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Acker's alive ... sort of

Rookie Alex Acker will be in uniform tonight, a first for him as a Piston. Will he play?

Probably not.

It's hard to imagine the first NBA game for the last player drafted in June would be on the road, against the defending NBA champions. The only way I see him playing tonight is if there's foul trouble, point guard injuries or a blowout. Also, with it being a TNT game, there will be longer timeouts which means the starters (Chauncey, specifically) will see heavier minutes than usual.

Still, when I talked with Flip and later, Joe D., there's something they see in this kid that has them really, really excited about his future. No one will admit it now, but Acker's development may impact how quickly (if at all) Detroit looks to trade Carlos Arroyo who is serving a one-game suspension tonight for bumping a ref earlier this week.

Here's what Flip had to say about Alex this morning.

"He's worked really hard. You always work hard to prepare yourself because you never know when an opportunity might come. There's a chance that he might get an opportunity tonight. You always want to be ready to take advantage of that."

And Joe has been in love with this kid's game for quite some time. Although they got him with the last pick of the draft, there was some consideration of taking him or Amir Johnson with that first round pick if Maxiell was off the board.

Joe loves Acker's length, his ability to shoot the ball and his presence on the floor which Joe has said to me on more than one occasion, reminds him of Tayshaun in terms of being cool, calm and efficient on the floor.

As you can imagine, Alex was a bit stoked when he got the news.

"I haven't put on my jersey in months," Acker said. "If he (Flip) puts me in, I'll be ready."

I think this kid is going to be a really good player in this league. I'm not talking all-star good; but definitely a steady rotation guy who, at some point, will probably be a starter.

It seems that people are high on Acker and Johnson but I find it hard to believe that we got 2 steals in the last five picks of the draft.

My money would be on Amir but hopefully at least one of them turns out to be something down the road.

It seems that people are high on Acker and Johnson but I find it hard to believe that we got 2 steals in the last five picks of the draft.

My money would be on Amir but hopefully at least one of them turns out to be something down the road.
why not?

its not a major steal but acker is going to be a solid player. we just did better than most would at that pick. amir johnson was str8 up luck. he was supposed to be a freshman star at louisville(i dont get why he didnt just go there but i'll take him). but unlike the foreign kid he'll grow alot quicker. and im curious how he'll look next year since they are trying to convert him to a SF.

Why Not?

How many second round picks become rotation players in this league.

5 a year? I just find it hard to believe that we got 2. That is all. I hope I'm wrong.

That being said, you say Acker will be a solid player but wasn't a major steal?

If Acker becomes a solid player, it would be considered a major steal.

Why Not?

How many second round picks become rotation players in this league.

5 a year? I just find it hard to believe that we got 2. That is all. I hope I'm wrong.

That being said, you say Acker will be a solid player but wasn't a major steal?

If Acker becomes a solid player, it would be considered a major steal.
its not that far fetched. it happens plenty im sure. its not like they are gonna need to be rotation players overnight. if we were talking from that stance then it would be amazing. but honestly its easy to get players for the future. but most teams try to get a right now rookie, thus they are usually hit or miss at the lower level.

It seems that people are high on Acker and Johnson but I find it hard to believe that we got 2 steals in the last five picks of the draft.

My money would be on Amir but hopefully at least one of them turns out to be something down the road.

I don't know if we got two steals in the draft but I do think that atleast one of them will turn into a solid rotation player.

And I would put my money on Acker just due to the fact that he has 4 years of college experience and he is not changing positions.

I do like Amir's athleticism, but he definitely needs to bulk up.

Acker seems to be so-so.

But I haven't seen neither in person so I can't make any fair judgement.

But they are both better than the #2 pick.

I do like Amir's athleticism, but he definitely needs to bulk up.

Acker seems to be so-so.

But I haven't seen neither in person so I can't make any fair judgement.

But they are both better than the #2 pick.
well instead of forcing him to bulk up for the post as a PF. they've decided to spend the year converting him to SF. he's young enough to be converted and we should probally see him at SF/PF variation next year. eventually used as an another long body to sub for Tay i'm guessing.

I don't see why he'd have to bulk up much. Garnett is still skinny as a toothpick and look what he does every night.

as bizarre as it will sound to you guys, i think both acker and johnson could have a bigger impact in the league then maxiell will.

I see that nobody esle is miffed that Maxiell got deactivated instead of Darko.

Not that it was unexpected, but I still think it sucks.

Nice message to send the kid, bust your ass, get deactivated and watch Darko run his fingers through his hair gel all game long, in uniform.

Anybody else find this quote a bit odd?


"I got the feeling I would dress as soon as I saw Carlos (Arroyo ) head butt the ref," Acker said.

I think Maxiell knows what politics are involved. He'll probably be back activated sooner than later with Acker hitting the inactive list. I think we might keep Acker active one more game to try and get him some playing time when we play Charlotte on Saturday.

I don't know how much is spin, but it is my understanding that we were really considering Amir Johnson with our first rounder if Maxiell was off the board. Max was seen as a player who could help us now and had the Piston mentality(coming from Cincy), however at that point in the draft, there wasn't many more of those players left and rather than pick through the scraps for players who may be able to help us, we were going to gamble on Amir, who could become something special.

I don't mind treating Amir Johnson as a small forward right now, because the additional skillset we are forcing him to learn right now would only help him should he ever bulk up enough move to the four.

I give Dumars certain benefit of the doubt with Acker because the last second round point guard I saw him "in love" with is Chris Duhon, who playing big minutes in Chicago.

Anybody else find this quote a bit odd?


"I got the feeling I would dress as soon as I saw Carlos (Arroyo ) head butt the ref," Acker said.

Double A is trying to get Arroyo a couple more games by characterising it as a headbutt :wink:

I give Dumars certain benefit of the doubt with Acker because the last second round point guard I saw him "in love" with is Chris Duhon, who playing big minutes in Chicago.

I'll nitpick with you a bit, just for fuck's sake. Duhon just got removed from the starting lineup last week and has played about 20 mpg since. I think they might just be showcasing Gordon, though.

With the lack of quality PGs in the NBA right now, eventually, the Bulls are going to have to decide between Duhon and Hinrich, IMO. Which is also why I think the Bobcats will eventually deal Knight, and the Nuggets, Watson.

Duhon can play, though.