Tag Archive for ‘Walter Sharpe.’

Tag Archive for 'Walter Sharpe.'

Pistons tame Bobcats

Published by Matt Watson on November 4, 2008 in Bobcats and Games. 9 Comments

The Pistons were shorthanded, but no matter, they still cruised to a win over the Bobcats [game thread, box score], a truly awful team that had just one quarter of fight in them before laying down for a 101-83 loss. Some quick thoughts in Need4Sheed-style bullet-point form:

In his first game in post-Chauncey era, Rodney Stuckey looked like a work in progress, shooting 3-of-7 for nine points with only three of the team’s 23 assists. I’m big on his future, but anyone who thinks Stuckey is ready to replace everything Billups brought to the table right now is kidding himself. Stuckey can drive, yeah, but he’s not nearly the distributor that Billups is. He was okay on Monday, but I wasn’t surprised to see he was “only” +7 on the night whereas every other starter was +14 or or more.
Will Bynum, on the other hand, looked like a guy desperate to prove he deserves minutes, and not only because my expectations are so much lower for him. You know those comparisons to Lindsey Hunter? Throw them out the window, because when Bynum drives the lane, there’s no need to close your eyes in fear. He finished with 12 points on 6-9 shooting with four assists in a shade under 23 minutes. I have no freakin’ clue how the backcourt minutes will be distributed once AI joins the team (he’s used to 40+ minutes a game, which almost certainly won’t happen here), but I wouldn’t mind seeing Bynum get 10 minutes now and again in the right matchup.
Amir Johnson led the Pistons with a +21 plus/minus rating, scoring a dozen points with six boards in 23 minutes, but better yet, he set the tone by aggressively going after rebounds that he actually got the benefit of the doubt on a few whistles. (Of course, he still finished with four fouls, but when a guy is +21 in 23 minutes, it doesn’t matter how many fouls he commits.)
Jason Maxiell chipped in 10 points (but only two boards) in 23 minutes, going 4-4 from the line. In hindsight, Maxiell signing his extension was really the precursor for the AI deal, no? Just like Dumars was sure to lock up Hamilton the moment Billups left town, there’s no way Dumars would have moved McDyess had he not already signed his replacement to a contract that’s looking better and better every day.
Kwame Brown had a rough go of it from a shooting standpoint (1-6), but c’mon, the guy had nine boards and a pair of blocks in 17 minutes. Job well done.
With Chauncey Billups gone, will Rasheed Wallace have more freedom to drift outside? After all, Stuckey and AI, two slashers, will likely score most of their points in the paint. Just something to keep an eye on. In his first post-Chauncey game, Rasheed shot 3-5 from three-point land.
Walter Sharpe’s first two NBA points came on a reverse jam. If you missed it, watch it.
Walter Herrmann was a little quieter on Monday than he was in the first two games, but he was still the subject of one of my FanHouse posts. Also, this old school pic of Herrmann is pure 100% awesomeness.
As for the Bobcats, I have little to say except it was weird to see a clean-cut Adam Morrison running up and down the court. He finished with 10 points on 4-6 shooting.
Last but not least, Bobcats point guards Raymond Felton and DJ Augustin combined for exactly one assist in 39 minutes. Larry Brown eats his point guards alive even when they do well, so you have to figure he has something special planned for each of them at Charlotte’s next practice.

That’s about it. This was a weird game to watch — the team is stuck in an awkward limbo without Billups but before Iverson. It won’t last for long: the word during the telecast was that Iverson was expected to join the Pistons in time for Wednesday’s game in Toronto. Needless to say, the entire NBA will be watching to see how he fits in.

Walter Sharpe likes his progress

Published by Matt Watson on October 20, 2008 in From the news. 2 Comments

From the Freep:

While it’s hard to see where Sharpe can get much playing time this season with a stacked lineup, the second-round pick — picked up in a draft-day trade with the Sonics — is adjusting nicely to the NBA.

“It’s been really good to me,” said Sharpe, 22. “I’m getting a lot stronger, a lot faster, and I think I’m going to get a lot better.

“Seeing where I was when I got here, I’m really excited about where I’m going to be in the next couple of years.”

I don’t know why, but this quote made me smile. Most of time it’s coaches or fans who talk about a player’s long-term potential, but Sharpe seems to realize he’s an unfinished product. I know he’s not expected to play in the D-League this year (a decision I agree with given the circumstances), so here’s to hoping he gets at least a handful of chances to play some real minutes so we can continue to gauge his progress.

