Living in the Shadows – A Patrick Ewing Jr. Story

[dyedbuthair]

Re: Living in the Shadows – A Patrick Ewing Jr. Story

Thought you died! Or given up.

Or, just had big plans for the 4th. That was a possibility too, heh.

Good to see you're still at it.

[RMJH4]

Re: Living in the Shadows – A Patrick Ewing Jr. Story

Game 4 Philadelphia 76ers 87 - 107 Detroit Pistons



Ewing Jr. had a strong contribution of the bench again tonight.

Feb 8, 2012 - 76ers @ Pistons
TEAM	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Philadelphia 76ers (23-28)	22	19	23	23	87
Detroit Pistons (19-31)	23	24	27	33	107

Detroit Pistons
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Patrick Ewing Jr.	22	6-9	2-3	1-1	6	1	0	0	0	15

76ers Starters
L. Williams
A. Igoudola
T. Young
E. Brand
M. Speights

Pistons Starters
B. Knight
R. Hamilton
G. Hill
K. Martin
G. Monroe

Game Leaders
Pts - 27 - G. Monroe (Pistons)
Rebs - 9 - G. Hill (Pistons)
Asts - 14 - B. Knight (Pistons)
Stls - 4 - B. Knight (Pistons)
Blks - 2 - G. Monroe (Pistons)

Ewing’s Epilogue

“Great win tonight over another playoff chasing team! We have some great momentum now with 4 wins in a row. Monroe was a big factor in this, with 27 points and 7 boards. K- Mart ran the pick and roll well with Brandon all (K)night! Dropping 19 points off Knights 14 assists. Knight also had 14 points to boot, from an awe inspiring comeback from injury for the rookie.”

"I was delighted with my 15 points off the bench. I'm setting my goal to match or beat Grant Hill's statline every night. He really is an awesome performer, at age 39, he scored 14, had 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Oh and 1 block! Quite a bar to set for myself, but hey, i want to be a starter in this league!"

"Thaddeus Young had 20 tonight, and kept the Sixers in it through 3 quarters! He was a matchup nightmare for us, he played at the 3, 4 and 5 for stretches. Iggy was shut down by Grant, only adding 12 points. Louis Williams had a duel with Brandon Knight, he outscored him by 2 points with 16 though. Again our newly acquired toughness helped us pull away late on, and the speed and athleticsim of players like Brandon and myself really gives us a chance every night to compete."

[RMJH4]

Re: Living in the Shadows – A Patrick Ewing Jr. Story

Game 5 Detroit Pistons 85 - 83 Washington Wizards



The Wizards played tough D all night, and Ewing Jr. was held to 6 points.

Feb 9, 2012 - Pistons @ Wizards
TEAM	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Detroit Pistons (20-31)	25	16	23	21	85
Washington Wizards (13-37)	23	18	28	14	83

Detroit Pistons
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Patrick Ewing Jr.	17	3-8	0-2	0-0	6	1	1	0	0	6

Pistons Starters
B. Knight
R. Hamilton
G. Hill
K. Martin
G. Monroe

Wizards Starters
J. Wall
N. Young
J. Vesely
A. Blatche
J. McGee

Game Leaders
Pts - 22 - J. Wall (Wizards)
Rebs - 12 - G. Monroe (Pistons)
Asts - 7 - B. Knight (Pistons)
Stls - 3 - J. Wall (Wizards)
Blks - 2 - J. McGee (Wizards)

Ewing’s Epilogue

“5 in a row man! Sweet! Hard fought victory, our defence got the stop on John Wall late on. Brandon Knight blocked his last second shot for 3 to win. Knight was again instrumental to another victory for us. He had 16 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists. Although John Wall scored 22 points, Brandon really got our team playing well, leading by example. Greg Monroe was strong again, scoring 16 and grabbing 12 boards. Ably aided by his tough post partner, K- Mart had 8 points and 10 rebounds.”

"Andray Blatche had a great battle with the 2 guys, scoring 18 and getting 8 rebounds. Javale McGee was kept quiet with 10 points, but had 10 boards. The Wizards players really had nobody other than Wall, Blatche and Vesely. Vesely was the all around forward that teams had thought he would be. Scoring 10 points, grabbing 7 rebounds and dishing out 2 assists, with 1 block to round out an impressive stat line. Alas it just wasnt enough!"

