Archive for the 'Shameless Plugging' Category

Pistons eliminate Magic in five

Published by Matt Watson on May 14, 2008 in 2008 Playoffs, Magic and Shameless Plugging. 22 Comments

There’s been a lack of activity on my part over here today and last night (not that it’s stopped any of you), but that’s in part because I’ve been pretty active on FanHouse. Here are some highlights from last night:

  • Flip Saunders on Chauncey Billups taking his time returning:

    “It’s up to the players [to decide] when they’re right,” said Saunders. “And when they’re right, I don’t want them to have any hesitation, because if they’re not right and they have hesitation, they’re not going to play very good, to be honest. So, he’s got to feel comfortable as far as about it.”

  • Stan Van Gundy on Jameer Nelson’s “guarantee” as well as calling out the media for making lazy judgments:

    “What happens all the time is how well [we] play determines what you guys write about a team’s character and everything,” Van Gundy told the gaggle of reporters. “So automatically, if you play well, you have great character. And if you don’t play well, it’s because you don’t have the ‘resolve,’ and the ‘mental toughness’ and all of that. We have all of that. We have to play well.”

    This is an excellent point. I’ve grown increasingly sensitive to assigning character flaws to a team every time they lose. The Magic didn’t lose last night because they lacked character. In fact, the opposite is true: they held Detroit to 36% shooting, they out-rebounded them and they gave up only three three-pointers all night long.

    Unfortunately, they also turned the ball over 21 times (for 34 Pistons points) while Detroit set an NBA playoff record with three turnovers, including not one in the final three quarters. Orlando showed a ton of heart by staying in this game all night long, but in the end, the Pistons executed and they didn’t. That’s nothing to be ashamed of. The Pistons have been to six straight conference finals for a reason.

    The Pistons see this type of logic used against them all the time. When the Pistons lose, it’s not because they’re complacent, they simply don’t well every single night. When Rasheed Wallace has a bad shooting night, he’s not being lazy, he just couldn’t get into a groove. If you ever see me relying on cliche instead of reality, please call me out.

  • Jameer Nelson thinks the media made too much of his “guarantee:”

    After the game, slumped in a chair in front of his locker with his feet soaking in ice and wearing only a towel, a dejected Nelson reflected on his “guarantee” and the attention it attracted. “I didn’t guarantee a win,” he said. “I didn’t say, ‘we’re going to …’ I said ‘we have to go win, we’re going to come get this win.’ And the media took it out of proportion or whatever they want to do. The media always wants a story. I mean, I really don’t care what people write, you know?”

    I mean, he did say the Magic were going to win, but if you read my whole post, he explains himself.

  • I spoke to Rashard Lewis before the game about a handful of things, including how competitive this series actually was despite the fact that Orlando only won a single game:

    We won one game, but at the same time, the record doesn’t say how hard we’ve been playing, how tough we’ve been taking a team down to the wire. They’ve beat us three times, we’ve only beat them once, but I can guarantee you that every game they had to go out there and win the game, it wasn’t handed to them.

And last but certainly not least …

Rip Hamilton’s reaction after the game:

“I didn’t even see who blocked the shot, to tell you the truth. The only thing I’d seen was Tay flexing. I went up to Rasheed and I was like, ‘Uh, who blocked that shot? It must be Tay, huh?’

Pistons go up 2-0 on Magic

Published by Matt Watson on May 6, 2008 in 2008 Playoffs, Games, Magic and Shameless Plugging. 60 Comments

I have all sorts of stuff from last night’s game going up at FanHouse this morning. Before the game, Rashard Lewis told me that the brewing war of the words between he and Theo Ratliff was over and done with:

“I’m a basketball player, I go out there to play basketball and not to trash talk. It was just something that he said and I responded to it. It wasn’t nothing personal, it was just me being a man and responding to what he said. But at the same time, I’m not that type of player. I go out there to play basketball and try to win for my team and let the trash talk stay on their side.”

After the game, Ratliff told me that Dwight Howard isn’t on the same level as David Robinson, Patrick Ewing and Hakeem Olajuwon … yet:

“He’s a phenomenal talent — his athleticism, his size, but he’s still young. He’s going to continue to get better and continue to get better and he’ll probably be at the status of those guys later on in his career.”

Jason Maxiell explained why he’s so freaking active on the court:

MW: At the end of the last series, Thaddeus Young had a pretty entertaining quote about you. … He said, Maxiell is crazy, he’s crazy crazy. What do you think about that, that’s a sign of respect, wouldn’t you say?

JM: Yeah, to a certain degree. I guess with my size, I got to keep moving, going for offensive boards. They don’t run plays for me, so the way for myself to score is to get to the board.

And, of course, the clock thing. The Pistons obviously got a gift, but the Magic refused to blame that one play for their loss:

“They didn’t start the clock and he made the shot, but I didn’t think that determined the game,” said Rashard Lewis. “We were still in the game, we were down two points at the time. We still had another full quarter to go, we were still in the game, but I think we made a lot of little mistakes that made us lose that game.”

