Detroit 109, Charlotte 94: Pistons bounce back big against Bobcats

It is time for anther belated recap -- this time a 109, 94 victory against the Charlotte Bobcats. As happens every Wednesday, I missed the game due to a night of pizza, beer and trivia (second place and $20 bucks, if you're wondering). The game was on one of the TVs over the bar, and I knew things must have been going reasonably well because every time I looked up it seemed to be a close up of either Greg Monroe or Rodney Stuckey, and neither of them looked like they were having a rough night.

Now for some delicious (sausuage) links to help you get through the morning.

Pistons batter Bobcats as owner Tom Gores gets to see a win | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com
The Pistons dismantled the Bobcats for the second time this season, winning 109-94 Wednesday at The Palace, snapping a three-game losing streak and winning their first game with owner Tom Gores in attendance.

Roberto Gato - A Charlotte Bobcats Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More
If you guys don’t mind, I’m going to copy and paste another game recap from a while back. Even if I pick at random, there’s a little better than a 1 in 10 chance it’ll be pretty close to accurate. Same story, different night, different town.

Detroit 109, Charlotte 94: Greg Monroe, Pistons crush Bobcats | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
Vince Ellis says the beleaguered second unit had a big hand in setting the dominant tone for the Pistons tonight:

But Ben Wallace, Damien Wilkins, Jonas Jerebko, Ben Gordon and Brandon Knight started the second quarter against the Bobcats (4-29) and quickly pushed a one-point lead to 10 by the seven-minute mark on Knight's fast-break lay-up.

BOBCATS: Recap: Cats Downed in Motown
But Charlotte head coach Paul Silas says that it had a lot more to do with the loss of their big man:

"When we lost Bismack Biyombo, he was the one that was playing tough and rebounding for us and blocking shots; all the things that we needed and when we lost him, it was tough to make that up."

Detroit Pistons go on the attack in 109-94 victory over struggling Charlotte Bobcats (with video) | MLive.com
David Mayo writes that the Pistons had a field day inside following BBs injury, and the Pistons did end up outscoring the Bobcats 50-36 in the paint:

Greg Monroe had 19 points and a career-high 20 rebounds, while Rodney Stuckey scored 29 points and attacked the basket vigorously. Both thrived in the middle after center Bismack Biyombo suffered a shoulder injury early in the game, depriving the Bobcats of the league's 12th-leading shot-blocker.

Pistons 109, Bobcats 94 | NBA.com
Sadly, it was something of a milestone for the Pistons, and not necessarily a proud one for the franchise:

THE STAT: 8-6. An 8-6 record during the month of February might not seem like a major accomplishment but the Pistons haven't experienced a winning month in more than three years. The last time they had a winning month was December 2008, when they went 9-5 a month after acquiring Allen Iverson from Denver. Since then, the Pistons played 20 months without going better than .500.

Bobcats Lose to Detroit Pistons, 109-94 - Rufus on Fire
And if you thought it was hard being a Pistons fan, try being a Bobcats fan for a day. I think that this about sums it up:

It's becoming difficult to draw conclusions from Bobcats' games that aren't already readily apparent. It's obvious that this year's team is terrible by any standard, perhaps historically so. It's clear that much of the Bobcats' personnel isn't able to compete at a high level in the NBA. What that leaves is the assessment of which Bobcats' players are worth keeping for future, hopefully more competitive endeavors. But when the Bobcats are so thoroughly outplayed on a consistent basis, even that becomes difficult. With little talent surrounding them, it's often difficult for young, still-adjusting players to be effective.