Postgame
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NBA.com Video Highlights (http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap_1035_njndet.asx)

Chat log (http://www.wtfdetroit.com/chatlogs/3.26.06_nets_chatlog.txt)

Pistons 74, Nets 79

http://www.wtfdetroit.com/ogt/game69pistonsvsnetsbox.jpg

Pregame
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VS
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http://www.wtfdetroit.com/ogt/game69pistonsvsnets.jpg


In a matchup of first-place teams, the Detroit Pistons put their 16-game home winning streak on the line when they face a New Jersey Nets club that has won seven straight contests.

Detroit's home winning streak is the third-best in franchise history, five short of a record 21-game run from Jan. 21-April 23, 1989. The Pistons also won 18 straight at home from Oct. 15-March 22, 1988.

The streak will get a major test from Detroit's next two visitors. After hosting New Jersey, the Pistons face Dallas at The Palace of Auburn Hills on Tuesday.

The Pistons notched their 55th victory of the season -- the third-highest total in franchise history -- with a 75-72 win at Indiana on Friday. They received a strong effort from their reserves, who contributed 28 points.

"The bench was big, no doubt about it," Detroit guard Chauncey Billups said. "All those guys played great tonight. We're going to need that from them in the playoffs."

Antonio McDyess led the reserves with 11 points and Lindsey Hunter added eight. McDyess also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds for the Pistons, who are trying to cut down on their starters' minutes as they get ready for the postseason.

"We need to get our guys fresh and healthy, which we have been doing," Detroit coach Flip Saunders said. "As long as we do that and worry about ourselves, we'll be fine come playoff time."

Detroit has a magic number of five to clinch home-court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Pistons lead San Antonio by 1 1/2 games for the best record in the NBA.

New Jersey extended the longest current winning streak in the NBA by rallying for an 86-82 victory over Minnesota on Thursday. Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson each scored 21 points as the Nets came back with a strong second half after trailing by as many as 16 points in the second quarter.

Carter credited the Nets' second-half adjustments after being stifled by Minnesota's zone defense.

"We weren't very patient early," Carter said. "We were going a little bit too fast. The zone really threw things out of whack. Guys were taking jumpers instead of penetrating and then finding the open guy."

Jefferson has shined during the winning streak, averaging 20.7 points on 54 percent shooting. Nenad Krstic has also played well in this stretch, averaging 17.4 points and 7.9 rebounds.

The Atlantic Division-leading Nets are entering a difficult three-game stretch that includes home games against Phoenix and Memphis. They're three wins shy of their season-long 10-game run from Dec. 16-Jan. 8.

New Jersey has dropped 19 of its last 21 visits to Detroit, including an 85-71 loss on Feb. 14 in which the Nets managed their second-lowest point total of the season.


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[smilie=dance.gif]

Roll call - I'll be there, bitches.

105-87

Delfino will be key in this game as he'll likely guard both RJ and Vince Carter for stretches. Hopefully he can stay out of foul trouble. Prince cannot guard Jefferson afterall.

New Jersey is pretty hot, but we're the better team.

Pistons win a close game.

105-87 [smilie=angel.gif]

Delfino will be key in this game as he'll likely guard both RJ and Vince Carter for stretches. Hopefully he can stay out of foul trouble. Prince cannot guard Jefferson afterall.

That's assuming he plays at all. Is Delk still sick?

Delfino will be key in this game as he'll likely guard both RJ and Vince Carter for stretches. Hopefully he can stay out of foul trouble. Prince cannot guard Jefferson afterall.

That's assuming he plays at all. Is Delk still sick?

Delfino had better play. After what he did against Vince last time, and what he did last night it would be idiotic for Flip to bench him. Wait... Now that I think about it, Flip probably won't play him [smilie=annoyed.gif]

Pistons starting the game looking sluggish. down 14-8

Is this a preview of the playoffs? All halfcourt and they can't get anything done

DELFINO AND DELK YAY!

Carter just raped Delfino on two straight plays.

Carter just raped Delfino on two straight plays.

That second was even a foul. Delfino fell over and Carter just jumped over him. I don't see how they're gonna call that.

Either way, I like the hustle from the bench so far. The starters are in sleepwalk mode.