You can’t get too upset about an iffy call when you go out and finish the game shooting 25% and committing five turnovers over the last 12 minutes. That whistle on Keyon Dooling for “pushing” Rip Hamilton before the in-bounds pass? That was bad, too, but the Pistons were already up three with the ball so it’s hard to say that was a game-changer, as well. I will admit those types of things add up over time, though. I’m willing to chalk some of it up to the refs being partly influenced by a LOUD crowd at the Palace.

DBB on the radio

Published by Matt Watson on April 29, 2008 in Shameless Plugging and Site Announcements. 8 Comments

Update: The panel has been bumped to tomorrow at 10am. I feel like Matt Damon.

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I’ve been invited to appear on a panel of Detroit sports bloggers on WDET’s Detroit Today program on Tuesday morning. It should be a lot of fun, especially given the company I’ll be sharing — host Craig Fahle will be moderating, and Billfer from the Detroit Tigers Weblog, Big Al from the Wayne Fontes Experience and Side Lion Report and Bruce McLeod from Red Wings Corner and the Macomb Daily are also scheduled to appear.

If you’d like to tune in, I’m told we’ll kick things off at 11am, so set your dial to 101.9 FM or listen to the online stream. I’ll also try to post an mp3 of the show later.

How important is playoff experience?

Published by Matt Watson on April 21, 2008 in Around the Internets and Shameless Plugging. 8 Comments

Just how important is playoff experience?

I know as Pistons fans we like to think it gives our favorite team an edge over every other up-and-comer, but I’m not sure I buy it anymore. This isn’t a knee-jerk reaction to last night’s game — I actually made this idea the central theme of my latest FanHouse column, which I started before Sunday’s Pistons-Sixers game and focuses on Chris Paul’s dominance from Saturday:

What’s experience worth in the NBA playoffs? If you believe the pundits, it’s what separates serious contenders from “happy to be here” upstarts. When talking about the Hornets-Mavericks series on Friday night, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith predicted Dallas to win in six. Why? Because they’ve been there before. “I think they have the experience and savvy to close it out, plus the sense of urgency,” said Smith, “because if they don’t get it done and they lose in the first round, there’s going to be some changes in the Big D.”

Forget that Chris Paul turned in an MVP-caliber season or that the Hornets won the No. 2 seed in the most competitive Western Conference of recent memory. Never mind the fact that the Mavericks barely made the playoffs, or that they lost in the opening round as a No. 1 seed the year before (now that was a good experience). Instead, Dallas should be favored because they’re “experienced,” “savvy,” and my favorite, “urgent.” Yes, folks, closing windows of opportunity are now reasons for hope.

Well, we saw what that was worth Saturday afternoon, as poor, inexperienced, wet behind the ears Chris Paul took a steaming dump on conventional wisdom.

I know I do more than my fair share of self-promotion here, but I’m proud of how this piece came out, and not just because I slipped “steaming dump” past my editor. If nothing else, there’s some fun throwback YouTube videos at the bottom that will provide a welcome distraction to being down 0-1, but I’m curious how much you guys think experience (as opposed to just plain “talent”) actually matters.

The NBA can learn from March Madness

Published by Matt Watson on April 1, 2008 in Alley-Oops and Shameless Plugging. 2 Comments

I’m not a fan of college basketball whatsoever, but I really get into March Madness. Clearly, the suits in the NCAA’s offices are on to something (beyond just making billions of dollars while not paying athletes a dime). What can the NBA take from the success of March Madness? That’s the topic of my latest column on FanHouse.

Billups belongs in MVP debate

Published by Matt Watson on April 1, 2008 in Shameless Plugging. 19 Comments

From my latest on HOOPSWORLD:

If you consider the point guard position spot to be the most important position in the game, than one candidate you have to consider for the award is Detroit’s Chauncey Billups. His raw numbers aren’t quite as gaudy as the likes of Paul or Steve Nash, but that’s in part because the Pistons play at the slowest pace in the league.

Instead of racking up huge fantasy numbers, Billups settles for being extremely efficient – a formula that seems to be working considering he’s guided the Detroit Pistons to the second-best record in the league. This year, despite seeing a slight dip in minutes his production has actually climbed; he’s posted a career-high 23.80 PER, which ranks second to Paul (28.84) among all point guards this year.

Billups isn’t a complete stranger to this debate: in 2004-05, he placed fifth in MVP voting, thanks in part to his team’s league-best 64 regular-season wins, and last season he placed 11th. If those voters who recognized him in the past take the time to examine his numbers again this year, they’ll see that he’s actually enjoying the best season of his career.

Do I think Chauncey Billups deserves to win the MVP over LeBron, Kobe or Chris Paul? Not at all. But as I tried to argue in the article above, I do think he deserves to be right near the top of the “others receiving votes” tier.

(Incidentally, if I had a vote for the MVP award, my pick would be Chris Paul, hands down. What he’s doing this year is simply incredible.)

Amir on starting over Antonio

Published by Matt Watson on March 11, 2008 in Shameless Plugging. 35 Comments

Terry Foster of the Detroit News and Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press have each made a case recently for Amir Johnson to be given a chance to start. In my latest article from HOOPSWORLD, I asked Johnson what he thought about all of this:

Some players might not know how to handle that kind of sudden attention, but Johnson appears to be taking his rise from obscurity in stride. “In the beginning of the year I hurt my ankle. I’m just starting to get into the rotation a little bit, so I’m doing pretty good right now,” he said. “I’m just taking one step at a time.”

