The Nets are still technically alive in the playoff race, but they’re a long shot. To make matters worse, they’ll be without Vince Carter tonight. Why is it that I’m guessing the Pistons will handle playing without Rip Hamilton better than New Jersey playing without Carter? In any case, I’ll be at the game for HOOPSWORLD, but as usual, leave your thoughts in the comments.
Archive for the 'Nets' Category
About two years ago, there wasn’t another team in the NBA I despised more than the New Jersey Nets. Now? I’m almost completely indifferent, and I blame it on New Jersey’s mediocrity.
Tonight, the Pistons travel to the Meadowl… um, I mean the “Izod Center,” where they’ll try to avoid playing down to the Nets’ sub-fivehundred-ness and take care of business (as opposed to me, who’s having a hard time realizing that I’m actually expected to work these last few days of 2007).
The game tips off at 7:30 on WDIV (Channel 4) in Detroit, and as usual leave your thoughts about tonight’s proceedings in the comments.
Not only did the Pistons win both games, they did so in a remarkably dominant fashion: 117-91 in Milwaukee over the Bucks, and 118-95 at home against the Nets. Toss in the 109-74 laugher over the Cavs on Wednesday and the Pistons have the makings of a nice little winning streak, winning by an average of 28 points. That’s not a typo: twenty-eight points. Color me impressed.
I can’t get into the nuts and bolts of the last two games because, well, I haven’t seen them yet — I was out of town and still need to spend some alone time with my DVR. But after reading the recaps and looking at the box scores …
Holy Jason Maxiell!
On Saturday, he scored 13 and nine with two blocks, and on Sunday he went 18 and 11 with three blocks, all the while shooting nearly 65% for the weekend and finding time to pose for one of the most iconic images of his career to date (props to Mike Payne for spotting this one):
Random Maxiell interlude:
- Just because he’s producing on the court doesn’t mean he can escape the wrath of Rasheed Wallace: stop reading and watch now. [Need4Sheed]
- NBA fans outside Detroit are starting to notice Maxiell. [MVN]
Rip vs Flip?
One of the good things about the Pistons winning comfortably lately has been the starters getting a chance to enjoy a few extra minutes on the bench — no one guy has played more than 34 minutes over the last three games. Trouble is, when you’re a guy like Rip Hamilton who’s been struggling with consistency, sometimes minutes on the bench isn’t an immediate priority. From A. Sherrod Blakely’s blog:
For those who didn’t watch tonight’s game, there was a moment in the second quarter where Rip Hamilton was very upset at Flip Saunders for taking him out of the game.
It had the potential to be a real ugly, ugly scene.
But Hamilton had his moment of venting, and took a seat on the bench.
As Chris McCosky describes it, Rip was taken out after turning the ball over twice in a row. He told Flip he wanted to keep playing to regain his rhythm, Flip told Rip to “just make the simple play.” For what it’s worth, though, Rip has started to emerge from his offensive funk, shooting better than 57% from the field in the last three wins. But that’s in part because of better ball movement by the team as a whole, and if Saunders sees that start to wane, good for him in addressing it. Also, good for Saunders for spreading the minutes around.
Based on Joe Dumars’ comments this summer about preserving the starters and developing a bench, there’s absolutely zero chance of Rip winning this fight should it linger — not that I think it will. Blakely finished his post with this:
I talked with Rip after tonight’s game, and he made it pretty clear to me that, yes, he wants to play more minutes. But he understands that his minutes aren’t going to be plentiful now that the team’s focus is on continuing to develop the bench.
For what it’s worth, Rip is averaging almost three fewer minutes per game this year (34.1) than last (36.8), and the difference may grow larger after Rodney Stuckey returns. Which begs the question …
When Stuckey returns, who’s inactive?
DBB reader LawyerBoy brought up a good question in the weekend thread:
I was discussing this with my friend yesterday during the Bucks game … our 3 inactives have been: Dupe, Samb and Stuckey as of late. Who takes Stuckey’s place on the inactive list after he heals up? Neither of us could come up with a good answer, which I suppose is a good problem to have. Please feel free to enlighten me with your opinions; I’m very curious.
I don’t know the definitive answer, but I’ll try to find out at the next home game. In the meantime, my guess is Ronald Dupree, Cheikh Samb and Lindsey Hunter. Most fans view Stuckey as a combo guard; the Pistons consider him a point guard. So if he’s throw into the mix, is there really a need for three backups behind Billups? Maybe against teams with a quick backcourt, Hunter will get the nod and Arron Afflalo will be donning street clothes, but I don’t see the point on most nights.
