Pistons at Wizards Gameday

:langlois:
by Keith Langlois

TV: TV20 Detroit (HDTV) | Radio: WDFN 1130 AM - The Fan

Last Meeting: Detroit won 104-85 (October 24, 2007)

The skinny: Washington has managed to keep its head above water despite losing Gilbert Arenas eight games into the season. The Wizards stand in the No. 6 spot for Eastern Conference playoff seeding at 15-14 and expect to get Arenas’ replacement, Antonio Daniels, back for tonight’s game after missing the last seven with a sprained knee. In those seven games, Washington was 3-4; in the seven previous games, it was 6-1 with Daniels running the point. In his absence, the Wizards got solid play from Roger Mason, a dangerous perimeter shooter. Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler are putting up All-Star numbers without Arenas to share the scoring load. Jamison is one of five in the NBA averaging a double-double at 21.8 and 10.8. Butler is putting up 22.1 and 6.9 while shooting 50 percent. Without Etan Thomas – out all season with a heart condition – to split time at center, Brendan Haywood is averaging 10.5 and 8.0. The Wizards were battling the Pistons for top seed in the East last January when a string of injuries that would affect all three Washington stars sent the Wizards into a tailspin that led to a first-round sweep at the hands of Cleveland. This is the first meeting of the season between these teams.

What to watch: The Pistons are gunning for their 10th straight win and coming off the winningest December in franchise history when they went 15-2. They’re 14-0 when scoring 100-plus points and have held eight of their last 10 opponents to under 90. Rip Hamilton needs just four points to supplant Gene Shue as the 10th leading scorer in franchise history and he’s been on a tear over his last four games, averaging 22.8 points and scoring with great efficiency. Hamilton is coming off a 9 of 10 afternoon in the 45-point New Year’s Eve romp over Milwaukee. Jarvis Hayes, making his first visit to the city where he spent his first four NBA seasons since joining the Pistons, has also broken out of his shooting slump in the last three games. Rodney Stuckey has replaced Lindsey Hunter as the first point guard off the bench and is coming off a season-high 23 minutes in the win over Milwaukee.

This is going to be a tough one.

I'd like our odds better if they hadn't lost Gilbert. We could just shut him down and he'd play like crap and drag the team down with him.

I think Washington will catch the Pistons in an early scoring drought, go up by about 10 in the first quarter, and "we" will fight back to win a nailbiter.

About a week and a half ago, I added Roger Mason on my fantasy team, that guy is a 3 pt killer...

Dear Glenn,

Please make this a multiple option poll so I can choose both Pistons and Wizards winning like I always do, thus keeping my perfect prediction streak in tact.

Thanks in advance,

MoTown.

About a week and a half ago, I added Roger Mason on my fantasy team, that guy is a 3 pt killer...

I just dropped him in both of my leagues, Antonio Daniels is back tonight.

Dear Glenn,

Please make this a multiple option poll so I can choose both Pistons and Wizards winning like I always do, thus keeping my perfect prediction streak in tact.

Thanks in advance,

MoTown.


YOUR DAYS OF MANIPULATING THE POLL RESULTS ARE OVER!!

Well, not really, I just couldn't think of anything fun to add to the poll.

Glenn, when does the SportsBook get reset, I've been out of alpacas on the first day of betting the last 2 contests, and I'm ready to get back into the game...

After the National Title game.

no way we lose to these faggots
this team has recent losses to the nets pacers bulls and hawks

what a way to start off the new year for the wiz

Hayes eager to face ex-teammates

by A. Sherrod Blakely Wednesday January 02, 2008, 12:15 AM


WASHINGTON -- Jarvis Hayes is playing his best basketball of the season lately.
His shooting touch has returned just in time for the 6-foot-8 forward's first regular-season matchup against the Washington Wizards, the franchise that drafted him, and then let him go this summer.
Hayes, who was a restricted free agent over the summer, said he wasn't surprised the Wizards didn't match Detroit's one-year, $1.2 million offer.
"It was business," said Hayes, who is quick to add that he harbors no ill feelings toward Washington or his former teammates. "Two of the years I was there, I was hurt. At the end of my contract, it just seemed it was probably the best thing for everybody to go in different directions."
The change has been especially good for Hayes, who has been a major cog in helping Detroit's bench become among the league's best and deepest.
He has appeared in all 31 of the Pistons' games this season and is averaging 7.5 points and 2.7 rebounds per contest. In Detroit's last three games, Hayes has averaged 11.3 points while shooting 73.7 percent from the field and 71.4 percent (5-for-7) on 3-pointers.
As for seeing his former teammates for the first time in a regular-season game, Hayes acknowledges he's excited.
"It should be a good game," he said ."I'm pretty sure the crowd will be into it. I enjoyed my time in D.C., so I don't know how they'll take me coming back, especially with the Pistons."
Pistons coach Flip Saunders believes Detroit having played Washington in the preseason should help ease the awkwardness Hayes might feel in facing the only NBA team he ever had played for before joining the Pistons.
"He'll be excited," Saunders said, "But he has to continue to play the role that we ask him to play, and don't do anything different."
That's easier said than done.
Antonio McDyess, who has played for four different teams, said he expects Hayes' emotions to get the best of him at some point.
"It's going to happen," McDyess said. "You want to do well, and play the way you usually play. But when you first get out there, you gonna want to shoot or block shots. And defensively, I know for me at least, first time I played against an old team I usually wound up picking up a
lot of early fouls."
But that shouldn't be as big an issue for Hayes, primarily because of his role with the Pistons.
"The role that he's playing now, catch-and-shoot ... that's his strength," Saunders said. "That's why when we got him, we thought he would be a good fit for us."

