Game 35 Preview

PG: Iverson had trouble shooting consistently last night again. Even if Deron Williams isn't real healthy, I still think he will have a big game attacking the basket. He is just too physical for AI

Advantage: Utah

SG: Two young guns. Brewer shoots at a high clip and is a huge threat to steal the ball. Stuckey just needs to stay focused.

Advantage: Detroit

SF: Tayshaun is el capitano right now. C.J. Miles usually starts at the 3 for the Jazz, but he is out. I think they start Kirilenko, but they might also go with Korver just to screw with our heads. Kirilenko would aggravate Prince, Korver however, would not.

Advantage: Detroit, barely

PF: I am not sure if Sheed is back for tonight. Sheed would no doubt dominate Millsap, because Millsap's comfort zone is in the post. But Amir can't rebound like Millsap.

Advantage: Utah

C: Awww yeah, it's Mehmet Okur. Kwame is no matchup for the Turkish Terror....or really any center

Advantage: Utah

Overall: On paper, the Jazz have got the upper hand. However, I think we have been playing hard and building momentum in the close games. Also our bench is much better than Utah's. I think we win another close one

Thank God for...

Pistons 93, Nuggets 90!

Wow, we snuck out of the Pepsi Center with a win? Chauncey looked like a man on a mission, scoring 20 points in the first half. He kept driving the lane and no one decided they wanted to stop him. He finished with 30 points.We looked terrible in the first half, especially the second quarter, where we started by shooting 1-10. The announcers kept saying how Iverson is the perfect piece. He had another exquisite shooting night, going 6-18, including 1-5 from beyond the arc. He did lead the team though with 23 points. However, three players really were impressive for the Pistons tonight. Once again, Tayshaun took the reins, scoring 19 points and locking down Linas Kleiza, who went 0-6 from the field. Don't laugh, Kleiza had 21 against Miami. McDyess continued his beastly rebounding grabbing 12 boards in 23 minutes. Finally, the man tonight was Arron Afflalo. He came through quietly in the first half, but he knocked down 6 clutch free throws to keep the game intact. Why 6? AI decided to foul J.R. Smith when he was shooting a 3.

Other things of note:

• Kwame looked terrible! He may have had 8 rebounds but he couldnt seem to hang on to the ball once it came to him



• Nene and K-Mart both looked impressive. I laughed when K-Mart threw down a wide open dunk and then stared down nobody in particular



• Our FT shooting was uncharacteristically bad. We were 27-40. Stuckey went 1-4



• I know they gave up 93 points, but where did Denver's defense come from. At times, it looked like we were playing the Spurs. They were a terrible defensive team last year, and they had Marcus Camby. What is going on? Is Linas Kleiza the key?



• Why doesn't George Karl give more minutes to J.R. Smith. He probably doesn't play much defense, and he is a streaky shooter, but Dahntay Jones is a scrub.



• Maxiell had a few nasty dunks, reminding us all that he still eats babies



• 
  
  
  What is up with Birdman Chris Andersen? Did he and Robert Swift secretly bet who could be the first to cover their bodies in tattoos? Did they draw inspiration from the exploits of DeShawn Stevenson and Drew Gooden?
  

W.C. All Stars

Here were my preseason predictions for the Western Conference versus the actual standings

Mine- Actual Standings
1. L.A. Lakers- L.A. Lakers
2. San Antonio-San Antonio
3. Houston- Denver
4. Utah- New Orleans
5. New Orleans- Dallas
6. Phoenix-Portland
7. Portland-Houston
8. Dallas-Phoenix

I am surprised at how close I actually am. I don't think many people expected Denver to be this good, but I think they will start falling off now that Carmelo is out. Houston is still at 7, but they are not playing good lately, save a win over Boston. I think they have the potential to take out any team in the playoffs this year.

