Comments on: Shane Battier’s defense befuddles Tayshaun Prince in Pistons loss to Rockets

By: Laser

Laser — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 21:40:32 +0000

“nothing to get excited about?” i’ve got a half chub just looking at those names.

also, no offense, but it’s absurd to talk boozer. you want to criticize joe and talk about what may have been, leave boozer’s name out of it. he could not be had. talk about people joe could have gotten but didn’t. there’s no shortage.

By: Laser

Laser — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 21:37:26 +0000

yeah, this is insane. maybe if we had a starting PG and C who were capable of contributing in the fourth quarter we wouldn’t have to point the finger at a bench player who was the best piston by maybe a mile for one bad play.

also, this psychotic attitude that one play here or one bounce there cost the piston this or any game has to go. as long as that’s the attitude, we should stay the course, because we’ve been in so many close games where a play or two here or there would have been the difference. i mean, it so happens that we’ve lost nearly all of these games, but let’s not try to trace the source of the problem. rather, let’s just hope for better bounces.

OR, in the alternative, we could look a little deeper. the team sucks and manages to give away game after winnable game. basketball tends towards close games, so teams will usually exert just enough effort to win. for instance, nobody leaves their starters in to play fourth quarters in games that are well in hand just to show how lopsided games could be. a win is a win. teams conserve energy over the course of the season. if bynum had made that shot AND gordon made his, chances are the pistons still would have found a way to lose this game. get a clue.

By: Patrick Hayes

Patrick Hayes — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:47:22 +0000

The overwhelming majority of their FG attempts are jumpers. Jump shooting teams just don't get calls.

Stuckey and Bynum are their only two players who consistently attack the basket. Stuckey gets to the line a reasonable amount. Bynum tends to twist away from contact rather than plow into people like Stuckey does, so Will doesn't get many calls.

Jump shooting teams just don't get to the line. It's how the NBA has alwasy been.

By: steve - battle creek

steve - battle creek — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:47:57 +0000

but that is the biggest problem on this team the SUBSTITUTION PATTERNS!!! no one knows what there roles are!?!? this is the constant theme from the players confusion of roles, who’s starting, who’s in the rotations. its FREAKING RIDICULOUS! if maybe we bring monroe back he can slow patterson down and get more ez baskets. maybe if we take bynum out the ball will move, sometimes its not about assists, but ball movement!
the coach must go!!!

By: gordbrown

gordbrown — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:46:00 +0000

Doesn’t excuse the fact that the replay clearly showed the Martin had lost control of the ball long before there was any contact between the two players. And I noted the plays I was talking about (not so much Tay but the others) were all in the paint. Maybe the Pistons shoot a lot of free throws because they know other teams have carte blanche to foul them when they drive. I know and have argued that the team should and at some point has got to try to rise above it, but one of the biggest problems the Pistons have is after a while the biased refereeing has got to take effect on your psyche.

By: steve - battle creek

steve - battle creek — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:38:55 +0000

kuester needs to go now!! monroe having a monster night 12 12 in 3 quarters and doesnt play the entire 4th quarter, for CHRIS WILCOX!?!?!? left bench in after starters got the lead and didnt go back to them! ugh!

By: jgk281

jgk281 — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:32:52 +0000

lol, very true.

By: Patrick Hayes

Patrick Hayes — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:13:31 +0000

I mean, I'm at the point where I don't bother getting outraged enough to mention the insane substitution patterns anymore. Why didn't Monroe play the fourth? Why doesn't Wallace, the team's best defensive frontcourt player, ever play a fourth? Why wouldn't he try a three guard lineup earlier in the game, when all three guys had it going, rather than waiting until the final minutes when the lead was already blown?

I have no answers. Very little about the substitution patterns has ever made sense.

By: Patrick Hayes

Patrick Hayes — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:10:34 +0000

Houston always shoots a lot of FTs (Kevin Martin is among the league leaders in FTA). The Pistons are one of the worst teams in the league at getting to the line because they shoot so many jumpers. Under those circumstances, a free throw discrepancy is not surprising.

By: Patrick Hayes

Patrick Hayes — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:09:23 +0000

I’ve interviewed Stuckey. I’m 6-3 and he’s not taller than me. I know that he’s listed at 6-5, but Bynum is listed at 6-0, and there’s no way he’s that tall either. The Pistons have three guards who are 6-3 or shorter.