"Grant outscored me tonight, with 12 points. I could only add a measely 6 points. I did outrebound him though, i had 6 and he had only 4! We tied with 2 assists and 1 steal each. Pleased with my performance, but i can do a lot better, i need to be more of an offensive threat, like previous matches."

[RMJH4]

Re: Living in the Shadows – A Patrick Ewing Jr. Story

Game 6 Detroit Pistons 88 - 77 Houston Rockets



The Pistons were left wide open and uncontested too many times tonight.

Feb 11, 2012 - Pistons @ Rockets
TEAM	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Detroit Pistons (21-31)	21	31	19	17	88
Houston Rockets (25-29)	23	12	20	22	77

Detroit Pistons
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Patrick Ewing Jr.	17	4-9	1-4	2-2	4	0	0	0	0	11
Grant Hill	25	8-18	0-3	2-2	8	0	0	0	0	18

Pistons Starters
B. Knight
R. Hamilton
G. Hill
K. Martin
G. Monroe

Rockets Starters
K. Lowry
K. Martin
C. Budinger
L. Scola
D. Motiejunas

Game Leaders
Pts - 33 - K. Martin (Rockets)
Rebs - 13 - G. Monroe (Pistons)
Asts - 10 - B. Knight (Pistons)
Stls - 4 - B. Knight (Pistons)
Blks - 3 - G. Monroe (Pistons)

Ewing’s Epilogue

“Dominant performance tonight! The Rockets are 12th in the west, about level with us, but still proud off the road win! 6 in a row! I think people are starting to sit up and take notice!.”

"Brandon Knight has just been named the starting pg for the rookie v sophmore game, and tonight he showed why. 15 pts, 10 asts and 4 stls. Dominant! Rip had the hot hand tonight with 19. Monroe had a double doulbe, with 13 points and 13 rebounds, he has really stepped his game up as of late."

"Grant was awesome again. Everytime i think i'm getting closer to him, he pulls out an 18 point 8 rebound performance. If he wasnt defending Kevin Martin in the 2nd half, he could have gone off for 50! Take Matin and Lowry out of the Rockets and you have the worst team in the west. Lowry had 17, and nobody else had even close to double figures!"

[RMJH4]

Re: Living in the Shadows – A Patrick Ewing Jr. Story

Game 7 Chicago Bulls 86 - 81 Detroit Pistons



Ewing Jr. only had 4 points, but 2 of those came from a monster dunk.

Feb 12, 2012 - Bulls @ Pistons
TEAM	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Chicago Bulls (29-22)	25	21	16	24	86
Detroit Pistons (22-31)	23	18	13	27	81

Detroit Pistons
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Patrick Ewing Jr.	17	2-6	0-1	0-0	4	1	0	0	2	4
Grant Hill	24	9-11	2-3	2-2	2	0	0	1	0	24

Bulls Starters
D. Rose
T. McGrady
L. Deng
C. Boozer
J. Noah

Pistons Starters
B. Knight
R. Hamilton
G. Hill
K. Martin
G. Monroe

Game Leaders
Pts - 25 - D. Rose (Bulls)
Rebs - 12 - J. Noah (Bulls)
Asts - 12 - D. Rose (Bulls)
Stls - 3 - G. Monroe (Pistons)
Blks - 2 - G. Monroe (Pistons)

Ewing’s Epilogue

“We lost a nail-biter tonight! The first loss i've had in a Pistons uni. Derrick Rose showed why he is the reigning league MVP. He had 25 pts and 12 assists. He really ran the show, and stole the show with a late flurry of points in the 4th quarter. Tracy McGrady and Carlos Boozer added 12 a piece. Deng had 11 and Gibson had 10. A solid supporting cast had us chasing our tails all night long.”

"Not to be outdone by Rose, our own point guard Knight had 10 points and 9 assists. An excellent performance by the rookie, who will have done his chances of winning rookie of the year no harm! Of course Grant Hill was phenomenal again! 24 points on 9-11 shooting! Wow. Just WOW! Rip Hamilton another vet had 19 and 7 rebounds. We dug deep all night and shared the points and rebounds all around. But i really feel like this loss is on my head."

"4 Points is just awful. If i had contributed my usual 10 or so points, we would have been right there at the end. Not satisfying. Back to the gym for some serious shooting practice with Grant. He's shooting pretty sweetly as of late, maybe i can learn some more from the ageless wonder! Lakers at home on Tuesday, wonder will i get to guard Kobe again??"