My preseason All-Star Predictions for the Western Conference

G Chris Paul
G Steve Nash
G Deron Williams
G Kobe Bryant
G Brandon Roy
F Carmelo Anthony
F Tim Duncan
F Amare Stoudamire
F Dirk Nowitzki
C Yao Ming
C Tyson Chandler

Who out of this list isn't deserving?
Nash is a close call, but I think he still deserves a spot. Deron Williams hasn't been really healthy, so some should go in his place. Roy also hasn't been healthy much, he really deserves a spot. Carmelo is hurt now, but he probably will be healthy by the All-Star Game, so he stays. Tyson Chandler had a good season last year, but this year he looks like a bum, like when he played in Chicago.

Who gets the open spots?
As previously mentioned, I thought Chauncey is still an All-Star, so he takes the spot ofDeron Williams a.k.a. The Ice Pick. Who will take Chandler's spot? It comes down to Big Al Jefferson and Shaq. Even though the Wolves are terrible, I give the spot to Jefferson, he has much better numbers and the Wolves are on a 4 game win streak.

Game 34 Preview

PG: Iverson has strung together a few terrible shooting nights. Going against a motivated Chauncey, I don't expect it to stop

Advantage: Nuggets

SG: Stuckey made a lot of dumb plays against Portland, but tonight he faces Dahntay Jones and J.R. Smith, who aren't exactly defensive stoppers

Advantage: Pistons

SF: Prince has carried the team lately, but Kleiza is an underrated defensive player. I still think Tayshaun will score at least 15, but Kleiza won't let him take over. We are just lucky we are dodging Carmelo

Advantage: Pistons

PF: Two really explosive guys. Even though K-Mart is old, I think he will be more physical than Amir and be able to score down low. Sheed is still questionable.

Advantage: Nuggets

C:Kwame looked good against the Blazers. Tonight...not so much. A lot of people are calling Nene this year's most improved player

Advantage: Nuggets

Overall: Chauncey is going to dominate tonight. He would like nothing more than to show they never should have traded him. I think the Nuggets win, unless Sheed decides play, then it would be a different story.

E.C. All Stars

Before the season began, I made some predictions.
First I predicted the standings in the East:

My Predictions- Actual
1. Boston- Cleveland
2. Detroit- Boston
3. Philadelphia- Orlando
4. Orlando- Atlanta
5. Toronto- Detroit
6. Cleveland- Miami
7. Miami- New Jersey
8. Milwaukee- Milwaukee

Two teams have been huge dissapointments obviously, the Raptors and the Sixers. They both are just games away from a playoff spot though. The most surprising team has been Cleveland in the East. I figured they would fall off a little this year, because Mo Williams didn't seem like that big of a deal to me. I don't know how they are winning that many games with LeBron and a bunch of misfits (see Szczerbiak, Wally.) Atlanta has always had the talent to be a top team, but this is the first year they are winning a lot of games. I don't think they will reach the second round of playoffs. Other than Celtics, the team I am most afraid to meet in the Playoffs would be the Magic. We don't have anybody who can defend Dwight Howard, who even though I love Yao, is the best center in the League. Also, I am still sticking to my theory that the Bucks will make the playoffs.

I also predicted this year's All Stars before the season started. Here they are

G- Chauncey Billups
G- Andre Miller
G- Dwayne Wade
G- Paul Pierce
F- LeBron James
F- Shawn Marion
F- Kevin Garnett
F-Elton Brand
F-Josh Smith
C-Dwight Howard
C-Jermaine O'Neal
C-Chris Bosh

Who would I take out now? Clearly Elton Brand and Andre Miller are not deserving of spots. Shawn Marion just doesn't have the numbers, which is odd. I love Josh Smith, but his numbers are all down this year, so he is out. Lastly, Jermaine O'Neal is not worthy of an All-Star spot...at all. Also, Chauncey is still an All-Star, but now in the West

