Game 40: Kings @ Detroit // Fri. 8pm on FSDHD

[princeofpalace]

Stuckey is in information overload right now and I think it might be prudent to dial him back a bit and let it all sink in.

Hayes is a jump shooter and jump shooters run hot and cold - and it's even wore when a particular jump shooter is playing on a vets minimum contract because that says volumes about his game.

Our bench output is low because our the bench is being integrated in with the starters instead of virtually coming in as a unit and as a result there is A] no comfort there yet and B] the bench player is going to be the fifth offensive option in most cases when on the floor with the starters.

I don't care if we win or lose these games really. We're going to the play-offs - might as well get the young kids some burn and get a better draft position.

I disagree with those points. Yeah- are bench is sucking right now. 1)Hayes shot is off again 2)Maxiel doesnt quite understand how to deal with double teams and continues to have a very very limited offensive arsenal 3)Stuckey sucks right now. I really dont think its about the comfort level as Hayes and Maxiel are very very comfortable with the starting unit and arent the 5th option when they are out there. I think those points can apply to Stuckey and Afflalo, but thats it.

But I agree with the rest of your post, lets move up in the draft board.

[Choob]

-= original quote snipped =-

that is all

we get blown out by Bulls tmrw

[nasty daddy]

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti ... 18093/1051

Chauncey Billups led the Pistons with 28 points in a 100-93 loss to Sacremento Friday night.

Richard Hamilton added 24 points and Tayshaun Prince scored 15 points for Detroit.

Antonio McDyess scored 14 points and recorded 11 rebounds and Rasheed Wallace scored seven points. Jason Maxiell scored five points off the bench for the Pistons.

[beau]

Yes, Stuckey sucked big time tonight, but I would rather him get those oppurtunities to suck in the game rather than suck riding the bench.

But really... he does need to learn and this is just one game. It seems he does much better when he can be the man on offense by beating people of the dribble to create for himself or for others.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.mlive.com/pistons/index.ssf/ ... ns_93.html

Finally, a good experience at Detroit for Ron Artest. Artest came off the bench Friday night to score 18 points, including a key basket late in the game, and lift the Sacramento Kings to a 100-93 victory over the Pistons. Artest, suspended 73 games after instigating a Nov. 2004 brawl here, made a 3-pointer with less than 4 minutes to go to give the Kings a cushion they'd never lose.

Chauncey Billups had 28 points and Richard Hamilton added 24 for the Pistons, who have lost two of their last three and dropped the season series to the Kings.

The Pistons were 7-for-21 from the floor in the second quarter, when Sacramento outscored them 33-19 to take a 56-48 halftime lead. A 10-2 run midway through the third quarter got Detroit back in the game. Kevin Martin scored 24 points and Brad Miller added 17 points and nine rebounds for the Kings.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.mlive.com/sportsflash/index. ... ichigannba

Trailing 96-93, the Pistons got two good looks at a tying shot in the final minute but missed both attempts. Mike Bibby converted a running layup with 18 seconds to play to put away the game for the Kings, who ended a three-game road losing streak. The Pistons were 7-for-21 from the floor in the second quarter, when Sacramento outscored them 33-19 to take a 56-48 halftime lead. A 10-2 run midway through the third quarter got Detroit back in the game.

Kevin Martin scored 24 points and Brad Miller added 17 points and nine rebounds for the Kings, who beat the Pistons 105-95 in Sacramento on Nov. 18. Bibby had 16 points. Artest (elbow) and Bibby (thumb), each of whom returned from injuries Wednesday, did not start the game. Coach Reggie Theus said he wanted to ease the usual starters back into the lineup.

Tayshaun Prince had 15 points and Antonio McDyess added 14 points and 11 rebounds for Detroit, which begins a three-game road trip Saturday.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti ... 18083/1051

Artest gave a simple shake of his head when asked if returning here still conjures images of the night that went wrong. He said memories of that evening are

[Hunter]

I think it's probably fair to say that IF the bench played well we could have won. Or at least had a much better shot at it. But I wouldn't go so far as to say they are the reason we lost.

We had a number of missed opportunities from the line and it was a 1 pt lead in the 4th with our starters on the floor. Sac out executed us down the stretch. Brad came up with a huge offensive rebound and they ran a nice backdoor cut for Bibby out of the time out. Not only was he uncontested, but there wasn't another player within about 8 feet of the rim.

But even IF we did lose because of our bench I wouldn't mind much, just so long as it doesn't deter Flip from playing them again. I like the idea of Stuckey playing, even when he's struggling. Gotta go through it. That doesn't mean I gotta be happy with the loss though.

[nasty daddy]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=280118008

Chauncey Billups had 28 points and 10 assists and Richard Hamilton added 24 points for the Pistons, who have lost two of their last three and were swept by the Kings in the season series.

Trailing 96-93, the Pistons got two good looks at a tying shot in the final minute but missed both attempts. Mike Bibby converted a running layup with 18 seconds left to seal the victory for the Kings, who ended a three-game road losing streak.

Sacramento's zone defense seemed to fluster Detroit, which frequently settled for shots as the clock was running down and finished the game 42 percent from the floor.