No D-League for Sharpe

Published by Matt Watson on October 17, 2008 in Alley-Oops. 3 Comments

From Keith Langlois: “One of the reasons the Pistons foresee Walter Sharpe staying with them and not playing in the D-League is because of his narcolepsy condition and their desire to provide him a constant structure. Curry said that’s also a reason they’ve had such a structured preseason – meetings, travel times, practice times constant …”

DBB spy reports from DC

Published by Matt Watson on October 11, 2008 in Guest Writer and Wizards. 7 Comments

Like most of you, I wasn’t able to watch Friday’s 73-62 win over the Wizards (on account of it, you know, not being televised and all), but DBB reader Other Matt was actually at the Verizon Center. He offered up his observations in the comments to last night’s game thread, and since he had a chance to see something that 99.99% of the rest of us Pistons fans could not (for better or worse — it doesn’t sound like it was much fun), I republished his thoughts here:

I just got back. DC is freaking awesome. I’ve been living in downtown for the last 5 months and I will be really sad to move home. I love that I can go to basketball game, eat at a 5 star restaurant, and walk home within 5-10 minutes. I’ll plug Rosa Mexicana, which is right across the street from the Verizon Center, tremendous food and good tequila.

All that said, this game was awful. It was like watching paint dry –or worse– a Presidential debate. The first half was a return to Carlisle style offense. It was not pretty. I think we’ll miss Flip a little bit offensively. I think we were 13/38 at the half. We went about 6 minutes without a bucket after the Kwame buzzer-beater to end the 1st quarter.

I thought our defense was terrific. We were active, we were in passing lanes, we did a terrific job at forcing turnovers. We did a poor job exploiting a +10 turnover margin in the first half.

Kwame Brown was excellent. Many of you will note that I was, and have continued to be, dead set against him. He was our best defender and really played well offensively. I really felt for the guy, the crowd was KILLING him. It got to the point where I felt the need to stand and cheer every time he did something marginally good. Color me cautiously optimistic and impressed.

Dee Brown’s defense gave us, Stuckey especially, fits all night long. Will Bynum is at least 2 inches shorter than Brown, which is to say he’s like 5′10 at best. Bynum was a pest, but clearly came out on the short end of his matchup with Dee Brown. I think he gives up too much size to contribute anything meaningful to us this season.

Stuckey was pretty bad all night. He struggled offensively, the Wizards did a nice job trapping him and trying to force the ball out of his hands. I was disappointed in his performance (not that anybody other than Kwame or Rasheed was “good”).

I didn’t see nearly enough Maxiell or Walter Sharpe. I thought Sharpe made a couple of nice plays defensively, but didn’t get enough burn to try to build any positive momentum.

Rasheed was pretty good all night. I think he only took 1 three, which he nailed. He was active in the paint and rebounded the ball well. Even if he wasn’t credited with a rebound in the stat sheet, he kept several balls alive for us. Amir did the same thing.

Speaking of Amir, he’s got to get thicker. He was pushed around by the much stronger Etan Thomas all night. It was not a good matchup for him. He was active defensively. I thought he did a good job despite giving up a very obvious strength advantage. I wish he’d have played more, but the Kwame-Rasheed matchup was working so well in our favor it’s hard to argue with the results.

That’s about all I got for now, I’ll expand more in the morning.

I don’t have much to add, except for reminding everyone not to get too upset about the offense. Michael Curry is trying to add a few new wrinkles to the mix, and he’s using the preseason to take his team out of their comfort zone so that they’ll be ready once the games actually start to matter. From Chris McCosky in Friday’s Detroit News:

Here’s the deal: All those familiar offensive sets that involve Billups and Wallace — the high pick-and-roll, pick-and-pop plays, the cross-screening plays — they are still part of the system.

Curry would rather use the early part of training camp to develop other facets of the offense.

“I know we can do those other things,” Curry said. “But can they do other things? When we are sitting in a (playoff) series and a team has locked in to you and taken away some of those things, can you go to something else?

“Plus, we have to be able to run some things when we don’t have all our talent on the court.”

Billups and Wallace — though admittedly struggling to adjust — are on board with Curry’s plan.

“Once we pick (the offensive sets) up and can run them consistently without thinking, just reacting, we’ll be fine,” Wallace said.