And for now, the next step involves learning how to avoid foul trouble and being part of a playoff rotation for the first time in his career, not leapfrogging McDyess into the starting lineup. “I just feel like we’re doing a good job right now,” he said. “It doesn’t really matter who starts, as long as we get the win. Nothing really matters as long as we do good in the playoffs.”

Theo Ratliff is signed and delivered

Published by Matt Watson on March 5, 2008 in Shameless Plugging and Transactions. 4 Comments

Theo Ratliff was at the Palace last night, meeting some new teammates, reuniting with others and talking to the press while wearing a Pistons (practice) jersey for the first time in almost 10 years. From my latest on HOOPSWORLD:

It’s been several years since Ratliff has been a part of a contender, and he’s spent much of that time on teams devoted to developing younger players whom he’s helped mentor. “I think I had a great influence on those guys … [But] now’s the time for me to get my satisfaction,” he said while laughing. “My satisfaction of being able to become a Piston again, with the team they have and the record that they have and where they’re going. I feel like I can add a lot as far as coming off the bench and being able to be a big spark, just fitting right in with the defensive mentality that these guys have. And that’s why I’m so excited about being a part of this organization.”

Ratliff was also effusive in his praise for Arnie Kander (”He’s a miracle worker, so I’m going to let him lay his hands on me …”) and expects to be healthy enough to contribute the rest of the way. Flip Saunders agrees and said Ratliff will likely compete for more minutes than Dale Davis would have been expected to, especially come the postseason:

“I think we’re committed to staying with the rotation that we have and see where that takes us,” said Saunders. “But I think what we do have is we do have other players that, if things aren’t working, maybe you have a little bit of a shorter leash … If our bench gives us in the playoffs what they’re giving us right now, we’re going to play them. Our hope is that they’re going to be able to continue to do that.”

Ratliff Returns to Detroit / HOOPSWORLD

On trades and rookies

Published by Matt Watson on February 18, 2008 in Shameless Plugging. 31 Comments

I’ve been busy with HOOPSWORLD lately — I have a Central Division trade deadline analysis up, as well as a progress report on Arron Afflalo and Rodney Stuckey:

Billups has noticed Stuckey’s improvement, as well. “I think the game is slowing down for him,” said Billups last week. “He is able to see different things that are happening before they actually happen. That is the intuition that point guards really need to have and he is able to start seeing that.”

Nothing breeds intuition like familiarity, which Stuckey says he now has with the entire second unit. “I know when I’m on the break and I got Amir and Max running with me, I know not to throw the ball down to their ankles because they can’t catch it there. So I just throw the ball up to the rim,” said Stuckey. “And with Afflalo, when he’s running the break, give him the ball on the wings so he can hit some open shots. I’m pretty comfortable with these guys already; it’s just all about getting more playing time with each other and getting more comfortable.”

Detroit’s Rookie Backcourt Makes Progress [HOOPSWORLD]
Deadline Analysis: Central Division HOOPSWORLD

Rasheed replaces Garnett in All-Star game (much to his chagrin)

Published by Matt Watson on February 11, 2008 in From the news and Shameless Plugging. 9 Comments

With Kevin Garnett unable to play in the All-Star game due to an abdominal strain, David Stern selected Rasheed Wallace as a replacement. Wallace has publicly said he’d rather not attend the weekend’s festivities, but Flip Saunders thinks he’ll figure out a way to have fun. From my HOOPSWORLD article:

“Once he gets down there, he’ll enjoy it, especially now with his kids getting a little bit older and really understanding what it’s all about, too,” said Saunders. “You do those things sometimes as much for your organization and your family as much as for yourself.”

After the game, Wallace spoke briefly about being selected:

He admitted that it was an honor and said if anything it’ll be something his kids will be able to enjoy, but at the same time admitted that he did in fact have other plans already made that he’d have to cancel and move to the summer. In all seriousness, he sounded more excited about being able to root Rip Hamilton on in the three-point contest than he did about being recognized as one of the best at his position.

While his answers were somewhat short and clipped when talking about himself, he spoke at length when asked about the progress made by some of the team’s young players and what they need to do to continue getting better. He doesn’t make it easy when reporters want to focus on his own accomplishments, but he’s never short in praise for his teammates.

Here’s the funny thing: the Pistons will have three reps at the game, while the Celtics (sans Garnett) will only have one. For all the jersey popping and self-congratulating Boston does after each win, don’t think for a moment that they don’t feel slighted.

But should Boston even be the most offended? Or has Hedo Turkoglu been robbed? Personally, I think Josh Smith has the most reason to be angry, but it comes down to positions, and the East had to pick a center considering the coaches had already fudged Chris Bosh’s position when they voted in reserves. And if that’s the case, it had to be either Sheed or Zydrunas Ilgauskas, right? I think Stern made the right call, Wallace’s vacation plans be damned.

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