Pistons vs. Cavaliers – LeBron, LeBron, LeBron

Cavaliers: 98  Pistons: 88

There’s a reason people have dubbed the Cavs the “Cleveland LeBrons.” If you don’t see why, tonight’s game provided 34 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists worth of evidence as to why this guy turns a non-playoff team into a Finals contender every year. As much as I complain about any star treatment by NBA officials, this guy is one of the best basketball players on the planet. He’s the reason why the Cavs were running away with this game in the second and third quarters. Once again, the Pistons put up a good fight late in the game, but the Shaq-less Cavs (and mostly LeBron) were too strong in the end.

[picapp align=”none” wrap=”false” link=”term=detroit+pistons&iid=7137783″ src=”0/4/7/7/Pistons_vs_Cavaliers_41ef.JPG?adImageId=7863001&imageId=7137783″ width=”400″ height=”363″ /]

The Cavs started off hot, and as I noted on Twitter, were shooting 67% for the game at one point in the 2nd quarter. Just as I pleaded, the Pistons tightened up their defense. Cleveland put up 60 points in the first half but were held to 38 in the second half. The heightened defensive intensity helped the Pistons get back into the game in the 4th quarter.

However, the Pistons were unable to hit shots (39% shooting on the night) and weren’t able to come all the way back to beat the Cavs. Outside of Rodney Stuckey (25 points on 16 shots) and Charlie Villanueva (19 on 15 shots, 8 rebounds), the Pistons didn’t have a consistent offensive threat on the floor. Jason Maxiell (10 points on 3-5 shooting) was the only other Piston in double figures.

Random notes:

Will Bynum had a night to forget (4 points on 1-13 shooting). His 5:3 assist to turnover ratio wasn’t awful, but also not what we’ve come to expect from MFWB.

Jonas Jerebko was maddening, yet effective. He had a Ben Wallace-esque line of 4 points, 6 rebounds (5 on the offensive end), 1 assist and 1 steal.

Speaking of Big Ben, he had 8 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks. He also hit 4 of 6 free throws, though he should have shot at least double that many.

Daniel Gibson had yet another good night against the Pistons. He had 13 points on 7 shots, including three 3-pointers. Hasn’t Mike Brown realized that he always tears it up against the Pistons? If I were their coach, I’d start him against Detroit.

Shaq didn’t play tonight, but history says he may not have been a big factor. The Pistons (and especially Big Ben) have defended him well in the past.

LeBron James was the only Cavalier to score more than 14 points. He also led them in assists and rebounds. He definitely looked like the reigning MVP tonight.

The Cavs only used 8 players tonight, while the Pistons used 10. Still, Stuckey led all players with 40 minutes. He needed to tonight though. Great game from #3.

Overall, this loss was disappointing, but without Ben Gordon, the Pistons are missing their three best players. Unlike the other injury-depleted professional team in Detroit, the Pistons aren’t deep enough to compete with the top teams in the NBA without Gordon, Rip Hamilton, and Tayshaun Prince.

The Pistons are back in action on Friday night against the Los Angeles Clippers. Hopefully they’ll be able to end their slide at 6 games and get back on track.

Pistons Recap – A Rough West Coast Stretch

Apologies for another light week here at the GHHT, but busy weeks come with the territory when at The U. Since my last recap, the Pistons beat the Washington Wizards, but lost their next 5 games. Despite some recurring themes throughout those losses, I’ll go with a game-by-game approach.

Pistons: 106  Wizards: 103 – I wasn’t able to watch this game, but the box score shows a lot of the things we Pistons fans expected coming into this season. The guards and Charlie Villanueva carried the scoring load: CV31, Will Bynum, Ben Gordon, and Rodney Stuckey combined to score 91 of the Pistons’ 106 points. Detroit out-rebounded the Wizards 44-43, but that feat comes with an asterisk as Antawn Jamison did not play for Washington due to a shoulder injury. The big story of the game was the Wizards’ inability to score late in the 4th quarter. Washington went the final 5:03 without a field goal (until Gilbert Arenas hit a meaningless 3-pointer with 3 seconds left), and only scored 5 points in that time.

[picapp align=”none” wrap=”false” link=”term=detroit+pistons&iid=7048967″ src=”8/0/7/d/Pistons_Gordon_is_7ab9.JPG?adImageId=7738124&imageId=7048967″ width=”266″ height=”350″ /]

Pistons Recap – The Good with the Bad

[picapp src=”8/7/3/1/Pistons_vs_Bobcats_001a.JPG?adImageId=7393445&imageId=7027405″ width=”246″ height=”400″ /]

I’ve only seen bits and pieces of the Pistons’ last three games (and hardly any of the Philadelphia game), but so far I’m impressed with how they have played. If there’s one way to describe how they play, it’s hard. This team has shown that they won’t go down easily with strong comebacks against Toronto and Orlando last week.

