Archive for January, 2008

Pistons host Kobe

Published by Matt Watson on January 31, 2008 in Lakers and Previews. 127 Comments

The Pistons battle with female comic book villain Kobe Bryant and the Lakers tonight (7:30, TV20). For the Pistons, it’s their first game of a comfy five-game homestand, while the Lakers are playing their first game of a grueling 9-game road trip.

The Lakers haven’t had very good luck of late, losing four of six games since Andrew Bynum went down, not to mention having Trevor Ariza and Luke Walton join Bynum on the sideline with injuries of their own. The Pistons, meanwhile, are healthy as always. I’ll be at the game filing my pre-game, halftime and post-game observations for HOOPSWORLD, and always, leave your thoughts in the comments.

Afflalo gets passed over

Published by Matt Watson on January 31, 2008 in Around the Internets. 4 Comments

Arron Afflalo did not get invited to the Rookie/Sophomore Challenge. He was a bit of a long shot anyway (and is less of a snub than Al Thornton or Joakim Noah), but I agree with PistonsNation that he should have been considered ahead of Mike Conley:

Mike Conley is a fine young player, but he’s only been in 19 total games because of injury. Arron might only be averaging 3.4 ppg but he’s playing behind Chauncey and Rip. He’s played 42 of the Pistons 45 total games this year. Cracking the line up on this team isn’t all that easy either. Just ask Darko, Amir Johnson, and Jason Maxiell before this year.

Yes, Conley has better stats, but rookies on bad teams always have better stats than rookies on good teams. The fact that Afflalo has been able to force himself into the rotation and push veterans like Lindsey Hunter and Flip Murray to the inactive list really says something, even if he’s still the fifth option when he’s on the floor.

A fan on press row

Published by Matt Watson on January 31, 2008 in Alley-Oops. 0 Comments

A fan’s eye view from press row. (via TrueHoop)

It’s time to respect Rip’s tramp ball

Published by Matt Watson on January 30, 2008 in From the news. 37 Comments

Rip Hamilton wants in on the three-point contest. From the Freep’s Krista Jahnke:

“All that running around, that’s what I do,” said Hamilton, who entered Tuesday sixth in the NBA in three-point shooting. “I run around and shoot.”

Usually, he’s running around to shoot jumpers. But Hamilton led the NBA in three-point shooting two seasons ago and spent part of Tuesday’s pregame proving his sweet spots extend beyond the arc. […]

“I’m campaigning; I’m everything,” said Hamilton, who shot 1-for-2 on three-pointers and scored 15 points in Tuesday night’s 110-104 victory over the Pacers. “The only reason why I’m so interested in it is because everyone underestimates me. Everyone says I can’t shoot threes since the (Larry Brown) era. They still ain’t giving me my respect on my tramp ball.”

I don’t think I’ve heard the phrase “tramp ball” before today, but I see his point: he’s been red-hot all season from the corners and decent from everywhere else. Chauncey Billups isn’t so confident.

“I want him in,” Chauncey Billups said. His reasoning? So Hamilton can realize how difficult it is. “I came in last twice.”

Billups said he tried to convince Hamilton that the contest isn’t as easy as it looks, but Hamilton wasn’t listening.

“He told me that,” Hamilton said. “But I ain’t Chauncey. He can’t shoot better threes than me either.”

More All-Star predictions

Published by Matt Watson on January 30, 2008 in Alley-Oops and Shameless Plugging. 0 Comments

Kevin Sawyer predicted the All-Star rosters here on Monday, and today I did the same for the East at HOOPSWORLD.

Pistons pace Indy

Published by Matt Watson on January 30, 2008 in Games and Pacers. 23 Comments

From the Freep:

For the first 12 minutes Tuesday night, Rasheed Wallace looked like the late-January, hard-to-excite Rasheed Wallace. For the last 36, he looked like the Wallace who could be named an All-Star.

Wallace finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks — including a big one in the final minute — in a dominating show against the Indiana Pacers. The Pistons won it, 110-104.

“I told the staff, that’s what really pisses you off, when you see him play like that for three quarters,” coach Flip Saunders said. “Everyone knows he’s got the ability to do that night in and night out.”

He really was pretty amazing, making 10 of 18 shots, including five straight in the final 4:30 of the second quarter that brought the Pistons from down 10 to up two at the half. The Pistons had a huge advantage with Jermaine O’Neal sidelined and Wallace definitely took advantage. Like Saunders said, the trick is somehow convincing him to do this all of the time.