Who would I replace them with? I need two guards, one center, and three forwards. For the guards. The guards are obvious for me. Devin Harris over Vince Carter and Danny Granger, who is just ridiculous. Even with the Pacers being turrible, he is still a top 5 MVP candidate to me. The forwards are more difficult. Even if this wasn't a Pistons blog, I would still give a spot to Tayshaun Prince. He will be the only person playing defense at the All-Star game. I'll give one spot to Caron Butler, because he is still playing hard. The final forward spot goes to...David Lee, who is shooting at a 57% clip. The center spot is between two guys...Andrew Bogut and Emeka Okafor. Bogut is hurt, so Okafor gets the final spot

Even though it has no relevance to the Pistons, tomorrow I will provide my preseason Western Conference standings and All-Star Picks

Don't like my picks? Whine in the comment section or check out those of Sean Deveney from the Sporting News

We've been Outlaw-ed! Blazers 84, Pistons 83

How did we lose this game and our winning streak? Well the fact that Tayshaun and McDyess were the only guys going all out after the first quarter probably has something to do with it. Iverson gave us another one of his awesome shooting nights going 6-19 on the night. We desparately need Rip and Sheed back if we plan on beating Denver or Utah. I think the fact that we only had 9 guys play last night really hurt, as our point total for each quarter steadily declined going 26, 23, 19, and 15.

Tayshaun is the main reason why this game was even close, scoring 10 in the first quarter and shooting 13-21 for 26 points, including several nonchalant jumpers from the elbow in the fourth quarter. He also destroyed a Jerryd Bayless layup. Kwame also looked halfway competent, but I think that was mostly because Stuckey and Iverson would draw two or three guys when they drove the lane. As I expected, L.A. the Rugged Man (LaMarcus Aldridge) was very impressive scoring 26 points. If he can work on his rebounding, he will be an All-Star next year. Quietly, Steve Blake put together a double-double with 10 points and assists.

Now we come to those who didn't impress. The biggest dissapointment for the Blazers was Greg Oden. I predicted a double-double for him, but he managed only 4 points and 1 board, with a -14 +/-. He just looks lost when he's on the floor. The Pistons shouldn't be happy with how Stuckey played last night. He started hot, but then started the fumbling the ball like Adrian Peterson and ended the game with 7 assists and 6 turnovers. Jason Maxiell didn't play well in my mind. He posted a - 11 +/-, and took too many shots from the biggin' abyss. Also, why don't the Blazers give more minutes to Bayless?

The end of the game was just dissapointing. I give Nate McMillan a lot of credit for giving the ball to Outlaw, who the Pistons were probably not expecting. He nailed the shot, but we still had 8 seconds. The best shot we could muster was an Iverson fallaway in the lane with two guys all over him. We should have given the ball to Prince, even if he was double covered.

Next game: Friday Jan 9th at Denver

Around The Web

Tales from The Crypt, I mean D-League:
Alex Acker is repping in the D-League, averaging 20 points in the last 2 games and shooting over 45%. Walter Sharpe is dozing off however, averaging only 8 points and 3 boards. The article from Mlive.com also praises Rodney Stuckey's defensive prowess.

New Year's Resolutions:
Courtesy of CBS Sports

Early Playoff Predictions:
ESPN's Chris Broussard shares his creative Eastern Conference Finals scenario. Really? I wonder where he gets the Celtics and Cavaliers from? He also believes the Pistons will lose in the first round of the playoffs to the Hawks. Only time will provide us with the Answer

Game 33 Preview

PG: Stuckey has been on fire lately, so I don't really think Steve Blake has a chance here. When are the Blazers gonna give this spot to Jerryd Bayless

Advantage: Pistons

SG: Fernandez is a heck of a player to watch, but he is no match for AI. Iverson should score at least 20 with Brandon Roy still injured

Advantage: Pistons

SF:Batum is only playing because Martell Webster is out. Prince should lock him down

Advantage: Pistons

PF: LaMarcus Aldridge is one of my favorite young big men in the League. He will be tested tonight having to follow Sheed out to the perimeter. However, this is a draw

Advantage: Tie

C: Finally, somebody Greg Oden can pick on. He should go for a double double tonight in the intriguing matchup of #1 picks

Advantage: Blazers

Overall: The Pistons are riding high on a 7 game winning streak but going to Portland will be tough. Even without Brandon Roy, the Blazers will still put up a good fight, and should have the advantage on the boards. However, the Pistons guards will roam free tonight and should secure the victory.