Who on the Pistons doesn't play the "catch and shoot" role?

Max and umm...

Stuckey doesn't catch and shoot. Neither does Sheed unless he's behind the arc. Lindsey doesn't, he dribbles for 20 and then shoots. Flip Murray shoots but he doesn't catch because he's always got the ball.

The Mailman often likes to post things that come out of the blue and have nothing to do with the thread at hand.

Why Glenn? You a fan of Flip Murray or something?

It's just a twitch but it's part of his style.

It keeps things interesting.

Also, Glenn, I love the sig. Both parts of it.

WTFDetroit:Where only one fan of Flip Murray exists happens.

Stuckey doesn't catch and shoot. Neither does Sheed unless he's behind the arc. Lindsey doesn't, he dribbles for 20 and then shoots. Flip Murray shoots but he doesn't catch because he's always got the ball.
Actually this is dead on and funny at the same time. well played.[smilie=heatsmiley2:

Expecting a good game. Not a 45 point one anyway. Maybe from The Hermannator.

'Sheed with a catch and shoot 3.

This crowd is dead.

This crowd is dead.

Did you hear them boo...a minute or so ago?

The Wash announcers said they put up pictures of Tony Romo and Jerry Jones on the jumbotron to get the crowd to boo.

Whatevah

Yeah, I thought they were all literally dead until they started booing.

Why do they always show Flip spinning the ball on his finger? That shit's annoying.

Because he knows magic tricks, don't hate, that was a sweet ass clip.

I know. He has this great trick where he makes the team disappears in the playoffs.

Butler knows how to school Hayes too well.

All those kids he does those magic tricks for must be thinking two things:

"Who is this tool?"
"Whoever this tool is, this tool needs a haircut. He looks like a total tool."

Fuck this game, I'm watching "Cadet Kelly" with Hilary Duff on Disney.


Bye.

Rasheed just used his power-up. Let's see what he can do for the next couple minutes while his turbo button is active.

MM with a sweet follow slam to end the 3rd

Ok. Game over.

Good game off to XBox Live!

lol@someone yelling at Walter to not shoot that 3 at the end. LOL more at him shooting it anyway.

Anonymous voice: "Don't shoot it Hermann!!!"

Walter: "VUCK THAT!!!"

LOL

who said this game was gon be close? no need to be modest this team is playing so well right now. We aren't a 4th quarter team anymore!

lol@someone yelling at Walter to not shoot that 3 at the end. LOL more at him shooting it anyway.

Anonymous voice: "Don't shoot it Hermann!!!"

Walter: "VUCK THAT!!!"
Looking at it again, it seemed like the Wiz were being punks, trying to crowd out Stuckey when he just wanted to dribble the ball out.

the Herrmannator.

Rasheed just used his power-up. Let's see what he can do for the next couple minutes while his turbo button is active.
Technical?

Technical?

Yes... and he went on a bit of tear after that, playing down low, stabbing his own teammates to steal rebounds, etc.

Sounds about like his usual tech-debacle.

Did anybody else hear what sheed said after he got his tech?

I don't know why more people didn't notice it, it was crystal clear on the audio.


Fuck It, let's bust these ni**as ass up!"

LOL

who said this game was gon be close? no need to be modest this team is playing so well right now. We aren't a 4th quarter team anymore!

Me.

oh..:emo kid:

Sorry Cross, I've always been a little too modest.

These guys are going to have to eventually play a close game, right?!?


Not that I miss those.

These guys are going to have to eventually play a close game, right?!?


Not that I miss those.


Saturday, I would assume.

Although I would love to just blow the f out of Boston. Tell me that wouldn't send a message to the entire NBA...

"We beat you on your home court, and we obliterated you on ours."

I think it's time to start that OGT: The Pistons go for 50 in a row in Cleveland thread.

I didnt see this game. How did Sir Stuckey do?

I didnt see this game. How did Sir Stuckey do?
inconsistent(better in the 1st half), but wasnt yanked and still made plays passing and in making steals/deflections.

I didnt see this game. How did Sir Stuckey do?

The best I have seen. I was shocked when I looked at the box and saw he was only 1-4 with 3 dimes. He really handled the offense while he was out there, used his dribble as an attack to draw defenders, then initiated the offense. He was agressive without being stupid, and was sticking his nose in places on D, causing trouble when he wasn't causing turnovers.

To me, he was everything I thought we were getting when we dealt for Arroyo. Just a pest to deal with, and like Max, a real change of pace for the defense to adjust to vs. our normal rotation. Color me impressed.

Should mention that Flip put him in really early, 3 minutes left in the 1st Q, ahead of the rest of the bench and he didn't come out till 4 minutes left in the half.

I think he's being trained to be somewhere between Flip Murray and Lindsey. He drives to the hole and he gets in dudes' faces and forces turnovers.

Arroyo wouldn't have been bad if he hadn't taken lessons on how to dribble around for 20 seconds before getting into the actual play from Hunter.

Arroyo wouldn't have been bad if he had taken lessons on how to dribble.

Arroyo wouldn't have been bad if he hadn't taken lessons on how to dribble around for 20 seconds before getting into the actual play from Hunter.
He also took shooting lessons from Lindsey while he was here. Pity that he never took defensive lessons...

He only wanted to get the FINEST if Hunter's qualities