Pistons beat Celtics; spoil Sheed’s homecoming

Amid the buzz and anticipation of Rasheed Wallace’s return to the Palace, the Pistons pulled off one of their best wins of the year, upsetting the Boston Celtics 92-86. Keyed by Rodney Stuckey, a staunch defensive performance in the 2^nd half and clutch shooting by Villanueva in the 4^th

quarter, the Pistons pulled out one of their best (if not the best) wins of the season.

Here are the 3 keys to the Pistons win:

Rodney Stuckey: Rodney Stuckey had one of his best all around games of the season, posting a line of 27 points, to go along with a career high 11 rebounds, 6 assists (only 2 turnovers) and 2 steals. Even the boxscore doesn’t do him justice; had he not blown several point blank layups he would have gone for at least 35 points. The Celtics had no answer for Stuckey all night, and he came up big in crunch time, scoring 6 points in a 13-0 Pistons run late in the 4^th quarter to put the game away. Rondo had a very solid game (21/8/7) but Stuckey won the war here.

Stuckey seems to have finally put the knee injuries and flu-bug behind him.

Zone Defense: Zone defense was a staple of the Pistons defensive schemes in the Flip Saunders years, but it has rarely been used by the Pistons last two coaches. After giving up 56 points in the first half, they held the Celtics to just 30 points on 27% shooting in the 2^nd half and forcing them into 10 turnovers.

"(Assistant coach) Brian Hill put that zone in the other day and we had talked about using it," coach John Kuester said. "We had a chance to practice it the other day and it was important to get this win. It enabled us to contest a lot of their shots."

Jason Maxiell had the highlight of the night, emphatically sending back an attempted Rasheed Wallace dunk to bring The Palace crowd to its feet. Big Ben also stuffed a Rasheed Wallace layup late in the 4^th that helped extend a Pistons run.

But the Pistons could not have set up the zone if the Pistons had not taken control of their own turnover problems. After turning the ball over 15 times in the first half, the Pistons turned it over just twice in the 2^nd half against the Celtic ball-hawking defense.

Overall, the Celtics shot just 43% from the field and turned the ball over 19 times.

Controlling the Glass:

This game was ultimately won on the glass. The Pistons out-rebounded the Celtics 45-35, including 13-5 on the offensive glass (Stuckey had 6). The fact that the Pistons were still able to keep the Celtics off the offensive glass despite playing a ton of zone in the 2^nd half, was impressive to say the least.

Next Game: Friday, January 22, 2010, vs. IND

NFL: Divisional Weekend Predictions

My 2009 NFL Regular Season Record: 150-86 (63.5%)

My 2009 NFL Playoff Record: 1-3 (25.0%)

Arizona Cardinals (10-6) @ New Orleans Saints (13-3)

My Prediction: Cards 34, Saints 31

Baltimore Ravens (9-7) @ Indianapolis Colts (14-2)

My Prediction: Ravens 10, Colts 27

Dallas Cowboys (11-5) @ Minnesota Vikings (12-4)

My Prediction: Cowboys 21, Vikings 24

New York Jets (9-7) @ San Diego Chargers (13-3)

My Prediction: Jets 17, Chargers 24

NFL: Wild Card Weekend Predictions

My 2009 NFL Regular Season Record: 150-86 (63.5%)

My 2009 NFL Playoff Record: 0-0

New York Jets (9-7) @ Cincinnati Bengals (10-6)

My Prediction: Jets 20, Bengals 24

Philadelphia Eagles (11-5) @ Dallas Cowboys (11-5)

My Prediction: Eagles 20, Cowboys 27

Baltimore Ravens (9-7) @ New England Patriots (10-6)

My Prediction: Ravens 17, Patriots 30

Green Bay Packers (11-5) @ Arizona Cardinals (10-6)

My Prediction: Packers 24, Cardinals 10

Pistons Finish Decade on a Flat Note

The 2000’s certainly was a decade to remember for the Pistons and Piston fans, but the way it concluded was very much forgettable. With a 98-87 defeat to the Chicago Bulls, the Pistons’ losing streak was extended to 9 games, their longest since the 1993-94 season.

