RealGM

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpPZQesagaU[/youtube]

A great and concise breakdown of what went right and mostly wrong for our team last night (excluding shooting woes).

Thoughts?

Seeing the Pacers blow out the Bulls by 17 on the second night of a back to back, makes our 8 point loss not look quite so bad anymore. Indiana is just playing great basketball right now, and us losing to them shouldn't be an indicator that we aren't good. Rather they are just playing on another level than every team in the league.

us losing to them should be an indicator of

1) they are better than us , obviously everyone knew (or should have known) that going into the game

2) this is a new team, it will take time for them to learn their strengths and weaknesses. for some reason pistons fans are impatient, its not like we are coming off a 60 win season, just enjoy the new infusion of talent and watch them grow

I missed the game, so it was good to see break down like this.
It looks like Smith wasn't very engaged in a lot of those plays and it led to the break down of the plays. I hope he can get his head in the game, because he can be a force when he does.

Anyone else annoyed by the lack of crowd at that game last night? The opener was pretty packed. They go on to a 2-1 start looking great, and bring in the team with best record in the league, in a matchup to decide first place in the whole Eastern conference.... and then only like 5,000 fans show up. Where were all the people from the opener? lol

It would be nice to have an actual homecourt advantage again, with that crowd noise we used to have, like the Lions have now.

I'm not really concerned with the Pistons offense as much as their defense. The only exception would be turnovers. However Coach points out some weird mental lapses on both sides of the ball by Smith. Not surprising to say the least.

The team needs to win more than a couple of games to convince the casual fan to come back to the palace.
Sadly it's going to take some time before we see healthy crowds again.

Q00 wrote:Seeing the Pacers blow out the Bulls by 17 on the second night of a back to back, makes our 8 point loss not look quite so bad anymore. Indiana is just playing great basketball right now, and us losing to them shouldn't be an indicator that we aren't good. Rather they are just playing on another level than every team in the league.

Kind of true. I feel like the Pacers got bored and tore through us since the 1st half was back and forth and then they proceeded to stop messing around and make shots. We have shown glimpses that we can stay competitive since we're so big and athletic, but we need more chemistry overall. This Pacer's team knows each other inside and out since they've been together through the worst of times and the best of times.

Is Bennett starting to relax any?

DBC10 wrote:

Q00 wrote:Seeing the Pacers blow out the Bulls by 17 on the second night of a back to back, makes our 8 point loss not look quite so bad anymore. Indiana is just playing great basketball right now, and us losing to them shouldn't be an indicator that we aren't good. Rather they are just playing on another level than every team in the league.

Kind of true. I feel like the Pacers got bored and tore through us since the 1st half was back and forth and then they proceeded to stop messing around and make shots. We have shown glimpses that we can stay competitive since we're so big and athletic, but we need more chemistry overall. This Pacer's team knows each other inside and out since they've been together through the worst of times and the best of times.

The Pacers did relax a little at times, but that was their mistake for underestimating us, and to our credit we made them pay when they did. Another thing, the Bulls, who were right near the top with us in points in the paint going into tonight, only managed to score 14 on the Pacers inside. We put up 46 on them, and that was with us going 5-25 from 3. So they basically just loaded up the paint, didn't have to guard anyone on the perimeter, and we still managed almost 50 points in their paint, with Monroe getting barely any touches too.

If there was anything to positive take from this game, its that our interior game is the real deal. When you can go up against Memphis, Indiana, and a big Washington team with Nene/Gortat in the first 4 games, and come out of it leading the league in points in the paint (which we are at 53/gm), you have some serious inside game.

Just like last season, the Pacers starting five are awesome together. They will have one of the best five-man +/- in the league again.

Our team needs a lot more in game experience, and we need to nail down a rotation. It's way too early to expect that to already have happened given the roster turnover and injuries, but it something we should be working towards right now.

Q00 wrote:Anyone else annoyed by the lack of crowd at that game last night? The opener was pretty packed. They go on to a 2-1 start looking great, and bring in the team with best record in the league, in a matchup to decide first place in the whole Eastern conference.... and then only like 5,000 fans show up. Where were all the people from the opener? lol

It would be nice to have an actual homecourt advantage again, with that crowd noise we used to have, like the Lions have now.

According to KL, the crowd was just under 14,000.

I'd recommend subscribing to bballbreakdown, their content is really good. Our offense sucked for large periods in this game, but we fought hard and considering how good IND are, it wasn't too bad of a result. Once the team gels, the offense should improve a lot.

Thanks for the link. As Indy have been a regular Detroit rival, it's tough to like them, but I have to appreciate that well executed half court offense/defense. Reminds of of the 04 Pistons team.

Smith needs to stop relying on his athleticism and talent to get by. I know this was a consistent complaint from ATL fans as well. I doubt we'll see it go away in his time here.

This video confirms that the Pistons are actually super talented but severely underperforming.

With they way they were playing they didn't really even deserve to be in that game... Yet they scored 46 in the paint, dominated the 2nd quarter, and got back in it the 4th quarter.

If their coach tightens things up they could be scary. But to have that you need a coach that pays attention to detail and demands his players do the same. He also has to play KCP.

This team has the personnel to be a championship contender and really should be 4-0 at this point.

I see this pacers pistons matchup becoming the biggest rivalry in the league. Rivalrys aren't made from 2 teams scoring 120 and shaking hands after. They are made by 2 teams playing very tough, talking smack, and not getting along. This was a bruiser game with hard fouls, smack talk, and real tough play. No teams play like these 2 did anymore. Even if they are better now this will be one of the biggest rivalries if not the biggest. Sick of teams shaking hands after a high scoring perimeter game. Who else agrees?

I took from this that we are a new team and are still learning plays from a new coach and once we gel as a team and have these plays down pact,we will be pretty damn good.

this is going to be one hell of a rivalry with the pacers.. indiana won this game more than we lost it. they just made a lot of really tough shots, and paul george just had one of those nights. indiana have had this team together for a few years now, and detroit really is only just putting it together, that makes a huge difference in the execution.
our team is the real deal, and thats great to see when the main competitors cleveland and washington are very underwhelming, knicks could drop off too. we have straight destroyed teams in the paint so far, and obviously with the form the pacers are in, they are going to be much tougher than any other team to do that to.

i really believe after the first 4 games that we have the formula to not only beat the best teams in the league, but to dominate the lesser teams as well.
and thats without seeing any kind of outside shooting from anyone other than josh smith, which is someone who shouldnt be relied on to be the best 3pt shooter. most of you know how insanely high i am on pope being the 2 guard once the team has settled in and rookie mistakes are easier to manage.

and then we still have a LOT of moves yet to be made. stuckey and CV's expiring contracts are huge. its a great year to have them too, because teams are excited to jump in the tank for this draft and might be even more so inclined to dump off a player that might not be apart of their rebuilding future for some cap space to rebuild their roster through a free agency signing or two that better fits what they want to do...
if no one in that situation appeals to us more than a potential free agent signing, then we hold onto the contracts and see if you can get something better in FA. the WORST case scenario is no one appealing in FA wants to sign with detroit, and then we have a lot of cap space to make sure monroe, drummond, (and potentially pope) can all get the money they deserve. i feel like after we make noise this season, signing a difference making player(s) to come off the bench shouldnt be as difficult as years past.

all indications are for a bright future in detroit. and i cant wait.

I think the Pacers are going to win the championship. Yes I think they can beat Miami and OKC. So I'm not worried about losing to them.