[RMJH4]

Re: Living in the Shadows – A Patrick Ewing Jr. Story

Game 8 Los Angeles Lakers 111 - 100 Detroit Pistons



Ewing Jr. ran off screens very well tonight, and knocked down the open shots to score 12 points.

Feb 14, 2012 - Lakers @ Pistons
TEAM	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Los Angeles Lakers (28-26)	26	34	25	26	111
Detroit Pistons (22-32)	28	21	20	31	100

Detroit Pistons
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Patrick Ewing Jr.	20	2-4	1-1	7-10	2	0	0	2	2	12
Grant Hill	30	6-10	0-0	4-7	2	2	0	1	3	16

Lakers Starters
S. Blake
K. Bryant
M. World Peace
P. Gasol
A. Bynum

Pistons Starters
B. Knight
R. Hamilton
G. Hill
K. Martin
G. Monroe

Game Leaders
Pts - 24 - K. Bryant (Lakers)
Rebs - 11 - G. Monroe (Pistons)
Asts - 8 - B. Knight (Pistons)
Stls - 3 - G. Monroe (Pistons)
Blks - 3 - P. Gasol (Lakers)

Ewing’s Epilogue

“I guess we were beaten by the better team tonight. Kobe had 24, but was actually quiet, on 10 -24 shooting, thanks to myself and Grant! We played some good defence on him, and really made Gasol (20 pts, 7 rebs, 5 asts) and Bynum (15 pts, 10 rebs) step up to help him out. Kobe had 7 assists, damn he can pass. Most of them were off of drives to the cup, when either Grant or myself forced him to kick it out! Grant had another great game dropping 16 points. But Brandon Knight scorched Steve Blake for 23 points! He really gave us a lifeline in this game.”

"It was a real battle in the post tonight. We knew our best chance was to take it in the post. Monroe filled the stat sheet up (15 pts, 11 rebs, 2 asts, 3 stls, 1 blk) but unfortunately it was difficult to contain Gasol, Bynum and Odom who dropped 13 from the bench. K- Mart has hit a mini slump the last 2 games. We needed him to bang in the post tonight, but he only came up with 5 points and 5 rebounds. Robin Lopez got some burn. He added 7 points and 7 rebounds. That alllowed Monroe to slide to the 4 and matchup with Gasol."

"The Lakers just had too much, and they are fast climbing back to the top of the west rankings. 2nd consecutive loss at home is lame though. At least my shooting improved. I practiced with Grant and Rip late yesterday. Rip really gave me some great insight to coming off screens quickly. 50 percent from the field is great, even if it was only 2-4! Timberwolves at home on Thursday before the allstar break on Saturday! Should be a tough match up, as the T-Wolves currently lie 5th in the West! Tough schedule this week!"

[RMJH4]

Re: Living in the Shadows – A Patrick Ewing Jr. Story

Game 9 Minnesota Timberwolves 83 - 79 Detroit Pistons



Look out below! Delonte gets Dunked on.

Feb 16, 2012 - Timberwolves @ Pistons
TEAM	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Minnesota Timberwolves (31-25)	21	22	16	24	83
Detroit Pistons (22-33)	21	24	16	18	79

Detroit Pistons
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Patrick Ewing Jr.	17	5-7	0-0	0-0	6	2	0	0	0	10
Grant Hill	26	1-5	1-2	0-0	7	3	0	1	4	3

Timberwolves Starters
R. Rubio
D. West
M. Beasley
A. Randolph
K. Love

Pistons Starters
B. Knight
R. Hamilton
G. Hill
K. Martin
G. Monroe

Game Leaders
Pts - 21 - R. Hamilton (Pistons)
Rebs - 11 - G. Monroe (Pistons)
Asts - 11 - R. Rubio (Timberwolves)
Stls - 3 - G. Monroe (Pistons)
Blks - 2 - A. Randolph (Timberwolves)

Ewing’s Epilogue

“Well this has been a tough week. Played 3 team in the playoff races, and lost to all 3. The T-Wolves are up to 3rd now with this win. Their spanish sensation led the way for them tonight. Rubio had 17 pts and 11 assists. His size and passing ability gave us fits on defence. Mike Beasley and Kevin Love were also tough to handle. Beasley had 14pts and 6 rebounds, Love had 13 and 6 boards. Their other rookie Derrick Williams has struggled to make an impression this season off the bench, even though he scored 10 tonight. I've heard rumors he's been very unhappy there so far.”