Funkadelk is the man. Great pick-up.

pistons bench making some great hustle plays...29-19

Delfino is a shitty shooter.

our bench > starting lineup

tonight

Dyess has 11 rebounds already and its not even half-time.

the Pistons have 10 offensive rebounds already and that's not even a 3 game total :D

Where is Ben Wallace?

i like the bench's defense. for once flip didnt punish them for playing better defense than offense. and dyess>>>>>>the nets on the boards. [smilie=applause.gi: [smilie=arrgh.jpg]

yet the starters still inconsistant on offense and their defense is up and down. hopefully we'll get some improvements in the second half. as long as we dont double vince and Hefferson. they are forcing the ball to the hole but are looking to pass first. gotta stay home.

Bench Chauncey.

Bench Chauncey.
lol...he's still pretty slumped out. hopefully he'll find his shot. looking at the basket might help instead of trying to fake kidd out looking at sheed. [smilie=arrgh.jpg]

Bench Chauncey.

I wouldn't go that far. Kidd has some weird effect on him. [smilie=arrgh.jpg]

Delfino is a shitty shooter.

I think hes streaky. He's either on or off.

Ben Wallace got facial'd.

Where is the offense? =(

We're better off playing McDyess and Rasheed against Krstic.

We've been flat as hell the whole game.

i hate losing to the nets. [smilie=angryfire.g:

What's wrong with losing to a good team?

Mr Big shot played his worst game as a Piston tonight. I'm confident he wont ever play that badly again.

That shot he airballed at the end, 9 times out of 10 he makes that.

I dont think anything's wrong with Ben, I just think he saw Sheed and CHauncey were taking the night off so he followed suit.

It's also on Chauncey to get himself shots early in the game. He essentially freezed himself out of the game.

He's played worse.

What's wrong with losing to a good team?

just hate the Nets......richard jefferson and all of his "the pistons aren't all that" talk. [smilie=404.gif]

The Nets wont ever get to play us again this season. Oh well.

Flip's substitution patterns drive me crazy at times.

He did a good job in the first half and let the bench play some quality minutes. But in the second half, the bench got barely any time. Dyess is the only one that got any minutes in the second half.

Don't blame it all on Billups. Sheed was even worse. Most of the starters played really poorly. Mcdyess should take Sheed's spot in the starting line up. He was the man tonight!!

Chauncey was shit last game as well - maybe he's hit the "wall" for the season and he's struggling until he gets his second wind sorta deal. I dunno - the whole team looked lethargic out there tonight(outside of McDyess).

Ugly, ugly game. Looks like San Antonio is one game back again. And we have a few tough games yet. I'm not liking our HCA chances right now.

Sheed never plays well against teams without a dominant PF.

Ugly, ugly game. Looks like San Antonio is one game back again. And we have a few tough games yet. I'm not liking our HCA chances right now.

Um, why?

we're 2 games up on the spurs, not one. We win any tiebreaker.

I dunno - the whole team looked lethargic out there tonight(outside of McDyess)

not true, our entire bench catalyzed the comeback. delk nailed shots, lindsey played some nice D, and delfino had a few good plays. the energy was a 180 degree change when the bench came in.

btw, post game wrap up with chat log (thanks joe asberry) and video highlights in original post.

Ugly, ugly game. Looks like San Antonio is one game back again. And we have a few tough games yet. I'm not liking our HCA chances right now.

Um, why?

we're 2 games up on the spurs, not one. We win any tiebreaker.

Detroits schedule - Dallas, Philly, Milwaukee, PHX, NOK, Miami, Orl, Indy, Cleve, Tor, NYK, Mil, Wash

SA's schedule - LAC, LAL, Wash, Utah, Sacto, Dallas, Memphia, Seattle, Orlando, Minne, Utah, Houston

Ugly, ugly game. Looks like San Antonio is one game back again. And we have a few tough games yet. I'm not liking our HCA chances right now.

Um, why?

we're 2 games up on the spurs, not one. We win any tiebreaker.

Detroits schedule - Dallas, Philly, Milwaukee, PHX, NOK, Miami, Orl, Indy, Cleve, Tor, NYK, Mil, Wash

SA's schedule - LAC, LAL, Wash, Utah, Sacto, Dallas, Memphia, Seattle, Orlando, Minne, Utah, Houston

I don't see their schedule being any more difficult than ours, to the point that we'll lose THREE more game than they will....

