All non-quitters are welcomed.

This will be a good test for 'us' after that loss to the Hawks

All non-quitters are welcomed.


Where's that other thread, man?


No shit, dude.




p.s. CTC!

We've made it to the first page of Hollinger's rankings. I was on the fence, but that has cinched it for me. I will not quit on this season. Go Pistons!!!!!!!!!

Nice lil stretch there.

DICE!

Walter with a crazy shot...

Dice is still kicking ass

We arent anywhere near this close (up 3) without Kwame's good play tonight. I hope Sheed is ok, cuz I don't want Kwame to have to play like this good consistently for us to be competitive.

OMag is still our bitch

What a great win!!! Kwame, Rip, and Tay were great.

Schedule favors us the next 3 games too. Knicks, at Toronto, Memphis before a back to back in Texas.

LOL @ The Magic. The Pistons are their Utah Jazz. No matter how bad a season is for the Pistons, we own the Magic.

Give some love to Dice, shags.

LOL @ The Magic. The Pistons are their Utah Jazz. No matter how bad a season is for the Pistons, we own the Magic.

+1

LOL@Kwame.


We got a lot of old guys so hopefully they're be ok for next game.

If Kwame could contribute 10-15 consistent minutes every game then we'd be a lot better off. The guy obviously has some talent.

rip with 14 assists..damn.

one of those to maxiell for an oop was crazy

Most fun this year. Sorry if you missed it.

Most fun this year. Sorry if you missed it.

Thanks for keeping me in your heart. :emo kid:

WTF is going on with Hermy?


He's talking to media personalities

He's getting scoops from inside sources

He's showing compassion

WTF is going on with Hermy?


He's talking to media personalities

He's getting scoops from inside sources

He's showing compassion



Moved to the Eastside. I now wear sunglasses 24/7 and have a personal trainer.

SELLOUT

I miss it sometimes.

The grass is always greener, and by grass I mean grass.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/9308816/Pistons-better-off-without-Iverson


This win makes Detroit 5-1 without Allen Iverson.

Could its run be accidental? Or is Detroit simply playing better sans A.I.?

Richard Hamilton seems to be enjoying time away from A.I. (Duane Burleson / Associated Press)

Let's take a closer look.

There was definitely more sharing of the ball as demonstrated by 30 assists on 40 buckets. Snappy reversal passes were the norm on just about every play. And precision passwork led to the Pistons' committing only seven turnovers — often a night's work for Iverson.

The Pistons ran high screen/rolls with a variety of participants: Kwame Brown and Rip Hamilton. Jason Maxiell and Rip. And several successful screen/pops for Antonio McDyess, who was given too much room by Dwight Howard.

Detroit also ran a total of 26 isolation plays, but since Orlando doubled most of these, the Pistons managed only 14 points with this. Tayshaun Prince was the most successful — six points in five tries. Rodney Stuckey tallied four points in his seven isos. Hamilton recorded only two points in his seven one-on-one opportunities. Rasheed Wallace went down with a strained left calf in the first quarter, but not after putting up nothing on three post-ups. And Will Bynum and Walter Hermann combined for zero points in four setups — although the latter did come up with a nifty assist.

If their iso-game was rather lame, the Pistons had much better success when they reverted to the plays that Larry Brown emphasized when they last won a championship. That is, having Hamilton run curls and reverse-routes around assorted screens — high, low, staggered and more. During one particular fourth-quarter sequence, Hamilton was supplied with four screens, and wound up dropping an 18-foot jumper.

As in days of old, Rip was the motor of the offense. On eleven of these "Rip plays", Hamilton scored 10 and assisted on five other points. Overall, Hamilton booked 29 points (10-for-25) and 14 assists. It was his perpetual motion that compelled Orlando's defenders to make quick decisions — to rotate or not to rotate — most of which were wrong.

For the most part, there was a minimum of dribbling and a maximum of passing — the reverse of what usually occurred when Iverson was in the mix.

With Wallace out early, the Pistons posted nobody. Only a precious few of their interior points came on dribble-drives. The rest came on passes to rolling screeners, passes to dive-cutters who took advantage of the Magic's double-teams and layups on the run.

In fact, the vast majority of their points came on jumpers — which was a short-term blessing against the Magic, but which will present long-term difficulties as the season races to the finish line.

One reason why there were only two or three drives-and-drops was that Stuckey isn't a true point guard. His decision-making is still a work in progress — five assists and three of the Pistons' seven turnovers.

Other Piston heroes included McDyess — 13 points, mostly on midrange jumpers, and 18 rebounds.

Tayshaun Prince — 9-for-16, 20 points — who was more involved than he normally was when Iverson dominated the ball.

Maxiell's hustle and excellent baseline rotation and Will Bynum's quick-handed defense.

Walter Herrmann — seven points, two assists, one steal, and a baseline drive and reverse swoop that would have done Dr. J proud.

Even more then Herrmann, Kwame Brown was Detroit's most unlikely hero — 5-for-6, 10 points, plus one assist, block, and steal. Kwame was dynamic on screen/rolls, did a yeoman's job in controlling Howard, and executed several exemplary shows and rotations.

What were Detroit's negatives?

# Stuckey's forcing three shots and general indecison.

# The limited lateral movement exhibited on defense by McDyess when his man faced up and went.

# Too often the bigs didn't show hard and long enough on high screen/rolls and curls off of weak-side screens. As a result, the Magic's wings were able to either penetrate too easily or shoot unimpeded post-screen jumpers.

Despite Hamilton's gaudy numbers, teamwork was the ultimate factor in this valiant win.

Indeed, everybody who stepped on the court made a valuable contribution.

In other words, there was nothing accidental about either this particular victory against an elite opponent or the Pistons' superb play as of late. Iverson would be doing the Pistons — and probably himself — a tremendous favor if he took the rest of the season off.

we are 0-0 with AI coming off the bench though. If used properly I disagree we are better off without him. The chances of Curry using AI properly...?

^ Yep. I hope Curry brings AI in with at least another player and hopefully 2 more guys. Wholesale substitution.

RIP and AI worked decent together. The problem is when you have AI needing the ball in his hands and Stuckey tyring to be the PG without the ball. it just doesn't work well.

There will be some overlap between AI and Stuckey, but I would keep that to a minimum because they don't feed off each other well at all.

we are 0-0 with AI coming off the bench though. If used properly I disagree we are better off without him. The chances of Curry using AI properly...?


Agreed.

And, oh yeah...


One reason why there were only two or three drives-and-drops was that Stuckey isn't a true point guard.

Neither one of them (AI or Stuckey) are a true PG. Neither is Billups or Baron Davis though, and they have succeeded.

If nothing else, AI on the floor with him stunts his growth as a PG.

I know, I just had to...

Translation: I got giddy and didn't realize he wasn't calling Stuckey a SG.

Nope.

I was disappointed that there weren't any dictionary.com-quality words in there, though.

Give some love to Dice, shags.

Completely inexcusable mistake by me. Good call-out.