After all of Orlando’s complaining following the Pistons’ 85-80 win last week, I didn’t think the Pistons had much of a chance going into Orlando, and the first quarter reflected that. The Magic shot 9-for-12 in that quarter, including 5-for-7 from 3-point range and jumped out to a 40-23 lead. For the second time in three days after allowing 40+ points in a quarter, the Pistons battled back into the game. I think they ran out of gas at the end again, allowing Orlando to come away with the win.

Pistons Recap – Ups & Downs

After last night’s 85-80 win over the Orlando Magic, the Detroit Pistons sit at 2-2, half a game behind the Cleveland LeBrons Cavaliers for the Central Division lead. It’s a little early to be talking about their position in the standings, especially since Cleveland has gotten off to a slow start. However, the Pistons’ .500 record after 4 games is nothing to panic about. The new-look Pistons have been inconsistent at times, but have also shown us that there is something to be excited about with this team as well.

One of the biggest positives so far for the Pistons has been the play of free-agent-signee Ben Gordon. BG has been everything one could expect from a $10 million per-year salary so far. He’s shooting at a 50% clip from the field (41% from 3), averaging 24 points per game. He was expected to come off the bench this year, but an early injury to Rip Hamilton has forced him into a starter’s role, and he has performed admirably. Detractors have complained that he hasn’t been much of a playmaker thus far, but it’s not his role. Joe D brought him in as a scorer, someone who can come in cold off the bench and light it up in a hurry. He has been able to stretch defenses, allowing for more holes for both Rodney Stuckey and Will Bynum to get to the basket. Last night’s game was proof of that. BG didn’t hit any 3s (no Piston did), but Stuckey and Bynum were able to get to the basket all night long and draw key fouls on the Orlando bigs.

On the other hand, Charlie Villanueva has been an early-season disappointment. To his defense, he’s had to deal with an injury throughout the entire preseason. This has limited his playing time with his new teammates. There’s definitely some chemistry issues thus far, but nothing fans should be worried about. Also, I think CV31 is pressing a bit. From reading his Twitter page all summer, you know he wants to play well in Detroit. The D is famous for treating their heroes like royalty, and I think Villanueva wants to be a part of that. Give him time Pistons fans, he’s going to be ok.

Pistons @ Grizzlies – Couldn’t Ask for More

As the Red Wings once again ruin my night (although Darren Helm literally scored as I was typing that), last night the Pistons made my studying-for-an-exam-while-coughing-up-a-lung efforts that much more enjoyable. Regardless of how I was feeling last night, the D-Boys turned in a fantastic performance to open the season.

After the nightmare of last season the Pistons, for one night at least, answered all of the questions doubters had about them. Would they play defense? Holding any NBA squad (even if it is the Memphis Grizzlies) under 80 points is an achievement. Would Ben Gordon and Rip Hamilton coexist after the A.I. experiment failed? 47 of the Pistons’ 96 points offers a resounding “yes.” Is Big Ben too old? The box score (3 points, 9 rebounds, and a block in 28 minutes) may not hold the answer. Those that watched the game will see the modified shots and hustle plays that Ben has made his hallmark as a Piston. So far, Wallace looks rejuvenated.

Are the Pistons for real? That is a question that won’t be answered with just one game. Yes, the Pistons looked good, but it was against the Grizzlies. Memphis is definitely an improving team but still not ready to break into the playoffs in the West. Charlie Villanueva didn’t have a particularly strong game with only 7 points (3/7 shooting) and 1 rebound. However, he was limited to 17 minutes with early foul trouble and still provided 3 blocked shots. The Pistons as a whole seemed active on the defensive end, but this team is still undersized in the front court. Marc Gasol had 21 points (6/9 shooting) and 15 rebounds in only 30 minutes for the Grizz, looking much better than he did at any point last season. The Pistons were out-rebounded 49-39. This will probably be the case for most of the season, but also keep in mind the Grizzlies sport four 7-footers on their roster.

One of the areas that many people identified would be a strength of this Pistons team was their shooting, and they didn’t disappoint last night. They shot 51.4% on the night and 37.5% from 3-point land. They only hit 16 of 29 free throws (55.2%), but 9 of those 13 misses came from Wallace, Kwame Brown, and Chris Wilcox. Ben Gordon was particularly efficient, scoring 22 points on only 12 shots. The only Piston to make less than 40% of their shots was (MF) Will Bynum, who was impressive in filling the rest of the stat sheet with 7 assists, 5 boards, and only 1 turnover.