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BDM22 wrote:-= original quote snipped =-
What did I miss?
Detroit's Rasheed Wallace and Chicago's Chris Duhon have both missed the game between the Pistons and Bulls.
Wallace sat out his second straight game with a sprained left ankle, while Duhon was disciplined for missing a team workout Sunday morning in Auburn Hills.
The Bulls were also missing reserve guard Thabo Sefolosha for the sixth straight game due to a groin strain, but forward Tyrus Thomas returned after a two-game suspension for missing a practice earlier in the week.
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- Chauncey Billups matched a season high with 34 points, Richard Hamilton scored 23, and the Detroit Pistons beat the Chicago Bulls 116-109 Sunday night to clinching their seventh straight playoff berth.
Detroit got another scare in the third quarter when Prince injured his right arm after being fouled by Larry Hughes on a drive to the basket. Prince stayed down for several minutes and appeared to be in a great deal of pain, but stayed in the game to make both free throws, then quickly added a 3-pointer and a driving dunk.
Prince had 15 points in 17 minutes after the injury.
Detroit's Rasheed Wallace and Chicago's Chris Duhon both missed Sunday's game between the Pistons and Bulls. Detroit ended a five-game losing streak against Chicago with a 116-109 victory. Wallace sat out his second straight game with a sprained left ankle, while Duhon was disciplined for missing a team workout Sunday morning in Auburn Hills.
"Chris did miss shootaround this morning," confirmed Bulls coach Jim Boylan. "He will be in uniform, but I will not play him."During Sunday's telecast, it was revealed that Duhon had not received permission to attend Saturday's college basketball game between his alma mater, Duke, and North Carolina. He reportedly slept through the morning shootaround.
Boylan learned Duhon was at the game when he saw him on camera during Saturday's telecast. The Bulls were also missing reserve guard Thabo Sefolosha for the sixth straight game due to a groin strain, but forward Tyrus Thomas returned after a two-game suspension for missing a practice earlier in the week.
Train Wreck wrote:-= original quote snipped =-
I found it funny when they asked him why he thinks that Chicago's record is as bad as it is and he said it's because they live and die with the jumpshot.....
Kinda funny coming from the coach of a team who's usually near the last in the league in points in the paint...
As Tayshaun Prince lay on The Palace floor in the third quarter against Chicago, visibly in pain while tightly clutching his right elbow, Pistons coach Flip Saunders feared Prince had suffered a broken bone of some kind. But Prince has proven himself to be one of the league's most durable players, evident by Sunday's contest being his 393rd consecutive game played.
While he admittedly was sore following an injury to his funny bone, Prince still found ways to make an impact in Detroit's 116-109 win.In fact, Prince seemed to take his game to another level following the injury, which is when he scored 15 of his 21 points. A couple of free throws, a 3-pointer made, and just like that, Prince was on a roll. "Then we started to run things my way, and some things that got me moving where I could drive and make plays," Prince said. "All of a sudden things started to open up."But Prince's strength as a player lies in his versatility to become a playmaker as well as a scorer. "I like to see him when he's putting it on the floor," Saunders said. "Because what happens is not only can he get to the bucket and score but he becomes a playmaker, as far as he had six assists tonight."Prince's play was especially impressive considering it came on a night when Richard Hamilton (23 points, seven assists) also played well.
The 6-foot-9 Prince attributes that to him and Hamilton moving well without the ball, and taking good shots when they were available."It's a situation where tonight we moved the basketball," Prince said. "We were patient, but at the same time we had a lot of movement. So whenever somebody drove (to the basket), it wasn't as clogged up as much as it usually has been."
It remains to be seen how the dynamic in their matchup with Cleveland will be affected by the trade-deadline deal the Cavs and Chicago Bulls executed, but so far the Pistons like what it did for their standing against Chicago. After losing their three previous games with the Bulls this season
STUDS: Chauncey Billups set the tone with his aggressive play from the start, and he continued to keep the Bulls on their heels in scoring a game-high 34 points. Ben Gordon did his part to keep the game close, scoring a team-high 27 points before fouling out with 19 seconds to play.SOLID: Tayshaun Prince (21 points, six rebounds and six assists) and Richard Hamilton (23 points, five rebounds and seven assists) will have to share this one, because they were equally solid for Detroit at different points in the game. Luol Deng had a quiet 21 points tonight on 6-for-16 shooting from the field.
DUDS: While Antonio McDyess' 1-for-10 shooting make him a likely pick here, he gets a pass tonight because as I watched the game - and his play very closely - it was clear that this guy understands how to make an impact even with a 1-for-10 performance. He set a bunch of screens that freed up Rip Hamilton for shots, and he had his usual share of rebounds and tip-outs to teammates that led to points as well. Taking all that into account, his play wasn't as bad as it might look in the boxscore. Kirk Hinrich, that's another story. He got more than his share of bad whistles tonight, but even when he played, he didn't do much. Rip and Chauncey had their way scoring on him, and he did very little to combat that at the other end.SUPER SUB: Jason Maxiell had the numbers (eight points, eight rebounds), but I was more impressed with Rodney Stuckey. He did a really good job of contesting shots near the end of the first quarter, which is when Detroit went on a 13-2 run and led 29-19, after the first.