All the losses aside, things looked really bleak when the Pistons suffered not one, but two ankle injury scares in the first half against Chicago. First, Big Ben turned his ankle and had to be taken out of the game, but just 3 minutes later Stuckey awkwardly turned his left ankle trying to catch an outlet pass and he fell to the ground writhing and turning in pain. At first look, this injury appeared to be serious; Stuckey would be out for several games at the very least. He would later re-aggravate the injury late in the second quarter, but again, Stuckey returned in the 2^nd half and played Derrick Rose to a stall… 22 points on 50% shooting, 6 assists and 4 steals. Not bad for a guy who admitted to playing through a lot of pain.

"It hurt a lot -- it always does when you sprain your ankle -- and then it just gave out on me the second time," Stuckey said. "I was going to play though it if I could even walk, though, because we need to get something going.”

Stuckey was just about the only bright spot in yet another loss where the Pistons were thoroughly dominated in the second half, having never held a lead and losing by as much as 20 at one point. There have been some disturbing trends in this 9 game losing streak.

By the Numbers

• The Pistons 9 game losing streak is the longest since a 13 game skid in 1994
• The Pistons have lost by an average of 13.2 points in the streak
• The Pistons are averaging 85.7 points during the stretch; not scoring 100 once.
• In the 3 games back, Hamilton is shooting 13 for 54 (24%)

Going Forward

Well, where do the Pistons go from here? Despite the 9 game losing streak, the Pistons are still right in the playoff race (2.5 games out of the 8^th seed) in the woeful eastern conference. Right now, the Pistons just need to get the young guns (Daye, Jerebko, Summers) as much playing time as possible, but with Prince and Hamilton back, Jerebko figures to be the only one to get consistent playing time, which is unfortunate. This season should be about developing the young guys, NOT overplaying the veterans.

Many Piston fans (like myself) are enamored with the idea of getting rid of our big contracts (Prince, Hamilton, Maxiell) and trading them away for Tracy McGrady, upon hearing of his disapproval of his playing time in Houston. The Pistons motivation for acquiring McGrady is pretty simple - the $23 million dollar expiring contract that would make Detroit players in the 2010 free agent market, which is loaded with top end free agents (LeBron, Wade, Bosh, Joe Johnson, Bosh). And while that article says the Rockets would be willing to take on a long term contract, is an aging shooting guard like Hamilton really that enticing to a team like Houston? They could just sit McGrady for the rest of the year and keep that $23 million dollar expiring contract and they’ll probably get much more with that money in free agency than they could in a trade for McGrady – certainly more than the Pistons can offer.

I am a big supporter of getting rid of both Hamilton and Prince. Hamilton is hurting the team on the court and his contract will prevent us from contending anytime soon. He has to go. Prince is probably more attractive to contending teams since his contract expires in another year. But I think, realistically, we can’t expect any move to be made until the trade deadline… and perhaps not until the summer. But this team seems poised to set themselves up for a nice lottery pick. Hopefully Dumars puts it to better use than the last time the Pistons drafted in the lottery.

This will be a long and painful season. Rebuilding usually is.

Pistons hold of Sixers; Stuckey puts on a show

This game was supposed to be all about Iverson, but Stuckey stole the show with his best game of the year. This game was a tight affair throughout, won by the Pistons on a fade away baseline jumper by Rodney Stuckey with 8 seconds remaining. The loss extended the Sixers losing streak to 11 games and the Pistons extended their own 3 game winning streak (and 4 wins in 5 games).

Here are the three keys to the Pistons win…

• The “Hot Rod” show: Rodney Stuckey is turning the corner. Since Atkins was inserted into the starting lineup and thus moving Stuckey to the two guard spot, Stuckey has flourished, averaging 22 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds on 46% shooting (and leading the Pistons to a 4-1 record). Stuckey just seems to play so much better playing off the ball, relieved of the duties of bringing the ball up the court and getting everyone into their sets.