I guess Flip Murray could get the dishonor (especially since he’s been relegated to fourth-quarter play lately), but I’m not sure that it’d be worth the risk. I’ve never heard anything suggesting that Murray is a malcontent, but if I were in his shoes, I’d be pretty ticked about being dropped out of the rotation in a contract year, especially considering he’s playing better than he did last year. I suppose Murray could still be traded, but I’m not sure what he’d draw in return is worth the loss of depth.
Also, as pointed out in the comments, players assigned by NBA teams to the D-League still count toward the 15-man roster, which means Samb will remain one of the three inactives even if/when he gets assigned to the D-League — which brings me to this …
On Samb’s future (and a possible nickname switch?)
Chris Silva had a quick note in the Free Press suggesting Cheikh Samb might be headed to the D-League soon. Not a huge surprise — it’s actually a bit remarkable that he’s stayed up here this long — but the kid just needs to play. Practicing against NBA vets and working with NBA coaches has it’s merits, but nothing beats good ol’ playing time.
Also, this dawned on me tonight: when Arron Afflalo, someone on DBB (forgive me for not remembering who) suggested his nickname be “Spellcheck.” Personally, I like it, even if I forget to use it. But considering there’s still some mainstream confusing over Cheikh vs. Cheick, wouldn’t “Spellcheikh” be appropriate?
And “Spellcheick,” and “Spellchek,” and “Spellcheque”? The joke, of course, lies in the fact that everyone spells it a different way. Or maybe my English major nerd-ness is shining through and it’s not that funny. Just thought I’d throw that out there.
The Pistons have a busy weekend, playing the Bucks in Milwaukee tonight (Skeets says this one’s in the bag — Book it, baby!) before flying back overnight to host the Nets at the Palace on Sunday. As it happens, I have a busy weekend as well — I’m actually in Chicago, posting this from a hotel room overlooking Michigan Ave.
For actual, relevant Pistons news, I suggest hitting up the Pistons Newswire tab at the top of the page for direct links to the latest articles and posts from Need4Sheed, the Freep, DetNews, etc.
So, consider this your double-header game post / weekend open thread / whatever you want this to be. Have at it, and I’ll be disappointed if the comments don’t reach the century mark by the time I get back Sunday evening.
[Disclaimer: I had an extensive recap 99.9% done when I accidentally managed to hit the back button on my browser … and … I … lost … everything. I tried cursing, but that didn’t work. As a result, you’re stuck with this.]
Will the real Pistons please stand up? Because the team that put away the Pacers on Sunday and completely decimated the Nets on Wednesday barely even resembles the unit that had its shorts handed to them by the Wizards on Tuesday.
Bouts of schizophrenia aside, I like to think this is what we’re going to see more of the rest of the way. The biggest difference between Tuesday and Wednesday was the energy level from the get-go. The Pistons were aggressive from the start on Wednesday, and I think that helped win over the referees. Case in point: they had six free throw attempts in the first three minutes alone last night, the same amount they attempted in three entire quarters the night before. In fact, getting to the line and taking advantage was a running theme for almost the entire game: the Pistons set a team record by nailing their first 27 attempts.
As impressive as most of the starters were (Rip Hamilton played well and Chris Webber bounced back but Rasheed Wallace failed to score a single point), it was encouraging to see the bench come through. This was a blow-out through and through, and none of the starters played more than 33 minutes, with Rasheed and C-Webb playing no more than 23.
Antonio McDyess fortified the front court with eight points and 12 rebounds in just 22 minutes; Lindsey Hunter scored eight with five assists in 19 minutes; and Carlos Delfino scored five with six boards, two assists and a steal in 22 minutes.
But did you see Jason Maxiell? The kid has turned in some good performances this year but the day he finds out he got left out of the Sophomore-Rookie Challenge he decided he’d have himself another coming out party. In 25 minutes he scored 16 points with six boards, two blocks and a steal. His block on Antoine Wright was awe-inspiring, stopping a dunk in mid-air. Poor Wright helplessly crumpled to the ground like, well, someone just ate his baby.
Maxiell had a couple of other highlight-reel plays, including an impressive tomahawk jam on a fast break. What impressed me most, though, was the fact he shot 6-6 from the line. As aggressive as he is in the paint, he draws a heckuva lot of a fouls, and he’s left a lot of points on the floor by shooting just a hair over 50% this year. He didn’t just rack up stats in garbage time: he played all but 30 seconds of the second quarter, during which time he scored half his points with two offensive boards and a block.
Who spiked Mikki Moore’s coffee? Moore spent the first four years of his career with the Pistons, with only one of those years spent as a regular member of the rotation. He’s played for six other teams in the last six years and is in the midst of his second stint with the Nets.
