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First road game of the season for the Pistons. Against the team that many compared their current structure to, the Memphis Grizzlies.

Should be an interesting game, the battle of the low posts. Will Dre dunk all over the vertically challenged Marc Gasol? Will Z-Bo bully Moose on the block? Should be good.

Fun fact: The Grizzlies were the team that signed Josh Smith to an offer sheet for the contract he just came off of.

If we play the same defense we did against washington and take care of the ball on offense we win this game. The only reason washington kept it close most of the game was because of ariza knocking down a ton of shots. I mean, this is a much better frontcourt , but neither prince or allen can make jumpshots consistently, so if we can keep them out of the paint again, we win.
Grizzlies are very good defensively too though. They come up with a lot of steals and likely can defend monroe/drummond one on one unlike washington which takes away a lot of the ball movement we managed to get last game. If the offense looks great again this game, then im going to be very confident in this season going forward. Theres a good chance it stops though with a coach that doesnt seem to run a lot of sets.
I am going to be optimistic though and say we get a grind it out 88-81 win, but i can definitely see a 90-75 loss being a possibility. I just hope we can contain their bigs and force them to shoot jumpers again.

I will say that this will be a good game to watch,the only things I worry about is gasols offense and dre guarding him consistently and prince having a good game against his former team.You also have conley against billups,should be a fun grind it out game.

The match up with Z-Bo is a great test gauge for Moose. Z-Bo is going to bang and do anything possible to impose his will on Moose (ask Blake Griffin). I would like to see Moose match the physicality (don't shy away) AND dominate use his speed to his advantage.

Marc Gasol could prove to be a problem for reach and leap happy Drummond. It will be hard not to get into foul trouble.

J-Smoove should have the advantage over his match up which will allow him to float and help out on D.

Nice early test for the team.

A top 3 or 4 front court going against another top 3 or 4 front court... Should be a good test for the Smith/Monroe/Drummond trio.

Will we win points in the paint and rebounding? If so I think we get the W.... if not I think Memphis takes it.

My goes is Detroit 98, losing a close one to Memphis 102.

I think Zach Randolph will come out firing after the poor game he played against the Spurs. Obviously they will play better at home than they did Wednesday.
If Detroit can keep him and Gasol from going crazy, they will be ok.

This should be a great game. Gasol is crafty while being one of the best Centers in the league. This should be a challenge for Dre. I can see more moose here as Josh Smith would probably play better defense against Randolph. If Prince sits out, then whoever plays SF for both teams at that point would cancel each other out. Hopefully, Stuckey can play a few minutes to help contain Conley.

kurtis48239 wrote:I will say that this will be a good game to watch,the only things I worry about is gasols offense and dre guarding him consistently and prince having a good game against his former team.You also have conley against billups,should be a fun grind it out game.

It's going to be a learning experience for Dre. Gasol isn't going to jump over him for rebounds, or explode past him for a dunk, but he's arguably the smartest center in the league and knows how to position himself excellently. Andre will probably have to slow his game down, and concentrate on not over-playing Gasol's moves, as he's likely to fake him right out of the way.

I think Detroit immediately has a match-up advantage with Smith vs Prince. Prince can challenge his shot, but won't be able to stay in front of him if Smith is aggressive going towards the basket. They should use this to their benefit and look to get Gasol and/or Randolph into foul trouble.

This game is going to be all about interior defense. This is where both teams look to score, it's where the game will be won or lost, imho.

Fascinating game. Dre (age 20), Monroe (age 23), Smith (age 27?) vs. Gasol and Zach (ages 28).

Memphis is a team that is way more experienced as a team than we are, and their two stars are in the primes of their career - much more advanced than Dre and Monroe. We're also without our starting PG, and Stuckey, even if he comes back tonight, is not acclimated with our starting unit yet. Ultimately, the upside potential on our team is higher than Memphis's upside - but tonight, Memphis has the advantage at home against us.

This is a likely loss, but should be fun to watch. The next time these two teams meet in Detroit should be more informative as to where our team stands in relationship to the franchise we're modeling.

Brapman wrote:Fascinating game. Dre (age 20), Monroe (age 23), Smith (age 27?) vs. Gasol and Zach (ages 28).

Z-Bo is 31 or 32, I believe.

Not expecting a win but should be very fun to watch.

memphis is too much for us. this will be blowout. book it.

i wonder if drummond will be able to defend gasol

Jennings expected to play Sunday. Stuckey playing tonight; not starting, but first guard off bench.

Same starters as last game. Cheeks said he's likely to use 3 guard rotation, but could use KCP too..

pistontr wrote:memphis is too much for us. this will be blowout. book it.

i wonder if drummond will be able to defend gasol

For someone who claims to have poor English, you sure know how to speak it pretty well when its time to hate on the Pistons..lol

Q00 wrote:

pistontr wrote:memphis is too much for us. this will be blowout. book it.

i wonder if drummond will be able to defend gasol

For someone who claims to have poor English, you sure know how to speak it pretty well when its time to hate on the Pistons..lol

i just wonder drummond's defense on huge guys like gasol, noah, hibbert who can shoot at midrange if it is open. no hate, i like that guy.

I think our bigs are going to do OK -- I'm more worried about Conley ripping Bynum to pieces.

Drummond is huge himself. I don't think his defense on huge guys is much of an issue. The issue is him being disciplined, not going for fakes, and understanding players tendencies, all of which he will get better at over time. He really gave Hibbert some issues last year.

tmorgan wrote:I think our bigs are going to do OK -- I'm more worried about Conley ripping Bynum to pieces.

I reckon Bynum needs to prove you all wrong every single game then.

Well, Bynum Gonna Prove Ya'll Wrong!!!!