Stuckey was simply spectacular in this game, putting up his best game of the season. He started it out by scoring the first basket of the game for Detroit, badly crossing Iverson over on this play (0:21 mark), causing Iverson to stumble back on his ass, while he calmly suck the mid range jumper. That was hardly all he did though. Stuckey went on to score 28 points, with 8 dimes and 5 boards. Stuckey started this game out very aggressive, attacking the rim and drawing fouls. But as the game progressed, Stuckey hit the likes of Jerebko, Maxiell and others for open jumpers off of down screens.

After getting blocked by Iguodala on a drive to the rim, Stuckey recovered the ball and put up a fading baseline jumper for the winning score with 8 seconds remaining. It’s worth noting that Stuckey not only had to deal with containing Iguodala on the defensive end, but he also had to do most of his damage against an all NBA defender in Iguodala. Stuckey did catch a bit of a break when he got picked off on an Elton Brand screen, leaving Iguodala wide open for a game winning three pointer, but he bricked it badly and Stuckey made two free throws to seal the win.

• Strong Second Half: After a lackluster first half, Jerebko was really the difference in the second half. He scored all 17 of his points in the second half, while holding Thaddeus Young to 11 points on 4 for 14 shooting (2 points I nthe 2^nd half) and he also grabbed 10 boards. Jerebko had one of the key plays of the game, up-faking a charging Iverson and nailing a wide open jumper to give the Pistons an 84-82 lead with 1:49 left.

• Iverson Stink Fest: While maybe its too early to say that Iverson can’t be a productive player anymore, he sure looked awful out on the floor tonight. Bad defense and low percentage scoring is par for the course for Allen Iverson, but missing wide open layups like he did last night could be a sign that it’s really time for him to just leave the sport. He does not have the same explosion and quickness to the basket that he once had and that is obvious to anyone that has watched him the last couple years.

Here are the bad plays, no scratch that… embarrassing plays that stand for Iverson in this game.

1. Stuckey putting Iverson on his ass with a sick cross over dribble

2. Iverson airmailing a wide open 15 footer

3. Iverson bricking a layup that missed the rim completely

Iverson was brought in to sell tickets… not to win games. And alas, after selling out Iverson’s first game back against Denver, only 12,000+ showed up for this game.

Just sayin.

Next Game: vs. Denver Nuggets, 7:30, Fri. Dec 10^th

NFL: Week 13 Predictions

My 2009 NFL Record: 100-59 (62.9%)

The Marquee Matchups

Tennessee Titans (5-6) @ Indianapolis Colts (11-0)

My Prediction: Titans 20, Colts 23

Dallas Cowboys (8-3) @ New York Giants (6-5)

My Prediction: Cowboys 27, Giants 30

The Rest of the Pack

St. Louis Rams (1-10) @ Chicago Bears (4-7)

My Prediction: Rams 7, Bears 23

Detroit Lions (2-9) @ Cincinnati Bengals (8-3)

My Prediction: Lions 0, Bengals 21

Denver Broncos (7-4) @ Kansas City Chiefs (3-8)

My Prediction: Broncos 17, Chiefs 14

New England Patriots (7-4) @ Miami Dolphins (5-6)

My Prediction: Patriots 27, Dolphins 14

Oakland Raiders (3-8) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5)

My Prediction: Raiders 3, Steelers 31

New Orleans Saints (11-0) @ Washington Redskins (3-8)

My Prediction: Saints 24, Redskins 14

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-10) @ Carolina Panthers (4-7)

My Prediction: Bucs 10, Panthers 17

Houston Texans (5-6) @ Jacksonville Jaguars (6-5)

My Prediction: Texans 24, Jaguars 27

San Diego Chargers (8-3) @ Cleveland Browns (1-10)