"Rip kept us in the game with his 21 points. Greg Monroe was a real leader yet again. He had 12 pts and 11 rebounds. But yet again his defence was outstanding, adding 3 steals to help his defensive player of the year credentials. Rubio seemed to have the upper hand on Brandon Knight, even though he dished out 10 assists. Will Bynum made a decent contribution off the bench with 11 points. But conspicious with his absence from any leader of a stat category was Grant Hill. He had a poor game offensively, but he grabbed 7 rebounds and dished out 3 assists. i outperformed him, but didnt get rewarded more playing time, which is disappointing."

"All star weekend is on the horizon, got to catch up with the family this weekend. Flying home tonight and Dad will meet us at the house. Should be good to catch up and get the low down on how the Magic are faring this year! Looking forward to watching Brandon Knight start for the rookies on Saturday night!"

[RMJH4]

Re: Living in the Shadows – A Patrick Ewing Jr. Story

NBA Trade Talk: Celtics, Magic Looking to Acquire Patrick Ewing Jr. of Pistons.

The latest in trade speculation before the deadline is about Patrick Ewing Jr. of the Detroit Pistons. Surprisingly after being only dealt to the Pistons at the start of this month, Ewing Jr. could be dealt again. He has played well for the Pistons so far, coming off the bench behind Grant Hill. It seemed as if the Pistons plan was to develop him into a Grant Hill type player, but maybe something has changed their mind?

After the two blockbuster trades in which they acquired Hill, Lopez, Alston and Ewing Jr. the Pistons have looked a much better team. So with that in mind, who are the front runners to acquire the athletic swing man? Recent reports have linked him with many teams, but who will benefit the most from a player that can energize an entire arena with his exciting dunking ability?

In a recent article by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the writer stated, "Ewing Jr. hasn't requested a trade, but has privately told league friends that the Boston Celtics and the Orlando Magic are his preferred destinations should the Pistons ever decide to move him." Any of those teams could acquire Ewing Jr. and would instantly help their bench become younger and more athletic. Perphaps an extra push heading into the playoffs for both teams?

One of Ewing Jr's monster dunks this season.

[bichettehappens]

Re: Living in the Shadows – A Patrick Ewing Jr. Story

Interested to see if Ewing Jr winds up in Orlando. Although I think it would be cool if he stayed in Detroit and became part of their future with Monroe, etc.

[RMJH4]

Re: Living in the Shadows – A Patrick Ewing Jr. Story

Only time will tell!

[bichettehappens]

That is awesome, dude. Looking forward to having more of the story to read as well!

[RMJH4]

Re: Living in the Shadows – A Patrick Ewing Jr. Story

Ewing's Epilogues: Episode 8.



All Star Game Recap

Nice to get a mini break after some tough games with the Pistons. Arrived home about the same time as dad to catch the rookie - sophomore game. The one and only Piston involved in the weekend, Brandon Knight started for the rookies. He a solid game, but not spectacular. Scoring 7 pts, dishing out 7 assists and grabbing 4 rebounds. He was a little upstaged by Kemba Walker who had 12 pts, 5 assists and 4 rebounds. But the two players lead the fight against the very strong Sophomore side led by Blake Griffin.

Griffin got MVP with a 24pt, 15 rebound and 4 assist game. The sophomores boasted players like DeMarcus Cousins, John Wall and Landry Fields. They had way too much for this years rookie class an won in a blowout 110- 75.



I had a good chat with Dad about the Magic who are sitting in the playoff spots, but right down at the bottom. Things aren't working out too well and Dad is getting a sense Dwight has one foot out the door already. Despite going on a decent run as of late, the Magic are sitting at .500 and in 7th place, behind the Knicks. Steve Nash has been playing fairly well, but his age is really starting to catch up with him. The Magic knew this would be a risk, but they had to go all out. Dad isnt happy with Hedo Turkoglu's production and effort, so Quentin Richardson has been trying to pick up the slack.