It took a few injuries for the opportunity to arise, but he’s played well since entering New Jersey’s starting lineup this year. The guy may be 31 years old, but he has several seasons of energy pent up inside and plays like he’s trying to expend it on every single play. He scored 18 of his 20 points in the first quarter, and as Greg Kelser noted during the FSN telecast, he got nearly all of those without the benefit of a single play called for him. He’s a non-stop hustler who’s going after every rebound and every loose ball. Kudos to him: although he was shut out in the second half, he kept the Nets into this game far longer than it looked like the rest of his teammates really wanted. He’s going to be a free agent this summer, and I hope he gets a good deal.
Pistons 113, Nets 89 box score [ESPN]
Preview:
Pistons and Nets
The Pistons play New Jersey tonight looking to get that bad taste of losing out of their mouths. The Nets are a team I’m not too fond of, though in all honesty it’s hard to take them quite as seriously as we once did — we’ve already beat them twice last month (the 16th and 26th).
But here’s to hoping the Pistons don’t have the same laissez faire attitude as me.
Also, this is completely unrelated, but Chris Silva has a nice piece on Amir Johnson in today’s Free Press. I missed it earlier otherwise I would have put it up in it’s own post, but it’s a good read. Johnson comes across as a real good kid who’s actually eager to go down to the D-League to continue working on his game.
Ball tips at 7:30 on FSN — leave your thoughts in the comments.
Whew… This one might have been a loss earlier in the season — that is, if close defeats at home to the Hornets and Blazers are any indication. As it is, Chauncey Billups’ ability to shake off a forgettable night and drain two huge free throws — and Rasheed Wallace being the beneficiary of a questionable no-call — allowed the Pistons to escape with the 92-91 victory over the Nets.
Perhaps the Nets’ run as one of the top teams in East really has come to the end. The Pistons certainly didn’t bring their A-game as they have in recent victories over playoff contenders like Dallas, Orlando, and Cleveland. Aside from Sheed’s lights-out first quarter (16 points, including four triples), Nazr Mohammed’s inside scoring (15 points in 23 minutes), and Rip Hamilton’s ability to get to the basket, highlights were few. Even the Piston bench, which recently has provided an offensive spark, offered very little.
In fact, the game was perhaps most defined by its noncombatants. The officials levied 49 personal fouls; they tagged the Pistons with three technicals in the second half; and they missed correctly ignored a potential Rasheed Wallace blocking foul on Vince Carter in the final seconds, which enabled the Pistons to run out the clock.
After the game, all anyone wanted to talk about was Sheed’s contact with excellent defense of Carter (from the Detroit News):
When asked if he fouled Carter, Wallace sheepishly said, “Um, maybe… That could have gone either way. He put his head down, and I tried to take the charge. It was a no-call. I’ll buy that for a dollar.”
But while the Pistons sounded like the cat who ate the canary, Jason Kidd sounded like a man who didn’t care too much about league-imposed fines, at least not at the moment when he ripped into the officiating crew following the game:
We come to work, and we work extremely hard at this, only for the officials to screw us,” Jason Kidd said. “We fought, but that doesn’t mean anything when you have the officials take over the game like that. You go with the Three Blind Mice, and it’s just sad that Tom (Washington) screwed up that game for us.”
-
Your grain of salt
Against the Nets — a team not known for its interior play — Detroit should have had a clear advantage in the frontcourt. Playing without Nenad Kristic, the Nets’ patchwork big man rotation of Jason Collins, Mikki Moore, and Josh Boone
Not to focus too much on a negative after a win, but that effort probably doesn’t equate to a W against a better team.
-
Damon Jones redux
Lastly, what it is about former Piston scrubs that enfuriates us so?
As if it wasn’t enough that Damon Jones is still playing in the Central Division (instead of say, Mongolia), now we have to deal with former Piston big man Mikki Moore in the starting lineup for the Nets. Moore, with his tenacious glare and the arm definition of a 7 year-old, was all over the court in his 30 minutes of PT. He finished with 8 points and 3 boards but made the most of his offensive opportunities, going 2-2 from the field and 4-4 from the line. He was diving. He was barking. He was fouling.
He was a thorn in the Pistons’ side all night… and mine as well as it turns out. Below are verbatim some notes that I took during the game. I didn’t realize until afterwards how prominent Mikki was featured:
- Moore is the first NBA player I’ve seen who makes tattoos look bad. His arms are so skinny that some of his designs look like they overlap themselves.