My Prediction: Chargers 27, Browns 7

Philadelphia Eagles (7-4) @ Atlanta Falcons (6-5)

My Prediction: Eagles 20, Falcons 17

San Francisco 49ers (5-6) @ Seattle Seahawks (4-7)

My Prediction: 49ers 17, Seahawks 21

Minnesota Vikings (10-1) @ Arizona Cardinals (7-4)

My Prediction: Vikings 31, Cardinals 20

Baltimore Ravens (6-5) @ Green Bay Packers (7-4)

My Prediction: Ravens 17, Packers 27

Pistons beat Bucks; stifle Jennings

This was a nice statement victory for the Pistons, winning their first divisional game after losing their first three in the division. Coming into this game, the Bucks were one of the surprise teams in the league, with a 9-8 record (despite injuries to Bogut and Redd) when many expected them to finish near the bottom of the eastern conference coming into the season. And leading the way for the Bucks was rookie sensation Brandon Jennings, but he was far from that tonight.

Here are the keys to the Pistons win:

• Stuckey: He was just terrific last night, and personally, I feel it was his best overall game of the year. He started the game by being aggressive offensive, hitting 5 of 8 shots for 14 points in the first half on a variety of jumpers and drives to the hoop. Every shot he took was open and on balance. His catch and finish (on a long pass from Gordon) to beat the halftime buzzer was simply spectacular.

In the second half, we saw Stuckey set up his teammates; two dishes to Ben Wallace on pick and rolls for wide open dunks, several passes that were zipped it into open cutters behind the Bucks’ defense, and a nice drive and dish to Charlie V for a corner three (in the first half). Stuckey only took 3 shots in the second half, but he made 3 of them. But it wasn’t his scoring in this game that was impressive… we’ve seen this guy drop 40 before. It was his willingness to pass and look for his teammates first that caught my eye. The only negatives in this game for Stuckey were 3 turnovers on charges and he did leave Delfino wide open on several shots in that first half. But otherwise, an absolutely great game for Stuckey. He finished with 19 points (on 7 for 11 shooting), 9 dimes and 6 rebounds.

• Controlling Jennings and manning the Paint: This was a big task for the Pistons, slowing down a guy who came into this game with a 55 point game under his belt and averaging 22/6/4 on the season. But the Pistons did a number on him – containing him off the dribble and pick & rolls and forcing him to take jump shots. They executed the strategy to perfection, limiting him to 15 points on 6 for 20 shooting. The Pistons once again dominated in the paint, outscoring the Bucks 46-20, and killing them on the glass, 46-31. Bogut was held in check by Big Ben, forcing him away from the basket and putting immense pressure on every shot (4 for 9 shooting for 8 points). In addition to his usual stout defense, Big Ben also chipped in with 10 points, including 4 thunderous dunks.
  

There are many positive things that the Pistons can build upon from this game. They cut harder, set better screens and were more active moving without the ball then they’ve been all year (in my estimation). The activity on the offensive end led to 57% shooting and 18 fast break points. But they also a bit frenetic at times, turning the ball over 21 times. Some of that can be credited to the Bucks pressure defense (leading the league in forced turnovers), but far too many of them were careless mistakes. That’s something they’ll need to correct moving forward.

I also didn’t understand why Kuester went back to Chucky Atkins for the final 2:26 of the game. It didn’t make sense at that point in the game with an 11 point lead to put in a 3 guard lineup, which hinders you defensively. And given that most teams don’t respect Atkins or Wallace as offensive weapons, it hurts you offensively as well, as teams sag off and help on the dribble penetration of the guards. This lineup had some sloppy plays in the final couple minutes, which forced the Pistons to have to make free throws to seal the game that they never should have had to make. That was a bad coaching decision by Kuester, but other than that I can’t complain. The Pistons dominated this game wire to wire.

Good win Pistons!

Next Game: Washington Wizards, Sun. Dec 6th, 6:00 EST