Moderators: dVs33, Cowology, theBigLip, Snakebites
STUDS: It's rare that a bench player takes center stage for the Pistons, but Amir Johnson's near triple-double (eight points, nine rebounds, career-high seven blocked shots) was hard to ignore. He's a great example of what happens when you take your time to develop a young player who's talented enough to make the most of his opportunity to play. The only Pacer who looked marginally decent was Ike Diogu, who had 14 points although most came during garbage time when the game was out of reach.SOLID: Richard Hamilton played less than 20 minutes, but still managed to score 14 points to go with five rebounds and five assists.
DUDS: Arron Afflalo missed five of his six shots from the field, scoring just three points. Mike Dunleavy had a weak performance with 11 points on 3-of-9 shooting from the field.SUPER SUB: Rodney Stuckey continues to be instant offense off Detroit's bench. He led all Pistons bench players with 12 points, which gives him six double-digit scoring performances in Detroit's last seven games.
UP NEXT: Tuesday vs. Orlando. It'll be interesting to see if the momentum the Pistons clearly have after winning their 10th straight on Wednesday, will continue after the All-star break. After the Magic, Detroit has an away-and-home matchup with a Milwaukee Bucks team that has one of the league's worst records. A win over the Magic followed by victories over the Bucks would give Detroit a 13-game winning streak heading into their West coast trip.
The Pistons go to the All-Star break on a 10-game winning streak. They are just the 38th team in NBA history to have two winning streaks of 10 or more in the same season. They also go to the break with a 39-13 record, the second-best pre-break record in franchise history. "We are in a real nice flow right now," coach Flip Saunders said. "You never want to go on a break when you are winning. But with what lies ahead for us in the final 30 games and the playoffs, you have to get a break in sooner or later. This is as good a time as any."
It was nearly an off night for the starters. All of them played less than 30 minutes. Richard Hamilton, who scored 14 points, managed to get in some work for his 3-point shootout competition on Saturday. He drained all four of his 3-point attempts -- two from the corner and two from the top of the key. "I don't want him to get too comfortable shooting those," Saunders said. "When you are the best mid-range shooter in the game, you don't want to forget about your bread-and-butter."
But it was the bench that did most of the heavy lifting. Amir Johnson nearly posted a triple-double. He had eight points, nine rebounds and a career-best seven blocks. He also played a game-high 31 minutes. "I think he had three more blocks that he didn't get credit for," Saunders said. "But if I would have told you a couple of weeks ago that Amir would lead us in minutes played, I don't think many would have believed me. He did a nice job." Jason Maxiell had 11 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. "In order to do that (have two double-digit winning streaks), you have to have the consistency in what you set out to do night in and night out," Saunders said. "You have to be injury-free, which we have been. And you have to have a bench that can come off and provide energy on those nights when you don't have it. We've been getting that."
Well, there's not a lot to say other than the Pistons have been playing very well for the first half of the season, that brief lull notwithstanding. The young players have been incorporated into the game and the starters' minutes have been reduced. If you had a checklist of everything the Pistons wanted to accomplish in the first half, they would have knocked off everything on the list, pretty much. Flip Saunders says they still have a lot for him to worry about but that's why he's the coach. He's paid to worry about all that. But currently, there's not a lot to worry about unless Rip Hamilton wins the 3-point contest and then does nothing but shoot threes the rest of the season.
And the Pistons managed to keep their focus before a four-day sojourn, beating the Pacers, 96-80, for their 10th straight win. The Pistons swept Indiana -- 4-0 -- for the first time in more than 20 years. "These games are dangerous because you're right at the break and guys are ready to get going," point guard Chauncey Billups said. "We came out and took care of business, put those guys away with them being so shorthanded. It's 10 games, man."
Forward Jason Maxiell had 11 points and 11 boards. And forward Amir Johnson had seven points, five rebounds and three blocks in his very active second quarter, when the Pistons shot 11-for-18.
Johnson, who played 31 minutes, finished with eight points, seven blocks and nine rebounds. No starter played more than 29, and Hamilton and Antonio McDyess stayed under 20. "He had seven blocks, and he probably had three they didn't count that he got a piece of," Saunders said of Johnson. "We have to talk to the stat people on that. ... And I don't think a week and a half ago, if I said Amir would lead us in minutes played, anyone would say that's going to happen." Forward Jarvis Hayes suffered a jammed left Achilles tendon when he planted for a lay-up in the second quarter. He didn't return after halftime but said it was precautionary.
When a team gets this hot, it doesn't want to be interrupted. But the schedule can't be changed, so the Pistons will have to wait until next week to extend their 10-game winning streak.
Except for a dead spot in the middle of last month, the machine's been humming all season. The Pistons head into the break with a 39-13 record, second only to Boston. "You never want to take a break when you're winning," coach Flip Saunders said. "But with what lies ahead, the last 30 games and the playoffs, you've got to get one sometime. I guess now is about as good as any."
Just one night after finishing off a four-game season series sweep of Atlanta, the Pistons did the same against the Pacers. All of the wins over Indiana, which has lost nine of its last 11, were recorded since Dec. 28. The Pistons hadn't swept the Pacers since 1984-85, when the teams played six games.