UP NEXT: Wednesday vs. Philadelphia. Other than Houston out West, the Sixers may be playing the best basketball of any team in the NBA. They are getting solid contributions from a lot of players, and the result has been an impressive string of wins that currently has this team in the playoffs.
Guard Chris Duhon is expected to be fined for missing the team's Sunday morning shootaround at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Television cameras showed Duhon in attendance with former Bull and fellow Blue Devil Jay Williams at the North Carolina-Duke game in Durham, N.C. Saturday night. The Duke alum chartered a plane and flew back to the Detroit area after the game, but overslept and missed the team bus to the shootaround. It's the second time this week a Bulls player failed to show for a team function. Tyrus Thomas finished serving his team-imposed, two-game suspension on Friday night in Boston and is expected to dress for Sunday night's game against the Pistons.
Thomas' absence was unexcused and premeditated. Sources said Thomas told two teammates "see you Thursday" after playing just nine minutes in last Tuesday's victory over Memphis. Though Duhon's absence isn't great timing given the state of the Bulls, it is being viewed as unintentional, unlike Thomas'. Duhon's playing time has dropped drastically since the acquisition of guard Larry Hughes.
The Bulls gave the Pistons fits again Sunday -- as did the officiating crew -- but the Pistons made enough plays down the stretch to secure a wild, 116-109 victory at The Palace. "We just took care of business," said Billups, who tied his season high with 34 points. "We didn't complain to the refs when we thought some of the calls were going the other way on us. We didn't complain, we just said, 'Heck with it. Keep grinding and don't let them get us off our square.' "
Noah had 15 points, but his Bulls were outrebounded, 42-28, while giving up 24 second-chance points.
Referees Bob Delaney and Luis Grillo made a series of calls the Pistons disputed. On one call, Gordon had his shot blocked by Amir Johnson. Replays showed no contact on the play, but Delaney, the official farthest away from the play, called a foul. On another play, Drew Gooden dunked the ball through a block by Theo Ratliff. Referee Luis Grillo called a foul and Gooden converted a three-point play. One possession later, Delaney called a questionable foul on Hamilton that gave Luol Deng two free throws. Grillo called another that Prince argued, which led to two free throws by Hughes.
A trip back to Durham, N.C., cost Bulls guard Chris Duhon more than he bargained for Saturday. He chartered a plane to Durham to see his alma mater Duke play North Carolina, then flew back to Detroit in plenty of time to get to the Bulls' shoot-around Sunday morning.
Chartering a plane is costly enough, but the trip got more expensive when Duhon slept through the shoot-around -- which earned him a fine.
Duhon was allowed to dress for the game, but coach Jim Boylan said he would not play. True to Boylan's word, Duhon spent the game on the bench.
On a night the Pistons honored Hall of Famer George Yardley with a brief ceremony, both John Salley and James Edwards -- two members of the 1989 and 1990 championships teams -- were in attendance. Both were interviewed for upcoming 50th anniversary specials on Pistons' Television.
With the New Jersey Nets' loss Saturday night, the Pistons officially clinched a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Richard Hamilton scored 10 of his 23 in the fourth, while Billups tied his season high with 34 points; he scored 10 points in each of the first three quarters. Theo Ratliff, starting in place of the injured Rasheed Wallace (sprained ankle), contributed 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in 25 minutes.
Prince was fouled as he drove baseline and fell to the floor holding his right elbow. He took a shot to his funny bone. Prince got up and sank the first of two free throws. Then a time-out was called. Prince had blood on his jersey. As he took off the jersey to put on another one, the Palace filled with shrieks and whistles as Prince stood on the court shirtless. It was loud enough for Billups to crack a smile.
Joakim Noah wrote:With our style of play, there's no reason we shouldn't have beaten them. I think Detroit's a great team, but I still think we are better than them, really. I feel like we're a better team.
GenshiYagyu wrote:
...says the guy on the .397 team about the .730 team.
It's good to have confidence, but he might want to sprinkle on a touch of realism.
While the Bulls have mostly succeeded in driving their fans and coaches crazy this season, they've driven the Pistons nuts in all of their matchups. The Bulls refused to let the Pistons get comfortable in the second half but the Pistons managed to avert a four-game sweep with a 116-109 victory at The Palace Sunday night.
Officials Bob Delaney, Luis Grillo and Derrick Stafford killed the flow of the nationally-televised game by calling 49 fouls, which led to 69 free-throw attempts.
The Pistons, who quietly clinched a playoff berth Saturday when the Nets lost, are 28-1 when scoring 100 or more points and 18-0 while shooting at least 50 percent. All of the Pistons' perimeter starters had big offensive nights, as Richard Hamilton supplied 23 points and seven assists, while Tayshaun Prince had 21 points, six assists and six rebounds.
Tayshaun Prince Disrobes, Female Fans Scream in Excitement
Posted Mar 10th 2008 7:59PM by Brett Edwards
Filed under: Pistons, NBA Videos
It's fairly routine for a player to be forced to change jerseys when one becomes soiled with blood during play, but usually they do this on the bench. Tayshaun Prince chose to make the switch on the court during his team's win over the Bulls, which apparently delighted many of the female fans in attendance at the Palace. Just listen to them shriek in excitement once the shirt comes off.
Based on his teammates' reactions, I'm sure they had plenty more to say about this after the game, and it'll probably be a while before they let him forget a moment like this one.