The bench was fantastic in the first half. Unfortunately, it was horribly mismanaged in the 2nd half, thus sapping all of that energy that was so great in the 2nd quarter. Flip waited far to long to bring in Delk/Lindsey, and I still think Delfino should have played in the 2nd half. He and Lindsey weren't shooting the ball well, but they were both getting after every loose ball and making energy plays. Flip needs to realize that hot shooting isn't the only thing that can get a team back into the game.

And why was Dice on the bench instead of Sheed at the end? Dice was KILLING it out there. Collins OWNS Sheed. Sheed shot 29% in their first 3 games, and he was 1-for-10 today. You do the math.

If we beat Dallas tuesday all will be forgiven.

we still have essentially a 2-game lead on both Dallas and the Spurs. beat Dallas, and it's jumped to a 4-game lead on them, because we'll have a slight edge in the tiebreaker.

If we win the rest of march, we're be set up nicely for april.

Dallas is going to blow us out.

Dallas is going to blow us out.

I have even more confidence that we're going to win, thanks.

And why was Dice on the bench instead of Sheed at the end? Dice was KILLING it out there. Collins OWNS Sheed. Sheed shot 29% in their first 3 games, and he was 1-for-10 today. You do the math.

i agree, i would have LOVED to see Flip show Dice a vote of confidence by keeping him in the game. obviously, Sheed's the starter, but Dice was beating EVERYONE to the boards and making some great plays.

Dice's statline for the game:
26min, 11 pts, 5-9 FG, 18 reb, 6 offensive rebs, 3 asts, 2 stls, 1 blk

Dallas is going to blow us out.

I have even more confidence that we're going to win, thanks.

What chance do we have if you don't make the game thread?

Sheed was actually playing very good D.

I'd rather have put ben on the bench. DIce was doing everything we asked Ben to do, and doing it a lot better.

I have to say I'm very impressed with Vince Carter's defense. He's been pretty good on D the last couple of years, but I didn't know he was this good.

Sheed was actually playing very good D.

I'd rather have put ben on the bench. DIce was doing everything we asked Ben to do, and doing it a lot better.

maybe, but Ben had 11 boards and 5 blocks. Sheed was 1-10 FG and 0-5 3pt. his misses down the stretch hurt our efforts to pull away. granted, he wasn't the only reason, but those three pointer bricks certainly didn't help.

http://www.cantstopthebleeding.com/img/vernon0825.jpg I...HATE...THOSE...GUYS!

I'm done watching the Pistons until the Playoffs.

Somebody PM me when they start playing like they give a shit.

All I get to see out here are their nationally televised games, so when they have one it's a big deal for me. I schedule my work week around it, I don't make plans. To do all that and watch them play like a bunch of fucking assholes is revolting. Every nationally televised game I see makes them look like a third rate team.

The Pistons can suck my fuck.

I have to say I'm very impressed with Vince Carter's defense. He's been pretty good on D the last couple of years, but I didn't know he was this good.
im not. he got schooled a load of times. but billups and rip couldnt make the open shots in most cases. billups even air balled a wide open 3 pointer. but i saw hamilton and billups getting away from carter way too easy.

Sheed was actually playing very good D.

I'd rather have put ben on the bench. DIce was doing everything we asked Ben to do, and doing it a lot better.

maybe, but Ben had 11 boards and 5 blocks. Sheed was 1-10 FG and 0-5 3pt. his misses down the stretch hurt our efforts to pull away. granted, he wasn't the only reason, but those three pointer bricks certainly didn't help.
they hurt just as much as cbill's and Rip's few that he missed.

I'm done watching the Pistons until the Playoffs.

Somebody PM me when they start playing like they give a shit.

All I get to see out here are their nationally televised games, so when they have one it's a big deal for me. I schedule my work week around it, I don't make plans. To do all that and watch them play like a bunch of fucking assholes is revolting. Every nationally televised game I see makes them look like a third rate team.

The Pistons can suck my fuck.

Big fucking deal, NQ.

My ticket to last night's game cost $135.00.

At least you suffered through that game for free.

I actually paid good, hard earned money to see the Pistons not care enough to show up and play (cue the "hard earned money" lawyer joke).

