On Tuesday, I wrote:
I've gotten in the habit of thinking of [Carlos] Delfino and Maurice Evans as an either/or proposition, but the Pistons made their move in the second quarter Monday with both of those two guys in the game and Tayshaun Prince and Rip Hamilton on the bench. Considering Tay and Rip lead the Pistons in minutes, it would certainly help the Pistons if Delfino and Evans continue to complement each other. In my opinion, this is definitely one of the more interesting storylines for Pistons fans to follow right now.
Apparently I was on to something. From A. Sherrod Blakely's latest article on MLive.com:
For months, the only time Carlos Delfino and Maurice Evans were on the basketball court at the same time was when they were guarding each other in practice.
Lately, Detroit Pistons coach Flip Saunders has felt more comfortable playing the two together for key stretches in games.
They were both instrumental in the second quarter of the Pistons' 94-84 win against Boston on Monday. Delfino and Evans scored 13 of their combined 16 points in the quarter, and played solid defense against Celtics' all-star Paul Pierce.
I think it's been clear to anyone that's watched a few games this year that most of the reserves tend to play better when paired up with one or more of the starters. Flip Saunders appears to have noticed that, as well:
When Delfino and Evans are in a game at the same time, Saunders also has point guard Chauncey Billups and at least one other starter on the floor with them.
"They just feel, right now, more comfortable when they're in there with Chauncey," Saunders said. "It's calmed them down a little bit, and they feel more comfortable and it's helped their confidence."
Like Ian said earlier today, the Pistons have a stretch of very winnable games coming up, including back-to-back games tonight and tomorrow, so witn any luck we'll continue to see much more of the Delfino and Evans combo.