING DEFENSE ON YOUR FUCKING HEELS
BALLS OF YOUR FEET, DONT GET FLAT
If you use caps, they will hear you!
I hate Keyon Dooling too
Eli sounds a lot like Casey Kasemm
Like the agressivness stuck
god damn… lose the hair Boone
Wow@ the Heat leading the Spurs by 20
/thread jacked
lol….Jay doesnt care about his team. lol
Push push push
Nice sheed
This just in from the HTML feed:
9:41 NJ - J. Hayes misses a layup
Go figure
Drive it in guys come on!
Too bad Stuckey doesn’t get the same calls Devin Harris gets.
Has Curry called a timeout in this game?
you know
even though the main pieces are still kind of there…
this team looks different with Kwame, AI, Stuckey… I mean, jesus this is like bizarro world
PP: yes
Finally!
This is AI’s chance. No one is scoring. He can take over right now and not be considered selfish. He should just do this
Why are we allowing JOSH FUCKIN BOONE to do this?
Fucking Phoenix East.
we shouldn’t be beat by the crap lineup the nets rolled out onto the floor. this is just stupid.
Someone needs to kick Boone’s ass because he’s kicking ours
Missing McDyess right now… Big time.
How do you call a team that can’t hit wide open outside shots Phoenix East?
I know it just a regular season game but this was a give me. Ugh at allowing so much offense and blowing that big of a lead. Well at least people cant call us boring anymore.
For what it’s worth, I think Iverson has gotten more cheap calls than Harris. Our smalls can’t keep Harris in front - when that happens you’re going to draw fouls…
@ Micheal
Because Im putting emphasis on the EAST part.
you know, I am worried that Dyess won’t come back
Alright, this is what we got AI for, yah? Greenlight, little dude. Show us how you won those scoring titles.
Oh my fucking god, how is that not a foul on Harris?????
first post back on the board since the end of last season.. though I’ve been reading most of the off time and start of this season.
truly sad to see chaunce and dice outta here - like everyones been saying its a forced breakup! feel bad dice never got a ring here and unlikely that he will.
not sure how i feel about AI - just a bit numb or ambivalent - the idea of having a ’superstar’ kind of turns me off, like someone who is going to ALWAYS be the stones ‘player of the game’..
anyways, good to be back, hey to q-dog, joejoejoe, and other stones! the january game with the blazers here in town???
Bad shot selection
Make up call on Harris.
goodnight Yi
Stuc