[<3AmirJohnson<3]

Arvis

[Choob]

what i dont like about how Stuckey is being handled is that they are trying to turn him into a mini Billups instead of letting him play to his strengths...

[nasty daddy]

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar ... 90314/1127

Before the game, Ron Artest talked about how he had made a lot of friends with his community service work in the Detroit area. None were in the building Friday, apparently, as Artest was booed lustily throughout the game. His response: He blew kisses to the crowd as he helped the Kings administer a 100-93 beating of a Pistons team very much mired in a January funk.

Artest, who scored seven of his 18 points in the fourth, hit a clutch 3-pointer with 3:42 left that sent the Pistons scrambling down the stretch. The Kings scored seven of their final nine points from the free throw line and held off the Pistons. Kevin Martin's 21 points led the Kings. Brad Miller had 17, including four free throws down the stretch. The Pistons got within three points in the final minute and had one possession to tie the score. Chauncey Billups missed a 3-pointer and then Jason Maxiell coughed the ball up to end the threat.

The Pistons reserves couldn't make a shot. They were a combined 2-for-15 with Maxiell making the only two field goals. They were outscored 60-5 by the Kings' bench -- a number obscured by the fact that Artest, Mike Bibby and Martin all came off the bench. Nobody outside of Hamilton and Billups could make a free throw. The Pistons missed 11 of 30 free throws -- including two killer misses by McDyess in the fourth. When they played in Sacramento in November, they missed 14 of 33.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar ... 90321/1127

Nobody has a more potent bench these days than the Kings. Mike Bibby , Artest and Kevin Martin , the team's top three scorers a year ago, are coming off the bench while they work their way back into shape from injuries.

Throw in Kenny Thomas , another former starter, and the Kings' bench earns more than $30 million this season.

"It's not a matter of who starts, it's who finishes," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. "You know those guys are going to play 30-plus minutes, so you prepare to play against those guys." Martin scored 24 off the bench and Bibby 16.

[Phobo_Phile]

Kings just have our number I think. If our defense and hustle isn't there. Then we don't have a lot more going for us then they do. In fact, offensively there are many similiar skill sets.

[Liqourish]

I don't care if we win or lose these games really. We're going to the play-offs - might as well get the young kids some burn and get a better draft position.

Quoted for truth.

Let's also remember that our bench was going against their bench that consisted of Kevin Martin, Ron Artest and Mike Bibby. Obviously our starters played against them as well, but it's not exactly like our young guys were going against their second tier talent here.

Seemed like every possession I would see Bibby pull up and then Rip would put a hand up. Kevin Martin would do a pick and roll and then Rip would put a hand up. Dice completely lost Mikki Moore for an uncontested layup for godssake. And then, offensively they were looking for contact, not get it and then proceed to argue with the refs while Sacramento ran down court for good shots because Pistons didn't get back on D. To put this all on the bench is wrong. We sucked as a team.

But a loss every once in awhile won't kill us, it might improve our draft pick. Orlando is like 9 games back. We could drop a few, still retain the 2nd seed and maybe move up the draft board 2 or 3 spots.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti ... 90353/1051

Recently retired Michigan coach Lloyd Carr sat in Bill Davidson's courtside seat during the game.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti ... 90378/1051

It wasn't a good night for the Pistons, who shot 42% from the field and were stagnant on defense. "One, they mixed some zone in," coach Flip Saunders said. "We just didn't move the ball, which happens to be our downfall a lot ... is when things go bad we start holding the ball and don't move the basketball and keep the ball locked in on one side. I thought we did that way, way too much tonight."

While normally starters, Artest, Martin and Bibby have been coming off the bench in hopes of finding their rhythm. They helped Sacramento outscore the Pistons' bench, 60-5, as Jason Maxiell was the only Detroit reserve to score.

The Pistons' starters, as a whole, weren't aggressive.Rasheed Wallace shot 3-for-12 and scored seven points, and Antonio McDyess scored only four of his 14 points in the second half."We waited too long to start fighting," Billups said. "I thought that third quarter ... offensively we were good but defensively we were still giving up a lot. Our offense kept us in it. We just waited too late, man. They started attacking mismatches, and guys were getting into the teeth of the defense. You have to help, and you have to give up something."

[nasty daddy]

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti ... 90378/1051

The Kings' trio combined for 58 points to help the Kings to a 100-93 win at the Palace.

It wasn't a good night for the Pistons, who shot 42% from the field and were stagnant on defense."One, they mixed some zone in," coach Flip Saunders said. "We just didn't move the ball, which happens to be our downfall a lot ... is when things go bad we start holding the ball and don't move the basketball and keep the ball locked in on one side. I thought we did that way, way too much tonight."

Billups' 15-point third quarter was overshadowed by the Pistons' lack of consistent defense, which was why Saunders went away from his shortened bench and inserted rookie guard Arron Afflalo and forward Walter Herrmann for a defensive spark."I thought Walter did a nice job," Saunders said. "He banged in there and did a good job. We'll probably have to start using him. We have to play with energy.

[Tap Tap the Chiseler]

Arvis

Hope his J returns soon.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/SACDET_ ... recap.html

There were two 15-22 NBA teams heading into Friday