You can't deny the resemblance. I dont know how we lost sight of this guy in OT, especially because of the fact that HIS SHNOZ IS HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyways, Mr. Troy Murphy had 18 points and 13 rebounds. He had two dagger 3 balls in OT. Danny Granger was also part of our problem. He had 24 points and 10 rebounds. He played solid defense too, holding Rip to 4-13 shooting for 9 points. T.J. Ford did not start, but was dynamite off the bench, scoring 23 points and dropping 6 dimes. He also grabbed which 4 rebounds, which is unacceptable. Sheed couldn't find his shot. It only became worse in overtime, where he decided to get trigger happy from downtown. And now we have an L.
Stuckey did the best he could to keep us in the game, but he disappears too often. He did score a game high 30 points though. He also grabbed 9 rebounds and had 6 assists. Iverson played well too, finally making almost half of his shots (9-19) en route to 23 points.
One thing really struck me last night. The Pacers have the whitest basketball team in America. Secretly, they are eyeing up Kirk Hinrich, who has been on the trading block. After that, they are one quick trade away from a Don Haskins-esque accomplishment. They could roll out the first NBA all white (and non-foreign) starting lineup seen in many- a -year. Hinrich and Miller at guard, Dunleavy and Murphy, and Jeff Foster in the post. Ahhhhhh, they would be terrible
Other things of note:
PG: I have no clue why T.J. Ford is hurt. My guess is that he is nursing some sort of injury, as always. Jack should not be starting...anywhere
Advantage: Pistons
SG: Stuckey played very well last night. Graham can't stop it from happening again
Advantage: Pistons
SF: Rip is undersized at the 3, and Granger is gonna take advantage of that tonight. I expect Granger to score at least 20
Advantage: Pacers
PF: I don't care what numbers Troy Murphy, he still can't escape the fact that he is Troy Murphy. Tayshaun will be back scoring again tonight
Advantage: Pistons
C: Roy Hibbert can't hang with Sheed for very long. I expect Jeff Foster to get more minutes here. Either way, they still suck.
Advantage: Pistons
Overall: Looking at the starting lineup, the Pacers roster looks like the Bobcats J.V. squad, with the obvious exception of Granger. As long as he doesn't go off for 40, this should be an easy win. But the Pistons keep proving me wrong
We blew a 7 point lead with three minutes left in the game. We had the ball in a tie game with under 10 seconds left. Then Sheed decided he wanted to mess around with Emeka and got called for an offensive foul (after already being T'ed up earlier in the game.) The game ended with the picture above, Felton's clutch jumper. It left .7 seconds on the clock for us, and we got off a decent shot, but it didn't fall. Felton was the man last night, contrary to my predictions, and wound up with an excellent statline, 9-15 shooting for 23 points, 6 boards, and 9 assists. Gerald Wallace had a double-double with 18 points and 10 boards, and Emeka didn't have the great of stats ( 13 pts, 8 rebs, 5 TOs), he did an excellent job of getting under Rasheed's skin, which was our undoing. The Pistons player of the game was definitely Rodney Stuckey. He went 8-11 for 22 points, 6 boards, and 5 assists
Other things of note
Up next: Tonight at Indiana
PG: Felton is a dynamic playmaker, but D.J. Augustin is the better passer. I would rather see him against Iverson, but he has a strained abdominal muscle and his status is unknown to me. Iverson shouldn't have much trouble shooting tonight, hopefully
Advantage: Pistons
SG: Raja Bell is a crafty defender. I like Stuckey to get off to a hot start, but struggle down the stretch. However, Bell isn't really an offensive threat, other than an occasional three. Rip may play tonight, but I am not sure if he will be inserted into the starting lineup
Advantage: Pistons
SF: Prince struggled against the Jazz. Home cooking is what he needs to get back on track. However, G-Force is an exceptionally, athletic player. This will be the funnest matchup to watch tonight
Advantage: Draw
PF: Amir Johnson doesn't have as much savy as Diaw. This will be a close one, but Diaw will wear Amir down
Advantage: Bobcats
C: Emeka is putting up solid stats, but Sheed is back tonight, and ready to go. Emeka is stronger than Sheed, but we will see what happens when Sheed steps out near the perimeter
Overall: We just have to keep the shooters like Bell, Morrison, and Carroll in check and we should be good. I think the team is relieved to be back at the Palace, and shouldn't have too much trouble getting the W tonight.
PG: Derrick Rose-He may not be as good at putting up points as O.J. Mayo, but I would pick him as captain anyday. He makes his teammates better, except for maybe Joakim Noah. He is averaging 17 points, 4 boards, and 6 assists
SG: O.J. Mayo-Almost scoring 20 points per game. He is the most explosive scorer of the group, but I still don't like the guy
SF: Luc Richard Mbah a Moute- Wow, this draft sucked for small forwards. I ain't hating on LRMaM though. He is probably the best defensive player on the Bucks, and is better than Joe Alexander
PF:Kevin Love- Sorry B-Easy, you need to rebound more. The T-Wolves are hating the trade right now, but Love is probably the better value. He's grabbing around 8 rebounds per.
C: Brook Lopez-Finally, the Nets have a decent big man. No, Nenad Krstic didn't count. Brook is averaging 10 pts, 8 rbs, and 2 blks per game. He is not a bust
Bench:
D.J. Augustin- This draft is so much better at the PG posistion than last year's. Augustin should be starting over Felton, but Larry Brown is a crazy coot
Russell Westbrook-14 pts, 4 rbs, 5 asts per game. He also plays pretty solid defense, like most UCLA players. I think him, Durant, and Green can be a big 3 for the Thunder in the future
Michael Beasley- Wasn't he supposed to be a double-double machine. Where did the rebounds go? He hasn't lived up to the hype, but he is still playing decently
Jason Thompson-Where is Rider college even at? He was a big surprise being picked by the Kings so high, but he is looking good down low, scoring 9 points and 7 boards per game
Marc Gasol-I accidentally put him on the sophs squad, but he just started this year. He is bigger, stronger, and more scruffy than his brother
Eric Gordon-He torched the Pistons when we played him. He's been doing that since high school, but now his team sucks
Mario Chalmers-As long as he stays away from Darrell Arthur, he should be fine. The guard deprived Heat appreciate his 10 points and 5 dimes nightly
Just Missed the Cut: George Hill