Billups was garbage, but Sheed was worse, as someone pointed out.

I checked the box score and couldn't believe he only shot 0-5 on 3 pointers. I thought he launched more like 10 3 pointers. I guess the other 5 were with his foot on the line - because he straddled that line all night.

I don't think I saw him, even once in the entire game, get anywhere near the post for even a single second while the Pistons were on offense. This was one of those games Flip cautioned about, where they didn't want it enough to work for good shots. They just stood around, threw up some junk, and hoped it went in.

Especially Sheed. He'd sit at the 3 point line, and the only time he'd move the entire game was to do that pick and pop with Chauncey for an open 20-28 footer.

Over and over.

In fact, at one point, he picked and popped for an open three - twice in the same possession.

I guess its not a terrible strategy, if any of his shots would have been anywhere near the mark. But when the first five barely even touch the rim, you'd think he'd of moved a little closer to the net to find his touch.

I actually paid good, hard earned money to see the Pistons not care enough to show up and play (cue the "hard earned money" lawyer joke).
[smilie=angel.gif]

9:18 pm [metr0man]: Mo or Delfino? who plays this Q
9:18 pm [metr0man]: place your bets!
9:18 pm [Fekz]: mo does
9:19 pm [Matt]: i'm going with Delf
9:19 pm [Matt]: i know it's crazy
9:19 pm [Fekz]: he never get's a dnp
9:19 pm [Matt]: but Mo will get a DNP-CD tonight
9:19 pm [Fekz]: impossible

hey, i was right [smilie=artist.gif]

Big fucking deal, NQ.

My ticket to last night's game cost $135.00.

At least you suffered through that game for free.

I actually paid good, hard earned money to see the Pistons not care enough to show up and play (cue the "hard earned money" lawyer joke).



If my math is correct, at $220/hr, that's less than 37 minutes of "work".

But I agree with the rest of your post.

My opinion of Sheed as a player has dropped substantially. For a guy that was determined to come into the season "hungry" after that Game 5 gaffe, he's pretty much done nothing but chuck.

He's still entertaining as hell to watch when those shots are falling, but he's no longer a guy that I consider to be my "1a" favorite player behind Ben.

I also agree with Diddy, I think Dallas is going to run us out of the gym (by 20+ pts.).

Big fucking deal, NQ.

My ticket to last night's game cost $135.00.

At least you suffered through that game for free.

I actually paid good, hard earned money to see the Pistons not care enough to show up and play (cue the "hard earned money" lawyer joke).



If my math is correct, at $220/hr, that's less than 37 minutes of "work".



LOL he didn't even have to play the "hard earned money lawyer joke".

But fuck if that 1st quarter was worth a dollar fitty.

thankfully the Spurs also lost. Dallas is a must win though.

I hate to break it to some of you, but NJ has been whoopin the best teams in the NBA during their win streak and have been playing some of the best defense they've played in a while. I'd rather play the heat in a 7 game series than the Nets. They're a good team. They're an inside force away from being a title contender. I dont see why you guys are flippin out. It was a hard faught (minus that first qutr) defensive match up and the nets pulled it out.

The Nets looked good, no doubt, but we mailed it in.

If it wasn't for Dice, we might have lost by 20+.

Kristic looks like everything Darko should have been.

It was a hard faught (minus that first qutr) defensive match up and the nets pulled it out.

EXACTLY! What would the outcome had been if our starters didn't dig us into a 15 point hole because of their laziness? We'd be talking about how we whooped a team that's playing good ball instead of why we stink right now. Flip needs to nut up and smack some sense into these fuckers. I really hate this team right now.

The Pistons can suck my fuck.

I really should trademark this.

I actually enjoyed the game becuase Flipused the bench a HELL of alot more.

The loss sucks, but cmon it's number 14,OF THE YEAR.


Mavs are going to get raped tuesday.

I actually enjoyed the game becuase Flipused the bench a HELL of alot more.

The loss sucks, but cmon it's number 14,OF THE YEAR.


Mavs are going to get raped tuesday.
we lost because you didnt bring your powers of Zelda and the missing link here in time for the game. I'm holding all blame towards you. [smilie=angryfire.g:

and cbill sucking for 2 str8 games, yikes to that