Rookie Challenge // Fri. 9pm on TNT

nasty daddy · Post #1 » by **nasty daddy** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 3:24 am

Friday 12th of February 2010
Time 9pm
TNT
Dallas Cowboys New Stadium, Arlington, TX

At

Dallas Cowboys New Stadium, Arlington, TX

ROOKIE

Flynn/Evans/Jerebko/Blair/Gibson

SOPHOMORE

Rose/Mayo/Beasley/Love/Lopez

Roscoe Sheed · Post #2 » by **Roscoe Sheed** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 5:04 pm

My girlfriend and I have tickets to this game. We're driving out from LA today. We got good tickets too- in the 100s level. Hope it's a good game. My girlfriend is a big Suns fan, so we'll be cheering against each other in this one. I like the Suns, but definitely not as much as the Pistons.

I eager to see how the Pistons defend Shaq and Amare. Amare could be a challenge for Dice, Sheed, Amir, and max

bstein14 · Post #3 » by **bstein14** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 5:08 pm

Amir **** Johnson

12 points, 10 boards, 6 blocks, 3 steals

Low-Ki · Post #4 » by **Low-Ki** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 5:17 pm

Shaq/Amare is going to be tough for us to handle. We better hope our jumpers are falling...

Post #5 » by **HMFFL** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 5:45 pm

It's going to be a fun game to watch! Good Luck and get the W!

Rodya · Post #6 » by **Rodya** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 4:49 am

Either Sheed or Dice are going to have huge games depending upon which is going to be guarded by Shaq. Pick and roll is going to kill them.

Suns_Fever · Post #7 » by **Suns_Fever** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 4:54 am

Gooe luck tomorow guys, should be a very entertaining game by both teams.

nasty daddy · Post #8 » by **nasty daddy** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 7:17 am

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

When the Phoenix Suns traded for Shaquille O'Neal earlier this month, Detroit Pistons point guard Chauncey Billups was among those shocked by the move. For years, Phoenix has been the embodiment of the Western Conference's uptempo, run-and-gun style. Adding O'Neal, who moves about as quick as a melting polar ice cap these days, seemed a radical departure for them. It seems the Suns are now thinking what Billups and most of the elite teams in the East figured out a while ago."I think teams have conceded that that run-and-gun style is cool, but in the thick of things, you gotta be able to play halfcourt basketball if you're serious about winning a championship," said Billups, who cited the Los Angeles Lakers trading for Pau Gasol as another example to strengthen his point. "In the playoffs, you have to be able to execute in the half court. We've seen that run-and-gun stuff will only take you so far in the playoffs."

Phoenix still gets up and down the court with sprinter-like speed compared to the rest of the league, and often looks to score early in the shot clock. The addition of O'Neal might take away from that a bit.But even with a slower big man in the middle whose game is on the decline, the future Hall of Fame center still has a post presence that can cause problems at both ends of the floor. In addition, O'Neal at center also frees up All-star Amare Stoudemire to play his more natural power forward position. "It's going to be interesting to see how they incorporate him into their style of play," said Joe Dumars, Detroit's president of basketball operations. The Pistons will be one of the first to see this new-look Phoenix squad, as they begin their four-game West coast trip with a nationally televised afternoon matchup today with the Suns.

Making matters worse for the Pistons is the fact that they're down one big man after Thursday's trade which sent 7-foot center Primoz Brezec to Toronto for Juan Dixon, a 6-3 combo guard who had three points in his Pistons debut on Friday. "Is there ever a good time to play Shaq?" said Pistons forward Jarvis Hayes. "Shaq is always a handful, no matter who you got." In the past, the Pistons have used a bevy of big men to wear O'Neal down. Saunders said the team's approach to dealing with O'Neal probably won't be all that different, despite having one less big man. "We'll play him pretty much the same way," Saunders said. "He's not the focal point of the offense in Phoenix, like he was in Miami. So we'll have to wait and see how he is, and what we have to do." Added Hayes: "They're still able to get up and down the floor, and can run with the best of them," he said. "I'm kind of excited about this because this is definitely a different kind of Phoenix team than what we're used to playing."

nasty daddy · Post #9 » by **nasty daddy** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 9:54 am

http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/DETPHO_ ... eview.html

The skinny: One of Phoenix management