Power Rankings 2009: #1

1. L.A. Lakers-Simply the best
2. Boston-Hold ground even after an embarassing loss to the Knicks
3. San Antonio-George Hill is doing his thing, as is Tony Parker
4. Cleveland-Ha, they lost to the Wizards
5. Orlando-A tough loss to the Raptors, who are hitting their stride
6. New Orleans-Looked good in a win over Portland
7. Atlanta-Mike Bibby=Draino
8. Detroit- 7 in a row!
9. Phoenix-The best big men in the league?
10.Houston-Running on empty, and still winning

Links to the Past

I really don't have much of a blogging past, but I did post some stuff at Sporting News over the past few years. Because I love the NBA Draft so much, I like to post grades for each team about a week after the draft finished. This link has my team grades from the 2007 and 2008 NBA Drafts, as well as some football stuff.

As far as the Pistons go, I pretty much was way off on my grades

2008:
Detroit: B+ Sharpe is a decent pick is he can stay in line, but I don't think the Pistons have a spot for him right now. Plaisted could make the team, seeing as how they don't have a center on their roster and he is NBA-ready. Washington is a good pick at number 59 because is so athletic, but he will play in the D-Leauge for a few years.

2007:
Detroit: C+ I think the Pistons need a big man more than guards. They could have taken Sean Williams or Jason Smith but they chose Rodney Stuckey. I like Afflalo, he fits their playing style and will be better than Stuckey eventually

Oh well, shows how much I thought I knew.

Anyways, it is never too early to start eyeballin prospects for the 2009 draft. My favorite for said activity is nbadraft.net

Stuckey Eastern Conference Player of the Week

According to this article from the Detroit News, Stuckey is the Eastern Conference Player of the Week. Congratulations to him. Over last week he averaged 23 points, 5 assists, and almost 5 boards. Not bad! It also mentions that the Pistons are 13-3 in games he has started. So be afraid Eastern Conference.

The article also discusses how coach Curry believes that Tayshaun has been the key to the Pistons current 7 game winning streak. He was quoted several times saying "Tay's been our best player." I can't help but agree.

In other news, former Piston Cheikh Samb was traded to the Clippers.

The Dream is Dead!

One day after my post on former Spartan Paul Davis, he was released, along with Fred Jones by the Clippers. They did decide to keep one of my favorite players around, though, the cold blooded Steve Novak.

Cool guy

Game-worn jersey patch from Paul Davis

Net-worth: $2.15

Pistons 88, Clippers 87

Is it too late to get Stuckey in as an All-Star? Last night he once again put the Pistons on his back (well except for Maxiell, he's too heavy.) Stuckey finished with 24 pts, 4 rbs, 6 asts, and only 3 turnovers. AI recorded a double double, with 18 points and 10 assists. Howeva, he was 7-22 from the field. Ewwwwwwwww. We may have gotten the W, and extended our win streak to 7, but it wasn't pretty. The Clippers had only 9 people play, with Brian Skinner and Fred Jones in the starting lineup, and for Sparty fans, there was a Paul Davis sighting. Eric Gordon had a career high 31 points, but needed 33 for the Clippers to win, as he missed the game-winning shot. Camby was a beast, grabbing 20 boards. What is disturbing is that we allowed the throw-in from the Zach Randolph trade, Mardy Collins, to drop 12 dimes! Yes, 12, and the guy is a shooting guard. If the Pistons had played like they are capable of, this shouldn't have been close. They better get their crap together before Wednesday's game in Portland