- Remember when you were a kid and your little brother begged you over and over again to let him play ball with you and your friends? And then your fat friend got too tired after after only a couple games of half court, so you had to let your brother play? And then your little brother runs all over the court like a spaz practically assaulting guys on defense and begging to touch the ball on the offensive end? Yeah, well that’s Mikki Moore, who in back-to-back offensive and defensive possessions threw the ball away and committed a brutal foul. In between, he got a not-so-accidental shoulder to the chest from Sheed. Hey, you said you wanted to play, little brother.
- Rip Hamilton gets a star call against Mikki Moore after clearly lowering his shoulder and levelling Mikki in the lane. Mikki wasn’t falling to be dramatic either… Rip Hamilton bowled him over… all 155 pounds of Rip levelled a 7-footer… why am I so haunted by this guy?
- Mikki Moore hits a layup in the lane and yells out “Oh, And 1!” He is promptly ignored by everyone on the court and in the stands. On his way back up court, Mikki stares with a fierceness only seen in freshmen v. JV games.
- Mikki Moore picks up another foul and is replaced by Josh Boone, a rookie from UConn… or so George Blaha tells me. (I think it is fairly obvious that this whole “Josh Boone” thing is just another attempt by Cheryl Miller to break the NBA’s gender barrier.)
- 2:50 left in the game. Sheed backing down Mikki Moore. Yeah, I like those odds.
- 2:18 remaining. Nazr driving against Mikki Moore. Yeah, I like those odds.
- After the no-call on Vince Carter’s last second shot, Lawrence Frank leaps onto the court and gives his sternest Peter Pan pose. With a pat on the head, he is sent back to the Nets’ bench.
And one non-Mikki observation:
Yeah, I think it is safe to say that our dislike of the Nets hasn’t abated just yet.
Pistons 92, New Jersey 91 box score [NBA.com]
Pistons cut down Nets [Detroit News]
Billups’ free throws carry Pistons to fifth straight victory [ESPN]
Unofficial DBB part-timer Tim comes through with a Nets preview
Nets Spot Stones 16.4 Points
The Nets limp into Auburn Hills tonight minus their second leading scorer Nenad Krstic (avg. 16.4 pts a game). Nenad is out for the season after injuring his ACL. I really like his game and hope he recovers completely for next season. It’s terrible news for the Nets but great news for the Pistons. Nenad abused the Pistons interior defense in his last outing to the tune of 27 pts. Without Krstic in the lineup the Nets have dropped their last two.
The Nets have been starting Eddie House in his absence so look for the Pistons to attack the inside (if Sheed can find the block). [Ed. - Former Piston Mikki Moore ended up getting the start at center — his first start ever for the Nets]
The Pistons have been playing some great ball as of late, especially at the defensive end. They are limiting their opponents to an average of 86 pts. In their last 17 games. Many are quick to credit the great play of Max and Dale (Bruise Bothers) but the whole team seems to have stepped up their D (excluding Flip who is incapable of defending anyone).
Enjoy the game, and please leave some comments. I’m at my sisters in MN and can’t watch the game. Gotta get that Slingbox!
- My step dad informs me that Bruise Brothers is a recycled nickname. It was a nickname given to Rick Mahorn and another player before being traded to Detroit. Can anyone confirm this?
-Tim
Defensive Stat - KRISTA JAHNKE - PISTONS CORNER: Pistons toughen up on the inside
Things have been slow around here this weekend with Ian recuperating from law school exams and me recuperating from, well, a little too much “eggnog” on the holiday party circuit. But it’s nice to see the Pistons have kept their nose to the grindstone with wins in New Jersey on Saturday and at home Sunday.
The team was without Rasheed Wallace in both contests, but outstanding efforts by Dale Davis and Jason Maxiell made up for it. In fact, the common theme between both games was outstanding bench play. A lot of Pistons fans, including DBB, have railed against Flip Saunders’ substitution patterns in the past, but he coached this weekend like he was finally privy to Joe Dumars’ long-term vision by giving the bench significant minutes, not just in terms of quantity but also quality. Guys like Will Blalock, Carlos Delfino and Jason Maxiell were in the game at critical junctions, and for the most part they all responded positively.
But the most surprising outcome of the weekend wasn’t watching the youngsters develop. Rather, it was seeing 15-year pro Dale Davis turn back the clock to the prime of his career. He hauled in nine boards in 25 minutes against the Nets and 13 in 22 minutes against the Sonics.
What’s even better, we learned that the duo of Davis and Maxiell is not an either/or proposition — the Pistons actually seemed to play best with the two on the court at the same time. It worked like clockwork on both ends of the court: the two provided tough as nails defense in the low-post, worked their asses off chasing offensive boards and not once ended a possession early with an ill-advised three-point attempt. (Sorry, Rasheed…) Continue reading ‘Pistons go two for the weekend’
Latest Comments