I actually meant to post that quote on Friday morning but never had a chance. Ironically enough, it’s that much more relevant today. The silver lining to last night’s game? Well, we won, just in case that preseason record ever starts to count for anything. Plus, Amir Johnson played 17 minutes without a single foul. He also went 1-5 from the field and had just two boards, but it’s not like anyone else did much better — the Pistons shot 40% from the field; the Wizards, 32.4%.

Notes from the open practice

Published by Matt Watson on October 3, 2008 in Guest Writer and Preseason 2008-09. 25 Comments

I couldn’t attend last night’s open practice at Oakland University, but DBB reader Diablo was there. Just like last year, he was gracious enough to share his impressions in the comments, which I’ve re-published below:

______________________

2nd Annual Pistons’ Open Practice @ Oakland University.

One word: Impressive.

[…] Walter Herrmann and Walter Sharpe stole the show. Both guys can play some serious ball (offensively) and would be nice additions coming off the bench to rest the legs of Tayshaun Prince. Unfortunately, both play the same position. So I can expect both these players fighting tooth and nail to get every minute that the Prince leaves behind.

Positive: Sharpe is surprisingly taller than I expected, can shoot the 3, evidence to the unexpected shoot-out between him Herrmann. He also showed signs of athletism with attempts to throw down missed shot attempts and trying to dunk on 7′1 Cheikh Samb. And like mentioned above, the guy is confident with his shot (very shocking), even with a man and a hand in his face. Also, yelling out for the ball with Herrmann all over him in the post, shows you he really wants to be apart of offense.

Negative: Walter Sharpe struggled defensively getting to spots late and leaving people open. Having a defensive coach like Mike Curry should help him along the way but if he wants to be taken seriously this year as a rotation player, he needs to pick up the defense quickly.

Positive: Herrmann. Wide open or covered, the guy was just lethal. Hitting 3s when given any room and when covered well, he took it to the hole fearlessly. Back and forth, him and Sharpe really battled it out. I feel like Herrmann is taking some serious steps to get every minute Tayshaun leaves behind and maybe some at the 4. And if I had to pick between Herrmann or Sharpe, it would be Herrmann by a hair, he was just a tad more consistent.

Negative: He just could not get a good defensive grasp on Walter Sharpe’s offensive style. Don’t know why but it seemed like Herrmann never seen Sharpe play before today. Whatever it is, I know Herrmann can be a solid defender and I’m not too worried about it, since he answered on the other end with something of his own, most of the time.

“Competition brings out the best,” lets hope this is the case between Herrmann and Sharpe.

Positive: The emergence of Rodney Stuckey. Easily, Easily…EASILY, could take over a starting spot at the 1 or 2. Last year, I talked about how Stuckey wasn’t that great of a jump-shooter. Let me tell you, the jumpshot looks to be coming around which was a main concern for most Piston fans. No long-range shooting attempts tonight but why need to, when you are nailing almost every mid-range jumper and cutting through the defense to the hoop with ease. Simply put, Stuckey looked great and consistent, scary.

Negative: No. 3, had no 3s. Nothing to worry about, he is showing he is trying to perfect a certain part of his game (which it shows) before he extends out to other parts of the floor.

Positive: Amir Johnson. Active. Rebounding. Blocking shots (most notable, the one he threw half way across the court on Alex Acker). I’m still not sold on Amir getting the starting spot but he looked comfortable and well controlled with Rasheed next to him. He had a couple big dunks, one from a turnover and I believe the other one from being left wide-open in paint.

Negative: He didn’t create too much offense for himself but never really had a chance. With Rodney Stuckey, Rip Hamilton (somtimes), Rasheed Wallace, and a surprising Walter Sharpe on your team, he was bound to be left out of the offensive play calling.

Positive: Alex Acker, another confident shooter. Wasn’t as consistent as Herrmann and Sharpe from long-range but he showed he will take the shot given the opportunity. The guy can also play a little PG, which is nice to know, since he is a bigger guard we might be able to use that in certain situations.

Positive: Will Bynum, a “Lindsey Hunter clone” as far as being the smallest guy on the court and willing to get in the face of bigger guards like Billups and Stuckey on defense. Not as crafty as Hunter but will stick to his man, unfortunately, his height is a disadvantage because Stuckey really took advantage of it. If not aware, the guy is pretty fast, has a good handle of the ball and can naturally take it to the hole. Ask Rasheed what he thought of trying to defend the circus shot Bynum put up over him with the foul. He will probably say “it was Lucky” but it was still nice.

