***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

[Steve_OS]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

Good win after some humbling losses. I'd like to see how they play w/o AI, so the injury to him will be interesting for the team. Stuck was lights out.

[poster]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

There is no doubt Stuck can lead this team next year, beast game last night.

[raidersbball20]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

I am missing Chauncy right now, he was so good in the playoffs. They should of kept Flip.

[Psyblast]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

I am missing Chauncy right now, he was so good in the playoffs. They should of kept Flip.

There really isn't a single statement in this post that is correct.

Chauncey was ghosting it the past three years when the chips were down. And Flop was a complete joke of a coach.

[Kruza]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

This team is so much stronger defensively and on the boards whenever Amir is on the court with Sheed. It really showed when the Pistons put the clamps down on the Bucks during the second half last night. I think the coaching staff has to find ways to get Amir on the court more despite Dice returning to the team. Oh, if only he wasn't so foul prone. Anyway, I'm not too fond of playing small lineups with only one big man on the court for extensive minutes, even though I know why it's done on this team.

Kruza

[Kruza]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

Impressive win against a hot Orlando Magic team last night. Sheed played great defense against Dwight Howard during the first half. Then all of the Pistons big men made Superman work hard to score as the Magic All-Star center got untracked in the second half. Dice redeemed himself and has played well since his lackluster performance in Atlanta last week. AI is learning when to pick his spots to make plays along with Rodney Stuckey while taking turns running the offense. Plus the Pistons have been rebounding as a team a lot better lately.

According to an article at MLive, Michael Curry is pondering about making more starting lineup changes. The Pistons have looked really good on both ends of the court while Rip has been out, so I wonder if MC is thinking about bringing him off the bench once he's healthy enough to play. It has to ultimately be either Rip or AI who has to accept that role because it's becoming obvious from watching a lot of Pistons games this season that this team plays better as a whole with two bigs on the floor in comparison to playing a small lineup with one big on the floor.

Michael Curry ponders lineup changes

Kruza

[rockchisler]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

There really isn't a single statement in this post that is correct.

Chauncey was ghosting it the past three years when the chips were down. And Flop was a complete joke of a coach.

Exactly

[rockchisler]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

Impressive win against a hot Orlando Magic team last night. Sheed played great defense against Dwight Howard during the first half. Then all of the Pistons big men made Superman work hard to score as the Magic All-Star center got untracked in the second half. Dice redeemed himself and has played well since his lackluster performance in Atlanta last week. AI is learning when to pick his spots to make plays along with Rodney Stuckey while taking turns running the offense. Plus the Pistons have been rebounding as a team a lot better lately.

According to an article at MLive, Michael Curry is pondering about making more starting lineup changes. The Pistons have looked really good on both ends of the court while Rip has been out, so I wonder if MC is thinking about bringing him off the bench once he's healthy enough to play. It has to ultimately be either Rip or AI who has to accept that role because it's becoming obvious from watching a lot of Pistons games this season that this team plays better as a whole with two bigs on the floor in comparison to playing a small lineup with one big on the floor.

Michael Curry ponders lineup changes

Kruza

Most of the east plays small ball but when you play the Magic and Celtics and Lakers you have to go big, Stuckey is averaging 20 a game in the last 6, do you put him back on the bench????? Nice problem to have I guess for Curry.

[Kruza]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

Stuckey should be set in stone to start. He's become the best defender of the three guards as well as the best finisher whenever attacking the basket. Plus he's doing a great job in running the offense and getting teammates involved. And Tay also has to start because he's still the team's best individual perimeter defender along with being a capable all-around offensive player who's content with playing off other guys until his number is called upon.

To me, the choice of who comes off the bench is between Rip and AI. One of these guys could be the sixth man who becomes the type of major scoring sparkplug off the bench that the Pistons hasn't had since the days of Vinnie Johnson. The challenge will be if either guy would be willing to accept the role as sixth man gracefully once the decision is made. I certainly don't envy MC being in the position to have to make this decision.

Kruza

[Muzyk23]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

5 in a row baby

[NBA2k8 CHAMP]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

We should trade Rip for a Big........Camby.......Kaman...........Boozer?

[Kruza]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

I wouldn't trade Rip. He's way too good a shooter to move, and he doesn't need to have the ball a lot to impact a game offensively which is a rare quality for a basketball player. Plus it is still uncertain if the Pistons will want to keep AI for a few years longer, or if AI even wants to be back. I know it sounds silly, but there's a chance that AI would not want to re-sign here.

With the exception of Sheed and Dice, our bigs are mainly asked to play defense, rebound and score off putbacks. Jason Maxiell, Amir Johnson and Kwame Brown all do a good enough job for the team to not have to trade a key perimeter player for another big.

Kruza

[Kruza]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

Gutsy win over the Kings last night without the services of Rip, Sheed and Dice. Rodney Stuckey abused Beno Udrih all game long and pretty much shut Udrih down defensively, unlike what happened when these teams played in Sacramento back in November. However, this game underscored how important Sheed and Dice are to this team as the Kings sort of manhandled the Pistons inside during the second half. No way Brad Miller would've scored 25 and grabbed 16 rebounds with he or Dice playing significant minutes. Jason Thompson was also a big factor inside for the Kings.

Now the Pistons will head out west for their second and final extensive West Coast trip of the season. Hopefully the team can pull out their first Sunday victory while out in Los Angeles.

Kruza

[poster]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

They are playing much better which is good. Stuck has been money and Amir is showing signs. Just needs the PT and the consistency.

[Kruza]

Re: ***Official Detroit Pistons Thread***

The Pistons finally win on Sunday against the Clippers, but it didn't come easy by any means. Eric Gordon was a beast out there filling in for Baron Davis while Marcus Camby was dominant on the boards for the Clips, and Steve Novak and DeAndre Jordan had made their presence known as well. Amir has shown a lot of promise lately but he really needs to know when to not reach and draw ticky-tack fouls in bunches. And I was glad to see Dice out there playing today despite being banged up. It was easy to tell that Dice was not in the best condition to play as he was grimacing out on the court quite a bit.

Kruza