The Celtics look like the strongest team in the East after going on a major run, leading the East on 41-15, 3 games ahead of the Bulls. Surprisingly the Heat are 8.5 games behind the Celtics. Allen Iverson and Michael Redd are fitting in very well, but the next few weeks will be interesting, as Jermaine O' Neal went down injured during the week, and is expected to sit out a few weeks. This could see KG move to center, and former Georgetown Alum Jeff Green start. But they will look pretty thin in the frontcourt.

One of the bigger surprises is the form of the Atlanta Hawks. Our family has only recently moved to Marietta, Georgia. So i suppose we'll keep a close eye on their progress. The Hawks despite losing Jamal Crawford to the Knicks, stand at 32-23, level with the Heat! They added Tayshaun Prince, DeShawn Stevenson and an important mentality change in playing tough defence. The Hawks showed their hand a little against the Magic in the playoffs last year, showing the defensive capability they have when tuned in. Rookie center Keith Benson has also been impressive, and gives them more options up front.

Sunday came and went very quickly, with an exciting all star game from Orlando. The East came out on top with a 98-97 win. But the winning shot was hit by LeBron James. Yes you read it correctly. LeBron showed up in the 4th and rounded off an MVP performance. James completly upstaged the unofficial host Dwight Howard. Howard had a solid game with 15 points and 10 rebounds, but LeBrons 22 pts, 10 assists and 8 rebounds was deserving of the MVP.



Set off early this morning and finished off this diary entry on the plane. 2 Days to the trade deadline, plenty of rumors swirling, I'm not sure if many big trades will happen, but only time will tell. Dad was saying Orlando are interested in me, but they have not formally submitted a trade proposal. The Pistons front office are open to trade offers for almost everyone, but whether they will actually move anyone is another matter.

[RMJH4]

Re: Living in the Shadows – A Patrick Ewing Jr. Story

Been busy, but I'm back it again!

[RMJH4]

Re: Living in the Shadows – A Patrick Ewing Jr. Story

Ewing's Epilogues: Episode 9.



Ewing's Epilogue

Well fresh back after the All Star break and straight into training. We are due to play the 76ers tomorrow the day before the trade deadline. But a half hour into our morning practice and we picked up an injury. Well two injuries infact. Rafer Alston tore ligaments in his left ankle.

We stood around for about 10 minutes while the trainers checked Skip to my Lou out. But that was the worst thing we could have done as we began to cool down. We got up and running our 3 on 2 drill, then Grant drove hard on K-Mart. K- Mart slipped and managed to take Grant down hard on his shoulder. Injury number 2.

Grant has a sprained shoulder and is expected to be out for up to a month. I feel sorry for Grant who had been playing at a high level in recent weeks. Losing these 2 guys for around a month could really put a halt to us chasing that last playoff spot. We are only 5 games back, but really motoring with this unit. Coach Frank will have to make some adjustments, one of those hopefully will be to elevate me to the starting 5!

You have got to be kidding me. The front office doesn’t seem to know what direction to take with the development of this team. Because I just got a text from Ben Gordon telling me he’s been traded. I had heard he was undergoing some physical tests today along with Jason Maxiell. But nobody knew what it was about. Turns out both of them are on the move. Got to get on to NBA.com to check out whats going on.

[RMJH4]

Re: Living in the Shadows – A Patrick Ewing Jr. Story

The Pistons make big trade with the Suns again.

In what is quickly becoming a habit for both bottom dwellers, they decided to exchange some more players. This time its with the view of making the Pistons stronger in the race for the playoffs. The Suns are in tank mode for the rest of the season. They gave up two starters in Jared Dudley and Mickael Pietrus. Also under-performing forward Hakim Warrick. They do get some salary relief in this trade too.

They bring back a starting 2 guard in Ben Gordon. Gordon has faltered with the Pistons and been demoted to the bench behind Rip Hamilton. He really needs a fresh start and this will give him the opportunity to recapture his form from the Bulls days. Jason Maxiell replaces Warrick in backing up rookie Markieff Morris. His deal expires this season, 5m in cap relief. The other add in to this trade was rookie SF- Kyle Singler who had been performing very well for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. Singler will back up Alonzo Gee at the 3 spot. Gee's form at the 3 this year has been excellent, making the expensive Jared Dudley expendable.

It will be interesting to see how the Pistons fare out in the playoff race now, after adding these strong pieces. What seemed like a long shot may now have the likes of the Pacers, Magic and Bucks looking over their shoulders.