Negative: Both Acker and Bynum will probably be 15th and 14th men but knowing most of you, this would be a positive.

Positive: KWA-MAY Brown! (Stephen A. Smith style) With a reduced role and reduced minutes, holds less responsibility than being considered the next KG. I can see him fitting in well, filling in as a 5th big man for defensive purposes. He guarded Rasheed and anyone that was put on him well. As long as no one expects him to explode on to the scene (like the other organizations he was with) I think he will do just fine.

Negative: Passes too much. Most of you might see this as a positive but when you have good position in the post I wish you would make an attempt to make a basket. He even has some good post moves but doesn’t use them to his advantage. He will make a good post move but when you think he would put up a shot, he would awkwardly pass it out to the perimeter or Mcdyess (who was paired with him). I hope he grows out of this, quickly.

Also, shame on those who booed the guy when he was introduced.

Positive: Cheikh Samb, rebounding, knocking down some jumpers, and being a big body were his advantages.

Negative: Didn’t seem to enforce his will on offense but the team he was on was usually the weakest offensively. So the offense really didn’t set up plays for him. Not too disappointing for me because I’m not a person who has his hopes up on him.

Negative: Arron Afflalo. Where were you man? I felt defensively he did his job as best as a second year player could do. But offensively, it just wasn’t his night. Missed open shots, caught traveling, and missed a couple free throws. The season hasn’t started yet, let’s hope Aaron finds his groove somewhere from now and October 29th.

I didn’t want to evaluate Maxiell because we already know what to expect from him (I consider him a starter). But he did what I expected from him and that was solid D with some thunderous dunks. And if it wasn’t for a hard foul by Rasheed Wallace, Rasheed would of got eaten alive.

Matt W. I would of took some pictures but I forgot my camera and my phone’s camera kind sucks. I had a couple friends with me and they were taking pictures, I will see if they have any pictures I can share with all you.

Any other questions or concerns about the Open Practice, just ask and I will answer.

Some day Walter Sharpe will watch this and laugh

Published by Matt Watson on October 1, 2008 in Videos. 11 Comments

I feel for the guy — that has to be one of the most painful interviews of someone not running for vice president I’ve seen in a very long time. On the other hand, it’s somewhat amusing to see an NBA guy interviewed before he’s mastered the art of cliches. It won’t take long before he learns (Update: because they actually teach this stuff, and Henry Abbott is finding out) — as you’ll see below the jump, Arron Afflalo, in his second training camp, has it down pat. Continue reading ‘Some day Walter Sharpe will watch this and laugh’

No D-League for Walter Sharpe

Published by Matt Watson on September 16, 2008 in From the news. 16 Comments

Chris McCosky reports that Michael Curry plans to keep a close eye on Walter Sharpe this year:

“He needs a year here under our watch,” Curry said. “He needs structure and stability every day. A guy like (center) Cheikh Samb needs basketball hours — he’s a guy that would benefit more from the D-League. Walter will benefit more from being in this structure every day.”

Make no mistake, Sharpe needs “basketball hours” too — the guy played just 40 games in four years of college — but given his checkered resume I have to agree that structure and stability is more important. As hectic as the NBA schedule often seems, there’s a lot of downtime for players, and keeping Sharpe close to his coaches and teammates can only be a good thing. As Keith Langlois said in August: “Best advice for Sharpe: Attach yourself to Arron Afflalo.”

Also, McCosky confirmed that Alex Acker has been added to the training camp roster, which was something I suspected was coming ever since someone left this completely random and defensive comment on a one-year-old post this past weekend. Nice to see Alex’s family has discovered DBB.

Walter Herrmann will in fact return

Published by Matt Watson on August 1, 2008 in From the news and Transactions. 147 Comments

We asked the question yesterday, and the Detroit Free Press confirms the answer today: Walter Herrmann agreed to a one-year deal to return to the Pistons.

He’ll presumably serve as the primary backup small forward, though if the playoffs are any indication, I imagine we’ll occasionally see three guards on the floor with Chauncey Billups at the one, Rodney Stuckey at the two and Rip Hamilton sliding over as the de facto three. I’d really like to see what Walter Sharpe brings to the table, but he may end up bouncing between the inactive list and the D-League.

In any case, I’m glad to see Herrmann will get another chance. He has an interesting skillset, and no matter what you think his ceiling is, he’s always one of the most active players on the court. Oh, and his hands are ginormous, which should appease all the people complaining about Kwame Brown’s digits.