With Wallace dominating up front, Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton only combined for 28 points, but that was fine given the help Detroit (finally) received from the bench. Jarvis Hayes has emerged from his slump at least temporarily, shooting 5-6 from the field to finish with 13 points.

And while Jason Maxiell tallied only three points and two boards, Amir Johnson chipped in seven and six, respectively, including this impressive put-back. Yes, Johnson is still struggling with his fouls, getting whistled three times in almost 14 minutes, but for what it’s worth he only had one in his first 10 minutes of play, which certainly helped his cause to stay on the floor.

All in all, for a midweek game against a bottom-feeder in the division, this was actually a pretty enjoyable affair. It’s not often you see the Pistons score 110 points, let alone with such varied contributions — even Rodney Stuckey looked comfortable, staying aggressive for most of the game. And now, things will start to get a bit easier heading into the All-Star break, at least in terms of staying in one place. After playing 10 of their last 14 on the road, the Pistons are at home for five straight, starting with the Lakers on Thursday.

Pistons 110, Pacers 104 box score [NBA.com]
BallHype recaps and analysis

Pistons are in Indiana

Published by Matt Watson on January 29, 2008 in Pacers and Previews. 45 Comments

The first quarter is almost over, but better late than never … The Pacers are without Jermaine O’Neal and Jamaal Tinsley, but so far it hasn’t mattered. Assuming the Pistons get back in the groove, they should have a pretty decent size advantage with the Pacers forced to play small. As usual, have at it in the comments.

Samb and Mejia are coming and going

Published by Matt Watson on January 29, 2008 in D-League and Former Pistons. 3 Comments

With his dental and passport issues fixed, Cheikh Samb is returning to Ft. Wayne …

Cheikh Samb, the 7-foot-1 center who was sent from the Detroit Pistons and played two games in Fort Wayne in mid-December before being sidelined with a broken jaw, is returning to the team.

“We should have Cheikh Samb coming in (Monday),” Ants president and general manager Jeff Potter said. “I just talked to him and he’s in his car and should be here.”

Samb played in back-to-back games Dec. 13 and 14 against Dakota, averaging 13.5 points, nine rebounds and four blocks.

… just as Sammy Mejia is leaving to accept an offer to play in Italy:

“Fort Wayne wasn’t the problem,” said Mejia, who missed the first 10 games of the NBA D-League season with a leg injury. “It’s hard to be in one spot, and everybody’s goal is not to be there. It’s a different kind of comfort being over there. Nobody who is part of the Mad Ants wants to be in the Mad Ant uniform. I got comfortable in a different kind of way.”

Even though Mejia happened to be playing for the Pistons’ D-League affiliate, the Pistons relinquished their draft rights to him when they released him in favor of Ronald Dupree at the end of the preseason. But still, he seemed like a nice kid and I’m happy that he’s found some place a little more comfortable to play. He was obviously Ft. Wayne’s best player, leading the team with 19.5 points and 8.4 boards a game.

The Mad Ants next play on Friday and Saturday, and if you really want to see Samb in action, don’t forget that all D-League games are now streamed online for free.

Will Afflalo attend All-Star weekend?

Published by Matt Watson on January 28, 2008 in Alley-Oops. 1 Comment

A. Sherrod Blakely on why Arron Affalo deserves to be in the rookie/sophomore game during All-Star weekend. (Edit: fixed link)

Chris Webber’s homecoming: Golden State edition

Published by Matt Watson on January 28, 2008 in From the news. 8 Comments

Most of you know this by now, but it looks like Pistons fans can finally shelve the “Chris Webber, yea or nay?” debate. From ESPN’s Marc Stein:

Barring an unexpected change of heart, sources said, Webber will accept the invitation from former coach Don Nelson and former teammate Chris Mullin to come back to the team with whom he won NBA Rookie of the Year honors in 1994, only for Webber to force a trade to Washington some six months later when his prickly relationship with Nelson collapsed.

“I hope that it happens to be quite honest with you,” Nelson told Bay Area reporters Sunday before the Warriors hosted the New York Knicks. “I think our team needs it.” […]

“I’ve learned over the years,” Nelson said Sunday night. “I’ve softened a bit through some of the experiences I’ve had. I look back at the time when Chris and I were here early in our careers. We were both pretty stubborn and I was maybe too tough and he was too young to see the positives I was trying to bring to the table. I’ve learned and I think he has, too. Hey, I’m an old man and he’s an old player.”

The difference being, though, that coaches tend to get better with age, whereas players just get slow. But still, I’m happy that Webber found his team, and I’m even happier he found it out west.

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