Walter Sharpe interview

Published by Matt Watson on July 31, 2008 in Alley-Oops. 1 Comment

Pistonscast.com interviewed rookie Walter Sharpe earlier this week on their podcast — Sharpe appears on the air around eight and a half minutes in through the 17-minute mark. Also, Sharpe shows off his uniform.

On narcolepsy not being funny to me anymore

Published by Matt Watson on July 10, 2008 in Around the Internets. 15 Comments

Almost immediately after Walter Sharpe was drafted, it was hard not to crack a joke about narcolepsy. On the surface, it seemed harmless, right? I mean, we’re talking about people who sleep a lot, not someone with an actual life-threatening disease.

Not too long after, though, a handful of DBB readers suggested that maybe it wasn’t actually funny. I appreciated their thoughtfulness but honestly didn’t have much of an opinion. The more I learn about the disease, though, the more I tend to agree.

Here’s a first-hand description about what it’s like to live with narcolepsy from Todd Brakke, a Pistons fan inspired to share his story after watching the NBA draft:

It’s not something I get into very much since it’s usually viewed -thanks in large part to TV and movies- as that condition where you fall asleep in the middle of jogging or mowing the lawn or some such nonsense.

In reality, it’s basically a condition where you don’t go through the stages of sleep properly, the result being that your sleep isn’t nearly as restorative as it should be. Eight hours of sleep to you feels like about four or five hours of sleep to me. Imagine feeling severely sleep deprived every single day, regardless of how much sleep you actually get. That, in a nutshell, is narcolepsy. It doesn’t make you pass out while in the middle of being active, like bowling or feeding the cat. That’s a myth as far as I’m concerned. There’s a subsymptom that some narcoleptics have, called cataplexy, that causes the appearance of passing out. It’s a temporary loss of muscle control that -in severe forms- can result in you dropping like a sack of bricks, concious but unable to move. I’m grateful not to suffer from cataplexy.

What narcolepsy does do is make you very susceptible to falling asleep while passive. Reading a book, watching TV, sitting in a meeting or presentation are all recipes for a ticket to sleepy town. […]

For me the drowsiness while reading part is particularly intrusive, what with my occupation being an editor of extremely long and often boring tech books and all. On bad days I’ll go into full bore head-bob mode in the hours following lunch, which is the second most difficult part of the day for me to get through. The worst is first thing in the morning. Just waking up and finding the will to move, let alone get out of bed is… difficult. I could wake up to find the house on fire and I’d have to talk myself out of sleeping for just five more minutes. That said, it’s a condition you have to manage. You have accept the fact that you need more rest than the average bear and that sometimes it’s necessary to find an out of the way place for a 20-minute nap. […]

Pistons GM Joe Dumars says they talked to just about everybody connected to Sharpe and that he thinks, now that he’s getting treatment for narcolepsy, that his struggles are behind him. I’m not gonna get into Sharpe’s basketball skills -that’s way out of my league- but if Sharpe thinks his newfound magic narco pills are going to completely change his life, he’s got another thing coming. The pills you can take for narcolepsy do not knock the condition out of the park. They’re masking agents. Your body and mind are still just as tired as they always were, you just don’t feel it… as much. (At least, that’s been my experience.)

When I was first diagnosed I was prescribed a drug called Modafinil (trade name Provigil). It felt like a whole new world. I was awake. I had energy. I could split the atom with a pair of tweesers. Didn’t last. Your body adjusts and after a while (months, maybe a year) you have to adjust the dosage and keep adjusting it or move on to some other drug. […] The point is, the drugs can help. But they’re not gonna change your life for you. You have to do that yourself. So, it’ll be interesting to see where Sharpe goes from here. I’m sure whatever drugs he’s taking right now will help him out in the short term. But as his body adjusts to the meds and he starts really bouncing back and forth between time zones (assuming he makes the team) on NBA road trips, it’s gonna be a whole new test. If the Pistons are smart they’ll have a doctor watching him very closely, one that can help monitor what he’s taking, how much he’s taking and when he should be taking it.

I’ve already blockquoted more than I’m comfortable with — I wish I could re-print the entire post, but instead I’ll just link to it again. Seriously, read it, DBB isn’t going anywhere.

Done? Good. It’s one thing to read about narcolepsy on Wikipedia, and it’s another altogether to hear someone describe their own personal experience. I don’t know about you, but I’m just not that amused anymore.

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